I don’t know how the economy is affecting everyone else in the country, but it seems to be hitting hard in Los Angeles. I know dozens of people who have lost their jobs this year. Erika was added to that list today after a few more Tokyopop lay-offs. It seems likely my department will dissolve in a few months as well. The good news is I have ample warning. 2009 is going to be an interesting year.

I’m back from Louisiana and Florida.
All went well on the return except for the ants that are trying to infest our freezer.

is back in town now that his tour has ended. We went out a few places last night and had a good time. Drumming for months straight has gotten that guy in pretty good shape. We saw Birth which had its good and bad points. It kept reminding me of Rosemary’s Baby throughout. We stopped by this Goth Club later in the night. The cover was $10, but I was charged $15 for not “dressing Goth.” Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t a large portion of that community composed of people who banded together because they and others perceived them as different and they didn’t “fit in.” Other groups of people may even seclude them purposely. Isn’t it sad that once these people get their own large cohesive community of Xerox “non-conformity,” some of them jump at the chance to seclude non-members just as they were once secluded. Fuck, stupid me, I thought a community where everyone accepted each other would be a much better idea, but what do I know?

I got DDR Extreme. It always takes a few weeks for me to get into a new release of DDR, but I will never dig this new ugly inefficient amateurish interface Konami instilled. Bring back the old system please. I also like that they continue to add a few disco tunes each time, but I wish they would add more that are actually danceable, not YMCA. The whole reason for the stupid hand dancing in that song is because the beat is not danceable at all. I also wish Konami would quit adding so many slow songs. I don’t want to slow-dance to DDR. That’s for pre-teens hoping to cop a feel on a girl’s ass who is taller than him for a few more months. I want more fast tunes like Rhythm & Police and Breakdown. Those two get me jazzed. I also haven’t played much over the last 6 months so my skills have dropped considerably. Hopefully having the new mix will inspire me to remedy that.

I started work on Crow Clock Shorts #5. Expect that soon. Then, it is back to work on Dexterity.

Here is a pic of my friend Bryan’s kick-ass Halloween costume (he made it):