Variegated Brainstem - Year Two, Day One, Hour Ten!

What a day it is today! The birds are singing, the squirrels are considering the current economic situation. Mothers pause to look lovingly into the faces of their babies, and former enemies throw down their machetes and axes to finally embrace in peace. We here at the Veeb are buoyed by the spirit of this day, and anxious about the dual goals of this Friday: celebrating our blog's anniversary and taking our Spam Vindaloo to the Arts and Sciences' Spam Cookoff. Although our initial excitement about our recipe was shared by all, last night's blind taste test revealed that among the things that the good Lord never intended was for Spam to be marinaded - Spam's density as a meat prevents its ready access to marinading forces. As a result, we are not so sure about our dish's success. Even served in one of television art teacher Dan Mihuta's clay bowl creations will probably not help...

But, in addition to the cookin', there is the rockin'!

Today is the first day of the rest of the fiscal blogging year that is the Variegated Brainstem!

Today is the day that one year ago the future of the world was set into motion!

Today is the day that one year ago a iron gauntlet was hurled into the face of humanity!

Today is the day that one year ago people began to realize again that MUSIC IS REVOLUTION!

Today is the day that one year ago a humble graduate student with nothing better to do took considerable time from his studies to bore the world with his acid casualty observations!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is our extreme pleasure to welcome you to:

VARIEGATED BRAINSTEM, YEAR TWO: THE RECKONING
Enjoy!

I can't wait to be Left 4 Dead!

Every once in a while, a video game comes along that makes me quiver with excitement. I realize that I am older and wiser but, dammit, I enjoy playing these games. I don't shoot heroin or kidnap little girls at the playground or bilk old people out of their savings. I just happen to enjoy the occasional video game. To be sure, I am not a huge fan of the zombie genre, but after recently watching videos about the upcoming video game Left 4 Dead, I am excited beyond words...at least concerning an upcoming video game. To be sure, being ABD means that I must now work on my dissertation for my PhD. But I am worried that too much work on the PhD will cause me to not be able to adequately stem the tide of zombie aggression that will be unleashed in the summer of 2008. What is a man to do? Stay tuned for details, and KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES!

When the going gets weird...

...the weird turn pro. So said Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. And I think he was right. I just had a weird, weird, weird advising appointment, that resulted in the phrase "I believe anyone who does not like children should have their balls cut off with an axe" being uttered by the advisee. Needless to say, that put me in a weird mood and I decided to put this video up!

Enjoy!

Because I don't have enough to do already...

...I really want to play Resistance: Fall of Man, the Half-life2 mod Black Mesa, and the upcoming video game Kane & Lynch. After that, my life will be complete for the immediate present. It will only require that I purchase both a PS3 and a XBOX360. Anyone interested in talking me on as their ward, a la Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne, just let me know - you can act as my fund source. Be advised: I will not do anything icky for you to get a video game system. However, the definition of what constitutes icky could depend on what is on the table...