First time ever! I think today was the first time I've purchased gummi anything -- bears, worms, children, Super Mario Brothers and assorted enemy shapes, etc. I've tasted these things, of course, but they're the kind of thing I'd take only when someone else had them. They're the snacks mothers buy, sticking the little pouches in their kids' lunchboxes before shuffling them off to school. They're the kinds of things you find at the ice cream topping bar and pack onto your makeshift sundae at the endangered species of a restaurant that still has that sort of thing. And, yes, they're available in the snack aisle at your local supermarket, but does anyone buy them? Are there people who write "gummi bears" on their grocery lists? Someone must. I never did.

I happened to be standing in the line at the dollar store today when I saw them there amidst the impulse buy candy that every store places near the front in order to pump their customers for spare change and incite violent tantrums from children. (In front of me, a little girl with chocolate frosting smeared across her mouth wailed, "MOMMY I WANT IT," as her mother scolded her for eating the chocolate treat she now wore on her face. The girl was holding what looked like a wax paper bag -- the kind one fits with a cone-shaped tip and uses to frost a cake. She had apparently gnawed a hole in it and had been sucking the frosting from the wound.) Gummi bears. And I would have looked away without giving them a second thought -- as I have so many times before -- if not for the voice in my head. It said:

"Would you like a jelly baby?"

I snatched the bag from its metal peg and placed it among my other purchases. No, gummi bears are not jelly babies, but they will do.

Curse you, Doctor Who. Curse you and your jelly babies.

...is finally up on Scary-Crayon! This piece details the methods that resulted in my first batch of homemade Daleks (affectionately dubbed the "Bootleks" due to their obvious dissimilarities to the official models). Next time, we take a look at the more "legitimate" plans found at The Ultimate Dalek Factory, including my extensive recoloring jobs. Hurrah!

In other news, there are apparently groundhogs burrowing holes in the yard. Not that this bothers me -- I mean, they're groundhogs; the outdoors are pretty much their territory -- but Mom has placed a trap on the back porch in an effort to catch them. About a week ago, a squirrel ended up in the trap. And on Monday? A coyote.

A COYOTE. (more...)

Despite my prior statement that official production of Daleks had ceased, two more Daleks (and one bastard Dalek that will likely remain unfinished) were created this weekend. One preexisting Dalek received an unplanned upgrade. Four Daleks now have interchangeable domes (!!!) and secret compartments. Yes -- they're almost like action toys! The aforementioned SC arts 'n' crafts article (working title: "Genesis of the Homemade Daleks") will be transmitted in two parts, the first of which will probably go up some time tonight or tomorrow.

I have also been fooling with Audacity in order to Dalekify my voice. Here are the test files for your listening pleasure:

"EXTERMINATE!"
"This is not war; this is pest control!"
"It is forbidden to dump bodies into the river!"

I have not slept.

And so my time in Davros's stead comes to a close with the completion of the first and ostensibly final Dalek production run. This is not to say that there will be no more Wesros Daleks -- I'll probably end up making a couple more and/or modifying some of the existing ones at some point in the coming weeks, given that I've still got an excess of Dalek-making materials -- but it is to say that I'll be in no hurry to see Daleks #8 on up realized. Even in the absence of certain steps, the creation of homemade Daleks is an extremely tedious process. Quite frankly, I've gotten fucking sick of it!

If all goes well, I'll chronicle my Dalek-making adventures this weekend and have the resultant Scary-Crayon article up on Monday.

Speaking of making Daleks, by the way, I rather like these. EXTERMINATE!

Aaaaand the Dalek madness continues with this triple game review on Scary-Crayon! Two of the games discussed therein are Flash games and the other is available for download at the Home of the Underdogs, so interested parties are encouraged to participate in the Dalekmania in their own homes. OBEY THE DALEKS!

The Dalek madness continues in my room as well. (more...)

Several days ago, seemingly out of nowhere, my mother asked me if I had been the victim of racial discrimination.

I blinked at her, ignoring the question and continuing to go about my business without saying so much as a word. When she persisted in asking, however, I finally replied, "What a ridiculous question."

She said, "So, yes?"

"Of course." I was disgusted.

But I didn't quite mean it in the way one would generally take the remark. Yes, I have been accused of all manner of terrible crimes on multiple occasions -- and while I don't think that the situations were entirely racially motivated, I do think that many of these situations might have been different if my skin were a different hue. I was detained a number of times during my undergraduate career so that campus police could verify that I was a student at the school. I understand that they were doing their job, and the police were generally friendly and even apologetic. Still, during those cold evenings in late autumn when I stood shivering outside the Morse gate while the cops read my student ID number into their walkie talkies and my fellow classmates passed through without incident, I was well aware that, if not for certain physical attributes, I might have been turning on reruns of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on the FX Channel in the comfort of my warm dorm room at the same moment in time.

On the whole, though, my experiences in this capacity haven't been nearly as overtly negative or memorable as the ones that have taken place in my own house. (more...)

I'm still very much in the grip of Dalek-mania -- printouts of my plans confirms that the Dalek bumps on the blueprints are exactly the same size as brass fasteners, which should make for even cooler faux Daleks -- but given the debate raging on at TAB's page concerning Superman and Spider-Man (which is better?), I figured I'd repost my comments on the matter here just so I can have them documented amidst my other online writings. First, however, a few more Dalek links...

Dalek cupcakes and Dalek cakes. Seriously.

Daleks featured in a pornographic film -- one that I'm desperately trying to find for download, though obviously more for the presence of the Daleks than the racier bits. Check out a few screencaps from the movie here (warning: NSFW!). Dalek plunger appendages are the perfect shape for breast groping, don't you think?

Anyway, there's nothing new regarding the remarks below if you've already read them at TAB's, but one of the major points of the argument (and probably the only remotely interesting thing about Superman) is that whereas Spider-Man et all are "truly" their secret identities, Superman is "truly" Superman. That is, whereas other characters don masks to become superheroes, Superman dons his mask in order to become more normal. I believe a similar sentiment was echoed in one of the Kill Bill volumes. I argued that this is actually not the case -- see below -- but upon thinking more about it I think the difference in opinion may have to do with the different versions of Superman that has been presented to different generations. For example, the bumbling Clark Kent of the earlier media was indeed an act to mask Superman's true self, but the Clark Kent that I'm familiar with from "Lois & Clark" and the Superman animated series is a capable, relaxed guy: Clark simply being himself without having to take to the skies and bat away descending meteors. More on that can be found here, if anyone's interested in Superman's identity.

And now, the comments: (more...)