So after authoring a few basic DVDs, I tried to go for a more complicated one with a chapter menu and even the friggin' trailers from the VHS. Fun. Pretty time consuming, given that I actually had to watch the movie again to pick spots for chapter breaks (ugh), do quite a bit of image work for the menus (about as much as your average Scary-Crayon article, if not slightly more), and learn about the use of variables in the xml structure of DVD authoring programs to get the thing to behave the way I wanted, but I'm now pretty satisfied with my Tammy and the T-Rex DVD. Note the cute little T-Rex selection thingies -- I made those from Joe and Mac screencaps. Pretty cool, eh?

Aaaand now I need to get back to work. Then, Scary-Crayon updates!

The origins of this weblog are kind of convoluted, given that it first began as Blog of Wes on a subdomain of Scary-Crayon and, upon its conversion to Wesoteric, not only got all of the Blog of Wes posts ported into it but also a number of entries from the personal site I used to maintain back on my Yale webspace. Sort of calls to mind the existential questions concerning the ship that is rebuilt with different planks and whether a person is the same person if all of his/her memories are ported into the brain of a French poodle or something. Anyway, the Blog of Wes began on January 16, 2004, so I've been around in this current run for just over two years. Yep. It's really been that long. 😛

Scary-Crayon's official two-year anniversary was yesterday, so feel free to head on over there if you want to check out the zany celebratory articles. In addition to an action figure flip off, a guest Hot Flash from Jax, and an unrelated Crayon Haiku, there's a detailed piece that may prove amusing to you, though my experience with it was rather horrific. Remember those expired boxes of cereal I found while cleaning my room last month? Enter: The Stale Cereal Wars. Bloody hell.

By the way, have you all seen this fish screensaver? It came with my laptop -- it's probably the demo version -- but if you don't have it you can get a demo at Prolific.com. Assuming you want it, that is. It's freaking amazing -- almost like having Duncan MacPhish of the Clan MacPhish back with us. If only there were a way to make the water cloudy and yellow.

All for now -- ja ne, minna-san.

I spent the better part of the last 48 hours mucking around with a multitude of programs in an attempt to figure out how to burn DVDs and encode various video and audio files.

I am frustrated and exhausted.

So now I shall sleep.

The final episode of "Teen Titans" aired on Monday. After five seasons, my favorite show is over.

And as if that fact weren't sad enough, why did the last episode have to be so damned depressing? It made my heart hurt, even though it contained the revelation that Terra is, in fact, alive.

The relationship between Terra and Beast Boy, though limited to the first two seasons, was one of my favorite things about the show. Terra was cool yet vulnerable; Beast Boy was goofy yet strong and loyal. They fit. And then Terra betrayed the team to Slade, the most vicious of villains, and gave her life to correct her mistake (or so it seemed). At the end, only Beast Boy believed in her, and she hugged him and told him that he was the best friend she'd ever had. I cried.

And now we learn, in the final episode, that Terra is alive. Joy! Joy! But wait. She wants nothing to do with the Titans. She wants nothing to do with Beast Boy. She doesn't even remember him, or so she claims. Slade, apparently still watching over the Titans and his former apprentice, returns to suggest that she doesn't remember because she doesn't want to. Terra returns and doesn't want to remember her best friend. In the final episode. What?

I enjoyed "Teen Titans" because it was a fun, oftentimes wacky show. The character development and interaction was both amusing and touching. The show had its misses -- particularly in this final season -- but its heart was always undeniable. The Titans were a team: they laughed together, cried together, fought together, won together, and held each other up when they fell. Beast Boy spent the majority of the final episode away from the team, trying to get Terra to remember things that she had apparently intentionally blocked from her mind. Things like him. Why was this the last episode? Why was the final shot of Beast Boy, alone in a hallway in the school that Terra now attends, resignedly returning to help the team -- and only because he couldn't get Terra to come with him? What is the meaning of this? Does Terra represent the network executives, who supported the show, then turned against it, then supported it again -- and then, after being quiet for a while, returned only to reject it openly? Are we Terra, who have apparently outgrown and abandoned the Titans -- or at least lack the will to join them in more of their zany adventures? I don't know, but this was a deeply depressing final episode.

Sayonara, Teen Titans. You will be missed.

That, dear readers, is hotness. Heeeere kitty kitty... 😉 Oh, and for audience members who actually recognize the character (Parizad, maybe?), the latest Scary-Crayon article may be of interest to you. And if you find the idea of someone mistaking me for a sexy blue-haired lass and flirting with me via IM to be amusing, the latter part of the latest Scary-Crayon blog entry may satisfy your desire to chuckle at your desk!

In other news, while the impending close of the local Toys 'R' Us is a source of much sadness for me (with the loss of KB Toys last year, this was the only surviving toy store in Laurel), the slashed prices did allow me to pick up the Ninja Action versions of the green team for under $8 total, whereas these guys are still running upwards of $10 in successful retail stores. It's depressing, but hopefully the coming weeks will afford similar deals to lessen the pain.

I sure hope it doesn't rain today, 'cause in addition to hitting up the store for more Donatellos, I'm planning to walk the town in the interest of taking advantage of the numerous free food deals taking place. With camera in hand, of course!

Ja ne, minna-san. Until next time! 😀