See, the truly fun thing about having a birthday, is that you feel the freedom to write a blog entry without any kind of unifying point...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

New York Ballet company Les Balets Gradivas is coming to Broken Hill with its production "Men in Tutus". It offers what the name suggests.

I've toyed with the idea of attending, as I've always been interested to see an actual, live ballet, and I'm a sucker for a gimmick.

            Tangent: That's why Mask was so awesome. Gimmickorama. Soldiers. With masks. On string lines. With vehicles. That transformed.

Anyway, one of my workmates today said he had no interest in attending, as he said - in the same way one may remark about stepping in Hitler - "it's just an excuse for them to run around and get up everybody's noses". Discuss.

            Tangent: "Ugh. I stepped in some Hitler." Hilarity.

I recently purchased Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. I was really excited to give it a run, and have played for about an hour. Sadly, the ludicrous proportions of my television, coupled with the terrifying music and jump-out-of-nowhere zombie action, means I will be limited to playing it between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its highest.

One of the things I appreciate most about the game is that, utilising the motion sensitive controller, waving the 'Wiimote' back and forth rapidly causes the character to slash with a knife. This means that, when something pops out at me and screams, I'm rewarded for freaking out like a fucktard.

I never got around to writing about the Season 3 finale of LOST. It was one of the best two hours of TV I've seen. Each character was given a chance to shine. It showed off what I appreciate most in a TV show - good writing.

Testament to that is that a cliffhanger-twist-ending that was predicated not on a shocking change in story, but a radical change in format, had me so excited.

By contrast, any dying desire I had to watch Heroes was extinguished by the most lackluster finale in the history of everything. I watched the first five or six episodes and found the characters irritating, revelations obvious and plot boring, so I gave up. Buzz continued, so I gave the finale a chance to sway me.

Epic finale battle between two superpowered juggernauts sporting a laundry list of abilities? Check. Said fight being resolved as an uninspired fist fight? Sadly, check.

            Tangent: My love of Heroes may also be diluted by having read a bazillion comics. "Oh! He can time travel? Seen it. She heals fast? Seen it. He phases through walls? Seen it seen it seen it."

Also, the show Freaks and Geeks is amazing, as is the graphic novel "American Born Chinese" (thanks Leen).

If you don't check out Leen's (ObscenePickle's) photo blog, you're missing out. Her ability to capture the fun of a night out on film is unparalled. If you want to see it, click on her in my friend list. She is my first friend - digitally and otherwise.

It took some time, but I finally trained myself to completely ignore bulletins, thereby safeguarding my ability to continue on with MySpace. Endless quizzys aside, there is a disturbing number of people hurling random and/or racist abuse out through bulletins. MySpace approximates real life I suppose.

My Comics addiction continues to grow. I've previously mentioned my love of the Comic Geek Speak podcast as a way of vicariously experiencing a discussion between comics fans. That affection continues, although the experience is dimmed somewhat as they devote more and more airtime to their Episode 300 celebrations. A big thing for them, and you can feel the excitement in the studio, but for an Australian listener, it does serve to dilute the feeling of "almost in the room". However, the current crop of episodes dedicated to World War Hulk are greatly appreciated.

The comic Powers, written by Brian Michael Bendis, is my current obsession. It's kinda like Law & Order, but the crimes involve superheroes. It fit's Bendis' dialogue-heavy style incredibly well.

Imagine how much better this blog would be with hyperlinks. "What's Mask? Click bam. CGS? Click bam"

Last but not least, I feel it is folly to not admit the possibility that David Hicks is innocent, but pled guilty to escape the black hole of space/time that was ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Guantanamo. Similarly, no hatred of terrorism - a term not synonymous with any religion - would necessarily justify approval of locking people up for years without charges or proof.

Of course, this is opinion, hence the 'I feel' rider.

Some feel he is guilty. That's a fair call. It's also not really the point.

Happy birthday everybody! Mainly me!