Crazy Van

Or, rather, crazy guy's van. I wish I hadn't botched the shot of the side of the van.

iPhone complaint: if you're in direct sunlight, on a moving bicycle, it's a little tricky to review the pictures as you take them. That's not something you'll read about in the reviews. ;-)

Do you like how, as a reference for his claims, he says "see websites"? Makes me wish there was a disclaimer screen before you could get on the internet: "Warning! A lot of the people on here are crazier than you!"

The Ho Bus

Okay, I'm taking votes. Was the Ho Bus

1.) a regular "scHOol" bus that someone vandalized
2.) a gimmick from a porn site, or
3.) a quirky personal vehicle

I hesistate to google it too much, for fear of what I'd find! I'm afraid the heavily tinted windows argue for #2 (or a #3 with extra sleaze).

Anime is weird

Man, anime is weird. I was watching a perfectly normal, popular, pg-rated series called Outlaw Star, and the plot revolved around a psychic cactus who was tricking people into buying ice cream. A little weird, but trust me, it made sense in the context of the plot.

But the scene takes place on an english-speaking space station, so of course they had to use english for all the background scenery. What I imagine happened was this- a lead animator went to one of the junior guys and said "We need a long strip of background for the characters to walk past. Make it a series of shops, like in a mall." And he pulled out his trusty english dictionary, flipped open to "S", and started picking words at random for the signage in the background.

It's either that, or there's a hidden meaning to the shop's name- I wouldn't put that past the Japanese either.

Midnight Drummers

I went out for a bike ride tonight, I went up Guadalupe to campus, and then meandered back down south. When I crossed the Lamar foot bridge, I saw a big crowd gathered around several drummers. I sat on my bike nearby and watched for a while. One guy came up and told me my bike had "really good lines", and that the guy who made the frame "practically invented bicycles, man, he's, like, a god".

Then later, a bald kid who looked to be 20 or so, came up to me and said "Hey man, how's it going? My name is Angel, and I'm gonna give you a prophecy. Like, a prophecy, and, you see all those buildings, man? All those people, they're like, zombies, man, all they do day after day is work and sleep. This right here, man, this is life. This is freedom, man."

I told him I was one of the zombies, and it wasn't that bad, it was just a different lifestyle choice. He said "Hey, I'm not condemning, man. I'm one of them too. I work. I'm a model. They tell me to do stuff, like, and I just have to do it. And I do, I'm such a tool. But at least I know what freedom really is, ya know?"

Then the guy who liked my bike told me that the people at the far end of the bridge looked suspicious, and he thought they might be cops. "You have to keep an eye out. Those cops are the scum of the earth, man, they're vicious, evil bloodthirsty thugs. They just kill people all the time, and you don't hear about it because the newspapers are scared to print it. They like to bust us up, but it's no big deal as long as you're watching, and you keep an eye out. They ain't too fast."

I said I'd certainly keep an eye out, and wished him luck. "Right on, brother." And the drumming wasn't half bad, either!

I always find really interesting stuff when I'm out on my bike (at least in the summer!). I'm going to have to stop leaving the house without a camera.