Questionable Content: Sexay Tsunami

Howdy folks,

I just woke up like fifteen minutes ago. What you say? Yes, fifteen minutes ago. I was up to four or five something at the office writing a synchronisation script for this. And also fielding questions about automation in a chat room. I'm a busy beaver.

At any rate, I woke up this morning and read Jeph's comic this morning. While he may say that popping boners over cartoon chicks is weird, it still happens. Faye from QC just joined Faye Valentine from Cowboy Beebop in that department.

More information than required, I know. Just check out Jeph's comic. I've been a fan for a while since Kelly turned me on to it.

/rizzn

Out of Pocket

I’m going to be fairly out of pocket this evening.  I’ve got to write synchronisation scripts until 9:00 pm, and then I’ve got a conference call.  Apologies to all who needed me this evening.

/rizzn

AACS info: Jason Friedman is a Jerk.

As many of you know, I work for a company named AACS.  We recently re-organised as a company to get out of some liability issues created by a former CEO of the company, and consequently, we had to come up with different words to go with the acronym.

Previously, our name had been A Affordable Credit Services. This had always bothered me. First of all, the name was created by Jason Friedman so that he’d have first listing in the yellow pages (as if there was this great namespace landgrab going on in the yellow pages under ‘credit repair’ in the first place).  Secondly, it is completely incorrect, grammatically. 

I can understand An Affordable Credit Service. I can understand The Affordable Credit Services.  I could even understand simply Affordable Credit Service(s).  But the name’s grammar wasn’t the only thing that bothered me.  I feel the name is rather tacky.  Any time you have to mention your price in the name (Costco, Everything’s a $, Cheaptickets), to me it creates a tacky brand.

Fortunately, there was a decent product behind the name, and for that reason, I stuck around.

Over the next two years or so that I worked there, Jason Friedman (CEO), became the bane of my existence. As it turns out, he has stolen in excess of $30,000 from the company.  I know, because I recently finished an extensive audit of the company.  In addition to the $30,000 he personally pocketed over what his agreed upon salary was supposed to be, he mismanaged funds in excess of another $15,000 or so (in poor purchase decisions).  To top it all off, his inaction and idiotic management of company assets opened up the company to over $15,000 – $20,000 of additional liability in the form of lawsuits, tax evasion suits, and former employee payment disputes.

On a personal note, he is responsible for one of my friends nearly becoming forclosed upon, and another friend losing his home and going to prison.  Needless to say, there is no love lost between Jason Friedman and I.

Despite all this, I’ve kept my mouth shut on my blog because I simply didn’t want to think about the disgusting pig of a man, Jason Friedman.  Unfortunately, he won’t let it die, and continues to this very day trying to steal clients of the new company AACS (which now stands for American Association for Consumer Services – grammatically correct and not tacky, mind you).

Think I’m being a bit harsh?  In addition to stealing from the company, the fat pig also propositioned me to watch him, his wife, and a mutual (male) friend have sex.  He also owes me $2800 in back pay and unpaid Soc. Sec. taxes.  The day I joined the company, he was the only company principal sleeping off an all-Monday-night booze and stripper bender on the company couch.

I could go on and on about how he defrauded customers by cashing checks in his wife’s name instead of putting them in the company coffers.  I can talk for days about how he’s a jerk for dropping the ball and then passing the buck. But I won’t.  I’ll save that for another time.

If you want to send him your hate mail, Jason@Friedmanassociates.org will do nicely.

You can also send Snail Mail to Jason here:
7350 NW 38 Pl
Coral Springs Fl, 33065

(He doesn’t own the house at this address, by the way.  He’s only squatting).

If you’d prefer to call him a jerk in your own voice, call this number: (954) 461-5241.

I’m only a provider of information.  I take no responsibility for your actions.

/rizzn

D*Land entries updated

Today was a really rainy day, and I didn’t really feel all that creative or analytical, so I updated Feb-May 2001 of my D*land entries.

Also, please buy my CD and a TShirt.  Look for it on the far left column below the archive. More rizzn Merchandise on the way.

Enjoy.

/rizzn

Music on the Turntables Currently: mogwai - Hunted by a Freak
On the Boob Tube Currently: Teen Titans

AOL hit with VoIP patent infringement suit

Klausner Technologies has slapped America Online with a $200 million patent infringement lawsuit on a voice platform technology. The suit alleges that features that enable AOL subscribers to receive visual notification of new voice messages and selectively retrieve messages from their displays violates a single Klausner patent. Klausner, founded by inventor Judah Klausner, owns and licenses over 20 patents covering voice messages over the Internet, cellular systems and other communication networks.

"Because of the fast-paced docket in the Eastern District of Virginia, we expect a quick resolution of the matter and the prompt issuance of an injunction that will stop AOL from using this patented technology," Greg Dovel, an attorney representing Klausner Technologies, said in a statement.

For more on the VoIP patent infringement suit facing AOL read this Washington Business Journal article

Howl's Moving Castle

I had a unique opportunity last week to watch Howl's Moving Castle. I was told I was attending the North American Premier of the show. It turned out to be a slight exaggeration. As it turns out it was an early release party. I didn't find this information out until after I got there. That's why I did extensive research on this film before I attended.

By extensive research, I mean I looked it up on IMDB.

I paged through the actors listed on there, and of course, the big names stand out: Billy Crystal, Christian Bale. From there, the names get a little more arcane. Jena Malone, someone I knew of from one of my very favorite films, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, played a somewhat infrequently appearing character named Lettie.

The film it self had a very high standard to live up to. I watched Spirited Away both in the theatre, and much later on when I purchased the DVD a couple years ago, and the detailed nuances that Hayao Miyazaki achieved noteriety with in that film were really what I was looking for in Howl's Moving Castle. The level of excellence he achieved there would be hard to beat.

Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer), an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome-but-mysterious wizard named Howl (voiced by Christian Bale), and is subsequently turned into a 90-year old woman (voiced by screen legend and two-time Oscar. nominee Jean Simmons) by the vain and conniving Wicked Witch of the Waste (voiced by screen legend and Oscar. nominee Lauren Bacall). Embarking on an incredible odyssey to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle where she becomes acquainted with Markl, Howl's apprentice, and a hot-headed fire demon named Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal). Sophie's love and support comes to have a major impact on Howl, who flies in the face of orders from the palace to become a pawn of war and instead risks his life to help bring peace to the kingdom.

Given that Miyazaki’s bar was set so high in Spirited, it is no wonder that coming out of Howl's that I wasn't as floored from this film as I was Miyazaki's first - and I've reflected on why this is. It wasn't the voice acting. Many of you who know me know that I'm generally not a fan of the dubbed anime. I cannot fault the voice acting, however, as a well rounded cast of knowns and unknowns alike took their crack at the film. The nuanced character animation was there, too. The oddly shaped spirits, alternative demonology/spirituality, and mechanical gadgets were all there, too, and all fairly impressive in their own right.

No, after careful reflection, I think I've determined that you simply can't improve on perfection, and Miyazaki's style was so amply displayed in Spirited Away that I must have expected the bar to have been raised past that somehow. None the less, the minutes will fly by as you watch the film. Like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle is definately one of those films you will want to own so you can see all the tiny details you missed the first time around.

But back to my "research:" I've developed a fairly decent memory over the years, so operating under the assumption I was going to be at a premier, and running into some star types, I memorized different parts of some of the actor's and actress's bios. In fact, I called up my good buddy Darrell (the friend I'd call if on Millionaire, and needed a movie question answered), and we brainstormed some original questions that would be both interesting to read about on the site, as well as make a lasting impression on the actor's memories themselves. For your amusement, I will detail a few of them here (keep in mind, they come from the same sick minds that brought you the Mark and Darrell Show):

Blythe Danner: 1) How did you likeworking with Edward Burns in No Looking Back. (Apparently Edward Burns is an exception actor, according to Darrell, and I'm one of the few people in the world who hasn't been impressed by his stuff, therefore it would be good to ask her about this) 2) Since Bon Jovi is a rock star, did he ever looklike he was going to break into song and dance when he was on the set of that movie? [to be accompanied by a hair band yowl!]

Josh Hutcherson 1) Call him a little brat. 2) Do you even know who Tom Hanks is? 3) Do you know what an honor it is to have been able to work with him? 4) Throw him out the window. (Darrell suggested I save this one until last.)

Billy Crystal 1) You worked with Bob Zmuda on some comedy projects early in your career. Do you know if Andy Kaufman is alive? 2) You worked on Spinal Tap. Do you want to hear an idea about a mockumentary Darrell and I want to make about Paint Drying? It's really good. Think A Mighty Wind meets the ill-fated XFL. But with better marketing. In both cases.

Lauren Bacall 1) Call her Betty (her real first name). 2) Ask about John Wayne. (No one's probably done that in about 30 years).

Emily Mortimer 1) Can I have your phone number? (Emily Mortimer is most notably remembered (in my mind) as the really hot woman that Val Kilmer sat next to on the airplane in the beginning of The Saint.)

Hope Levy 1) What's the deal with Knot's Landing? What was that show about? My mom and dad never let me stay up past Dallas to watch it.

And that brings us to Kristen Rutherford. She played a seamstress in the early part of the movie. I was lucky enough to come upon a contact address to get a hold of her and ask her some questions. She emailed me back this afternoon saying she's seen the movie and wants to talk all about it. Unfortunately, due to what I can only assume is both of ours’ hectic schedules, we haven’t been able to complete our “interview” so I will have to add it later this week (hopefully).

The bottom line is, go see Howl’s Moving Castle. It rocks.

Deuce!

/rizzn

Sorry about the silence...

Just wanted to let people know that I'm still alive.  It's been a second since we updated the Blip homepage, but we've all been busy little monkeys in the code department, and it's been holding up our editorial content.

You do have some fun goodies on the way though, you should know.

:)

/rizzn