Hello New Years Eve! It's still early in the afternoon, but I'm already excited. I think tonights gathering will be a bit smaller than recent ones, I think total attendance will range from 5 to 8, doubtfully exceeding 10 at any given time. Though there are always surprises.

I'm excited though because this will be the 4th consecutive New Years gathering at this particular location, and I'm happy the tradition wasn't broken as a result of the move to Ontario. Each year we tend to have a little more fun, whether there are more people or less. I see no reason for this to be an exception. For myself, perhaps I'll have that extra incentive to enjoy the party, seeing as I depart seven days hence.

So at this moment, I'm left with the internal debate over what to drink this eve. There are ample stores of beer, and yet I'm less than thrilled by the prospect. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a few pop's now and then, but drinking excessive amounts of beer in a short while tends to leave a funny taste in my mouth - not so with rum. Indeed, I love my rum. So what kind shall I get? I think it's a tossup between three choices: Captain Morgans Spiced Rum, Bacardi (just standard), and Ciclon. For those of you who are virgin's to the pleasures of Ciclon, I recommend you try it whenever the chance arises. It's a rum mixed with tequila and lime, and it tastes excellent! Thinking of it now, I just might pick some up. The only problem with Ciclon is that it's often somewhat difficult to track down. I think I'd best begin my search!

Happy New Years everyone!

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

Boxing day has only just recently concluded. I managed to stay away from the droves of deal-crazed shoppers during the day, and relaxed back at my current place of residence.

Christmas was fun, the niece and nephew made out with many toys - my neice even got a little cooking unit that helps her create little foods and drinks (syrup?) that suffer from far too much sugar. The brother and his gal got a kick ass digital camera from the folks, they'll make ample use of that I guarantee. I got the new England soccer jersey that you can wear either inside out or normal cuz it's like two jerseys in one. Goodstuff it is. There was other stuff for everyone but I'm just too damn lazy to bother typing it.

There has been a steady flow of alcohol into my system lately, not enough to buzz but just enough to make my bladder work a little extra hard. It's all preparation though, for the true drinking is about to begin. New Years: Here I come!

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

Well it is Christmas Eve right now, only 45 minutes away from December 25th (Winnipeg Time; back in Waterloo it's already quarter past midnight). So I'd like to take this opportunity to offer Christmas wishes to everyone.

It's a pretty great time of the year, even for those of us (like myself) who aren't party to the religious beliefs of the North American majority. Those who question what I mean by this, is that though Christmas doesn't have a religious hold over me, it is the spirit it embodies: the spirit of giving, the happiness and the good will.

Unfortunately, the holiday has become extremely commercialized, leading to the general expectations(or demands) of presents/lavish gifts. Though I don't have a problem whatsoever with the gifts (I love them - after all, I just pointed out how much I appreciate the spirit of giving), it's unfortunate that the gifts can overshadow what's truly important: our families, our friends, and our very lives.

After all, we should give thanks that fate hasn't yet seen fit to crush the earth with another comet thus destroying us all.

You didn't expect me to actually refrain from making fun of my own sappiness, did you?


Merry Christmas!!!!!!

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

Well I'm back in Winnipeg! Hence commences two weeks of holidays, much of which will be conducted in drunken debaucherous ways. If the regularity of my posts dwindles a bit, then don't blame me, but blame the booze. I can't tell any of you just how much I've been looking forward to this trip. It's going to be grand.

In other news, Return of the King brought in a record 246 million dollars worldwide in it's 5-day debut. That's without even being released in Australia, Japan, and Italy yet. I certainly look forward to RotK joining the elite 1billion dollar club, and just perhaps it'll make a run at Titanic's world record 1.8billion. I certainly hope so, it's a helluva lot more entertaining than Titanic.

~K from Winnipeg (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

That thread I was talking about yesterday seems to have died down in the activity a bit, but there was just one post I found really amusing so for my first topic I thought I'd just paste it for shits n'giggles.

"Okay, I am happy to let this thread continue, I think its good that the community address this issue as best they can. Try to keep personal flames to a minimum and watch your language.

As a point of note: I have read the messages sent from ID to the kingdom in question. I am very disasappointed in the childish behavior that SoD displayed....

So, regardless of what you think about the children issue, keep this in mind. We will ENFORCE a good community if we have to.

Terin "

So, it seems harmless enough, it's the guy that I think is in charge of marketing, or some crap, laying some smack down right? But I just laughed when I read it. I mean, does keeping personal flames to a minimum not include calling a kingdom childish? Probably. Rules don't often apply to those who make or enforce them. Either way, if it was meant to be ironic or if it was meant to be really serious, I just laughed, and I thought it should be posted so that everyone can either see what I'm laughing at, or just think I'm a screw ball. Next topic...

I read something in the paper today that I found rather interesting and I really thought was worth mentioning. Les Shaw from Toronto who owns Shawcor Ltd has been really generous of late. In fact, Mr. Shaw has donated over $500,000 US to the loved ones of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Said Shaw, "We in North America and other parts of the world, we take freedom for granted...Yet here's these young fellows and their families who are giving the ultimate sacrifice to sustain the freedom we enjoy." Upon receiving permission and contact information for the families, Shaw donated a sum of $2,000US to nearly 250 families of soldiers lost in the war. He has also made an offer of $2,500 Cdn to the families of the six Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

The letter sent with the donation reads: "It is too easy for many of us in North America to take our wonderful freedoms for granted; obviously, your loved one did not. Please accept this small token as a gesture of heartfelt thanks from an appreciative Canadian. Spend it however you think your fallen hero would want." These letters have prompted more than 100 responses including photos and other tokens of remembrance.

All I have to say is that whether anyone agrees or not with the War in Iraq, the fact of the matter is that those soldiers there believe they are fighting for freedom. Everyone should respect that. As for Les Shaw, I'd like to offer a kudos to you. You've truly done all Canadians proud.

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

I was going to write tonight about Toronto, and about the hubris/perceived hubris of the city and it's folk. I even spent time thinking about it today! But, another topic has stolen my attention, one that'll either appeal to more people, or less.

This is in relation to a little game called FaitH. For those of you who don't know it's an online rpg/strategy game, and it's pretty dang fun. Right there though there's a big hubbub about how newbies should be treated and what kind of protection they deserve. For the record, they have plenty of protection as it is, as I'll allude to in the main body of my response. Those of you who don't play can check it out by going to www.dragonclawstudio.com and creating a free trial account. This was all started when a person from a kingdom that has lost 2 children of targar went onto the forums and bitched about it. Now onto my primary response.

First off, I'm doing this without benefit of having read the latest posts on the thread, which means I've probably missed a lot considering how active it is. But for my purposes, I don't think it'll make too much of a difference.

I'd just like to point out to everyone that what we are doing here is playing a game. As such, we should realize that a game is based upon a given set of rules and codes created by the developers to give us the world we play in. As players, we simply play in this world. There is no need for moral conduct, because it isn't required to play the game. Perhaps that is a cold sentiment. So let me divide the two primary groups I see arguing here. The humanist faction, that wants to worry about the newbies and protect them, and the realists who believe in tough love and that the only way to learn anything in any world is to live in it. Both sides have valid opinions, and obviously very impassioned opinions.

For my two cents, I just want to ask a question...does anyone ever go into a online game and expect to win immediately? Do any of you join a WarCraft III game, or BF1942, or anything for that matter, and expect to kick ass right off the bat? I doubt it. You go in starting off knowing that people will be better than you, and you WILL get your ass kicked. FaitH I think does an admirable job of protecting newbies, far more protection than most games in fact. It's easy to argue that a kingdom that is 50% of another kingdom's power should be protected, and that's fine. But if your kingdom is just about even with another, why the hell should you be protected from them, and not them from you? Because remember, when you limit who can attack you, you limit who you can attack. Already we have large percentages of power range that is ruled out as unfair. There comes a point when it simply becomes ridiculous.

For those people who say that tough love and learning from losing isn't a good way of teaching people, then I say you're absolutely full of shit. Do you honestly think coddling someone will teach them how to survive? Not really. Experience teaches everything. Remember that? The quality that everyone in the world seems to value so highly? Experience. You can't gain that without fighting, and yes, on occasion you will lose. That's life. So I think to limit the newbies even more, would be to just cripple them. The current protections are very adequate. If the devs decide that they aren't, then it'll be changed. But it's all an argument we've been over time and time again. I was around back before Children of Targar, before kingdom powerscore/provincial powerscore attacking ranges. I can say that without a doubt this game has come a long, long, long way.

And threads like this are what keep it growing. People complain that the community doesn't care, but I wholeheartedly disagree. If no one cared, then why is this being so hotly debated? This just shows how important it is to everyone that this game be as fun and fair as possible for everyone. This is a great community.

There's so much more to say, but I really have no desire to write a whole damned book about this. So lets just go back to our game and have fun. :)

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

The early Christmas was fun, slept in, ate a bunch of unhealthy food, got a couple gifts.

The best is a fancy new Braun shaver. This is a good thing, because as it turns out I'm rather lazy with the shaving, and just simply don't bother for a week or more at a time. I'm not a fan of razors, they just take forever. This though will be a welcome addition to my otherwise simple bathroom set.

So I have a story I've been working on. The problem is that I've been doing a shitty job of it. I started it over a month ago, and it's still sitting at about 8 typed pages. Now that's not very much at all. The progress doesn't look to improve in the next while, with the holiday to Winnipeg commencing in only 2.5 more days. I'll be too busy/drunk to worry about being creative writing. I'm thinking of posting a few teaser sections on here, get my fans all worked up over the release that'll HAPPEN on day lol.

Actually, that sounds like a fabulous idea, include a 'preview' for filler when I have nothing constructive to say, and still appear to be good active blogger. w00t to that.

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

It's sad isn't it, only my first week and already missed a day. Ah well, shit happens.

So anyways, I've been at that job for approx 2 weeks now, and it's pretty funny. So far 2 people have quit (that I know about), 1 has been fired, 1 has been laid off, and another new employee just didn't bother showing up. I remember asking someone on my first day what the turnover rate was there. How ironic is that hey?

So in reference to my review, a point was brought up that there is indeed talk of an afterlife in the movie, which I remember now. Nevertheless! That still doesn't make it a holy war. But I admit I had forgotten that scene.

So tomorrow (well today) is the 2nd of 3 Christmas' I'm going to have. The first was due to the lady goin back to Aus, so we did an early one for her. This one is because we're going to Winnipeg for the actual 25th, and since we aren't gonna be taking all of the presents cuz that'd be just too much luggage, we'll dish 'em off on each other tomorrow. Then the finale on the REAL day. An interesting timeline anyhow.

So I'm gonna get some sleep I reckon. Back tomorrow!

~K (ks_world_blog@hotmail.com)

Ok! It's time for the Return of the King review!! You've both been waiting eagerly for it I know. I'll try not to include many spoilers and if I do I'll label them, so here goes...

My first feeling when I left the theatre wasn't amazement or anything like that, or disappointment...but it was a feeling of utmost satisfaction. Because I'd just seen a movie that I had unbelievably high expectations for, and I was satisfied on every level. There's really incredibly little to complain about, and I'm not worried about Saruman because I know the confrontation with him at Orthanc will be at the beginning of the DVD Ext Version.

One of the great things about this movie is that it's really long, but you have no idea. I sat in my seat, rapt, for over 3 hours and yet I had no sense whatsoever of the time passing. Now that's some good filmmaking. Another sign of just how well done this movie was, is that for the entire remainder of the day, including my 9hours at work and the hours in between, I couldn't stop thinking about it. All day I've been humming and whistling the great orchestral flows composed by Howard Shore.

The acting is excellent on all ends, Wood as Frodo is quite simply perfect, Astin does a marvelous job with Samwise, both Boyd and Monaghen do splendidly as Pippin and Merry. I was especially pleased with the the way Pippin's character changed throughout the movie. The song was done in an incredibly artful manner, and I absolutely loved it. McKellen literally inhabits Gandalf, bringing the wizard to life with his great acting skills. Bloom and Davies as Legolas and Gimli both continue to do a great job on their respective characters, and I was more than pleased to see the contest between the two continue in such grand fashion. Mortenson plays the perfect Aragorn, and it really makes you wonder, they almost cast another person for the part but changed it at the last minute - Viggo was signed on at the last minute when his son made damn sure he took that role. We're all thankful he did. Finally, Hill and Otto are excellent on all fronts with their characters Theoden and Eowyn.

All these wonderful performances are made the more real by the incredible job the folks down at Weta have done. Middle-Earth lives in these movies because of their hard work and dedication, and I give all the kudos in the world to all of the hardworking people there who did such an amazing job.

I don't have any gripes at all about the way the movie ended, I thought everyone knew that 'The Scouring of the Shire' had been cut out of the movie for all kinds of reasons, and I've accepted it. Tom Bombadil was cut out too and it didn't ruin anything...of course Scouring is far more important, but I understand the reasoning behind the cut, even though I would've been more than willing to sit and watch for another half an hour on top of the 20 min that it already runs for after the climax. But in terms of a film standpoint, it makes sense. I've heard enough critics gripe about the relatively puny 20 minutes of closure time at the end of the movie (and that just pisses me off).

So, now I'm going to gripe. About moron critics. To be honest, I'm sick and tired of all the comments of homoerotic relationships existing between the hobbits. Here's an example: "And the bond between them... becomes weirdly homoerotic. With Sam as his steadfast sergeant, literally carrying him through hell, the delicate Frodo writhes in sensual torment". That one blew me away. Now before you idiots jump on the bandwagon of homophobes, maybe you should think about something first...Tolkein was in the world wars. How many times do you think Tolkein saw soldiers carrying other half dead soldiers to safety? Or risking all to save their best friend. Do you worry about all of them being homosexual? Does it seem wrong? I think not. So what's the difference here, the bond isn't really that different.

Here's another quote from a critic: "What's alarming is that Jackson has made a powerful movie about a holy war, depicting it as an endeavour of unalloyed magnificence." Wow! This fellow obviously doesn't have a clue. So lets look at the holy war comment...well, it's not a holy war. It's not about a god or religion. It's about mankind, it's about the good races of the world. Was there any mention of religion on this movie? Is it even implied? I don't think so, and I don't think Tolkein had any intent of implying such. Next, Tolkein hated war, he wasn't depicting it as "an endeavour of unalloyed magnificence" he showed war as being something brutal, that takes and takes lives...this all stems from his world war experiences. His point was that valour can arise from such terrible times. I don't think Jackson did a bad job of representing these things. It's simply a critic that doesn't bother to see the whole picture when he makes his comments.

Anyhow, I think this is plenty long enough for now, and it's pretty late too. So I'll close out by saying that Everyone Needs to see this movie. It caps off the greatest trilogy in history in the best possible way. Peter Jackson and his crew have delivered, in full. Well done. This trilogy has set a benchmark that will not soon be matched.

~K

Any comments, suggestions, and flames about this review or anything else please send to: ks_world_blog@hotmail.com

Today was fun, I almost started a fire in the building, which could be dangerous (remember dramatics are the spice of life). Let me explain.

There are many rather combustable materials there in great quantities, for example just yesterday I was warned not to open one of the large tubs of sodium in the fog unless I wanted a big explosion in my face.

So anyhow, I was runnin lamps, same as yesterday. Was getting close to the end of the day, when suddenly I heard this annoying keening sound from down the chute....I look down and there's damned smoke coming out of the machine. Ran down and turned it off, turns out I threw about 15 8 foot plastic lamps in there without realizing it...oops. See, sometimes there's a big difference that's easy to see between the plastic and the glass ones...but sometimes they look so damned similar you just miss 'em...especially when trying to finish a pile asap. So yeah, got in shit for that, but everyone confessed to having done the same thing in the past.

Anyhow, it's only 8.5hours until my Return of the King showtime at 11:30am...so I'd best rest up and get ready for what I fully expect to be one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. When I get back from work tomorrow night I'll try to write up a review...it sucks that it'll be a good 11hours after the movie so some details may get forgotten...but I guess we'll see how it turns out. Peace.

~K

Well I just got back from work a little while ago. It was another fun filled day of lamp recycling. Had the pleasure of putting on the fancy mask today and dumping lights into the machine with the name I can never remember.

Know what? There's a goddamn lot of different types of lights out there. See, I've never really bothered in the past with musings about lights, to be honest I never really gave half a shit, so long as they served their purpose. But for example, in a bin of lights from some hospital, I encountered: HID's, HDS's, O-shapes, U-shapes, incandescents, halogens, fluorescents, and about half a dozen other types that I've already forgotten the names of. Like holy shit, that's a lot of light types.

Then we checked out the other fancy machine (this one has a couple computer like buttons) where you insert mercury into, and heat it up to 425 degrees, and I'm still foggy on the process cuz it was the end of the day and I was more concerned with getting out of that damn Tyvek white suit and going home...but anyhow it does some shit to the mercury and it takes 22 hours to do, apparently there's lots of potential for spills, and if that happens it takes about oh forever to clean up.

Now I'm sure that was endlessly boring. I think if I read it over again I'd fall asleep, so I won't. So I'll quickly complain about something: a company called ECL....I'd like to offer a grand ole "Fuck You!" to the guys over there. Stop Taping The Fucking Lights Together! It must waste your time, and it sure as hell wastes a lot of my time. So piss off and use your goddamn little noggins. Thanks.

Alrighty, well I'm gonna hit the sack, up early to visit the chiropractor. Only 2 more sleeps until Return of the King! WOOHOO!

~K

Well here we go! My own fancy new blog.

Originally, I was hoping to have a column on DivineQuest.net once again, basically a place where I could rant and get a free account out of it (while providing great content of course :P) but that didn't work out, and my request for a DQ blog was flat out refused "over my dead body" I believe the words were. SO, here I am. I figure screw the column and screw divinequest. It'll be better this way anyhow, no one will have to wait 2 weeks for an update. :P

This will be a lot more fun without someone looking over my shoulder anyhow.

Basically, I'm gonna rant, bitch, and complain about whatever, and hopefully it'll be entertaining. Occasionally there may be a philosophical musing, or some other such material. Also, seeing as I plan on seeing Return of the King in no less than 2.25 days, I intend on posting a full review afterwards.

So enjoy folks! For now, I'll be attempting to update as often as possible, daily if it can be done.


~K