2010 November - SeanPAune.com

30
Nov
2010

GPS Art

Written by Sean P Aune | under Technology | No Comments

It’s a long boring story about how I came to draw this “P” on Monday the 29th, but I swear it wasn’t my intention to do so.

I originally headed south to Columbia, MO, and then a car problem caused me to have to head back home. Well, my dad met y mom and I in Macon, swapped cars with us, and as we were in desperate need of a stop at a Sam’s Club, we headed over to Quincy, IL. After I got home it crossed my mind what my Google Latitude history might look like.

For those of you unfamiliar with Latitude, it is a GPS service offered by Google that allows you to see friends around you and create a history of where you go. Due to my family’s extensive travelling, we have it turned on, but share it almost exclusively between ourselves. It’s a safety thing if we should break down somewhere or be in an accident. For fun, it’s just interesting to look back at where you’ve been, and sometimes you end up with cool designs … like a deformed “P”.

I’ve heard of people doing this on purpose, but it just isn’t something I would ever have time to do. If I hadn’t had a car break down, I wouldn’t have drawn this “P”, but hey, it’s something to take an interesting screenshot of.

29
Nov
2010

And Don’t Call Me Shirley

Written by Sean P Aune | under Movies, TV | No Comments

As someone who grew up with Airplane! being one of his favorite movies, it’s hard for me to fathom that Leslie Nielsen was once a leading man. I knew him as a silly, goofy actor with an amazing talent for playing the straight man, or the uber-goofy as he did in The Naked Gun movies. But, it’s true, he was once considered a heart throb, and when you look back at pictures of him as a young man it’s easy to see why.

That being said, he will always be “Shirley” to me.

Mr. Nielsen passed away at the age of 84 on Sunday in a Ft. Lauderdale hospital surrounded by his family. He has been sick for some time, and an infection he was fighting got worse over the past few days until he finally succumbed to it. It sounds as though he passed away peacefully.

He had a long career, and it’s horrible to boil it down to one line, but honestly, I have used this line every chance I get since I first saw this movie in 1980. Believe me, you never want to say “surely” around me.

Good-bye, Mr. Nielsen. You will be missed.

And … how could I not post the video?

28
Nov
2010

Red Dead Redemption Review

Written by Sean P Aune | under Reviews, Video Games | No Comments

Who’s up for a review of a game months after it came out? I know I am!

Released last May, Red Dead Redemption (affiliate link) held no interest for me. Many people referred to it as “Grand Theft Auto in the old west”, and considering I haven’t played any GTA games, and I’m not a huge fan of cowboy stories, I saw no way this game would be to my tastes.

Boy was I wrong.

After numerous stellar reviews, I picked up a copy on sale figuring that the reviews couldn’t be that far off the mark, and I was growing weary of first person shooters any way. So, a game that most people say takes 70 hours to complete sounded like a welcome diversion. It took me a while to get around to starting it as my work schedule is so nuts, but now I can’t put the game down, and I’m only about a third of the way through it.

You play as John Marston, a former criminal who has been retained by the government to go after a former crime partner. While this is the driving force of the game, there is so much to do in the world that you sometimes have to remind yourself to get back to the main story. You can set off on “stranger missions” which are little side stories given to you by random characters you meet, hunt bounties, hunt wild game, play gambling games such as Texas Hold ‘Em, clear out gang hideouts and on and on and on.

The graphics are top notch, especially considering the size of the world, while the gameplay is responsive and easy to pick up. And most importantly, the story is engaging. You want to know where it’s going, and what will happen next. Unfortunately, I stumbled into a major spoiler while looking up how to do something in the game, and I’ll leave it out of this post, but trust me, you have no clue what’s coming towards the end.

Is Red Dead Redemption for everyone? No, of course not, no game is, but I think you may be surprised just how many people it is for. As someone not into this style of game, or even the setting, I can say it won me over, so I imagine it could do the same for a good number of you out there.

28
Nov
2010

Sean P. Aune’s Articles For The Week Of November 21st

Written by Sean P Aune | under Blogging, Work, Writing | No Comments

writing Only 33 published this week … stupid holidays.

FunJug.com

RememberingChristmas.com

SeanPAune.com

TechnoBuffalo.com

27
Nov
2010

Multiple Broadway Shows Closing Early Due To Low Sales

Written by Sean P Aune | under Music | No Comments

It’s beginning to seem like the time around the holidays is also when we find out what shows on Broadway just aren’t cutting it.

Last Dec. I reported on a bunch of shows closing on Broadway (which probably ended up being one of my most controversial posts ever and led to a week long verbal fight with a PR firm), and here we are again with several shows closing. Hopefully I can avoid the silliness of insanely rude PR people getting abusive with me via e-mail or spamming my comments this time.

The following shows are all closing early due to poor ticket sales:

Elling – starring Brendan Fraser
La Bete – starring David Hyde Pierce
A Life in the Theatre – starring T.R. Knight and Patrick Stewart

According to The Hunffington Post, Elling is closing after only 22 performances, including previews. The show open last Sunday and was expected to run until March. In its first week the show grossed $145,000, but due to seating capacity has the potential to do $882,000. Ouch.

La Bete and A Life in the Theater have been playing to half-full audiences in spite of their big name actors. Life was scheduled to close Jan. 2nd, but instead will go dark as of this Sunday, while La Bete will hold on until Jan. 9th.

Mix a sluggish economy, holiday spending and ticket prices which have soared to astronomical levels, and Broadway just can’t keep up any more. Unless you are putting on a huge production such as The Lion King, it just seems you can’t make it any more.

26
Nov
2010

Scattercast Episode #123: Some Turkey With A Side Of Cynicism

Written by Sean P Aune | under Podcasting, Scattercast | No Comments

It’s episode #123 of Scattercast … yay Thanksgiving!

Some “deep” thoughts this week … again on the TSA.
… and on teachers.
… and on being cynical.
… and on what I’m thankful for this year.

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subscribe to Scattercast via iTunes.

25
Nov
2010

When Did Thanksgiving Become A Normal Business Day?

Written by Sean P Aune | under Business | 2 Comments

While I’m one for working pretty much every day, holiday or not, I understand those who wan to take them off.

With that in mind, why in the world are Kmart and Walmart open on Thanksgiving this year? I can’t remember either of them ever doing this before, and that makes me really curious.

Has the economy hit this bad? Walmart is starting some Black Friday sales at 12:01 AM, but the really good stuff will be at 5 AM, meaning they want you to hang out in the store for five hours, if not longer. Sorry, but I think I’ll pass.

Sorry to all of you who are going to be working what should be a really, really boring day.

24
Nov
2010

Texas Teacher Accused Of Sex With Two Students Who Coaxed Her Into It

Written by Sean P Aune | under 2010 Teacher Sex Scandals, Schools, Teacher Sex Scandals | 1 Comment

Perrin High School in Perrin, Texas learned recently that apparently a teacher can be a bit too accommodating to their students.

Kimme Woolf, 29, was a math teacher at Perrin High School up until she resigned on Oct. 26th when it was revealed she had sexual relations with two students, one aged 16 and the other 18. She turned herself over to authorities this week and was charged with two counts of improper relationship between a teacher and student and one count of sexual assault of a child under 17. All three charges our second-degree felonies in the state of Texas.

The story goes that the two students approached the math teacher in Oct. after hearing she had left her previous school after allegations arose of her fooling around with a student. The two teens asked the married teacher if she would like to fool around, but she sent them on to their next class. Apparently the teens continued to ask her and she finally relented.

All of the activity was discovered when the 18-year-old’s father spotted an unknown car outside the 16-year-olds house, and when it left after several hours he recognized Mrs. Woolf as a teacher at the high school. He informed the younger boy’s mother of what he saw, and after she found text messages on the boy’s phone that implied a sexual relationship, he confessed the teacher had brought him lunch when he stayed home sick from school, and the two had sex. The older boy then confessed to two occasions of the teacher performing oral sex on him when he was confronted.

The parents first talked with Mrs. Woolf directly demanding she resign as they didn’t want this public and having her husband possibly come after the boys. She promised she had resigned, but when it was revealed a few days later she hadn’t, the parents turned her into the school.

Mrs. Woolf was given time to turn herself into authorities, which she did within the allotted time, and was then released on $30,000 bond.

This is the third teacher sex scandal story from Texas that I’ve reported on just this week! The previous two were Jennifer Riojas from Forth Worth and Andrea Berbel from Houston. What in the world is going on in that state?

While I was reluctant to do a third story in a week (I am not a site that specializes in this news), I was just amazed at how this one came about. She gave in to what amounts to peer pressure? I mean, it’s bad enough the kids asked her (which, her previous school claims they have no record of allegations being filed against her), but the fact that she relented? What a clear thinking educator have informed the principal? Wouldn’t these kids have gotten a talking to? No, her solution was, “Oh, what the heck!”

Even I’m floored by this one.

23
Nov
2010

Warner Brothers Announces Buffy Reboot; Internet Explodes

Written by Sean P Aune | under Movies, TV | 2 Comments

I constantly rant on this blog that Hollywood is without any original thoughts, and that they should be ashamed of themselves.

Even I thought they would never sink this low.

It was announced yesterday that Warner Brothers is rebooting Buffy, The Vampire Slayer as a movie. For those unfamiliar with the history of the franchise, when Joss Whedon sold the original movie he had to sign the rights to that particular incarnation over to the producers. When it went way off the mark of what he planned, that was when the TV series came about. While the TV series made very fleeting references to the movie in the premiere episode, that was where the connection between the two projects ended.

As we know, the TV series went off the air seven years ago, and it has now continued as a successful comic book (I swear I’m going to catch up on those synopsis posts …), but beyond that Whedon has not planned to continue as a film or television series.

So, when it was learned yesterday that Warner Brothers had secured the rights from the producers, and that Joss Whedon is in no way associated with the production, it goes without saying that fans are angry.

When it comes to Buffy, you somewhat liken Mr. Whedon to … well … I wouldn’t say “god”, but at least a minor deity. He crafted one of the wittiest, most insightful stories on television that just happened to deal with the supernatural. The idea of someone that he did not personally pick putting words into the mouth of Buffy is just not acceptable. Yes, yes, reboots happen all the time now, but never with a property that is such a cult favorite and so deeply associated with its creator.

Mr. Whedon, who has never shown himself to be anything but classy, issued a very classy statement to E! that goes a long way to show why fans love him so. It read in part:

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can’t wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I’m making a Batman movie. Because there’s a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

Even David Boreanaz, who played Angel on both Buffy and the self-titled spin-off, expressed his displeasure via an image posted to Twitter by Hart Hanson, a producer on Bones, the show the actor currently works on. (pic to the right) I think his expression pretty much sums up how we’re all feeling at this time.

Warner Brothers has pretty much guaranteed that no fan of the former incarnation will go anywhere near this production while it is in the theater or on DVD. Perhaps we’ll watch it on cable, but no where that we have to pay for it.

Whit Anderson, the writer who came up with the concept for the reboot, will write the script for the new film. She says she is a big fan of the TV series, but if she truly was, you would think she would understand that touching this franchise in this manner may make her the most hated person on the Internet for some time to come.

The only positive that may come of this whole thing is that it may cause people who see the movie to search out more adventures of the character, and then they will discover the one, true, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.

22
Nov
2010

Houston Teaching Assistant Accused Of Sexual Relations With Student

Written by Sean P Aune | under 2010 Teacher Sex Scandals, Schools | No Comments

Robert E. Lee High School in west Houston, TX has joined the ranks of supposed improper relations between faculty and students.

Andrea Berbel, 28, was arrested last Thursday on one count of an improper relationship with a student and two counts of sexual assault of a child. She was released on Friday on $30,000 bond.

The allegations are that she was seen by two students at the school with a 16-year-old male student that she was both hugging and kissing on the lips. The two students reported the incident to the staff of the school, which then in turn interviewed the student.

The unnamed student reported that Ms. Berbel began tutoring him in Nov. 2009, and that their relationship turned flirtatious. Over the 2009 winter break he invited her over to a friend’s house and they engaged in sexual intercourse. There was at least one more incident in Jan. 2010, but no other were admitted after that date.

ABC affiliate KTRK spoke with the boy’s mother who informed them that this happened 11 months ago, and she has since forgiven Berbel.

The school district has stated that she is no longer employed by them.

I’m sorry, but if they were kissing and hugging just last week, somehow I doubt that other activities ceased in Jan. of this year.

21
Nov
2010

Fort Worth Teacher Accused Of Sex With Student, Expecting Child

Written by Sean P Aune | under 2010 Teacher Sex Scandals, Schools, Teacher Sex Scandals | No Comments

A ninth grade science teacher at Carter-Riverside High School has been arrested o accusations of having a sexual relationship with a then 16-year-old student at the school. The twist is, she’s also pregnant.

Last Wednesday Jennifer Riojas, 25-years-old, was taken into custody after accusation surfaced she had a sexual relationship with one of her students. Apparently things started back in the fall of 2009 when Ms. Riojas took an interest in the student and began attending his football games. In Dec. 2009 the unnamed student was injured, and the student alleges that Riojas came to visit him and ended up having sex with him in the hospital bed. The accusations go on to allege that the sexual relations continued from there in hotel rooms.

Ms. Riojas (mug shot to the right taken after a DUI arrest) resigned her position with the school last month due to stress she said it was putting on her pregnancy. It is not known at this time if the student is potentially the father or not. However, according to at least one source, this was where the accusations against her came from as the student stepped forward over concern the child may be his. A paternity test is currently pending.

Ms. Riojas is maintaining her innocence of all allegations, and has said that there is no chance that a student is the father of her child.

Bail was posted for Ms. Riojas and she has not been seen or heard from publicly since.