Neither hero, nor villain just a jolly good Merc, has a knack for the absurd, join the fun what the heck! You may laugh, you may think, you may actually care but regardless of that write your comments and share.
As I was checking the labels of my "Merc’s hit list" (that is my archives then, don’t worry no red lasertarget sights pointed at your heads as you read this, could happen tomorrow though you never know, lol) the other day, I felt that something was lacking. I enjoyed the originality of the labels and it did provide a quite wide breadth of topic areas and favourite past times but something was definitely missing. I needed a new category for those times when I am seriously in the mood to have fun and be that little bit extra creative letting my imagination run wild. This is something that I do a lot more in my greek blog which uses my knack for innovative story telling significantly more, compared to this one which is more about what makes me feel good and roar with laughter. After all, the audience is different and a lot of greek people wouldn’t “get” the excess wackiness of the humour displayed in this blog (this does mean you are a bit nuts yourselves for browsing this blog you know….oh well, no one is perfect,heh). Regardless, I needed something, some new category of posts,that would let me cut even more loose (is that even humanly possible I wonder…) with any topic I fancy, while being a little bit more creative in the process (it is all about imagination with me baby and let me tell you I am not referring to my ever so often wet dreams about Eva Mendes and me in an abandoned island… oooppsss busted, lol).
So what to do, what to do, after a total thinking time of about two minutes (I kid you not… well maybe I am… I am DP after all, lol) I came up with what I would call, a great idea. Personally, I know I have a good idea when at the moment I conceive it, it makes me crack a subtle smile (something like the Ben Affleck trademark smirk that is taken for acting in the US, lol). So, what was it then that made me all warm and fuzzy inside ? (Nope, it wasn't my newfound Coca Cola Zero addiction, after all that one is just melting my insides one day at a time no biggie, ha,ha,ha). The name of the game is “What if…”. Part of the inspiration of it came from some Marvel Comics book that used to exist years ago under the same name. The concept of those comic books was to show what would have happened if an earth shattering event in the Marvel Universe hadn’t go the mainstream way that every Marvel fan knows but had followed an alternative route and ended up totally different than expected. These were single shot issues that were full of innovation and their creators were free from the restraints of comic book continuity (I guess for "Lost" fans a “what if…” story would be if Hurley had been gay and Jack and Sawyer were fighting for his affection instead of macho overdosing over Kate’s freckles… I think you get the juice of the concept by now, lol).
So that is that then, I officially baptize this new idea into the DP insanity pool and let it enter the realm of my blogging archives. If I manage to make at least one of you wet your pants with laughτer I will be in Mercheaven … (ok, ok I know you are a tough audience and all but thinking about reverting to diapers is not too unrealistic an option, just give me some time, lol). Ok, I know I am raising the bar too high and probably I am going to eat dirt and a lot of virtual tomatoes for my stupid mumblings but come to think of it… nothing new there, LOL!!!
Around two weeks ago, maybe more, one of the bloggers I visit quite regularly, The Comic Rack guy, posted some sort of farewell message to the readers of his blog. As I used to browse his blog quite often it kinda of hit me as odd at the time since he was frequently updating his blog and seemed to really dig the blogging thing(I am just presenting here my original reaction to it). Still this is not about him or anything, besides he has resumed his blogging duties so to speak, albeit posting less frequently(no biggie really, blogging is just a cool past time after all).That message though and my response to it got me thinking… the big question being “What sort of relationships, if any, are formed via blogging?”. It is a fairly wide topic I am sure but one that I would like to tackle albeit not thoroughly.
Relationships in the blogosphere are like a race in Mario Kart. Contestants are not friends or foes just people having a good time communicating (occassionally verbally blasting eachother off as well,lol). Hmm, an undeniable truth or simplicity for simplicity's sake? Read on...(what a way to lose credibility from the first paragraph by using this vid....lol).
Since I don’t want to play it like an amateur psychologist and I hate generalization for generalization’s sake I ‘ll try to present my view on the matter judging from my personal experience onblogging and my interaction with people during these 6-7 months that I have been blogging for. I remember originally I didn’t have any readers that I didn’t personally know. These were a couple of people that more or less drove me to blogging (although I am sure they couldn’t predict what sort of blogging monster they were creating at the time,lol). So, I was writing merrily my posts on various matters and occasionally logging into my blog to see if I got any comments. Truth be told I didn’t really care much at the time if anyone read my posts or not, I was just happy I could express a wacky side of myself and be creative with my humour. Plus, I wanted to exercise my written english on regular basis and I was happy I found the means to do so. Anyway, a couple of months after I began blogging, I saw the first comment of an unknown person in my blog, that was itelli to be precise. So naturally, I returned the visit and the rest is history really… How did it feel you may ask? Well, I found it surprising that someone did have a look around the blog without me having it paraded all over the web to find readers. Funny thing was, he is Greek to and it is kind of funny for two Greeks to communicate in the english language, lol. The interaction with itelli gave me an insight on to what blogging is capable of as a mean of communication and human interaction. Ok, ok you don’t really know the other person at least not in the conventional sense but you get glimpses and glances into his/her psyche just by reading the posts. Furthermore, a lot of people seem to really enjoy the freedom of expression that a blog provides ridden from the confines dictated by the system of rules that determine our behaviour in public places and day to day interaction with other individuals. People seem to genuinely be “more themselves” when blogging without the fear of rejection from others or the possibility that they are going to be labelled as odd if they tackle a subject deemed too deep or even plain weird for every day life terms. So, ok then, we got some people that have at least some common sense of humour and they do agree on a couple of life principles but does that elevate them to any sort of friendship status?
How on earth do I expect to be taken seriously when posting pics like this one...oh yeah that's right, I don't:)
It is a difficult question indeed… If you define friend as someone that you know personally for years, he (or she) has proved himself to be worthy of your trust and has personality traits that you appreciate greatly, then blogging is not a place for friends, just for random acquaintances of people’s echoes of their personalities. However, come to think of it what is really friendship these days? This is probably the one era in human history when people have so many ways of communicating yet they feel more alone than ever. How many times in clubs, cafeterias, wherever really, have I not noticed people restrained to express any real emotion or intent of it towards others, in the fear of rejection and judging always from past experiences. Sometimes, as an outside observer you can see a guy and a woman really liking each other still no one makes the first step. And even when that first step is made how truthful to their real selves is the interaction between them I wonder… So if future friendships/relationships are constructed on semi-hypocritical foundations, that is not really particularly enticing is it… At least with blogging people tend to be more themselves straight away or at least present an idealised version of themselves (and no Deadpoolite is not an ideal version of me, god forbid, but maybe in an ideal word where everything would be fun, he would be, lol) without the fear of having fingers pointed at them like they are the ones sticking out like a sore thumb. So, is it really too far fetched calling “friends”, people that you barely know but have shown a lot of their inner selves to you through their writing? Questions raising even more questions it seems and no definite answers…
Ok then, blogging and human interaction via it is no laughing matter...ahem... yeah right... Oh for crying out loud I am with kitten on this one, laugh as much as you can, you'll be healthier that way (this social message was brought to you by DP the friendly Merc with a mouth and a sense of humour to boot... yessir!!!)
So, time to conclude this little pseudophilosophical rant and try to come up with some sort of amateurish assessment about the issue. Do I really consider the people I interact with via blogging friends?I wouldn’t trust them with my innermost secrets or say anything too intimate at least not without masking it with some sort of funny protective veil thus making it more impersonal. I do not know them enough to have that sort of relationship but as with all things the verdict is still out on that one, as time passes and things evolve… Still, at the other end of the spectrum, I do have a certain fondness for them. I realise we have something major in common which is pretty unique. Day in day out we feel the need to share pieces of our soul regardless how big or miniscule they may be. It can be a detail in our life, something that made us laugh, something that troubled us and we don’t want to share with anyone we are too intimate with. That is really something I reckon… so enough with the labels already, friends or no friends whatever you call it we have something beautiful in common. Maybe it will last for months, maybe for years, maybe it will end tomorrow, either way it is a beautiful ride through the blogosphere, never a dull moment and I am glad I made the acquaintance of so manyinteresting and diverse people.
So bloggers such as ourselves are a merry little lot... all caddly and polite... no backstabbing, no fighting whatsoever... yeah right... bring on the blogging mayhem, I wouldn't have it any other way! Enjoy the vid:)
Ok, then that is that… more philosophy in the next millennium or so, can’t take it , lol
P.S. One think is for sure, I ‘ve been reading Shan ‘s blog for way too long ha,ha,ha,ha… blame him and his eternal existential dilemmas for this outburst of philosophical mumbo jumbo on my behalf, yes Shan you rock and you know it ! ("Mumbo jumbo…" is that even a proper word, lol, oh madness sweet madness, good to have you back on-board, lol)
A couple of days ago I watched the Michael Bay directed "Transformers" film on one of the multiplex movie theatres situated in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. To cut the long story short I liked it, I liked it a lot, actually that doesnt do justice to how much I liked it, I loved it and I was thrilled after watching it! That is right, I was thrilled, how often can you say that about something I wonder. Being a fairly intelligent individual (albeit a ridiculously modest one, LOL) I can sense already the girls among my readers giggling and whispering "typical male behaviour", "men will always be boys" and all of those cliched expressions that women use when they can't comprehend why men like things like football (oh yeah bloody soccer in the US, lol), cars, action movies, videogames, comics or whatever. So let me cut through all those female misconceptions with my trusty Merc wit and let me start describing the guilty pleasure that was viewing "Transformers".
There are a lot of posters around the web but I liked this one better for some reason... you got to love those chinese letters (enough with the english language I say, heh)
I went to watch the movie in the company of two other guys (all of us "alpha male heterosexuals" I assure you, LOL) in the viewing starting at 9.30 pm. We bought our tickets, got a couple of drinks, sommersaulted to the ceiling and groped woman asses just before we enter the appropriate dark room where "Transformers" was screened (actually we didnt do the latter two tasks since it is a little known fact that I am a gentleman and I dont do things like groping asses, not unless I am overdosed on M and M's or other sweeteners like that, lol). As I entered the room , I saw that 90% of the audience was male (no surprises there then, lol) and I had this strange thought that all of a sudden there was this odd bond between all of us, regardless if I didnt know anyone in person. Most of us were in the age group 24-30, most of us in guy groups of 3-4, most of us anticipating this movie with some sort of probably misjudged but yet totally understandable excitement coming from the depths of our childhood. A childhood when Saturday morning meant watching the "Transformers" cartoon on TV, while in the evening a kid would play merrily with the transformers toys at his disposal, constantly transforming the robots to some sort of vehicle and vise versa, plotting fantasy storylines and surreal space sagas in the confines of his room. It was a time when imagination was still the way to have fun before all the "take away" fun that today's kids experience with videogames, without really using their imagination too much. Anyway, back to the movie thing....
Countless hours of fun for kids of my generation with these toys... Something tells me after the movie the madness will kick in again:)
There were a few girls in the audience, probably some unlucky girlfriends dragged along by childish boyfriends or some poor females that had "one too many" and thought that "Transformers" was a rom-com movie... All girls were wearing the tightest outfits known to man and in any other occassion they would have probably been the centre of attention with lusty male stares mentally undressing them. Still, this wasnt the night for sex male fantasies and clumsy flirting attempts... this was the night to watch the robots transforming and make THAT damn sound, in the process ,that was so ridiculously mesmerising back in the day of the cartoon. As time went by and we were getting closer to the beginning of the movie, I could see a strange air of anticipation building in the movie theatre. At that moment all guys in the audience merged into one collective conciousness requiring just one thing, to watch the bloody Transformers movie!
Here is a trailer to wet you appetite! Despite how it seems all serious and gloom there is a lot of humour in there... it is one of those cases where "appearences are indeed deceiving"...
The movie finally started and I felt a shiver down my spine (I know it is fricking ridiculous, after all I had mediocre expectations of the final product although I had heard really good word of mouth from people who actually watched it...). So the movie kicked in and as soon as I saw the first robot transforming I was in geek heaven I have to say... still that wouldn't be the sole reason why I loved this movie. Now comes the good part... if you strip down the movie to its bare essentials it is about transforming robots that fight eachother off while humans cower like ants and shoot their peashooters in vain. Hardly a concept to grab the audience by the balls then and make them have a hell of a time... After all I am not a Transformers fan in the hardcore sense, just a guy who used to like them when he was a kid... So what really worked then...
Ok, ok I am a guy... what did you expect, transformers in thongs... geez... there is no pleasing some people, LOL!
What made the movie really click and what would make the movie work even for girls I think, is that it doesnt take itself too seriously trying to emulate some sort of space odyssey opus or anything remotely like that. This movie is a comedy at heart! Yes you heard it right, it is a comedy and it is intentionally made this way! I am not talking about unintenional laughs and cheesy situations ( I mean the concept as it is cant get anymore cheesy let's face it, lol). Transformers among all the amazing special effects, the ridiculously cooly choreographed fights, Optimus Prime's noble voice and all that other typical fodder is funny, very funny! The reason it is funny, is because the humour comes from the situations rather than be forced just for the sake of it. Especially, the male human lead of the movie is outstanding at portraying a human being trapped inside all this transforming madness. This guy is very natural, very funny, he has some amazing lines and you just root for him. Really, I cant give the actor Shia LaBeouf enough credit for what he achieved in this movie. He managed not to get outshined by the bloody robots, it is an amazing achievement in this sort of popcorn movie. There is some female eye candy in the form of Megan Fox and Rachael Taylor and there is a US trooper (isnt there always...lol) that will probably appeal to ladies as well, lol. As for Michael Bay his direction is amazing, the best he has done by far and I'd like to wackily compliment him for doing what he does best even better: Relentlessly blow things up and create action pieces of immense originality and tension. Lastly, I 'd like to congragulate the writers of this movie for giving both the human and the robotic leads such well fleshed out personalities, even the robots have a sense of humour you see, heh.
Optimus Prime : Did you ever think we were going to get our own live action movie one day? Megatron : Not in a million years, I guess Hollywood is really out of inspiration... Thanks fuck I am not transforming into a pistol anymore, that was like uber-lame:) Optimus Prime: Less talk, more ass kicking please... Megatron: Amen to that, I'll transform you into scrapyard junk in no time... Optimus Prime: The script says otherwise... ha,ha,ha,ha
I know the guys among my readers dont need much convincing and they will watch it one way or another but I have this last comment for the female readers: DO NOT be intimidated by the subject matter and diss this movie as "standard male fodder". Among all the "silliness" of transforming robotic behemoths fighting it off there is a great comedy in there with normal characters at the core of it. It would be a shame to miss it... Maybe by the end of it all , you won't be as excited as I am because this franchise means nothing to you but I'll be damned if you dont smile and even laugh a lot during the overall playtime of this blockbuster. Seriously, if you dont see the funny side of it, I will have to work overtime on your humour glands with my future blog entries and try to reactivate them... I find it THAT unlikely not to laugh in this movie!
Oh guys, one last thing, the transforming effect totally owns, it is really something beyond cool how they visualized it on the silverscreen (plus THAT sound is still there, oh yeah!).
So, that is that then, I had a great time watching this movie and I hope the ones among you that haven't watched it already, give it a shot!
I wanted to do this for a long time... try to write something when I am in the creative -albeit subdued- trance between a half asleep moron and an all out citizen of the realm of the undead (that would be a zombie then,lol). Oh why should I waste my superior intellect on such pointless tasks is anyone's guess (as Bruce Campbell once said in a special features clip "some people have way too much free time in their hands..."). I had a couple of attempts at fulfilling my laughable blogging ambition in the past, but I just couldnt maintain conciousness past the point of typing the blog title. Still, I am one persistent trooper so tonight seems to be the night where I finally elevate from a madness novice to a madness god so to speak. I know, I know it doesnt make any sense but what does in life...
Not even my newly acquired zombie state can stop me from blogging, creepy isnt it...
So what does one write when he is constantly hopping between the realm of the awake and the realm of sleep? It is a great question indeed (actually it is plain stupid but that never stopped me before so why bother now, lol). First of all, I thought of typing about how my day has been and all but I am all out of multisyllabic words so that idea soon wore off. Then I thought about chicks and babes and all the things that require more use of the head down under than the head up north (heck I could preserve some invaluable brain power doing that....heh) but nope this would require the posting of explicit pics of babes and all (I am all for juicy women with no self esteem but there is no way I am going to google their b....bs up just to find my pics of choice, too laborious a process in my current state,lol). Videogames are always a good source of inspiration but then again I'd rather play them than write about them so that was a "no way" topic area as well. Taking the piss out of pop culture was the next conceivable notion that passed through my mind but when the lamest celebrity you can think of is SpongeBob Squarepants (hey I am half asleep and totally mad after all...) you know it wont do you any good to proceed with that topic in mind.
I refuse to admit I have writer's block, I refuse to admit I have writer's block.... what was that... anyone mentioned writer's block..... they must be talking about somebody else's blog for sure.... yeah, yeah I live in denial and loving it, lol
So what to write, what to write, I start thinking about the people that read this blog either rarely or often. I think about Shan's eternal questions and her cute sense of humour, I think about Zhuand her immensely enjoyable take on life, I think about TCRA and his constant updating about little things that matter and big things that are cool (maybe it is the other way around, heck I am in a zombie trance....), I think about the Comic Rack guy who mixes comics with humour and transforms a niche topic like comics to something way more enjoyable. One man's travel blog comes to mind with its constant alteration between travelling extravaganzas and serious topics. Mr Decoding is also a good friend, albeit one that is obsessed with constant updating of the ins and outs of the cyber universe. Digital Charm is all about the music within while itelli is in a league of his own really, one time half mad the other half serious. Last but not least is YP who reminds me of an age not that long ago when things were simpler and full of surprises. All good fun reads really... A bunch of people having fun in the bloggosphere, typing merrily to the blogging beat of the music of thoughts in their minds (This was either poetic or poetsh.... you decide, lol).
Me and my readers, a cheerful little lot of nutters blogging our lives away one blog entry at a time... what is not to like, lol!
So, what happens after this blogroll ad is over? Now that my conciousness is fading away and I look like a guy trapped in zombie land armed with his wit and a glass half filled with some zero fat (yeah right...) refreshment. Is this enough... is there really any point to this blog entry? Have I really sank that low that I am all out of inspiration? Is it time to close the curtains and move along? Has the madness faded away? Do words finally fail me? Should I just detonate this goddamn blog space and be done with it?
All valid questions... no easy answers...
Never before has a life shattering dilemma lasted this little time... a whole second, I kid you not... it was a tough decision and I' ll have to live with it for the foreseeable future but you know what they say "you can take DP out of blogging but you cant take blogging out of DP" (what a load of crap... better sleep soon, lol)
For a moment there, the clouds of doubt appeared over my blogging head, however, they vanished shortly after... Let's face it people, I am having too good a time to let it all go away! I am not all out of insanity (maybe in 50 years time when I will be all senile and giggly for no apparent reason, maybe then my insanity deposits will have dried up, heh) and I am not all out of words just yet. This was simply another blog entry, a playground filled with words, nothing too serious, nothing too funny. Just a way to state a presence in the most absurd way possible!
This blog cant get any lower... I am now certain of that... really it is a dream coming true....Oh, wait a moment, what was that? A tear running down my cheek... yep, it is nice when you reach such a longterm goal with such little effort.... damn I am good, lol!
It has been a bit longer than usual since I last blogged about something but it is summer after all. The season where siesta time prevails if you can afford it and overtime dictates if you cant avoid it. I am trespassing somewhere in-between at the moment while coming September I will lean more and more towards the latter. Damn, I love all those little and big life challenges that take my breath away and leave me gazing the future with restrained optimism and enforced realism.
As I look back onto this text, I am thinking "What the f.... am I talking about? I am not even on drugs ( never have been... I mean no reason to go all stoney and manga eyed artificially when I am like that naturally, lol) or drinking like there is no tomorrow... Why on earth would I write nonsense like these in my blog?". The answer comes instictively and hits me like a hammer "I love playing with words... a little wit here, a little insanity there, a little bit of sentiment all around, this is what is it all about...". Human expression in its purest form, blogging in a zombie state when politically correct boundaries do not apply anymore and judgement is clouded by sleepiness.
It is a funny little game and I am up for it, it seems.... the king is dead... long live the king (yep, that is Deadpoolite, ladies and gentlemen).
Ok then, this little experiment is over... I'll stop testing your patience and start testing my matress and pillow (DP bed here I come!!!!)
Shan just tagged me (whatever that means, lol) so I now have to either write 8 things about myself or face her wrath (come to think of it I prefer the latter option just for the kick of it but what the heck, it could be fun either way, lol).
So let's see what the lottery of my mind will deem worthwhile to write . Here it goes ...
1) I am a Biochemist/Microbiologist with an MSc in Biotechnology (all acquired in the UK). I am currently planning my next career step (I guess I am not THAT dumb after all, cocky bastard, heh)
2)Apart from blogging, other favourite hobbies include console videogaming, reading comics, watching/ reading about movies, killing dinosaurs (well not really but there is nothing that I can't recreate with a bit of "creative" GM, lol), watching/playing football (that is soccer , duh).
3)I recently lost a lot of weight that had accumulated over the years due to the nature of my job/studies and I feel great about it, plus my stamina has increased significantly. 22 Kgrs off my back and still going strong, not bad...
4)I have a lot of favourite movies from many genres but if one asks me what is the most important for me (not the best movie, just the most important) it would be the first Spiderman movie. I really cant describe how I felt when I saw the hero of my childhood (I've been reading the comics since I was 6!) live on the silver screen. I was a boy all over again and just wanted to cry, especially with the ending sequence of Spidey swinging through the city (only a few seconds long...).
5) I was born on the 1st of January and I am an only child. As a result, I am very close to my cousins and rest of the family and it is a good feeling indeed. When my mom was carrying me in her womb(around 3-4 months old into pregnancy) there was a great earthquake in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece where I was born. I'd like to think it had something to do with my uniqueness as a person (well not really but come to think of it, it would explain a lot of things,lol)
6)I support Panathinaikos FC in Greece. I also like Real Madrid FC in Spain, Liverpool FC in England and AC Milan in Italy.
7) Characteristic advantages of my personality include patience and perseverence to achieve a goal regardless of how pointless/important it may be. At the other end of the spectrum, I am quite cyclothymic as a person with ridiculously frequent mood swings at times. However, I always make amends when I think I am at fault.
8) My best friends are Leonidas( not the THIS IS SPARTA guy, lol), Giannis K, Giannis P, Alan, Georgia. If I forgot anyone I couldn't care less since they wont be reading this blog anyway,lol!
Ok then, that is that! Now I can get back to my wacky business as usual. Just for the fun of it I am tagging CG (Comic Rack), TCRA , Stu and Itelli just to see if they are up for the challenge (I hope they survive the excitement... lol .... I barely did myself hahahahaha!).
Till next time , ta da! (that sounded so lllaaammmeee it is unbelievable...lol)
