by A.J. Wood

Need a new web host

Good morning dear readers.

Azarok.com needs your help. I would like some suggestions for a solid performing webhost. My requirements are as follows:

1. BANDWIDTH. It would be cool to upload more media content and not make the website slow down to a crawl.

2. Storage. If I’m going to post lots of files for you folks I need server space. Currently, the site takes up 300MB+.

3. Affordable. I would like to refrain from going the $50 a month route, but I’m thinkin’ the cheapie host is causing problems with the next category.

4. Reliability. When you say 99% uptime, you better damn well mean it. And tech support should understand the difference between a host file entry and DNS.

Any information would be HUGE. Aside from my hectic schedule, I’ve spent more time fixing the website lately than posting or finishing off updates. (Speaking of which, the gallery is back online, but as you can see not exactly looking great).

Happy Thursday y’all.

in Technology 10 comments
 by A.J. Wood

plug me back in please

Feelin’ a little out of the loop. Instead of running down the list of what’s been keeping me away, I’m leaving myself a To Do List:

1. Write three essays for tomorrow’s Psychology class. (Guess I’ll get to that after finishing this blog entry)

2. Import the rest of my old blog entries. (Had to include something about the website)

3. TAXES. (Err… maybe I need to file an extension?)

4. Finish working on two client websites. (Hey, at least those projects are started)

5. Work on my portfolio. (This is an ongoing project for this semester)

6. Scrape up extra cash for a new workstation. (Anyone want to steal my current workstation?)

7. Fix all the Azarok.com scripts broken by my webhost. (Maybe I’ll get the site mods done while I’m here)

8. Catch up on all the blogs I haven’t had a chance to read. (I miss you all I really do)

9. Add 12 more hours to my day because that’s what I need to get caught up.

I need a professional to come in and lay some time management on me. Between work & school I’m not getting anything done… or I could just be procrastinating.

Give me the summer, a shot of Jaeger and a Long Island Ice Tea.

in Editorial 1 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Monday Morning Blog

Type type type… HIGHLIGHT-DELETE. Type type type… BACKSPACE 3x, type.

These are the moments I dread the most. The ones where my brain is in overdrive and yet spitting out anything coherent seems next to impossible. I used to be very good at stream-of-consciousness-there-in-the-moment ramblings, but lately I have fallen short. Hold that thought.

Before I forget I would like to direct you to the website of Ryan “Hardcore” McGee. Recently I nominated him alongside Mr. Perry for Blogger of the Year, but that’s not the point. The point is even more recently Ryan put together a printed collection of his writing which is sure to astound and delight audiences. I’ve mentioned on many occasions the wash of green that comes over me when I read Ryan’s blog. My growing admiration/envy stems from the fact that a lot of what he writes about I can relate to and if my vocabulary graduated past the “See Spot Run” phase then perhaps I would create a similar connection with my readers. Because that’s what great writers do.

You can find out how to purchase his yet-to-be-titled book here. I highly recommend it because I get a percentage of each sale (just kidding). Unlike the infamous Tony Pierce who has daily readership in the thousands, Ryan’s blog hasn’t garnered the attention it deserves.

in Editorial 1 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Paris Hilton & Rick Salomon: A Photo Essay

When C-Listers CopulateI tried, I really did. I promised you dear readers that I wasn’t going to do it. Well curiosity got the best of me (that and the need for some sort of blog entry) so I sat down and watched the Paris Hilton three minute preview. I won’t attempt a critique, the ladies have said plenty enough for all of us. As usual Rob took the free publicity and spun it into his own brand of humor. I envy the shrewd net savvy of Mr. Perry who like Paul seemed to be all over the story from the start.

The thing that alarms me is night vision video becoming the next big thing. I’m not really interested in seeing anyone no matter how cute or ugly washed over in a green hue. A little searching around the `net and it didn’t take long for me to find some other pics of those looking to be the next girl behind the green door. Wake up America, amateur porn was not meant to be recorded in infrared.

With anticipation brewing over the second Paris Hilton sex video (which is rumored to feature a Playboy playmate), I thought it best to dig up some of the back story surrounding the first video.

It took several days of research, but in the style of Tony Pierce here’s my first ever photo essay on the subject NSFW.

in Arts/Media / Editorial 11 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Movie Review – Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Johnny Depp steals another performance!The Plot – Antonio Banderas returns as El Mariachi, the nameless guitar wielding folk hero who challenged the Mexican cartels. In this follow-up to Desperado, a corrupt CIA agent named Sands (played by Johnny Depp) brings El (as he is called by the people) out of hiding in a plot to infiltrate a drug cartel and assassinate the president of Mexico. El agrees, but only so he can exact his own brand of revenge.

The Review – This one is tough. Taking note from the Rambo movies, it follows that a hero cannot be violent without first having lost everything. The overall pace of the movie is slow in comparison to Desperado. There are no surprises in the plot so watching the film is really just a matter of being patient while the scenes play out. Much of El’s history is told in flashback throughout the film, but you get the gist of things immediately.

The cinematography is well done and the action scenes are as violent as they are explosive. The downside of this movie is the effort spent on making it a whodunit with a number of plot twists. While the flashbacks add to the overall drama of El’s personal demons the subplots involving Sands, a female Federali, a retired FBI agent and the cartel’s enforcer seem too ambitious for an action picture. I found the added pieces did little to add depth to the film, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Depp’s character were somehow spun off into a separate franchise. (I found it interesting that Sands used the word “Savvy” in the same context as Captain Jack Sparrow. I wonder if that was Depp’s idea?)

Fans of the El Mariachi series shouldn’t be too disappointed and the movie is definitely worth a rental to checkout Depp’s performance.

Grade: B-/C+ (I was feeling schizophrenic when I wrote this)

Interesting tidbit about Robert Rodriguez, the man who shot, chopped & scored the films.

in Arts/Media 1 comments