Favorite Albums: "The Boy with the Arab Strap" (1998, Jeepster/Matador)

My introduction to Belle and Sebastian was on the "Juno" soundtrack, where I fell in love with the song Piazza, New York Catcher. B&S are also my introduction to "Twee Rock."

This is a really great mellow album with great, poetic lyrics.

Milla Double Feature Saturday

We had a Milla Jovovich Double Feature last Saturday at the Whiteplume residence. It was going to be a mini-marathon, but could not get into any Resident Evil to make it at least three. We did watch The Messenger (1999) and Ultraviolet (2006)

The Messenger: the Story of Joan of Arc has Milla in the staring role. Costars John Malkovich as the douchey Charles VII, Faye Dunaway as his ballbusting mother-in-law, and Dustin Hoffman as... well, god, perhaps?

This is a really fun movie for the first half. It is filled with brutal battles and Milla acting bat-shit-crazy half the time. She pulls off bonkers really well. The other part I love is her three captains who have a real Three Musketeers thing going; they are bad ass, and could not give a damn, but follow her as Porthos, Athos, and Aramis followed D'Artangian. The second half gets more serious and slower. Full of political and religious plotlines, but remains a good movie. In the end, when Joan is burned at the stake, the movie takes on a very Hammer Horror kind of feel.

Ultraviolet is one I just cannot get into. It is 100% eye candy. Heavy CGI - it seems all the backgrounds are digital imaging. In a way it is probably ground-breaking, but still it all gets a tad distracting. It looks like you are playing Mirror's Edge the whole time.

The story is a weird vampire thing, where a "vampirism" virus is started, and disease is the new terrorism. Milla is a "hemophage" (one of the vampires) and is sent to intercept a weapon. I won't say any more than that.

The story gets a little convoluted. There is a lot of gun-kata and sword fights. There is a motorcycle chase scene that is, well, kinda stupid, but different. The bad guy, Daxis, played by über villain Nick Chinlund makes up for some of the lacking areas. Worth renting, worth watching if it comes on tv, but me and Calvin will likely be the two DVD owners here.


This is part of why Milla is so lovable. She does not mind looking and acting wacky!

Favorite Albums: "Raising Hell" (1986,Profile/Arista)

I had three introductions to rap. The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight, Blondie's Rapture, and Yo! MTV Raps. I did not love rap until Run DMC's "Raising Hell."

There was a lot of noise about this album because they did Walk This Way with Aerosmith, but really this was an all-round rocking album. There are a lot of fun dancy songs, but there are some angry, tough songs. Some feature DJ Run, DMC and Jay backed by guitar and drums. There is a serious metal vibe long before the Anthrax/Public Enemy Bring the Noise.

Some favorite tracks are below.

Favorite Albums: "Shout at the Devil" (1983, Elektra)

One of hair metal's oft forgotten albums, 1983's "Shout at the Devil" by Motley Crue draws a line between bands like W.A.S.P. and Poison, then pisses on it.

To the Whiteplume sensibilities, this is a fantastically packaged album. It is an American break with punk straight into dark metal. It is not as dark as some, but has all the great little elements you need; a pentagram on the cover, some Judas Priest leather, warpaint; and the songs—Shout at the Devil is obvious, then there is Helter Skelter and its Charles Manson baggage, there are songs about murder, sex, and an intro calling listeners "children of the beast." I don't think we remember how big a stink this album created in Reagan's first term. We were just getting used to mainstream heavy metal, and that was Quiet Riot and Def Leppard. Not everyone was ready for Motley Crue.

Musically they are not the best band, but solid. Tommy Lee comes off as a very workmanlike drummer, there are some little interesting bits but for the most part it is him providing a solid bottom. Nikki Sixx's bass lines are fairly rote. Vince Neill has the perfect voice for the band. To me the big standout is Mick Mars whose guitar is brutal. He plays his own rhythm guitar on the album and it really adds to the overall sound.

Give this one a listen sometime. This is not the punk/glam band of "Too Fast For Love" nor the return to glam-ish/mainstream metal of later efforts. This is a powerful record with strong production. The remastered disc has some demos, and they suck. They need to thank Tom Werman (producer). Here are a few songs from Blip.fm.

This just in...

Okey, I am adding to the movie rumour mills, but don't care.

@tas33 saw yesterday on the IMDb that there is a Jonny Quest movie in the works, and the rumoured Race Bannon is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. An excellent choice, I'd say.

Jonny is rumoured to be Zac Efron, which is highly possible, since Hollywood has a conspiracy to make me watch a Zac Efron movie. If they fail here you will likely see Efron staring in "The Baroness and Evil-Lyn versus Wonder Woman and Red Sonja in Naked Tag-Team Jello Wrestling" (that title needs work).

Nerd Girl of Note #37

Well, we have had thirty-six NGoNs so far, and I realized I never quite explained the concept, but I imagine many of you know where I am. For anyone who is confused, there are a few things that would qualify you. One is being a fanboy icon. The other is to be a female nerd with some fame. This week's entry scores on both points. Sure, she is a high powered Hollywood star whose relationships are discussed on Access Hollywood and such, but deep down I think we all have a sister in Scarlett Johansson.

First, the movie that got her noticed was Ghost World (2001), a comicbook adaptation where she played Rebecca, best friend of Thora Birch's Enid. The two play unmotivated high school outsiders who have graduated. Birch is the star, but Rebecca is Enid's foil. Since graduating she decides she can't be a slacker forever and becomes serious about her life; a path Enid is against. Johansson has this great raspy voice and adds a lot to the film.

Second, it is not uncommon for an actress to capitalize on her popularity by recording an album. Whether Johansson decided to do an album, or if it was suggested by others, she recorded an album of Tom Waits covers. As far as I am concerned, Tom Waits fans are nerds. Side note, David Bowie does some background vocals.

I really think that not only could Scarlett tell you what a twenty-sider is, but she could describe some advantages there are to playing a halfling. Add her alleged cyber-stalking of then-candidate Obama, her roles in Eight Legged Freaks, The Spirit, and Lost in Translation, and you have someone with substantial nerd-cred.

Favorite Albums: "Small Change" (1976, Asylum)

If I had to pick one album, a "desert island" album, it would be Tom Waits' "Small Change."

This was Waits' fourth album, and is an exercise in vocal cosplay. It is a mixture of New Orleans-styled melodies and spoken word. It is both the saddest and happiest group of songs I have come across. Waits' gravely voice makes you feel pain in songs like Bad Liver and a Broken Heart, laugh during The Piano must be Drinking, marvel at the ad-libs in Step Right Up, and drown in the story of Small Change.

My favorite track is Invitation to the Blues, which is a very noir sounding song of a man on his way out of town who falls head over heels in love with a waitress. He is scared to talk to her, but debates not leaving town as "I could eat here every night, what the Hell have I got to lose?" He begins to create a fantasy life for her where she is a socialite mistress; a position she fells from and becomes one of these Diner Angels that are too good for their station, but must survive. Maybe if they could survive together, perhaps they could thrive? Ultimately the decision must be made, the bus is comming.



Bad Liver and Broken Heart is the story of a man who lost his woman, and describes his story to a stranger in a bar. As the story progresses, Waits' character goes from near-jovial to belligerent with smattering on unrelated issue. Presumable the character is drinking during the storytelling. He also throws in a lot of male behavioral-stereotype.



I Can't Wait to Get Off Work (and See My Baby on Montgomery Avenue) is both happy and sad. It is hopeful, and an excellent way to end the album, and leads nicely into Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen).

Search Queries

I am both surprised and pleased that no one searched for "Jonas Brothers Circle-Jerk," but I do wonder how "Central and South American Hotties" turned out so high. Also, a bit startled that anyone is Googling "Darius Whiteplume" — do I have a cyber-stalker?!?

Geek Tools, the Bad Entry

Okey, just so you don't think I love everything, here is a little item that does not live up to its pricetag: the Matrox TripleHead2Go.


The point of this device is to let you buy three monitors and connect them to your laptop via your VGA or DVI output. Sounds great right? "Darius, I have two monitors and would love that!" Well, no, you need three.

The TripleHead2Go makes your three monitors into one huge monitor. They must be inline, and either a clone of or extension of your desktop. You cannot treat them as three monitors, and if you have less than three, you have a huge blank space.

How much is it? The one pictured is roughly $300. Maybe if you are a heavy gamer, but for the most part, this is not a great item.

Geeks Tools

I am not to pimping, but I found these at Think Geek (though I bought one at Amazon). Nifty and useful. Short road tested. Really, I am not pimping these and won't make a dime, but including links for your convenience. Likely available elsewhere as well.

First, the USB LED Flexlight. Ooooh! I thought I was buying it frivilously, then remembered how often I find myself behind a server with a) no flashlight and b) no way to hold flashlight and work if I did have one. Yet there are always open USB ports.


Next, the mystical SATA drive dock. No need to undo a drive enclosure, then redo a drive enclosure, then undo a drive enclosure just to access a hard drive. I have used it for laptop hard drives, though it will take 3.5 inch desktop drives as well. It can run USB or SATA, and if you have a SATA controller in your desktop, it comes with a backplane conduit. Not a must have, but if you screw around with drives and make disc-images it can be useful. I bought the one bay model. Gonna talk work into buying the two-bay ;-)


Last, and best. Well worth the seven bucks. Keychain multi-screwdriver. I always need a screwdriver when I don't have one, and never need one when I do. If I were not an Atheist I'd say it is some weird Karmic retribution for hating Linux. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah. Two Philips-head, two flat-head. Large heads are standard screwdriver size. Small ones are just right for those annoying little tech screws. Folds out to 180 degrees, and is surprisingly not as awkward as it looks.

"I'll Swallow Your Soul!"

Ah, a computer of my own... Even if it is an old, partly cannibalized, home-built, refuse scavenged desktop. It is my first, and as typical of your first, it ain't all it's cracked up to be, but memorable.

What am I talking about? Oh. My laptop is somewhat dead. It is always warm in the man-cave so I don't get on the afore-described desktop all that much. Anyway, enough of my sorrows. I saw a movie last night.

If you liked the Evil Dead movies, you need to treat yourself to Drag Me to Hell. It is a gross-out, spooky, goofball horror movie full of nods to the Evil Dead trilogy, particularly (IMHO) to Evil Dead, the original.

I agree with Yum-Yum's estimation that this is a gooey movie. There is an uncanny use of inexplicable fluids, most of which come from the antagonist's mouth. Also like the Evil Dead films, it is scary while you are watching it but does not have the "oh shit, I am not watching that again" vibe. It is funny and cheesey. I laughed out loud several times, but I also jumped quite a few as well.

Personally, I would see this in the theatre unless you have an über home theatre system. Raimi makes incredible use of surround sound, making important sound effects come from behind. This adds to the creepiness, as you know if you look back there will be nothing but other movie goers.

Last bit. The protagonist, played by Alison Lohman, is everything a final-girl type should be. You like her. Even after the despicable thing she does to become the victim, and after a particularly despicable act the character commits, she is still, dare I say, lovable. Lohman plays the cheesey '70s horror chick to the hilt and really makes the film a success.

Okey, enough of me. I am not a reviewer. Go see it. Tonight if possible ;-)

Nerd Girl of Note #36

Possibly the most underrated of Russ Meyer's actresses. A Quebecer turned exotic dancer, turned actress, Haji began working with Meyer on his magnum opus Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! as the submissive and jealous Rosie — Varla's (Tura Satana) lover. She appeared in Motor Psycho, Good Morning... and Goodbye!, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Supervixens. A quick look at Meyer's films shows Haji to have been in the most with five, followed only by Uschi Digard with four, and Lorna Maitland with three.

The rest of her career has been spent in B-Movies, including eye-candy roles in Ilsa: Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks and Wham Bam Thank You Space Man. Thus far, her last films were 2001's The Double-D Avenger costarring with other Meyer notables, and 2003's Killer Drag Queens on Dope.

Alright movie fans!

Anyone know where this is from?

Big welcome to all the new followers!

Unfortunately, at work they block the Friends app from Blogger (I know, why?). Usually at lunch I would peruse your blogs, but now I can't see any names until I get home.

So, since there has been an influx lately, I want to say "hi" to you all, and a special "hello" to Angie - I think this is your third time? Weird blogger issues there for a while.

Anyway, check out the other followers, as there are some really great blogs. Feel free to leave comments and discuss. We have a nice group here, so don't be shy. And if you Twitter, you can find me @d_whiteplme.

Premature Book Review: The Sorceress

Michael Scott's The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel is the third book in the Nicolas Flamel series. The main action in this book takes place in London and continues the touch of Arthurian Cycle already in play.

The series is primarily for teens, but like the Harry Potter books, it appeals to adults as well. An interesting aspect of the story is how Scott encompasses Lovecraft's Mythos style. There is no Cthulhu (yet, at least), but the gods and heroes of legend are really either powerful outsiders—the Dark Elders— who are alien/extra-dimensional entities, magical beasts, or immortal humans backed by Dark Elders.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of content to remember and Scott will reference action in the previous books. Since the books have been produced a year apart many things get lost in the shuffle. Where the Harry Potter story is an arc, you could read any one of the first four books without having read the others (the last three are a continuum). The Flamel books are a continuous arc. Instead of being (eventually, I believe) seven two-hundred-plus page books, they could have been a single seven-to-nine-hundred page book. This is not how youth books are marketed, however, and it seems that if it cannot be a series, it cannot be published.

If you have read the first two books, you likely have enough interest to continue; this book is on par with its predecessors. If you have not read any of the series, it would be wise to start at the beginning. The books are interesting and nicely written. The touches of teen angst that surrounds Josh and Sophie Newman (the main characters) is not heavy handed. The books are filled with historical characters and mythological entities. You could presumably learn a lot from the series, provided you have the means to look people up. There is a great deal of obscure (to me) items, such as the sword Clarent, which was the sword Modred used to slay King Arthur.

Six Random Things

I feel like I have been ignoring my blogs lately, so tonight I am taking time out from reading and looking at internet pr0n to do some posts. My last one was a bit negative, so since I have not seen any movies recently and don't watch much tv, we'll go back to the well with the great "Six Random Things" meme.

1. From a logic standpoint, I am a pretty good programmer. From a dedication standpoint I am a lousy programmer. I learn to do what I need done, but never take time to learn any one language really well (except HTML, which I don't really consider to be a language, per se).
   
2. I have worn glasses or contacts since the fourth grade. Apparently my lenses were warped when I was extracted from my mother. She did not opt for a Caesarian, and I have a huge head. Really. Think Oprah Winfrey or Vanna White. In a water displacement test, I figure my head would comprise 40% of my total body surface.
   
3. I really miss riding a motorcycle all the time.
   
4. I try to never say "dude" unless it is contextually relevant.
   
5. I almost died on my wedding day from sepsis. My gall bladder was clogged and gangrenous. I made it through the abbreviated ceremony, but not for the reception. About halfway through that, my best man (who fortunately is a nurse and not afraid to hurt me) diagnosed the gall bladder after I had been to the hospital twice. I left in an ambulance and had surgery in the morning.
   
6. This is arguably my favorite song, as I have known it all my life. And a one, and a two,
   
   
   Gloom, despair, and agony on me
   Deep dark depression, excessive misery.
   If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
   Gloom, despair and agony on me.
   
   Despite the lyrics, the song is not depressing, which is the point. If you don't know Hee-Haw you should know that they were parodying country music and stereotypes. Also, the song was sung in a rather happy style.

Okey, that is all. A little more insight into this man called Whiteplume, and a little more fuel for my narcissism.

Post I Have Been Pondering, Set Free by the Good People at Stolichnaya

I don't like to complain. Don't you hate complainers, I mean, can't they just shut up and talk about how cool Star Trek was? I mean seriously.

But I digress.

I am a pretty good IT guy. A good troubleshooter, quick worker, on top of the systems I run, plus my team's systems, plus the servers... Also, I don't do one thing IT guys are a bit famous for. Here is a secret. When an IT guy says he "cannot" do something, it often means he "will not" do something. Since there are often good reason I will not do something, I say so.

Well, my group's mascot is now officially:


I work in a partitioned steel building with no running water, but I do have a door to my office. I am being moved, with my group to what the US Army calls a "temporary building." If you are not familiar with the Army, here is a bit of Javascript code that may explain things:

var temporary = "permanent";

My new building actually has running water and a toilet, but that shining star is lonely in the vast universe of shittiness that is my new building.

That temporary = permanent thing. Yes, this temporary building was constructed in 1941. It is held together by paint and termite shit. We are on the second floor (outside stairway, yay!) of a crumbling building with no air conditioning and seven foot ceilings (yes, seven foot ceilings).

But it has a toilet!

Okey. All out now. You gals and guys are such great listeners. Now, where did I put that Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookiedough?

Never Say Die!

Hotties of Yore: Charo

Charo was one of my favorite television personalities from my childhood. I emember liking her before I really understood what sexy was. She is this bizarre cartoon character, but is also very funny, a talented guitarist, and against the cruelty of bullfighting.

I included two clips below. The first is a funny, albeit long skit from The Carol Burnette Show, and the other is a really great guitar performance from The Martha Stewart Show when she was promoting her album "Charo and Guitar" and her world tour.







A funny skit from The Carol Burnette Show



Charo performs Malagueña on The Martha Stewart Show

Follow Friday!

Okey, I totally saw this idea on another blog and have completely forgotten where, but I thought it was a great idea. Twitter does a #FollowFriday thing where you promote following people on Twitter. The idea here is to promote blogs you like. Here are a few I really enjoy.

BTW: Please let me know if this is what you do on your blog, though I will see it since I follow you :-) Also, everyone feel free to leave blogs you like in the comments (or your own blog).

Comics Make No Sense—I tknow I have mentioned it before. This is a fun blog that points out some classic silliness in (primarily) Golden and Silver Age comics.

Freaks, Mutants, and Monsters—Great original art with monster description. Some are one's you are familiar with, and others are all new.

Halo on the Floor—Very cool, dare I say random, blog of fun.

Fiction's Finest Nerds #20

Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory

Most Loved Meme

Okey, doing the Love one too.

1. Most Loved Food: Ben & Jerry's Mission to Marzipan ice cream.
   
2. Most Loved Person: Too easy. @tas33
   
3. Most Loved Job: I was really good at what I did at MCI, and my most senior boss seemed to really appreciate me.
   
4. Most Loved City: Flip a coin: Toronto or Chicago
   
5. Most Loved Band: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, The Horrors, The Beatles, The Stones
   
6. Most Loved Website: W3Schools
   
7. Most Loved TV Program: The Big Bang Theory
   
8. Most Loved Movie: Amarcord
   
9. Most Loved Artist: Frank Frazetta
   
10. Most Loved Book: The Big Sleep, Kafka on the Shore, Juliette, or the Prosperities of Vice
    
11. Most Loved Shop: There was this odd little shop in Chicago that was loaded with weird fanboy crap. I was in heaven.
    
12. Most Loved Organization: Disorganization
    
13. Most Loved Historical Event: Teddy Roosevelt giving a campaign speech after being shot.
    
14. Most Loved Sport: Three words: Women's Beach Volleyball
    
15. Most Loved Piece of Tech: My super cool wireless keyboard. Thanks again, Jay!
    
16. Most Loved Annual Event: Halloween. I buy presents.
    
17. Most Loved Daily Task: Playing with my dogs. It is actually a task :-)
    
18. Most Loved Commedian: Bill Hicks

Most Hated Meme

This is from Calvin. I try to be positive in my cyber-life, but deep down I am snarky, catty, and mean-spirited. So here is a little negativity :-D

1. Most Hated Food: Hebrew National hot dogs and bratwurst. Not for the reasons you might think. I don't eat meat-with-feet, and loved both of these. The meat-replacement industry has been able to replicate everything meat-wise I could want, but no one makes a good enough hot dog, and no one makes a decent braut.
   
2. Most Hated Person: Ronald Reagan
   
3. Most Hated Job: I was once a telemarketer.
   
4. Most Hated City: Lawton, OK
   
5. Most Hated Band: Creed. Hands down. I would rather be the pivot-man in a Jonas Brothers circle-jerk than listen to a single Creed song.
   
6. Most Hated Website: My company's website really sucks.
   
7. Most Hated TV Program: NCIS
   
8. Most Hated Movie: A tie - Risky Business and Road Hogs. Both have arch-Scientologists. One features a dick high schooler with too much money, and the other features a gaggle of his ilk all-grown-up. Full disclosure - I have seen neither film, nor will I.
   
9. Most Hated Artist: Probably anyone who does that country-kitchen art, but not really sure.
   
10. Most Hated Book: Fountainhead
    
11. Most Hated Shop: Most "tactical gear" shops. They are scary.
    
12. Most Hated Organization: I am making this one up. The Fraternal Order of Strip Club DJs. This is not true of all, but man can those guys be pricks. Radio DJs are bad enough, but these guys ooze doucheiness.
    
13. Most Hated Historical Event: The Trail of Tears
    
14. Most Hated Sport: Professional Bass Fishing
    
15. Most Hated Piece of Tech: Wristwatch
    
16. Most Hated Annual Event: Christmas
    
17. Most Hated Daily Task: Shaving
    
18. Most Hated Commedian: Dennis Miller

Author Spotlight: Haruki Murakami

I have been finding a lot of references lately to Haruki Murakami, and thought I might give some thoughts on the author. Not really fact-checking here, just going mostly from memory.

Murakami was a Japanese novelist of some note who became widely famous in Japan after the publication of Norwegian Wood in 1985. He disliked the fame and moved to the United States in 1986. He primarily writes fiction, both novels and short stories, but has written a book on running and a dialogue/history of the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system.

Murakami's works often include supernatural elements and deal with man's separation from the world around him. Also, unrequited or lost love are important. A theme common to several novels is what I call "the man with no face." He is not the same character each time, but in The Windup Bird Chronicle and After Dark particularly he makes an appearance. He is always more a force than a person, and exists the the shadow realm. Shadows are also an important part in many of the books. In Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World one of the main characters is separated from his shadow and loses part of himself.

Three early novels are known as The Trilogy of the Rat, of which only A Wild Sheep Chase is currently available in English. Murakami dislikes the first two books, and disliked the early translations. The novel Dance, Dance, Dance however is a followup. Both are enjoyable. I read them out of order, but they stand alone nicely.

My favorite of Murakami's works is Kafka on the Shore, the story of a young boy searching for his mother, whom he is told is dead. The story is highly supernatural. It is funny, touching, and scary. It is quite possibly the best book I have ever read.

Happy Birthday, l'Divine Marquis!

Today would have been the 269th birthday of the Marquis de Sade. Some of you know that I am a huge fan, and perhaps fewer know that the fetishy activities named after him are not the sum of his life. Sade was a brilliant free-thinker and iconoclast. He refused to deny his beliefs, and spent the bulk of his adult life confined for them.

Now, apparently Sade did not want to be remembered, but I'd be a poor disciple if I followed orders or requests, so happy birthday!

Premature Book Review: Money Shot

Taking a short break from Dr. Fu-Manchu. Oddly enough, I have been following Christa Faust on Twitter and never realized she was the author Christa Faust. I am the first to admit I am not the brightest guy in the Realms, the Federation, or the Twitterverse.

As usual, I will try not to spoil anything.

So, I am reading Money Shot, Ms Faust's book from Hard Case Crime. It is the story of a former pornstar turned talent agent who finds herself mixed-up in underworld dealings that nearly get her killed. It is, thus far, a story of revenge.

The writing is very reminiscent of traditional pulp but the perspective is different. Our hero, Angel Dare, is not Marlowe, Spade, or Hammer; she is, however, like Coffy or Foxy Brown, in that her life brings her in touch with parts of the world that is hidden from most of us and she find refuge with unlikely places; at least unlikely to those of us in the orderly, mainstream part of the world. Also like those characters Angel is tortured, beaten and nearly killed, but this is not torture porn. Her pain is ugly and untitillating.

I hate to sound like a commercial, but if you enjoyed Megan Abbott's The Song is You you will like this as well.

4e Haste

Okey, my mechanic-sense for 4e D&D is not very strong yet, but I did not see Haste in 4ePHB1. Maybe some more skilled may have some ideas (or point to a reference). I have a character in the campaign I am working on who will have an amulet or haste. Here are my thoughts.

• Haste would be a Daily Power
  
• Area of Effect: Self
  
• Once per day effected creature gets one additional action per round:
  
  • attack
    
  • move
    
  • attack of opportunity (whatever it is called now)
    
  • interrupt
    
  • reaction
    
  • refocus to top of initiative
  
  
• Additional action cannot be second wind or used for a healing surge.

Rationale: haste on a character is just like slow on everyone else (in a 1st edition sense). You are able to see things coming before they happen. Just try punching The Flash in the mouth sometime.

Duration is a question. I was originally thinking it should last the duration of an encounter. I figured it would be a daily power since it is a powerful one.

Any thoughts?