28.12.03
Greeting From Beautiful PA!
Yep, at 5:00PM EST, my airplane touched down in the amazingly noisy Newark Airport, and my dad shortly thereafter whisked us away to his house here in Philadelphia (or so he claims...) After some struggling with random cords, I managed to get myself a free trial of AOL 9.0, and let me say, I am unimpressed. If it wasn't the only way for me to get online, I would definitely not use it, even though its free. Screw it. Um... I can't think of much else to say, except.. I was playing Final Fantasy Tactics advance, and I got thrown into a part of the game that's TOO DAMN HARD!!!! And there wasn't a convenient place to save, so I lost like an hour or more of good playing. Dammit. Oh well, I'll get them next time. I'm tired, and shall soon sleep. G'night all.
25.12.03
Merry Fugging Christmas
I don't know why I swore in the opening to that. I had a really great Christmas, in fact, I suppose it was SO great, I wanted to have a unique opening, instead of the usual "Merry Christmas" everyone else gives you. Okay, enough with the pleasentries, let's dive right into the best part of the holiday season: the presents! As I said last night, I was unable to list my birthday presents, because I needed to sleep so I could get up early in the morning, so tonight I shall lump all my presents in together. Rather than go by date, I think I'll go by category, because that looks neater, or something.
First, video games. For me the star attraction in this is, ironically, the one I'm going to wait the longest to play: Final Fantasy X-2. Yeah, I still need to finish FFX, and currently, my Playstation is in Texas. I have great hope of getting to use one while in New Jersey, but it still won't be long enough to beat FFX. Oh well. Also in this category are included four excellent Game Boy Advance games - Mario Kart, Zelda, Sword of Mana, and the cartridge currently lodged in my SP, Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. Yeah, it's supposedly a children's game, but I find it deeply enjoyable. It is actually closer to Zelda in style than the older Mario Brothers games are. In this one, you take the plumba brotha's out on a dual adventure, throwing them into hard to reach spots, and taking them into RPG style battles. It's really quite fun. I also ended up with Warcraft 3, and its expansion, thought I haven't actually gotten a chance to play it yet. If anyone out there wants to teach me, I am eager to learn the ways of the 'craft, so to speak. I have several hours of Starcraft under my belt (and have that game with me as well, as a matter of fact), so anyone out there looking for a battle, you got it.
My personal favorite category is the Transformers one. Center stage here sits the one and only UNICRON, dark god of the Transformers. Though his toy is based off his newer TV show "Armada" incarnation, I will still always see him as being the Orson Welles voiced monster planet from Transformers: The Movie. I also got several random figures from the Armada and Energon lines, but supringly (and disappointingly) absent was my number one want this Christmas was the new Smokescreen, of the brand new Alternators Series, a line of TF's designed explicitly and meticulously after real life earth cars. Smokescreen is a blue Subaru Impreza WRX in full rally detailing, along with a kick ass robot mode. Of course, a toy this new and impressive did not last long on the shelves, and no one in my family was able to grab one for me. Oh well, I suppose it's just as well. Already my hands are growing cut up from handling these plastic puzzles all day.
Other notable presents include - a MiniDisc Walkman, which helps to replace the MP3 players I've been running into the ground over the past few years; the book "Dude, Where's My Country?" by Michael Moore, which pokes fun at the current state of our country; and the usual assortment of odds and ends I receive at this time of year. All in all, a very good haul.
I do have something of a problem, though, in that I have TOO MUCH stuff. Video games, at least. On the Game Boy, I currently am trying to divide my time between FF Tactics Advance and Mario and Luigi, while playing Tetris during the quick breaks, as I mentioned earlier. I also would like to finish Advance Wars 2 some time soon, and maybe beat the Elite Four (should be "1337 ph0r3") in Pokemon Ruby, since I'm so close to that now anyway. Also on my "To do list" for Game Boy - Sonic Advance 2 (I'm stuck on one stupid zone, but I think I can get it pretty soon...), Mario Kart (really just a fun thing to do, I've already beaten it, but I lost the old cartridge), Zelda: A Link the past (same deal), Zelda: Link's Awakening (I'm stuck in one random part and don't know where dto go) and Sword Of Mana (when the fuck am I going to get around to doing this??), plus a bunch of old games I sort of left by the wayside (Metroid Fusion and Golden Sun, for instance), and my old cartridge of Super Mario DX decided to delete itself, so I should probably try and beat that again, too. And that's just for Game Boy. On PS2, FFX just jumped up to the top priority due to my receiving its sequel, but I also want to work on FF7 and Kingdom Hearts, too. I just don't have enough time for it all. Hrmm... Maybe I'll make my New Year's resolution to beat a few games or something.
I had more I wanted to write about, too. About how I woke up at 845, and had almost forgotten that it was Christmas; about the Christmas party my uncle's family held, and how I chased my young cousin and her little gal pals around the house for reasons that continue to escape me. But now, I feel like someone is trying to drill into the side of my skull. Not a good sign. I think it's hay-hitting time. Night all.
First, video games. For me the star attraction in this is, ironically, the one I'm going to wait the longest to play: Final Fantasy X-2. Yeah, I still need to finish FFX, and currently, my Playstation is in Texas. I have great hope of getting to use one while in New Jersey, but it still won't be long enough to beat FFX. Oh well. Also in this category are included four excellent Game Boy Advance games - Mario Kart, Zelda, Sword of Mana, and the cartridge currently lodged in my SP, Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. Yeah, it's supposedly a children's game, but I find it deeply enjoyable. It is actually closer to Zelda in style than the older Mario Brothers games are. In this one, you take the plumba brotha's out on a dual adventure, throwing them into hard to reach spots, and taking them into RPG style battles. It's really quite fun. I also ended up with Warcraft 3, and its expansion, thought I haven't actually gotten a chance to play it yet. If anyone out there wants to teach me, I am eager to learn the ways of the 'craft, so to speak. I have several hours of Starcraft under my belt (and have that game with me as well, as a matter of fact), so anyone out there looking for a battle, you got it.
My personal favorite category is the Transformers one. Center stage here sits the one and only UNICRON, dark god of the Transformers. Though his toy is based off his newer TV show "Armada" incarnation, I will still always see him as being the Orson Welles voiced monster planet from Transformers: The Movie. I also got several random figures from the Armada and Energon lines, but supringly (and disappointingly) absent was my number one want this Christmas was the new Smokescreen, of the brand new Alternators Series, a line of TF's designed explicitly and meticulously after real life earth cars. Smokescreen is a blue Subaru Impreza WRX in full rally detailing, along with a kick ass robot mode. Of course, a toy this new and impressive did not last long on the shelves, and no one in my family was able to grab one for me. Oh well, I suppose it's just as well. Already my hands are growing cut up from handling these plastic puzzles all day.
Other notable presents include - a MiniDisc Walkman, which helps to replace the MP3 players I've been running into the ground over the past few years; the book "Dude, Where's My Country?" by Michael Moore, which pokes fun at the current state of our country; and the usual assortment of odds and ends I receive at this time of year. All in all, a very good haul.
I do have something of a problem, though, in that I have TOO MUCH stuff. Video games, at least. On the Game Boy, I currently am trying to divide my time between FF Tactics Advance and Mario and Luigi, while playing Tetris during the quick breaks, as I mentioned earlier. I also would like to finish Advance Wars 2 some time soon, and maybe beat the Elite Four (should be "1337 ph0r3") in Pokemon Ruby, since I'm so close to that now anyway. Also on my "To do list" for Game Boy - Sonic Advance 2 (I'm stuck on one stupid zone, but I think I can get it pretty soon...), Mario Kart (really just a fun thing to do, I've already beaten it, but I lost the old cartridge), Zelda: A Link the past (same deal), Zelda: Link's Awakening (I'm stuck in one random part and don't know where dto go) and Sword Of Mana (when the fuck am I going to get around to doing this??), plus a bunch of old games I sort of left by the wayside (Metroid Fusion and Golden Sun, for instance), and my old cartridge of Super Mario DX decided to delete itself, so I should probably try and beat that again, too. And that's just for Game Boy. On PS2, FFX just jumped up to the top priority due to my receiving its sequel, but I also want to work on FF7 and Kingdom Hearts, too. I just don't have enough time for it all. Hrmm... Maybe I'll make my New Year's resolution to beat a few games or something.
I had more I wanted to write about, too. About how I woke up at 845, and had almost forgotten that it was Christmas; about the Christmas party my uncle's family held, and how I chased my young cousin and her little gal pals around the house for reasons that continue to escape me. But now, I feel like someone is trying to drill into the side of my skull. Not a good sign. I think it's hay-hitting time. Night all.
24.12.03
MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
Yay, I'm 19 now! I honestly don't know why I'm so excited. Oh well. I've had a pretty great day. I mean, from the stand point of, it was a normal day, it would be SUPER EXCELLENT GOOD. But this was my birthday, so that's sorta to be expected. But even as birthday's go, this was a good day.
We started off early, looking for directions to the mall. Fun stuff, right? I actually got to break out my mapping software and give it a try, even though we didn't use that map. But I DID find the place, so hah. We took our long drive out there, and I played PJ in tetris on the Game Boy. Of course, I beat him. Actually, we're mostly even in the game, though there is a slight difference. PJ is better playing the game from a clean slate, while I'm better at the kind where there is already some junk on the field to work around/with. But I realized that this leads to an even bigger distinction. Tetris, with its fast paced, mindless, live-for-the-moment style of brick dropping action is almost the polar opposite to the patient, strategic, thought provoking gameplay of RPG's like the Final Fantasy games I've recently taken up with. That's right, Final Fantasy is the Anti-Tetris. Note that I don't rate one style as being better or more fun than another. Both games are absolutely wonderful, just different. It's the old apples/oranges argument. I couldn't ever imagine playing a game of Final Fantasy X for any less than thirty minutes at a minimum, while the idea of Tetris for more than an hour makes my head spin. But if I'm on a stop and go car ride, or waiting in line for a bit, then out comes the Tetris. And if I'm at home, with no real plans for the next hour or two, I'm off trying to raise Yuna a few more Sphere Levels. Both are great games, just so very different that they can't really be compared.
So anyway, we get to the mall, and first, we check on the place where I should have dinner reservations: a Japanese Hibatchi (I'm sure I spelt that wrong) Grill. Well, apparently, not only were our reservations lost, but someone lied to my mom about them, because the Grill part of that particular restaurant is closed. The rest is okay, though, and we plan on coming back for burgers and steaks and whatever they serve there. Okay, dinner solved, now for lunch.
We meander over to the movie theatre of the mall and buy five tickets for the noon showing of The Last Samurai. Course, we still had twenty minutes. Plenty of time for some extra birthday fun, right? So, I paid the hooker and.... nah, I'm just messing with you. I did cut it a little close, though, by opting to explore the new mall. About 10 minutes before the movie was supposed to start (mind you that we still wanted to get food and such for the show), I end up as far from the theatre as you can be in that mall. I made myself a mad dash back, though, and, (after a quick stop in Kay-B-Toys to check to see if they had the new Alternators Sideswipe, which they DIDN'T u.u) we were on our way to see the movie.
Usually, one of my favorite things about movies is the coming attractions. Not much here, though. There was some oddness with the projector, first giving us a blank screen during the shot for Troy, along with a preview of Payback that was half silent. One odd thing to note, however, was the poster I saw, advertising a movie about Garfield, the cat. I don't quite know what to think of this, really. He has, as a comic character, grown somewhat old to me. He has long since been replaced by Dilbert as my favorite stop in the Sunday funnies, and isn't really anywhere near my top five, either. I do fondly remember his old cartoon show as being good, though. So, who knows. Maybe Garfield is just one of those characters who needs more time to get his jokes across. I'll probably wait till he appears on video, though, because his CGI incarnation looks, at this stage, scary.
Okay, the main feature itself. The Last Samurai. I had my doubts at first. I mean, Tom Cruise? As a samurai? I don't believe it. Luckily, he didn't really become a samurai in the movie, just fought alongside them. But believe me, this movie was GREAT. I don't want to tell you what happens really, to spoil it, but take my word for it. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it now. If you have seen it, go see it again. It's that good. My favorite part: the ninja assassins. As soon as they appeared on screen, I just thought "NINJASNINJASNINJASNINJASNINJAS" the whole time until Nathan (Cruise) killed the last one. That jerk. But yeah, I've decided that I could watch a full movie of ninjas. Like, a Jurassic Park style thriller thing, only with ninjas instead of dinosaurs. It would be awesome. Maybe I'll write that story as well.
Also, this movie had an odd revelation for me. Tom Cruise, apparently, is sexy. Or maybe I'm just going crazy. But there was one scene where Nathan was being undressed by some girl to be suited in armor, and I had this weird thought: "Are they going to show his penis?" I was a little freaked out, but also a little curious. I mean, it is a rated-R movie, so they can show that stuff, right? Oh well, they didn't, and I can't say I was disappointed. Knowing Cruises reputation, he would probably have demanded a penis double. Hrmm... That's an interesting job idea. I wonder if I could do that? Heh. By the way, ladies, don't take the above paragraph to mean that I'm gay, I still love the titties and pussy, don't you worry. And my butt is still a penetration-free zone, as a policy. Still though.... ummm... Perhaps I've said too much. Oh well, not like anyone reads this.
And another thing I noticed about Tom Cruise: He is a tiny wee man. I dunno why I'd always seen him as being taller, but he looks like he's maybe 5 foot nothing. Weird.
Okay, it's late. I was gonna rundown all my wondrous birthday presents and such, but I lacked the time. So I sleep now. G'night all. Merry Christmas and Ho-ho-ho!
We started off early, looking for directions to the mall. Fun stuff, right? I actually got to break out my mapping software and give it a try, even though we didn't use that map. But I DID find the place, so hah. We took our long drive out there, and I played PJ in tetris on the Game Boy. Of course, I beat him. Actually, we're mostly even in the game, though there is a slight difference. PJ is better playing the game from a clean slate, while I'm better at the kind where there is already some junk on the field to work around/with. But I realized that this leads to an even bigger distinction. Tetris, with its fast paced, mindless, live-for-the-moment style of brick dropping action is almost the polar opposite to the patient, strategic, thought provoking gameplay of RPG's like the Final Fantasy games I've recently taken up with. That's right, Final Fantasy is the Anti-Tetris. Note that I don't rate one style as being better or more fun than another. Both games are absolutely wonderful, just different. It's the old apples/oranges argument. I couldn't ever imagine playing a game of Final Fantasy X for any less than thirty minutes at a minimum, while the idea of Tetris for more than an hour makes my head spin. But if I'm on a stop and go car ride, or waiting in line for a bit, then out comes the Tetris. And if I'm at home, with no real plans for the next hour or two, I'm off trying to raise Yuna a few more Sphere Levels. Both are great games, just so very different that they can't really be compared.
So anyway, we get to the mall, and first, we check on the place where I should have dinner reservations: a Japanese Hibatchi (I'm sure I spelt that wrong) Grill. Well, apparently, not only were our reservations lost, but someone lied to my mom about them, because the Grill part of that particular restaurant is closed. The rest is okay, though, and we plan on coming back for burgers and steaks and whatever they serve there. Okay, dinner solved, now for lunch.
We meander over to the movie theatre of the mall and buy five tickets for the noon showing of The Last Samurai. Course, we still had twenty minutes. Plenty of time for some extra birthday fun, right? So, I paid the hooker and.... nah, I'm just messing with you. I did cut it a little close, though, by opting to explore the new mall. About 10 minutes before the movie was supposed to start (mind you that we still wanted to get food and such for the show), I end up as far from the theatre as you can be in that mall. I made myself a mad dash back, though, and, (after a quick stop in Kay-B-Toys to check to see if they had the new Alternators Sideswipe, which they DIDN'T u.u) we were on our way to see the movie.
Usually, one of my favorite things about movies is the coming attractions. Not much here, though. There was some oddness with the projector, first giving us a blank screen during the shot for Troy, along with a preview of Payback that was half silent. One odd thing to note, however, was the poster I saw, advertising a movie about Garfield, the cat. I don't quite know what to think of this, really. He has, as a comic character, grown somewhat old to me. He has long since been replaced by Dilbert as my favorite stop in the Sunday funnies, and isn't really anywhere near my top five, either. I do fondly remember his old cartoon show as being good, though. So, who knows. Maybe Garfield is just one of those characters who needs more time to get his jokes across. I'll probably wait till he appears on video, though, because his CGI incarnation looks, at this stage, scary.
Okay, the main feature itself. The Last Samurai. I had my doubts at first. I mean, Tom Cruise? As a samurai? I don't believe it. Luckily, he didn't really become a samurai in the movie, just fought alongside them. But believe me, this movie was GREAT. I don't want to tell you what happens really, to spoil it, but take my word for it. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it now. If you have seen it, go see it again. It's that good. My favorite part: the ninja assassins. As soon as they appeared on screen, I just thought "NINJASNINJASNINJASNINJASNINJAS" the whole time until Nathan (Cruise) killed the last one. That jerk. But yeah, I've decided that I could watch a full movie of ninjas. Like, a Jurassic Park style thriller thing, only with ninjas instead of dinosaurs. It would be awesome. Maybe I'll write that story as well.
Also, this movie had an odd revelation for me. Tom Cruise, apparently, is sexy. Or maybe I'm just going crazy. But there was one scene where Nathan was being undressed by some girl to be suited in armor, and I had this weird thought: "Are they going to show his penis?" I was a little freaked out, but also a little curious. I mean, it is a rated-R movie, so they can show that stuff, right? Oh well, they didn't, and I can't say I was disappointed. Knowing Cruises reputation, he would probably have demanded a penis double. Hrmm... That's an interesting job idea. I wonder if I could do that? Heh. By the way, ladies, don't take the above paragraph to mean that I'm gay, I still love the titties and pussy, don't you worry. And my butt is still a penetration-free zone, as a policy. Still though.... ummm... Perhaps I've said too much. Oh well, not like anyone reads this.
And another thing I noticed about Tom Cruise: He is a tiny wee man. I dunno why I'd always seen him as being taller, but he looks like he's maybe 5 foot nothing. Weird.
Okay, it's late. I was gonna rundown all my wondrous birthday presents and such, but I lacked the time. So I sleep now. G'night all. Merry Christmas and Ho-ho-ho!
23.12.03
Birthday Eve, Part Two
I got interrupted in the middle of the last post, so I'm finishing it now. I went out to dinner with my family. Had a big burger, but could only eat like half of it. I just wasn't hungry, I guess. Oh well, then we went to the grocery story, and I was sent off after the mythical fruit and/or vegetable, the jicima, I think. I never did find it, but my aunt did, so all is well. Then we came back here, where I proceeded to zone out while trying to write this thing.
Something odd just happened. My uncle walked in and asked "Smell anything?" Of course, I can't smell ANYTHING, ever. My nose sucks. Anyway, I said, "Well, no, but if you smell something, you'd better tell me." "Oh, well," he said, "Smelled like something burning." And he walked off. I may be perilously close to flaming death, and not know it. Oh well.
So, tomorrow is my birthday. The thing about that is, people will be telling me happy birthday all day tomorrow. Now, when it's any other holiday, I just say, "Same to you", or "You too" or the likes. But if its my birthday, I can't say that, cuz its just MY birthday. Oh well. Speaking of which, tomorrow is shaping up to be a fun day. 10 o'clock, I get up and have breakfast, then its off to the mall to see Tom Cruise turn Japanese in The Last Samurai. After then, we're having dinner (lunch maybe) at a Japanese grill, then hanging in the nearby arcade for a bit, before I come home to open my bday presents. Whee. I think I'll wait until after Christmas, but don't worry, I'll give you a complete rundown of all my amazing Christmas presents.
One final note, none of you have responded to my earlier challenge about the quote "Cool? Daddyo, we are frozen!" Perhaps I should attach an actual value to getting it right. Okay, well, since my friend Brittany has been on my heels to put her into a blog, here's the deal. Each person who gets that quote answered gets to either a) write their own little blurb for me to post in here, or b) let me write a glowing description of them. Okay, folks, you have your mission, get to it!
Something odd just happened. My uncle walked in and asked "Smell anything?" Of course, I can't smell ANYTHING, ever. My nose sucks. Anyway, I said, "Well, no, but if you smell something, you'd better tell me." "Oh, well," he said, "Smelled like something burning." And he walked off. I may be perilously close to flaming death, and not know it. Oh well.
So, tomorrow is my birthday. The thing about that is, people will be telling me happy birthday all day tomorrow. Now, when it's any other holiday, I just say, "Same to you", or "You too" or the likes. But if its my birthday, I can't say that, cuz its just MY birthday. Oh well. Speaking of which, tomorrow is shaping up to be a fun day. 10 o'clock, I get up and have breakfast, then its off to the mall to see Tom Cruise turn Japanese in The Last Samurai. After then, we're having dinner (lunch maybe) at a Japanese grill, then hanging in the nearby arcade for a bit, before I come home to open my bday presents. Whee. I think I'll wait until after Christmas, but don't worry, I'll give you a complete rundown of all my amazing Christmas presents.
One final note, none of you have responded to my earlier challenge about the quote "Cool? Daddyo, we are frozen!" Perhaps I should attach an actual value to getting it right. Okay, well, since my friend Brittany has been on my heels to put her into a blog, here's the deal. Each person who gets that quote answered gets to either a) write their own little blurb for me to post in here, or b) let me write a glowing description of them. Okay, folks, you have your mission, get to it!
Almost From The Toilet
Yes, you read that title right. This post was very close to being written on the john. What made me change my mind? Porn. I got sidetracked, and before I knew it, I was ready to go. So, here I am, one load of shit lighter, here for your reading amusement.
As you can tell, I've arrived in Tennessee. That was what initially prompted the idea of the porcelain post - using my uncles neato wireless network. Being able to take this thing anywhere is nice, although, its almost superfluous, seeing as my comp has a battery life of maybe 2 hours, so I can't take it unplugged for very long, anyway. But it's still one less cord to worry about. And it DOES allow for toilet posting, or whatever.
Hrmm.. I'm growing more distracted again. Seems as soon as I start one of these, everyone on my buddy list signs on. Okay, I had a few more things to say. First, this is my last post as an 18 year old. Yep, tomorrow is my birthday, the big one nine. Yay. I don't know if I really should be so excited, though. 16 means you can drive, 17 means you can fuck, and 18 means you can vote and fight in wars. 19? You survived your first year as cannon fodder, maybe? Oh well. Also, I'm apparently the only 19 year old still excited about getting presents. Oh well, I guess that's sort of cuz I never grew up. I hope to still be playing with Transformers then I turn 90.
As you can tell, I've arrived in Tennessee. That was what initially prompted the idea of the porcelain post - using my uncles neato wireless network. Being able to take this thing anywhere is nice, although, its almost superfluous, seeing as my comp has a battery life of maybe 2 hours, so I can't take it unplugged for very long, anyway. But it's still one less cord to worry about. And it DOES allow for toilet posting, or whatever.
Hrmm.. I'm growing more distracted again. Seems as soon as I start one of these, everyone on my buddy list signs on. Okay, I had a few more things to say. First, this is my last post as an 18 year old. Yep, tomorrow is my birthday, the big one nine. Yay. I don't know if I really should be so excited, though. 16 means you can drive, 17 means you can fuck, and 18 means you can vote and fight in wars. 19? You survived your first year as cannon fodder, maybe? Oh well. Also, I'm apparently the only 19 year old still excited about getting presents. Oh well, I guess that's sort of cuz I never grew up. I hope to still be playing with Transformers then I turn 90.
20.12.03
Better Late Than Never?
Hey folks. Long time no post, eh? I'd like to say I've been busy with important stuff lately, but I haven't. Just preoccupied, I guess. Like I said, my old friend Kathy looked me up recently. Well, we managed to get in touch even more: I found her AIM screen name, and we had some good chats. She's just as great a friend as she was in elementary school. It really makes me feel good that I made such an impact on her life that she felt like looking me up, and makes me feel even better about that random subscription to classmates.com that I made like 2 years ago.
And as for other things.... I've been busy preparing for a trip to Nashville, to visit family for the holidays. AND MY BIRTHDAY! T-minus 4 days until I turn 19. Yay. Course, I still haven't abused any of my 18th year privileges. No strip clubs; no smoking; no porn; no 18 and older dance parties; no sex. Yeah, I'm basically still 16 for all intents and purposes. And even then, I only use the age for driving privileges, so I'm basically like twelve or something. Growing up is for losers, anyways. Kids have more fun. *Sings the Toys'R'Us song.*
But yeah, we were supposed to head out today, driving, and I would use my amazing GPS locater and mapping program to track us along the way, and maybe do some writing on my story. But something happened, and the trailer hitch for the thing (Volkswagen Thing), which we were hauling excess presents in, decided to break on us, so our travel plans were canceled. So I am here, being silly. Tomorrow we leave at like 6 in the morning, probably to make the trip in one day. Oh well, more time for me to write, hopefully. Don't worry, either, I'll have my uncles undoubtedly fast network to mess around with, so you'll still get to see me online. Unless you're in the Nashville area at the time, in which case, feel free to drop on by! Look for the yellow VW Thing.
One final note: in his hit song "Hey-yah", Andre 3000 asks the question "What's cooler than being cool?" While he gets the answer "Ice Cold!" I'm sure there is a better answer than that. Here are my responses.
1) Being the Fonz - "Eyyy!"
2) Reaching the South Pole.
3) Doing the above by tunneling through from the North Pole.
4) Registering several thousand mega-Fonzies on the coolometer.
5) Being the guy who said this: "Cool? Daddy-o, we are FROZEN!"
Twenty points goes to whoever can name the source of that quote, both the show its from, and the characters name (ten points per part).
Okay, I suppose its time to roll out. *Transforms into a semi and drives off into the sunset.*
And as for other things.... I've been busy preparing for a trip to Nashville, to visit family for the holidays. AND MY BIRTHDAY! T-minus 4 days until I turn 19. Yay. Course, I still haven't abused any of my 18th year privileges. No strip clubs; no smoking; no porn; no 18 and older dance parties; no sex. Yeah, I'm basically still 16 for all intents and purposes. And even then, I only use the age for driving privileges, so I'm basically like twelve or something. Growing up is for losers, anyways. Kids have more fun. *Sings the Toys'R'Us song.*
But yeah, we were supposed to head out today, driving, and I would use my amazing GPS locater and mapping program to track us along the way, and maybe do some writing on my story. But something happened, and the trailer hitch for the thing (Volkswagen Thing), which we were hauling excess presents in, decided to break on us, so our travel plans were canceled. So I am here, being silly. Tomorrow we leave at like 6 in the morning, probably to make the trip in one day. Oh well, more time for me to write, hopefully. Don't worry, either, I'll have my uncles undoubtedly fast network to mess around with, so you'll still get to see me online. Unless you're in the Nashville area at the time, in which case, feel free to drop on by! Look for the yellow VW Thing.
One final note: in his hit song "Hey-yah", Andre 3000 asks the question "What's cooler than being cool?" While he gets the answer "Ice Cold!" I'm sure there is a better answer than that. Here are my responses.
1) Being the Fonz - "Eyyy!"
2) Reaching the South Pole.
3) Doing the above by tunneling through from the North Pole.
4) Registering several thousand mega-Fonzies on the coolometer.
5) Being the guy who said this: "Cool? Daddy-o, we are FROZEN!"
Twenty points goes to whoever can name the source of that quote, both the show its from, and the characters name (ten points per part).
Okay, I suppose its time to roll out. *Transforms into a semi and drives off into the sunset.*
17.12.03
Holy Shit, Oh Crap, and What The Fuck
Those three words basically sum up my feelings for today. It makes for a nice entry, because I can divide up my topics easily. On a side note, I am currently running on no sleep. Or at least, not enough. Tonight, I swear, I will get a good 7 or more hours.
Holy Shit - This morning I got a flu shot. It wasn't so bad, really. It was really the wait that was the worst part. The place was a madhouse. Everyone was in a rush to get their flu shots before they were all out. We actually got in like second to last before they ran out. I found a kid in the waiting room with Pokemon Ruby, and I was able to trade him my Pichu for some random Pokemon. True, I didn't get anything out of it, but I felt good having given the kid a rare Pokemon. Besides, I had another Pichu for myself. Anyway, after that, and a battle in FFTA, I managed to get a quick and mostly painless flu shot, which is good, because I have a terrible fear of needles and such. Oh well, I'm happy and healthy now. The flu shot is supposedly extra important to me, because of my heart condition. There is a piece of something in my heart that, while inaccessible to my own immune system, makes a perfect place for viruses to fester and regroup, as it were. Hopefully, I'll get to remain healthy for this holiday season. I've had a bad streak of being sick over the holidays. It seems every other Christmas I've had some sort of stomach thing. I remember being in Santa Fe (festive place for Christmas, isn't it?) and walking from one condo to another, on my way to my birthday celebration, no less, and barfing up my lunch all over the sidewalk. And of course, I am now due for getting sick yet again. Oh well. Positive thinking.
Oh Crap - If you don't know yet, I am acrophobic. This makes things like changing lightbulbs that are 16 feet off the ground. For some reason, our builders for our new garage decided to add lights on the back of the garage, where WE can't use them, but they shine into our neighbors house, and that light is on the same circuit as a light we WOULD like to use. Being the tallest one in our family, it fell upon me to remove the offending lights. That means getting on a ladder with a screw driver in hand, and unscrewing the covers for the lights which are at terrible angles, and removing the lightbulb. This task, ideally, requires 4 hands, and a jet pack. So, I was a little scared. Luckily I survived, and the light was removed, so mission accomplished, I suppose. Go me.
What the Fuck - When I lived in New Jersey, I had a friend named Kathy. She was, from before pre-school until about third grade, maybe, my best friend, even though she was a grade ahead of me. Course, after a time, she hit the age where girls and boys who were friends were "in love", and got teased by their friends. It's king of odd, really, considering that today I've heard of even younger boy and girl friends. But times change. It's just weird to think that we could have been boyfriend and girlfriend back then. Oh well. Anyway, about the time I was in fifth or sixth, the office where both her and my dads worked closed down. Her dad opted to move to California, while my family stayed put. And I never got her address, or heard from her again. I assumed that was that.
Well, today, my brother brought home a letter that she had sent to my old high school councilor. She was looking for my new email address apparently. So I wrote her back, and was like - whoa. I had never really expected to hear from her again. Funny thing is, I'd never really forgotten about her. I still remember how she looks from the last time I saw her. I can't wait to hear from her again. I guess I'll let you guys know what happens as it happens. That's all I have for now, except... Oh ya, I got Prince of Persia last night, and it's a damn good game. Heh, see you round.
Holy Shit - This morning I got a flu shot. It wasn't so bad, really. It was really the wait that was the worst part. The place was a madhouse. Everyone was in a rush to get their flu shots before they were all out. We actually got in like second to last before they ran out. I found a kid in the waiting room with Pokemon Ruby, and I was able to trade him my Pichu for some random Pokemon. True, I didn't get anything out of it, but I felt good having given the kid a rare Pokemon. Besides, I had another Pichu for myself. Anyway, after that, and a battle in FFTA, I managed to get a quick and mostly painless flu shot, which is good, because I have a terrible fear of needles and such. Oh well, I'm happy and healthy now. The flu shot is supposedly extra important to me, because of my heart condition. There is a piece of something in my heart that, while inaccessible to my own immune system, makes a perfect place for viruses to fester and regroup, as it were. Hopefully, I'll get to remain healthy for this holiday season. I've had a bad streak of being sick over the holidays. It seems every other Christmas I've had some sort of stomach thing. I remember being in Santa Fe (festive place for Christmas, isn't it?) and walking from one condo to another, on my way to my birthday celebration, no less, and barfing up my lunch all over the sidewalk. And of course, I am now due for getting sick yet again. Oh well. Positive thinking.
Oh Crap - If you don't know yet, I am acrophobic. This makes things like changing lightbulbs that are 16 feet off the ground. For some reason, our builders for our new garage decided to add lights on the back of the garage, where WE can't use them, but they shine into our neighbors house, and that light is on the same circuit as a light we WOULD like to use. Being the tallest one in our family, it fell upon me to remove the offending lights. That means getting on a ladder with a screw driver in hand, and unscrewing the covers for the lights which are at terrible angles, and removing the lightbulb. This task, ideally, requires 4 hands, and a jet pack. So, I was a little scared. Luckily I survived, and the light was removed, so mission accomplished, I suppose. Go me.
What the Fuck - When I lived in New Jersey, I had a friend named Kathy. She was, from before pre-school until about third grade, maybe, my best friend, even though she was a grade ahead of me. Course, after a time, she hit the age where girls and boys who were friends were "in love", and got teased by their friends. It's king of odd, really, considering that today I've heard of even younger boy and girl friends. But times change. It's just weird to think that we could have been boyfriend and girlfriend back then. Oh well. Anyway, about the time I was in fifth or sixth, the office where both her and my dads worked closed down. Her dad opted to move to California, while my family stayed put. And I never got her address, or heard from her again. I assumed that was that.
Well, today, my brother brought home a letter that she had sent to my old high school councilor. She was looking for my new email address apparently. So I wrote her back, and was like - whoa. I had never really expected to hear from her again. Funny thing is, I'd never really forgotten about her. I still remember how she looks from the last time I saw her. I can't wait to hear from her again. I guess I'll let you guys know what happens as it happens. That's all I have for now, except... Oh ya, I got Prince of Persia last night, and it's a damn good game. Heh, see you round.
The Laptop is Back! Rejoice!
Yep, under the guise of needing it to help Dan out with my aunt's network, I have recaptured my laptop, meaning that I am now semi-mobile. I may ask my mother or grandfather to get our home a wireless network, so I can actually roam, instead of being tied down like Pinnocchio, pre-blue fairy. Oh well. I did have some fun recompiling all my stuff onto this hunk of non-junk. Actually, since Dan got Homeworld 2 today, a top of the line new video game, we had a sort of bet about whether or not my comp could run it. It could. I was surprised. But happy. It also got internet, which I enjoy, as you can tell.
Man, I'm tired. This thing lets me stay up late, which may or may not be a good thing. I also am getting randomly distracted. Ugh... This is getting hard to write. That's all I had for tonight. Later peeps.
Man, I'm tired. This thing lets me stay up late, which may or may not be a good thing. I also am getting randomly distracted. Ugh... This is getting hard to write. That's all I had for tonight. Later peeps.
15.12.03
Ugghhh... Bed Is Nice...
So, last night, I started what may become a new holiday-time tradition. I got four hours of sleep. 4 AM to 8 AM. To be fair, I usually will sleep in until at least 10 given the option, and don't usually stay up until 4. It's more like 1 or 2. But recently, I've grown addicted to FFX and Kingdom Hearts. I'm pleased to note that I've gathered more hours on Kingdom Hearts, I think, than any other PS2 game. Not much of a feat, really, since up until like last month, my brother was hoarding the system in the bowels of his room, and I don't want to go back there and sit on his bed and stare at his tiny TV to play whatever I'm playing. I much prefer it to be in the study where it is now, where I can get to it easily, and (of course, this is the point) I can get to it when Danny is asleep, aka 3 in the morning. So it is kind of a mixed blessing. But at least its a fun one.
On the Christmas front, I think I am done with all of my gift shopping. However, I continue to be drawn to the mall for other reasons. For random window shopping (I'm constantly tempted to buy things, even though I know I just need to ask and I'll get them for my birthday (Dec 24th, FYI) or Christmas), or for other random things. Like today when I drove my brothers out to get our picture with Santa, something of a family tradition, I suppose. So, that went well, which I like. Actually, I was somewhat surprised. 5 PM at the mall, ten days before Christmas, I expected it to be somewhat crowded. I was DEFINITELY not expecting it to be even less crowded than the lunchtime on Saturday that I ran into last weekend. Oh well, easier parking for Greg, I approve. The trick, of course, is scheduling the movies. As many of you should know, the new Lord Of The Rings opens Wednesday. I must see that movie. I've seen the first two, and the third needs seeing. Unfortunately, I am leaving town on Saturday, and so I need to see it before then. Wednesday is out of the question, because its going to be crazy for the opening night of the movie. And Friday will be equally crazy, cuz many people are doing Friday night movie type things, and such. So Thursday looks good. And the trick of that is we need to see it after the rest of the mall is closed, so as to avoid the Christmas crowds. Oh well, hopefully that will work.
Alright, I'm growing tired. I think I may keel over at the keyboard if I'm not careful. I'll talk to you folks later.
On the Christmas front, I think I am done with all of my gift shopping. However, I continue to be drawn to the mall for other reasons. For random window shopping (I'm constantly tempted to buy things, even though I know I just need to ask and I'll get them for my birthday (Dec 24th, FYI) or Christmas), or for other random things. Like today when I drove my brothers out to get our picture with Santa, something of a family tradition, I suppose. So, that went well, which I like. Actually, I was somewhat surprised. 5 PM at the mall, ten days before Christmas, I expected it to be somewhat crowded. I was DEFINITELY not expecting it to be even less crowded than the lunchtime on Saturday that I ran into last weekend. Oh well, easier parking for Greg, I approve. The trick, of course, is scheduling the movies. As many of you should know, the new Lord Of The Rings opens Wednesday. I must see that movie. I've seen the first two, and the third needs seeing. Unfortunately, I am leaving town on Saturday, and so I need to see it before then. Wednesday is out of the question, because its going to be crazy for the opening night of the movie. And Friday will be equally crazy, cuz many people are doing Friday night movie type things, and such. So Thursday looks good. And the trick of that is we need to see it after the rest of the mall is closed, so as to avoid the Christmas crowds. Oh well, hopefully that will work.
Alright, I'm growing tired. I think I may keel over at the keyboard if I'm not careful. I'll talk to you folks later.
14.12.03
Song Parodies
So recently, I've been thinking about song parodies. I don't know why, but I thought I'd share the new versions of popular songs I have going through my head.
Dagobah ("BabyBoi" by Beyonce Knowles) - I dunno, the main word just seems to fit. Bay-bee-boy / Day-go-bah. Anyway, it would be sort of the tale of Luke's training under Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, and have Luke singing Beyonce's part, with Yoda doing the reggae back up part, in his weird backwards speaking way, which makes it kind of hard to write. So far, all I have is the chorus, and even that is sort of still in flux:
Dagobah, you're the place where I
Train to become a Je-di.
My teacher's name is Yoda, yeah,
He's green and he's a small fry.
Dagobah, it's a swamp planet,
With rocks and much and big trees.
I came here 'cause of Obi-Wan,
He told me in a dream.
Like I said, not the best, but still, it's the best I've got.
Stacy's Moms - ("Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne) This other one I was considering was even weaker, at least it is now, because it just came to me this morning in the shower. If there's one thing that would drive a young boy even more crazy than the sight of his school friend's hot mom, it would have to be the sight of his school friend's two hot lesbian moms going at it. The music video for this one would be, suffice it to say, fantastic. I'm holding auditions for the lesbian moms now (jk).
Dagobah ("BabyBoi" by Beyonce Knowles) - I dunno, the main word just seems to fit. Bay-bee-boy / Day-go-bah. Anyway, it would be sort of the tale of Luke's training under Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, and have Luke singing Beyonce's part, with Yoda doing the reggae back up part, in his weird backwards speaking way, which makes it kind of hard to write. So far, all I have is the chorus, and even that is sort of still in flux:
Dagobah, you're the place where I
Train to become a Je-di.
My teacher's name is Yoda, yeah,
He's green and he's a small fry.
Dagobah, it's a swamp planet,
With rocks and much and big trees.
I came here 'cause of Obi-Wan,
He told me in a dream.
Like I said, not the best, but still, it's the best I've got.
Stacy's Moms - ("Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne) This other one I was considering was even weaker, at least it is now, because it just came to me this morning in the shower. If there's one thing that would drive a young boy even more crazy than the sight of his school friend's hot mom, it would have to be the sight of his school friend's two hot lesbian moms going at it. The music video for this one would be, suffice it to say, fantastic. I'm holding auditions for the lesbian moms now (jk).
13.12.03
Yay For Winter Break
Hey folks. Okay, today, I guess my winter break really started. I'll get into that in a bit, but first, let me warn you: as I write this, I'm watching Justice League and talking to folks on instant messenger, so this may be a tad sporadic. Plus, my milk glass just ran out. I'll have to get that dealt with somehow.
Anyways, I managed to sort of enjoy my first whole day of winter break. After I got out of my last Chinese class with a raging head ache, I managed to narrowly avoid the embarrassment of waiting in line with my mom for a picture with Santa. It got postponed until yesterday, but that's okay; I have things I need to buy, I think. I sure hope Lena still wants a Pokemon game. I also hope she's not reading this.
Breaking news here folks: Soccer is no longer a unique word. For a time, I treasured it as being the only English word I knew with two hard c's next to each other. Well, a few of my friends have corrected me on that issue. First bocce (which I was earlier dismissing on a technicality, but now I guess I'll let it in. You win, Dan), and now accomplish, raccoon and accuse. Any other words are welcome to be suggested.
Okay, back to the mall. Actually, I can't go back there, because I bought Christmas gifts for people who might read this, so they stay secret. But after the mall, I went and got Arby's for lunch (at 5 o'clock!) and got very lost on the way home. I made it, though, and managed to veg out in front of FFX and computers. So, yeah, its not the most exciting day, but I liked it.
I had one other topic today: Christmas presents. See, thing is, my brothers are both getting $500 guitars for Christmas. I don't have anything on my wishlist near that expensive, and I can't think of one, except for maybe an older model Transformer. One other idea I had was that of an iPod. I enjoy the use of mp3's for music, as opposed to CD's, mostly because my van doesn't have a CD player. It does have a tape player, though, so I can use a tape adapter to plug in my mp3 player. Anyway, the issue is this. I have gone through two mp3 players in as many years, and am wondering if they are really worth it. I think one is this year, though, because, for $500, or more than likely less, I should be able to get one that's higher quality. No more RIO players, they are terrible. I'm hoping for a multiple GIG storage device, too, because otherwise its not really worth it. I.E., my previous models held maybe an hour of music, and weren't really better than a burnt CD. But with even a 10 gig hard drive, I should be set forever, with all my songs. Okay, that's it for me tonight, see ya'll later.
Anyways, I managed to sort of enjoy my first whole day of winter break. After I got out of my last Chinese class with a raging head ache, I managed to narrowly avoid the embarrassment of waiting in line with my mom for a picture with Santa. It got postponed until yesterday, but that's okay; I have things I need to buy, I think. I sure hope Lena still wants a Pokemon game. I also hope she's not reading this.
Breaking news here folks: Soccer is no longer a unique word. For a time, I treasured it as being the only English word I knew with two hard c's next to each other. Well, a few of my friends have corrected me on that issue. First bocce (which I was earlier dismissing on a technicality, but now I guess I'll let it in. You win, Dan), and now accomplish, raccoon and accuse. Any other words are welcome to be suggested.
Okay, back to the mall. Actually, I can't go back there, because I bought Christmas gifts for people who might read this, so they stay secret. But after the mall, I went and got Arby's for lunch (at 5 o'clock!) and got very lost on the way home. I made it, though, and managed to veg out in front of FFX and computers. So, yeah, its not the most exciting day, but I liked it.
I had one other topic today: Christmas presents. See, thing is, my brothers are both getting $500 guitars for Christmas. I don't have anything on my wishlist near that expensive, and I can't think of one, except for maybe an older model Transformer. One other idea I had was that of an iPod. I enjoy the use of mp3's for music, as opposed to CD's, mostly because my van doesn't have a CD player. It does have a tape player, though, so I can use a tape adapter to plug in my mp3 player. Anyway, the issue is this. I have gone through two mp3 players in as many years, and am wondering if they are really worth it. I think one is this year, though, because, for $500, or more than likely less, I should be able to get one that's higher quality. No more RIO players, they are terrible. I'm hoping for a multiple GIG storage device, too, because otherwise its not really worth it. I.E., my previous models held maybe an hour of music, and weren't really better than a burnt CD. But with even a 10 gig hard drive, I should be set forever, with all my songs. Okay, that's it for me tonight, see ya'll later.
12.12.03
Out Of The Frying Pan...
GRRRR!!!!! Oh my god, I am so pissed. Today was, after 10:30, supposed to be the first day of my Winter Break. My day off. Of course, it wasn't.
Okay, I get home, ready to get on the Playstation, and my mom goes, nope, we need to do Christmas shopping. Never mind the fact that I have all the gifts I need, and my brothers don't, and THEY should be the ones to go with her, nope, I'm home, I get to go shopping. Yay. u.u. Well, I went to Target, and I'm stuck with my mom, getting my ear chewed off. Yay again... Anyway, I did get a chance to check out the Transformers, and noted they did not have the new Alternator's line I was hoping for. Oh well, I know I'll get my Transforming Subaru Impreza before too long. I also noted that they were out of Unicrons, something I'd noted they'd almost seemed to have too much of before. Apparently $40 Transformers CAN be sold to today's youth. That's a good sign. I also got my mom to get a multitap for the PS2 for my brother for Christmas, because, technically, it's "HIS", since he got it for his birthday, and so he feels that it's alright for him to stick it in his room. Fuck that, I'm not gonna go back there every time I want to kick some ass in FFX or spend five hours sitting on his bed trying to get through Kingdom Hearts.
By the way, I did get a little bit further in Kingdom Hearts. A lot farther, in fact. Eh, an hour, but I got off that stupid island in the beginning. That one last mushroom was IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. The controls are a bit of a switch from FFX, being real time as opposed to turn based fighting, but it is really enjoyable. I think I'll go back to it in a little while. When I'm done with this.
Okay, where was I in my anger at my wasted day. Anyway, I'd been promised that I could play PS2 from when shopping was done until when Danny finally got home, because, I suppose it IS his. So, I was gonna let him have it when he got home, if he wanted it. Of course, this plan was a lot better when I was to get home at about 1:30, and have three hours before Danny got in. Of course, that didn't happen. We didn't get out of Target until 2:00, and, for making me late, my mom get me some sweet things. Three packs of 8th Edition, a deck of Transformers playing cards, and a big blue CARE BEAR!!! He's big and blue and has a moon on him. I'm sure his name is written somewhere on him, but I haven't gotten a chance to look.
And of course, that was not the end of my troubles. We went to a place called Tuesday Morning to get some random Christmas Packaging. That went OKAY, I guess. Then we went to my aunts house to drop all the gifts off. Supposedly my mom would stay there and I would get to head on home and play PS2, but nope, that didn't happen either. We BOTH stayed, and I endured an hour of "We'll leave in 5 minutes." I did eventually get home, and have a frustrating time getting used to the controls for KH, because when you turn, you stop running and slow to a walk. I don't know why, but I eventually realized that if I just turn the camera angle, the guy will turn quicker easier, so that made it a little easier.
Danny got home an hour later, and I was told that I would have to drive him around for his band. I did this, and came home and was told that A) Danny was dropped off at the wrong place, which is not my fault, he was given bad directions, and when I followed him down, asking "Are you SURE done, and don't need me at all?" I heard a very strong yes, so I headed on home. Apparently, he had gotten a ride back to the RIGHT place, but discovered that B) he needed me to bring him his amplifier. Or rather, I would bring it to the local Walgreen's, and another band member's parent would get it from me. Well, I get there, no parent. I stop, look around a little, and take a peek inside. Sometimes they have odd repaints of the classic Contructicons. But I told myself, only if they have all six will I buy them. But they only have 3, so I go back out and learn, guess what, Dan DID have a amp after all. Yay.
Then I came back, ate dinner, and did this. I'm apparently out of material, but yeah, this was good to let off some steam. I'm gonna go play some more Kingdom Hearts, I guess. Laters all.
Okay, I get home, ready to get on the Playstation, and my mom goes, nope, we need to do Christmas shopping. Never mind the fact that I have all the gifts I need, and my brothers don't, and THEY should be the ones to go with her, nope, I'm home, I get to go shopping. Yay. u.u. Well, I went to Target, and I'm stuck with my mom, getting my ear chewed off. Yay again... Anyway, I did get a chance to check out the Transformers, and noted they did not have the new Alternator's line I was hoping for. Oh well, I know I'll get my Transforming Subaru Impreza before too long. I also noted that they were out of Unicrons, something I'd noted they'd almost seemed to have too much of before. Apparently $40 Transformers CAN be sold to today's youth. That's a good sign. I also got my mom to get a multitap for the PS2 for my brother for Christmas, because, technically, it's "HIS", since he got it for his birthday, and so he feels that it's alright for him to stick it in his room. Fuck that, I'm not gonna go back there every time I want to kick some ass in FFX or spend five hours sitting on his bed trying to get through Kingdom Hearts.
By the way, I did get a little bit further in Kingdom Hearts. A lot farther, in fact. Eh, an hour, but I got off that stupid island in the beginning. That one last mushroom was IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. The controls are a bit of a switch from FFX, being real time as opposed to turn based fighting, but it is really enjoyable. I think I'll go back to it in a little while. When I'm done with this.
Okay, where was I in my anger at my wasted day. Anyway, I'd been promised that I could play PS2 from when shopping was done until when Danny finally got home, because, I suppose it IS his. So, I was gonna let him have it when he got home, if he wanted it. Of course, this plan was a lot better when I was to get home at about 1:30, and have three hours before Danny got in. Of course, that didn't happen. We didn't get out of Target until 2:00, and, for making me late, my mom get me some sweet things. Three packs of 8th Edition, a deck of Transformers playing cards, and a big blue CARE BEAR!!! He's big and blue and has a moon on him. I'm sure his name is written somewhere on him, but I haven't gotten a chance to look.
And of course, that was not the end of my troubles. We went to a place called Tuesday Morning to get some random Christmas Packaging. That went OKAY, I guess. Then we went to my aunts house to drop all the gifts off. Supposedly my mom would stay there and I would get to head on home and play PS2, but nope, that didn't happen either. We BOTH stayed, and I endured an hour of "We'll leave in 5 minutes." I did eventually get home, and have a frustrating time getting used to the controls for KH, because when you turn, you stop running and slow to a walk. I don't know why, but I eventually realized that if I just turn the camera angle, the guy will turn quicker easier, so that made it a little easier.
Danny got home an hour later, and I was told that I would have to drive him around for his band. I did this, and came home and was told that A) Danny was dropped off at the wrong place, which is not my fault, he was given bad directions, and when I followed him down, asking "Are you SURE done, and don't need me at all?" I heard a very strong yes, so I headed on home. Apparently, he had gotten a ride back to the RIGHT place, but discovered that B) he needed me to bring him his amplifier. Or rather, I would bring it to the local Walgreen's, and another band member's parent would get it from me. Well, I get there, no parent. I stop, look around a little, and take a peek inside. Sometimes they have odd repaints of the classic Contructicons. But I told myself, only if they have all six will I buy them. But they only have 3, so I go back out and learn, guess what, Dan DID have a amp after all. Yay.
Then I came back, ate dinner, and did this. I'm apparently out of material, but yeah, this was good to let off some steam. I'm gonna go play some more Kingdom Hearts, I guess. Laters all.
Last Day In The Semester
Okay, good news on the classes front: I'm getting an emergency get out of free card from my doctor. Once I stop being lazy and actually go fill out the forms, I can get a medical excused absence or something, effectively dropping all my classes. So w00t to that.
On a lighter note, as I was driving to school this morning, I heard something odd on the radio. For some reason, they had decided to make a game out of shooting paint balls at one of their morning DJs, the resident jackass known only as "Lunch Box." Now, I have done paintball before, and it was most enjoyable, for the most part. (Not really; it was dark, and late, and my glasses had done a good job of fogging up inside the mask, which also fogged up, making me very blind.) I managed to survive through that, wearing a large heavy body suit to protect me from the paint balls, which HURT. Especially when they don't break, which happened to me more often than it should have, making me seem like the boy who cried wolf. Well, on the show, they had put Lunch Box into a full body suit, sort of. Unfortunately for him, it was an ELF suit (for festive holiday fun) not a PAINTBALL suit (for safe paintball fun). This to me seemed somewhat bad. Especially when one listener/marksman stated that he was going to aim "for his nads." OUCH. I didn't hear the end of it, but I certainly hope he is alright. I know I probably wouldn't be.
Now I have a few questions for YOU, my dedicated readers. Tomorrow I am planning on seeing a movie, and was wondering what suggestions you might have. You can e-mail me suggestions, and if I like them, I will post them up here. Man, I need a message board system or something.
Another message board topic: which PS2 game do you recommend I work on, FFX or KH? I've gotten about 5 hours into FFX, and I like it a bunch, but KH has been sitting there, and I barely touched it when I rented it, and its tempting me, saying "Play me... You know you wanna cast spells with a sailor duck with a speaking impediment." So, maybe I'll try working on that. Okay, I'm off. Catch you on the flip side. (God that's a corny phrase.)
On a lighter note, as I was driving to school this morning, I heard something odd on the radio. For some reason, they had decided to make a game out of shooting paint balls at one of their morning DJs, the resident jackass known only as "Lunch Box." Now, I have done paintball before, and it was most enjoyable, for the most part. (Not really; it was dark, and late, and my glasses had done a good job of fogging up inside the mask, which also fogged up, making me very blind.) I managed to survive through that, wearing a large heavy body suit to protect me from the paint balls, which HURT. Especially when they don't break, which happened to me more often than it should have, making me seem like the boy who cried wolf. Well, on the show, they had put Lunch Box into a full body suit, sort of. Unfortunately for him, it was an ELF suit (for festive holiday fun) not a PAINTBALL suit (for safe paintball fun). This to me seemed somewhat bad. Especially when one listener/marksman stated that he was going to aim "for his nads." OUCH. I didn't hear the end of it, but I certainly hope he is alright. I know I probably wouldn't be.
Now I have a few questions for YOU, my dedicated readers. Tomorrow I am planning on seeing a movie, and was wondering what suggestions you might have. You can e-mail me suggestions, and if I like them, I will post them up here. Man, I need a message board system or something.
Another message board topic: which PS2 game do you recommend I work on, FFX or KH? I've gotten about 5 hours into FFX, and I like it a bunch, but KH has been sitting there, and I barely touched it when I rented it, and its tempting me, saying "Play me... You know you wanna cast spells with a sailor duck with a speaking impediment." So, maybe I'll try working on that. Okay, I'm off. Catch you on the flip side. (God that's a corny phrase.)
10.12.03
Ah, Crap
Well, my life is in the shitter. I seem to have done a rather good job of failing all my classes so far. To be fair, I've had a rough semester, and I haven't been up to my full Greg-ness for most of it, either. With any luck, I can ace my Comp Sci test and not have to retake it AGAIN. But other than that, this was a total waste of a semester. Oh well. I'll have to chalk this up to experience, and do better in the future. Or just be lazy and wait for my plan for lazy life to take root.
I really need to start on that story by the way. I've been putting it off because, well, that's what I do. I put stuff off. Which is probably why I'm failing my classes miserably, but that's neither here nor there. Luckily, this being my last week of school and all, I should have plenty of time to work on it starting this Saturday, or whenever. Maybe I'll post up a preview for you good folks in the near future, just to give you a taste, and get you're feed back... Which I haven't gotten any of really, but still. Which reminds me, while most of you are my friends who know what my story is about, there is a chance that you are some random blog addict and found my site by chance, in which case, I shall summarize for you my tale of amazement. Basically, I went with the premise of "right what you know." What do I know? Not much. But I know my friends, so with them in mind, I decided to throw them (and myself, of course) into an adventure story. Again, I don't know much about adventure, so I've decided to set the story in modern times (like two or 3 years into the future). Of course, just "Greg and his friends, two or three years into the future" doesn't make a good story, so there's a twist. Someone (I either don't want to tell who, or I don't really know yet, you guys get to guess) has released some sort of disease into the air, killing off about 95% of the worlds population. A few lucky survivors were either immune to the effects, or, like myself and my three traveling partners, were in locations remote enough to avoid the range of the disease. So, using breathing apparatuses we jury rigged, we venture back to the mainland and try to rally the survivors to repopulate the earth and defeat the unknown menace. I'm sort of planning on it being a multi part epic arch, in a very open world, making limitless possibilities for sequels (as per my earlier plan). So, anyway, now that that's out of the way. Congrats. You now know as much about my stories as I know. Now leave me alone and let me work on it.
Actually, I've got something else to bitch about, while I've got you here. Why are people so very stupid? This time, my complaint is the fact that Rockstar games have been forced to remove "objectionable" material from their hit game, GTA:Vice City. In particular, the mission where you have to "Kill all the Hatians" was deemed inappropriate and offensive. Imagine that, something inappropriate and offensive in a game that is rated M. I mean, there's a reason we have these ratings. You want me to clue you in on why it is? It's because parents are too lazy to check out what video games their children are buying, and want someone else to determine what is appropriate for their child. Okay, you got what you wanted. So, how about actually USING THEM. The M means MATURE. If your kid is not mature, then he should not be getting that game. It's really pretty simple. So don't complain when your kid gets a game he shouldn't have, and it isn't appropriate for him. Instead, maybe you should try and follow along and see what it is that has sucked your child's attention up so much. It's not like a game called "GRAND THEFT AUTO" is really trying to hide the fact that it's about crime. And even if you don't know what it's called, you really don't have to wait that long before your son's character stops a passing automobile, opens the door, pulls out the driver, and takes the car. If that isn't something you want your child to be exposed to, then DON'T expose him to it. Rockstar games does not demand that your child purchase their game, let alone play it. About the unpolitcal correctness itself, I find it important to note that the game takes place in the 1980's, before the whole PC fad caught on, and is based around the Mafia, not exactly known for being the most PC in ANY era.
On that same note, I was discussing the topic of anime with a friend recently, and I noted how sad it is that the Japanese can get so much out of the art of animation while we Americans limit it to children for the most part. A recent example of how this can backfire is the show South Park. Yeah, its already been discussed by everyone and his dog, but this seems relevant to my current rant, so I get to, too. Anyway, back when the show first aired, parents were outraged. "A cartoon with swearing and violence!? How could Comedy Central allow children to watch this?" said America's parents as they one by one watched the cartoon their kids were up until midnight on a school night watching. Read that again, and see if you catch the subtle irony in it. The show aired, and still does, late at night. There is NO programming suitable for children on at that hour. Even CNN goes hardcore after 10. So why were people so surprised at South Park? Of course it's going to be a cartoon. They couldn't get children to act in a film version of that. It is also covered with more Disclaimers than an episode of Jackass, another example of American intelligence at its best.
On another note, today, I was bored, and began reading up on (i.e. oogling pretty pictures of) Final Fantasy X-2. The games recent release and non-stop ad campaign were one of the driving forces to make me get FFX yesterday. Note that X-2 does not mean twelve. That will be Final Fantasy XII. No, FFX2 is a sequel to Final Fantasy 10, the first actual sequel in the increasingly erroneously named Final Fantasy series' history. Anyway, the game picks up about 2 years after the first games end, and stars its predecessors main heroine, the main char from FFX's girlfriend (I think. Remember, I just have one hour of FFX logged. This may all be wrong, but it doesn't matter), along with two of her other friends. All female. That's right. There are three female playable characters in the game, and all of them are girls. As Futurama's Captain Branigan once said, "That's a wave of destruction that's easy on the eyes." Of course, the question on everyone's mind is, can a game with three girls succeed in the male dominated Video game market? Well, I present you with an objective (yeah right) look at females in past video games, to help decide:
Princess Peach - Your basic damsel in distress, she is pretty much the anti-feminist view of women that games usually took in that era, though she did function as a playable character in SMB2 and the Mario sports games, and was always one of the better racers in Mario Kart 64.
Samus Aran - The first female action hero, but she was wearing too much armor to tell. Still, it proved that gamers are ready to play as (with?) a girl.
Amy Rose - She was nothing more than Sonic's fangirl to start, though again, as a playable character in Sonic advance, she is more than formidable (she has a big ass hammer!)
Lara Croft - She was the first obviously female action hero, though putting her in a platform jumping game was a bit excessive; you could have put her in an open field and players still would have had her jumping around in it.
Secret Agent Barbie - um... Yeah... Never mind.
Anyway, this all leads up to FFX2, a game with 3 female PCs, and no male ones. Whether it can hold up in the male-dominated gaming market is still anyone's guess, but all signs point to tits. Erm, I mean yes.
I really need to start on that story by the way. I've been putting it off because, well, that's what I do. I put stuff off. Which is probably why I'm failing my classes miserably, but that's neither here nor there. Luckily, this being my last week of school and all, I should have plenty of time to work on it starting this Saturday, or whenever. Maybe I'll post up a preview for you good folks in the near future, just to give you a taste, and get you're feed back... Which I haven't gotten any of really, but still. Which reminds me, while most of you are my friends who know what my story is about, there is a chance that you are some random blog addict and found my site by chance, in which case, I shall summarize for you my tale of amazement. Basically, I went with the premise of "right what you know." What do I know? Not much. But I know my friends, so with them in mind, I decided to throw them (and myself, of course) into an adventure story. Again, I don't know much about adventure, so I've decided to set the story in modern times (like two or 3 years into the future). Of course, just "Greg and his friends, two or three years into the future" doesn't make a good story, so there's a twist. Someone (I either don't want to tell who, or I don't really know yet, you guys get to guess) has released some sort of disease into the air, killing off about 95% of the worlds population. A few lucky survivors were either immune to the effects, or, like myself and my three traveling partners, were in locations remote enough to avoid the range of the disease. So, using breathing apparatuses we jury rigged, we venture back to the mainland and try to rally the survivors to repopulate the earth and defeat the unknown menace. I'm sort of planning on it being a multi part epic arch, in a very open world, making limitless possibilities for sequels (as per my earlier plan). So, anyway, now that that's out of the way. Congrats. You now know as much about my stories as I know. Now leave me alone and let me work on it.
Actually, I've got something else to bitch about, while I've got you here. Why are people so very stupid? This time, my complaint is the fact that Rockstar games have been forced to remove "objectionable" material from their hit game, GTA:Vice City. In particular, the mission where you have to "Kill all the Hatians" was deemed inappropriate and offensive. Imagine that, something inappropriate and offensive in a game that is rated M. I mean, there's a reason we have these ratings. You want me to clue you in on why it is? It's because parents are too lazy to check out what video games their children are buying, and want someone else to determine what is appropriate for their child. Okay, you got what you wanted. So, how about actually USING THEM. The M means MATURE. If your kid is not mature, then he should not be getting that game. It's really pretty simple. So don't complain when your kid gets a game he shouldn't have, and it isn't appropriate for him. Instead, maybe you should try and follow along and see what it is that has sucked your child's attention up so much. It's not like a game called "GRAND THEFT AUTO" is really trying to hide the fact that it's about crime. And even if you don't know what it's called, you really don't have to wait that long before your son's character stops a passing automobile, opens the door, pulls out the driver, and takes the car. If that isn't something you want your child to be exposed to, then DON'T expose him to it. Rockstar games does not demand that your child purchase their game, let alone play it. About the unpolitcal correctness itself, I find it important to note that the game takes place in the 1980's, before the whole PC fad caught on, and is based around the Mafia, not exactly known for being the most PC in ANY era.
On that same note, I was discussing the topic of anime with a friend recently, and I noted how sad it is that the Japanese can get so much out of the art of animation while we Americans limit it to children for the most part. A recent example of how this can backfire is the show South Park. Yeah, its already been discussed by everyone and his dog, but this seems relevant to my current rant, so I get to, too. Anyway, back when the show first aired, parents were outraged. "A cartoon with swearing and violence!? How could Comedy Central allow children to watch this?" said America's parents as they one by one watched the cartoon their kids were up until midnight on a school night watching. Read that again, and see if you catch the subtle irony in it. The show aired, and still does, late at night. There is NO programming suitable for children on at that hour. Even CNN goes hardcore after 10. So why were people so surprised at South Park? Of course it's going to be a cartoon. They couldn't get children to act in a film version of that. It is also covered with more Disclaimers than an episode of Jackass, another example of American intelligence at its best.
On another note, today, I was bored, and began reading up on (i.e. oogling pretty pictures of) Final Fantasy X-2. The games recent release and non-stop ad campaign were one of the driving forces to make me get FFX yesterday. Note that X-2 does not mean twelve. That will be Final Fantasy XII. No, FFX2 is a sequel to Final Fantasy 10, the first actual sequel in the increasingly erroneously named Final Fantasy series' history. Anyway, the game picks up about 2 years after the first games end, and stars its predecessors main heroine, the main char from FFX's girlfriend (I think. Remember, I just have one hour of FFX logged. This may all be wrong, but it doesn't matter), along with two of her other friends. All female. That's right. There are three female playable characters in the game, and all of them are girls. As Futurama's Captain Branigan once said, "That's a wave of destruction that's easy on the eyes." Of course, the question on everyone's mind is, can a game with three girls succeed in the male dominated Video game market? Well, I present you with an objective (yeah right) look at females in past video games, to help decide:
Princess Peach - Your basic damsel in distress, she is pretty much the anti-feminist view of women that games usually took in that era, though she did function as a playable character in SMB2 and the Mario sports games, and was always one of the better racers in Mario Kart 64.
Samus Aran - The first female action hero, but she was wearing too much armor to tell. Still, it proved that gamers are ready to play as (with?) a girl.
Amy Rose - She was nothing more than Sonic's fangirl to start, though again, as a playable character in Sonic advance, she is more than formidable (she has a big ass hammer!)
Lara Croft - She was the first obviously female action hero, though putting her in a platform jumping game was a bit excessive; you could have put her in an open field and players still would have had her jumping around in it.
Secret Agent Barbie - um... Yeah... Never mind.
Anyway, this all leads up to FFX2, a game with 3 female PCs, and no male ones. Whether it can hold up in the male-dominated gaming market is still anyone's guess, but all signs point to tits. Erm, I mean yes.
9.12.03
Randomness
Okay, take two for today -
I had a cool day, full of randomness. I like this kind of day, where you don't know what you're going to be doing from one minute to the next. It really beats the hum-drummery of school every day. So, here's how it went.
Originally, I was going to have a nice car ride with my mom and aunt to deliver our passport papers for my trip to China. A nice 45 minute trip to log in on FFTA. Of course, upon filling out the forms, we found that only I could actually go through with the process. So, I got to go by myself to the post office. There was a chance to get in a few battles, one while I waited for my number to come up, another while, after I realized that I was waiting in the wrong line, I waited AGAIN, and a third as my paper work was completed. I was impressed by the fact that the process in fact did not last any longer than a battle. That is good in my book.
So, after the passport process went off without a hitch (despite all my mom's fears), I decided to celebrate with a trip to the mall. Actually, I had been planning for it since before I left. I grabbed four of my unused GBA games (including the extra FFTA cartridge I spoke of earlier) and was planning on trading them in for an Christmas present for some kid through my church. I don't know everything about it, but it felt good to be able to turn my used games into someone else's gift. I was planning to sell my games at $5 each, giving me exactly twenty to spend on one of the PS2 "greatest hits" games, which are proven classics (I actually had sort of decided on Final Fantasy X). Well, it turns out I had GREATLY underestimated my games value. After the clerk added in a bonus for having 4 games traded in at once, I ended up with about $58 in store credit. I'm not one to leave that stuff unspent, so I grabbed myself 3 games, as well. My own copy of FFX, plus Kingdom Hearts, a game I rented a while back and still have my save file from the one hour of work I'd done on it. Also, I picked up, for a mere $6.50, a copy of Tribes 2, which my pal Dan has been bugging me to get for the online play. So, I hope you're happy. Actually, I really am. Tribes will let me play with my friends some more, and Kingdom Hearts always appealed to me, being a mix of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Donald Duck is the coolest wizard ever. FFX, so far (I've played just an hour of it) looks FANTASTIC to my eyes, which were raised on a Sega Game Gear and that level technology. Also, 4 games for 4 games, plus a bit from a gift card of unknown value (I didn't think it would have enough TODAY, but it had at least $13 on it, apparently), seems a fair trade. This is the first visit I made to EB without actually shelling out any cash for stuff.
One other thought ran through my head today: IT IS WINDY HERE. On my drive out to the post office, a huge dust cloud appeared in front of me. And my car was being buffeted around by the unusually strong gusts. I experienced a similar thing on my drive through the plains from Amarillo back to Austin, but I had been assured that no such gusts would exist here in the hill country. Well, so much for that. And of course, I'm driving my big white VAN, which has the aerodynamics of a box. Which is really pretty much all it is, only on wheels. Oh well. I suppose I'd rather be in a 2 ton brick than a half pound ferarri in these winds. Cars that fly are not nearly as cool when you cant control.
Okay, that's all for tonight. See you tomorrow. Wish me luck on my finals tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm going to need it.
I had a cool day, full of randomness. I like this kind of day, where you don't know what you're going to be doing from one minute to the next. It really beats the hum-drummery of school every day. So, here's how it went.
Originally, I was going to have a nice car ride with my mom and aunt to deliver our passport papers for my trip to China. A nice 45 minute trip to log in on FFTA. Of course, upon filling out the forms, we found that only I could actually go through with the process. So, I got to go by myself to the post office. There was a chance to get in a few battles, one while I waited for my number to come up, another while, after I realized that I was waiting in the wrong line, I waited AGAIN, and a third as my paper work was completed. I was impressed by the fact that the process in fact did not last any longer than a battle. That is good in my book.
So, after the passport process went off without a hitch (despite all my mom's fears), I decided to celebrate with a trip to the mall. Actually, I had been planning for it since before I left. I grabbed four of my unused GBA games (including the extra FFTA cartridge I spoke of earlier) and was planning on trading them in for an Christmas present for some kid through my church. I don't know everything about it, but it felt good to be able to turn my used games into someone else's gift. I was planning to sell my games at $5 each, giving me exactly twenty to spend on one of the PS2 "greatest hits" games, which are proven classics (I actually had sort of decided on Final Fantasy X). Well, it turns out I had GREATLY underestimated my games value. After the clerk added in a bonus for having 4 games traded in at once, I ended up with about $58 in store credit. I'm not one to leave that stuff unspent, so I grabbed myself 3 games, as well. My own copy of FFX, plus Kingdom Hearts, a game I rented a while back and still have my save file from the one hour of work I'd done on it. Also, I picked up, for a mere $6.50, a copy of Tribes 2, which my pal Dan has been bugging me to get for the online play. So, I hope you're happy. Actually, I really am. Tribes will let me play with my friends some more, and Kingdom Hearts always appealed to me, being a mix of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Donald Duck is the coolest wizard ever. FFX, so far (I've played just an hour of it) looks FANTASTIC to my eyes, which were raised on a Sega Game Gear and that level technology. Also, 4 games for 4 games, plus a bit from a gift card of unknown value (I didn't think it would have enough TODAY, but it had at least $13 on it, apparently), seems a fair trade. This is the first visit I made to EB without actually shelling out any cash for stuff.
One other thought ran through my head today: IT IS WINDY HERE. On my drive out to the post office, a huge dust cloud appeared in front of me. And my car was being buffeted around by the unusually strong gusts. I experienced a similar thing on my drive through the plains from Amarillo back to Austin, but I had been assured that no such gusts would exist here in the hill country. Well, so much for that. And of course, I'm driving my big white VAN, which has the aerodynamics of a box. Which is really pretty much all it is, only on wheels. Oh well. I suppose I'd rather be in a 2 ton brick than a half pound ferarri in these winds. Cars that fly are not nearly as cool when you cant control.
Okay, that's all for tonight. See you tomorrow. Wish me luck on my finals tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm going to need it.
GODDAMN IT!
HOLY CRAP THIS THING ATE MY POST! Maybe I'd repost it later, but this was a huge thing I just wrote, and I don't feel like doing it again. Laters.
8.12.03
My Plan
How I plan on living forever and never actually WORKING -
Step one - Write the Great American Novel. It must be intricate and compelling, set in an interesting universe and hinting at expansion.
This one I've already done, sort of. I have the idea for a great novel in my head, as well as several sequels (more on that later).
Step two - Release book to popular acclaim, wait for movie offer to come in.
I believe this step is just inevitable.
Step three - Supervise movie production. Make sure it remains true to the original intent while still appealing to a broad demographic.
See, this is where a lot of movie ideas have failed in the past. Like Jurassic Park 3 (not really based on a book, but still), that was a terrible movie. Actually, the Lost World would be a better example. They threw in so much stuff so it would appeal to the average movie goer, but sacrificed a good deal of what was in the book to do so, and lost in that. JP3 was just an extending of that way of thinking ("Who needs a good story when you have lots of CGI dinosaurs?") Doing it my way will not only make for a better movie, but also increase book sales after it comes out.
Step four - MERCHANDISING. Sell action figures and coloring books and let the good times roll.
This, apparently, cannot be overdone. Again, take Jurassic Park. Though the first movie was really just a bunch of people running from dinosaurs for an hour and a half, the toys for the movie included "Net Throwing Doctor Grant", "Rifle Action Ian Malcom", "Grenadere Lexie Hammond", and even "Battle-Damaged Trike, with Karate Chop Action!" The real surprise, for me, though, was the Jurassic Park COLORING BOOKS aimed at 3-5 year olds, based on a PG-13 movie that would scare the crap out of anyone that young.
Step Five - Sequels. Wash Rinse and Repeat.
Like I said, I already have the sequels lined up in my head. I'm trying to keep them a secret, to keep up the suspense, but I'm really terrible at that, so if you bugged me about it, you could probably hear what they're all about, or even get yourself written into one (like you, Britt).
So, there you have it. 5 easy steps so unlimited wealth, all without doing any real work. I'm set. Off to start writing... Something else. Laters.
Step one - Write the Great American Novel. It must be intricate and compelling, set in an interesting universe and hinting at expansion.
This one I've already done, sort of. I have the idea for a great novel in my head, as well as several sequels (more on that later).
Step two - Release book to popular acclaim, wait for movie offer to come in.
I believe this step is just inevitable.
Step three - Supervise movie production. Make sure it remains true to the original intent while still appealing to a broad demographic.
See, this is where a lot of movie ideas have failed in the past. Like Jurassic Park 3 (not really based on a book, but still), that was a terrible movie. Actually, the Lost World would be a better example. They threw in so much stuff so it would appeal to the average movie goer, but sacrificed a good deal of what was in the book to do so, and lost in that. JP3 was just an extending of that way of thinking ("Who needs a good story when you have lots of CGI dinosaurs?") Doing it my way will not only make for a better movie, but also increase book sales after it comes out.
Step four - MERCHANDISING. Sell action figures and coloring books and let the good times roll.
This, apparently, cannot be overdone. Again, take Jurassic Park. Though the first movie was really just a bunch of people running from dinosaurs for an hour and a half, the toys for the movie included "Net Throwing Doctor Grant", "Rifle Action Ian Malcom", "Grenadere Lexie Hammond", and even "Battle-Damaged Trike, with Karate Chop Action!" The real surprise, for me, though, was the Jurassic Park COLORING BOOKS aimed at 3-5 year olds, based on a PG-13 movie that would scare the crap out of anyone that young.
Step Five - Sequels. Wash Rinse and Repeat.
Like I said, I already have the sequels lined up in my head. I'm trying to keep them a secret, to keep up the suspense, but I'm really terrible at that, so if you bugged me about it, you could probably hear what they're all about, or even get yourself written into one (like you, Britt).
So, there you have it. 5 easy steps so unlimited wealth, all without doing any real work. I'm set. Off to start writing... Something else. Laters.
On China, Japan, and Russia
Okay, its Monday just before one. That gives me about 30 minutes to do a post. No problem.
Let's see, what all have I done since my last post. Not much. I'm really boring. Oh yeah, on Saturday, I had my second Chinese class. That's right, Greg is learning Chinese. I'm not exactly sure why, though. I'm going to be there for maybe two weeks, when my aunt picks up her adopted babies, which is a really great thing, for all parties. The babies need parents, and my aunt and uncle have been unable to conceive, but I know they'll be great mother and father to the kids. So anyway, since they get to go, of course, so do the rest of us. By that I mean my grandfather, mother, and brothers, and possibly my other aunt and uncle, along with their daughter. So this all leads to me taking Chinese classes, so when I show up, not only will I be a stupid American tourist, I'll be a stupid American tourist who thinks he's special cuz he knows how to say "I'm wearing clean underwear!" in Chinese. Of course, I don't really plan on using it when I'm over there. Or rather, I don't plan on using anything I've LEARNED while over there. I'm just going to stick with the group, and if I need Chinese, I'll grab a dictionary, and POINT to the words I mean. I'm not even going to try and pronounce them, because if I've learned one thing from my classes, it's that I can't learn nearly enough from just 8 hours of Chinese class. God I hope there are some people who speak English over there.
Which reminds me: one of the reasons. I'm so against learning Chinese is because the language I REALLY want to learn is Japanese. For starters they're our allies, I think (the U.S. being really really hateable right now makes me somewhat doubt that, but since we have an overwhelming military presence in Japan, I think they're on our side). Also, they're the people with all of the really cool stuff. They are like the high tech center for the globe. Hardware-wise, at least. Making all the computing languages English by default sort of gives foreigners a disadvantage, you know? But the Japanese have all the cool gadgets, like mini cameras, mini mp3 players, mini computers... You name it, they have it, fun-sized! And they have all the cool new games... Specifically, a PS2 game based on the original Transformers series, which doesn't look like its coming over here anytime soon. Sigh... Plus, in my opinion, capitalism > communism, at least in practice. I do have a great deal of respect for the former Soviet Union, however, for two accomplishments:
1 - the MIG fighter, an jet that was designed to be tough not because it was better in the air, but because, due to communism, the runways weren't getting cleaned! That always makes me laugh.
2 - Tetris, the best game ever created, was originally designed to keep engineers in their space program alert on long night shifts, and to encourage problem solving thinking. Good job, Ruskies, it worked.
Oh yeah, and their space program was pretty cool, getting the first object into space, and getting the first man into space (I think). We still got the first man on the moon, but... Well, I think they had kinda given up then, and focused more on not collapsing.
I kinda got sidetracked there. I got like 10 minutes before my next class, and I still need to tell you all about yesterday. Actually, on second thought, my headaches are sucking on me some more, I'm going to skip today's comp sci, since its just review for Wednesday's final. Anyway, yesterday we had a family trip to Killeen to visit my grandfather's cousin. Last time I fell asleep during the visit, so this time, I had to stay conscious, or I'd get into trouble. On the way there (and the way back) I pulled out my Game Boy SP and worked on my Final Fantasy Tactics Advance campaign. For those of you with a Game Boy Advance, let me say, if you don't have it already, get this game. I liked it so much, I went out and bought it again, after I lost my first copy. I was going to wait for Christmas to get a new one, but I couldn't. (On a side note, I found the original copy in my car recently, so if anyone wants it, just ask). It's just that good. I'm almost addicted to it. I'm not, because if I was, I'd be playing it right now instead of talking to you fine folks. But yeah, I have a full day of activity logged onto that game, and then some. To compare, I have maybe 5 hours logged onto my Final Fantasy VII game, but that's more because I can't play that on long car rides. If I could... hrmm, I know what to ask for next time my family has a huge road trip.
Oh yeah, the real high point of yesterday, aside from leveling up my main FFTA character (I'm a ninja!) from 14 to 15 (the leveling system is really kind of slow), was lunch we had IHOP, the International House Of Pancakes, though, for the life of me, I don't really know what makes them International. I've never seen an entry on the menu for even Belgium Waffles, but I bet they do have French Toast. Still, that shouldn't count. Anyway, I was going to have an omelet, like I usually do, but I decided, on a hunch, to go for their new stuffed crepes. I got the Ham and Swiss ones, and let me tell you, they were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Oh My God, I cannot express how awesome they were. You just have to try them. Right now.
Let's see, what all have I done since my last post. Not much. I'm really boring. Oh yeah, on Saturday, I had my second Chinese class. That's right, Greg is learning Chinese. I'm not exactly sure why, though. I'm going to be there for maybe two weeks, when my aunt picks up her adopted babies, which is a really great thing, for all parties. The babies need parents, and my aunt and uncle have been unable to conceive, but I know they'll be great mother and father to the kids. So anyway, since they get to go, of course, so do the rest of us. By that I mean my grandfather, mother, and brothers, and possibly my other aunt and uncle, along with their daughter. So this all leads to me taking Chinese classes, so when I show up, not only will I be a stupid American tourist, I'll be a stupid American tourist who thinks he's special cuz he knows how to say "I'm wearing clean underwear!" in Chinese. Of course, I don't really plan on using it when I'm over there. Or rather, I don't plan on using anything I've LEARNED while over there. I'm just going to stick with the group, and if I need Chinese, I'll grab a dictionary, and POINT to the words I mean. I'm not even going to try and pronounce them, because if I've learned one thing from my classes, it's that I can't learn nearly enough from just 8 hours of Chinese class. God I hope there are some people who speak English over there.
Which reminds me: one of the reasons. I'm so against learning Chinese is because the language I REALLY want to learn is Japanese. For starters they're our allies, I think (the U.S. being really really hateable right now makes me somewhat doubt that, but since we have an overwhelming military presence in Japan, I think they're on our side). Also, they're the people with all of the really cool stuff. They are like the high tech center for the globe. Hardware-wise, at least. Making all the computing languages English by default sort of gives foreigners a disadvantage, you know? But the Japanese have all the cool gadgets, like mini cameras, mini mp3 players, mini computers... You name it, they have it, fun-sized! And they have all the cool new games... Specifically, a PS2 game based on the original Transformers series, which doesn't look like its coming over here anytime soon. Sigh... Plus, in my opinion, capitalism > communism, at least in practice. I do have a great deal of respect for the former Soviet Union, however, for two accomplishments:
1 - the MIG fighter, an jet that was designed to be tough not because it was better in the air, but because, due to communism, the runways weren't getting cleaned! That always makes me laugh.
2 - Tetris, the best game ever created, was originally designed to keep engineers in their space program alert on long night shifts, and to encourage problem solving thinking. Good job, Ruskies, it worked.
Oh yeah, and their space program was pretty cool, getting the first object into space, and getting the first man into space (I think). We still got the first man on the moon, but... Well, I think they had kinda given up then, and focused more on not collapsing.
I kinda got sidetracked there. I got like 10 minutes before my next class, and I still need to tell you all about yesterday. Actually, on second thought, my headaches are sucking on me some more, I'm going to skip today's comp sci, since its just review for Wednesday's final. Anyway, yesterday we had a family trip to Killeen to visit my grandfather's cousin. Last time I fell asleep during the visit, so this time, I had to stay conscious, or I'd get into trouble. On the way there (and the way back) I pulled out my Game Boy SP and worked on my Final Fantasy Tactics Advance campaign. For those of you with a Game Boy Advance, let me say, if you don't have it already, get this game. I liked it so much, I went out and bought it again, after I lost my first copy. I was going to wait for Christmas to get a new one, but I couldn't. (On a side note, I found the original copy in my car recently, so if anyone wants it, just ask). It's just that good. I'm almost addicted to it. I'm not, because if I was, I'd be playing it right now instead of talking to you fine folks. But yeah, I have a full day of activity logged onto that game, and then some. To compare, I have maybe 5 hours logged onto my Final Fantasy VII game, but that's more because I can't play that on long car rides. If I could... hrmm, I know what to ask for next time my family has a huge road trip.
Oh yeah, the real high point of yesterday, aside from leveling up my main FFTA character (I'm a ninja!) from 14 to 15 (the leveling system is really kind of slow), was lunch we had IHOP, the International House Of Pancakes, though, for the life of me, I don't really know what makes them International. I've never seen an entry on the menu for even Belgium Waffles, but I bet they do have French Toast. Still, that shouldn't count. Anyway, I was going to have an omelet, like I usually do, but I decided, on a hunch, to go for their new stuffed crepes. I got the Ham and Swiss ones, and let me tell you, they were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Oh My God, I cannot express how awesome they were. You just have to try them. Right now.
4.12.03
Vegetarianism
Today I made a startling revelation: I can never become a vegetarian (let alone vegan). Here's why. I love meat. Sammiches are the best. Subway is a weekly ritual for me. Except for poultry, which I just don't care for, any meat is good in my book. So, if I tried to go without it, I would go into withdrawal. I would start to try and stalk people who had hoagies.
Luckily, I think I have enough self control to leave them be, and just have some cheese or something, but eventually, something would snap, and I'd need some meat. RIGHT THEN. I couldn't wait to make a sandwich or something, and I'd revert to my primal instincts. I would eat a person. Worse yet, it would be someone I know very well. It couldn't be a stranger, because I don't know where they've been, and I'm not going to put them in my mouth. And it couldn't be an enemy of mine, because I don't have any of those. So it'd have to be a friend. Probably a girl, because I don't think I could fight a guy into eating position, unless I snuck up on him.
So, now that I've eaten a girl, a friend I once liked, I have to continue trying to act like it never happened. My friends would start asking questions. "What happened to Bethany?" they'd ask. And I'd have to respond with "I ate her" (because I'm a terrible liar) and hope they take it as a joke. But they wouldn't. They'd say, "You mean you ate her OUT?" And then the conversation would go very awkward for a few seconds, before I had to eat my other friend, too. Plus any witnesses who happened to be near by, or anyone who looked tasty.
So here-in lies the problem. I'm a skinny guy, and I'd be full after the first person or two. So, you see, it just wouldn't work.
Luckily, I think I have enough self control to leave them be, and just have some cheese or something, but eventually, something would snap, and I'd need some meat. RIGHT THEN. I couldn't wait to make a sandwich or something, and I'd revert to my primal instincts. I would eat a person. Worse yet, it would be someone I know very well. It couldn't be a stranger, because I don't know where they've been, and I'm not going to put them in my mouth. And it couldn't be an enemy of mine, because I don't have any of those. So it'd have to be a friend. Probably a girl, because I don't think I could fight a guy into eating position, unless I snuck up on him.
So, now that I've eaten a girl, a friend I once liked, I have to continue trying to act like it never happened. My friends would start asking questions. "What happened to Bethany?" they'd ask. And I'd have to respond with "I ate her" (because I'm a terrible liar) and hope they take it as a joke. But they wouldn't. They'd say, "You mean you ate her OUT?" And then the conversation would go very awkward for a few seconds, before I had to eat my other friend, too. Plus any witnesses who happened to be near by, or anyone who looked tasty.
So here-in lies the problem. I'm a skinny guy, and I'd be full after the first person or two. So, you see, it just wouldn't work.
3.12.03
W00t! First Post!
Okay, after some fiddling, I got this blog thing to work. So, now i have something to do whilst I wait between classes with a headache. Did I mention I have a headache? Because I do. Give me all your sympathy. NOW. Anyway, I'm planning on using this as a place to vent all my pent up angst, once I get some. Or, it could just be another way of me getting my rants out there, this time without bothering random people in my e-mail contacts list. Yeah, no more of that. Now you can just find me at my nifty new URL. Yay for easily memorizable stuff. I wonder how long it will take before I'm growing impatient with myself for not updating this. Speaking of which, I should update on Mondays and Wednesdays, and maybe on the weekend some time. Who knows? Okay, enough babbling for one day. Catch you later.
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