Too good to pass up

Five year old article about current topics:

"The reality is that the video games train you to put one bullet in every target. (But) it's not natural to put one bullet in every target. The natural thing to do is to fire at a target until it drops, and then go on to the next, and the next, and the next."

Oh, see, I always thought the NATURAL thing to do was NOT SHOOT AT OTHER PEOPLE! Stupid stupids.

I really should just stop thinking about this, and let the satisfaction that I'm gonna be a much better parent than all the dumbasses who are upset that their's pixelated sex in their 10 year olds GTA when I have kids. Sigh. I just need to vent.

Where's Goldeneye when you need it?

Now For Your Regularly Scheduled Update

Wow it took a while to bring me to the edit screen. In any case, I think its time for an update. Here goes.

First, I'm writing this between bringing Danny back from his last driver's ed lesson and driving him out to his 2nd hour of actual driving. I hate his schedule. 30 minutes each way sucks. 9:30 in the morning sucks in general. I hate it. But yeah, it could be worse. Like Thursday. Oh God Thursday was rough. You see, that day was the day Jackie was leaving to go to see family in PA. Being the loving boyfriend I am, I was willing to drive her there at 5 in the morning. And since that meant I'd have to leave her house at 4AM, I decided, eh, why not stay up all night. Whee.... So I got Jackie to the airport all right, and I got back home in one piece. And I went to bed. Thank god for the other mother in the carpool, who was willing to take over for me. I wasn't sure if I could make the full hour long driving.... x_x. I got a little sleep and I guess I'm okay now.

No, not really. It's mostly my fault. Ever since I got wireless Internet installed I've had no real reason to stop looking at the computer and actually go to bed. So yeah, I've become a real night owl, cept I still have (well, had - YAY no more drivers ed!) to get up at 9AM. That kills, because then I can't even try to fall asleep again until midnight or later. Sigh...

Speaking of late night activities, I went and saw MC Chris at Emo's last night! It kicked ass! I really need to learn all of his songs, because they really are great. And the guy's hilarious, even without music.

"Now some of you may have noticed that I have an extremely high voice, and yeah, that got me picked on a lot when I was younger, but ask me if I care!"
*Croud asks*
"well, yeah, actually, I think if I had a lower voice I might have more sex."

*Later that night.*

"I love that a lot of you have bought my music."
*Crowd cheers*
"And I also know that even more of you STOLE my music!"
*Crowd cheers louder*
"Now ASK ME IF I FUCKING CARE!?"
*Crowd: "DO YOU CARE!?"
"please buy a t-shirt."

I'm proud to say I did buy one. An Optimus Prime sketch that reads "MC CHRIS OWNZ"

And then I hit publish. X_X

Anyway, I also ended the night by getting Chris to sign a Darksteel copy of Fireball. I wanted his DJ, John, who kicked ass on the iLaptop, or whatever Apple calls them. Unfortunately, the DJ left the signing booth just before it was my turn. x_x. I'll get you next time, John!

In future events, Matt and I need to venture forth to Best Buy and Fry's to return defective wireless equipment. That shall be fun indeed. Also, some news for the Magic players out there. It seems that the booster draft I'd planned for NJ seems to have lost half of its planned guests, so that seems to have fallen through. So I'm not gonna use my Champions of Kamigawa Box there. Instead, I'm rounding up Austin MTG for an 8-man draft. There's not too many slots left, but if you're free this Wednesday evening (we don't quite have a definite time, and even the date is subject to change), drop me a line. I'm only charging $5 per person.

That's right. Five (5) dollars. And prizes (6-4-1-1).

CHK CHK Draft at my house. Be there.

I'll leave you with that.

Childish Things

Since I didn't get a Summer job, I've been tasked with being Danny's personal driver while my mom is out of town. This entails mostly driving him to drivers ed in the morning, picking him up in the afternoon (it's a two hour class, and the drive is a half hour each way. I get an hour to rest while he's there. X_X), his multiple bass lessons on Tuesdays, and whenever he and his friends need rides around. There are bonuses, though. Like, one of his bass lessons is near a Borders, making that the perfect place to wait for his lesson to finish.

I've always loved bookstores, ever since I was young. Of course, recently, I've found myself straying from actual "Books" and more towards comics (both American and Japanese in origin). I suppose this is bad. I always thought I was a smart guy. Why am I not reading anything? Oh well. If you all have any decent books to read, I'm up for it. (Actually, I've still got a few to finish, including the last book of LOTR, and I was rereading the Hitchhikers series. I'm just wondering what all you guys are reading.)

But back to the comics, which is what the majority of this is about. I love comic books. I think they're a great way to tell a story. The perfect blend of graphical and text-based narrative. I actually got into the whole comic book thing from Chobits and Transformers. (I've really got a thing for stories about different artificial intelligences, actually. It's fun.) Chobits opened to me the world of manga, and I quickly jumped into Love Hina, Card Captor Sakura, and others. But Transformers wasn't comics to me, it was Transformers. It wasn't gonna draw me into the American superhero comics. I'd always liked the superhero cartoons, though. To a point, anyway. Batman: The Animated Series (and its long line of spinoffs, up to and including Justice League Unlimited and Static Shock, though not the Zeta Project. Blech) was a great series. I really am interested in getting any and all of those on DVD (maybe not Static, or Superman), though maybe not for quite as much as they're charging now. Maybe later.

Anyway, moving on. Batman was good. And the new Teen Titans, though not really a B:TAM spinoff, was superb. That was superheroes the way I wanted them: in easy to digest 30 minute chunks, minus commercials. Superhero cartoons NOT the way I wanted them, on the other hand, were the ones that came from Marvel's universe. X-Men and Spiderman. If you ever watched them, you'll be with me in saying that they played out like soap operas. That is to say, that underneath each episodes major villian fight, there was an ongoing emotional issue or two. Or 100, I don't know. And honestly, it hurt the direct plot of the episode. When each episode was viewed as a small chunk of a much larger epic storyline that spans the entire series, then yeah, I guess that works. But the flaw there is that that kind of show is targeted at children who, like I was when it was on, don't have that kind of attention span. So I saw a couple of episodes and went, "I'm confused, what just happened?" I caught the gist of the random villian for the episode, but the other things flying through the episode confused me. Wolverine's bizarre past. Whether Cyclops and Jean are together or not. What the hell Professor X and Magneto were doing on that island from the past or whatever. When I turned on an episode of Spiderman last year, and saw the title was something like "The Mutant Saga IX: The Punisher - Part 3 of 5" I decided that I had made the right choice.

So, flash forward a bit. I've become hooked on the Teen Titans. I must know more. Which brings us back to me being at Borders a lot. And Barnes and Nobles, and Waldenbooks, etc. I see, among their other Graphic Novels (big people talk for comics), Teen Titans, volume one. Which, like the Transformers Volumes I'd gotten, is the best answer to my major problem with comics. My crappy attention span. I can't be bothered to go to the comic store or whatever every month to get the latest issue of whatever series I am. Or rather, not that I can't be bothered; I can't trust myself. I'd miss an issue here and there, and have no idea what was going on. Issues 1-4 and 6. What a waste. The volues though, have all 6 issues in a particular story-line. This I like. So, long story short, I bought Teen Titans, volume one. I became hooked.

Yup. Hooked on Comics. So flash forward to today, I've been buying all sorts of comics. Marvel and DC alike. I haven't hit on any of the more "Indy" titles. Batman is good. Teen Titans is good. Ultimate X-Men is good. (I need to do a paragraph about them in a sec.) I'm tinkering with the idea of adding Spiderman in there somewhere, but I'm not sure.

X-Men - I got into these guys cuz I really do like the characters. All of them. And the way they all balance each other out. It's not just one unstoppable Ubermench like Superman. (God I hate Superman.... Maybe another day I'll talk about that... Or maybe later in this.) The problem with X-Men, though, is that, as one writer put it, "the Marvel Universe is one of the longest continuously running narratives on the planet." Since the first Marvel comic in whatever old year it was ('40s? '50s?), its all been one long interconnected story line, filled with plot holes, cross-overs, deaths and rebirths... (DC isn't much better, really) I don't have the energy into that massive a project. But I found the Ultimates line, which is like an alternate universe, where they all started over, just a few years back. I dunno when, but yeah. I started with that. I doubt I'll get all the way through. Oh well.

Anyway, I was thinking about the lines of comics, and how, in a sense, DC and Marvel Differed from each other. It's hard though, because DC has the full range of superheroes. You've got your Batman, Robin, (and the rest of Batman's crew), and Green Arrow, regular humans who are out fighting crime to be good guys. And on the other end, you've got Superman (who I believe got Kryptonite added as a weakness long after the fact as a way to "nerf" him by DC writers) and the Green Lanterns, two guys with nearly unbeatable superpowers. (I'm sure there's more than this, but those are the only two in this category that came to mind.) You've also got a host of mediocre superheroes, like Beast Boy and Flash, who, while better than the average human, aren't EXTREMELY spectacular.

Marvel has the same range, but I really can't be bothered to think of them. Anyway, I wanted to see what set the two "universes" apart. And it finally hit me. I started with Batman to see if there was a comparison for him in the Marvel Universe. At first I thought Daredevil, but then I remembered that he wasn't just blind, he was SUPER-blind. Blinded by toxic chemicals. Thus, superpowers. It's weird, but yeah. I was nearly stumped and ready to call that the distinction, but then I remembered the Punisher. X_X Really, he's no Batman. Batman is a force to fear. A symbol of terrible justice to evil doers. The Punisher isn't. He's a mercenary and a vigilante, near as I can tell. I could be wrong. Anyway, he's Marvel Comics token "non-powered" superhero. So I'm back at square one.

Theory number 2 is the one that I've stuck with. Here goes. DC is all about Extraordinary people. Superman. The Flash. Batman. All of them. They aren't normal people. They just aren't. Meanwhile, Marvel is more ordinary people in extrodinary circumstances. The X-Men all seem to react the way normal people would if they had superpowers like that. That's how it is with most of the Marvel characters. Both of them, though, have a unique feel. Marvel is like our own world, only with random freaks (I hesitate to call most of them superheroes, but several are in fact) running around, reacting and being reacted to. The DC comics, though, seem more apt to embracing costumed superheroes. Batsignals, whistles that summon Superman, whatever. The DC universe is truely a super heroic universe.

And, on a somewhat lighter note, I've recently gotten back into skipping. Not skipping class (Lord knows I do too much of that already). Just plain ordinary skipping. Like kids do. I haven't skipped in so long, years, I think, and tonight I just skipped down my driveway after taking out the trash. It's FUN! I'm gonna do it a little more often. Not all the time, but yeah. When I'm feeling giddy. ^_^

Night. *Skips off.*

A Fairy Tale

Here's a little story I wrote for my girlfriend last night. It was sweet and cute, and I thought you might like it too.

---

For my Princess~
From her Prince~

The Princess's Ocean

Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom, there lived a beautiful princess. She was friends with a handsom prince from a nearby kingdom. Whenever they were together, they had the most wonderful time. They would laugh and play and run through the fields, and do all sorts of fun things together, and theyd each have smiles on their faces from the time they joined to the time they left at the end of the day. They were always happiest together.

Since it was hard for the prince and the princess to get together, the prince and the princess would often write letters to each other to keep the other happy, and try to bring smiles to their faces; and usually, this would work too. But one day, the prince wrote a letter that made the princess cry. The prince had missed one of the princesses words in her letter, and answered a question totally innappropriately. The princess got sad, because she thought it meant the prince didn't love her any more. She cried and cried for days and days. She never wrote the prince back, she just stayed in her room and cried.

Eventually, her tears became a river, and that river divided the two kingdoms, seperating the prince from the princess even more. When the prince heard about how the princess was sad because of what he had written, he was devastated; the last thing he'd ever wanted was to make the princess sad. So he wrote a letter to the princess, begging her forgiveness.

"Dearest Princess, please don't cry. You mean the world to me, and every tear you drop pains me like a thousand arrows."

But the princess did not stop crying. She read the letter and cried harder, now because not only was she hurt by what the prince had written earlier, she thought the prince was now outright telling her she was hurting him. Undaunted, the prince wrote another letter.

"Dearest princess, please be happy. Your happyness to me is like a warm summers day, pushing the clouds away and bringing light and joy to all the creatures in the land.”

Now the princess cried harder still, because she thought the prince had told her that her being sad was hurting everyone in the land. By this time, the princess had cried enough tears that an ocean had formed between the two kingdoms. Roaring waves beat against the castle walls of both kingdoms, and vicious sea beasts had made their homes in the ocean. Finally, the prince vowed he would right the princess one more letter, and hope it would be enough. The princess was sitting at her window, staring out at the kingdom across the ocean, when a servant entered her room and handed her the third letter. She read it:

"Dearest princess, I will not beg you to be happy. I will not try even to persuade you to stop your crying. All I am asking you in this letter is one simple favor for the man you once considered your love, and the man who still considers you his:"

The princess turned the letter over and read the last two words:

"Turn around."

Startled, the princess spun towards her door and saw, standing in its frame, the prince. He was wearing his full royal regalia, though it was soaked with the salty water from the ocean of tears. The prince had refuesed to give up on his princess, and built a boat for to reach her. He had sailed across the treacherous currents and dangerous waves to reach his love. And he stood there, looking at her sad face, with the same big kindhearted smile he always had for her. The princess leapt from her seat and ran towards the prince, leaping into his arms. He still cried, though now she cried tears of joy, and the prince cried with her, sharing in her happyness for the first time in far too long. For the rest of the evening, the two simply stood there, crying in each others arms, until at last, neither cried no more.

"I love you", the prince told the princess

"And I love you!" the princess told the smiling prince

Now, the two had kissed before. But these were friendly kisses, pecks on the cheek, that sort of thing.The had never had a kiss like this. The prince and the princess, for the first time in their lives, shared a kiss of true love. From the passion of that kiss, a rainbow was formed. It shot into the sky, and parted the clouds before the sun, and finally ended back at the princes own kingdom. It wasn't long before the sun dried up the ocean, and the two kingdoms could work together as they had before. When the valley between the kingdom was completely dried, the prince and princess got married, and their union so unified their kingdoms into one.

The rainbow still stays in the sky to this day, a symbol of their love, and any two lovers love, showing how even after the tears and the storm, the beauty of love remains.

The End

My Bad

Okay peoples, my bad on the Savage thing. He was spouting random things today about how the very religion is under attack and just... I dunno. It came out badly. This isn't a religious war. It's a cultural war. Religion is a major issue, yes, but truly religious people do not fight each other. All religions preach peace. Any that don't are being misled. And that's all I have to say. I can't think.

Also, the Nazi's from Germany were not on a religious war. Or at least, they weren't trying to wipe out Christianity, like Savage (and Winston Churchhill, it seems) were trying to claim. They were Christians. They were just a little off center. *Shrugs.* Evil and stupid are really only differentiated by shades of grey.

Look Yonder

(ONE)1 On the twentieth and one day He spoke to the masses, saying, 2 "Look, ye, to the left, 3 for I have left you a gift." 4 And the people looked leftward, their eyes full of hope, 5 only to discover that there was naught to the left. 6 And so they looked up to Him and asked 7 "Hey, what gives?" 8 And He looked off guard and replied 9 "Oh, did I say left? 10 I meant right. Yeah, right." 11 So the people looked to the right, 12 but still they saw nothing new. 13 And a booming voice appear'd behind them, shouting 14 "Use the scroll bar!" 15 The people began to scroll.

(TWO)1 After much scrolling, the people had finally made their way past the land of previous posts. 2 It was here that they saw something new. 3 "Rejoice," the leaders of men proclaimed, 4 "For He Who Is Great hast giv'n to us 5 a chatter box utility with which to commune, 6 even when His Presence is not with us." 7 And He looked down at the people 8 and He smiled. 9 Much was right in His world.

A Few Odd Choices

Today I was driving along and all the FM stations were playing commercials. I swear they time it so they're all doing commercials at the same time. Anyway, I decided, what the hell, I'll switch to AM, and see what the conservative talk radio peoples were saying. And Sean Hannity (of Hannity and Colmes, which deserves its own little paragraph, but I can't figure out how to segue into it well) was on, and blah, I dunno. I switched it. Some other guy. Meh. I switch again. And the guy's saying things I like. I keep it there.

Turns out his name is Michael Savage. I guess he's a Republican, but he's a pretty independant minded one, not afraid to sway from the party lines every now and again. It's also pretty clear (from my 15 minutes of listening to the guy) he doesn't agree with Hannity or the ever-popular Rush Limbaugh, for mostly the same reason: they just spout the Republican agenda. So I may switch back from time to time, if I can ever figure out what time its usually on. There was one thing in particular that caught my attention. I don't have this exact, but the gist of it is this. Yesterday afternoon, Bush announced John Roberts as his pick for the new supreme court justice. Naturally, the democrats are ready to create a shitstorm about the whole process, cuz apparently Roberts isn't the most moderate of peoples. Anyway, Savage says the whole process is just an easy out for Rove and his whole mess over there. Which it is. The media is fiendishly one-minded about its stories, and has an attention span like a riddlin kid. They leap onto the newest story at the first hint that it may be bigger, and this one looks bigger. Meanwhile, Rove gets off the hook, and once the Democrats make a big deal about how terrible Roberts would be, Bush can step in and say "Oh, hey, maybe you're right. In the spirit of bi-partisanship, I will instead nominate (insert moderate judge here)." He comes out as the hero, and everyone wins. YAY.

It's like watching a train wreck.

In other news, I'm still undecided about DS vs PSP... I thought I had it, but really no system has the upper hand. Here's the comparison:

PSP:
Pro-
-Higher end tech
-Lumines
-MP3/MP4 Playback
-Wireless web browsing
Con-
-Load times on games.
-Most expensive
-Most games likely to be the same as or similar to PS2 titles
-Nothing much other than Lumines in the near future

DS
Pro-
-Unique set-up
-Unique games
-Cheaper
-Kirby
-Able to play GBA titles (though not GB or GBC u_u)
Con-
-Lower specs
-Less functionality
-3rd party titles less likely to use amazing tools
-Stylus may not work well when I'm on the move
-Nintendogs - WTF?

So I'm sorta stuck. Really no system is pulling me strongly towards it. Maybe by Christmas, they'll both come down $50 or so and have at least 3 titles each worth getting. So far, neither does. By the way, if you'd like to help sway me to your particular camp, here's the kinds of games I'm looking for.

-A puzzle game. One I can start for a minute or two while waiting in line or something. (Tetris)
-An action game. Something when I feel like kicking ass and taking names, or really just doing something tangible. (Metroid, SMB)
-A slow working RPG style game, something with a story I can sink my teeth into and invest a lot of time in, when I know I'll be somewhere a while (Final Fantasy:Tactics Advance, Advance Wars)

Actually, the DS has Metios (I'm not so sure about that), Kirby and Metroid, and Advance Wars DS (whatever they're calling it). That may just do it for me. $300 isn't too bad for all four games, with more on the way. Any suggestions? Anyone even listening here? My comment boxes are ghosts. U_U

It's Like Looking Into The Future

Takes all types, eh? I wonder if I'll be anything like that when I'm retired. Prolly not as hardcore, but if I've got days on end with nothing to do, I can see myself sitting through random games to completion. I always like the satisfaction of beating a game all the way through, though a lot of people will probably tell me that's just because I don't play enough games. U_U

In other news, can someone tell me how what this guy has is different from a blog? I can't tell the difference.

Silly Rockstar

Courtosy of Penny Arcade.

Sigh. This is basically what happened. The first two stages, anyway. Someone found sex scenes in GTA:San Andreas, and Rockstar denied having created them. It's obvious to anyone who knows about software on nearly any level that this is an outright lie. Especially after the same scenes were made accessable on PS2 using only one of those cheat devices like the old Game Genie (I think its called Action Replay). Obviously the games had the sex scenes within them from the start. Rockstar merely blocked them from the game, which was, in retrospect, a dumb move, but at the time, it probably seemed like it would be cheaper and easier, and probably a more versitile solution than just deleting it.

The fact of the matter is that Rockstar should have, once it was revealed, taken responcibility and said, "Yes, we made the scenes, found them to be innapropriate for the game, and removed them from gameplay. The people who granted access to the scenes did so in violation of the EULA, and this is not sanctioned by Rockstar in any way." That was what needed to be said. That, along with a strategy that harps on the fact that the unaltered game was itself not intended to be played by anyone younger than 17, would probably gotten them of with a warning, and all future copies of GTA, this time with the Hot Coffee code edited out, would have been given the warning "Game Experience May Change During Online Play," which, realistically, should be put on all PC games.

Instead, for having lied, Rockstar is going to look like a dishonest peddler of smut to children. I wouldn't be surprised if GTA gets slapped with an A/O rating, if it is even allowed to be sold at all. Honestly, my big worry is that this will all backfire, GTA will get an A/O rating, and continue to sell like hotcakes. Admittedly less than rated M hotcakes, but hotcakes nonetheless. The one year difference in age restrictions won't make too much of a difference. This will instead prove to game companies that A/O titles can sell and be profitable. and the market will have a surge in outlandishly sexual games. Japanese dating sims will take off in popularity. EB will have to keep all its adult titles behind a velvet counter where no one can see them without asking. But you know that since it's for kids, parent's won't think twice about buying a video game, because as the while GTA controversy has shown, Parents are Dumb. "What's that, Billy, you want Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: Angel of Nudity? Okay, I'll get it while I'm at the mall." X_X

An Announcement Of Ultra-Trivial Importance

I have come here to take a stance on a less-than-urgent issue. I am against genitalia melting. Particularly my own genitals, though there are other genitals I particularly wish to remain unmelted. Though I cannot speak for others, I would like to state for the record here that my genitals are cute, and thus would be adversely affected by melting.

It has also recently come to my attention that my declaration of my genitals as "cute" is the first of its kind. It is quickly becoming the hot new trend. Feel free to join in and declare your genitals to the world as being cute.

Or not.

New Type 2

Okay, a little more about magic stuff... As I said, Ninth Edition is gonna rotate in, and I'm gonna be without my Vine Trellises. Boo hoo. I think I've pretty much come to terms with switching to Llanowar Elves for that deck, unless I find some random Birds of Paradise, but we all know that isn't happening. At least, not until Ravinica. But by then it will be too late.

Anyway, in the mean time, I've decided that a simpler deck is in order. My mom has the mono-red deck that we made, though I could conceivably use that. However, I prefer a different route for my next deck. About 5 minutes ago, I made this decklist up, mostly based on looking at the 9th edition spoiler.

4x Hand of Cruelty
2x Nekrataal
4x Hypnotic Specter
4x Ornithopter
4x Foul Imp
4x Bottle Gnomes
4x Unholy Strength
4x Terror
4x Blackmail
4x Phyrexian Arena
22 Swamp

Feel free to look up any of the cards on Gatherer.Wizards.com
I think the only cards I'll have trouble getting are the Hyppies, but in a month I should have the whole thing up and running. Prepare yourself. Muwahaha.

Awesome Monologues.

I found a website that hosts monologues. Awesome monologues, nonetheless. http://www.whysanity.net/monos/index.html You all should make an effort to check them out. Here are a few that I just had to share though. First from the West Wing:

President Bartlet (Martin Sheen): I like how you call homosexuality an abombination.
Jenna Jacobs: I don't say homosexuality is an abomination, Mr. President, the Bible does.
President Bartlet: Yes, it does. Leviticus.
Jenna Jacobs: 18:22.
President Bartlet: Chapter and verse. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I have you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophmore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask another? My Chief of Staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself or is it okay to call the police? Here's one that's really important because we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? "Think about that, will you? Oh, and one last thing. You may have mistaken this for your meeting of the ignorant tight-asses club but in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits.

And another:

President Bartlet (Martin Sheen): You're a son of a bitch you know that? She bought her first new car and you hit her with a drunk driver. What, is that supposed to be funny? "You can't conceive nor can I the strangeness of the mercy of God," says Graham Green. I think I know who's ass he was kissing there, 'cause I think your're just vindictive. What was Josh Lyman, the warning shot? That was my son, what did I ever do to yours but praise his glory and praise his name? There's a tropical storm that's gaining speed and power. They say we haven't had a storm this bad since you took out that Tender ship of mine in the North Atlantic last year, sixty-eight crew. You know what a Tender ship does? It fixes the other ships, and, delivers the mail, that's all it can do. Gracias Tibiago Domine. Yes, I lied. It was a sin, I've committed many sins. Have I displeased you, you feckless thug? Three point eight billion new jobs that wasn't good? Bailed out Mexico, Increased foreign trade, 30 million new acres of land for conservation, put Mendoza on the bench, we're not fighting a war, I've raised 3 children. That's not enough to buy me out of the doghouse?
Hace credam a deo pio? A deo iusto, a deo scico? Cruciatus in crucem. Tuus in terra sertvus, nuntius fui. Officium perfecti. Cruciatus in crucem. Eas in crucem.
(Translation: Am I really to believe that these are the acts of a loving God? A just God? A wise God? To hell with your punishments. I was your servant here on Earth. And I spread your word and I did your work. To hell with your punishments. To hell with you.)

These are all really good, and I have to get back into watching the show with Matt.

President Bartlet: Abbey told me to not drive while I was upset and she was right. She was right yesterday when she told me not to get on that damn bicycle while I was upset, but I did it anyway, and I guess I was just about as angry as I’ve ever been in my life. It seems my granddaughter, Annie, had given an interview in one of the teen magazines. And somewhere between movie stars and make-up tips, she talked about her feelings on a woman’s right to choose. Now Annie, all of 12, has always been precocious, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders and I like it when she uses it, so I couldn’t understand it when her mother called me in tears yesterday. I said, "Elizabeth, what’s wrong?" She said, "It’s Annie." Now I love my family and I’ve read my bible from cover to cover so I want you to tell me, from what part of the Holy Scripture do you suppose the Lambs of God drew their Divine inspiration when they sent my 12 year-old granddaughter a Raggedy Ann doll with a knife stuck through its throat? (pause) You’ll denounce these people, Al. You’ll do it publicly. And until you do, you can all get your fat asses out of my White House.

Don't worry. Not all the quotes I picked out are from the West Wing. Any of you ever catch Sports Night? It's a sitcom about a late night sports news show. And it is spectacular. It's not just funny, its smart and sophisticated. Way better than Seinfeld. Kicks the pants off of Friends. Check this shit out:

(A story from Jeremy (Joshua Malina), the new associate producer of late night sports highlights show, Sports Night. He has just come back from a hunting trip that was his first produced segment. He was asked whether he had a problem and, because he thought he should conform to his boss, said no. This is what he said when his boss asked him why he ended up sick and hyperventilating in the hospital.)
Jeremy: Yeah. Bob and Eddie were using the IR-50 Recon by Bushcomber. It's got a sixteen-inch microgrooved barrel with 30-30 mags, side-scope mount, wire- cutter sheath, quick-release bolt, mag catches and a three pound trigger. So I figured we must be going after a pretty dangerous duck. We shot a deer. (pause) In the woods near Lake Mattatuck on the second day. There was a special vest they had me wear so that they could distinguish me from things they wanted to shoot, and I was pretty grateful for that. Almost the whole day had gone by, we hadn't gotten anything. Eddie was getting frustrated and Bob Shoemaker was getting embarrassed. My camera guy needed to re-load so I told everybody to take a ten minute break. There was a stream nearby and I walked over with this care-package Natalie made me. I sat down and when I looked up I saw three of them; small, bigger, biggest. Recognizable to any species on the face of the planet as a child, a mother and a father. Now, the trick in shooting deer is you gotta get 'em out in the open. And it's tough with deer, 'cause these are clever, cagey animals with an intuitive sense of danger. You know what you have to do to get a deer out in the open? You hold out a twinkie. (pause) That animal clopped up to me like we were at a party. She seemed to be pretty interested in the twinkie, so I gave it to her. Looking back, she'd have been better off if I'd given her the damn vest. And Bob kind of screamed at me in whisper, "Move away!" The camera had been re-loaded and it looked like the day wasn't gonna be a washout after all. So I backed away, a couple of steps at a time, and closed my eyes when I heard the shot. Look, I know these are animals, and they don't play bridge and go to the prom, but you can't tell me that the little one didn't know who his mother was. (pause) That's gotta mean something. And later, at the hospital, Bob Shoemaker was telling me about the nobility and tradition of hunting and how it related to the native American Indians. And I nodded and I said that was interesting while I was thinking about what a load of crap it was. Hunting was part of Indian culture. It was food and it was clothes and it was shelter. They sang and danced and offered prayers to the gods for a successful hunt so that they could survive just one more unimaginably brutal winter. The things they had to kill held the highest place of respect for them, and to kill for fun was a sin. (pause) And they knew the gods wouldn't be so generous next time. What we did wasn't food and it wasn't shelter and it sure wasn't sports. It was just mean.

Yeah, it's not funny. It's just... awesome! O_O!

(A black high school athlete in tennessee refuses to play football under the confederate flag. Six of his teammates have joined him and their futures are all in doubt. Isaac has been coaxed into doing an on-air editorial on his show, Sports Night.)
Isaac (Robert Guillaume): Thank you, Casey. Exaudio, Comperio, Conloquor. That's a Latin phrase that translates: To Listen, To Learn, To Speak. Those words are carved into the stone arches that form the entrance to the undergraduate library at Tennessee Western University. The stones themselves were hauled to the site by an elite delegation from the Army Corps of Engineers. What made this group elite was that its members were drawn from the Delaware 44th Rifle Battalion and the Tennessee 14th: The Tennessee Volunteers. They worked together on one of the first post-war restoration projects. The building of a college. This afternoon, an extraordinary young man named Roland Shepard made what had to have been an excrutiating decision. He said he wasn't playing football under a Confederate flag. Six of his teammates then chose not to let Shepard stand alone. I don't know how many people witnessed this spectacle, but it was a sight to see. Seven men, the oldest of them not yet 21 and all of them knowing full well the potential consequence of their actions. And I choose to join them at this moment. In the history of the South, there's much to celebrate. And that flag is a desecration of all of it. It's a banner of hatred and separation. It's a banner of ignorance and violence and a war that pitted brother against brother, and to ask young black men and women, young Jewish men and women, Asians, Native Americans, to ask Americans to walk beneath its shadow is a humiliation of irreducable proportions. And we all know it. Tennessee Western has produced some outstanding alumni in the last hundred years. People of wisdom and vision. Strength and compassion. One of them is Luther Sachs. Luther Sachs owns Continental Corp, which owns the Continental Sports Channel, which you're watching right now. Luther Sachs is a generous alumni contributor to Tennessee Western with a considerable influence over its Chancellor, Davis Blake, and its Board of Trustees. Luther, you've got a phone call to make. You've got to call Chancellor Blake and tell him to take down that flag or he can stop looking for your checks in the mail. You've got to put these young men back in a classroom, and I mean pronto. These boys are gonna make you proud one day, Luther. I challenge you to do the right thing. Not an unreasonable request to make of a man whose alma mater declares Exaudio, Comperio, Conloquor. To Listen, To Learn, To Speak. In the meantime, God go with you, Roland Shepard and you six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee. God's not done with any of you yet.

Damn. Now I want to watch that show again. x_x It was so good. Anyone know if its on or anything?

GTA Woes

Have you guys heard about this? Senator Clinton, and apparently some other Congress-men and -women, have gone batshit insane over some download that allows you to have sex in Grand Theft Auto. To quote Hillary(from another article):

'The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder.'

Now, those of you who are parents out there, please, PLEASE tell me you would not buy any of the Grand Theft Auto games for your CHILDREN (i.e, ages 4-9; after that comes preteen - 10 to 12 - and teen - 13-18).

People, the game has an M rating on it. That means its not for people under 17. Even without the sex patch (which reportedly unlocks some material which was left in the game, but made inaccessable), the game is inappropriate for anyone under the age of, say, 15, and that's pushing it. This is not a "children's game" like the senator seems to think. I agree, if there was a patch for a Sonic The Hedgehog game in which the blue speedster whips out a foot-long hedgehog cock and proceeds to plow into Amy Rose (the pink hedgehog - his girlfriend or something), then that would be cause for concern. Even then, if I had bought the game for my kids, I would be a responsible parent, making sure that they weren't doing anything inappropriate with the game.

That is the problem with too many people out there. They grew up with Pac-Man, Galga, and Mario, and see video games as harmless electronic distractions. They don't stop and think, "Hey, maybe I should get to know what my kid is doing with his time. It could be important." They just assume video game = safe. And so now, as the video game culture matures, parents are shocked at the video games which are, in fact, marketed at adults. There are plenty of games out there for kids to play. Grand Theft Auto is not one of them. Halo is not one of them. If you want to make sure your kids are safe from violence and smut and all that, without all the hassle of actually parenting, get them the Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo has made its fortune on being kid friendly amidst Sony and Microsofts pull for the more adult, 18-35 gamers market.

And just to be safe, here's a neat trick: If you want to be sure the games your kid is buying aren't for adults, don't buy it for him. That is to say, let him buy it himself. If the clerk lets him have it, then it should be okay. You see, this is the flaw in the game rating system. It says that stores shouldn't sell games rated M to people under 17. But most people younger than that, and especially anyone young enough to really be worried about, doesn't have their own money, or at least not enough to buy a game. I always had to drag my mom with me to the store, give her the game, and let her pay for it. So, assuming I had her buy me GTA3 (which wasn't out when I was a kid, but just for an example), the clerk would be perfectly alright in selling HER the game; she's well over 17. (21, actually. A lady is never older than 21, and never weighs more than 100 pounds, and a gentleman knows better than to ask.) It doesn't matter if she's never going to play the game, as long as she's the one buying it.

Really, though, clerks don't actually card people or anyting. They should, in an ideal world (it'd be like R-rated movies; remind me to tell you about my experience with those later on), but they really don't so the only real line of defence between kids and bad games is parents. Please, please, pay attention to what your children are doing. This includes video games, other games with their friends, what they watch on TV, what they listen to, etc. And for all you non parents out there, don't be shy to take a proactive stance, like the one I take in this conversation:

me: senators who think grand theft auto is corrupting children should go home and parent
Sublimely Howl: yup
me: x_x
Sublimely Howl: I was corrupted... by Katamari Damacy
me: the M does not stand for "Minors" or "May be good for children" or "Massively educational"
Sublimely Howl: yup
Sublimely Howl: I saw a 5 year old getting that game
Sublimely Howl: O.o
Sublimely Howl: I was like... wtf?!
me: why?
me: i would fucking slap his mother/father/guardian
me: and whoever sold the game
me: "oh, this is for a 5 year old? okay then"
me: x_x
Sublimely Howl: they sold it to the parent
Sublimely Howl: O.o
me: well duh
Sublimely Howl: who bought it for the child
me: yeah
me: thats dumb
me: i still would have slapped them
Sublimely Howl: yup
me: and left an impression of the M on their forehead

Oh, and one more thing.

"We should all be deeply disturbed that a game which now permits the simulation of lewd sexual acts in an interactive format with highly realistic graphics has fallen into the hands of young people across the country," Clinton wrote in a letter to the head of the Federal Trade Commission.

Realistic graphics? Lets compare:

Grand Theft Auto 3


Final Fantasy X

Realistic? I think not.

As always, ITS A TARP!!1

In-Flight Cell Phone Use

Subcommittee members complained that airplane passengers can already be loud or obnoxious, without mobile phones to aid them. How true.

As for the other shit in that article, well... THIS line set me off -

"There are some who would use this technology for criminal and sometimes lethal purposes," says Laura Parsky, deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ's Criminal Division.

Let's think, what other technology could that apply to?
Guns.
Cars.
Hammers.
Knives.
Martial Arts Training.
AIRPLANES THEMSELVES!

I think that history has showed that every technology has a risk of misuse, but that rarely stops people from using it. I'm personally all for letting people use cell phones on airplanes. Also wireless internet. I think it would help business people finish their work, even with hectic schedules, and add to the pervasive theme of interconnectedness that society has always pushed for. I probably wouldn't use them myself, not all that much. Also, I agree that it can be annoying. Just like if there was a passenger or two who were having an unusually loud conversation on the plane, I wouldn't hesitate to ask a stewardess to stifle an obnoxious cell-phone-er.

Btw, I love Google news.

Those punks

About my "Magical Night" post:

Black13Rose7: nice post
Effervescence 34: thank you
Effervescence 34: im really gonna do that too
Black13Rose7: -leaves a comment-
Effervescence 34: live web coverage from barnes and nobles
Effervescence 34: o_o
Effervescence 34: it would be so bad-ass
Black13Rose7: XD
Effervescence 34: i'd have to have either the harry potter sound track or one of the DVD's running in the background, too
Black13Rose7: they'll probably shut the wireless conn down... XD!!!
Effervescence 34: and a suitable wallpaper
Effervescence 34: o_o
Effervescence 34: those punks!
Effervescence 34: x_x

More Funny Stuff

I found this, and it is cool.

Greg's Night of Magical Nerdy Magic Nerds

All your book are belong to us.

Yeah, you got it. I bought "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". Or, Harry Potter and the Hal, as it says on my reciept, which is a lesser known story in which the young wizard confronts the computer on board the Discovery space craft. Exciting, no?

So how did it happen? How did your hero go from not reading any of the Hogwarts books last night to being on the spot to buy the new book within the first few hours? Well, have a seat, young reader, and prepare for a story which will blow your minds. Or at least provide some sparce entertainment. I hope.

It started off like any normal Friday evening. I went to the mall for a Magic Tournament. I'm still running the Tooth and Nail deck I love so much, though one of these days I need to build another Type 2 deck to play with. That's a story for another day though. Anyway, so I showed up, and there's really no one there. Jackie was there with the pre-con deck I'd bought for her. (Savior's Truth Seekers, a Green/White Spiritcraft Life-gain deck. Total newbie style. But she likes it, and it has a few interesting tricks. I personally like the Hana-onnas, but I digress...) Also signed up was Robin, the guy who worked at the store; and a fourth guy. So I went to my van to get a card to trade the fourth guy. (Planar Portal for a Myojin, I thought that was fair.) Anyway, so I signed up, and after like... an hour of waiting, we started.

I began to own. First, Brandon, a father who played because his son does, using a less than spectacular build of Affinity. So, yeah, I rolled over that. Then, Brandons son, Hunter (who had beaten Jackie the previous round) running a mono-Black deck. WITH SIDEBOARD CRANIAL EXTRACTIONS! Tooth and Nail's natural predator. (Well, that and counterspells.) Anyway, first game was a sinch, I toothed out a victory. 2nd game was won by a sideboarded COP: Black after he Extracted my Teeth. So yay me. Third match was verses Ninjas, which I lost the first game to, but managed to whip out the Triskellion/Mephidross Vampire pair for game 2 and 3 wins. Twas awesome. After that, the dreaded Darksteel Reactor deck of Robin's. Those damn Detonates are vicous in that deck, but luckily tonight he didn't get the double Detonate he uses to go from 5 to 20 in one turn. X_X. Two games of Mindslaver Juggling (Mindslaver + Kiki-Jiki + Eternal Witness forever), and it was mine. For some reason, the last guy I played, I played two matches against. He was using some bizarre Red deck I couldn't begin to describe, but twice he got me so low I had to tooth out the angel to survive. Twice that was enough to beat him. The other two wins were from fireballs and Mindslavers. I like to be creative about my victories. So that was the tournament, I guess. I had a load of fun. I got another one of those legendary Dragons from Kamigawa (I STILL NEED THE BLACK AND WHITE ONES DAMMIT!!!!.... hrmm... I know I shouldn't bust these packs... we need them for the tournament... but..... nah, dont worry, they're safe), and 3 Mirrodin packs, one of which had a Charbelcher, so that was cool.

So, the tournament let out at about 9:15, I guess. Jackie suggested a movie, then decided against it. She'd checked. Nothing was showing for a few hours. I, on the other hand, had a shopping list for the book store. The mall was starting to close, so Waldenbooks (and the two $5 coupons in my pocket) were out, but... Those of you who are there with me, let's wait for the slow people to catch up... Done? Good. Anyway, tonight was the big Harry Potter release, so Barnes and Nobles would be open all night. Off we went on a walk to the Potter Party. And I just have to tell you, it was a really good night to have a fantasy book release. There was that kind of lightning where the whole sky just sorta flashes, but theres no thunder. And the moon was just... Whoa. On the drive home several hours later, I saw it. It was all orange, and hidden somewhat behind the clouds, so it looked like it was falling apart or something. I wish I had a picture.

Anyway, we found the place (I can barely find that place when I'm driving. Walking was tougher still.), and we get there, and theres a fairly decent sized crowd that night. A whole bunch of little kids all up past their bed times. I swear, I saw a kid who couldn't possibly have been older than the first book, or even the 2nd or 3rd maybe. I could have punted him. I semi-seriously considered that option, but seriously decided against it. (Too many witnesses.) Anyway, Jackie and I go in and I show the guy (in the music section, for some reason) my list. Antigone, for Dan's summer reading, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces for me. (I suppose I should have linked to BarnesandNobles.com, but oh well.) Well, the guy has no clue (cuz, again, he works in the music section), so he showed us to a guy dressed up as Snape. Snape lead us over to the mythology section and showed us Antigone, but said he'd have to look up the Hero book. While he did that, I turned around, pointed, and found it. That was fun. I paid for the books. Then I realized I was hungry. The only food in the building was the Starbucks cafe thingy, and I wasn't sure if they had, well, FOOD, as opposed to the candy stuff. They did, as a matter of fact, have very yummy turkey and cheese sandwiches. They heated one up for me, and gave me a "VENTE" (that's how you say medium in Starbucks-talk) Pepsi-cola. Yum.

Well, eventually, we decided that all this Harry Potter stuff was something to be examined closer. We got bracelets that told us what our order is in line to get the book. We still debated actually BUYING the book, but we had the bracelets nonetheless. At this point, I realized I still had my rare binder with me from the tournament. And it, plus my books, was heavy. This was the moment I turned to Jackie and said, in a somewhat louder than normal voice, "Hey, we should ditch these dorks and go put my Magic cards back in my van." Yeah, that was fun. And yea, I brought the van to a slightly closer parking position, so I wouldn't have to lug the giant book around once I'd bought it. On the way we wondered to each other whether or not we could still pre-order the Book, even an hour before its release. We decided it would be fun to try, but never got around to it. Instead, while we waited, Jackie and I played more Magic. I showed her some of the finer points of the game. (I had been wincing in pain at some of her moves as I watched over her shoulder, and I think it made her nervous. In fact, I know it did. She told me so.)

So, we played a rather long game (she also has a somewhat crappy deck that I volunteered to play against her deck, and they both revolve heavily around life-gain. u_u.) Before she could finally beat me, (FINALLY), the clock struck midnight. The selling had begun. Screaming was heavy. Lines were thick and full, like from a stubby crayon. It was intense. So much so that I needed more cola. About the they had given out around 100 of the pre-sale books, we walked over to the nearby Applebee's. They were just closing, but since it was a special night, they let us in for a couple of drinks to go. On the house, no less. Applebee's of Lakeline Plaza, you are good people. I vow that I will return one day, and I will pay for your fine food with actual currency.

We got back and they were still doing the presells (there were like 500 I think.) We looked through Jackie's somewhat meager collection for a way to build one semi-decent decks out of her two decks. We found a way. I also found a Mystic Snake, which I ended up trading for two Ageless Entity's, which helped Jackie's deck a little more, so that was cool. Then, it was our turn. HUZZAH OF HUZZAHS!!!!

"When we come out," I told Jackie as I waited in line, "I'm gonna yell out real loud: 'I HAVE HARRY POTTER! I! AM! THE COOLEST!' And I'm gonna hold the book over my head, like this." Oh yeah, I was excited. Sarcasticly excited, but that's usually all it takes for me. So we got in! And we WALKED PAST STUFF! OH MY GOD... And we got up to the desk... and I paid for the book. Oh. How anti climactic. I even forgot to yell about what I had. Poo. Oh well.

All in all, it was a truely MAGICAL night. Really. I really had a great time, though. I look forward to the next Harry Potter book release. I will attend with laptop in tow, and use the Barnes and Noble's Wi-Fi to download excepts of the book from people in Europe who had already read it. I would read these excerpts. Out loud. With a Megaphone, possibly. I would also bring a sign with me that says in big letters on the front "HARRY," and on the back, "DIES!" It'll be great.

Challenge!

What follows is currently the text of an away message of mine.

What the-!? Broomsticks?! Dancing? Flooding the room with water? Sounds like time for some shut eye to me!

Twenty points to the first person to leave a comment saying what that pop-culture reference is referring to.

God I'm a shameless comment whore. x_x

Harry Potter and the Embargo of Doom

Wow. People take things way too far. It's just a book guys. I mean jeez. It's bad on both sides, really. The book people for being so secretive. The readers for going so far as to run gambling rings around the book. The governments for allowing this sort of stuff to go on (the article mentions a Canadian court which set up an embargo barring anyone who recieved an early copy from talking about it or even READING it. This is 1984 type stuff.

I honestly don't get why the release date of a book is so important. If I was an author, I'd want my fans to read the stuff as soon as possible. I wouldn't care about security and such. People know to avoid spoilers, and really, if its well written, spoilers shouldn't keep the book from being good anyway. If you wrote a piece of crap, then admit it. Don't hide behind cheesy tactics like overdrawn suspense or cliffhangers to sell your books. Write quality books, and let the people read them when you're done.

By the way, no, I don't plan on reading the book. I haven't read the others either. Maybe when I have kids that age I'll read the series to / with them, but not on my own. Fantasy magic school isn't my favorite genre. Sci-fi, now THERE's something worth reading. I'd read the adventures of Harry Potter at Starfighter Academy. Hogwarts? Please...

Now Online! (Again)

This thing ate my post. No way am I re-writing my description about how I got my wireless internet working. Just suffice it to say I have DSL access from my bed. Whee.

With a constant Internet comes a few perks I couldn't access when I was worried about the cable going out. First, obviously, is the massive picture browsing. I'm a very visual person. Heh. Honestly, my main vice is looking at image threads on forums, particularly this, the desktop image thread at Megatokyo. And 4chan, but that's only an occasional peek. Anyway, I can do those now without having to replug the modem every 20 seconds.

The other thing is... DOWNLOADS! Huge downloads. Torrents, audio and video clips, whatever I find that I need. EG: Red Vs Blue. I was a little disappointed that I had only missed one episode since I left Lubbock, but oh well.

Also, since moving back in, I've joined the rest of my family in getting iTunes for my computer. Its neat, especially with the networked household, because I can listen to music off of all their computers, or listen to my own music from pretty much any room in the house. (This was especially useful before I got the wireless up and running.) I've had a lot of fun going through and messing with it, and have just recently began listening to some of the selections of online radio channels. It's nice not listening to the same damned thing every time, or having to sift through Matt's giant collection to find the things I want to listen to. (One of these days, I really need to clean out my music folder and just keep the stuff I want. 40 gigs is too much. x_x)

Oh, and I said I'd clarify on my angry post with link, so here it is. They aren't putting Vine Trellis in 9th edition. It makes sense, I guess, since they ARE putting the Llanowar Elves back, but still, the Trellis was so much better in my Tooth and Nail deck. It will be sorely missed... U_U... I wonder if Steel Walls and that artifact that taps for mana would work? Nah. Maybe just the walls. Okay, I'm getting incoherent. Time for sleep.

YOU BASTARDS!!

You took out my wall!

I will expound on this later. Also about a quartet of heroes I happened to see earlier today. Yesterday. Both. Neither. I'm not sure. Time to rest brain. Night.

Visible Goths?

Effervescence 34: why does visi-goth sound like a see-through toy?
Black13Rose7: wtf?
Effervescence 34: exactly
Effervescence 34: Visigoth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Effervescence 34: "Quick honey, invaders are coming! and they're clear!
Effervescence 34: "
Black13Rose7: O.o
Effervescence 34: im weird

Seemed appropriate at the time

EVEN MORE THINGS!!!

Oh Noes!!! Sigh... That poor Supreme Court. It's gonna get so very odd in a little while.

Okay, enough about that. I just wantd to test out my nifty "BlogThis!" feature. It works! Now for the other things with also work:

My projector came in today! In a matter of hours I'd hooked up my TiVo, PS2, and the 5-disc DVD changer into it. I can also hook up a computer screen if I ever want to. However, I can only think of one reason: giant screen StarCraft! O_O! It will be amazing. Trust me. I've already started playing Kingdom Hearts on the screen, using it for a sound / picture check. I started a new KH game, in fact. Expert level, I decided. Its about time. I really have been thinking about getting a new PS2 game, but I haven't seen any that I really need to buy. I'm still keeping my eyes out for Disgaea, but I really want to save my money for a PSP or DS (more about that later), and I really want to try going through the game all in one go, rather than having about a half year in the middle where I didnt touch the thing. We'll see.

About the handhelds... While the PSP is still the better system technically, I'm not sure if theres anything on it worth playing other than Lumines. Meanwhile, the DS is showing more innovative titles that use the touchscreen. The Kirby game, where you draw rainbows for him and such. The Warioware game, though I wouldnt want to pay more than $20 for it. And there was even a Yoshi game. As soon as I figure out how to upload a .wav to the internet of me saying "YOSHI!", I will, because you must hear it to understand why I love the little green guy so much. Ever since Mario Kart 64... Another game they're putting on the DS. Wee!!!

Sigh, I'm getting random. In other news... I can't wait till we get DSL out here. Then our house will be complete. Wireless broadband that won't be shut down... I can take this pile of wires and beeps wherever I want. Including the room where my giant TV is. Then I will never leave that room. It will be amazing. Not till July 12th though. That sucks.

My mom has one day left in America till she leaves for her language emersion camp in China. I will be parentless. It will be amazing. Not really. I don't know. I was parentless at college as well. This is nothing really new. Sides, I've got family around to feed me and such. It will just be odd to actually have the house to myself for once in a while, cuz PJ and Danny are always out with friends. Take now. It's just me and my mom right now. In two days, it'll just be me. Who knows what ruckus I could get myself into. O_O

I have some unfinished business from the last few days. First, happy birthday America. Exciting, eh? Now that I've got that out of the way, I've got one more movie review to post up here: War of the Worlds.

For starters the beginning of the movie was just creepy. Not "Oooh! Spooky aliens creepy." More like, "Hey, I know that stuff," Creepy. First of, like the Orson Wells radio broadcast (which I would still like to hear if someone cold find it for me), it takes place in New Jersey. Tom Cruise plays a divorced father, as well. It's all very creepy, in that his situation is just like my dad. *Hides* He drives a classic car like my dad (Tom gets a Mustang, though, not a T-Bird), and lives in a middle income junk-filled home, almost exactly like my dad. It was like they had put a camera in my dad's home and used that as an outline for the movie. Anyway, after that, it lost all of its pull. The movie has a good premise. 'If aliens attacked, what would YOU do?' You'd like to think you'd be the guy to kick ass and knock the aliens off the planet, but you know you wouldn't. You'd run. Or hide. Or flip out. Or some exciting combination of the two. That's how reality works. Compare it to Independance Day. It struck me as odd that Will Smith's character was so calm about the fact that he was about to go fight a dogfighting mission with A FLOATING ALIEN CITY-SHIP! I mean, it doesn't make a good movie for the hero to be flipping out, but you know he should have. That's the side of the story that War of the Worlds shows. The hero is just a guy flipping out about things he cannot possibly comprehend. And he panics and runs. For 2 hours. That's what makes the movie so lame. They don't fight the aliens. They don't even attempt to do anything. The military is in the background, but this is a civilian take on the situation. And that situation is one of people out on their asses without a clue. It's almost depressing. It was actually kind of entertaining to watch, but then the end is somewhat disappointing, because the heroes didn't do anything. It's Dues Ex Machina. I don't want to spoil the reason they died, but ask me if you don't mind spoilers. I'll tell you how stupid it was. I'd say you should really just rent it. Batman was worth paying $8 for twice. War of the Worlds? Not really worth it once. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Jackie for sitting through it with me, though, the day after she saw it the first time. That was really nice. It's not your fault its was a crappy flick.

Anyway, time to go. So long.

More On My Triumphant Return

As my computer gets better and better on the road to recovery, I can bring you more and more insight into my summer exploits. Today... Eh... Movies.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith: Saw it twice. Weird thing how seeing something twice can change your perspective. The first time I saw it was likewatching something amazing... I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I loved it. Even now I'll say that for a one shot movie, it wasn't too bad. Problem is that it ISN'T a one shot movie. It's part of a 6-movie saga. And it is, some might say, the most important part of that saga. It really has to work within the greater context of the other movies. And when I watched the 2nd time, no, it really didn't. It was just too heavy handing in setting up the "secrets" that made the original trilogies (Episodes 4-6 - ANH, ESB, RTJ - How should I identify them?) so great. Now everyone knows before hand that Darth Vader is in Luke Skywalker's father, Anakin Skywalker, and that Luke and Leia are sisters. It ruins the audience's perspective on Luke's adventures. You know things, IMPORTANT things, that the characters don't. So when Darth Vader is standing on the catwalk infront of a disarmed Luke, saying "I am your father," Luke screams out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!" while you sit their and think at him "duh, it's obvious." It totally ruins the moment.

Here now is how I would have ended the movie. (Note, I would have left much of the rest of the movie the same, though Hayden's acting is kinda bad, and I have a few minor tweaks for all the movies.) After Obi-Wan is finished dueling Anakin, and leaves him there for dead, he loads Padme` into her shuttle and returns to Couruscant. There's a slight view of another shuttle landing in the background, but you don't see the Emperor gathering up Anakin (he's also never called Darth Vader outside of his mask) and repairing him, so you cannot really make a firm connection. Anyone with a brain should be able to at least theorize about it, but the doubt and uncertainty should remain for the audience at some level. *Shrugs* It'd be a little harder to work out, but I think it'd be interesting to see Obi-Wan struggle a little with the guilt of having to lie to Luke, thinking that he had killed Anakin. Or something. It would be fun to write, as well. I'll see how it all works out, and let you know.

Batman Begins - Now THIS was a great movie. I highly reccommend it to everyone out there. It shows how Batman gets all of his fancy equipment, one of the questions I always had. I mean, yeah, he's rich, but you can't just order a Batmobile from the car lot. I really liked the thematic elements involved in it, discussing fear and theatrics and such.

Okay, I gotta go stock up on things. More later.