Just a quick side note before I start. I just got off the phone with my litttle cousin. She turned 8 yesterday, so that's good. But she and her friend (I think he's 9 or 10 actually, so a little older) were talking about the new Star Wars movie. Oh God what a terrible movie to turn 8 on. This is going to be the heartbreaker movie of the Saga. Anakin, the great white hope of the Jedi, falls to the Dark Side, kills all the other Jedi, helps the Empire rise, etc. I tried to tell her mom not to take her to see it (it IS PG-13) at least until after she'd seen it first. And I'd urge all parents to do the same. It's gonna be a bloodfest. Be careful.
-----
Okay, I'm not saying it's going to happen soon. I don't think George Lucas will do it. If it does happen, it's a while off. But I think that someone, somewhere down the line, will remake the classic Star Wars Trilogy. Not just to synch it further with the prequels, but also just to up the production values. The story is SOLID. Even as they are now, with the somewhat stilted dialogue, and hackneyed special effects (now sharply contrasted against the newer prequel and special edition effects), they still pound the prequels into the ground.
I'm not saying it should be done. I just think it's gonna happen. Probably in a few decades, but still. Here is what I propose. YOU are the casting director for Star Wars: A New Hope, and shooting starts in 3 weeks. Assume every actor/actress on the planet will drop what they are doing for the part, or whatever. You can assemble any cast, as they are on May 9th, 2005. Take your picks.
Here's my picks for the main characters, as best I can remember them:
Luke Skywalker - Toby Maguire: The kid from Spiderman can play the wide-eyed youth from Tatooine, and this time, he doesn't have a mask covering his face.
Han Solo - Matt Dameon: After his appearances in the Borne movies, I have no doubts of him as an action lead ((EDIT)) Wesley Snipes: As I say below, it's a color blind universe, and Snipes could pull a good brooding Solo.
Leia Organa - Jessica Alba: She's been the strong woman before, she can do it again.
Darth Vader (Voice) - James Earl Jones: He delivered his lines perfectly, I have no objections to keeping him on.
Chewbacca (Voice) - A Computer: He's a wookie. You cannot change the wookie.
C-3P0 (Voice) - Anthony Daniels: He does great in the prequels, and robots voices don't change.
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Anthony Hopkins: He made a good mentor in The Mask of Zorro.
Grand Moff Tarkin - Jean Luc Picard: I just love seeing him play the bad guy, and he could pull of a decidedly evil space commander. It would be fun.
Emperor Palpatine - Ian McDiarmid: He played him old, then he played him young. He can play him old again. Barring him (since I'm trying to keep the old faces off screen), maybe Ian McKellen, Magneto/Gandalf. You can't beat his amazing powers-ness
Lando Calrissian - Chris Rock: I wanted to say Sam Jackson, but obviously I can't do that. Chris has humor going for him, but I've seen him act serious at times, I think he'd be a good Lando. ((EDIT))Oh, or Edward Norton. Don't give me any "He's not black" crud, cuz Lando wasn't BLACK, he was just another guy in the Star Wars Universe, like Mace Windu. Just another guy in a colorblind galaxy.
Yoda (Voice) - Frank Oz: The man is good at what he does.
Okay, there they are. My dream team. I'll admit I cheated on the voices, but they're good, and I don't wanna mess with it. Plus... Voices are ambiguous. U_U Anyway, compare and contrast. I wanna see your lists. Now Now Now.
9.5.05
More Things
My mind's been racing lately, so here are some things I'm thinking at the moment.
Firstly, when Smokey said, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires," who is he talking to. "Only you"? That implies its a specific group of people. So I thought... Who can prevent forest firest? Then it hit me. Captain Planet.
I've seen him prevent forest fires. So Smokey must be talking to him. Only Captain Planet can prevent forest fires. But then, why all the ads? Why would Smokey spend millions to communicate fire saftey to one (super)person? We need to look a little deeper. Captain Planet always says "The Power Is Yours!" Now, I, like most people, thought this was just a mindless publicity thing, like "We're all special, in our own special ways!" But whenever he says it, he always says it to those silly kids with rings. Obviously the planeteers are part of the "Only You". We are now using you to refer to a limited group. But still, that's five people, spread around the globe maybe, but still no excuse for the blatantly random advertisements. I know for a fact that there are no Planeteers in Texas. Wheeler was the only American Planeteer, and he was from New York.
So we're back where we started, almost. Why spend millions to advertise to such a select group of people. Unless.... They're lost? Yes. That's it. The Planeteers are lost. Think about it. We haven't seen or heard from them since the early '90s, and they're the only ones who can summon Captain Planet, who in turn is the only one who can stop forest fires. And look at the recent destruction of the California Brushfires, that thing up in Washington, etc. Captain Planet and The Planeteers are missing, and it's up to us to find them. Now, before there's no environment left to save.
I'm not sure how I found this, and I'm not sure I want to know.
Next, I've been thinking even more about Pokemon. I don't know why. I blame that Megatokyo Forums thread I mentioned a while back. Whatever the reason... I don't know. I believe I mentioned that there are a few Pokemon I cannot catch. I must be given them. And in order for that to happen, I have to find a Nintendo Event thing. In real life, that is, like some sort of official Poke-con. Or something. Anyway. So I've been looking around for places to get them, mostly by checking out the Internet, and though I'm no closer to finding them (if you know where I can get some, please do tell), I've found a lot of cool products.
I've already mentioned Emerald, the revamped version of Ruby and Sapphire. They've tweaked the story a little, upped the graphics somewhat, and redid a few details here and there. It's not much, but I MAY be tempted into buying it, if only to rule the land with maxxed Pokemon from Ruby and Fire Red. And to finally have a pokemon game that isn't colored Red (or silver, I guess, but that one just looks like a normal Game Boy game). So, the jury's out on that. Meanwhile, if I were independantly wealthy, or just had too much money for myself, I might be tempted to buy myself a Game Cube, Pokemon Colleseum, and Pokemon Box, to get the complete package. I'm a little upset with the idea that Box can't interact with Fire Red or Leaf Green (reportedly, or rather, it hasn't been reported that it specifically can, and I'd hate to break the game), but Colleseum looks like a full fledged story, and an interesting one to boot. (I wont go into details here). And with Game Cube's only $99, and the two games at $20 each, I could see myself putting down $150 for a pokemon home station device. Or something. Yeah....
Do you think I'd look good in a skirt? Note that I said skirt, not kilt, though I'll probably start with a kilt. I recently found this on the Internet, and I dunno. It's sorta cute looking. Like I said, I'd start on a kilt and see how it goes before switching to something more revealing, but I think I'd look okay in one. The thought struck me today as I walked from the shower to my dorm, with a towel wrapped around my waist, basically a skirt or kilt or whatever. And I thought it was kinda comfy. ^_^
Also, I did some impromptu measuring, and found that my waist is about 3/2's as wide as my hands. Or, basiclly, using both my hands, I can make it 2/3rds around my waist. I'm one just about exactly hand short of the full circle. Is that skinny, or fat? I feel fat, cuz I've been drinking water, but I don't care really. It's just kinda, there, you know? Guys don't care about that kinda stuff like girls do. I think their brains are allbroken. Anyway, I feel skinny and sexy. Especially in the shower. If I was a girl, I'd totally rape myself. O_O
On an entirely unrelated subject, I spent part of last night debating with Matt whether it was more or less likely that my step brother would become a girl or a ghost. I forgot how we got on the subject, but I decided that it was at least slightly more probable that he would become a ghost than a girl. James, if you'd like to comment on that, feel free.
Okay, I'm spent. Fingers tired. Knuckles cracking. Sentences fragmenting.
One last random thought. I CAN'T SMELL!!! ITS BIZZARRE!
Ok, bye.
Firstly, when Smokey said, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires," who is he talking to. "Only you"? That implies its a specific group of people. So I thought... Who can prevent forest firest? Then it hit me. Captain Planet.
I've seen him prevent forest fires. So Smokey must be talking to him. Only Captain Planet can prevent forest fires. But then, why all the ads? Why would Smokey spend millions to communicate fire saftey to one (super)person? We need to look a little deeper. Captain Planet always says "The Power Is Yours!" Now, I, like most people, thought this was just a mindless publicity thing, like "We're all special, in our own special ways!" But whenever he says it, he always says it to those silly kids with rings. Obviously the planeteers are part of the "Only You". We are now using you to refer to a limited group. But still, that's five people, spread around the globe maybe, but still no excuse for the blatantly random advertisements. I know for a fact that there are no Planeteers in Texas. Wheeler was the only American Planeteer, and he was from New York.
So we're back where we started, almost. Why spend millions to advertise to such a select group of people. Unless.... They're lost? Yes. That's it. The Planeteers are lost. Think about it. We haven't seen or heard from them since the early '90s, and they're the only ones who can summon Captain Planet, who in turn is the only one who can stop forest fires. And look at the recent destruction of the California Brushfires, that thing up in Washington, etc. Captain Planet and The Planeteers are missing, and it's up to us to find them. Now, before there's no environment left to save.
I'm not sure how I found this, and I'm not sure I want to know.
Next, I've been thinking even more about Pokemon. I don't know why. I blame that Megatokyo Forums thread I mentioned a while back. Whatever the reason... I don't know. I believe I mentioned that there are a few Pokemon I cannot catch. I must be given them. And in order for that to happen, I have to find a Nintendo Event thing. In real life, that is, like some sort of official Poke-con. Or something. Anyway. So I've been looking around for places to get them, mostly by checking out the Internet, and though I'm no closer to finding them (if you know where I can get some, please do tell), I've found a lot of cool products.
I've already mentioned Emerald, the revamped version of Ruby and Sapphire. They've tweaked the story a little, upped the graphics somewhat, and redid a few details here and there. It's not much, but I MAY be tempted into buying it, if only to rule the land with maxxed Pokemon from Ruby and Fire Red. And to finally have a pokemon game that isn't colored Red (or silver, I guess, but that one just looks like a normal Game Boy game). So, the jury's out on that. Meanwhile, if I were independantly wealthy, or just had too much money for myself, I might be tempted to buy myself a Game Cube, Pokemon Colleseum, and Pokemon Box, to get the complete package. I'm a little upset with the idea that Box can't interact with Fire Red or Leaf Green (reportedly, or rather, it hasn't been reported that it specifically can, and I'd hate to break the game), but Colleseum looks like a full fledged story, and an interesting one to boot. (I wont go into details here). And with Game Cube's only $99, and the two games at $20 each, I could see myself putting down $150 for a pokemon home station device. Or something. Yeah....
Do you think I'd look good in a skirt? Note that I said skirt, not kilt, though I'll probably start with a kilt. I recently found this on the Internet, and I dunno. It's sorta cute looking. Like I said, I'd start on a kilt and see how it goes before switching to something more revealing, but I think I'd look okay in one. The thought struck me today as I walked from the shower to my dorm, with a towel wrapped around my waist, basically a skirt or kilt or whatever. And I thought it was kinda comfy. ^_^
Also, I did some impromptu measuring, and found that my waist is about 3/2's as wide as my hands. Or, basiclly, using both my hands, I can make it 2/3rds around my waist. I'm one just about exactly hand short of the full circle. Is that skinny, or fat? I feel fat, cuz I've been drinking water, but I don't care really. It's just kinda, there, you know? Guys don't care about that kinda stuff like girls do. I think their brains are allbroken. Anyway, I feel skinny and sexy. Especially in the shower. If I was a girl, I'd totally rape myself. O_O
On an entirely unrelated subject, I spent part of last night debating with Matt whether it was more or less likely that my step brother would become a girl or a ghost. I forgot how we got on the subject, but I decided that it was at least slightly more probable that he would become a ghost than a girl. James, if you'd like to comment on that, feel free.
Okay, I'm spent. Fingers tired. Knuckles cracking. Sentences fragmenting.
One last random thought. I CAN'T SMELL!!! ITS BIZZARRE!
Ok, bye.
Felt Like Time For Another Of These
And now, a transcript of reality:
Such a boring weekend. I ended up pulling another "Can't sleep all nighter." I have a two tests tomorrow though, so I'd better try to stay up the whole length till 11 or so. Anyway while up all night, I made multiple ramming passes into the Elite 4 on Hoenn (Pokemon Ruby) and finally triumphed, mostly on luck, though I'd like to think there was a little skill in there. So, that done, and the 3 Regi's caught (turns out they dont run around, you just find their initial trigger base, then they all go to their own secret hiding places where you catch 'em), I had one more known task. Raquaza.
It's the big green flying snake thing that will be gracing the boxes of the Pokemon Emerald game which is apparently out right now. It's like Mewtwo for this game, only 1000 times harder. Instead of just being in a cave, you have to climb up a tower, zoming over loose floorpanels on a bicycle. The whole thing seems extremely dangerous, but once you get up there (and save, cuz you don't wanna have to do that over and over again) you get to face Rayquaza, and try not to die to his level 70-ish -ness. Oh, and see if you can get him low enough and/or sleepy enough to Ultraball. Easy! X_X
Thirty Minutes later, I caught the bitch. This is game time, of course, I put the game down a few times in between, simply cuz I was tired or frustrated or whatever. But I caught it. Now all I need is Laitos (or Laitas, whichever lives in Ruby), and the Suicune thingy darting across Kanto in my Fire Red pack.
Okay, enough nerdyness... I'm worried. The reason I stayed up last night is because when I tried to go to sleep, Jackie wanted me to stay. It was very cute. But I was tired, so I said, no, I need to go to sleep. So I hung up, and rolled over. And my phone started beeping. I got a few texts from Jackie, that basically said she was mad at me for going to sleep. I'm sorry Jackie, I really am, but I was really very tired. And when I realized you were SO upset about me going to sleep (I really think you're overreacting to something I have to do every night), I tried to call her back. Nothing. Just the same "I'm not talking to you until you stop being an asshole on the phone."
Now, for those of you who don't get what's going on here (and I think I'm among you) I have been really averse to using phones. I'm a much more visual person than auditory, at least for conversations. Writing offers me an exactness that speaking will never give me. Plus I have a tendancy to speak whatever comes to mind, without really thinking it through. Writing, I always have the backspace key. So I don't like the phone. The irony, though, is that she's just the opposite; she likes the phone more than computer. So there's that rub. And listen, I love talking to her on the phone, when I do. It's nearly always sweet and makes me smile.
But I had to hang up. It was bedtime. I'm on a finals schedule (well, I was). And she won't talk to me unless I can be not-an-asshole on the phone. So here's the REAL problem. I'm going back to Austin Wednesday. I'll need a job, I'll need to fall asleep when everyone else in the house does too, and the walls are paper thin, so midnight goodnight phone calls will be viturally impossible. She's gonna hate me.
I'm just putting this out here cuz it's been on my mind. I know none of you probably care. Hell, it's personal stuff. Why am I not backspacing it? I dunno. I figure Jackie will read this. If she does, I hope she gives me a call. I've been wanting to talk to her for hours now. I always do. I just Can't always. So, I'm off now. Waiting for my cell phone to ring.
I thought of this song:
Ooohh yeahh yeah
I'm your basic average girl
And I'm here to save the world
You can't stop me
Cause I'm Kim Pos-si-ble
There is nothin I can't do
When danger calls
Just know that I am on my way (know that i am on my way)
It doesn't matter where or when there's trouble
If ya just call my name
Kim Possible
[Chorus]
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
When ya wanna page me it's okay
I just can't wait until I hear my cell phone ring
Doesn't matter if it's day or night
Everything's gonna be alright
Whenever you need me baby
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
(Kim here, so what's the sitch?)
Message clear I am hear let me reassure you
I never going to leave you alone
(I am, I am on my way)
You can always count on me
When it gets dark I'll help you see
I will help you find your way (help you find your way)
It doesn't matter when there's trouble
If ya just call my name
[Chorus]
(Call me
Beep me
If ya wanna reach me
If ya wanna beep me
It's okay)
Doesn't matter where
Doesn't matter when
I will be there for ya til the very end
Danger or trouble
I'm there on the double
You know that you always can call
Kim Possible
Yeaahh yeaah
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
When ya wanna page me it's okay
I just can't wait until I hear my cell phone ring
Doesn't matter if it's day or night
Everything is gonna be alright
Whenever ya need me, whenever you need me baby
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
When ya wanna page me it's okay
I just can't wait until I hear my cell phone ring
Doesn't matter if it's day or night
Everything's gonna be alright
Whenever ya need me baby,
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
Yeah Yeah Yeah
So now, I leave you with this deep thought. Everyone knows black holes are black because no light can escape the immense gravity at their singularity center. My question is... What color is the singularity? And furthermore, what does it taste like? We could sell them for Easter and make millions!
Me: *Places bag for breakfast Burritto on top of Matt's CD spindle.*Hehe. Comedy is reality. When will people learn.
**4 Minutes Later**
Bag: *Falls over.*
Me: Oh yeah. *Goes over and cleans up bag.*
Me: Hey, I got some hotsause too and never ate it. You want it?
Matt: Sure
Matt: Wait, what is it?
Such a boring weekend. I ended up pulling another "Can't sleep all nighter." I have a two tests tomorrow though, so I'd better try to stay up the whole length till 11 or so. Anyway while up all night, I made multiple ramming passes into the Elite 4 on Hoenn (Pokemon Ruby) and finally triumphed, mostly on luck, though I'd like to think there was a little skill in there. So, that done, and the 3 Regi's caught (turns out they dont run around, you just find their initial trigger base, then they all go to their own secret hiding places where you catch 'em), I had one more known task. Raquaza.
It's the big green flying snake thing that will be gracing the boxes of the Pokemon Emerald game which is apparently out right now. It's like Mewtwo for this game, only 1000 times harder. Instead of just being in a cave, you have to climb up a tower, zoming over loose floorpanels on a bicycle. The whole thing seems extremely dangerous, but once you get up there (and save, cuz you don't wanna have to do that over and over again) you get to face Rayquaza, and try not to die to his level 70-ish -ness. Oh, and see if you can get him low enough and/or sleepy enough to Ultraball. Easy! X_X
Thirty Minutes later, I caught the bitch. This is game time, of course, I put the game down a few times in between, simply cuz I was tired or frustrated or whatever. But I caught it. Now all I need is Laitos (or Laitas, whichever lives in Ruby), and the Suicune thingy darting across Kanto in my Fire Red pack.
Okay, enough nerdyness... I'm worried. The reason I stayed up last night is because when I tried to go to sleep, Jackie wanted me to stay. It was very cute. But I was tired, so I said, no, I need to go to sleep. So I hung up, and rolled over. And my phone started beeping. I got a few texts from Jackie, that basically said she was mad at me for going to sleep. I'm sorry Jackie, I really am, but I was really very tired. And when I realized you were SO upset about me going to sleep (I really think you're overreacting to something I have to do every night), I tried to call her back. Nothing. Just the same "I'm not talking to you until you stop being an asshole on the phone."
Now, for those of you who don't get what's going on here (and I think I'm among you) I have been really averse to using phones. I'm a much more visual person than auditory, at least for conversations. Writing offers me an exactness that speaking will never give me. Plus I have a tendancy to speak whatever comes to mind, without really thinking it through. Writing, I always have the backspace key. So I don't like the phone. The irony, though, is that she's just the opposite; she likes the phone more than computer. So there's that rub. And listen, I love talking to her on the phone, when I do. It's nearly always sweet and makes me smile.
But I had to hang up. It was bedtime. I'm on a finals schedule (well, I was). And she won't talk to me unless I can be not-an-asshole on the phone. So here's the REAL problem. I'm going back to Austin Wednesday. I'll need a job, I'll need to fall asleep when everyone else in the house does too, and the walls are paper thin, so midnight goodnight phone calls will be viturally impossible. She's gonna hate me.
I'm just putting this out here cuz it's been on my mind. I know none of you probably care. Hell, it's personal stuff. Why am I not backspacing it? I dunno. I figure Jackie will read this. If she does, I hope she gives me a call. I've been wanting to talk to her for hours now. I always do. I just Can't always. So, I'm off now. Waiting for my cell phone to ring.
I thought of this song:
Ooohh yeahh yeah
I'm your basic average girl
And I'm here to save the world
You can't stop me
Cause I'm Kim Pos-si-ble
There is nothin I can't do
When danger calls
Just know that I am on my way (know that i am on my way)
It doesn't matter where or when there's trouble
If ya just call my name
Kim Possible
[Chorus]
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
When ya wanna page me it's okay
I just can't wait until I hear my cell phone ring
Doesn't matter if it's day or night
Everything's gonna be alright
Whenever you need me baby
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
(Kim here, so what's the sitch?)
Message clear I am hear let me reassure you
I never going to leave you alone
(I am, I am on my way)
You can always count on me
When it gets dark I'll help you see
I will help you find your way (help you find your way)
It doesn't matter when there's trouble
If ya just call my name
[Chorus]
(Call me
Beep me
If ya wanna reach me
If ya wanna beep me
It's okay)
Doesn't matter where
Doesn't matter when
I will be there for ya til the very end
Danger or trouble
I'm there on the double
You know that you always can call
Kim Possible
Yeaahh yeaah
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
When ya wanna page me it's okay
I just can't wait until I hear my cell phone ring
Doesn't matter if it's day or night
Everything is gonna be alright
Whenever ya need me, whenever you need me baby
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
When ya wanna page me it's okay
I just can't wait until I hear my cell phone ring
Doesn't matter if it's day or night
Everything's gonna be alright
Whenever ya need me baby,
Call me, beep me if ya wanna reach me
Yeah Yeah Yeah
So now, I leave you with this deep thought. Everyone knows black holes are black because no light can escape the immense gravity at their singularity center. My question is... What color is the singularity? And furthermore, what does it taste like? We could sell them for Easter and make millions!
7.5.05
Greg'll?
Greg'll: It's the contraction of the words "Greg will". But I dont like it. It sounds like a verb. Greggle. Greggul. Something. It's goofy sounding. Griggle. It needs to have a meaning. Lemme know if you think of one.
Speaking of goofy things. I beat Pokemon this morning. Early this morning. I went to sleep at like 11 or 12 last night (early for me), then got woken up by partying college students at 3AM. Jerks. So anyway, I pulled up my SP with Pokemon Fire Red in it. It's a remake of the original Red version, with the updated graphics, Pokemon moves, the new monsters, what have you. It's spiffy. You should buy it. But moving on. I had bought it in... September? October? One of my trips back to Austin in my first semester, I'll bet I wrote about it earlier. So yeah, I've had it for a while. And I played it through, catching them all, beating the shit outta the gym leaders. Then, somewhere along the way, I hit a snag. The first legendary bird: Articuno. The first time I played through the original Red (I had to twice, someone stole my GBC in my Freshman HS year), I didn't realize she was one of a kind, and didn't capture her, so catching her now kinda held a soft spot in my heart. And... I couldn't. The last time I played it really was over Christmas break. (I gave my cousin a copy of Leaf Green, and was busy trying to find female versions of all the starters. I think I ended up with a female squirtle for my hours of trouble. X_X)
That is, until that Pokemon RPG thread I mentioned. I pulled out both versions of the game to compare maps and Pokedexes, and realized how close yet far I was from beating both games. And so I picked up Fire Red where I left off, just off the coast of the Seafoam Islands. I figured out half the maze, enough to end up face to face with the legendary bird. And so I saved my game and attacked, and killed her. Over and over again. Something was wrong. I could paralyze her, leave her with just about one HP, and she'd bust out of the ball. What was I missing?
Sleep. I'd used Bublasaur as my starter both times in the original version, complete with Sleep Powder. This time though, I wanted the Charizard. You know he's the coolest. So anyway, that means I have to look elsewhere for sleep powers. I had a Haunter in my party, but he'd missed learning Hypnosis somehow. So! I ran back to the tower in Lavendar, got a fresh, low level Gastly, and raised it to Hypnosis level. Then I ran back to the cave, confronted the Ice Queen and... BAM! I caught her. I was sooo happy after all that work.
Anyway, then I went to sleep. And here's about where I came in at 3:30 AM, I think. off and beat the crud outta Blaine, the Fire type gym leader, easily with one tough Water type. And then a funny thing bappened. I got sent to some far off islands for a mini quest for no apparent reason. Stupid lost girl. Then back to the mainland, and in two swift mooves, I ran through Giovanni (final Gym leader) and the pre-Victory Road rival battle. And from there... I had to continue! I forced my way through Victory Road itself, in the process leveling my team up between 44 and 50, respectable ranges for a Elite 4 Challenge.
Now, in all my times I've played against the Elite 4 (and I've played through 3 generations of the Elite Four) I have never once gotten it all in one go the first time. So I prepared for the worst.... Assuming I go down to the last Pokemon every battle, worst case senario, I'm thinking, I'll need 20 revives and 20 full restores to return my party to perfect health. I don't know where I got that math, but yeah, that's what I did. And so I went through, and I barely made it, but I made it. I don't care what you say, it's an accomplishment for me, and I'm proud. ^_^
And then theres some other stuff where you get to go to those islands again, and enable yourself to link up with Ruby and Sapphire, plus there are a buncha guys from the other versions besides the original 151. So yay me. I dunno. I'm done with it for the most part though. Now I gotta beat the Ruby Elite Four.... x_x. Oh, and I need to find someone with another Game Boy Advanced., so I can trade pokemon around. AND I NEED A DITTO! Yes, you see... Now that I've unlocked the islands, I can breed pokemon, and Dittos are sex machines. Usually you need a female of the thing you want more of, but since Ditto is nifty in its own goopy way, you get Pokemon's of odd types. So yeah, I'm gonna start breeding Eevees and Charizards and other rare delicacies. It will be... Magnificent.
Speaking of rare delecacies - Is nintendo still giving out those giveaway things? Original Red and Blue Mew, I suppose, is right out. I managed to get him on my old games anyway. A friend used hacks. I'm really mostly opposed to that, though, so in the future... Like, you can get Deoxys, and a couple of special tickets to a couple of special islands with special Pokemon on it. I need to know if Nintendo is still giving this kinda stuff out anywhere, like at the Nintendo Store in New York. Oh well, don't suppose any of you know about that.
One more thing about the Pokemon world here. Now that I can trade Pokemon between Ruby and Fire Red, I can trade items, too. Namely the one Master Ball I have left, between the two games. And, off the top of my head, the legendary pokemon I have yet to catch:
IN FIRE RED:
Mew-Two (I know I can catch him with an ultra ball, or at least, I've done it in the original versions.)
Suicune (No clue what this is, apparently he's running randomly around the map. Joy.)
Ho-oh, Lugia, and Deoxys (apparently I need the tickets for these islands, so I'll prolly never meet them. u_u)
IN RUBY:
Latias/Latios (One of them depending on my version, like Suicune, he's running around the map having fun.)
Regi thingies (3 more 'Mons that'll run around the world randomly. WHY LORD WHY!?)
Raquaza (I think he's at least stationary. Supposedly a really powerful thingy, but ist stationaryness makes it look like it can be ultraballed easier. I hope.)
Okay, enough geeking out. I await your comments. Night.
Speaking of goofy things. I beat Pokemon this morning. Early this morning. I went to sleep at like 11 or 12 last night (early for me), then got woken up by partying college students at 3AM. Jerks. So anyway, I pulled up my SP with Pokemon Fire Red in it. It's a remake of the original Red version, with the updated graphics, Pokemon moves, the new monsters, what have you. It's spiffy. You should buy it. But moving on. I had bought it in... September? October? One of my trips back to Austin in my first semester, I'll bet I wrote about it earlier. So yeah, I've had it for a while. And I played it through, catching them all, beating the shit outta the gym leaders. Then, somewhere along the way, I hit a snag. The first legendary bird: Articuno. The first time I played through the original Red (I had to twice, someone stole my GBC in my Freshman HS year), I didn't realize she was one of a kind, and didn't capture her, so catching her now kinda held a soft spot in my heart. And... I couldn't. The last time I played it really was over Christmas break. (I gave my cousin a copy of Leaf Green, and was busy trying to find female versions of all the starters. I think I ended up with a female squirtle for my hours of trouble. X_X)
That is, until that Pokemon RPG thread I mentioned. I pulled out both versions of the game to compare maps and Pokedexes, and realized how close yet far I was from beating both games. And so I picked up Fire Red where I left off, just off the coast of the Seafoam Islands. I figured out half the maze, enough to end up face to face with the legendary bird. And so I saved my game and attacked, and killed her. Over and over again. Something was wrong. I could paralyze her, leave her with just about one HP, and she'd bust out of the ball. What was I missing?
Sleep. I'd used Bublasaur as my starter both times in the original version, complete with Sleep Powder. This time though, I wanted the Charizard. You know he's the coolest. So anyway, that means I have to look elsewhere for sleep powers. I had a Haunter in my party, but he'd missed learning Hypnosis somehow. So! I ran back to the tower in Lavendar, got a fresh, low level Gastly, and raised it to Hypnosis level. Then I ran back to the cave, confronted the Ice Queen and... BAM! I caught her. I was sooo happy after all that work.
Anyway, then I went to sleep. And here's about where I came in at 3:30 AM, I think. off and beat the crud outta Blaine, the Fire type gym leader, easily with one tough Water type. And then a funny thing bappened. I got sent to some far off islands for a mini quest for no apparent reason. Stupid lost girl. Then back to the mainland, and in two swift mooves, I ran through Giovanni (final Gym leader) and the pre-Victory Road rival battle. And from there... I had to continue! I forced my way through Victory Road itself, in the process leveling my team up between 44 and 50, respectable ranges for a Elite 4 Challenge.
Now, in all my times I've played against the Elite 4 (and I've played through 3 generations of the Elite Four) I have never once gotten it all in one go the first time. So I prepared for the worst.... Assuming I go down to the last Pokemon every battle, worst case senario, I'm thinking, I'll need 20 revives and 20 full restores to return my party to perfect health. I don't know where I got that math, but yeah, that's what I did. And so I went through, and I barely made it, but I made it. I don't care what you say, it's an accomplishment for me, and I'm proud. ^_^
And then theres some other stuff where you get to go to those islands again, and enable yourself to link up with Ruby and Sapphire, plus there are a buncha guys from the other versions besides the original 151. So yay me. I dunno. I'm done with it for the most part though. Now I gotta beat the Ruby Elite Four.... x_x. Oh, and I need to find someone with another Game Boy Advanced., so I can trade pokemon around. AND I NEED A DITTO! Yes, you see... Now that I've unlocked the islands, I can breed pokemon, and Dittos are sex machines. Usually you need a female of the thing you want more of, but since Ditto is nifty in its own goopy way, you get Pokemon's of odd types. So yeah, I'm gonna start breeding Eevees and Charizards and other rare delicacies. It will be... Magnificent.
Speaking of rare delecacies - Is nintendo still giving out those giveaway things? Original Red and Blue Mew, I suppose, is right out. I managed to get him on my old games anyway. A friend used hacks. I'm really mostly opposed to that, though, so in the future... Like, you can get Deoxys, and a couple of special tickets to a couple of special islands with special Pokemon on it. I need to know if Nintendo is still giving this kinda stuff out anywhere, like at the Nintendo Store in New York. Oh well, don't suppose any of you know about that.
One more thing about the Pokemon world here. Now that I can trade Pokemon between Ruby and Fire Red, I can trade items, too. Namely the one Master Ball I have left, between the two games. And, off the top of my head, the legendary pokemon I have yet to catch:
IN FIRE RED:
Mew-Two (I know I can catch him with an ultra ball, or at least, I've done it in the original versions.)
Suicune (No clue what this is, apparently he's running randomly around the map. Joy.)
Ho-oh, Lugia, and Deoxys (apparently I need the tickets for these islands, so I'll prolly never meet them. u_u)
IN RUBY:
Latias/Latios (One of them depending on my version, like Suicune, he's running around the map having fun.)
Regi thingies (3 more 'Mons that'll run around the world randomly. WHY LORD WHY!?)
Raquaza (I think he's at least stationary. Supposedly a really powerful thingy, but ist stationaryness makes it look like it can be ultraballed easier. I hope.)
Okay, enough geeking out. I await your comments. Night.
5.5.05
Religious Hub-Bub
I've made my stance on religion pretty clear, right? I don't think I need to clarify it any more. (I'm sure there's more in there, but I don't want to go digging them up. The one I linked is the only one I posted this year, I think. You guys can check if you want.)
Anyway, I had a couple of interesting conversations today. I'll let you guys look. First was with a girl serving ISS, I met through a friend of a friend of a friend... apparently I have amazing networking skills. Anyway, this is just a snippit; we had other things to talk about. I started where I did just to give a little context, and the end is just, uh, the end, I guess. We just switched topics. Anyway, here goes.
Anyway, I had a couple of interesting conversations today. I'll let you guys look. First was with a girl serving ISS, I met through a friend of a friend of a friend... apparently I have amazing networking skills. Anyway, this is just a snippit; we had other things to talk about. I started where I did just to give a little context, and the end is just, uh, the end, I guess. We just switched topics. Anyway, here goes.
me: I've got better things to do tonight then die!Okay, so then I got hit up a few hours later by a girl who I actively started a conversation about religion with like a year ago. I met her in a chatroom, and basically questioned her about her beliefs and such. She came back just today, after months of silence, and was ready to pick up where we left off. I really wish she'd just learn to type well. Oh well...
Her: hahaha..
Her: YOURE GONNA DIE??
me: nooo
me: its from a movie
Her: ohh..
Her: whew.
me: *nods*
me: the transformers movie
me: have you seen it yet?
Her: nope
me: well why not?
me: are you some sort of communist?
Her: whats a communist again?
me: someone who believes in communism
me: duuh
me: its like exteme socialism
Her: .....
Her: still not comprending
me: x_X
me: everyone in the nation works for the nation, and eveyone gets paid the same amount
Her: is that not true?
me: not here
me: people work for themselves
me: or for private corporations
Her: ohh
Her: okay.
Her: Im...christian
Her: :)
Her: lmao
me: good job
me: oh, i have a question i was thinking about earlier
me: if being christian means following jesus' teachings, why does it matter whether or not he was the son of God?
Her: Im guessing you aint christian
me: i dunno what i am
me: why does that matter?
Her: IDk i dont even get that question..I just believe in Jesus Christ as my personal savior
Her: it doesnt matter
Her: why are you asking about it
me: curious
me: conversation
me: like i said, i dont know what i am
me: anyway...
me: your persoal savior?
Her: yep.
me: what did he do for you personally?
Her: Died for my sins.
me: what does his death have to do with your sins?
Her: ...read what I just said
Her: HE sacrificed his life for our sins.
Her: And why are you asking me? Why dont you talk to a preacher.
Her: I dont teach this stuff
me: cuz its more fun to talk to people i kinda know
Her: ..okay?
me: honestly, i tried asking this kinda stuff in sunday school
me: the guy kicked me out, and told my mom i was unsaveable
me: x_x
me: i believe he used the term "spawn of satan"
Her: Oh. Yeah I have another friend thats like you too.
me: in what way?
Her: Questions ppls religion or christianity..and idk he was called something like that too
me: does that not seem odd?
Her: No not really.
me: it doesnt seem odd that people who question your religion arent answered, but instead are called hellspawn and deemed unsaveable?
Her: why would it matter if yall were called hellspawn or unsaveable..you dont believe in it the first place. and its not that i cant answer them its just that I dont know all about it its just somethign I believe in ..you can go to my church its called Triuhmphant Love Luthern Church.
Her: Pastor Norb could answer your questions.
me: maybe I will
me: i never said I didnt believe in it
Her: You should ..I'm serious
Her: Well...hah..
me: i definitely agree with alot of jesus' teachings
Her: Okay?
me: im a total pacifist
Her: Then why have to question everything?
Her: Why not just leave it alone
Her: I mean idk Im just that way I dont like to think too hard it hurts my head pllus Im not really smart so I just ..yeah.
me: cuz im not totally satisfied with the entire religion
me: so i ask
me: Judaism encourages questioning its own principles
me: its how you learn about things
me: or at least, its how I learn
Her: Well I get enough learning in school.
me: well, why bother with religion at all then?
me: why not just say, okay, the sun rises and sets, i dont need to know why
me: im alive and on here, i dont need to know why
Her: Bc theres a reason why the sun is there and why im here.
me: so you question
Her: and that reason is my religion so im good with that
Her: no I dont question
Her: I already know.
me: hrmm
me: well i dont know
Her: Im sorry
me: so im looking for a religion that lets me know
Her: Why dont you just be aethist
me: cuz i do believe that there is something out there
me: i just don't know what
Her: OH
Her: okay
Her: Well seriously go to Triumphant Love Luthern Church and my pastors name is Pastor Norb.
me: this is in austin?
Her: Yup
Her: I think you can look it up on the internet
me: hrmm
me: do you know if they have a program for college students?
Her: HM...They have alot of differnt gettogether groups..but yeah Im pretty sure they do
me: mkay, cuz thats what i enjoy most
Her: they have kids...and youth group and senior group and my grandmas in a bible group
me: i dont get anything really out of sitting in the sanctuary and listening to the minister for an hour
Her: yeah me either
Her: Ive learned what ive learned
Her: Ive been baptized and gone thru community and I got Confirmed and I learned about each of them
Her: LIke i used to go to church every sunday since i was in 1st grade up to 7th grade then in 8th grade i went less and less idk y. I jsut felt that I knew and ect.
Her: bad excuse but still.
me: yeah, you shouldnt just go to church to learn, you go to worship
Her: oh yeah I know that
Her: Thats what I do when I goto church
Her: I worship i cant learn much b.c of my hearing dissability
Her: so like when the preacher preaches...i jsut..sit tight
Her: or read the gospel
Her: or something
me: thats good
Her: sure
Her: HAY SWEET HEART.HOW ARE U DOIN TONIGHT??So there you have it. I hid their names, because I know some of you reading this would jump at the chance to try and start something with these two over their beliefs. I might not agree with these girls, but I respect their beliefs, and I don't think I can say the same for all of you out there. Anyway, this has been worked on far too much... X_X
me: oh hey
me: long time no see
me: sup?
Her: HAY HOW ARE U DOIN???
me: not bad
me: your caps get stuck?
Her: O NO I JUST PUT IN ON CAPS
me: ok
me: sup with you?
Her: The Lord is ooo awesome.i kept lookin at ur screen name but aint neva immed u .i guess the Lord wanted me too
Her: so i did
me: heh
me: i had the same feelings
me: saw it there, never had much to say
me: i actually had a rather interesting discussion with a girl earlier about religion
Her: o what religion
me: shes christian, im still undecided
Her: dont u knoo time isnt waitin on u..the next moment isnt promised to u at all
me: exactly
me: so i dont wanna make some hasty decision
Her: becomin a christian is not a hasty mistake nor mistake...the Bible sayzz theres onlt one true religino which is christianity
me: yeah, and the Torah says there is only one true religion which is Judaism
me: and the koran says the same about Islam
me: they can't all be right
Her: listen how do u think u came into this world??
Her: Gid created u
me: right
Her: im for real
me: i believe you
me: i don't doubt that god exists
me: i just dont know which interpretation is right, or if any of them are
Her: alright then why are u undecided about the religion u wanna be
me: its a personal issue though
me: i want my relationship with God to be MY relatioship with God, not the same one that 10000 other people use
me: i've never been able to get into the whole worshiping as a group
Her: the Lord said praise Him,...u cant have no relationship with God unless u are a christian first of all
me: sure I can
me: your God is the God of Abraham and the God of Mohammed
Her: God said he heareth not sinners but if any man be a worshipper of Him He hears him
me: but Jesus dined with the sinners
me: he seems to have heard them
Her: he did nt die with them but for them...on the cross at calvary
me: i said DINED. he broke bread with them and ate with them
me: one of his disciples was a tax collector
Her: (THJIS LINE IS MISSING!)
me: so if god only hears sinners, then how can the sinners become saved?
Her: People dont pray to Jesus.The Lord said pray to God in Jesus name
Her: i said God dont hear sinners but if any man worship Him thats the ones He hears
me: so what if a sinner worships him?
me: like those priests who did things to little boys
Her: 1st of all u gotta be saved....but if u are a sinner and u are prayin and u think God hears it ur just wastin ur time cuz He dont
me: so then, its not possible for a sinner to be saved?
Her: oo my goodness yes it is...What are u talkn about the Lord said if u come unto Him he will not flee u away
me: but he wont listen to a sinner
Her: the devil dwells in those that arent saved
me: how does a sinner become saved if God wont listen to a sinner?
Her: listen God dont hear a sinner unless they are sayin save me or forgive me
me: ah
me: thats the bit i was missing
me: okay
Her: yeah alright srry i shoulda told u
me: its kay
me: okay, that makes sense to me
Her: alright any mo question
me: hrmm, mostly just how does jesus dying 2000 years ago affect my sins today?
me: i have a new screen name, by the way
Her: alright.i hope u got the last thing i typed it was a whole bunch
me: uhh
me: no i did not (About here her internet connection just died on me, I think)
Yet Another One For Today
And it's not about Star Wars!! O_O
Anyway, this convo pretty much sums it up:
Anyway, this convo pretty much sums it up:
me: it started, and i was like, oh, a fire drillYou phear my once sided conversations. O_O
me: and i put on my shoes, kept my headphones on, etc
me: and i was like
me: i dont need my game boy, cuz it'll be 2 minutes then i can go back to sleep
me: well, 2 minutes passed
me: i couldnt get in
me: 5 minutes passed
me: still no go
me: 10 minutes
me: i went across the street to sams and got a pbj sammich
me: nothing
me: i ate the sammich
me: and i got some stuck in my throat
me: so i went to the local school building for a drink
me: water fountain
me: cept the water tastes like crap
me: so i got a coke
me: and came back
me: and saw matt walking away
me: so i talked to him
me: and then i came back
me: and it was still going off
me: and so i went ot the manga store
me: this is 30 minutes after it went off initially, mind you
me: so i spent 10 minutes and 10$ there, thinking whatever it was was gonna take them an hour and i might as well have something to read
me: and i came back
me: and they were JUST letting people in when i got there
me: o_o
Some Links
I love this stuff...
Also, in case any of you can't get enough of my writing, I've joined a forum role-play thread (based on poke`mon, no less) here. It's pretty deep (nerdy) stuff, so I don't expect many of you to be interested, but if you are, well, there it is. If you wanna find out what the hell is going on, well, here's the discussion thread.
Okay, that's enough for now. I got through my first final, barely. I have no idea how well I did, so don't ask. I'll prolly sell back any text books I have that weren't damaged in the flood for a little extra cash tomorrow, and hopefully not starve before Mom shows up and treats me to Fizoles, Olive Garden, IHOP, whatever. Yay real food. For now... I have no money in the university food account. Arby's and Subway it is. Yay fake food.
Okay, bye.
Also, in case any of you can't get enough of my writing, I've joined a forum role-play thread (based on poke`mon, no less) here. It's pretty deep (nerdy) stuff, so I don't expect many of you to be interested, but if you are, well, there it is. If you wanna find out what the hell is going on, well, here's the discussion thread.
Okay, that's enough for now. I got through my first final, barely. I have no idea how well I did, so don't ask. I'll prolly sell back any text books I have that weren't damaged in the flood for a little extra cash tomorrow, and hopefully not starve before Mom shows up and treats me to Fizoles, Olive Garden, IHOP, whatever. Yay real food. For now... I have no money in the university food account. Arby's and Subway it is. Yay fake food.
Okay, bye.
This Will Be A Day Long Remembered
Ladies and Gentlemen. Today is a day of marvelous significance. In 3 hours I will be staring my first final - Calculus 2, so I should do okay, I'm usually very good with mathematics. In one week from today, I will wake up in Austin for the first time in over a month, and begin my Summer vacations.
These both pale in comparison, however, next to my main reason for writing this. For those of you that do not know, two weeks from today, squeezed in what will most likely be a packed movie theater, I will view arguably the most anticipated movie of the decade: Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith. I think my head will explode. O_O!! Seriously, everything I've heard about this movie is that it is on several scales more awesome than the previous two installments.
WHAT FOLLOWS MAY SPOIL CERTAIN ELEMENTS THE MOVIE! CAREFUL!
The Clone Wars come to their own exciting end. Palpatine comes to his full Imperial power, and the Empire is formed. The Jedi are purged (and you know they aren't going down without a fight). And the big turn. Anakin Skywalker, great hope of the Jedi, falls to the Dark Side of the Force, is slain in combat with his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and is reborn as the Dark Lord of the Sith that the Galaxy will learn to fear by the name of Darth Vader.
Also of note are the return of the greatest piece of William's Score in my opinion, the Imperial March. Seriously, very few other pieces of music so embody the pure coldness and steady march forward of evil that the March does. I can't help but listen to it without having visions of Star Destroyers floating in face, forming up on the mighty command ship Executor. Also, the fact that this movie is much darker than the previous two. I've read reports that Anakin is seen slaying the Jedi students (remember the class Yoda was teaching in AotC?) I thought it would be enough to show him walk into a room in the temple, and have the door close, and just have screams heard from outside, but never actually see anything. It sounds, though, that Lucas is actually SHOWING the slaughter... Very dark, and I guess it helps explain the PG-13 rating.
END SPOILERS!
I really think that this movie will be better than the previous two, particularly because its any entirely story driven, and very focused, or so it seems. The first two had a general frame work to work on - they need to discover Anakin, he needs to fall in love, and the Clone Wars need to start. And they accomplished that, but really, they could have done all that in about an hour, and it would have just been a bunch of boring historical data basically. They way they made them, the stories of the movies just seem tacked on to the frame. But this one seems genuinely full of stuff happening, and so it won't have the pacing issues of the previous two.
To be fair, I didn't HATE the first two. I have both of them on video (TPM on VHS, AotC on DVD). They are genuinely good Science fiction movies, if only B movies. In Phantom, I enjoyed watching the Pod Race scene, the final semi-epic battle between the Gungans and the Droid Army (Jar-Jar may be annoying, but the rest of them are pretty cool), and the saber fight between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon. However, I cringed when Anakin asked Padme` "Are you an angel?" In Attack, I enjoyed seeing Yoda go nuts, the starting battle of the Clone Wars, and Obi-Wan's duel with Jango Fett. I didn't like seeing Anakin and Padme` spending however long it was flirting with each other. Do you notice a pattern here? The love scenes in both movies were so stilted, and forced, and just plain badly acted. (I also take issue with the inclusion of a history of Boba Fett, but that's more of an irrational "OMG BOBA FETT IS COOL BECAUSE HE HAS NO HISTORY" type thing.)
Oh my God this thing seriously has me freaking and geeking out about it. Really, if there's one thing I dislike about the Prequel trilogy, its gotta be the overt focus on the Jedi. I mean, yes, the Jedi are cool and all, bad ass, really, but they're sort of hard to aspire to be. I mean, they're an inherited, almost elitist aristocracy. You get Force powers from your father or mother (or, the Force itself, if you're a divine conception), and so while you do need some training and work, and a Jedi's life is far from easy, its not possible to EARN Force Powers, you either have them or you don't. Where's the fun in that?
Where are the swashbuckling, flying by the seat of your pants heroes? The charming and skilled Han Solo figure? Here's a guy who is a REAL hero. He starts of in ANH as a hard luck mercenary. He's got a price on his head, so he's on the run with just his best friend, his ship, and whatever contracts he can land. His ship is a piece of junk by all accounts, but he's made it into the fastest hunk of junk in the Galaxy through hard work and skill. He's brave, he's honorable (he DID come back and help Luke at the first Death Star battle), and he doesn't have to rely on the Force for his success. By the end, he's a GENERAL, responsible in part for the Victory at the Battle of Endor.
Where's the regular warrior? Episode 1's battle scene had a few Gungans, but aside from Captain Tarpels (Jar-Jar's number two guy at the Battle of Naboo) I cannot remember a single figure in that battle who didn't have medichlorian filled blood. Oh, and maybe Padme` (a Queen!), and a then maybe her head security officer, who I think is a local installation, because I don't remember him in the 2nd one. Speaking of Attack of the Clones, that one just makes it even worse. Go ahead, look at the final battle. Hell, look at ANY battle in that movie. Without fail, the good guys are either Jedi, or Padme` again, who is a Senator, not really a warrior. Everyone else, in EVERY occasion, is a CLONE! Not only are they wearing identical masks, so you can't tell them apart, UNDERNEATH they are just as uniform. Holy crap. Even battle droids have differing voices (I still get a little chuckle at the one in Episode I with a Brooklyn accent), but the clones all have Jango Fett's voice. Again I ask, where's the fun in that?
Who remembers Wedge Antilles? Remember the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV? Luke went into the trench with two wingmen, childhood friend Biggs Darklighter, and a guy named Wedge. Wedge took a hit and pulled out, while Biggs stayed and blew up. Remember the Battle of Hoth in Episode VI? When Luke's rear gunner, Dak, get fried in an explosion, its up to the snow speeder flown by Wedge, and his gunner Wes Janson, to trip up the AT-AT walkers that are marching on the Rebel Base. Remember the Battle of Endor? General Lando Calrissian flew the Millennium Falcon, and lead up Gold Squadron, but Red Squadron, the Rebellions X-Wing flight, was headed up by none other than Wedge Antilles, who fired shots at the reactor core. Here is the only man in the Rebel Alliance who gets to paint two Death Star silhouettes on the side of his ship. Not a medichlorian among him.
Anyway, I may have gotten a little off subject, but that just goes to show how much of a fan I am. I can go for hours on this stuff. Literally, I started writing this two hours ago. I only got an hour before Calc final, so I'd better wrap this up. So long, and may the Force be with you.
These both pale in comparison, however, next to my main reason for writing this. For those of you that do not know, two weeks from today, squeezed in what will most likely be a packed movie theater, I will view arguably the most anticipated movie of the decade: Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith. I think my head will explode. O_O!! Seriously, everything I've heard about this movie is that it is on several scales more awesome than the previous two installments.
WHAT FOLLOWS MAY SPOIL CERTAIN ELEMENTS THE MOVIE! CAREFUL!
The Clone Wars come to their own exciting end. Palpatine comes to his full Imperial power, and the Empire is formed. The Jedi are purged (and you know they aren't going down without a fight). And the big turn. Anakin Skywalker, great hope of the Jedi, falls to the Dark Side of the Force, is slain in combat with his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and is reborn as the Dark Lord of the Sith that the Galaxy will learn to fear by the name of Darth Vader.
Also of note are the return of the greatest piece of William's Score in my opinion, the Imperial March. Seriously, very few other pieces of music so embody the pure coldness and steady march forward of evil that the March does. I can't help but listen to it without having visions of Star Destroyers floating in face, forming up on the mighty command ship Executor. Also, the fact that this movie is much darker than the previous two. I've read reports that Anakin is seen slaying the Jedi students (remember the class Yoda was teaching in AotC?) I thought it would be enough to show him walk into a room in the temple, and have the door close, and just have screams heard from outside, but never actually see anything. It sounds, though, that Lucas is actually SHOWING the slaughter... Very dark, and I guess it helps explain the PG-13 rating.
END SPOILERS!
I really think that this movie will be better than the previous two, particularly because its any entirely story driven, and very focused, or so it seems. The first two had a general frame work to work on - they need to discover Anakin, he needs to fall in love, and the Clone Wars need to start. And they accomplished that, but really, they could have done all that in about an hour, and it would have just been a bunch of boring historical data basically. They way they made them, the stories of the movies just seem tacked on to the frame. But this one seems genuinely full of stuff happening, and so it won't have the pacing issues of the previous two.
To be fair, I didn't HATE the first two. I have both of them on video (TPM on VHS, AotC on DVD). They are genuinely good Science fiction movies, if only B movies. In Phantom, I enjoyed watching the Pod Race scene, the final semi-epic battle between the Gungans and the Droid Army (Jar-Jar may be annoying, but the rest of them are pretty cool), and the saber fight between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon. However, I cringed when Anakin asked Padme` "Are you an angel?" In Attack, I enjoyed seeing Yoda go nuts, the starting battle of the Clone Wars, and Obi-Wan's duel with Jango Fett. I didn't like seeing Anakin and Padme` spending however long it was flirting with each other. Do you notice a pattern here? The love scenes in both movies were so stilted, and forced, and just plain badly acted. (I also take issue with the inclusion of a history of Boba Fett, but that's more of an irrational "OMG BOBA FETT IS COOL BECAUSE HE HAS NO HISTORY" type thing.)
Oh my God this thing seriously has me freaking and geeking out about it. Really, if there's one thing I dislike about the Prequel trilogy, its gotta be the overt focus on the Jedi. I mean, yes, the Jedi are cool and all, bad ass, really, but they're sort of hard to aspire to be. I mean, they're an inherited, almost elitist aristocracy. You get Force powers from your father or mother (or, the Force itself, if you're a divine conception), and so while you do need some training and work, and a Jedi's life is far from easy, its not possible to EARN Force Powers, you either have them or you don't. Where's the fun in that?
Where are the swashbuckling, flying by the seat of your pants heroes? The charming and skilled Han Solo figure? Here's a guy who is a REAL hero. He starts of in ANH as a hard luck mercenary. He's got a price on his head, so he's on the run with just his best friend, his ship, and whatever contracts he can land. His ship is a piece of junk by all accounts, but he's made it into the fastest hunk of junk in the Galaxy through hard work and skill. He's brave, he's honorable (he DID come back and help Luke at the first Death Star battle), and he doesn't have to rely on the Force for his success. By the end, he's a GENERAL, responsible in part for the Victory at the Battle of Endor.
Where's the regular warrior? Episode 1's battle scene had a few Gungans, but aside from Captain Tarpels (Jar-Jar's number two guy at the Battle of Naboo) I cannot remember a single figure in that battle who didn't have medichlorian filled blood. Oh, and maybe Padme` (a Queen!), and a then maybe her head security officer, who I think is a local installation, because I don't remember him in the 2nd one. Speaking of Attack of the Clones, that one just makes it even worse. Go ahead, look at the final battle. Hell, look at ANY battle in that movie. Without fail, the good guys are either Jedi, or Padme` again, who is a Senator, not really a warrior. Everyone else, in EVERY occasion, is a CLONE! Not only are they wearing identical masks, so you can't tell them apart, UNDERNEATH they are just as uniform. Holy crap. Even battle droids have differing voices (I still get a little chuckle at the one in Episode I with a Brooklyn accent), but the clones all have Jango Fett's voice. Again I ask, where's the fun in that?
Who remembers Wedge Antilles? Remember the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV? Luke went into the trench with two wingmen, childhood friend Biggs Darklighter, and a guy named Wedge. Wedge took a hit and pulled out, while Biggs stayed and blew up. Remember the Battle of Hoth in Episode VI? When Luke's rear gunner, Dak, get fried in an explosion, its up to the snow speeder flown by Wedge, and his gunner Wes Janson, to trip up the AT-AT walkers that are marching on the Rebel Base. Remember the Battle of Endor? General Lando Calrissian flew the Millennium Falcon, and lead up Gold Squadron, but Red Squadron, the Rebellions X-Wing flight, was headed up by none other than Wedge Antilles, who fired shots at the reactor core. Here is the only man in the Rebel Alliance who gets to paint two Death Star silhouettes on the side of his ship. Not a medichlorian among him.
Anyway, I may have gotten a little off subject, but that just goes to show how much of a fan I am. I can go for hours on this stuff. Literally, I started writing this two hours ago. I only got an hour before Calc final, so I'd better wrap this up. So long, and may the Force be with you.
4.5.05
Finals Coming Up
I already told you about that, though... I dunno. It's too late for the berating post, AGAIN. I've got it rolling around in my head, though, and I've got some free time coming up. Why the hell am I telling you guys this though? You don't need coming attractions from me. x_x
In current events, I turned on the O'Reily Factor just now, talking about border security. I'm often surprised when I agree with him, but in this case, I do. He was saying that it was for supporters of a stronger border to be called anti-Hispanic. That's true enough. Wanting to secure the US border doesn't make a person anti-Hispanic. It just means they want to preserve the laws of the nation. Illegal immigration is in fact ILLEGAL, and anyone who does it is a criminal, hispanic or not. I do wonder about the rarely covered U.S./Canadian border, though I suppose that both nations there are vaguely similar in standing, there's not much reason to immigrate. Each seems to see themselves as superior to the other. *Shrugs.* Back to the matter at hand though, I think that while the current border situation seems to be out of control, using the military to patrol the border seems a bit excessive.
Why not, and I'm just spitballing here, a fence. A good old fashined, barbed wire electric fence. Or maybe concrete or something. What's more, make it dual layered, so that if someone triggers a sensor in the outer perimeter, someone can get in a Jeep, check it out, and do whatever's neccessary at the time. Fix the fence, arrest a border hopper, whatever you need. Anyway, just a thought. I wouldn't mind paying a few extra taxes one year to pay for a fence. Cuz, you know, it's a fence. Anyone else got any better ideas?
That rambled a bit more than I wanted it. I give you now: a wallpaper I found on the Internet. I for one was impressed. What do you think?
I'm gonna hold out for a better resolution before I replace my Anakin wall, but it's not a bad wallpaper in my mind. And on that, sleepytime. I'm hungry too, but w/e.
In current events, I turned on the O'Reily Factor just now, talking about border security. I'm often surprised when I agree with him, but in this case, I do. He was saying that it was for supporters of a stronger border to be called anti-Hispanic. That's true enough. Wanting to secure the US border doesn't make a person anti-Hispanic. It just means they want to preserve the laws of the nation. Illegal immigration is in fact ILLEGAL, and anyone who does it is a criminal, hispanic or not. I do wonder about the rarely covered U.S./Canadian border, though I suppose that both nations there are vaguely similar in standing, there's not much reason to immigrate. Each seems to see themselves as superior to the other. *Shrugs.* Back to the matter at hand though, I think that while the current border situation seems to be out of control, using the military to patrol the border seems a bit excessive.
Why not, and I'm just spitballing here, a fence. A good old fashined, barbed wire electric fence. Or maybe concrete or something. What's more, make it dual layered, so that if someone triggers a sensor in the outer perimeter, someone can get in a Jeep, check it out, and do whatever's neccessary at the time. Fix the fence, arrest a border hopper, whatever you need. Anyway, just a thought. I wouldn't mind paying a few extra taxes one year to pay for a fence. Cuz, you know, it's a fence. Anyone else got any better ideas?
That rambled a bit more than I wanted it. I give you now: a wallpaper I found on the Internet. I for one was impressed. What do you think?
I'm gonna hold out for a better resolution before I replace my Anakin wall, but it's not a bad wallpaper in my mind. And on that, sleepytime. I'm hungry too, but w/e.
3.5.05
Stuff That Needs Saying
I give you another of my world famous random links, because I know you love them so. This one's a pretty good read, and pretty true. The Empire may be a tad oppressive and a little overly cruel in a few cases, but they're still a far better choice than plunging and entire Galaxy into the anarchy we see at the end of Return of the Jedi. Not to mention that the entire Rebellion is simply an off-shoot of Count Dooku's separatist movement, which as we know was engineered by Palpatine himself.
Given the chance, I might have applied to the Academy, tried to get myself stationed in a local planetary TIE Squadron, I don't know if I'd want to live aboard a Star Destroyer. I might get used to it. REALLY, though, my dream Star Wars career is closer to Han Solo's, only more legitimate. Leading a personal life aboard a freighter, travelling across the galaxy offering my services as a courier and what-not. All above the level, of course. Heh, no matter what galaxy I'm in, I'm always squeaky clean.
One last thing before I go. If you havent noticed my most recent away message, well... Here it is in its more complete form:
I had a semi-lucid dream about a self-berating blog post, and I may do that yet, but not now. Now it is time for more napping. L8r.
Given the chance, I might have applied to the Academy, tried to get myself stationed in a local planetary TIE Squadron, I don't know if I'd want to live aboard a Star Destroyer. I might get used to it. REALLY, though, my dream Star Wars career is closer to Han Solo's, only more legitimate. Leading a personal life aboard a freighter, travelling across the galaxy offering my services as a courier and what-not. All above the level, of course. Heh, no matter what galaxy I'm in, I'm always squeaky clean.
One last thing before I go. If you havent noticed my most recent away message, well... Here it is in its more complete form:
I regret to inform you that I speak none of the following languages fluently:So anyway, I ran out of room in AIM's away message, but I'll be compiling all the languages I'm not fluent in here, as I come across them. I hope. You all know how good I am at editing these lists after the fact. Oh well. At least it's here.
Dutch
Mandarin
Spanish
HTML
Japanese
Huttesse
Arabic
Amish
Beta Crypt 3
Latin
Rodian
Turkish
Basic
French
Danish
Java
Klingon
English
Egyptian
Martian
Cherokee
Crazy Bitch
Gothic
Italian
Perl
Aboriginal Australian
Swahili
Gaelic
Czech
NewSpeak
Russian
Deutsch
Bocce
Cantonese
Bavarian
Petorian
Hawaiian
Vogon
Dog
Ebonics
The International Language of Mathematics
C
Pig-Latin
Elephant
Portugese
Asshole
Wookie
Hebrew
Cat
Algonquin
Greek
Stupid
Tibetian
Binary
Goldfish
Ewok
Cajun
Cockroach
Tai
The Universal Language of Music
Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause you.
I had a semi-lucid dream about a self-berating blog post, and I may do that yet, but not now. Now it is time for more napping. L8r.
2.5.05
Just A Few Things
I got a call last night from my brother, asking where Indiana Jones taught. How random is that? I didn't know then, and was somewhat busy on my own, but I looked it up today, and apparently Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. taught Archaeology at the University of Chicago, so that's good.
Apparently, I need to be studying, so my mom won't pay for Magic Online Cards... I need a credit card. Seriously. My mom even thought my ATM card was a debit card, on more than one occasion. I need to get it turned into one, or whatever. Of course, then I'd starve and just buy nothing but Magic cards all the time. X_X So I'm down to just the 150 cards I own. Oh, plus the 100 or so basic lands I got for signing up or whatever. Whee...
Lessee... I got one more class before finals start on Thursday. That's good. Then I get to go home; Get my laptop sent off for fixing; Get a JOB (x_x); Suffer through a buggy Internet connection; Probably have the giant projector TV still refusing to work. Ah well... Some good things include... A big bed I can roll around on and not have to worry about falling off of; A car (van, really); Theoretically, a pay check, and thus spending cash; And best of all, I can see Jackie much more often. ^_^ Plus, I'll maybe have a buncha free time, so I can do more PS2 games like I've been threatening too. Or write. Agh, so much to doooo...
Toss in on that, the possibility of going to A-Kon in Dallas. If I drive, which is cheaper than flying, I think.... Nope, just checked. It's 276 for the hotel and round trip tickets, plus 42 for admission, so about 310 so far, plus I'll need to pay for a taxi, and food, so that'll make it $400 even, and another 100 or more for spending cash. $500. I should be able make that at minimum wage over two 40-hour weeks. I have three full weeks before I would leave for the convention, say 14 days, as long as I work 6 hours each day, which I will easily hit, I should have PLENTY. So YAY ME! Let's just hope I can get a job. X_X
That said, I've got one other thing.... This e-mail! I recieved the following, labeled from Neateye (nitaigouranga@aol.com)... I can't even describe it, just look:
I'll leave this on your minds as I take my leave. Time to sleep. Night.
Apparently, I need to be studying, so my mom won't pay for Magic Online Cards... I need a credit card. Seriously. My mom even thought my ATM card was a debit card, on more than one occasion. I need to get it turned into one, or whatever. Of course, then I'd starve and just buy nothing but Magic cards all the time. X_X So I'm down to just the 150 cards I own. Oh, plus the 100 or so basic lands I got for signing up or whatever. Whee...
Lessee... I got one more class before finals start on Thursday. That's good. Then I get to go home; Get my laptop sent off for fixing; Get a JOB (x_x); Suffer through a buggy Internet connection; Probably have the giant projector TV still refusing to work. Ah well... Some good things include... A big bed I can roll around on and not have to worry about falling off of; A car (van, really); Theoretically, a pay check, and thus spending cash; And best of all, I can see Jackie much more often. ^_^ Plus, I'll maybe have a buncha free time, so I can do more PS2 games like I've been threatening too. Or write. Agh, so much to doooo...
Toss in on that, the possibility of going to A-Kon in Dallas. If I drive, which is cheaper than flying, I think.... Nope, just checked. It's 276 for the hotel and round trip tickets, plus 42 for admission, so about 310 so far, plus I'll need to pay for a taxi, and food, so that'll make it $400 even, and another 100 or more for spending cash. $500. I should be able make that at minimum wage over two 40-hour weeks. I have three full weeks before I would leave for the convention, say 14 days, as long as I work 6 hours each day, which I will easily hit, I should have PLENTY. So YAY ME! Let's just hope I can get a job. X_X
That said, I've got one other thing.... This e-mail! I recieved the following, labeled from Neateye (nitaigouranga@aol.com)... I can't even describe it, just look:
Call out Gouranga be happy!!!Words... Fail... Should have sent it to a poet... x_x anyway, wtf is this?
Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga ....
That which brings the highest happiness!!
I'll leave this on your minds as I take my leave. Time to sleep. Night.
1.5.05
Loooong Weekend
I wanted to get some Magic Online Tournaments in over the weekend. That fell through.
There, now that the bad news is out of the way, on to the rest of this sporatic entry.
I saw the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Friday night. It was, basically, a very good comedy. One of the best I've seen in a while. My only real complaint is that near the beginning a lot of jokes from the book were set up, but not followed through. The bit about where the notice for Arthur's house demolition was has been shortened a bit from something like "It was in the cellar of the town hall, in the back of the bottom drawer of a locked filing cabinet that was inside of the lavatory behind a door marked 'Beware of Leopard'" became, in the movie, "It was in the cellar." Beh. It really takes a lot out of the parallel with the Vogon fleet commander's comment about the notice being on Alpha Centauri. Also missing were the bit where the construction forman explains to Arthur why bypasses must be built, and the bit where Ford convinces the foreman that he should lie in the ground instead of Arthur so they can get a drink. Aside from that though, the movie was laugh out loud funny. I really do think it's one of the better comedies I've seen in a while, and that's saying something. It's plot is almost nothing like that of the book. Scratch that. The movie dips into the books plot where convinent, and uses it as a framework for another, even bigger tale. It's really quite something.
By the way, the movie does neglect to tell the audience the full significance of a towel, though it does reference their importance on more than one occasion. I have, for your reading pleasure, found the books definition:
G.I. JOE!!!!
Sorry, I stayed up all night watching old Transformers cartoons. They had some of those things for that too, you know. It's scary. O_O
Lessee... I got myself a Star Wars wallpaper, in honor of the upcoming movie and all. I just had to show it off cuz its such a great wally:
So I see you all asking, why that wall? And if not, well screw you, you're hearing it anyway. I really think this campaign with Vader's shadow from the small boy was a really effective message about the darkness behind the light, as well as the light beneath the darkness, which is something of the whole meaning of Star Wars. Plus, I was looking through pictures, and Jake Lloyd is cute! How can you resist this face?
Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, this exists. Feel free to take that as you will.
That's all for now. I'm beat.
There, now that the bad news is out of the way, on to the rest of this sporatic entry.
I saw the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Friday night. It was, basically, a very good comedy. One of the best I've seen in a while. My only real complaint is that near the beginning a lot of jokes from the book were set up, but not followed through. The bit about where the notice for Arthur's house demolition was has been shortened a bit from something like "It was in the cellar of the town hall, in the back of the bottom drawer of a locked filing cabinet that was inside of the lavatory behind a door marked 'Beware of Leopard'" became, in the movie, "It was in the cellar." Beh. It really takes a lot out of the parallel with the Vogon fleet commander's comment about the notice being on Alpha Centauri. Also missing were the bit where the construction forman explains to Arthur why bypasses must be built, and the bit where Ford convinces the foreman that he should lie in the ground instead of Arthur so they can get a drink. Aside from that though, the movie was laugh out loud funny. I really do think it's one of the better comedies I've seen in a while, and that's saying something. It's plot is almost nothing like that of the book. Scratch that. The movie dips into the books plot where convinent, and uses it as a framework for another, even bigger tale. It's really quite something.
By the way, the movie does neglect to tell the audience the full significance of a towel, though it does reference their importance on more than one occasion. I have, for your reading pleasure, found the books definition:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels.So now you know. And knowing is half the battle!
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an intersteller hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you -- daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the might accidentally have "lost." What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towle is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Hence, a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)
G.I. JOE!!!!
Sorry, I stayed up all night watching old Transformers cartoons. They had some of those things for that too, you know. It's scary. O_O
Lessee... I got myself a Star Wars wallpaper, in honor of the upcoming movie and all. I just had to show it off cuz its such a great wally:
So I see you all asking, why that wall? And if not, well screw you, you're hearing it anyway. I really think this campaign with Vader's shadow from the small boy was a really effective message about the darkness behind the light, as well as the light beneath the darkness, which is something of the whole meaning of Star Wars. Plus, I was looking through pictures, and Jake Lloyd is cute! How can you resist this face?
Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, this exists. Feel free to take that as you will.
That's all for now. I'm beat.
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