Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Evening

We've got no choice, men. We need the Rhino Squad!

2007-04-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

It's just a fact of life.

Sometimes Wisconsin sucks.

Well, I had to post something to go with the new banner, avatar and title. I'm not sure what the banner signifies, but its got Ayame on it, so it can't be all that bad. Can it?

Tonight, we dine in HELL!

2007-03-21T20:34:00.000-05:00

300
Jaw-droppingly immersive. The only way anybody should be seeing this is on a large screen; anything else will diminish the amazing effect it has on the viewer. If you can see it at the IMAX, do it. The visuals are absolutely stunning. The most incredibly fluid action I've seen since The Matrix. Anyone coming here for things like plot will be dissappointed, though there is some strong characterization and even acting to be found. Not terribly historically accurate, I guess, but again, not the goal. This is a movie to simply be watched. So do it.
Rating: A-

I went and saw that on opening night, but haven't written about it until now so I could get my thoughts in focus and make sure I'm not overhyping it. After thinking about it enough, that's fairly accurate. The screening was late Friday night and a lot of fun. Went with the guys and endured lines stretching to the end of the theatre and fighting for seats. One of our number didn't even make it in. All worth it. The finest moviegoing experience I've had in months.

The Man Who Came to Dinner has wrapped up and I'm already missing it. I'm told, however, that Banjo was one of my greatest performances and I'm actually inclined to believe it for once. Had a lot of fun with that role. Now I must deal with the grim cleaning of the backstage area, wrapping up my high school acting career. I'm gonna miss this band of dorks and misfits.

I'm going to miss a lot of High School now that I'm thinking about it. College is right around the corner (UW-Milwaukee, thanks for asking), and I think I'm ready for it.

I should probably be writing this from my brand new laptop, an early graduation present, but at the moment, its nothing more than a derelect skeleton of a computer with none of my stuff on it. I'll have to get that.

Turnabout 2: Electric Boogaloo is this weekend and I'm looking forward to that. That's not actually what they're calling it, but damnit, they oughta be.

Exile was pretty good. Allston's trademark humor and characterization skills are always a delight to read and I'm glad Ben actually has character and motivation now, instead of simply being "Luke's son".

At the urging of pretty much the entire god-damned Internet, I started A Game of Thrones and I'm enjoying it immensely.

So to conclude: The two most important aspects of a truly great movie:
1. War Rhinos
2. Bewbs

See the cat? See the cradle?

2007-02-25T16:03:00.000-06:00

So much for being a prophet when I grow up. All this snow came on the weekend, meaning I don't even get a snow day out of it, because roads will likely be clear by tomorrow morning.

Blah.

Cookie to anyone who knows where the title comes from, I guess.

I hope you dine well tonight, Hitler. For soon, you shall die.

2007-02-23T19:06:00.000-06:00

So hey, courtesy post.

Bridge to Terabithia
An excellent family film and had I children, I would most certainly take them to it, as it contains a message I think most children would benefit from. The ads make it look like a Narnia rip-off, but there's only about ten minutes of what the trailers show you. Faithful to the book, to the best of my memory. The child actors are far better and more memorable than most of the adults and the little CGI work is well-done. As the film skews towards a different audience, I'm using a slightly different scale, but the movie definetely pleases for all ages.
Rating: A-

Rehearsal for my eighth and final play has begun in earnest. In DI's production of The Man Who Came To Dinner I play Banjo, the goofy Hollywood actor who's basically an amalgram of all four Marx Brothers. Well, maybe not Zeppo. It's going to be great.

Star Wars Allegiance is pretty good; Timothy Zahn manages to nail all of the main characters for the time period and Mara Jade's sidestory isn't the groan-inducer I was expecting. By far the most interesting side plot was the one involving the renegade stormtroopers. At any rate, Exile is out next week, and I'm expecting good things from Aaron Allston.

Um, the Turnabout dance is tomorrow. Unless we get all the snow we're supposed to have. Which I doubt will happen for some reason. The dance is totally on.

Call it a hunch.

Hot Double-Posting Action

2007-01-27T16:39:00.000-06:00

In case it's not obvious, I screwed around with Blogger's new templating interface. I'm still perfecting all of the colors. This makes either the third or fourth layout redesign, I can't remember which. Banner change to come at some point in time.

That is all.

The Hot Needle of Inquiry

2007-01-27T15:09:00.000-06:00

Heh. The Ringworld Engineers is a nifty book.

And speaking of books, here's a list of everything I read last year. I have no life, so I record this sort of thing. It's in no particular order, and the ratings are pretty arbitrary and I tried not to think too hardly about it. Stuff with an asterisk was read for school.

Star Wars – Legacy of the Force I: Betrayal by Aaron Allston – 4/5
Star Wars – Legacy of the Force II: Bloodlines by Karen Traviss – 3.5/5
Star Wars – Legacy of the Force III: Tempest by Troy Denning – 4/5
Star Wars – The Dark Nest: The Swarm War by Troy Denning – 3.5/5
Star Wars: Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover – 3/5
Star Wars: Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn – 4/5
Star Wars: Survivor’s Quest by Timothy Zahn – 3.5/5
Star Wars: Darth Bane – Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn – 3/5
1984 by George Orwell – 4/5
Animal Farm by George Orwell* - 4/5
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller* - 3/5
The Crucible by Arthur Miller* - 2/5
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe* - 3/5
Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman – 3/5
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova – 2.5/5
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gutterson* - 3.5/5
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley* - 4/5
The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare* - 4/5
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare – 3.5/5
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – 4.5/5
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – 4/5
American Gods by Neil Gaiman – 3.5/5
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman – 5/5
Stardust by Neil Gaiman – 2.5/5
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman – 3.5/5
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski – 4/5
Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski – 2/5
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – 3/5
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown – 3.5/5
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 5/5
Ringworld by Larry Niven - 3.5/5
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton* - 2/5

It occurs to me that I forgot to review Night at the Museum when I saw it. That should tell you my opinion of it pretty well. It was all right, but forgettable. In contrast:

Little Miss Sunshine
A charming little flick, if slightly overrated. Steve Carrel is fun to watch in his role and the rest of the cast performs admirably; Abigail Breslin as Olive is simply adorable. A great movie for those who like their comedy edging on dark, dealing with suicide, drugs and such. The moral of the story is simply to be yourself, a message I can really get behind. I wasn't bored with a single character and the story sets itself at a nice constant pace. Worth seeing.
Rating: B+

For those with a free half hour ahead of them, might I suggest viewing the first episode of Le Chevalier D'eon for free?

I don't really have anything else to say here.

Shoo.

But we're teenagers! You'd think we'd know this sort of thing!

2007-01-17T19:41:00.000-06:00

It's a lot harder to find stuff to do when you're in Germantown and it's a zillion degrees below zero outside than you'd think.

Exams came and went. Aced World Lit, Pre-Calculus and probably German. Looking forward to next semester, which has Sociology and Advanced Composition. Rad.

Auditions for The Man Who Came to Dinner start next week, now that Trolls is over and done with. I'll be very happy to put it to rest myself. I'm very much looking forward to this, my last play with Dramatic Impact ever, so I'm looking to go out with a bang.

If I could get away with just sitting around my house watching Scrubs all day, I think I would be pretty content. For you see, I've recently become addicted to this hilarious dramatic show featuring wise-cracking doctors and zany non-sequitor jokes.

I'm getting sick of people calling me asking if I would like any more information on [random college]. I'm quite happy with the oodles of paperwork thank you very much. Jeeze, getting a decent education shouldn't be this time-consuming.

You're all liars! How dare you lie in front of Jesus!

2006-12-26T21:32:00.000-06:00

So, you're probably wondering what I've been up to for the past month. If you're really a regular reader (har), you already know what I did. Very little of interest, that's what. Once In The Time of Trolls opened and nothing particularly noteworthy came of that. It wasn't a total disaster and we've really gotten our act together for the kids. The spring production is The Man Who Came To Dinner and I'm hoping for a fairly noteworthy role.

But you don't care about that. You want to hear about... Christmas presents.

The Nintendo Wii with copies of Red Steel and Zelda. Nothing to report that you haven't heard a million times from the average gaming site. I like it, and you should too.

Gundam SEED Destiny DVD 5
Hellsing Ultimate DVD 1
Samurai 7 Final DVD
Scrapped Princess Final DVD
Fruits Basket Vol. 15 (With that prick Akito on the cover)
SWM: Starship Battles stuff (so glad I didn't pay forty bucks for that starter)
Neverwhere (from mother)
House of Leaves
Anansi Boys and Good Omens (from the gf)
1/144 Destiny Gundam model kit
1/144 Palace Athene model kit
Cybertron Menasor (RARGH)
An electric shaver (from father)
20$ Best Buy gift card (from relatives)
20$ Borders gift card (from the awesomest English teacher in the world)
Some money (also from relatives)

Yes, I know I'm a spoiled brat. (Did I use that in last year's Christmas post? I think I did.)

Anyway, onto movies.

Eragon
I went into this not reading the book, and the movie has done a very poor job of convincing me to do so. A plot that flows like bricks, characters that could have come off an assembly line and directing that could have been some other negative simile. The special effects are pretty though, and its reasonably entertaining if you go in with low expectations. Still not something I'd pay to see again.
Rating: C+

The Boondock Saints
I can't believe I never watched this before. I finally saw it in its entirety, barring a few edits for cable television, and I was rather impressed by it. Witty dialogue and entertaining action make this an exciting romp through blood, explosions and mutilated bodies. Willem Dafoe steals every scene he's in and the other actors are fun to watch. Too short, though and the rules of physics as well as plot are sometimes thrown out the window, however.
Rating: B+

Inuyasha the Movie 4: Fire on Mystic Island
If you have to watch an Inuyasha movie, go watch the third one. The second is passable and first and fourth are terrible. This one basically amounts to a 90-minute TV episode, with the usual stunted character development and lack of plot movement. Avoid.
Rating: C-

Hm, no A grades. For shame, Hollywood.

Christopher Walken is the best Bond villain ever.

2006-11-25T11:57:00.000-06:00

So, House of Leaves was a pretty nifty book. Go read it. It will ruin your life, but in a good way.

Anyway, TheatreFest. I'll sum it up because I'm lazy.

Highlights:
-Urinetown, the Musical. Vulgar, offensive and hilarious. Lots of real catchy tunes that I still find myself humming.
-The Three Sisters. Well-acted and very character-driven.
-Hamlet. Awesome set design and choreography. I talked to the guys who did it at KFC with Erikka. That was pretty rad.
-The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde is ridiculously awesome and so were the actors who performed it. Great play.
-Stage Kiss. Cute and funny. Consisting only of two excellent actors.
-Crazy people in line for a PS3 at Wal-Mart.
-Using a cell phone and actually understanding how to for the first time.
-Hot Chocolate
-Introduction to Improvisation. Fun workshop. I had thought about doing it again. Pretty much played a bunch of silly acting games.
-Oi! Workshop on English dialect and accents, mates.
-Getting some sleep on Friday night.
-Visiting every fast-food resturaunt between UW-Whitewater and the hotel.
-Stupid bus driver crashing the bus into the roof of the hotel entryway.
-Hanging out with friends basically the whole time.

Downlights:
-The Trojan Women. Boring and overracted. Of course, I had just woken up.
-The Laramie Project. Yes, I get it. Hate crimes = bad.
-Friends talking about other friends behind their backs. Seems like everybody just hates everybody all the time sometimes.
-The Three Sisters. Really depressing ending. Wanted to go home and kill myself.
-Boring Shakespeare workshop. Why would anybody feel the need to spend fifteen minutes explaining Imabic Pentameter to a bunch of drama students? Ugh.
-Sunday Tea with Desiree being the last play to go on Saturday, meaning no other schools stuck around to watch it. Even though we were awesome.
-No awards for said play. Plenty of nominations, but no awards. Damn.
-Having two big tests the Monday afterward.

In other news:

Casino Royale
Best Bond movie since Goldeneye. Daniel Craig is James Bond, no question about it. He makes Pierce Brosnan look like a pussy, taking a huge beating over the film. It doesn't rely on any fancy CGI or nifty gadgets, just well-choreographed fights, a character-driven story and a great plot, built around many twists and turns. The poker game is surprisingly intense with lots of behind-the-scenes action going on. Great work from actors all around, not a single dissappoitning performance. Easily one of my favorite movies of 2006.
Rating: A
Bond is back.

Fullmetal Alchemist - The Movie: Conqueror of Shambala
I was finally able to see this on an official DVD instead of a poorly-done fansub. Kind of a departure from the series, but wraps up most of the plot points nicely, especially where Dante and the remaining Homunculi are concerned. Eckhart is a rather uninteresting villain and doesn't do much other than scream maniacally and shoot her subordinates. Ed and Al are in typical form and it was nifty seeing the latter finally out of his armor. Mustang didn't have nearly a large enough role. In the end, it's all right, but it could have been so much more, especially with a great 51-episode anime preceding it.
Rating: B+

So I guess opening night for Trolls is this Friday.

Shit.

What happens in TheaterFest stays in TheaterFest.

2006-11-14T16:46:00.000-06:00

I cannot wait. TheaterFest is this weekend and it is going to be so awesome. You know why? Because we are seeing a play called Urinetown - The Musical. I can only imagine.

Casion Royale is out this weekend. Will Daniel Craig be able to fill the shoes of the 007 name? Find out Sunday.

So hey, I started House of Leaves today. The typography is really zany and fun to follow. I'm not completely sure where its going, but hey. Meanwhile, Brave New World is alright, though I think I prefered 1984 as far as dystopian novels go.

Strategists Club has finally started up, much to my happiness. Good crop this year with a boatload of clueless Freshman taking dodgy advice from Erikka who has taken up a position of leadership for no reason.

I've played through the entire Megaman X Collection, beating all six of the traditional 2-D games. Good times.

What else? Um, I started dating Therese five months ago today. She is a beautiful girl.

I'm out of ideas. This post will explode the second you finish reading it.

...Now.

In this post I will complain about Physics, talk about D&D and whatever else happens to be on my mind.

2006-10-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

Fair warning. I'm currently trying to keep from having to do my Physics lab report, even though it's incredibly easy and not at all time-consuming, or so I am told. Isn't that the strangest thing? I really don't like Physics, though. I miss Chemistry where everything made complete sense and variables took one meaning and stuck with it. On the plus side, Pre-Calculus makes perfect sense at the moment.

I'm running a campaign for Strategists Club and it's going to be so awesome, you'll probably go blind. Or awesome insofar as it rips off Seven Samurai. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.

I can't believe Stephen Colbert left the cast of Harvey Birdman: Attourney at Law. Things just aren't the same without him. I also can't believe the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are in reruns this week.

Bleach fails to impress me. It's nice as a dumb shounen-action hero anime though. Trinity Blood is kind of nifty I suppose, but I'd like to see some semblance of plot. Also, the Never Land episode was kind of silly. Meanwhile, Eureka Seven has finally hit the halfway point and finally starts being excellent. And I'm still pirating Le Chevalier D'eon. You gotta love using the pre-French Revolution period as a setting for zombies and posessions and sowrdfights, because it works so perfectly.

I don't really like this entry. I'm not feeling it. Actually, I don't much care for anything I've written as of late. Oh wait, I've got something.

The Illusionist
Suprisingly fun to watch. The magic is pretty nifty and there's some wonderful casting. The plot has a suitably mystical and romantic feel to it and it has a very-well done twist ending. I don't have much else to say other than it's well worth seeing in the Theater or even getting on DVD, if you're into this sort of thing.
Rating: A-

So I leave you with this one bit of advice: Go read The Picture of Dorian Gray. Just trust me.

Hey, they can't bill me if I never stop eating.

2006-10-02T17:07:00.000-05:00

So, Homecoming.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was glad to have somebody along to share it with. It would have been undoubtably painful and boring if I had went by myself, which is what kept me from going the past years. I don't plan on dancing to rap again for a long time, though.

Well shit.

Looks like I'm going to be coughing up something like 750 bucks within the next year. I promised myself the only way I'd get a PlayStation 3 is if they made a sequel to Zone of the Enders 2: The Second Runner, my most favorite game EVAR, something I was sure would never happen. But lo and behold, Hideo Kojima up and announces that he's going to work on ZOE3 once he finishes up with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I am at the same time ecstatic and angry. My dream game is coming out, but I can't get it because I'd like to maybe go to college someday.

So I'm going to start playing Paranoia, right? With my gaming group it should be loads of hilarious. I just need to order it from Amazon now.

Dude, I watched Episode 2 of Hellsing Ultimate. Because everybody needs a healthy dose of the old ultraviolence now and then. Also, Luke and Jon Valentine are the coolest villains ever. Well, maybe just Jon. Luke's kind of a pansy.

I get the feeling there are tons of grammar errors in this post. Don't care.

My agent is so fired.

2006-09-17T16:20:00.000-05:00

You know what this web journal needs? More surveys.

1. Seven things I plan to do before I die.
- Get married to the love of my life
- Maybe have a kid or two
- Publish a semi-successful novel
- Visit at least four countries not currently on this land mass
- Be in some classy Broadway production
- Show up on TV somehow
- I dunno, graduate college and get a half-way decent job

2. Seven things I can do.
- Write fairly well
- Dance to some degree
- Act
- Recite useless trivia
- Read really quickly
- Listen to people and their stupid problems
- Math, especially Trig. And English. And History.

3. Seven things I can't do.
- Get into a fight
- Feel completely confident about something
- Make somebody do something they don't want to do
- Sing well. But I'm going to keep doing it, dammit.
- Science outside of Chemistry
- Take something from somebody for nothing
- Think on my feet.

4. Seven things that attract me to the opposite sex.
- Intelligence
- Good sense of humor/witty
- Shares at least some interests
- Tolerant of my personality quirks, as well as having some of her own
- Looks past appearances
- Dark hair (There's some other superficial stuff, but that's the big one)
- Adventurous on occassion

5. Seven things I say the most.
- "Awesome"
- "Zany"
- Censoring my own curse words
- Random Pop Culture Reference
- "Really." (in a droll, uninterested voice)
- *strokes non-existant goatee*
- "Oh for the love of..."

6. Seven celebrity crushes.
Can't really think of any. There are a multitude of celebs I would love to simply hang out with though.

7. Seven things that make me uncool.
- Extensive useless trivia
- I listen to music that nobody would ever listen to in a million years
- I get a kick out of doing Trigonometry
- I check my e-mail compulsively, whether I'm expecting something or not
- I can recite an in-depth history of the Star Wars universe starting with the Battle of Yavin 4 and ending with the Second Corellian Insurrection
- I'm very excited about doing Teacher Assistance work
- I play Collectable Miniature Games competitively

I got a part in Trolls. I am simply "Man". I'm rather dissapointed with this development, but it at least preserves my perfect record. I would have liked to get into the competition piece, but children's plays are fun, too.

I rearranged my bedroom the other day. It will henceforth be known as "The Great Dust Bunny Migration of '06".

There was something else I wanted to write, but this entry is long enough as it is.

Things are different when you're staring down the barrel of a turkey!

2006-09-12T19:20:00.000-05:00

Awesometastic. I got a 4 on the AP Psychology test from four months ago! Prestigious college options, here I come!

Introducing the new Chrysler Didgeridoo - Drive in style.

2006-09-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

School's exciting. For now. Auditions are next week. Once In The Time of Trolls, and Sunday Tea with Desiree. The former being the traveling children's show and the latter being the TheaterFest competition piece.

The release tournament for SWM: Bounty Hunters is quickly approaching. I'm hoping to make it. I finished up Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines and it was pretty good. This is about the first Star Wars novel I can think of that portrays Boba Fett as an actual person with feelings rather than just a badass bounty hunter with a jetpack. Not that he's not that anymore, but he is getting up there in the years.

In my need to quench my thirst for everything Neil Gaiman, I started on Anansi Boys which is actually hilarious, compared to Neverwhere and American Gods. He's really got some versatility.

I can't wait for Strats to start; I got this awesome campaign idea that I can't wait to introduce.

Casino Royale is starting to look really good, and most of my reservations regarding the new Bond, Daniel Craig, have been averted. I am so ready to kick off the fall movie season.

Adult Swim finally gets out of the summer funk with Bleach and Trinity Blood premiering tonight, in addition to more new episodes of Eureka Seven. Looking forward to that.

Holy shit, this kid is smart!

2006-08-31T18:43:00.000-05:00

School starts tomorrow. Rad. Looking forward to Strats and Dramatic Impact and such.

I played Dreamblade for the first time today and rather liked it. I don't see it having much staying power and will probably go the way of Hecatomb, but the mechanics of the game are fun. The sculpts and paintjobs on the miniatures are subpar at best, which is a bit dissapointing after looking at the gorgeous art in the manual and the boxes.

We grow towards the close of Samurai 7, with only one volume left to collect. Things are getting pretty serious and I'm thinking all rent the original flick once I finish the series.

Le Chevalier D'eon is a pretty awesome anime and I've only seen the first episode. I like how it's almost completely historically accurate. Well, except for the zombies and the gender-switching main character. I'm eagerly awaiting its domestic release so I can give Japan even more of my money.

Ultimate Avengers 2: C
Really boring. Black Panther isn't nearly enough of an interesting character to base a movie around and the villains are a ho-hum pack of characterless aliens. Kind of like the first one. I liked the first movie, but the second is just more of the same and I really can't recommend it to anybody other than Marvel fanatics.

I'm tired of these mother@#$%ing ferrets on this mother@#$%ing panel truck!

2006-08-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

The best and worst movie of the year releases today. That's right, the movie made famous by loser bloggers everywhere, Snakes on a Plane. I like pop culture phenomena as much as the next guy, but I think I'll skip out on it. Maybe if I can see it for free somehow.

At any rate, School's starting soon. I have a schedule and its kind of neat.

Semester 1:
1st - World Literature (Cool)
2nd - German 4 (This time, with a competent teacher!)
3rd - Study Hall (Yay)
LUNCH
5/6 - Pre-Calculus (I am no longer a year ahead of my class. For shame.)
7/8 - AP American History (Gotta have an AP class)
9 - Study Hall (Sweet)
10 - Physics (Meh)
And one of those Study Halls will be used as a Teacher Assistant period for one of, if not the most awesome teacher ever. I'm of course talking about Stevens.

Semester 2:
1st - Physics
2nd - Pre-Calculus
3rd - German 4
LUNCH
5/6 - AP American History
7/8 - Sociology (Rocking)
9 - Study Hall
10 - Advanced Composition (Classy)

Things look kind of bleak as far as classmates, though, from who I've compared schedules with. Interesting year coming up.

Good morning. Want some coffee? We're going to go rob a bank.

2006-08-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

“This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.”

Movies I've Seen Recently And Am Too Lazy To Review:
V For Vendetta: A-
Pretty good film. Doesn't follow the original graphic novel, or so I'm told, but is nevertheless one of the better things I've seen this year. Excellent plot and fun action. Awesome acting.

Lady in the Water: B
My first full experience with a Shyamalan flick and I like the guy's style. Devoid of any big twist, the movie challenges you to put together the pieces before it can. Worth a rental.

Inuyasha Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler: B-
The best of the three Inuyasha movies I've seen, not that that says much. I like the interplay between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha and it was pretty cool to finally see their father. Nice animation, but the story makes no progress in typical Takahashi fashion.

That's it, I guess.

Happy 100th post!

2006-08-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

And it is indeed a joyous one, for I have the hallowed Driver's License. A broad new vista of freedom has opened up before me. Whee!

How to celebrate? How about a quiz.

Alright, this was fun the last time we did it.
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question
3. Use the song title as an answer for the question.
4. NO CHEATING! Or you're no fun.

1. How am I feeling today?
Vivid
2. Where will I get married?
In the Land of Twilight, Under the Moon
3. What is my best friend's theme song?
Woke From Dreaming
4. What is High School like?
Groovy
5. What is the best thing about me?
Over the Fantasy
6. How is tomorrow going to be?
You Won't See Me Coming!
7. What is your current mood?
Evening Rainstorm (Yuudachi)
8. Describe your parents.
Ten Years After
9. How is my life going?
Resolution
10. What song will they play at my funeral?
The Light Before We Land
11. How does the world seem to me?
Secret Base (Himitsu Kichi)
12. What do my friends really think of me?
Living Inside the Shell
13. Do people secretly like me?
Believe
14. How can I make myself happy?
Flying in the Sky
15. What should I do with my life?
Key of the Twilight
16. What am I really?
Small Prayer (Chiisana Inori)
17. What is some good advice?
I am a Pioneer (Bokku wa Motto Pioneer)
18. What is life about?
Fake Wings
19. Am I in love?
Reckless Fire
20. What type of men/women do you like?
The Real Folk Blues
21. Will you get married?
Men of Destiny
22. What should I do with my love life?
A Stray Child
23. Where will you live?
Rise
24. Words to live by?
Through the Night
25. How will my love life be?
Aura
26. How will life be in 10 years?
Fly me to the Moon
27. What was my childhood like?
Half Pain
28. How well do I do in school?
Motherland
29. What do I truly think of my best friend?
Days
30. What do I think about love?
Dearest

Awesome.

These Gardettos are missing something.

2006-08-08T20:41:00.000-05:00

Like everything except for the freaking rye chips and sesame sticks.

Driving test tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. Should be fine, but still not looking forward to it. If all goes well, I'll soon be out wheelin' and dealin' on the roads. Yay.

In other news...

Damn.

There isn't any.

Don't worry, he's still alive... ish...

2006-08-01T17:35:00.000-05:00

Guys, guys. Run, don't walk, to your local library and read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. You will not regret it. I'm searching for a word to express this that I haven't already used a million times in this journal. Orgasmic. Yes.

What I'm trying to get across here, is that you should be reading this book, dear reader.

Also, senior pictures are, in actuality, tomorrow. We apologize for the error in the previous post and our editor has been fired.

And shot.

What does that have to do with an effing DVD shelf?

2006-07-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

So I nearly put an eye out trying to fix said DVD shelf today.

It was hilarious. And excrutiatingly painful. I was on the floor wracked with localized pain for, like, ten minutes. But amusing. Outside of a dull ache behind said eye and the left side of my field of vision being slightly blurry, I'm fine. I think. It could be cancer.

Also, it is hot as hell outside. Triple digits heat, we're talking. Hurry up and get to autumn, I say.

I mean, fuck. And I don't use that word lightly. This day's been all sorts of bad.

I think I'm getting my senior picture taken tomorrow. I'll have to check on that. Further updates as news develops.

Blim-blam!

2006-07-27T12:53:00.000-05:00

As the 18th anniversary of my introduction to this world, yesterday was pretty good, I'd say. The entire period since the last post was completely uneventful.

I got to go see a movie with a certain beautiful girl, which was entertaining. Incidentally, it was Lady in the Water which I might review if I get bored enough.

From my parents I recieved some D&D Miniatures, a model kit and a handful of DVDs. From the grandparents, a check for a hundred bucks, which will be put mostly into the bank, no doubt.

Amusingly enough, nearly everybody who promised to call me or send an email or come to my house on my birthday didn't. Not that I really expected them to; I prefer my birthdays to be solitary events, anyway.

Oh yeah, my hair's been cut. I feel naked without those ~4 inches.

You know what are really good?

Tacos.

Any last words before I spark it up?

2006-07-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

The Amazing Screw-On Head

This needs to be a show. Watch the pilot and fill out the survey. This needs to be on TV, because the writing is hilarious and David Hyde Pierce is completely awesome as a villain. Also, it has a machine gun-wielding ape. During the nineteenth century.

I don't really have anything else of interest. Pretty much the only reason for this post's existence is to pimp the aforementioned show and the Sci-Fi channel. That's right folks, I have become a slave to the corporate machine. Look for new McDonalds ads to replace the Gundam SEED Destiny banner within the week.

Perhaps the biggest nerd ever

2006-07-12T14:11:00.000-05:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English

15% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Your Geek Profile:

Academic Geekiness: High

Gamer Geekiness: High

Movie Geekiness: High

SciFi Geekiness: High

Fashion Geekiness: Moderate

General Geekiness: Moderate

Geekiness in Love: Low

Internet Geekiness: Low

Music Geekiness: None

http://www.blogthings.com/howgeekyareyouquiz/
How Geeky Are You?

That is all.

"Aye aye cap'n!", "Women and children first!" and that sort of thing.

2006-07-08T20:40:00.000-05:00

Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest

A worthy successor to "Black Pearl". It managed to capture most of the charm, wit and swashbuckling action of this first film without overdoing any elements.

First, of course, Captain Jack Sparrow is in classic form, retaining and even improving on his style from the first film. Almost any time he was on screen, a laugh was guaranteed. His "escape" from the cannibals is easily one of the best scenes in the film and had the entire audience in stitches.

Going on opening day, the theater was packed with the standard assortment of nerds and squeeling fangirls. The objects of their adoration, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom both live up to their hype and deliver some excellent acting. Kiera Knightely also improves on the character of Swan, even though half of the audience wanted to kill her at the end.

Davie Jones was a fun villain, on the same level as Barbossa. The CGI on him was topnotch and the actor really came through for a great performance. He was intimidating, yet calm and collected. And damn, he knows how to make an entrance.

His minions on the other hand range from interesting and cool (hermit crab guy) to just stupid (hammerhead guy). It was really great to meet Will's father and learn that he's really a good guy. Hopefully, he'll be set free in the third film.

The sword fights managed to mix in just the right amount of over-the-top flair. The three-way battle between Will, Jack and Norrington is alot of fun to watch and keep track of who's fighting who. The reactions to the battle inside the wheel were hilarious. The battles with the Kraken got a bit tiring after awhile but the final battle was alot of fun to watch.

Alot of the charm comes out through various one-liners throughout the movie. The parts where Jack offers the undead monkey as payment and where he prances about, lording the Jar o' Dirt over Davy Jones were priceless and got a good amount of laughs.

I liked the ending for the most part. A morbid cliffhangar as Jack seemingly goes down with the ship and Barbossa returns from out of nowhere were shocking but make the audience really look forward to the final part of the trilogy.

Rating: A-

The surprise movie hit keeps going with a well-done sequel. It's going to be a long wait for At World's End.

Você não pode ler isto.

2006-07-05T20:09:00.000-05:00

http://similarminds.com/cgi-bin/newmb.pl
Your personality type is: INTJ

TRAITS:
loner, more interested in intellectual pursuits than relationships or family, not very altruistic, not very complimentary, would rather be friendless than jobless, observer, values solitude, perfectionist, detached, private, not much fun, hidden, skeptical, does not tend to like most people, socially uncomfortable, not physically affectionate, unhappy, does not talk about feelings, hard to impress, analytical, likes esoteric things, tends to be pessimistic, not spontaneous, prone to discontentment, guarded, does not think they are weird but others do, responsible, can be insensitive or ambivalent to the misfortunes of others, orderly, clean, organized, familiar with darkside, tends not to value organized religion, suspicious of others, can be lonely, rarely shows anger, punctual, finisher, prepared

PREFERRED CAREERS

scientist, dictator, forensic anthropologist, systems analyst, philosopher, nuclear engineer, political analyst, researcher, statistician, scholar, research scientist, computer scientist, software designer, curator, computer programmer, aerospace engineer, electrical engineer, paleontologist, english professor, philosophy professor, chemical engineer, epidemiologist, forensic scientist, museum curator, research assistant, mechanic, astronomer, figher pilot, librarian, systems administrator, neurosurgeon, book editor, biotechnology, archeologist, lab tech, bookstore owner

I'm not sure I completely agree with that, but who am I to argue with Carl Jung? Or the internet, for that matter.

I am eating the best sandwich ever right now.

2006-06-30T12:33:00.000-05:00

Put your music player on shuffle
Press "forward" for each question
Use the song title as the answer to each queston, even if it doesn't make sense
NO CHEATING
-----------
How am I feeling today?
"Woke From Dreaming" - Gunslinger Girl

Will I get far in life?
"Obsession" - .hack//SIGN

How do my friends see me?
"Mirror of the Inside" (Kagami no naka) - Ultramaniac

Where will I get married?
"Dress - Bloody Trinity Mix" - Trinity Blood

What is my best friend's theme song?
"Life Goes On" - Gundam SEED Destiny

What is the story of my life?
"I Am" - Inuyasha

What is high school like?
"Song of Four Seasons" (Shiki no Uta) - Samurai Champloo

How can I get ahead in life?
"The Real Folk Blues" - Cowboy Bebop

What is the best thing about me?
"National Awakening - Catharsis" - .hack//ROOTS

What is today going to be like?
"HEY JIMMY!" - Peacemaker Kurogane

What's in store for this weekend?
"Change the World" - Inuyasha

What song describes my parents?
"Little Wing" - Scrapped Princess

To describe my grandparents?
"Living Inside the Shell" - Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex

How is my life going?
"Be My Angel" - Angelic Layer

What song will they play at my funeral?
"One Day, One Dream" - Inuyasha

How does the world see me?
"Rewrite" - Fullmetal Alchemist

Will I have a happy life?
"After The Dream" (Dopo il Sogno) - Gunslinger Girl

What do my friends really think about me?
"Shuffle" - Yu-gi-oh

Do people secretly lust after me?
"H.T." - Trigun

How can I make myself happy?
"Wild Flowers" - Zoids

What should I do with my life?
"Beyond the Door" (Tobira wo Mukou e) - Fullmetal Alchemist

Will I ever have children?
"I Will" - Fullmetal Alchemist <-- I swear I didn't cheat on any of these.
------------

Well, that was amusing. It actually worked for a good amount of them. Try it for zany results!

And then? Kevin Spacey totally beats the crap out of this guy!

2006-06-29T17:42:00.000-05:00

Superman Returns

You know who's a genius? Bryan Singer. And Kevin Spacey. But we'll come back to him. But Bryan Singer, man. First X-Men and now Superman. I'm starting to wonder if this guy can do no wrong. He could direct something about, like, Blue Beetle or Cloak and Dagger and make it a blockbuster. Nobody, and I mean, nobody wants to see a movie about Cloak and Dagger. But this guy could make it work.

It was interesting how they were able to take a complete unknown like Brendan Routh and make him into Superman. He was really great and whenever I picture Clark Kent or Supes, he will come to mind. I can easily see him teaming up Christian Bale for the Batman vs. Superman movie. Which would be effing amamzing.

The film has all of the hallmarks of Superman. Saving frightened citizens from a crashing plane? Check. Deflecting bullets? Check. Using heat vision and frost breath? Check. Getting the girl in the end? Depends on how you look at it, but we'll say check anyway.

This movie's casting really shines with Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. This guy is easily on the same level as Clancy Brown (JL, STAS) when it comes to portrayals of ol' Lexy. He channeled a bit of the Gene Hackman Lex, but only a little, and his one-liners were hilarious. One of the best villains I've seen in a film this year.

Lois Lane is vaguely forgettable, but she did alright. James Marsden makes up for getting killed in X-Men 3 by showing up in Superman's film and I liked his performance, well-done for a character not originally in the comics.

Quite a plot twist at the end with the kid. It'll be very interesting to see where the inevitable sequel takes the storyline.

The only problem I had was the length of the film. It gets pretty laggy at some parts, but when the drama or action picks back up, you forget all about it.

All in all, a worthy sucessor to Christopher Reeves and the Superman legacy.
Rating: A

That's all I've got.

I need on the next plane to Burbank, California! Or it's your ass!

2006-06-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

Quizzes are fun when you're bored.

What type of Fae are you?

The "Edit Post" button is for whimps.

2006-06-25T15:47:00.000-05:00

My cat hasn't moved from my bed all day. I hope she's not dead or anything. I should check.

...

Okay, she's breathing. I guess she's just incredibly lazy.

"That movie was horrible." "It's a pretty good movie. You should see it."

2006-06-25T15:08:00.000-05:00

^Josh and Kyle talking about the same movie. That pretty much sums up their relationship in a nutshell.

Vacation was largely uninteresting. I'm not going to play-by-play it, rather I'll give a quick list of anything remotely interesting.

-Some out of the way book store still had miniatures from Clone Strike. Awesome.
-Went to a completely awesome Italian resturaunt. Classy 18th-century style eating area with paintings and flowers and stuff. The booths used old church pews for seats. Good pizza.
-I walked through the forests along the roads fairly often. Got attacked by bugs once.
-Saw an albino deer.
-Saw Cars, reviewed further into the post.
-Found classy store selling a bunch of pewter fantasy statues and figurines. Way expensive, though.

The Da Vinci Code
A good-natured shrug pretty much sums up my feelings for this film.

Let's see, Ian McKellan was in it and he beat up a guy using only a cane. That's one star. I enjoyed the book and the movie was pretty faithful to it, so that's two stars. Oh, and I saw it with Therese. Who I love. That's three stars.

I don't know. It's got an all-star cast with the likes of Tom Hanks, Jean Reno and Alfred Molina, but they don't do much except talk. And say "shit" in French.

I suppose already reading the book takes away from the enjoyment, since a good chunk of the film is exposition, and when you already know what every character is going to say it brings down the enjoyment level a bit.

It's definetely well-directed and nearly every scene is pretty to look at, since they get into the authentic locations for the most part. The few action scenes are done very well, especially when Silas is involved. The car chase scene, though not from the book, was fun to watch.

So I guess it was good. Definetely $6.50-at-the-theater good. But $24.99-on-DVD good? I don't think so.
Rating: B

Cars
I am such a whore for Pixar. Really, I am. They could make a movie starring only CGI rocks and I would go see it. Twice.

Cars isn't Pixar's best offering. Make no mistake, it's easily the best CGI film released this year, but you have to admit that The Incredibles is a hard act to follow.

First the animation. For this film, Pixar focused on light and shadow effects and it really shows. The scenes involving racing are easily the highlights of the film. The skill of the animators really shows there and in their landscapes.

The voice talent is the typical level of awesomeness. Owen Wilson voices Lightning McQueen, the main character, and he is joined by the likes of Paul Newman and Bonnie Hunt, though I could've done without Larry the Cable Guy. Fun stuff throughout.

The story is typical G-rated life-lessons fare and it works rather well. I thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out, though. If Lightning had won the race instead of going back to help The King, it would have still gotten across the message that anything is possible with the help of friends, but they manage to work the ending well enough.

I liked a lot of the references and in-jokes. Arnold Schwarzeneggar as a car was absolutely hilarious and John Ratzenberger making fun of himself at the end was great. The credits are fun to watch because they redo key scenes from previous Pixar films using Car versions of the characters. Quite amusing.

While it's not Pixar at their best, Cars is still a very entertaining ride.
Rating: A-

Saw a performance of The Music Man the other week with Therese. It was pretty good, and I saw Talyah and Jesse. Hi Talyah and Jesse!

There's a prerelease tournament for War of the Dragon Queen this Saturday. I'm rather looking forward to going even if it will set me back $45. Hopefully, I can at least count on doing better than I did at the War Drums release.

And finally,

------
Find out your Matrix name!
http://matrix.orb6.com/name_generator.php

Mr. Butschli is not your "real" name, but the name the machines gave you. When you free your mind you will be Theseus the Pod Waker.
------

Cool.

The University School auxiliary gym has 1,188 ceiling tiles

2006-06-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

I took the ACTs last Saturday. I dominated the English and Reading tests, performed averagely on the Math section and the Science part could go either way. The writing test was all right, though I kind of trailed off for part of it. All in all, I did fine, I'd say. Those were the most boring four and a half hours of my life, though.

Champions of the Force is out and its rather cool, featuring some of the best sculpts and paint jobs I've seen in the game. I got Yoda, Mas Amedda, Ulic-Qel Droma and General Mace F*cking Windu. Awesome, to be sure.

Wow, school's been done for a grand total of 52 minutes and I'm already bored. Oh, I know! A survey!

[HAVE YOU EVER...]
been kissed: A handful of times
lied to a friend: Yeah
dyed your hair: Never
dressed punk: Don't think so
kissed a girl: Nope
saw something you didn't want to: You can't even begin to fathom some of the things I've seen
danced in the rain: Yes, actually
lied to your parents: Who hasn't?
went barefoot in the snow: No
played hockey: Once or twice
made your own clothes: No
[IN THE LAST 24 HOURS...]
got into a fight: no
taken a shower: yeah
gave a dirty look to someone: yeah
cried: almost
did a cartwheel: no
went to school: yes
shopped: no
danced: yes
got sick: Kind of, yeah
did something you regret: Every day
discovered something new: Sure
[IN SCHOOL YOU...]
act perfect: On occassion
act hyper: Sometimes. Depends who I'm around
are a nerd: To some degree
in band: No
[RIGHT NOW YOU ARE...]
in your pjs: no
drinking: Orange Juice
listening to music: Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, First Movement thank you very much
watching a movie: no
IMing someone: no
talking on the phone: no
eating: no
[CLOTHES]
hot topic or abercrombie and fitch: Neither
thongs or briefs: um... briefs
boxers anyone: *shrug*
sweatpants or jeans: Jeans
Longsleeved or shortsleeved: Longsleeved, to preserve my white, thin arms
tube tops or tanks: Ew. Neither
[CURRENTLY...]
current clothes: Black shirt, dark blue jeans, socks
current mood: Contemplative. And bored.
current music: Answered this already
current taste: Orange juice
current make-up: None
current thing I ought to be doing: Nothing at all... I think.
[LAST PERSON...]
you hugged: Therese
yelled at: My brother.
IMed: Nobody. Ever.
touched: I shook hands with Ryan just now
[EITHER OR...]
coffee or hot chocolate: Hot Chocolate. Definetely. Damn, I wish I had some right now.
big or little: Depends, but usually little.
lace or satin: Both are equally classy.
new or old: Depends
Vogue or Cosmopolitan: I'm starting to think I'm not the target audience of this survey.
skirt or dress: Do you mean, like, on other people? Depends.
wool or cotton: cotton
[DO YOU...]
put on a "front": Occasionaly. Depends on who I'm with.
have a crush on somebody: Immensely
if you got a tattoo, where would you get it: I'd never get one.
[RANDOM QUESTIONS]
what is the online symbol you use most: An ace of spades, or that avatar of Saki Hamajima I used to have
you have a boyfriend or girlfriend: Girlfriend
who's hotter, Josh Hartnett or Chad Michael Murray: I do not know these people
what was the last thing you said: something about web comics
who would you want to be stuck in an elevator with: Hm. Therese. Either her or George Lucas, Stephen Colbert or John Stewart. Maybe Neil Gaiman.
do you like stickers: no
do you play with mad libs: not in a while
are you suicidal: no
is your window open: Yes. There are birds chirping.
what was the last pair of shoes you bought: sneakers
do you have a little brother: Not one, but two.
what do you think of when you hear the word click: That stupid Adam Sandler movie
do you like trampoline: Only a terrorist wouldn't like trampolines
have you ever accidentally sucked something up in the vacuum: 0_o
did you see American Pie 2: Like, five minutes of it
do you cut yourself: No...

Oh yeah, I'm seeing Cars as well as The Da Vinci Code this week, the latter being with the current love of my life (guess which one I'm looking forward to more). I think I'll review both of them, because that's how I roll.

Now, in this version of the story, Smaug has a giant machine gun for a head

2006-06-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

School's over soon. And in two weeks, I leave for vacation. Long-time readers (all none of you) will remember that my father insists on taking the family up north to a cabin on a lake. This means I need to start filling up a backpack with books. I am taking suggestions starting... now. Really, I have better things to do up there than fish.

The Great Gatsby is a good book, I guess. I had trouble getting into it at first, but the second half of the story is really good.

But now I'm on Star Wars - Legacy of the Force: Betrayal. It's interesting so far. Corellia is starting up some Seperatist thing and Jacen is training Ben. I hear Lumiya shows up for some reason.

I've got a good feeling about this summer. That's new.

Hitcha witcha own pimp!

2006-05-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

X-Men 3: The Last Stand
He says it.

The thing.

Juggernaut says the thing.

I haven't done a movie review thing in a while. There haven't really been any new movies that warranted it, but this was pretty big and I'm bored so let's do it.

Going into it with little knowledge or dedication to the original comic version, I didn't think it was as bad as everybody was saying. The premise of the film is a logical progression from the previous film, and the Dark Phoenix plot was fit in pretty well.

I think one of the main problems is that they tried to squeeze in to many characters and subplots. It makes for a rather convoluted film to the uninitiated. There are a good amount of cameos and winks to the fans, like the character of Trask and the Sentinels in the Danger Room.

One of my big troubles was that Scott/Cyclops is majorly given the shaft in the film. He doesn't do much until Phoenix kills him, and even after that nobody seems to give it a second thought. That moves nicely into my other grievance. I thought the Wolverine/Phoenix romance was kind of silly, which is why I'm glad there wasn't much of it shown. It's better than Wolverine and Storm at least.

Oh yeah, speaking of Storm, Halle Berry thinks way too highly of herself. She's fine as Storm, but she doesn't seem to realize that the movie isn't just about her.

On the other end of casting, Kelsey Grammar as the Beast is pure genius. He steals every scene he's in and in my opinion nailed the character. Also Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart are up to their usual levels of awesome.

Charles dying threw me for a loop, but I can live with it. He apparently is still alive anyway. And they might as well have killed off all of the mutants that lost their powers, but Magneto's final scene suggests that they'll get them back.

Wow, Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat is sickeningly cute. Her chase scene with Juggernaut is one of the best scenes in the movie.

Juggernaut was handled fine, I thought. Making him the half-brother of Charles and incorporating his true origin story would have just messed up the film. I've gotta wonder how they chose the other mutants though. Arclight? Quill? Spyke? Why not Avalanche or Quicksilver?

Hugh Jackman is up to his usual style as Wolverine. He could easily carry his own movie.

Out of the three final battles of the movies, I think this is just the most fun to watch. The choreographing and special effects are amazing.

It's not the best of the franchise, but it's still a fine film. Comic fans just need to loosen up a bit.

Rating: B+

So there was this Strats party on Saturday. Way fun. Bocce ball was amusing, and we played some half-hearted badminton. We were going to play with the frisbee, but Therese had to throw it on the roof. Ms. Stevens has a snazzy house. It's the kind of house I'd have if I had a house.

We sat around and talked for a while, until we decided to go for a walk. Not much happened until we went and stole wood from the neighbors. And then some wierd kid came out and bothered us. We ignored him, per Ms. Stevens's orders.

There was a bonfire. I went home with ash in my hair. Then she kicked us out because we're not seniors yet. It took a while for my ride to get here so I just hung with them and talked about Fullmetal Alchemist and D&D and stuff. I made a pretty funny joke, I guess. Mike had a cool cape thing. There was cake. Messy cake. Ms Stevens's neighbors think we're a bunch of witches. Then I went home and proceeded to be bored all night.

The finale to Ghost in the Shell: SAC was pretty good I guess. I like how they killed Gohda at the end.

Sunday, I went to see X-Men 3. But you already heard about that.

Monday sucked. Really, it did. I went over to Josh's house to play some half-hearted D&D. We soon put a stop to that and I guess Cody's going to do some D20 Modern game involving Zombies and Russians and stuff.

Myeah. I'm not even going to spellcheck this entry.

On the Topic of Death

2006-05-15T17:55:00.000-05:00

So I nearly killed myself today in Gym class today. Playing tennis of all things. I hit the pavement, hurt my knee, and proceeded to walk around with a limp the rest of the day. And probably tomorrow. See, for a weakling like me, that's life-threatening.

We ("we" meaning "me and the guys") tried playing the World's Largest Dungeon on Saturday, but it got boring. We then switched over and played some Conan RPG and played Soul Calibur 3 for a while.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Gun Eater

2006-05-11T18:35:00.000-05:00

So, E3 is going on this week. And the Sony Playstation 3 is going to run me half a grand. I'm loyal to Sony, but I don't know if I'm that loyal. I'm not sure I want to spend 600$ to find out if Solid Snake makes it through his next adventure.

MGS4: Guns of the Patriots looks brilliant, by the way.

The AP Psych test was interesting, I guess. One of the free-response questions threw me for a loop, and the multiple-choice section stumped me with some stuff we barely learned, but I think I did alright.

The new banner I was talking about? There it is. Woo.

I should get to work on my Chemistry Lab Report. But what's another half hour?

AP Psychology is a Comedy Bistro

2006-05-09T17:06:00.000-05:00

So I'm taking an AP test tomorrow, one that I have done minimal studying for. I'm somewhat worried about the multiple-choice portion, which is a hundred questions in seventy minutes. But I'm confident I'll make up for it in the free response essay section, because let's face it, I'm awesome at writing. Ask every single English teacher I've ever had.

Enough with the bragging. I know what you really want to hear about. That's right, my Transformers action figure collection. I picked up Cybertron Defense Scattorshot the other day and he is damn cool. He's got a weapon sticking out of, like, every orifice on his body, so it's easy to picture him waltzing into a Decepticon base and absolutely murdering everybody. Also got Scrapmetal, who might as well be called Rumble for his ground-pounder arms. All in all, a very cool Scout class.

It's occurred to me that I'm slipping in my posting duties on Pojo. Where I was once ranked the 73rd highest poster out of 20000, I'm now 149th out of 35562. The fact that all of the cool people, save some of the mods, have disappeared kind of accounts for that though. Also, I no longer post in the Yu-gi-oh! area, where a good chunk of my early posts came from.

I own at Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, by the way. I'm not a nerd, just a geek. Nerds don't have friends, whereas geeks do. Or at least I think they're my friends. I mean, I don't get them anything for Christmas or remember their birthdays.

Party at Mrs. Stevens's house? YOU BETCHA. Be there and be square.

I think I'll change my banner tonight.

Hitler must be passing out ice skates right about now.

2006-05-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20060503.html

im out of witty titles

2006-05-02T20:40:00.000-05:00

Strats was cancelled today. That was kind of dissappointing. Maybe it'll get rescheduled or something.

The Day of Silence was interesting, I guess. I didn't keep to the vow very well, which I'm kind of frustrated about, but people wouldn't quit talking to me! Its like people don't have anything better to do than to bother me about stuff. Anyway, the meeting was quite interesting with all of the serious discussion and Mrs. Barnes's input. Surprising.

And now I'm out of stuff to do. The stage is almost clean and Strats won't last forever, so I'm getting pretty bored. I don't want to go home after school and sit in front of the computer, I want to do stuff.

88 on the Psychology Cumulative test, bitches. I'm very pleased with that. Also, a 90 on my FST test, but thats because I rock at probability. I can't understand why so many people seem to have trouble with it.

Have you ever been so bored out of your skull that it hurts?

Help stop the silence.

2006-04-26T21:15:00.000-05:00

Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today.

Of pineapples and dog suicide attempts.

2006-04-23T18:35:00.000-05:00

I'm going to change that banner every week or whenever I get bored, whichever comes first. Now it's .hack//SIGN. Eh.

You can go read my stupid story through my FictionPress account if you're into that sort of thing. Check out my favorite authors while you're at it.

Hey, Spring Break's over in five hours.

Helen Keller with a Machine Gun!

2006-04-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

Apples to Apples is a fun game. Especially when you do away with the "Play to X points" rule and go through the entire 750-card deck.

I went to help clean up the stage on Tuesday and Wednesday. I didn't do too much work the first time, mainly because I can't even pick up the sledgehammer. Did considerably more work the second day, then proceded to play said Apples to Apples with Jesse, Amanda, Talyah, Krystal and Laura (is that her name?) for a good three-and-a-half hours. God, we're losers.

I saw the new Ice Age flick the other day. Reasonably good movie with some good lines and fairly nice animation. Three star things I guess.

Bored? You bet.

Yeah? Well screw you, Photoshop!

2006-04-18T12:20:00.000-05:00

There's this new layout thing I found, right?

The top picture is currently set to Gankutsuou, but I'll change it when I get bored. Probably to Fruits Basket, provided I can find the right picture. This also gives me an excuse to update my outdated links sidebar.

Easter Break is really boring so far.

Meaningless Internet Memes?! Sign me up!

2006-04-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

Name 21 people you can think of right off the top of your head. They don't all have to be people you like. Stolen from Peter. (http://szhawn.livejournal.com/)

(in no particular order)
1. Josh
2. Bryan
3. Kyle
4. Tom
5. Cody
6. Chelsea
7. Erikka
8. Ryan
9. Talyah
10. Jesse
11. Peter
12. Gina
13. Brendan
14. Therese
15. Alex C
16. Amanda
17. Megan
18. Hanah
19. Hope
20. Kody
21. That Bill Loser

How did you meet 10? *Jesse* During Up The Down Staircase.
What would you do if you had never met 6? *Chelsea* Friday nights would be considerably more boring and testosterone filled.
What would you do if 20 and 15 dated? *Kody and Alex C* I would never have seen it coming. A particularly radical reversal of character for Kody.
Did you ever like 9? *Talyah* Of course I do, she's on the list isn't she? And she's, like, one of my favorite DI people.
Have you ever seen 4 cry? *Tom* Definetely not.
Would 4 and 12 make a good couple? *Tom and Gina* 0_o. Probably not...
Would 1 and 2 make a good couple? *Josh and Bryan* Ew.
Describe 8. *Ryan* An old pal who always seems to be where you need him. Introduced me to Strategist's Club.
Do you like 12? *Gina* She's on the list, so yeah, in a purely platonic, non-sexual way.
Do you think 21 is attractive? *Bill* Not in the slightest.
Tell me something about 17. *Megan* Strange, but cool. I really oughta talk to her more.
What's 19's favorite color? *Hope* Haven't the foggiest.
What would you do if 7 confessed they liked you? *Erikka* But wait, we had an agreement! That'd throw me for a loop.
When was the last time you talked to 1? *Josh* Like, half an hour ago.
What language does 13 speak? *Brendan* English, last I checked. I swear, if I find out he's a Mexican immigrant...
Who is 2 going out with? *Bryan* Nobody, as far as I know...
What grade is 16 in? *Amanda* She's a senior, ain't she? Yeah.
What is 5's favorite music? *Cody* Doesn't he listen to that wierd German rock stuff?
Would you ever date 7? *Erikka* I suppose, but I don't think it'd last long.
Would you ever date 1? *Josh* What kind of sick quiz is this?
Is 11 single? *Peter* Not since about a week ago.
What is 10's last name? *Jesse* Gaskell. What kind of boring question is that?
Would you ever want to be in a serious relationship with 3? *Kyle* I don't see that happening. Ever.
Where does 18 live? *Hanah* You got me. I don't know where 3/4 of my friends live...
What do you think of 20? *Kody* He's good for a couple of laughs.
What is the best thing about 4? *Tom* He's got a good sense of humor.
What would you like to tell 14 right now? *Therese* Hey. Looking forward to more of your writing.
How did you meet 9? *Talyah* It was like this: I was at death's door, bleeding to death from a bullet wound in my side. The world around me went black and I woke up in her apartment to find that she had nursed me back to health. Or maybe that was an episode of Cowboy Bebop. Meh.
What is the best and worst thing about 2? *Bryan* He's been my longest friend, and I don't want to think about where I'd be today without him. The only poor qualities I can think of are little nitpicks.

Let's... go off-stage somewhere...

2006-04-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

So.

Anything Goes came and went. Quite well, I might add. Standing Ovations on two and a half out of five nights. That's a relatively good record. Dancing was fun, and I'm looking forward to next year, but sad by the same token as it's my senior year. My last two productions as part of this wonderful ensemble. But yeah, Anything Goes was damn good. You should've been there.

In an effort to get off my ass and write something outside of my shortlived Pojo column, I set up an account at FictionPress. Will it work? Doubtful, but who knows, Spring Break is coming up and I'll undoubtedly be bored for most of it.

So I started The Da Vinci Code, right. I'm a sucker for good conspiracy stories, but can it beat the amazing power of The DaColbert Code? Probably not.

On the gaming front, I've been absent from the ol' pool table for like two weeks now. I rejoin "the gang" on Saturday. I'm looking forward to watching my friends argue about whose night it is to DM, and then breaking for supper. Good times, good times.

I'm painfully broke right now, and this is primo DVD-release season. My collection has been untouched since I added Gundam SEED Destiny Volume 1 to it. It came with this really neat artbox that, like, folds out and you store DVDs in it. Its pretty badass. I still need to buy Gankutsuou Vol. 3 and the rest of Samurai 7. I'll get back to Ultramaniac when I feel like it.

On another note, my copy of Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology seemingly walked right off my bookshelf. I'm trying to find out where the hell it disappeared to and it's driving me nuts because my room's not that big.

Wow, I'm bored.

Although I'm not a great romancer, I know what you'll have to answer when I propose... Anything Goes!

2006-02-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

So. Sick for two days, which equates to out of school for two days. Let the good times roll.

Bought Undermine and Armorhide from Transformers Cybertron. Both are quite snazzy indeed.

Ultramaniac is the very definition of cute, girly romance/magical girl/comedy. And I love it. I've got, like, five different shows that I'm buying DVDs for. I don't have enough money for this hobby.

Guys, guys. Jim Gaffigan is hilarious. Go watch his show.

Hey, we've finally started acting rehearsals for Anything Goes. This is going to be great from what I've seen so far.

DDM: War Drums is out in one month. The sculpts look great and I can't wait for some of the new skirmish pieces. Warduke, in particular, looks awesome. I'm planning on picking up the new SWM: Attack on Endor set, too. I need an AT-ST and some new maps.

This was really a pointless update, right here. Penny Arcade today was funny, I guess.

I feel like a little girl all over again!

2006-01-23T17:57:00.000-06:00

Angelic Layer is hella fun to watch. You gotta love CLAMP.

Exams could've went better. Granted, I half-assed German and didn't really study much for Psychology, but it could've been worse. I'm especially pleased with the new schedules for this semester.

1. Study Hall (Sleepy time)
2. American Literature (Stevens-Sensai! The Crucible!)
3. Independant Sports (Golf should be fun)
4/5. German (Same routine as last semester)
LUNCH (Really good luck here, tons of friends. There are at least four tables I could conceivably sit at)
7/8. FST (Eh...)
9. Chemistry (Eh...)
10. Psychology (Like, all of the Dramatic Impact juniors are in my class. That's pretty badass)

Half of my DVD order came in the mail today. Es gefallt mir gut.

Dancing has been interesting so far. I can do most of it well enough, so go me.

I have the nagging feeling that I'm supposed to be working on something. Man, f**k that.

Professional Ball-Changers!

2006-01-12T19:19:00.000-06:00

Well. Anything Goes dance rehearsals have started. No problems so far, but we're only just starting. I'm sure I'll break a leg (har!) by dress rehearsal. I already have a sore leg, which I am nursing right now.

Anyway.

I'm ordering Gankutsuou Vol. 2 (and you should, too) along with Volume 1 of Ultramaniac, which I have heard good things about. Right Stuf is having their snazzy 33% off Geneon sale, and that, coupled with the Geneon 10$ rebate offer, I'm essentially getting two DVDs for 23$. I say that's a pretty good deal.

I still have to pick up Hellsing Vol. 7. But stupid Dark Horse sells it for 14$ a book. I mean, I've got Fruits Basket manga to buy for 4$ cheaper. Maybe once I catch up to the English release.

Ultimate Spiderman GN #12 is bad. Don't read it, you'll get hurt. Conversely, Batman: Hush is crazy excellent.

I've managed to catch up all of my grades, so my FST grade is holding firm at a C. I'm exempting the Word&Powerpoint exam for obvious reasons, but stupid Frau won't let me exempt my German exam because she's a slow quiz grader. I don't know if I've complained about my stupid German class before.

It's stupid.

This is the part where I update, right?

2005-12-30T20:34:00.000-06:00

So.

Happy Chosen Religious Holiday to you all. I suppose you want to hear about my haul, huh?

Of course you do.
Angelic Layer Thinpak Collection (God bless CLAMP)
Samurai 7 Vol. 1 (God bless GONZO, too)
Scrapped Princess LE Vol. 2+3 (cool figures)
Fruits Basket manga Vol. 6-8 (the best shoujo manga, evar)
Evac (Transformer action figure)
Leobreaker (likewise)
Firefly Complete Season + Serenity
DDM and SWM boosters
Star Wars: Shatterpoint
$80

So then I went and bought some more miniatures, Fruits Basket Vol. 9 (Aya-san!), and Prowl from the Transformers Alternaters line. His rear-view mirror snapped off though, so I had to glue it. I'm a complete ditz when it comes to super-glue, by the way.

So, then I saw Chronicles of Narnia with Josh, since I missed going with Strats Club. Very enjoyable, I'd say. Two days later, I went to see The Producers. Hilarious movie, with some great music. Ending was a bit slow, though.

Went down to Brookfield Square today to trade in some DVDs at Suncoast. Got about 40 bucks in store credit, and proceeded to buy Samurai 7 Vol. 2 and Fruits Basket Vol. 10 (OMGLOL Kisa). Picked up "Star Wars: DNIII - The Swarm War". Can't wait to start it.

Yeah, I managed to double my Fruits Basket collection over the course of a week. Talyah's going to kill me.

I'm wondering if I feel like doing some sort of end-of-the-year retrospective post thing tomorrow. I might. After homework. What? Screw homework. Ew.

Homework. I should get on that. Here, fill out this survey. It's for Psychology.

New avatar. Hanajima-san, the very definition of cool.

Why aren't you reading Fruits Basket yet?

HEY. LOOK AT THAT.

2005-12-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

Wow, that was some surprisingly quick turn-around time for cast lists. I got a part that seemed pretty accurate based on my crappy audition. A chinese guy who gets swindled by our main characters. Should be hilarious. The rest of the casting seemed fairly good too. Congrats, people who I don't hate. You know who you are.

School's out. This makes me fairly happy.

Bitches.

2005-12-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

All of that Chemistry stuff I had to do? Done. With minimal injury.

I should try and do something about that D+ in FST. We're on Trigonometry (I'm f*cking awesome at Trig) and I have a quick n' easy project coming up, though. Should be a low B by the end of the quarter.

I'm looking forward to The Producers. Compared to my dramatic compatriots, I'm a newb at musicals. This should add to my resume.

Hey, Christmas is soon.

Man, I don't know why I wrote this. There's nothing interesting going on right now. Except auditions for Anything Goes. Tomorrow.

So, wait. Doomsday is Superman from the future? It makes so much sense!

2005-12-16T11:59:00.000-06:00

Staying home from school for two days kicks all sorts of ass. The flu, however, does not. Neither does having to make up both a Chemistry test and a lab next week. Not fun. Which reminds me, I have a blasted lab report to take care of this weekend. And it looks like I won't be seeing Narnia tonight, nor will I be able to go to my RPG night.

But I get to stay home and do whatever I want.

Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil is a good read. Moves nicely into ROTS.

Auditions for Anything Goes are next week. Christmas is in just over one week. Coo.

Oh, Lord knows that anything goes!

2005-12-06T20:06:00.000-06:00

Anything Goes. Musical. Auditions. Two weeks. Production in Spring. Sweet.

Also. The Producers in theatres this month. Another thing to see before the end of the year. Along with Narnia and Rent. Though I'm supposedly seeing Narnia next week. Which sounds like fun.

Damn Skippy.

2005-12-03T14:19:00.000-06:00

Too true.

Aggressive Childish Insult!

2005-11-24T13:54:00.000-06:00

Oh man, I really regret not going to TheatreFest last year. I got back earlier this week and it was the most fun I've had in months, maybe years.

Thursday Afternoon
Arrived at Hotel. Small but cozy. Room was small, only two beds. Matt, Chris and Dan were roommates and we were quite happy to learn that our room connected to the one holding Jesse, Sean, Curtis and Alex. There was much trading of pleasantries (read: vaguely offensive remarks), and then the X-Boxes were set-up. This attracted our entire group to the two rooms. Much Halo is played, which I believe I have stated my opinions on before.

A bunch of us wandered over to the Two Brothers Resturuant and had dinner. Decent food, I suppose. Conversation with Jesse, Erika and Peter was amusing.

Wandered back to Hotel, boarded bus to go see some play. I wasn't really looking forward to Scapino at the time, but it turned out to be the best damn thing I saw all weekend. Fake Italian accents, madcap comedy and slapstick physical humor was the order of the night. Had a headache and sore throat from laughing, but I had fun, damnit.

Late evening proved to be the most frustrating part. Our room was still the gathering point for basically everybody in our group, so my room was filled to capacity until midnight. I opted to visit the pool (but not swim) and then wandered off to Talyah's room to play Mario Party 2 (a classic) with Hannah and Krystle.

Friday
Halo was played until 1: 30 in the freaking morning. Tried to read Psychology but to no avail. Nobody fell asleep until after two, anyway.

Skipped breakfast in the morning and hung out in the lobby, sipping Hot Chocolate and talking to our Hotel-mates from Homestead with Talyah, Erika, Peter and Gabe. Fun bunch of people.

Sallyed off to UWO for the main event. Started off the day with a talkback with the cast of Scapino. Great bunch of people. Then headed off to see some plays with Gabe, Krystal and Jesse. Two plays were shown in the theater.

Lepers - Excellent play symbolizing the "leprosy" of society. Metaphors abound. Very sad at parts. A-

The Insanity of Mary Girard - Me to compainions at end of play: Freaky-deaky. B+

Went to Lunch with the aforementioned people, followed by Peter and Talyah. Had lunch (Pizza was excellent) with them and got to talk to a Scapino actor. Quickly made friends. Interrupted once I decided to check out the University Bookstore, then returned with a cry of "They have manga!" to which some of us headed off to see. No Fruits Basket Vol. 6, but they had Gunslinger Girl Vol. 3, so picked that up.

Two more plays after that.

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind - 15 plays in 30 minutes. Each one an amusing and fun to watch satire. A- Source of the title for this entry.

Idiot and The Oddity - A rather cute tale of a Greek Demi-Goddess who wants to become a full Goddess, and the son of Oddyseus. B-

Headed back to the hotel. Made a harrowing trek along the highway to Subway, along with Sam, Brianne, Gabe and Krystle. Near-death experiences, including fast-moving cars, freezing weather and an especially villainous lightpost. It was worth it though for Spicy Italian and Herbs and Spices. Tasty.

Went and saw some audition contest for a hefty college scholorship. Some good auditions, excepting one girl who evidently slaughtered Wicked. Had to restrain Talyah and Hannah. "It's the GUY!" was also yelled into my ear whenever "The guy" showed up on stage.

Halo was adjurned earlier tonight, much to my gratitude. Got considerably more sleep.

Saturday
Didn't have to do much packing, since I did it all the previous night. Hah.

Boarded the bus, went back to UWO and saw some more plays. There were workshops, too, but I didn't feel like going to any of them. (Well, the Stage Combat thing sounded interesting...)

The Life and Death of Larry Benson - Easily the best dramatic acting I saw all weekend, along with a gripping and emotional story. A

The Breakfast Club - Meh. Works far better as a movie. B

The Shadowbox - Worst thing I saw all weekend. Boring plot that didn't move anywhere. Some decent acting from one of the characters, though. C+

The Actor's Nightmare - Hilarious stuff that only a Drama student would get. Very quotable. A-

Headed back to lunch, this time with a far larger group. Played some Three-Dragon Ante, lent to me by Josh for the weekend. Muchos gracias.

Sweeny Todd - Performed by our friends from Homestead. If any of them happen to read this, I'm very sorry about nodding off at parts. Little sleep, accompained by sitting around all day tends to do that. Liked what I saw, though. B+

As You Like It - My second favorite Shakespearian comedy (second to MSND) editted to fit within the time limit. A dissapointment, but some fun singing and dancing. B

Headed home in a very uncomfortable bus ride.

Back in time to see Goblet of Fire with Kyle, Ryan and Josh. I'll post a review later, I suppose. I have one on the Pojo forums somewhere.

Close curtain, fade to black

2005-11-15T10:14:00.000-06:00

Well, that's it for Up the Down Staircase. A fun play, but still can't beat out Midsummer Night's Dream. Time to say goodbye to Joe Ferone and clean up all my toothpicks from the back. And now we turn around and audition for Anything Goes, the spring musical. I'll be very interested to see how this one turns out.

I leave on Thursday for TheaterFest with basically all of my friends from the troupe. Thursday to Saturday I'll be in Oshkosh for the event at the college there. Plays and workshops and all sorts of fun stuff, in addition to general hanging out with friends.

Plans have been made to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with "the guys" on Saturday as part of a birthday celebration for a friend. Looking forward to it.

DDM: Underdark is much awesome, I assure you. Two Epic figures out of two boosters is pretty sweet. For those who care, I pulled Iron Golem and Aspect of Kord. Even their regular versions are excellent in 200-pt, especially Kord, who single-handedly won me some matches. I'm really looking forward to playing an Epic game with these suckers.

Been playing Soul Calibur III like a madman, lately. In my quest to unlock everything, I've been having some success with Tira. I've taken on the legendary Night Terror, using Cassandra of all characters. I'm currently in the process of unlocking Amy and the Soul Calibur for Tira.

That's all I've got.

Opening Night

2005-11-10T22:03:00.000-06:00

So...

We opened today. This opening night defied tradition in that we barely made any mistakes. We all did quite well, or so I'm told. The audience seemed to like us. All five of them. But tomorrow we should have a full house in addition to our in-school performance.

I'm leaving for TheaterFest in one week. That should be a fun weekend.

Good work everybody! Like any of you actually are aware of this thing's existence.

Paul: As Ella Freidenberg would say, I have a problem!
Bea: But you're working on it.

Freaking Liability!

2005-10-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

Shadow of the Colossus is too good for words. The incredible feeling of impending doom as you pass the ridge and gaze at the huge monstrosity about to attack you. Anyone else would run away, but for some reason, with a grim determination, you charge. It's beautiful. I've taken down seven of the things so far. It's been a lot of fun.

That Star Wars Miniatures tourney? I went, there were only three other players. We were playing Classic era, so I quickly assembled an impromptu Rebel Alliance squad and went to the battlefield. Didn't do too well, but there was only one round anyway. I got a promotional figure and a new Cloud City map anyway, so I'm happy. I think I'll check out the Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures scene next week.

Up the Down Staircase proceeds well. I've got my lines down finally, and all I have to worry about is opening night. We open on a Thursday night which is TERRIBLE. By the time the performance ends, there's no time for me to get the next day's schoolwork done. Plus, it's the one night we're guaranteed to screw up on. Oh well.

New Transformers have finally shown up in my neck of the woods. I acquired Sideways who is excellent. Fun in both modes, yes.

The accompanying TV show has really improved. The drama, suspense and plot twists have made it feel like it came from the Beast Wars era. A shame there's only an episode or two left before it goes into reruns.

Lou: 'Sup, teach?
Sylvia: 'Sup, pupe!

Oh, that zany Jack Thompson! You never know what he's going to say next!

2005-10-13T15:15:00.000-05:00

So I got the Revenge of the Sith miniatures starter set. It's pretty cool. My Seperatist force is now quite the force to be reckoned with. I'm considering playing in a tournament later in the month, now that I have a map.

Up the Down Staircase is rolling along fine, though I really should be studying my lines right now. If you want to see it, send me the money and I'll send you a ticket. Must provide own transportation.

Yugioh GX is kind of nifty, I guess.

I'm debating whether or not I want to read Mostly Harmless and So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, as I hear they're quite bad compared to the first three. I do need something to read until The Swarm War comes out in December

I really do not like German. I have got to have the most obnoxious classmates ever.

The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie looks really good so far. It should blow Emma Watson and the Prisoner of Azkaban out of the water. Not that that's terribly hard.

Also, my Yugioh writing career is dead. It didn't lead a terribly prosperous life, mind you, but I got some cash out of it, so I'm reasonably satisfied.

SADIE: All teachers. At the end of home room period, send those students who have failed to report for checkout because they've left the building to Mr. McHabe.
SYLVIA: (to BEA) How do we send students who've left the building?
BEA: (smiling as she goes) It'll be a challenge.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

2005-10-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

Be Warned: Spoilers for "Serenity" follow. Leave now to avoid them. Trust me on this.

Oh man, that was great.

I laughed. I cried. And I cheered. Even as a relative newb to Firefly, having seen the TV show only two weeks ago, I loved the film. Joss Whedon has proved his genius to me, and I'm really looking forward to hopefully getting more movies, since he says he wants to keep it movies now.

I was amazed that the actors and crew managed to keep the feal of the Firefly world, even after about two or three years of being away from it. It really felt like a longer episode of Firefly. I could easily picture it as a two-part season finale.

It was cool finally seeing the Reavers after only having glimpses throughout the series. I can see why everyone is so afraid of them. And well they should, after seeing their origin story.

The great writing continues, and I find myself quoting it all the time. The trailors alone showcase a lot of it. Also, everyone seemed in character and they all had their spotlight.

The space battle with the Alliance vs. the Reavers was excellent. I had a bad feeling about it, but it turned out great. I felt every hit Serenity took and it was great seeing all the well-done CGI on the ships. Looked like something out of Star Wars.

Wash. It's amazing how fast laughter can change to tears. He was in the middle of his "leaf in the wind" line, and I was laughing at it. Then he up and dies. My sleeve was near soaked by the time I stopped crying.

I couldn't believe all the near-misses that followed. I was expecting more character deaths after Wash. I thought Zoe was out when she got shot, then I thought Kaylee was leaving us when she got hit with the darts, and then Simon looked like he was about to buy the farm when he got shot. Then River jumps into the fray, leaving the remaining crew. I thought for sure that River was going to fall, and then those darn tears came back.

It was all I could do to keep myself from jumping up and cheering when it showed River wiping the floor with the Reavers.

Oh yeah, Mal vs. The Operative. Very nicely done. The story did a good job of characterizing The Operative, when he could've asily been just another random assassin. I laughed out loud when it showed Mal holding the tiny scalpel against The Operatives giant knife. Cool battle scene, that.

Interesting that the movie answered enough questions, but still leaving it open for another movie or TV series. All I know is, if there is indeed more, I'll be first in line.

"Serenity"
Rating: A-

You really can't stop the signal.

My gawd, I'm such a rebel...

2005-09-14T10:40:00.000-05:00

Jeez, MS Word and Powerpoint is exceedingly easy. I'm an entire chapter ahead so I have a lot of free time in the computer lab, which incedentally, is where I'm posting this from.

Cast lists for Up The Down Staircase came out today. I have been granted to role of Joe Ferone, the rebel without a cause. Didn't see that one coming. Wasn't particularly hoping for this role, but as an actor, I shall take it. Several friends got the parts they wanted, which is cool.

Random notes and meaningless info follows:

-I'm really not enjoying German 3. I am in class clown/jock central. Normally, I do a good job of ignoring them, but I'm right in the middle of one of their major intersections, so I have to put up with dodging thrown objects and loud voices. Not particularly fond of the teacher, either. The students can throw stuff, yell across the room and horse around with the sink, but start playing calculator games, and suddenly you're being disruptive, please put it away.

-I'm getting thoroughly vexed with my hair. I can't seem to get it to lay flat and smooth like a girl's. I'm stuck with it looking like I'm with the "in" crowd, which I assure you, is far from the truth.

-Miniatures cost too much.

-The DMV is a very poorly-organized place. I spent about 15% of the time in line, 45% waiting to be called to renew my learner's permit (no, I still don't have the full license, so shoot me), 25% waiting to take my picture and 15% actually getting my new permit. I did get fully caught up on my Psychology reading, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

And now I'm rambling, so I'll leave you to whatever the hell it is you people do when you're not listening to me whine.

My aim is bad.

Down the, oops. Up the down stairs... case... cases

2005-09-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

^Actual quote from one of my auditions. They went well, thanks for asking. I'm hoping for the role of McHabe or one of the teachers, but I have a feeling I'll get stuck as one of the kids, thanks to all the taller people. Cast list won't be posted until Tuesday, which is a FARKING ETERNITY! I want my role now!

School's all right I guess. Psychology is fun, and the reading has yet to be a real problem. Finished Oedipus the King in Com/Trag, and I enjoyed it.

Oh yeah. Firefly is a damn good show. I'm starting to regret not getting into it sooner.

Second Gig

2005-09-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

So.

School started yesterday. Let's run through the classes, shall we?

FST - Standing for Functions, Statistics and Trigonometry. It was either this or Pre-Calculus. Seems tame enough so far. Problem is, the questions have to be written out on the assignment. Just ridiculous as it eats up valuable time and shoots my entire organization method to hell.

Chemistry - Fun. Everybody complains about having to write Lab reports, but I'm optimistic. I'll gladly take writing over the horribly long worksheets that go with the labs.

Comedy/Tragedy - Half the class is made up of friends and acquaintances. This is good. The class itself is interesting so far, and I'm looking forward to starting the first play, Antigone.

MS Word/Powerpoint - Can I just have the "A" right now? I really am not enjoying it, though. The teacher doesn't seem very good or organized. I can't even log in to the school network.

AP Psychology - Looking like a fun, but difficult class. Cool teacher, and the textbook has some neat stuff in it. Not terribly worried about the difficulty or the amount of reading. Should be good.

Study Hall - Yay.

German 3 - No yay.

Auditions for Up the Down Staircase are next week, so I'll definetly show up there.

Man, my wallet is going to be SO dead this fall.

2005-08-29T21:59:00.000-05:00

The demo disc is the only reason I even get the Official Playstation Magazine anymore. I have gone completely bonkers-nuts over this new game from the geniuses behind Ico. Shadow of the Colossus looks absolutely beautiful. The battles with the Colossi are amazing, and the environment floored me. Never before have I wanted so badly to ignore the plot and just go exploring. The only reason I haven't wandered around the demo area yet is for fear of getting lost. Between this and Soul Calibur III, my gaming plate is nice and full this fall.

The party I was talking about? I went for about a hour and a half and left due to disinterest. This other group of friends isn't quite as easy for me to relate to, but somebody brought small firecrackers so we messed around with those, which was entertaining.

Ponda Baba hits, roll for damage. And Obi-Wan dies.

2005-08-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

Played some D&D today. Glimdale Folkhorn, my gnome bard, kicked all sorts of cool. Then we played some Star Wars Miniatures. Delightful game, though my Seperatist squad was beaten.

Contemplating whether or not to attend a party tomorrow night. Depends on what I'm up to, I guess.

Wait and hope!

2005-08-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

Finished our Outlaw Star D20 game last night. Turns out the Galactic Leyline was really hiding in some seedy diner.

Well.

Then we watched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Viewed as a movie by itself, it's quite good. Not so good as a book adaptation. The romance between Arthur and Trillion is not only boring, but retarded as well. They kept some of my favorite jokes though. The whale and petunia thing, especially.

Gankutsuou Vol. 1 releases on October 25th. It comes with a swank box featuring a smug picture of the Count. Only six volumes in the series, something Geneon hasn't done before. Bravo. New picture, I guess.

...and then your God jumps out from behind the bush and says "Gotcha!"

2005-08-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

So I finished The Resturaunt and the End of the Universe. Just as good as the first one. I got Life, the Universe, and Everything today, but I haven't started yet. I did start Star Wars: The Joiner King, though. Pretty good.

God, I hate the Pojo Yugioh Tournament Forum. Bunch of stupid, arrogant, pompous assholes who think they're better than everybody else, because they're on some absurdly-named team, like Team Fagcrap or Team Ritz-Bit. It's worse than the Veteran Forum, I tell you.

What else did I want to complain about? Oh yeah, I bought another SWM: Universe booster yesterday. Pulled an Acklay and Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master. Luke kicks all sorts of awesome, but the Acklay can't compare to the Hailfire. I also got a Yuuzhan Vong, finally, and a Vornskyr. Cool beans.

Went to a friend's house today. Played Halo 2. Fun game. Overrated, but fun.

For the love of...

2005-08-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

Skylar Deleon, who you may have heard murdered a couple and "starred" in Power Rangers, is everywhere these days. Skylar was a nobody. He played a kid in Episode 55, "Second Chance". He wasn't a Power Ranger, and he never worked as an actor again. C'mon people, do a little bit of research before you say that a Power Ranger is a murderer. As a PR fan, I'm getting sick of explaining this to everybody.

We now return you to your normally scheduled life.

Cherry-Picking

2005-08-19T15:21:00.000-05:00

So, Star Wars Miniatures: Universe Huge was released today. Bought a single booster at the local game shop. Results:

Huge: Hailfire Droid (yay)
Rare: Ponda Baba (boo)
Uncommons: Dark Side Marauder, Nexu (yay)
Commons: Clone Trooper, Super Battle Droid, Kaminoan Ascetic (meh)

So, not bad I suppose. The Hailfire Droid is very cool. Pictures can be found in the post beneath this one.

What luck, Quinn!

2005-08-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

It would appear that the scheduling goddess has smiled upon me for my Junior year.

Semester 1:
1. Functions, Statistics and Trigonometry
2. Chemistry
3. Comedy/Tragedy
4/5. Microsoft Word & Powerpoint (easy A if I ever saw one)
6. Lunch
7/8. Advanced Psychology (woot)
9. Study Hall
10. German 3

Semester 2:
1. Study Hall
2. American Literature (awesome teacher)
3. Independent Sports
4/5. German 3
6. Lunch
7/8. Functions, Statistics and Trigonometry
9. Chemistry
10. Advanced Psychology

I've already found a decent amount of my friends share parts of my schedule, so it's looking like a good school year.

In other news, SWM: Universe Huge looks great. Check it out here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=swminis/article/setlistuniversegallery

Witty Post Title #2681

2005-08-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

Went to Brookfield Square today. It's a mall. Looked at stuff in Suncoast, bought more Furuba manga. Went to KB Toys, found an Astray Blue Frame action figure in the back for 3$. Checked out the new Barnes and Noble, very cool. Had Taco Bell for lunch.

I should think about writing another column for Pojo. Oh well, the book that I contributed to should be out soon. Got fifty dollars out of it, already spent it.

Let's Stay Together, Always

2005-08-12T23:10:00.000-05:00

Damnit, Fruits Basket is the best anime I've seen all year. Easily top five material. You should watch it. And by "watch", I mean "buy". And by "buy", I mean "buy the official Funimation releases instead of the Hong-Kong bootleg you were about to buy from the guy on eBay". No need to give dirty bootleggers your hard-earned money.

After finishing the anime, I've gotten started on the manga, which goes beyond the anime. Good so far.

Outside of that, this week has been fairly ho-hum. I got a new shelf, so I threw a bunch of my paperbacks on it along with some miniatures.

In other news, I can't wait until Gankutsuou Vol 1 releases on October 25th. I loved it when I watched the fansubs and I'm sure I'll love it as much when I buy the official releases and toss out my fansubs.

Posting in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

2005-08-05T15:17:00.000-05:00

Hm. Bionicle's cool again, I suppose. The new $20 sets are nfity. Or at least Roodaka is. The bad girl of Bionicle. I like it.

Also today's Penny Arcade is funny. http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php?date=2005-08-05

Loserific

2005-08-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

So my birthday came and went. Not terribly exciting, so I won't bore you with the details. I did get Vector Prime and Scourge from Transformers Cybertron, both of which are awesome. I finished R.O.D. The TV, finished collecting Fruits Basket (still have to watch all of it), finished Gundam SEED and got the 08th MS Team Complete Collection. Started the Gunslinger Girl manga as well.

I also recieved Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam and a Hyaku-Shiki Master Grade kit. The game is excellent, and I've devoted unhealthy amounts of time to playing it recently.

Bought Cybertron Optimus Prime, who is the best Optimus toy I have ever bought ever. Go buy it now, it's totally worth the forty bucks.

Now that we arive in August, I find myself awaiting school, mainly because I can tell it's going to be a great year.

Family Reunions Demonstrate Why We Don't Get Together More Often

2005-07-25T16:36:00.000-05:00

So that's where I was the past couple of days. Ventured from Wisconsin all the way to South Dakota. It's the farthest I've been out of my state.

WEDNESDAY - Drove up there. Pretty much listened to my anime music and read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Hilarious book and I should see the movie so I can whine and argue about it like the cool fanboys do.

THURSDAY - Argued about lunch, went to Barnes and Nobel, saw a nifty CLAMP artbook that I'll be too lazy to ever buy, it was really hot, blah, blah, blah.

FRIDAY - The Washington Center (a former High School) is a nifty place. The family got a tour of the place and we came across to the theater department, which made me insanely jealous. They actually have an auditorium that seats 1900, compared to our second gymnasium which seats, oh, 12. Maybe 15 if the school's feeling generous. 10 dressing rooms and a giant costume and props department. It ain't fair.

Had a brief tour of Augustana College, which seems like a nice place, I guess. OH GOD, THE HEAT. 104 degrees. When you have a wardrobe like mine, that's a recipe for disaster.

During the evening I went to see a seven-man production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Not as hot, and only one family member accompanied, both of which I am thankful for. The show was quite nice and pretty accurate. I still like my troupe's portrayal of the Rude Mechanicals better, of course. I'm rather quite proud of my Thisbe. At any rate, they did a good job for only seven people.

SATURDAY- I went and checked out the local shops. Found Dirt Boss and Optimus Prime at Wal-Mart, neither of which I got. My brother got Dirt Boss, who's okay I suppose. I'd give him a B-. And I guess Toa Iruini is out from the Bionicle line. Maybe I'll get him when I have extra cash.

Then there was a barbecue or something with the whole family. Wandered around outside, made a little small talk with family members I knew, ate and had cake. Spent most of the time holed up in the basement with a vintage N64.

SUNDAY- We left. Nothing really happened. Spent the ride home staring out the window contemplating a certain issue.

So all-in-all, it was a good time I suppose. I'm glad it ended when it did though.

Spoilers? Of course there are spoilers, you twit!

2005-07-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Book Six: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
Oh dear, oh dear, where to start? I finished it Sunday evening, though I could have done it earlier as I was away all afternoon and evening and I had been pacing myself on Saturday. No matter, on with the reviewing.

-----------------------------
For some reason, I really enjoyed Chapter 1. The interaction between the two Ministries was something I always wanted to see, and this didn't disappoint. The PM's reaction is understandable, and I loved the introduction of Rufus Scrimgeour.

I liked seeing Narcissa, for we never saw much of her, and it was a real treat to finally see Snape's bachelor pad. I was also happy to find out where the heck Wormtail had been for OotP.

Dumbledore's visit with the Dursleys was entertaining to read, and I was happy to know that Dumbledore was as normal as ever. I expected Harry to be a bit more downtrodden, but the prospect of leaving Privet Drive must have lifted his spirits. Horace Slughorn seemed to be a nice enough guy when we visit him, and I was glad to see that Harry wouldn't have too much trouble this time. From meeting Tonks, I was worried about her throughout most of the book.

The Burrow was it's usual place, even with Fleur around. I was happy to see her back and glad to know that she and Bill are happy. Fred and George's joke shop was a real treat. Loved thew whole scene and the twins were just as entertaining as ever. I didn't care for the Draco part, I thought Harry was just being paranoid, but I knew that there was something going on. Hermione's bluff was funny.

I was very happy to see Neville and Luna, but disappointed to see them in such small roles after OotP. We're introduced to Zabini, who was mentioned way back in PS. I was amazed at Draco's beating of Harry and relieved to see Tonks helping to guard him. I was pleasantly shocked when Snape got the DADA job and Slughorn took over Potions. I knew that would be trouble, and sure enough, Potions and DADA have reversed themselves on Harry's favorites list.

I was immediately interested in the Half-Blood Prince and theorized that he would be Tom Riddle, but I realized that the timeframe was wrong when the book's date was revealed. I didn't think to suspect Snape for some reason. I found the book to be a very interesting plot thread. I found it typical, rather than OoC, for Hermione to be angry with Harry, after all, Harry was, by her standards cheating.

Let's see, fast forward. The Quidditch match. I had fully believed that Harry had slipped Ron the potion, but then Harry proved me wrong. Very nice, however unfortunate that it results in the rift between Ron and Hermione. Lavender and Ron's resulting relationship felt very forced and from out of left field, but I suppose that's how it was for Ron as well. I pretty much yelled for the two of them to kiss and make up already. Oh yeah, Harry as Captain. Okay, I guess.

I was rather unhappy at the lack of any real classroom moments. Outside of the trio's hushed conversations we really didn't see much of the standard test-taking and homework woes. Not a big problem though. Harry's distrust of Malfoy bordered on obsessive, which somewhat annoyed me that Harry was so quick to judge, even if he did turn out to be right.

I was very interested in Dumbledore's "lessons" and was eager to see where exactly we'd go each time Harry was brought in. Quite an interesting, though rather predictable past our Tom Riddle had. I did like the scene where Dumbledore first meets Tom; much like Harry and Hagrid's first meeting.

I was surprised to see Hermione's reaction to Won-won. I had expected something more original, but she uses the old standby of jealousy. A shame. I was elated to see Harry take Luna to the party, for that was the couple I had been shipping. I didn't care for Hermione's absence over the holiday, but I liked seeing Percy and Rufus showing up. A shame Percy's still the way he was, but I've still got faith in the boy. Insightful into Rufu's character, his stroll was, and I had hoped for a more friendly sort of Minister, but he turned out somewhat like Fudge. Oh well.

Okay, Harry's like for Ginny came out of nowhere. I don't mind being wrong on a ship, but I would've liked more build-up. For some reason, Harry all of a sudden views Ginny in a different light. I'm sure there's some deaper hints I've missed, but I liked how the teenage romance part was handled. It seemed accurate enough.

I, like others, am somewhat confused as to why Dumbledore needed Slughorn's Horcrux memory, but I suppose he needed to see Tom's part of it. Harry's final attempt to get the memory was hilarious, as was any scene involving drunk professors. Intoxicated Trelawney was especially funny.

The Horcruxes are an interesting plot device. It makes the diary much more clearer, but it sort of seems like something thrown in for a quest plot. It feels almost like Pokemon, but it works well enough. I do like the mystery surrounding the remaining Horcruxes though, and am eager to find out what's been hiding Voldy this whole time.

Ron's poisoning could probably have been left out, though it adds more to the relationship with Hermione. Glad to see him break up with Lavender. Highly amusing, too.I found Draco's breakdown with Myrtle hard to take. It seemed rather OoC for him, but he was under the strain from the Dark Lord, I suppose. It was horrifying to see the true poer of Sectumsempra and even more terrifying to have Snape walk in. It seemed to turn out well enough, though, as Gryfindor won the game and Harry gets a kiss with Ginny. Luna as commentator was hilarious. Glad to see Ron's approval. I would hate to have another Ron/Harry schism.

Chapter 25 grabs you and doesn't let go. From the moment Harry finds Trelawney at the RoR, things get shot to hell. His desperate orders to his friends was oddly scary, as if he had only moments before a great battle.

Harry and Dumbledore's trip to the cave was a tense scene and Harry desperately trying to save Dumbledore was very suspenseful. I expected someone else to rescue them, but he made it. Worrysome scene upon their return. Dumbledore almost seems reinvigorated at the sight of his school and his students under the Dark Mark. Goes to show you his dedication and bravery.

Amazing scene with Draco, Harry and Dumbledore. I felt just like Harry, powerless to do anything but watch. Dumbledore attempts to help Draco, and for a moment, I thought he would falter. Hearing of the fallen body, I feared the worst for all my favorite characters until the Death-Eaters arrive and Snape hurries after them.

Powerful is the only way to describe what comes next. It's obvious from the evidence and clever use of words, that Snape didn't want to kill Dumbledore, but Dumbledore had told Snape that it was the only way. So with that, Harry's greatest protector and the best headmaster of Hogwarts falls. Snape is obviously left with no choice now and makes a run for it with the Death-Eaters. What becomes of Draco will indeed be interesting.

Snape vs. Harry, fleeting though it is, is done well. Snape's reveals himself as the Half-Blood Prince, which I honestly didn't fully expect. I was breathing heavily throughout these entire chapters, as if I had just ran alongside Harry. Great.

The heads of houses meeting is very somber and that's when the full impact of the death hits; especially when we see a new portrait of Albus, sleeping serenely as if nothing happened.

The funeral is done well. A bit of tears got through from me, as the whole meaning of Dumbledore's death culminates. So many people showed up and several cameos, as well. Ron and Hermione seem to finally have formed a relationship and Harry tries to push Ginny away. I have a feeling they're not completely over, though.

Fenrir Greyback is an interesting new villain. Bill getting bit by him was unexpected and I'm anxious to see what will become of him. It was wonderful to see that that didn't matter to Fleur and it looks like the wedding's still on.

I have little doubt that Hogwarts will reopen next year, and that somehow Harry will end up there again. This book leaves several questions including the identity of R.A.B. (not convinced it's Regulus), Snape and Draco's status, the remaining Horcruxes, the direction of the relationships and countless other unwrapped plot threads.

Well, it's going to be a hard wait for Book Seven, but I know I'll enjoy poring over the book and it's predecessors trying to figure out what JK Rowling is up to, and I have no doubt that she'll surprise me again.

------------------------

Rating: A-

Current Book Ranking: (subject to changes at the author's wim)
1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Half-Blood Prince
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Goblet of Fire
6. Sorcerer's Stone
Not that that means much, they're all good books. Heck, 1-4 might as well be a tie.

The Pillar of Storge

2005-07-14T11:25:00.000-05:00

So...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is out on Saturday. Cool. Can't wait to read it. I wonder if I can do it in one night?

Went to Best Buy, got Gundam SEED Vol. 9. One disc left now.

The Light Before We Land

2005-07-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

Picked up Gunslinger Girl Volume 2 over the weekend. The show continues to rock. Episode 8 especially is very good; it introduces Angelica, quite possibly the most tragic of the girls.

Also got Cybertron Hot Shot. Decent mold, cool weapons and an articulate robot mode. B material.

Automated Vehicles and the Driving Thereof

2005-07-09T10:54:00.000-05:00

So, I finally passed the Practice Road Test. Now I don't have to do any more school driving. And I can get the last 14 or so hours required by myself on my own terms.

It makes driving slightly more enjoyable and interesting. I still don't understand what all the kids get excited about.

Transform And Roll Out!

2005-07-03T18:43:00.000-05:00

Just got back from Toys R Us, and they've got Cybertron out before any of my local areas. Wanted to get Vector Prime and Optimus, but they weren't on shelves. I even bothered an employee to check, but didn't get any results. I picked up two Deluxes and a Leader, while my brother assisted my pillaging by picking up a Voyager, formerly known as a mega.

LANDMINE
The first of the two Deluxes and the only Autobot I got. Alt mode is a construction vehicle with a front shovel. The Cyber Key is put into the wheels, and little blades come out around it. Neat. Robot mode is good, with some nice poseability. Not bad for 10 bucks. B+

THUNDERCRACKER
The other deluxe, his alt mode is a Jet. He's rather dissapointing. His robot mode is flimsy. His Cyber Key feature is a nifty gun that pops out of his back and forms one of his robot mode arms. Decent, but the worst of what I got. B-

CRUMPLEZONE
The Voyager guy. His alt mode is a sort of futuristic racecar with a bulky back area. Very cool. Insert the Cyber Key in the back and two giant bazookas flip over accompanied by sound. Robot mode is big and bulky, bringing to mind the hired muscle of the Decepticons. Surprisingly sturdy and cool. Good for twenty bucks. B+

MEGATRON
Ah, the forty dollar leader fig. Looks a bit silly, but is loads of fun once he's out of his cardboard prison. A bunch of colors throw off the evil-look, but the points and fins all over are cool. Three underwhelming Cyber Key features; gun pops out, spikes extend, and jets extend out with lights and sounds. The cool part? He transforms into the Batmobile. It looks just like it with the sweeping fins and large wheels. Very cool. It also transforms into a jet but it doesn't really change much from the car mode. All in all, the best Megatron out of Armada, Energon and Cybertron. A-

The Cybertron toyline looks to be off to a great start, and I can't wait to get my hands on Vector Prime and Optimus. I might also pick up Scourge, who looks very nice.

Mr. Anderson, welcome back. We've missed you.

2005-07-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

Vacation was decidedly average.

Saturday - Got the Star Wars: ROTS artbook. Very nifty. Arrived up there, wandered around town for a bit, was astounded by the amount of roleplaying junk in the local book store. Nice. Also finished the Force Heretic trilogy. Boring most of the time, with spots of brilliance.

Sunday - What the hell happened that day? I don't even remember. Nothing must've happened

Monday - Went to a neighboring town, where in we looked at various shops. Cool big antique store with all manner of useless junk inside. Fun for window shopping. Went home just as the storm hit. And by hit, I mean really hit. Rain, wind, lightning, thunder, the works.

Tuesday - After much deliberation, I finally bought myself copies of the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual, both 3.5 edition. Cool stuff in there. Finished The Final Prophecy in the NJO. Excellent book. Sad to see Nen Yim get the axe.

Wednesday - Went horseback riding. Got to practice driving too and from the stables. Yup, still hate it.

Thursday - Went to Rhinelander. Checked the Wal-Mart. Nothing. Left Rhinelander.

Friday - Went Go-Karting, which I now am not a fan of. Meh. Finished The Unifying Force and the entire New Jedi Order. Fine conclusion, and a great EU series.

Saturday- Left.

I Know You're Out There.

2005-06-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

My local stores have apparently adopted a 100% Transformers: Cybertron-free policy, so I'll have to wait until I return from vacation to get my hands on anything.

Oh yeah, vacation. I leave tommorow for the region of the United States commonly referred to as "Up-North". Specifically, to an old cabin on a lake wherein I sit around and read or walk around on the abandoned roads. Computer free, the Eagle River region is completely devoid of anything that could remotely be considered "gaming" or "anime". No problem, I have the Star Wars NJO to finish up, and I'll undoubtedly find more books in the local stores. I get back in a week.

Finally, I should have a new article thrown up (heh) on Pojo later today. Go read it. I manage to take a fairly humorous idea and completely screw it up.

Also, today's Penny Arcade is funny. It's on the sidebar thing.

Мои глупые вхождения журнала

2005-06-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

Teen Titans - Episode 48: "Overdrive"
Cyborg episodes are usually boring, slow and uneventful. This one was no different. We've seen Cyborg use crazy contraptions before, and there wasn't much done this time that was different. His schedule scenes though were amusing, as was his fight with Adonis (who's still a loser villain, by the way). Billy Numerous was bothersome and slightly creepy; talk about your narcissists. The final battle was cool, but could have been better. Not to mention it's implausibility. Underwhelming.
Rating: C

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 21: "Hunter's Moon"
Enjoyable episode. I was glad to see what had become of the Thanagarians after "Starcrossed" and it didn't dissapoint. Shayera's reaction to the defeat of her race, and Hro's death was heartbreaking, especially in her VA's delivery of the line. I never cared much for Vixen before and she didn't do anything for me this time, either. Admittedly, I liked her better this time, than in "Wake the Dead". The ending was a bit of a cop-out, but I'll take it. I wonder which relationship is still going. Vigilante stole the show with his "cowboy-isms" and his lines. Great moment when he pilots the Thanagarian starfighter.
Rating: B+

Samurai Champloo - Episode 6: "Stranger Searching"
Hilarious episode. The Eating contest was the best part and I honestly yelled "No, Fuu!" when she was going to smack the fly. The Dutch guy was amusing. Nice how he hopes that the world will be more accepting of people like him in the future. Oh, if he only knew. At any rate, the tour was a bit dull, but it picked up around the fireworks and the resturaunt. Weird seeing subtitles on Adult Swim, but they worked out. Nice episode.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 4: "A Man's Path"
Not quite as good as 2 and 3, but a good episode. The twisted cop was an interesting change of pace from the other characters. Very creepy character as well. For a middle-aged fat guy he was pretty good at robbing people. The manga montage was amusing. I was rather surprised to see the Lil' Slugger get beaten like that, but I'm betting it's not the real one and just a copycat. The tense part was when he robs the family and the girl comes back from school. I don't want to know what happened after that. Good episode.
Rating: B+

Eh....

2005-06-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

Been a pretty boring week. In fact, you could probably skip over this episode and not miss much of the plot.

Transformers Cybertron has yet to be stocked at my local Target or Wal-Mart. This annoys me. I'll check Toys R Us later in the week, I guess.

Second post in a long and proud line of posts

2005-06-16T18:46:00.000-05:00

So, Summer Vacation.

I've sat around and done pretty much nothing except talk on Pojo and watch TV. You see, my TV schedule expands greatly during the summer. Mornings I catch my favorite game show of all time, The Price is Right, and yell at the idiot contestants. Fast forward to Jeopardy, usually accompanied by home-made nachos in the afternoon. Double Seinfeld on TBS after that, followed by maybe Wheel of Fortune where I also yell at the contestants. Maybe then I catch Whose Line is it Anyway? and end the day with Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

I really have no life. Seinfeld was funny. It was viewed alongside the consuming of KFC Popcorn Chicken. Excellent.

Garage Sale started today. I don't really pay attention to this sort of thing.

Oh yeah, I made fifty dollars today and you didn't.

A Veritable Buffet of Pointless Reviewing

2005-06-16T18:33:00.000-05:00

Power Rangers SPD - Episode 18: "Samurai"
Saturday's episode was decent filler. The whole "samurai in modern times" story was interesting to watch and Jack vs. Cruger was a well-done plot. I saw the fake Shadow Saber thing coming from a mile away, though. Also, the giant drawer thing is about one of the most ridiculous things I've seen on the show. And I saw the episode where TJ was baked into a giant pizza. Overral, good development for Jack.
Rating: B
Next week looks fudging awesome. Grumm vs. Cruger. My heart skipped a beat just typing that.

Teen Titans - Episode 47: "Stranded"
A real 180 turn from last week. I didn't really care for Starfire and Robin's plot. I was pretty sure that the two of them already knew their relationship up until now, when Star started acting rather childish. Though Robin's side was fairly realistic. Cyborg and Beast Boy's plot was the real winner here, though. Reconstructing Cyborg into Giant Robo and BB getting the character's outfit was a hilarious reference as was Cyborg trying to dictate his instructions so BB would understand them. Raven's subplot was fairly average, but it was nice to see her calm and relaxed after the past couple of episodes.
Rating: B+

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 20: "Clash"
Yeah, it was damn good. It was really cool seeing Captain Marvel and I thought the way he was written was excellent and his voice-actor did a marvelous job. Superman and Batman discussing Luthor over a standard meta-human bust was great to watch. I was in suspense the whole time at Luthor's press conference. I literally had no idea if Lex was telling the truth. The battle between Supes and Marvel was one of the best that the show has ever done and Marvel proved himself to be really powerful. The resolution was great, and it was interesting to see that Superman was wrong. Then they go and say that it was a set-up which I honestly didn't see coming. Captain Marvel's final speech was powerful and it shows what's happened to the JL lately.
Rating: A-

Samurai Champloo - Episode 5: "Artistic Anarchy"
This is one of the better episodes so far. Several hilarious moments all around. I didn't see the ending coming, though. Who knew that the old guy was the one running the slave ring the whole time? Mugen had some funny moments, and the secret police officer was amusing; I liked how he was the narrator for the episode. The show has a very good storytelling method - the three heroes all go on seperate adventures, only to realize that their own quests were actually all connected. Good stuff.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 3: "Double Lips"
Episode 3 was just as good as the second. The two different personalities really kept me guessing throughout the whole episode, and I couldn't help but think too hard about some things in the background looking for symbolism. William's Street was pretty brave with this episode, what with the whole graphic prostitution shindig. Great finisher as well. I always end up holding my breath, waiting for Lil Slugger to show up and whack the character.
Rating: A-

Gundam SEED Destiny - Episode 34: "Nightmare"
It rocked hard. With all the research, preperation and pure indomitable ferocity, Shinn easily deserves his victory. After everything that Kira has taken from him (rather by accident or otherwise), one can hardly fault Shinn for his rage at Kira and his Gundam. Talia and Murrue's brief conversation was interesting and Neumann's quarter barrel roll around the Minerva was pretty awesome, but everybody was paying attention to Kira vs. Shinn. One of the best Gundam fights I've seen in a while, Shinn pulled off some truly inovative moves. First he throws his shield and shoots it with the beam rifle; the beam richochets and hits Kira. Then he splits the Gundam and rams the Chest Flyer into Kira, blowing it up with the Core Splendor's vulcans, then re-forming in the air while Kira is crashing. Finally, he calls for the Sword Silhoutte and doesn't even switch packs; he just pulls off the Excalibur and slices through the Freedom's shield and into the torso. Meanwhile, the Minerva supposedly blows up the Archangel with the Tannhouser. Pure awesome.
Rating: A+
It'll be great to see Kira get out of this one. Sure he escaped the Strike Gundam when it exploded, but this is a farking NUCLEAR EXPLOSION. Of course Kira will make it out so he can pilot the Strike Freedom, but gosh darnit, he'd better have something to remember this battle by.And what of the Archangel? Somehow I don't think Murrue's Miraculous Bouncing Boobies (TM) are going to help the crew this time.

In honor of awesome Gundam SEED Destiny, a new avatar has been issued for your pleasure. Yes, I know Range Murata girl is cute, but this was just too awesome not to make an avatar of. She understands.

Also, I have grown much too lazy to continue reviewing W.I.T.C.H. and Trinity Blood. Eh, I say.

I have conquered thee!

2005-06-14T22:10:00.000-05:00

So I finally managed to get that neato Gunslinger Girl wallscroll up without damaging it. Turns out all I had to do was steal the bottom rung from my brother's Sephiroth scroll and attach some string.

You shall rue the day you tangled with me, household ornament hanging procedures!

The End of an Era

2005-06-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

At any rate, I went through three more exams yesterday and today. World History was up first, and it was very easy. I'll sound like a huge nerd, but I really enjoy taking 300-question tests for some reason. Relaxing. The test itself covered Europe from The Enlightenment to the end of WWII, a fun period in history.

Biology was up next, which turned out to be easier than I was expecting. Yay. Today I had Advanced Algebra which went all right I think. I had just reviewed for an hour beforehand, so I shouldn't do too bad.

And now school's out. What to do for the next three months...

Oh yeah, Fruits Basket. Good show.

Die Zeit für Revolution ist gekommen.

2005-06-08T17:36:00.000-05:00

So, exams started today.

Start off with a healthy dose of German, in which I undoubtedly performed averagely. It was multiple choice, which helped somewhat, because I would have failed easily had it been a writing test.

Next, I wandered off to Information Technology, which, contrary to what the title might tell you, has nothing to do with Information or technology of any form. Ergo, my loathing of the class. I don't think I did very well on the mechanics and electricity portion, but the computer sections was incredibly easy, so I will probably salvage a C in that class. I mean, I didn't do any of the Screen Printing or this Design Problem contraption.

Third part of the day involved me waiting in the cafeteria, due to my exempting my Language + Literature exam. Repeated "A" papers and tests tend to do that. The exam would have been a breeze, though, so it might have been fun to take it just for fun. But then again, that would increase my hatred for the class and the students, so I don't think that would be the best idea. And that's totally a subject for a different entry. I'll have way more ranting time over the summer.

At any rate, the cafeteria. I wasted money on various snacks and drinks from the local vendimatoriums which inexplicably give me food and drink when I put in too much money. It was worth it, however, for Andy Capp's legendary Cheddar Fries. A celebration was in order. I contented myself with finishing up the History Review sheet, but got bored of it around Louis XVI.

So I stealthily stole (read: begged to borrow) my friend's PSP. Metal Gear Ac!d was already loaded up and so I played around in the game none-too seriously. Creative game, and it's a shame people don't like it more. I think it's the arbitrary exclamation point that does them in.

Then I headed home on some scary and unfamiliar autobus, much different from my typical ride. See, on exam days, the bus system is screwed up so much that children end up boarding the wrong buses and ending up in the completely wrong place. Shanghai, for example. My crazy new bus driver eventually ended up on my street and I happily ran the hell home.

And that was my day. I dunno, I felt like writing something other than the objective reviews I typically do.

Take your reviews, you Godless Heathens

2005-06-08T17:22:00.000-05:00

Samurai Champloo - Episode 4: "Hellhounds for Hire Pt. 2"
Excellent finish for a two-parter. Several cool battles as always and the scene where Fuu is taken by the ugly guy was particularly funny. The two gangs resolving the conflict with the roll of a die was interesting, along with Fuu and Jin meeting at the occasion. Also amusing how Mugen randomly comes in for no reason and starts killing people. I didn't see the point to the last scene, though. Sosuke's father killing himself as payment was something I didn't see coming.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 2: "Golden Shoes"
I see the dog plush is up to it's old tricks again. The plot with Ichi was rather more interesting than Tsukiko's but I'm glad she's staying in the story. The two reporters look like recurring characters as well. The fat kid really bothered me for some reason and I didn't blame Ichi for hating him. After he was wishing that Lil Slugger would come and beat him, I quietly gasped as Slugger slowly glided past Ichi. Ichi's later acid trip was freaky and it ends with him getting beaten with the bat as well. My mind was working furiously throughout this entire episode.
Rating: A-
I'm hooked.

Teen Titans - Episode 46: "The Prophecy"
Very creepy. About the creepiest thing Teen Titans has ever done. Any battle involving Slade was excellently choreographed and animated. Raven's excursion to Azaroth was cool, as was meeting her mother. And we see the true powers of Trigon, who is revealed as the villain. Raven vs. Slade Round 2 was very cool, I thought she was actually going to kill ol' Wilson. Then he makes an escape after pointing out her friends' terror. The battle with the ghouls was well animated but I got tired of it about halfway through. What could Slade be bargaining for with Trigon? His son? Terra? His life?
Rating: B+

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 19: "Double Date"
I liked "Double Date" much more than "The Balance". I've been waiting to see Huntress in the series, and what do you know, she's kicked out in her intro episode. She seemed a tad out of character as well. Glad to see The Question again, and he was just as much fun as he was in "Fearful Symmetry". Can't wait to see more of him. His car and the connection between girl scouts and crop circles was hilarious. Green Arrow shows up again with Black Canary in tow, who seem to be much more than friends. Each "couple" trying to outwit each other was fun to watch. The battle between Huntress and Canary was cool as was Arrow vs. Question. Finally, I thought Mandragora was pretty cool as a villain.
Rating: B+

And as a bonus...

Gundam SEED Destiny - Episode 33: "The World Revealed"
Dullindal's speech on LOGOS was cool and I can't wait to see how it turns out. When the portraits were scrolled across, the position above Lord Djibril was missing. I'm betting it's Dullindal himself. Looks like Shinn's serious about taking out the Freedom and Kira. I hope he suceeds, somebody needs to knock the uber-pilot down a notch. The scene where Neo wakes up was well-done. I'm really looking forward to more interaction with poor Murrue. I really hope that Mwu returns to his old self for her sake. Yeah, I'm a sucker for that sort of romance.
Rating: B+
The Minerva is ordered to exterminate the Archangel next week. Can't wait.

Home on the Range

2005-05-30T20:19:00.000-05:00

Yeah, new avatar. Range Murata rocks and needs to do more anime. Here's the full image:

Found the image here: http://www.absolutetrouble.com/murata/index.php

Just got back from seeing Revenge of the Sith for the second time. It doesn't lose much in subsequent viewings, fortunately.

Batter Up

2005-05-30T11:33:00.000-05:00

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 18: "The Balance"
And we come to the "Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl become friends again" episode. Flash was hilarious at the beginning as he always is. Hermes was also an amusing character, and it was funny to see them try to get around mentioning "hell". I found it rather hard to believe that WW would just try to steal Hawkgirl's mace. Speaking of which, Hawkgirl needs to go get a new costume. Or something. I never cared for felix as a villain, but he served his purpose this time around. It was pretty cool when Hades arrives and beats the crud out of him. What shall become of Tala I wonder? This is a real hit against Cadmus, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do about it.
Rating: B

Samurai Champloo - Episode 3: "Hellhounds for Hire"
Funny start with Jin and Mugen making their escape from Fuu. Also amusing how they all end up meeting later at once. Jin and Mugen getting hired by opposite sides and ending up fighting each other was great, as was Jin's disguise. I can say this from experience; never mess with a crossdresser.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 1: "Enter Lil' Slugger"
Vely intelesting.It does seem to be along the lines of FLCL and GitS:SAC. I have to wonder what the heck CN's problem with subtitles is. It could really help make the plot easier to understand. At any rate, it's very creepy and the dirty reporter is a much more interesting character to follow rather than the two police investigators. I'll keep watching this in hopes of a definitive ending.
Rating: B

Too lazy to review Gundam SEED Destiny and Trinity Blood. In short, both were good episodes.

Critics give my life 1.5 stars.

2005-05-28T13:11:00.000-05:00

Anyone who plays the Star Wars RPg can check out two of the planets I'm using in my campaign here. http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=437185

Lots of stuff on tonight. New Teen Tiatns, new JLU, premieres of Paranoia Agent, premiere of s-cry-ed and new Samurai Champloo. Too bad there's no SPD or WITCH.

Two weeks left of school. Exams are coming up and I'm going to see about exempting my Advanced Algebra and Language exams. I also have to get my Information Technology grade up to a C so I can pass well. I hate that class, we don't even do any information technology. The people in it are anooying as well. Oh well.

Got the last four paperbacks to the NJO today. Can't wait to start Force Heretic I: Remnant. the goal is to finish the series by the end of the school year. Since we'll be doing a lot of review in school for the rest of the year, I'll have plenty of reading time.

Ace out.

Star Wars Literature

2005-05-25T17:26:00.000-05:00

So yeah, in my exploration of the New Jedi Order, I just wrapped up Destiny's Way. At the moment, it's tied with Star By Star as my favorite book in the series, but that could change. Here's my ranking at the moment.

1. Star By Star/Destiny's Way
2. Traitor
3. Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
4. Balance Point
5. Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
5. Edge of Victory I: Conquest
6. Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial
7. Vector Prime
8. Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
9. Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
10. Dark Tide II: Ruin
11. Dark Journey
12. Dark Tide I: Onsalught

It's hard to rank 12 good books, so ranks 3-7 are all very close to each other.

The New Jedi Order is an excellent series, and I can't wait for the conclusion. Five books left to go.

Do YOU speak BOCCE??!!

2005-05-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

Gundam SEED Destiny - Episode 30: The Fleeting Dream
Not much happens except for Shinn going against orders and returning Stellar. We get to see a bit more of Shinn's character, and we find that Neo seems to be genuinely a nice guy behind the mask. Also, we see the remains of the Saviour. it's safe to say that we'll be getting the new Justice soon; I imagine ZAFT will put in the order at the same time as the Destiny.
Rating: B-

Trinity Blood - Episodes 2 and 3: "Witch Hunt" & "Star of Sorrow Pt. 1"
Episode 2 was boring. We're introduced to the new droid character and there's some nutty plot involving a little girl. Yah, I don't care. Episode 3 was much better. Abel has some funny moments and we are introduced to Esther. She'll probably stick around, seeing as she's in the ending. I'm looking forward to seeing what this royal enemy guy is up to. I especially liked the part at the end where they face down the squad. Can't wait to see what happens to our hero.
Ep. 2 Rating: C+
Ep. 3 Rating: A-

Speaking of anime, Gunslinger Girl rawks.

I bought the Vol. 1 + box set last week. Nifty wallscroll that I might put up somewhere, though I think I'd be rather uncomfortable with a poster featuring adolescent girls in my bedroom. >_>;;

It's indeed a thinking man's anime and I can't help but be interested in all the various relationships. The first five episodes do a nice job of setting up the characters and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them. As with any job involving a shadowy organization, I'm betting that the Italian Welfare Agency has something to hide. And of course, a healthy dose of gunfights and explosions. All set to some lovely music. Volume 2 can't get here soon enough.

clock king? OLOL moer liek cock king! m i rite?

2005-05-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 17: "Task Force X"
Great to see JLU back. It was cool to see that the opponent of the League were pretty close to regular humans this time. I expected Captain Boomerang and Plastique to be on Task Force X, but Clock King was a huge surprise. It was cool seeing a villain like him back again. Action was good, not quite up to Teen Titans level though. This Cadmus plot continues to get more and more interesting.
Rating: B+

Power Rangers SPD - Episode 16: "Boom"
Yay, filler. Boom's fantasy at the beginning was amusing as was the arrival of his parents. I liked how Boom got to be an actual ranger for a brief time, helping out with the capture of the device. It is his specialty after all. I was hoping they'd give him a real morpher for the mission though. I'm very interested in this Morgana character, though I have a feeling the accent's going to get on my nerves.
Rating: B+

W.I.T.C.H. - Episode 16: "Ghosts of Elyon"
Worth the two-week wait. Will's side-story with the mother was pretty typical stuff. The story is a staple of any series involving teenagers. The main plot was much more interesting. The Guardians used some creative ways to figure out which of the Elyons was the real one. The storming of Phobos's castle was also very cool. The second attempt in the bunker was also fun to watch. Caleb was cool in this episode and they continue to throw Cornelia and Caleb's relationship in our faces. I'm looking forward to what Elyon will do in the next couple of episodes.
Rating: B+

Samurai Champloo - Episode 2: "Redeye Reprisal"
Not quite as good as the previous episode. Mugen and Jin going on their own plots was a nice way to showcase their individual skills. Nice samurai action as in the first one. Dub continues to be nice, as far as I can tell. I was a bit dissapointed by the lack of all the rap scratches from the first episode. Why did Mugen just kill the deformed guy when he stopped?
Rating: B

Gundam SEED Destiny 30, Trinity Blood 2+3 and Gunslinger Girl 1-5 to come later.

The Force Is Strong With This One.

2005-05-19T21:28:00.000-05:00

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Dude. DUDE. DUUUUUUDDDDDDE. DUDE!!!

I take back everything I said about the Flanneled One. Throughout the entire film, I was grinning like an idiot. (Well except that part after the rescue of Palpatine)

The drama in the movie caught me very much off guard. Tears were on their way as Anakin ignited his lightsaber in front of the children, again during the Jedi Purge, again as Obi-Wan learns of Anakin's actions, and once more during the landing pad scene with Padme, Obi and Anakin.

Battle scenes were awesome of course. Dooku's scenes were fun to watch, and any lightsaber battle involving Palpatine was great. My jaw was on the floor as Yoda took on Palps. I couldn't get rid of the smile on my face as master and apprentice fought to the near-death.

BEST. SPACE BATTLE. EVER.

R2 got his fair share of laughs and applause from the crowd. Yoda as well; everybody cheered when he pushed away the Royal Guards. The humor in here was much more controlled and appropriate than in the other prequels.

The Duel was great. I can't stress this enough.

Music = awesome. John Williams is amazing. I've been humming "Fall of the Hero" all night.

Hayden seems to have improved somewhat, though Natalie Portman could have been CGI for all I knew. Ian McDiamard steals the show, and most of the actors do all right.Writing was alright. Better than AOTC at any rate.

Greivous was enjoyable. The battle with him and Obi could have been longer or more climactic, but it's good to know that the crew remembered who the real villain was.

It does drag on after the Battle above Coruscant. That was the point I chose to use the bathroom.

I'm not sure what to think about Vader's final scene. On the one hand, it's a very human and realistic reaction for someone who's gone through what Anakin's gone through. On the other, Vader does a decent Frankenstein impression and the "NOOOOO!" seemed a bit off.

Oh yeah, the Battle Droid voices were annoying. I had always assumed that the Super Battle Droids would sound more masculine.

Small complaints in the end.

Rating: A

Thank you, Lucas.

Tomorrow, people. TOMORROW.

2005-05-18T16:26:00.000-05:00

And I'm seeing it tomorrow. With friends. Or at least, I think they're friends. I mean, I don't get them anything for Christmas. In any case, there will be much waving of lightsabers and merry-making.

What? A Video Game system is supposed to play games?

2005-05-17T15:28:00.000-05:00

Well, all three systems have been unvieled. Let's do some reviewing.

Sony - Playstation 3
I'm digging the sleak design of the console. The Spiderman-logo style works quite nicely. The controller looks alright, but I'm hoping they'll release something more dual-shock-like. The system seems powerful enough from what they're saying. How much of this will actually come true is yet to be determined. Of course, anything that advances the Playstation is good in my book. Being a loyal Sony costumer, I'll be getting this one. Gotta go check out the games of course. That's where it really matters.

Nintendo - Revolution
It's refreshing to know that Nintendo's sticking to videogames rather than trying to sell me a new computer/cell phone/microwave/back massager. I'm really liking the compact style for this system. It looks small enough to pop it into your backpack and go. The sideways stand seems a bit unnecessary, though. Also, I really like the idea of an online handheld, especially on a Nintendo system. Looking forward to seeing the controller and the specs. It's great to know that a company like Nintendo is still going, even with the gearheads at Sony and Microsoft competing. Of course, it's all about the games.

Microsoft - X-Box 360
While I don't own an XBox myself, and I don't plan on it, I'm still going to comment on the 360. It certainly seems like the 360 is going to be the leader in terms of online action, and why not? This is Microsoft after all. I find the system itself to look a bit dull, though. I'm expecting Halo 3 to carry the system on it's shoulders, much as Halo did for the original. I'll be getting a PS3 first, as that's my first loyalty, but it'll be interesting to see what the newcomer is going to give us on it's second time through.

As may be obvious, I'm a tad biased towards Sony, but here's my preliminary ranking.

PS3 > Revolution = XBox 360

As games come out, expect my crazy opinions to change.

Oh yeah, Animation Domination

1st The Simpsons: C
2nd The Simpsons: C
Family Guy: B+
American Dad: B+