2004: Year in Review

Well, today is the last day of 2004, so I thought I'd reflect on what happened in the past year. Quick mention of 2003 as well, just to compare.

In 2003 I was activated to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and sent to Virginia to prepare for my deployment to Kuwait, which never happened. I was tied to the Army from January to November, performing somewhat random tasks. As you can imagine, being away from home and out of college for a year, took a lot out of me. In a year of a hurricane, fights I did not want to get involved in, war, and other things I can't talk about, 2003 was possibly the worst year of my life. It wasn't all bad though. The good points were buying a new car, getting promoted, immunization of Anthrax, reinforcing my relationship with a dear friend, and the good times I spent with my comrades.

2004 saw my return to school, which took a slight adjustment period but I managed to integrate myself back into the curriculum. I started getting familiar with Photoshop and learned more about drawing the human figure, thanks to all the naked people lying about. I also joined a gym, but only for about six months due to time constraints and distance of the gym in relation to my house. Over the summer I went to the Outer Banks with me best mate and some of the most amusing people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I almost moved out, but thought better of it in order to save money. I drastically limited my comic book buying, which helped when I bought a new computer and digital camera. (What was that about saving money?) With the new computer I also managed to get Adobe Photoshop, which has come in handy many times. I finally made my own action figure after delaying it for a couple years, although truthfully it isn't finished yet. I've also started this blog! The following semester I got my first 4.0 ever. I managed to ice skate without falling. Unfortunately, it wasn't a perfect year. The recent tsunami in Asia that killed over a hundred thousand people, the division of the country when it comes to politics, the war in Iraq still causing the deaths of US soldiers and Iraqi civilains, the death of Christopher Reeve, among other things.

But what's most significant about 2004 for me is that I believe this year, I've determined what kind of person I want to be, and this is the closest I've ever been.

It was a good year for me, all things considered.

Still don't have a girlfriend though.

Clothing Drive Update

Well, An(Drew) and I went to the DugoutZone at around 6 yesterday to donate some clothes. When we got there Brian Wilcox wasn't there yet. There was a long line running inside, and a lot of kids in Ravens gear eagerly awaiting his arrival. I wasn't there to see the guy, so I went to the owner and gave him the clothes myself. He gave me some kind remarks and shook my hand, then we left.

It really felt good to do that. I hope that Brian Wilcox did show, so hopefully all those kids weren't dissappointed, but I guess I won't find out until later.

The Red Cross called me a couple of days ago, and I made an appointment with them to donate blood, in order to make up for my horrible memory last week.

Not a bad way to end a good year. Especially better than 2003 ever was. Hey that gives me an idea! But it'll have to wait until morning.

Out.

Fun in My Pocket

No, not that kinda fun you pervs.

One of the things I got over the holidays was a really small digital camera. Small enough to fit in my pocket and simple enough to use. It hooks up to the computer using a USB cable to export the pics taken. It can take 20 pictures or 80 lower quality pictures, can hold one .avi video clip (the 80 pics in continuous shoot), and also functions as a webcam.

Zahir saw it and wanted a picture taken of the two of us. I took several but naturally I chose to post the one with the most EXTREME angle. Not a bad little toy, handy for parties and pics on the go. The pictures may not be the same quality as a REAL digital camera, but it's fun nonetheless. And again, it's easy to carry!

Congratulations Zahir! You're the first of my friends to appear on my blog! You almost lost out to my crotch shot though.

Note: I'll post the crotch shot if enough of you ask for it. What?

Zahir, Za-there, Za-everywhere!

Clothing Drive

When I picked up my comic books today from The DugoutZone, They told me about a clothing drive they are having tomorrow (Dec 30) from 6-7 pm. So I thought I'd tell you about it to hopefully promote a good cause.

Bring a new or clean (and in good condition) article of clothing to The DugoutZone at Chatham Station (where Chatham Mall used to be, off of Rt. 40) Thursday Dec 30 from 6pm to 7pm and you get an autograph from Daniel Wilcox, tight end of the Baltimore Ravens.

I for one, don't know who Daniel Wilcox is but I plan on bringing some articles of clothing tomorrow. Let me know if you want to donate anything. You can come with me or I can drop it off for you. Thanks.

My Knowledge Increases!

It's funny how some things work themselves out. Here I was with a lazy excuse for an update and before you know it...

...I learn a little more about posting pics. I love this Blogger thing!

Snake vs. Patricus

"It is I, Snake. Patricus Dork!"
"A name means nothing on the battlefield, but for you I'll make an exception."

...sausage.

There is no true reason for this update other than to push the holiday one back. I don't like looking at Christmas junk after the holiday passes.

But I don't have much to say. Lemme see if I can think of something.....

Comic...movie....pretzel...Dewey...

Nope, sorry. I'll just put up some pics instead.

Not quite Billy-Bob Thornton. 

The Uncanny X-Mas

Sorry again for the lack of updatage, but as you can guess, I've been a bit busy. Several bills came to me at what seems like the same time, and during the holiday season, that ain't good. I've also been keeping odd hours, so my sleeping patterns are off, which is why I'm posting this at 3AM Christmas morning.

I love giving presents to people, but I sure as Hell don't like to buy them. It got to the point where every time I swiped a credit card I'm removing a finger, it's so painful. Figuring out what to get for people is also a bugger. Do I go the traditional route with a normal present that's guaranteed the reciever will go, "Oh how nice..", or the quirky not-so-norm gift that bring's out a "That's AWESOME you r0x0rz!!" or a "WTF, mate?" Fighting the crowds and traffic is the best part! No it's not. I was being sarcastic.

Secret Santa's are fun though. I got mine one of those microbead pillow things...called a Fom. The "o" is supposed to have two dots or horizontal colon above it. Hehe, horizontal colon... And what did I recieve? Man, I got a good one. A Spider-Man cocoa and cookie mug set, a fleece throw blanket, also Spider-Man themed, a sketch pad and 3 mechanical Spider-Man pencils. In seeing my reaction, a co-worker asked the person who picked my name how she knew what to get me. She said, "It's like shopping for a big kid." I'll be sipping on that cocoa later on, you can count on that. I like recieving gifts as much as I like giving 'em!

Oh, at work we had a blood drive on my day off. I was encouraging others to sign up for it after I did, but in all the...stuff...I had to do, I forgot about it. That's about the fifth time my blood failed to reach those who need it.

My grandmother tried to talk me in to going to church for what I like to call the Ev' Serv, but I didn't want to go. But my little bro asked me to and I can't say no to him on the Eve. So I went and ran into a guy I hung out with back in my church-involved days of youth, Gene. Back in the day he was the King. And I was one of the other two Kings in that pageant long ago. The third King was a complete jerk named Danny C. We all had solos singing verses of We Three Kings. Anyway, since he was mega-religious and I'm mega-art...gious, I brought up the Washington Cathedral and we had a nice chat.

Also, it's good to see people I don't know posting comments on my blog, I want nothing more than my thoughts to be read and recieve feedback, so I appretiate that. Now if only the people I do know would do the same...

Happy Holidays gang! I'll catcha lata.

I Prefer DC

Remember when I talked about Identity Crisis last month? About how much I'm enjoying the superhero murder/rape mystery of the DC universe? If you don't recall, check the archives if you want.

Anyway, last month a lot was revealed within the pages of #6. Including vital clues as to who the killer is. I couldn't believe who the clues point to, so I'm not going to until I read the last issue, which comes out today. After I read it, expect a review of the full mini-series. But for now, I have to say that I didn't really believe the hype that the title brought with it beforehand, but I was curious so I picked up the first issue when it came out.

This title deserves the hype. I've never anticipated the release of the next issue so much. Never.

Which leads me to discuss something I realized lately. I grew up a Marvel comics reader, thanks largely to the X-Men cartoon of the 90s. It wasn't my favorite cartoon, that title went to Batman: The Animated Series. But the X-Men were easier to jump into comic-wise. Ocasionally though, I'd pick up a DC title like Superman or Batman.

When I jumped back into the world of comics after a 5-year hiatus, I still tended to collect more Marvel titles than DC. But that was when Bill Jemas was the president of Marvel, when the comics were evolving outside of the norms. Nowadays, Marvel's comics are backtracking to the 90s and worse, now that Bill Jemas is gone. That means 20 X-Men spandex titles where 15 of them star Wolverine, sub-par storylines from usually good writers, and resurrections of dead heroes and villains galore.

Meanwhile, DC has been enlisting top-notch talent from novelists and artists all around the world. They revamped the Batman and Superman titles, made Wonder Woman interesting again, and remember that Green Lantern title I was concerned about? It's great. Even Aquaman is fun to read. DC has also been tackling some tough but important issues lately: Green Arrow's sidekick has AIDS, John Walsh from America's Most Wanted helps the Outsiders put an end to a child slavery/sex ring, and Green Lantern's friend is brutally beaten because he's gay. Oh, and Identity Crisis.

The point of this rant is, I now collect more DC titles than Marvel titles. Sure, I don't collect a lot of comics for budgetary reasons, but of those I do collect, DC is the majority. Sure, Marvel may have all the fancy movies and milkshakes, but DC has it right where it counts the most: COMICS.

Word is there's another big event planned for DC next year called DC Countdown. 80 pages from the best talents in the bizz, all for a dollar. It must be crucial reading for that deal, and if Identity Crisis and Green Lantern taught me anything, it's believe the hype for anything DC.

DC Countdown. How cool is that cover? 

Identity Crisis #7 Cover 

Washington Cathedral

As promised, I'm going to talk about the Washington Cathedral. But I can't talk about it too much because I feel I lack the vocabulary neccesary to describe it.

I went there not really enthused enough about it to care. I didn't care until I started walking up to it. The place is huge. The main portal to the west is decorated with a breathtaking sculpture above it. Even higher above the doors is a circular rose window, composed of over ten thousand pieces of stained glass. Walking inside, you know for sure you're not in an ordinary building. The place is filled with such grandeur, elements that make anything else in Washington DC look plain. Many more stained glass windows surround the cathedral, depicting certain stories, both religious and not. Looking up at the ceiling, you can see the vaulting that supports the roof, conected with boss stones with detailed carvings on them too, each one weighing three to four tons. Moving to the transept, two more rose windows can be seen to the north and the south. Sculptures can be seen in all directions, decorating the many different chapels within the cathedral. Up into the towers you can see a great view of DC, as well as learn some history of the building of the cathedral. Moving outside again, you can see the buttresses which not only support the structure, but add beauty to it as well. Gargoyles and grotesques "guard" the cathedral from the evils of rain water.

Words can not describe the magnificence I witnessed. I regretted not bringing a camera, but realized that pictures can't do the thing justice either. You have to see it for yourself. I'm not a religious guy at all. Far from it. But I know greatness when I see it. This cathedral is unique also because it was built within the last hundred years. It has modern touches, like the stained glass window depicting the moon landings and wars America fought, and the gargoyles that wear gas masks.

And yes, there is a grotesque of Darth Vader on one of the towers. I used binoculars to find it.

By the Way: I'm listening to the themes from Metal Gear Solids 2 and 3 as I type this. DAMN that's a good score.

Metal Gear Solid 3

I've mentioned before that I bought Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but I just finished it a few days ago and I didn't want to write a review for it before I completed the game. But lemme tell you, after a year of overhyped video game sequels with dissappointing attributes (with the exception of Ace Combat 5 of course), it's good to finally play one that is nothing short of amazing.

The story takes place in 1964, a drastic departure from previous Metal Gear games. It follows special agent Snake on a sneaking mission in the Russian jungle. His mission is to retrieve a Soviet weapons scientist who defected to the US, but was given back to the Soviets as a bargaining chip during the Cuban Missile Crisis. That's all I'm going to say about the plot for now.

Everything about this game shines. The gameplay is familiar to regular fans of the Metal Gear Solid series, but with a few added abilities. First off, you are required to eat in order to keep up your stamina. Your stamina determines how quickly you heal, how long you can hold your breath underwater, among other things. And since you're in a jungle, that usually means hunting for food like frogs and, yes, snakes. When I first heard about this system I thought it would be annoying but it's not a hinderence at all. Sure, you have to eat, but not so much that you need to hunt for food the entire game. You can keep a lot of things handy, as long as it doesn't spoil, and if you use your tranquilizer gun, you can keep live creatures in a cage for maximum freshness! There's also a backpack system to keep your items so you don't have overflowing item menus. In addition, if you're wounded, you have to patch it up yourself. That's right, you can't just take a health pack and let it miraculously heal you. If you've been shot, you need to dig out the bullet, disinfect it, use styptic to stop the bleeding, sew it up, and apply a bandage. This adds levels to interactivity. There's also no radar, like in the previous games, which makes the game a lot more difficult. I was taken by surprise when I realized how much I relied on it before! The most unique addition to gameplay however has to be the camoflauge. You have to wear the right camoflauge depending on your surrounding environment in order to blend in, decreasing your chance of being seen by the enemy.

The graphics are REALLY good. It looks just as good as MGS2, if not better, and runs smoothly and fluidly. Everything is detailed, down to the blades of grass, which you'll be hiding in plenty of times so you might as well get used to them. The sounds and voice acting is superb as well.

Ahh, but we can't forget about the most worrisome aspect of the game, which made fans nervous to no end. The story. Many were not so happy with the story from MGS2, left confused and dissappointed after the hours they put into the game. I personally didn't find anything wrong with the story of MGS2, or playing as Raiden instead of Snake. After I got over a brief moment of "What the hell?!?" I found it quite enjoyable and respected the game designers for trying something new.

Well, there's nothing wrong with this story. It pulls you in from the start, because although you think you know what's going to happen, you really don't. It relates to stories in both the original Metal Gear Solid and MGS2, but you don't need to play the others to enjoy it. By the end of the game I was like, "Damn."

Oh, and the score? EXCELLENT. Harry Gregson-Williams is one hell of a composer.

This is a game you will not regret playing, believe me. Very polished, looks great, and pulls you in from the start with a big payoff. On Friday night I started up the game with the intention of playing for only a couple of hours, but I COULD NOT stop playing. I wanted to see it to the end, so I played unitl I finished it. By that time, I didn't realize what time it was, but it was 5 in the morning. I worked at 7. That Saturday of work was brutal, and I don't even remember most of it, but it was worth it.

Arguably the best Metal Gear game ever.

General Update, Crappy Title

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a long week. I pulled four all-nighters in a row, with about 12 hours of sleep between four days. Starbucks was my blood for that time.

Anyway, I haven't had much time to do anything other than what I had to, which constitutes work, school, and hygiene. A little bit of Army business in there too. I would complain more about the four papers I had to do for school and the laughable guidelines that my Sociology teacher set for one of those papers that shouldn't have existed in the first place, but I talked to someone who has even more to put up with than me. Although one could argue that she's the dumboid who put herself in that position anyway. I will say that I know I'm in trouble when I start putting jokes and/or wit in my paper. Before printing said paper, I had to perform a spell check and a wit check. Instructors usually frown upon humor in a paper, except for that one time: "When life gives your columns, you make colonnade!" Oh the genius that oozes from that joke...

Next weekend is my next drill date, but this time there's a Class A inspection. In other words for the civilians, I have to wear my dress uniform, the one seen at high-school reunions or fancy dinner parties or courtroom scenes on JAG. This month I had to update the patches and ribbons, for I still had the patch from last year's deployment. I also found out that I couldn't wear some of the ribbons I deserve to wear, solely because my unit never filled out the appropriate paperwork...after a year. This is normal for the military, to be a few steps behind. People keep asking me if I'm going to be deployed again, and I keep giving the same answer: "It's only a matter of time."

I also went to Washington Cathedral yesterday, but I'll share more about that later. Out.

A picture from one of Solomon Asch's famous conformity experiments. Also the same expression I had to the Sociology paper requirements given to us AFTER the assignment was due. 

Truth, Justice, and the American Beauty

The role of Superman in the Bryan Singer helmed film has been given to Brandon Routh, an unknown, as you may have heard.

Well, I've read a report that now the role of Lex Luthor for the new Superman movie has been cast. Kevin Spacey.

I'll be honest and say that's not who I expected to fill the role, but I'm excited nonetheless. This also reunites Singer and Spacey, who worked together on The Usual Suspects.

Sub-Par 2: You're Gonna Buy It Anyway!

This year has been great for video games. Doom 3, Halo 2, and Half-Life 2 were all released this year, and all of them were highly anticipated. But there was something wrong with all of them.

I remember playing Doom and Doom II years ago, and loving it. It was my first online game experience as well. I fondly remember when I accidentally jumped in front of Josh's BFG shot aimed at a Cyberdemon, dooming us to death. So naturally I was really excited about Doom 3, and bought it the day it came out. I recently got a new computer beforehand, with the latest affordable technologies. The graphics were said to be amazing, with great shading and shadow-work. But even on my new computer, it ran slow. The only way I could run it at a reasonable speed was to dumb down the detail, and turn off the shadows, which made the game look like yesterday's shit. Not only that, but it was too flippin' DARK! It didn't add anything new to the first-person shooter genre, and it got boring real quick. I lost interest months ago and still haven't finished the game.

Everyone's heard of Halo. Everyone's heard of Halo 2. Great game with awesome multiplay. However, Mike, resident video game genius, told me that there's no ending. It's as if the developers just figured they've done enough, and decided to go with what they got. Like doing your homework but only doing 5 out of the 8 problems assigned because you just don't care about it anymore. "Master Chief, there's something you shou-" CREDITS! Paul says, "If it was possible to cut off in mid-letter, they would have."

Half-Life 2, another anticipated first-person shooter, was recently released. I loved it! The gameplay was great and it actually added something new to the genre: physics. It's a long game that looks and sounds great, and runs smoothly as well. However, the ending? Disappointing. Sure, it was nice of them to include one, but if I play though 17-20 hours of awesome and challenging gameplay, I want some sort of payoff. Not some anti-climactic 30 second soliloquy. Closure people!

So, anyway, what's the deal? The developers know the sequels are going to make money, so they don't bother devoting 100% to every facet of the game? Sure, no game is perfect, but it doesn't have to be so obvious.

I just got Metal Gear Solid 3, but haven't played much of it yet. I've heard that since so many people complained about all the talking in MGS2, there's even more talking in MGS3. There's something oddly satisfying about that. (I'm still not sure what the La Lee Lou Lay Lo or whatever was) Here's hoping it's a better experience than the other games mentioned above. Something tells me it will be. Snake never lets me down.

Requiem for a Dreamcast

A couple of days ago working at the customer service counter, the parcel pickup kid brought up a filled plastic bag and said it was left in a cart outside in the parking lot. This isn't unusual, bags of groceries are forgotten by the numbnuts that bought them or people just decide to leave a plastic bag full of plastic bags in a cart and deem it the unofficial recycling bin for plastic bags. But this time, something was amiss.

Inside the bag, was a Sega Dreamcast. The cables for hooking up the device to the TV set were there. There were about 15 games as well, but most were out of their cases, the CDs horribly scratched and most likely unplayable. Games of note were Sonic Adventure, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and Virtua Tennis. There were also about six controllers.

I don't know much about the Sega Dreamcast. I've only played it once, at Mike's. It was some game where I had to flip switches to set traps for burglars played by real-life actors in a house, or something. I also watched as my comrades played The Typing of the Dead. I think it was ignored by most, in a time of the Playstation and Nintendo 64. I do know, however, that it was Sega's last console. After that they only made games for other consoles.

So my question is this: Does the Sega Dreamcast deserve to be left in a shopping cart with unplayable games in a measly plastic bag?

Theories were drawn. The parcel pickup dude thought a kid forgot it. But why would the kid put it in a shopping cart in the first place? Another dude thought it was left as trash. But why not simply throw it in a trash can or dumpster? So I speculated it was meant to go to the Good Will trailer in the Wal-Mart parking lot down the street, but the fucker was too lazy to actually drive the eighth of a mile to do it. He would give some poor family an inoperable game system, because he's that much of a bastard.

I don't have a lot of faith in the human race. What can I say?

Leave comments if you care to. Paul does. Probably.

Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me

There's a song I can't get out of my head ever since I saw a flash music video on AlbinoBlacksheep.com. It can be found here. Dammit.

Ace Combat 5

I finally managed to get my hands on my very own Playstation 2. I know, I'm a little slower on the uptake but whatcha gonna do? Anyway, I got two games to play with, one of which is Ace Combat 5.

Last year during activation, my buddy Karol introduced me to Ace Combat 4 in his barracks room. (He also introduced me to many alcoholic drinks.) I was hooked! It combined a flight sim with awesome graphics and gameplay and a story that draws you in. Ace Combat 5 is no different.

It takes place in an alternate world not unlike our own, but it has real-life planes. The planes range from old ones like the F-4 and the A-10 to newer ones like the F-15 and MiG-29, to the newest of new like the F-22 and the Su-35. The story takes you into this world, with a war between two countries bringing you and your squadronmates into battle. There are many twists and turns in the missions and the story itself. The gameplay makes it easy for anyone to pick up the controller and start playing without much difficulty. It's a safe combination of flight simulation and arcade-style gameplay.

The graphics are amazing and the game itself runs very smoothly. The aircraft models are top-notch. You fly over a variety of landscapes from barren tundras to populated cities, and all of them look great. The weather effects are also impressive. The cutscenes are a dramatic improvement from the previous game, which were actually just illustrations with voiceovers. The cutscenes in this game are VERY well done, some of the best I've seen in a video game.

The sound is also awe-inspiring. There's constant radio chatter from your wingmen (and women) and other forces in the air and on the ground that helps move the story along and also helps with gameplay. The score is dramatic and excellent.

There is no multiplayer mode, like there was in Ace Combat 4, but I was never big on that anyway. You're encouraged to keep playing the campaign to unlock better planes, and there are several difficulty levels, so there is some replay value.

I can't seem to find anything bad to say about this game! Another review of the game, along with screenshots and movies can be found here, at Gamespot's website. I strongly recommend watching the trailer!

Note: I can't help but noticing that there's something...different..about playing a PS2 that wasn't there when playing Gamecube. I can't really explain it... but it's there.

Update: A better trailer can be found at IGN's website, at the top of this page.

One great game. 

I'll Have Something To Shit On Next Year

This cannot go unmentioned.

A couple of years ago, when Bill Jemas was president of Marvel Comics, a book came out called "4/11". It was an anthology collecting different stories about war, politics, and terrorism from different writers and artists. It included different thoughts and perspectives on the subjects with a slant on fixing problems and making the world a better place. However, Jemas left Marvel soon afterwards, and a new president of Marvel was named.

In January, a comic book will come out called "Combat Zone: True Tales from GIs in Iraq." This book was actually waiting publication at Marvel for a while, due to different artists being attached to it but later left the book when it's true nature was revealed.

You see, the book is written by Karl Zinsmeister. He's credited as an "embedded corespondent." He's the editor-in-chief of the American Enterprise Magazine, the in-house magazine of The American Enterprise Institute. The AEI is a neo-conservative think tank. It has strong ties to the oil industry and the White House (See what I'm getting at here?) , and an important architect of President Bush's current foreign policy. Some members include former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, ExxonMobile's CEO Lee Raymond and the Vice-President's wife Lynne Cheney (BITCH). Also, the AEI gave office space to the "Project for a New American Century," an even MORE conservative think tank with Vice President Dick Cheney (DICK...yeah I know) and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz on it's roster. The PNAC and the AEI work closely together.

I'm sure this book will be a completely truthful and touching view of the current situation in Iraq. YEAH RIGHT!

While a number of Marvel's previous titles involving war and terrorism have tried to explore issues from different perspectives, there are reports that this is not the case here. America is the One True Hope and all who disagree with her current thinking are scum. Evil scum that the world is better off without, so it's a good thing we have these brave soldiers to spread the Word.

What, controlling all three branches of the government wasn't enough? Broadcasting propoganda and calling it "news" with the FOX News Network not reaching enough of the population? Now the Man has to breach another medium, which happens to be the one I use to escape reality?

Stay the FUCK out of comics.

(Unless President Bush is stripped naked in the White House lawn by Magneto and forced to lick his boots on national television. It happened folks! Within the pages of Ultimate X-Men #6)

Maybe I could submit a comic idea of my very own, based on my activation last year. I'll call it, "Combat Support Zone: True Tales of Reservists in Virginia." No? Just a thought.

The President would make a good comic book villain. 

Identity Crisis

Tomorrow, the next issue of one of the best comic books out there right now comes out. That book is Identity Crisis. Some of you heard me talk about it before. It's written by mystery novelist Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Rags Morales. It deals with the problem of having a secret, or public, identity, and what happens when people take advantage of it.

There was a lot of hype for this title before it was released, and I feel it lives up to it. This, my friends, is a good comic book. Sure, it has it's share of controversy, bringing rape into the world of Superman and Batman, and bringing classic heroes of the Silver Age to a new darker level, but it's not the first controversy to hit the comic medium. It will eventually be released in hardcover form, next year, for those of you who are curious. Or if you ask me nicely, and you don't have greasy fingers, you could borrow the issues I have.

Note: Since this is a DC title and not a Marvel title, there is no Wolverine. Thank fucking God.

Even the Finest have bad days. 

The Incredible Review

I managed to see The Incredibles this weekend with some awesome peops (they were nice enough to wait for me as I rushed home from drill). The name of the movie describes it well. It's one of the best superhero movies ever made. The animation is the best I've seen from Pixar. It seems they improve with every movie they make, and it shows.

It helps that the movie was written and directed by Brad Bird, the writer and director of another favorite of mine, The Iron Giant. I didn't find it as funny as previous Pixar offerings, but there was a lot more action. The story itself reminds me of the Golden Age of superheroes with a modernized twist. The twist being the lawsuits that force the heroes into hiding permanently in their secret identities. It's also more mature than other Pixar films, and deserves it's PG rating, as it continuously mentions and implies death. I don't remember a film geared towards kids where a grown man (or henchman) punches a ten year old kid in the face. The big city fight scene near the end of the film was one of the best choreographed and intense fight scenes I've seen in a superhero film!

Though what I like best about the movie were the characters. The voice actors did a remarkable job of bringing these unique characters to life. Each character had his or her own personality, and may even seem more human than most superheroes portrayed BY humans in live-action films. My favorite though, had to be Frozone, a hero with Iceman-like powers voiced by none other than Samuel L. Jackson. He's just so cool! A second favorite would have to be Elastigirl, the mother of the group.

This review can be summed up in one sentence: The Incredibles is a great film and lives up to it's expectations.

Tell me this guy isn't cool. 

Dumb's the Word

I think the cover of a British magazine pictured below blows my Sociology class out of the friggin' water. Calling one person in class STUPID is one thing, but...damn.

This is wallpaper-worthy.

A magazine cover is worth 59,054,087 words. 

Aiming for a Higher Education

Someone's going to get in trouble for this.

To Err is Superhuman

It seems the current trend in comic books isn't just noticed by me. With The Incredibles coming out today, it's about to be noticed by a lot more. Here's an interesting article I found:

To Err is Superhuman

Expect a review of the film when I see it.

Zombies are da Bombies!

Zombie week:

I bought the Dawn of the Dead remake DVD earlier this week. Good movie, even after seeing it twice in theaters. After I watched it, late at night, I was watching the extras and I heard this weird scratchy/moany noise outside my window. I thought it was the DVD, but I heard it again after I paused it. Thinking it could be from the disc spinning or something, I turn the TV completely off. Still hearing it. Creeped out. I check the damn window and nothing there, and the noise stopped after that.

I downloaded Shaun of the Dead and watched it. Pretty good movie, I must say.

Played Doom3 for about 10 minutes, then realized why I stopped playing it months ago. Kinda boring, and runs slow even on this new computer. It has zombies.

Downloaded a techno version of "Zombie" by the Cranberries. Didn't like it, trashed it.

This weekend is drill and I will most likely be act like a zombie because of it.

If I were an X-Man... 

Technically, I AM keeping my mouth shut...

Something in class today was brought to my attention.

In my sociology class there's this really nice girl. She's cute, she's very friendly, and has a good personality. The recent election was, of course, brought up and most people expressed their disappointment over Bush's victory. This girl mentioned that she voted and supports Bush. Naturally everyone turned on her. One even said that anyone who voted for Bush was STUPID. And I felt bad for her.

Look, we all are entitled to our opinions, and voting for who we want is what helps keeps this country a democracy. But labeling a Bush supporter as STUPID isn't right. It's also very childish, and is the sort of thing that Republicans do.

If you're going to argue, at least make some valid points that are better than namecalling. For instance, you could mention the false pretenses for war and the haphazard way in which it was carried out. Or you could bring up the blows struck against education, health care, and our economy under the current administration. You could also bring up the money from tax cuts going into the pockets of the rich, or you could mention the creepy mixing of church and state that seems to be occuring in order to build the Holy American Empire, if you want to be a little dramatic.

If people choose to support that kind of stuff, it's their opinion and you should try to respect it. You see, using psychological warfare like calling someone STUPID or unpatriotic just because they don't agree with you or the President is the kind of thing an asshole would do. And no one likes an asshole.


A side story: Election day at work, an elderly lady asked me if I voted yet. I said, "yes" and she asked who I voted for. I said I voted for Sen. Kerry. She said, "well, do you support the unnatural joining of two people of the same sex?" with an inquisitive tone.

I said, "I believe homosexuals should have the same rights as everyone else in this country who don't break the law. Isn't that what the United States is all about?"

She said nothing and walked away.

DVDuh

Here's a story:

A week ago, when I inserted the DVD-R disc of Exosquad into the DVD-Rom drive, nothing happened. "Hmm...," I thought. I inserted the disc into the second drive on my computer, the DVD-R drive. It read it fine. I was wondering why the DVD drive wouldn't read it. So I put in a random DVD (Swordfish) and it didn't read that either. No disc detected in the drive. But the drive has read DVDs before...

I was confused. What happened? I checked the properties of the drive, and it
described it as a DVD drive like it always did, but it didn't have the DVD options. "Okay," I pondered. "I'll check the troubleshooting help." So I did. It took me through a process not unlike a multiple choice quiz. It suggested restarting the computer, so I did. Nothing improved. Then it suggested that I didn't have the right decoder. But I knew this to be false because the DVD-R drive read the DVD fine. Exhausting those options, the Help program said it couldn't help me, and to seek guidance elsewhere.

Well, good to have that Help program, I tell ya.

A few days past and I decided to call Dell support. I talked to a lovely woman named Levina. She sounded hot. She guided me through a hidden crevice of continuity in my computer to delete a file, and restart my computer. I did as she instructed, and nothing happened, still wouldn't read DVDs. She felt real sorry and said she would send me a new DVD-ROM drive no charge, and arrange for a technician to install it for me. I didn't want that to really happen, but, "okay," I reasoned. "I guess it'll have to do."

The next day, I shut down my computer, just for the hell of it. When I turn it back on, I'm curious, and pop a DVD in the inoperable drive. It works. Shit. All this time, all this trouble, all the flirting with Levina who probably lives in Colorado, and the answer was as easy as that. It occurred to me that I never fully shut down the computer between then and when I first discovered the problem, just restarted it.

If there's a moral to this story, I can't deduce it. I'm just a moron.

He's Certainly Not a Has Been

Earlier on my old site I mentioned William Shatner's new album, Has Been. I suggested you give it a shot, so you can form your own opinion. The opportunity has presented itself, my friends (and enemies).

The whole album is available at Shout at this address:

http://www.shoutfactory.com/williamshatner/

I enjoy listening to it because of it's new ideas and catchy tunes. Ben Folds is a genius, I tell ya. My buddy Drew listened to Common People and liked it. And he's a picky sumbitch.

Note to Drew: If you're offended, I meant "sandwich."

The Age of Shatner 

Frame up!

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a DVD-R with the entire series of Exosquad available for play on the computer. For those of you who don't know, Exosquad was a syndicated cartoon series from the early nineties. It was about a war in the future between the human race and the Neosapiens, creatures bred by the humans solely for a work force. The Neosapiens were tired of being mistreated, so they had a revolution and took control of the homeworlds. The series follows Able squad, an E-frame squad in the Exofleet, as they fight to take back Earth, Venus, and Mars. E-frames were the specialized exo-suits used by the humans to fight the war.

The series wasn't animated very well, but the voice acting was top-notch, and had a great storyline that developed characters and dealt with issues like discrimination and relationships and death. That's right, people died. Main characters died.

Unfortunately, It only lasted 52 episodes. Bad timeslots and being too mature for the target audience for the toys are to blame, in my opinion.

Anyway, watching them again gave me a sense of nostalgia. I brought out my old Exosquad toys. They don't make toys like that anymore. They could do anything it seemed. Fire missiles? Check. Grappling hook? Check. Clicking chain gun? Check. Little pilot figure that fits inside? You betcha!

There are no plans to release the series officially to DVD, but I'll let you know if there are. Until then, rely on your virus-ridden share programs.

Not gonna keep this one in the package. 

The Beginning of a New Quest!

...or the same one really. Hi! I chose to use this blogger thingy because the old site just wasn't fulfilling my needs. Y'see, I wanted to post my thoughts, but I also wanted to keep track of what I thought at certain times. Also it's a way to keep from repeating myself. And AOL is limiting.
But I'm not going to do that stupid "Mood of the Day" shit, where I make a face like a teary eyed frown or angular eyebrow yell and complain and whine. That stuff is for sissies. And I can't eat too much cheese. Gets me blocked.
Anyway, this entry also serves as a test of sorts. First log and all, not even sure how to use this blasted contraption. We'll see how it goes.

Optic Blast! 

I don't look this intense in real life.