I was watching the Evening with Kevin Smith DVD, and I thought this passage was pretty funny and interesting. It's sort of long, but yeah...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk
The punchline about the producer at the very end brings it all together.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Bing Cashback Double Savings
Cashback is now doubling all cashback which is pretty awesome. Some stores are up to 50% (like Eastbay for shoes, and footlocker.com is at 40%) so be sure to check it out if you were thinking of buying anything. It won't last long.
Other notable stores:
Undercover Condoms - 30%
Drugstore.com 20%
Overstock.com 20%
HP - 15%
Tigerdirect - 10%
Sears - 32%
ebay - 10%
www.bing.com/shopping
Other notable stores:
Undercover Condoms - 30%
Drugstore.com 20%
Overstock.com 20%
HP - 15%
Tigerdirect - 10%
Sears - 32%
ebay - 10%
www.bing.com/shopping
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
NIGHT VISION GOGGLES!
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/modern-warfare-2-to-ship-with-mother-effing-night-vision-goggles/1547/
this is so much better then just a stupid controller! haha. Night Vision Goggles... Download for the original CoD! If that includes multiplayer this will be one of my most anticipated games this fall. Thats a special edition i can get behind.
this is so much better then just a stupid controller! haha. Night Vision Goggles... Download for the original CoD! If that includes multiplayer this will be one of my most anticipated games this fall. Thats a special edition i can get behind.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
ACL
Well, just got the results for my MRI on my jacked up knee and it looks like I've torn my ACL! I'm actually more happy that we at least figured it out, rather than the doctor not having a clue what the problem is. So I'll be out for about 6-8 months from sports activities after surgery...oh well. Like Tim said, it's like I'm an elite athlete now!
Hooray!
Hooray!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
10 minutes of Batman: Arkham Asylum
http://kotaku.com/5303348/ten-minutes-of-batman-arkham-asylum---in-polish
It's looking pretty good to me, with the stealth stuff it almost seems like Metal Gear Batman. The brawling looks pretty brutal too. I read that the combat is fairly simple, so I guess it could get old after a while, but for now I'm thinking it's a buy.
It's looking pretty good to me, with the stealth stuff it almost seems like Metal Gear Batman. The brawling looks pretty brutal too. I read that the combat is fairly simple, so I guess it could get old after a while, but for now I'm thinking it's a buy.
Monday, June 22, 2009
USA USA!
Dan, you might find this interesting. Someone translated the lead story from La Gazzetta dello Sport. The largest sports newspaper in Italy. Pretty interesting stuff. The comments from the italian readers of the newspaper are crazy too. Nothing but praise for the us team. Especially Donovan. The article for the US V Italy game praised Donovan like mad and this one continues that... It would be cool to see Landon playing in Italy if some teams decide to pick up on the vibe from these articles.
"Pharaonic USA batters the Egyptians In the end the Americans are the pharaohs. Goal differential has awarded the team of Bob Bradley. Something that no one even took into consideration. Three to nil for Donovan and his companions. A result that even flattered the Egyptians, who were never in the game. Without legs, without heart. The USA, however, put on a show while creating at least eight clear chances. Only the exploits of El Hadary, on the field wearing a turban for a forehead wound, contained the defeat. But the 3-0 brought second place for the USA, who move on to challenge Spain. The European Champions now concentrate on Donovan. The key Zidan wasn’t there. And it showed. Without his offensive power Egypt is another team. Too predictable. Even Aboutrika, another one of Shehata’s talented veterans, was unrecognizable. Egypt was toothless up front and a wreck in the back. Gomaa and Fathi were a couple of statues. The result: the USA went ahead after 22 minutes through Davies, who recovered a dirty ball and fooled the opposing defense. Then it was El Hadary’s turn to invent three miraculous saves. USA unleashed Bob Bradley’s team insisted. At the 7th minute Altidore, unmarked near the penalty spot, took a shot at what seemed to be a sure fire goal, but his conclusion was pushed off the line by Hani Said. The ball struck the chest and then the arm of the defender. Egypt seemed paralyzed. Their attack had only one plan: crosses from the third quarter of the field. Easy pickings for the gigantic DeMerit and Onyewu. It was no match. The Americans doubled their lead at the 19th minute when Bradley, on the fly, adjusted a delicious touch from the unstoppable Donovan. The U.S. coach then played another one of his cards by sending on Feilhaber, an attacker who, against Brazil, made Julio Cesar tremble. And at the 72nd minute Dempsey made it 3-0 with a perfect header. With the defense watching. Immobile. In the afternoon the Egyptian delegation had officially protested against a South African newspaper article that reported a "spicy" evening (ending in theft) involving Shehata’s team in their hotel after the victory against the Azzurri. Maybe it wasn’t so spicy after all. Perhaps just tepid? "
"Pharaonic USA batters the Egyptians In the end the Americans are the pharaohs. Goal differential has awarded the team of Bob Bradley. Something that no one even took into consideration. Three to nil for Donovan and his companions. A result that even flattered the Egyptians, who were never in the game. Without legs, without heart. The USA, however, put on a show while creating at least eight clear chances. Only the exploits of El Hadary, on the field wearing a turban for a forehead wound, contained the defeat. But the 3-0 brought second place for the USA, who move on to challenge Spain. The European Champions now concentrate on Donovan. The key Zidan wasn’t there. And it showed. Without his offensive power Egypt is another team. Too predictable. Even Aboutrika, another one of Shehata’s talented veterans, was unrecognizable. Egypt was toothless up front and a wreck in the back. Gomaa and Fathi were a couple of statues. The result: the USA went ahead after 22 minutes through Davies, who recovered a dirty ball and fooled the opposing defense. Then it was El Hadary’s turn to invent three miraculous saves. USA unleashed Bob Bradley’s team insisted. At the 7th minute Altidore, unmarked near the penalty spot, took a shot at what seemed to be a sure fire goal, but his conclusion was pushed off the line by Hani Said. The ball struck the chest and then the arm of the defender. Egypt seemed paralyzed. Their attack had only one plan: crosses from the third quarter of the field. Easy pickings for the gigantic DeMerit and Onyewu. It was no match. The Americans doubled their lead at the 19th minute when Bradley, on the fly, adjusted a delicious touch from the unstoppable Donovan. The U.S. coach then played another one of his cards by sending on Feilhaber, an attacker who, against Brazil, made Julio Cesar tremble. And at the 72nd minute Dempsey made it 3-0 with a perfect header. With the defense watching. Immobile. In the afternoon the Egyptian delegation had officially protested against a South African newspaper article that reported a "spicy" evening (ending in theft) involving Shehata’s team in their hotel after the victory against the Azzurri. Maybe it wasn’t so spicy after all. Perhaps just tepid? "
Inglourious Basterds Trailer 2
First time I've heard about it. Cast looks good, however I'm already a little wierded out by Brad Pitt's accent.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
New iPhone 3GS
Well, they did it again. However, doesn't seem like an amazing upgrade from first glance. Most impressive features for me include video capture, voice dialing, built in compass (turn by turn directions) and faster speeds, definitely doesn't make me want to upgrade before my two years are up. Also, at the pace they are going, next summer they should have a real upgrade out (It's like iPhone 2.5).
In good news, the current iPhone 3G is now only 99$ while the 3GS will have the same price points the 3G used to have. Good thing I didn't just buy one a few weeks ago after my friend telling me to wait because they will probably announce a new one... oh wait... =p
Thursday, June 4, 2009
NEVER!
So i don't know how much you guys paid attention to the Nintendo conference for E3 but this video is based on a podcast making fun of it. Its just fu
Thanks Bing!
Well guys, I just bought my first ever tv! And I used Bing...it was very helpful with the compilation of all the reviews and everything. I definitely noticed the repeats too, just like Tim.
It's a Sony Bravia KDL-46z4100, so 46" LCD tv from Sony. I can't wait for it to get here already, but I've still got like 2 1/2 weeks since I'm getting it off the internet (hopefully not though). Here's a picture:
Totally unrelated; check out this high school picture of Tim I found online:
It's a Sony Bravia KDL-46z4100, so 46" LCD tv from Sony. I can't wait for it to get here already, but I've still got like 2 1/2 weeks since I'm getting it off the internet (hopefully not though). Here's a picture:
Totally unrelated; check out this high school picture of Tim I found online:
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Decision Making Time
Alright, sorry for the post crazy day, but it's been a while and this is my last gem I have to share with the world. It would be great if you guys really tried this out, and gave critical feedback. Indexing isn't great yet, but there are some great features, new and old.
My top three:
Bing
Bing Shopping
Bing Travel
My top three:
Bing
Bing Shopping
Bing Travel
My Life Choice
Seems a little too much for me, but, let's see what the developers do with this. Also seems a bit late in the 360's life to me. I suppose only time will tell.
Time to pray.
Don't know much else, chainsaw + zombies = awesome, pretty solid formula in my opinion.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hahah wow
In case you guys haven't seen or heard yet...look at what happened last night at the MTV movie awards...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cool New Feature!
http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/darthgreedo/games/
Giant Bomb added a pretty sweet new feature. Essentially it just tracks the acheivements that you've gotten and compares them to other people who have accounts. It then Grades you on your proformance. It also compares acheivements so you can see if you've gotten some tough ones out there. Looks like I've only gotten 10 Rare ones, my favorite is the acheivement for taking a walk in MLB 2k8. Not because i loved the game or anything or that it was super hard, but really just because i find it really funny that almost no one can do what is pretty common in baseball... Draw a freaking Walk! haha.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Even more Fallout?!
http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/983/983990p1.html
Dear God. Even more Fallout 3 content is heading to the xbox. I haven't had a chance to complete the new stuff and probably won't until after the move... The first of the 2 new expansions are supposed to come in JULY! Man, they need to give me some time here. Anyways, I'm really excited to play more fallout now that the XP cap has been lifted. Just have to somehow find the time!
Dear God. Even more Fallout 3 content is heading to the xbox. I haven't had a chance to complete the new stuff and probably won't until after the move... The first of the 2 new expansions are supposed to come in JULY! Man, they need to give me some time here. Anyways, I'm really excited to play more fallout now that the XP cap has been lifted. Just have to somehow find the time!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Arrested Development for cheap!
I know Dan has seen all of these, but I don't know if he/you own them yet or not. Just saw the deal and thought I'd let you guys know about it since it's a VERY good show!
http://gizmodo.com/5259714/gadget-deals-of-the-day
http://gizmodo.com/5259714/gadget-deals-of-the-day
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Random weekend thoughts
It's been a while since there's been a new post, so I thought I'd cobble one together from a few random things I didn't want to make individual posts about.
- Star Trek was pretty cool. I know John saw it and liked it too. I don't know about Tim or Lee, but knowing all our tastes, I would say it's worth seeing as a fun sci-fi flick.
- I just watched the first season of the HBO show Eastbound and Down. It's about a washed up John Rocker type pitcher who's working as a gym teacher, and it's basically just a half hour of him being a giant asshole. But I think it's pretty hilarious. Danny McBride has pretty much perfected the white trash character that he's played in Hot Rod, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, The Fist Foot Way, and I'm guessing any other movie he's been in. It's kind of nice to see someone embrace the lower-middle class "America, Fuck yeah" type of lifestyle in a tongue-in-cheek way without resorting to pandering to said audience (see: Larry the Cable Guy and every other redneck comedian that exists). Anyway, I think it's coming to DVD pretty soon, but I watched all the episodes (only 6 in the first season...lame) streaming at http://www.casttv.com/shows/eastbound-down.
some highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgDaVLCaBzQ (NSFW language)
- It seems like open-world superhero games are the next big thing right now. Infamous is coming out for the PS3 at the end of the month and it basically looks like GTA/Crackdown/Force Unleashed with electricity based superpowers and the whole good/evil karma system. Then Prototype comes out next month for both systems, and it looks like it might be a little more action packed. You're a shape-shifter with Sylar type powers (absorb those of the people you kill) and you do "hyper parkour" type movements and can throw tanks and stuff. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if these end up being any good, because I definitely think there is some potential for fun with this type of game. As much as I love GTA, a superhero version could be just as cool.
- After Big Baby hit the game winning buzzer-beater for the Celtics tonight, he proceeded to take out the sad kid on the Magic sideline. It had my whole family rolling with laughter and it definitely made my night. I could watch this gif for hours.
- Star Trek was pretty cool. I know John saw it and liked it too. I don't know about Tim or Lee, but knowing all our tastes, I would say it's worth seeing as a fun sci-fi flick.
- I just watched the first season of the HBO show Eastbound and Down. It's about a washed up John Rocker type pitcher who's working as a gym teacher, and it's basically just a half hour of him being a giant asshole. But I think it's pretty hilarious. Danny McBride has pretty much perfected the white trash character that he's played in Hot Rod, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, The Fist Foot Way, and I'm guessing any other movie he's been in. It's kind of nice to see someone embrace the lower-middle class "America, Fuck yeah" type of lifestyle in a tongue-in-cheek way without resorting to pandering to said audience (see: Larry the Cable Guy and every other redneck comedian that exists). Anyway, I think it's coming to DVD pretty soon, but I watched all the episodes (only 6 in the first season...lame) streaming at http://www.casttv.com/shows/eastbound-down.
some highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgDaVLCaBzQ (NSFW language)
- It seems like open-world superhero games are the next big thing right now. Infamous is coming out for the PS3 at the end of the month and it basically looks like GTA/Crackdown/Force Unleashed with electricity based superpowers and the whole good/evil karma system. Then Prototype comes out next month for both systems, and it looks like it might be a little more action packed. You're a shape-shifter with Sylar type powers (absorb those of the people you kill) and you do "hyper parkour" type movements and can throw tanks and stuff. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if these end up being any good, because I definitely think there is some potential for fun with this type of game. As much as I love GTA, a superhero version could be just as cool.
- After Big Baby hit the game winning buzzer-beater for the Celtics tonight, he proceeded to take out the sad kid on the Magic sideline. It had my whole family rolling with laughter and it definitely made my night. I could watch this gif for hours.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
My Pimpin Blackberry!
So I just found out that the last time I got a phone (my old EnV) they messed up and only put me on a one year contract...this was awesome news when I realized this weekend that I wanted to celebrate my new promotion with a new phone and I've been telling myself for the last year or so that when I got a new phone I would go all out and get a blackberry! Unfortunately, these phones cost like 4 or 500 dollars retail, on top of the new contract and the required data plan. So anyways, turns out I was eligible for an upgrade and the thing only costs me about 100 dollars after rebates and now well, here I am with my new Blackberry!
This thing is awesome, I absolutely love having all my email accounts right in my hands here all in one place. And I paid a little extra to get the navigation system - which almost got me in trouble about 5 minutes ago when I decided to test out a route to get home from here at work and the thing screams out "CALCULATING ROUTE" in the middle of my office!
Anyways, I've already found one way to make this thing "baller" in my eyes - this is my new menu system.
So if any of you guys know of any cool things I can add on to this thing lemme know.
In other news, I modded my rock band drums because they weren't very responsive on the 2 left pads - just google rock band drums penny mod - it only took about 5 minutes and supposedly it helps out tremendously AND only costs a penny!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Best Buy sale
I mentioned this the other day, on Sunday 4/26, BB is having a pretty big $9.99 sale on a bunch of games. There aren't any huge AAA titles that are must-haves, but once you wade through the shit there are some games that are apparently pretty solid.
Here's the list:
PS3:
007: Quantum of Solace
Blitz 2
Bolt
Bourne Conspiracy
Cliver Barker's Jericho
Disney Sing It w/Mic
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Ferrari Challenge
Fracture
Guitar Hero 3
Guitar Hero Aerosmith
Hail to the Chimp
Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions
MLB 08: The Show
NBA Ballers Chosen One
NFL Head Coach
NFL Tour
Overlord: Raising Hell
Pure
Rock Band
Rock Revolution
Singstar ABBA
Singstar Vol 2
Soul Calibur 4
TNA Impact
360:
007 Quantum of Solace
Alone in the Dark
Blitz 2
Bolt
Bourne Conspiracy
C&C 3: Kanes Wrath
C&C: Red Alert 3
Clive Barkers Jericho
Condemned 2
Devil May Cry 4
Enemy Territory Quake Wars
Fracture
Golden Compass
Hellboy
Infinite Undiscovery
NBA Ballers Chosen One
NFL Head Coach 09
NFL Tour
NHL 2k9
Operation Darkness
Pure
Ratatouille
Rock Revolution
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Solder of Fortune 3
Soul Calibur 4
Spiderwick Chronicles
TNA Impact
Too Human
Turning Point
Turok
Universe at War
Unreal Tournament 3
Wall-E
Warhammer Battle March
WWE 2008
DS:
Cheetah Girls: Passport
Disney: Cory in the House
Energy Dance Squad
Engergy Gym rockets
Igor
Imagine Ballet Star
Imagine Movie Star
Imagine Rock Star
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon
My Fashion Studio
Naked Bros Band
Neopets
Ninja Gaiden: DS
Ninja Reflex
Petz Rescue Endangered
Prince of Persia
Quantum of Solace
Rock Revolution
Tales of Desperaux
Tecmo Bowl
Ultimate Band
WWE 2009 Smackdown
Like I said, nothing too amazing, but at $10 there are a couple games I might be interested in. I'm mainly looking at 007 which is supposed to have pretty fun multiplayer, pure (to satisfy the urge I get every once in a while to play a racing game. also I used to enjoy atv offroad fury on ps2), and maybe unreal tournament for some mindless arcade fps fun. Or maybe DMC4. The Bourne game is also supposed to be decent, not amazing, but it looks a little too similar to the Bond game for me to bother with both. Also I would feel dirty owning that many movie-licensed games. I was also considering Soul Caliber 4, but I think I might just wait for SF4 to drop in price eventually. Lost Planet is supposed to be pretty good too. Anyways, I thought I would post this because there seem to be some overlooked games in a variety of genres that may be worth it at only 10 bucks a pop.
http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu178/franchise1/BB042609/?action=view¤t=BB-0426-15.jpg
Oh and Chinatown Wars is only 19.99. that's a steal.
Here's the list:
PS3:
007: Quantum of Solace
Blitz 2
Bolt
Bourne Conspiracy
Cliver Barker's Jericho
Disney Sing It w/Mic
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Ferrari Challenge
Fracture
Guitar Hero 3
Guitar Hero Aerosmith
Hail to the Chimp
Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions
MLB 08: The Show
NBA Ballers Chosen One
NFL Head Coach
NFL Tour
Overlord: Raising Hell
Pure
Rock Band
Rock Revolution
Singstar ABBA
Singstar Vol 2
Soul Calibur 4
TNA Impact
360:
007 Quantum of Solace
Alone in the Dark
Blitz 2
Bolt
Bourne Conspiracy
C&C 3: Kanes Wrath
C&C: Red Alert 3
Clive Barkers Jericho
Condemned 2
Devil May Cry 4
Enemy Territory Quake Wars
Fracture
Golden Compass
Hellboy
Infinite Undiscovery
NBA Ballers Chosen One
NFL Head Coach 09
NFL Tour
NHL 2k9
Operation Darkness
Pure
Ratatouille
Rock Revolution
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Solder of Fortune 3
Soul Calibur 4
Spiderwick Chronicles
TNA Impact
Too Human
Turning Point
Turok
Universe at War
Unreal Tournament 3
Wall-E
Warhammer Battle March
WWE 2008
DS:
Cheetah Girls: Passport
Disney: Cory in the House
Energy Dance Squad
Engergy Gym rockets
Igor
Imagine Ballet Star
Imagine Movie Star
Imagine Rock Star
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon
My Fashion Studio
Naked Bros Band
Neopets
Ninja Gaiden: DS
Ninja Reflex
Petz Rescue Endangered
Prince of Persia
Quantum of Solace
Rock Revolution
Tales of Desperaux
Tecmo Bowl
Ultimate Band
WWE 2009 Smackdown
Like I said, nothing too amazing, but at $10 there are a couple games I might be interested in. I'm mainly looking at 007 which is supposed to have pretty fun multiplayer, pure (to satisfy the urge I get every once in a while to play a racing game. also I used to enjoy atv offroad fury on ps2), and maybe unreal tournament for some mindless arcade fps fun. Or maybe DMC4. The Bourne game is also supposed to be decent, not amazing, but it looks a little too similar to the Bond game for me to bother with both. Also I would feel dirty owning that many movie-licensed games. I was also considering Soul Caliber 4, but I think I might just wait for SF4 to drop in price eventually. Lost Planet is supposed to be pretty good too. Anyways, I thought I would post this because there seem to be some overlooked games in a variety of genres that may be worth it at only 10 bucks a pop.
http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu178/franchise1/BB042609/?action=view¤t=BB-0426-15.jpg
Oh and Chinatown Wars is only 19.99. that's a steal.
Monday, April 20, 2009
SCI FI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/166668.asp
Don't know how much Science Fiction you guys read but I saw this article in the news this morning and I'm freaking pumped. Greg Bear has agreed to write 3 books based on Halo. He is going to focus on the Forerunners. Greg Bear is awesome. "The Forge of God" is one of my favorite books and everything else I've read by this guy has been equally great. I don't think they could have found a better author to continue the Halo story. I've never read any of the Halo books before but this news makes me want to go out and get them just so i can be sure to be ready for Bear's additions. The only person i can see being better for this would be Ian Banks. I'm glad to see that they aren't just getting anyone to write these books they are actually going out and getting some of the best Sci Fi authors around to make sure the Halo stories are done right. I can see the Halo universe being a great foundation for some good stuff. Definitely this generation's "Star Wars".
Don't know how much Science Fiction you guys read but I saw this article in the news this morning and I'm freaking pumped. Greg Bear has agreed to write 3 books based on Halo. He is going to focus on the Forerunners. Greg Bear is awesome. "The Forge of God" is one of my favorite books and everything else I've read by this guy has been equally great. I don't think they could have found a better author to continue the Halo story. I've never read any of the Halo books before but this news makes me want to go out and get them just so i can be sure to be ready for Bear's additions. The only person i can see being better for this would be Ian Banks. I'm glad to see that they aren't just getting anyone to write these books they are actually going out and getting some of the best Sci Fi authors around to make sure the Halo stories are done right. I can see the Halo universe being a great foundation for some good stuff. Definitely this generation's "Star Wars".
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
More Sounders! YAZAA!
Not to keep harping on the Sounders thing, but I'm going harp on it some more. I just thought this video was pretty good. Pretty funny too. I like the Cut to the "Who are yA?" chant at the end. Seriously though, there are some pretty well put together videos that sounders fans have come up with. It makes me wonder if Joe Roth is making all the interns at his movie studio slap them together or something. Much better then most standard highlight videos i've seen. Keep it up Seattle.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Portal Shirts. Must have now!
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/portal-tshirt.html
Just a reminder guys... its never too early to start thinking wedding presents...
Just a reminder guys... its never too early to start thinking wedding presents...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannyoneil/2008952027_oneil31.html
Man! The Green Street Hooligans movie is a crock! Supporters are glad to bring those Journo's into the games! Friggen Hollywood!
Anyways. The group the article is about sits a section over from my seats, seems like a cool group. Hopefully we can get soccer some headlines by showing the support a local team can get in the right places.
Also, don't know if you have been following but Monetero won player of the week last week and Keller won it this week. Montero won MLS Goal of the week last week and is destroying the competion in the voting for this weeks award... haha. We're going to have a sounder for player of the week and montero for goal of the week all season it looks like! haha.
Man! The Green Street Hooligans movie is a crock! Supporters are glad to bring those Journo's into the games! Friggen Hollywood!
Anyways. The group the article is about sits a section over from my seats, seems like a cool group. Hopefully we can get soccer some headlines by showing the support a local team can get in the right places.
Also, don't know if you have been following but Monetero won player of the week last week and Keller won it this week. Montero won MLS Goal of the week last week and is destroying the competion in the voting for this weeks award... haha. We're going to have a sounder for player of the week and montero for goal of the week all season it looks like! haha.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Game Review: GTA: Chinatown Wars
I finally finished the game over the weekend, and I've already talked about it a bit, but I figured I would go ahead and write something up.
Liked:
- The touch screen controls are pretty ingenious. Rather than just tacking on touch screen stuff to warrant a DS release, it feels like they designed the whole game around it. It's used in a ton of cool ways, and it rarely ever felt tedious. It can be kind of a pain when you have to hotwire a car when cops are chasing you, but honestly I never really jacked that many parked cars, so that never became an issue. I thought it was going to be sort of a gimmick, but this game really excels because of this stuff.
- The drug dealing is beyond fun. You can and will waste a ton of time hordeing drugs for cheap and then trying to unload them for the best deal.
- The PDA totally destroys the cell phone from GTA IV. Everything you need in this game is just a couple clicks away. Things like setting GPS routes, checking email for missions or drug tips, and looking up the gang territory complete with buy/sell preferences is all easily done with a couple touches of the stylus. Another thing I really liked was being able to order new weapons and body armor from the Ammunation site and having it delivered to the nearest safehouse. It's way more convenient than looking for the nearest store.
-There is way more variety than GTA IV. Outside of the main campaign there are plenty of other activities for you to get lost in. There are tons of side missions, including vigilante, taxi, ambulance, and food deliver to name a few, and in this game they are actually worth doing because they each offer unique perks for completion (like infinite sprint). Also, the random strangers are back, as well as Rampages from the earlier games. Stunt jumps are back as well, and instead of pigeons or packages, we have security cameras. In this game they actually serve a purpose, as the presence of security cameras affect the prices of the local drug trade and determine your likelihood of getting busted at a deal.
-The missions also seem a lot more varied. Although there are still plenty of 'drive here, shoot these guys' missions, they were broken up enough to keep from feeling stale.
-I actually liked the main character more than I should. This game is a lot less mature than GTA IV. There are plenty of dick and sex jokes, but Huang plays a good straight man. The dialogue is just dripping with irony and sarcasm, and it's hard to hate on a predictable twist or character, when Huang basically does it for you. There are plenty of the stereotypical characters and situations that you would expect from GTA, but I think the self-awareness the game exhibits keeps it lighthearted and easier to consume.
Neutral:
- The new police system is pretty good. I don't know if I would say it's better or worse than the other game, but it is fun to actively try to destroy cop cars rather than just running away. I do think it's easier though, as the police AI isn't really the smartest, so you can easily get them to smash into barriers or other cars.
-The game is actually a lot longer than I expected. It's not really a bad thing, and actually it means you get more bang for your buck. When I get about 3/4 of the way through a game, I always get anxious to finish for some reason, and it seemed like there were a couple twists that were thrown in just to make it longer. Luckily, with the mission variety this was never really a problem.
Disliked:
-While I had no problem getting used to the top-down view, the controls do take a little practice. Sometimes you have to hit the lock-on button a couple times to aim at the right person (this is true for pretty much all the GTAs), and the touch screen grenade throwing is kind of awkward to use during firefights. You need to make sure that however you are sitting, you still have the stylus handy because sometimes you need to do some split second touch-screen stuff.
-There were a few missions that took a few tries and got sort of frustrating, but honestly, you have to expect a few of those when playing a GTA game. My main problem was shooting a car or motorcycle that was too close to me and having it explode immediately and kill me.
Overall:
It's ridiculous how much stuff is packed onto this DS cart. The game is a lot more like GTA IV than I would have ever expected. I think that all the people who complained about the 'more realistic/less fun' approach of IV should definitely check this out. I didn't really expect to list THAT many "Likes", but I just kept thinking of stuff. I guess that pretty much speaks for itself.
Liked:
- The touch screen controls are pretty ingenious. Rather than just tacking on touch screen stuff to warrant a DS release, it feels like they designed the whole game around it. It's used in a ton of cool ways, and it rarely ever felt tedious. It can be kind of a pain when you have to hotwire a car when cops are chasing you, but honestly I never really jacked that many parked cars, so that never became an issue. I thought it was going to be sort of a gimmick, but this game really excels because of this stuff.
- The drug dealing is beyond fun. You can and will waste a ton of time hordeing drugs for cheap and then trying to unload them for the best deal.
- The PDA totally destroys the cell phone from GTA IV. Everything you need in this game is just a couple clicks away. Things like setting GPS routes, checking email for missions or drug tips, and looking up the gang territory complete with buy/sell preferences is all easily done with a couple touches of the stylus. Another thing I really liked was being able to order new weapons and body armor from the Ammunation site and having it delivered to the nearest safehouse. It's way more convenient than looking for the nearest store.
-There is way more variety than GTA IV. Outside of the main campaign there are plenty of other activities for you to get lost in. There are tons of side missions, including vigilante, taxi, ambulance, and food deliver to name a few, and in this game they are actually worth doing because they each offer unique perks for completion (like infinite sprint). Also, the random strangers are back, as well as Rampages from the earlier games. Stunt jumps are back as well, and instead of pigeons or packages, we have security cameras. In this game they actually serve a purpose, as the presence of security cameras affect the prices of the local drug trade and determine your likelihood of getting busted at a deal.
-The missions also seem a lot more varied. Although there are still plenty of 'drive here, shoot these guys' missions, they were broken up enough to keep from feeling stale.
-I actually liked the main character more than I should. This game is a lot less mature than GTA IV. There are plenty of dick and sex jokes, but Huang plays a good straight man. The dialogue is just dripping with irony and sarcasm, and it's hard to hate on a predictable twist or character, when Huang basically does it for you. There are plenty of the stereotypical characters and situations that you would expect from GTA, but I think the self-awareness the game exhibits keeps it lighthearted and easier to consume.
Neutral:
- The new police system is pretty good. I don't know if I would say it's better or worse than the other game, but it is fun to actively try to destroy cop cars rather than just running away. I do think it's easier though, as the police AI isn't really the smartest, so you can easily get them to smash into barriers or other cars.
-The game is actually a lot longer than I expected. It's not really a bad thing, and actually it means you get more bang for your buck. When I get about 3/4 of the way through a game, I always get anxious to finish for some reason, and it seemed like there were a couple twists that were thrown in just to make it longer. Luckily, with the mission variety this was never really a problem.
Disliked:
-While I had no problem getting used to the top-down view, the controls do take a little practice. Sometimes you have to hit the lock-on button a couple times to aim at the right person (this is true for pretty much all the GTAs), and the touch screen grenade throwing is kind of awkward to use during firefights. You need to make sure that however you are sitting, you still have the stylus handy because sometimes you need to do some split second touch-screen stuff.
-There were a few missions that took a few tries and got sort of frustrating, but honestly, you have to expect a few of those when playing a GTA game. My main problem was shooting a car or motorcycle that was too close to me and having it explode immediately and kill me.
Overall:
It's ridiculous how much stuff is packed onto this DS cart. The game is a lot more like GTA IV than I would have ever expected. I think that all the people who complained about the 'more realistic/less fun' approach of IV should definitely check this out. I didn't really expect to list THAT many "Likes", but I just kept thinking of stuff. I guess that pretty much speaks for itself.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The (possible) Future of Gaming!
http://i.gizmodo.com/5183416/onlive-demos-streaming-games-yes-thats-crysis-on-integrated-graphics
This has an hour long video showing the new system in action and, I'm assuming, explaining how it works. I haven't watched the video yet since I'm at work, but I probably will flip through parts of it later today when I get home. This could be the next (all-encompassing) console!
Steezy out.
This has an hour long video showing the new system in action and, I'm assuming, explaining how it works. I haven't watched the video yet since I'm at work, but I probably will flip through parts of it later today when I get home. This could be the next (all-encompassing) console!
Steezy out.
Monday, March 23, 2009
I am an album fan. I do not listen to singles and shuffle is an abomination. The Decembrists’ new release “The Hazards of Love” is a refreshing new album made for people like me. Not only is every song worthy of listening to; when combined they tell a fantastic story that enhances the experience.
“The Hazards of Love” essentially tells the story of Margaret and her lover, who is a shape shifting creature from the forest near her cottage. She meets him in the forest one day when he is in the shape of a fawn. She heals his broken legs, he changes shape, and they fall in love. She returns home but finds out she is pregnant, and returns to the woods. Her lover is the minion of the forest queen, who saved his life when he was young, (I think; I’m bad at this part…. Haha) and she doesn’t like his new friend. She does what she can to keep them separate. The story also introduces us to the Rake a guy who killed his three children after his wife died. Margaret gets captured and our hero has to get to her and fun is had by all. The story is classic Decembrists’. It really reminds me of the Tain with its darker themes.
The best part of this album is the way they use the music to help the story. Each character has their own musical theme that comes up throughout the album to introduce the characters. Not only does the band use repeating notes and hooks, they also change the distortion of their instruments to hatch each person. The Queen’s hook is awesome. It does a better job of making me picture her character then any description could possibly show. The album is very Pink Floyd like in that it rehashes musical themes throughout the album almost as a reminder of what it has already brought up. Like I said before, this album is not meant for picking out your favorite tune and skipping to that one. Doing so really makes you miss out.
Musically, the album has a lot more punch then some of their older music. It is pretty clear the band learned a lot from The Crane Wife about how awesome their organ player is and they really turn her loose in some of the songs. It is amazing to me how many different instruments the band is able to put into this album. I’m pretty sure I hear a harpsichord in there a number of times and I love it.
In all, I think this album is one of the best complete albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. It takes what I loved about The Tain, combines it with the best of the Crane Wife, and expands it into a 60 minute experience. They sprinkle some great musicianship and some fantastic lyrics to make one hell of an album. Well done.
PS The Rake is one bad ass mother fucker. He could give the Shankill butchers a run for their money.
"What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest
Alright, alright, alright
Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Isaiah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
Alright, alright, alright"
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest
Alright, alright, alright
Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Isaiah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
Alright, alright, alright"
Awesome
Thursday, March 19, 2009
South Park - The Coon
Last night's episode was pretty good. It's a play on The Dark Knight with Cartman dressing up as "The Coon". They got the Batman voice and dramatic music down pat.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/220759
http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/220759
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Memories!
Hey guys, I saw this video and it got my all misty eyed. First off, the editing of the video is amazing. Well done by the creator, but that is not what this post is about. This video got me thinking about all the great times we had at the opening of JFT. I remember hour long Capture the Flag games on Blood Gulch, going camping with Jun on Sidewinder, every being pissed off at John for being the only guy there that was actually good at the game, and the list goes on. Everyone yelling at a certain someone for camping in that little hole in the ground in the teleporter level; that same someone comparing chicken sandwichs with pizza! Making up crazy rules, like everyone having to saw explosion before firing their rockets or having to crouch on every freshly killed body. My personal favorite memory; Dan swearing his head off in front of my Dad, “BOYS”! Classic
Then the college days when Dan and I actually started playing the game on a regular basis. We brought Lee into the fold and the real fun began. Highlights include: Lee’s random noises, John’s screen peaking, Dan’s sticks, and my all around awesomeness.
Anyways, all this is my way of saying, “Thanks for the good times guys.” Cheers!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Watchmen Opening Credits Easter Eggs
http://io9.com/5167732/easter-eggs-and-missing-parts-in-watchmens-titles
In one of the first shots of the montage, they show the original Nite Owl knocking out some random bad guy. On closer examination, apparently he is saving Bruce Wayne's parents from getting shot outside the opera. It's pretty cool how they incorporated that into their alternate universe.
You're Welcome (in advance)
http://i.gizmodo.com/5168233/gadget-deals-of-the-day
So I know you guys have always been jealous of my dvd collection, specifically in regards to my Friends box sets. I wanted to make sure I told you all about this in time - there is a deal for the complete Friends series for only $85 right now! Get it while you can!
Also, if any of you are thinking about having kids, you might wanna check this next one out. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal: http://i.gizmodo.com/5167993/child-for-sale-on-xbox-live-free-shipping-included
Happy 69th Birthday, Chuck Norris!
So I know you guys have always been jealous of my dvd collection, specifically in regards to my Friends box sets. I wanted to make sure I told you all about this in time - there is a deal for the complete Friends series for only $85 right now! Get it while you can!
Also, if any of you are thinking about having kids, you might wanna check this next one out. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal: http://i.gizmodo.com/5167993/child-for-sale-on-xbox-live-free-shipping-included
Happy 69th Birthday, Chuck Norris!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Castle Crashers Dev New Project
http://kotaku.com/5167291/a-glimpse-at-the-new-game-from-castle-crashers-dev
Ok so there isn't much info here. Just one screen shot. However, I am really excited for this developers next project. Castle Crashers was great. I guess the only thing we can take from this screen is that they have maintained their cool art style. Hopefully they can keep some cool gameplay also. Anyway. Can't wait to hear more.
Ok so there isn't much info here. Just one screen shot. However, I am really excited for this developers next project. Castle Crashers was great. I guess the only thing we can take from this screen is that they have maintained their cool art style. Hopefully they can keep some cool gameplay also. Anyway. Can't wait to hear more.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
For John: More Lost stuff
Sorry, I don't know how to format this so you have to highlight it to read. EDIT: Hell yeah I figured it out.
EDITED FOR TIM
EDITED FOR TIM
Friday, February 27, 2009
Dogfish Head beers
I read some list of the 10 beers you need to try before you die, and a stout by Dogfish Head brewery was on there and it sounded really good. The brewery is located in Delaware, so you're only going to find it in select stores or bottle shops around here. Anyway, I was at Poulsbo Market today and saw that they had a few of their beers, including the 90 minute IPA, which apparently has been raved about ("Possibly the best IPA in America" -Esquire). I picked up a four pack to give it a try. It was a bit expensive at $10, but seeing as how I considered ordering some of their beers online (with super expensive shipping), it was a small sacrifice. I don't even like IPAs, but I found it had a little more flavor and although it was bitter, it wasn't as bad as a lot of others I've tried. It also packs a punch at 9%abv, but you wouldn't guess it from the taste. Anyway, if you see some beers by Dogfish head in a store or at a bar, you should give them a shot. I really want to try their stout now.
http://www.dogfish.com/
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Braid
Man, this game has totally caught me by surprise. I mean I had read all the rave reviews from last year, so I figured it was going to be good, but somehow it was totally not what I expected. The game itself is interesting enough. It's basically a puzzle game disguised as a platformer. In each of the 6 worlds, you manipulate time in a different way to reach puzzle pieces. There were more than a few times where I got stumped for a bit, but it was a nice brain teaser.
Anyway, the real reason I wanted to make a post about this is because of the story. Man, if you ever want to talk about games as art, this has got to be exhibit A. It's kind of an interesting take on the whole Mario rescuing the princess thing. What's cool is that it's all pretty abstract and there's a lot of potential meanings that can be gleamed from it. I thought the way the final level was set up was really ingenious although it was kind of depressing. And apparently there's secret stuff to go back and unlock after you beat the game to which adds some tidbits to the story. The game is totally different from anything else I've played. I feel like I've just read a good book or seen a thought provoking movie or something. I think that's one of the first times that's happened for me with a video game. I'd suggest checking it out since it's on sale, but if you do, you really have to go into it with an open mind.
EDIT: I read someone's synopsis that they came up with after collecting the hidden stars (it seems really freaking hard so I won't bother), and I must say it is totally not what I expected. It's cool to see such a completely different explanation. Check this out of you play and beat the game, otherwise don't click on it!!! http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=190136%C2%A0 I just want to have it bookmarked in case one of you do play it. Here's another good one: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/file/943284/53842
Anyway, the real reason I wanted to make a post about this is because of the story. Man, if you ever want to talk about games as art, this has got to be exhibit A. It's kind of an interesting take on the whole Mario rescuing the princess thing. What's cool is that it's all pretty abstract and there's a lot of potential meanings that can be gleamed from it. I thought the way the final level was set up was really ingenious although it was kind of depressing. And apparently there's secret stuff to go back and unlock after you beat the game to which adds some tidbits to the story. The game is totally different from anything else I've played. I feel like I've just read a good book or seen a thought provoking movie or something. I think that's one of the first times that's happened for me with a video game. I'd suggest checking it out since it's on sale, but if you do, you really have to go into it with an open mind.
EDIT: I read someone's synopsis that they came up with after collecting the hidden stars (it seems really freaking hard so I won't bother), and I must say it is totally not what I expected. It's cool to see such a completely different explanation. Check this out of you play and beat the game, otherwise don't click on it!!! http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=190136%C2%A0 I just want to have it bookmarked in case one of you do play it. Here's another good one: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/file/943284/53842
Monday, February 23, 2009
Jeopardy!
Just wanted to let everyone know that my boss is going to be on Jeopardy tomorrow evening. She actually filmed the show like a month ago, but it's just now getting on the air. She wasn't able to tell anyone how she did or anything, but we know that she did not make it to the next week's tapings, so she couldn't have won more than 10 episodes in a row.
They film 10 episodes in a 2-day span. 5 per day, with about 5-10 minutes in between each show that they require you to change your clothes during (so it looks like it's filmed on different days).
So anyways, I think I'll still be up for JFT, but I will be taking a break during that time to watch it, and I wanted to let you all know too in case you wanna watch. Her name is Kelly the Actuary.
P.S. I don't think she'll get very far, I doubt if she even won the first episode.
They film 10 episodes in a 2-day span. 5 per day, with about 5-10 minutes in between each show that they require you to change your clothes during (so it looks like it's filmed on different days).
So anyways, I think I'll still be up for JFT, but I will be taking a break during that time to watch it, and I wanted to let you all know too in case you wanna watch. Her name is Kelly the Actuary.
P.S. I don't think she'll get very far, I doubt if she even won the first episode.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Watchmen Review!
http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2009/02/spoiler-alert-watchmen-is-fucking-awesome.html
Wil Wheaton (friend of the Penny Arcade guys) wrote his review of The Watchmen movie. Sounds like he loved it. Good news guys!
Wil Wheaton (friend of the Penny Arcade guys) wrote his review of The Watchmen movie. Sounds like he loved it. Good news guys!
Necessary Shows
My friends, I have compiled a list of the greatest shows to ever grace our planet. This list can be modified, however, so feel free to write suggestions after and I will consider them (sorry Tim, Gossip Girl is not going to make the list, jk ;) )
I have decided not to attempt to put them in "order" since different genres are included and it is hard to really say which is "better" than the others.
Lost (my favorite sci-fi drama of all time at this point)
Heroes (season 1 only - I have a lot of respect for the style the show had during their premiere season)
Chappelle's Show (remember all those annoying people saying "I'm Rick James, bitch", "Whaaaat?", etc? Example of the influence this show had)
The Office (I'd say this is the best comedy show on air still that I've seen)
Sopranos (Amazing mobster drama. I love organized crime :) )
Dexter (Only seen the first season, but I thought the show was exceptional - probably due to the "organized crime" element again.)
South Park (so many funny moments...is the new season on now?)
Related to this, I think I may start collecting Bobbleheads/figures from amazing movies/tv shows. Some of them are awesome!
http://www.clayguy.com/id24.html - hmmm, and here are the ONLY Soprano's figures I could find. I don't know how I feel about them, especially for the price he charges!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
hmmm.....
Yeah another Watchman post, but this should be the last one. Apparently there were some clips released today and.....they kind of suck. I was worried about there being too much unecessary slo-mo, and it looks like that may have been warranted. Also, the actors actors are pretty bad. Silk Spectre and Ozymandius are just not doing it for me. Also isn't Rorschach the one who warns Veidt?
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/17/four-new-watchmen-clips/#more-20070
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/17/four-new-watchmen-clips/#more-20070
Friday, February 13, 2009
Half-Life movieish!
I don't know if you guys are into the half-life series. I became a huge fan when i got the orange box and played through half-life 2 and all the episodes. This video is awesome. The actors are terrible at talking so i wish they wouldn't but other then that this video is spot on. I love the sound effects. They took everything from the game so it sounds exactly like it should. The shorts clips showing the zombies really look great also. I wish i could create something like this. Gotta love the internet
Thursday, February 12, 2009
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/left-4-dead-survival-update-is-free/927/?linktags=home,home-news
Valve,
I'm sorry I ever doubted your integrity. We are not worthy of your kindness. Please accept my sincere apology. My faith will not waver again. I promise.
Valve,
I'm sorry I ever doubted your integrity. We are not worthy of your kindness. Please accept my sincere apology. My faith will not waver again. I promise.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Inglourious Basterds
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808404206/video/11988602
The teaser for Quentin Tarantino's new war movie just got released. It's got Brad Pitt doing a dumb accent, Eli Roth salivating over the chance to scalp some Nazis, and Neil from Freaks & Geeks and Ryan the temp from The Office as part of a ragtag team of soldiers. Seems like a weird mix, but I like QT and war movies, so I'm down.
The teaser for Quentin Tarantino's new war movie just got released. It's got Brad Pitt doing a dumb accent, Eli Roth salivating over the chance to scalp some Nazis, and Neil from Freaks & Geeks and Ryan the temp from The Office as part of a ragtag team of soldiers. Seems like a weird mix, but I like QT and war movies, so I'm down.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Watchmen Game
Hey. I decided Dan shouldn't be the only one posting stuff about Watchmen! Check this out:
This looks pretty cool for a live arcade game. After Castle Crashers I've been looking forward to another beat em up multiplayer arcade game. Overall lots of great stuff in here. My two favorite heroes from the comic are included and its set during what should be an interesting, yet unexplored, part of the backstory of the watchmen universe. I'm extremely disappointed that it won't be live enabled. (Offline only! What the frack!) Plus it'll only be two players but it still should be a fun distraction. Plus, the graphics look great for a downloadable game. Overall i'm pretty excited.
The Lonely Island
Wanted to make sure everyone remembered that today is the debut of Incredibad by The Lonely Island packed with 19 songs including favorites:
Space Olympics
Jizz In My Pants
Sax Man
Dick In A Box (ft. Justin Timberlake)
and my new personal favorite, I’m On A Boat. Enjoy.
EDIT: They disabled embedding, so here is a bad copy.
EDIT2: Looks like all the original versions are gone, so here is a bleeped copy.
EDIT3: They enabled it again?
Also, there is a DVD with 8 of the videos. Good times. The Lonely Island
Space Olympics
Jizz In My Pants
Sax Man
Dick In A Box (ft. Justin Timberlake)
and my new personal favorite, I’m On A Boat. Enjoy.
EDIT: They disabled embedding, so here is a bad copy.
EDIT2: Looks like all the original versions are gone, so here is a bleeped copy.
EDIT3: They enabled it again?
Also, there is a DVD with 8 of the videos. Good times. The Lonely Island
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Movie Review: The Wrestler (2008)
I think Darren Aronofsky is one of the more interesting director's working today. His last movie, The Fountain, is definitely one you would categorize as love it or hate it, and I must say I loved the thorough mindfucking it gave me. Needless to say, when I heard he was making a movie about an old washed-up wrestler, I was kind of surprised, as it's definitely a departure from his other work. It drops the fancy camera work and editing of Requiem for a Dream and the abstract story of Pi and The Fountain, and instead delivers something even more genuine. That's really the best word I can use to describe it. The story is a fairly straight-forward telling of the 'old has-been' tale, but it honestly feels like this is the first time it's been done right. Really this movie is all Mickey Rourke (you may know him as Marv the badass from Sin City). He gives such a heartfelt and believable performance that you think your watching a documentary about "Randy the Ram." It's kind of crazy how the story parallels that of his own career. A guy who reached a fair amount of stardom and after some personal problems and some hardship, he is left trying to eek out a buck milking his past success. In the case of Randy the Ram, it was by taking small wrestling gigs in community centers, and for Rourke himself it was taking roles as generic hitmen in movies like Man on Fire and Domino. Anyway, it's pretty clear that he made a deep connection with the character. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are also fantastic, and they really help give the emotional scenes that much more of an impact. I think a simple story with genuine, heartfelt performances like these are so much more effective at forging a connection with the audience than movies like Benjamin Button (and even Slumdog Millionaire to a lesser extent) where some of the dramatic moments feel overly-constructed and not as authentic. It really succeeds at creating three dimensional characters who you feel for and a story that avoids being stereotypical sappy Hollywood trash. This is probably the most brutal and honest look at professional wrestling as your ever going to see. It's no surprise to me that former wrestler/actor 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper broke down in tears after the film was screened for him. It just feels like a lot of heart went into all aspects of the film. It's really nice to see that Aronofsky can be so successful with something that's more substance over style.
Fun Fact: Nicolas Cage was originally slated to star as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson. What. The. Fuck.
5/5
Trailer
Friday, February 6, 2009
LOST!
Okay, this is mainly just meant for John (although really you guys should give it a shot. It's actually some super-dense sci-fi stuff, you have no idea). Anyway, I stumbled across this website: http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page and I've found it to be very informative. It's interesting to see all the info compiled. The mysteries section is especially interesting. When you start reading into things a little more, it really is crazy to see how all these things fit together. Apparently the show is made especially for the nerdy people who will be examining all the details and making conspiracy theories. I'm sure everything is going to fit together and there will be of "OH, so that's why that was significant" moments as we get to the end, but it really is a lot more fulfilling to be able to see the connections before everything is completely revealed.
Anyway, I finally feel like I am getting a grasp on everything as a whole and I've got somewhat of an idea of where they are heading, which is definitely helpful because it seems as though they are just going to get more and more abstract. I won't go into specifics because I don't want to get into spoilers (seriously though, rent the DVDs and watch them during the time slot Heroes normally comes on). I just thought I'd post that because it's a good way to waste some time and it really helps make sense of some things.
Anyway, I finally feel like I am getting a grasp on everything as a whole and I've got somewhat of an idea of where they are heading, which is definitely helpful because it seems as though they are just going to get more and more abstract. I won't go into specifics because I don't want to get into spoilers (seriously though, rent the DVDs and watch them during the time slot Heroes normally comes on). I just thought I'd post that because it's a good way to waste some time and it really helps make sense of some things.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/05/first-left-4-dead-dlc-announced/
There it is. Spring time release for new Left 4 Dead content. I was reading some comments and forums people seem pretty upset cause it sounds like all this is is a survival mode and the two other campaigns will be made available for Versus. However, I don't know. The press release says two new campaigns for versus mode. I kind of am hopeing that it means two all new campaigns for versus mode and if they were going to just make the other movies work for versus they would say so and not charge for that. I doubt that i'm right but dear god i hope i am. I wonder what survival mode will be like also. I guess we'll see.
There it is. Spring time release for new Left 4 Dead content. I was reading some comments and forums people seem pretty upset cause it sounds like all this is is a survival mode and the two other campaigns will be made available for Versus. However, I don't know. The press release says two new campaigns for versus mode. I kind of am hopeing that it means two all new campaigns for versus mode and if they were going to just make the other movies work for versus they would say so and not charge for that. I doubt that i'm right but dear god i hope i am. I wonder what survival mode will be like also. I guess we'll see.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Keene Act and You
I don't mean to post every Watchmen-related item, but this video is even cooler than the first one. I'm so glad they've been able to capture the coolness of the alternate-history stuff from the book. Man I hope it lives up to the hype.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wow, apparently Christian Bale is a giant douche.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/02/nsfw-christian-bale-flips-out-on-terminator-salvation-set/#respond
I know this is borderline hollywood gossip shit that I normally wouldn't bat an eye at, but if you listen to it, it's pretty ridiculous. He's always struck me as a super professional guy, but c'mon...get a fucking grip. It's really funny to hear the director's comment "Uh, I didn't see it." He clearly doesn't want that rage directed at him.
I gotta say, my man-crush on him just took a slight hit.
(Also, I know there was that story about him assaulting his mom and sister around the time Dark Knight came out, but I didn't think anything was proven or any charges were filed)
EDIT: In his defense, apparently it was the second time the guy was being a distraction and probably deserved to be called out (apparently being still behind the scenes is the number one rule), but for 4 minutes??
I know this is borderline hollywood gossip shit that I normally wouldn't bat an eye at, but if you listen to it, it's pretty ridiculous. He's always struck me as a super professional guy, but c'mon...get a fucking grip. It's really funny to hear the director's comment "Uh, I didn't see it." He clearly doesn't want that rage directed at him.
I gotta say, my man-crush on him just took a slight hit.
(Also, I know there was that story about him assaulting his mom and sister around the time Dark Knight came out, but I didn't think anything was proven or any charges were filed)
EDIT: In his defense, apparently it was the second time the guy was being a distraction and probably deserved to be called out (apparently being still behind the scenes is the number one rule), but for 4 minutes??
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Super Bowl (now with happy ending!)
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/278448.php
Too bad we don't live in AZ. Apparently Tyler Durden works for the cable company down there.
alternate link
Too bad we don't live in AZ. Apparently Tyler Durden works for the cable company down there.
alternate link
The Trident of Naz'Jan
Anything that combines WoW and Deathklok makes me happy. Anyone who did the quest series around 'the mist' in Borean Tundra should enjoy it, or any fan of machinima, metal, or WoW in general.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Untouchables
It actually doesn't seem too hard, probably because it's on Easy. The tank seems pretty dumb.
The Mace
So my WoW playing has been light the past few weeks due to adult stuff, but, a few weeks ago, I was blessed by....TEH MACE!!!11!!oneone!!!
P.S. It's a bit quiet.
Edit: I won the mace too, I forget that part of the story so quickly.
P.S. It's a bit quiet.
Edit: I won the mace too, I forget that part of the story so quickly.
Austin is the first infected!
I always knew Austin would be first, the infection is scheduled to be in the PNW by superbowl Sunday.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Left 4 Dead! Epic Fun!
I just wanted to post and say last night was epic and probably the best Left 4 Dead match of all time. I can't decide which was my favorite part:
- Finally doing well as the tank and killing every guy in the alleyway on Chapter 1?
- Killing every single one of the survivors before they even made it down the stairs in Chapter 2?
- Killing every survivor before they could make it up the ladder in the finale?
- Dan getting tackled by the hunter while in the door way of the safe room?
- Dan barely making into the chopper as the only survivor with the smoker chasing him willing his tongue grab to recharge faster?
- Kicking crappy player after crappy player off of our team and still barely losing by a technicality? (I'm still counting that one as a win, seriously, something didn't add up right)
- Getting the tank in the area where i couldn't get to the survivors, losing control to john as the survivors finally go down the friggen manhole, and john destroying them right away?
- Getting a good teammate that knew how to play the game right away for the second run through and absolutely destroying the other team?
- Having the other team block our path out of the elevator with that stupid truck thing and patiently bashing it until it moves and then having everyone make it to the safe room with almost full health?
- Watching from Dan's perspective as he ran around the top level being chased by the tank and not once getting hit?
There are just so many choices!!! Great JFT team. What did you guys most enjoy? Left 4 Dead is awesome! haha
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Game Review: Skate 2
Good:
-They have basically perfected the innovative controls from the first game. Now, each face button corresponds to a limb, so there are all kinds of crazy new tricks and combos that are possible.
-There are more varied environments than the first game. Considering that you can spend hours coming up with cool stuff at one spot alone, there is almost too much to do. In particular, the stuff in the rural hills is a nice change of pace from the skate parks and city stuff.
-There are a ton of fun challenges. Danny Way's challenges in particular were awesome. He's a guy know for building crazy ramps and getting big air, and his challenges reflected that. Unlike Rob Dyrdek's lame-ass "grind these 15 rails in one minute" stuff, Way's kept it simple and fun. For example, one had you jumping off the top of a building into a pool below, and then airing out the other side and landing on the second floor walkway of the neighboring building. It's fairly basic in concept, but it still required that you experiment to find just the right angle and technique to nail it. No time limits, point totals, or gimmicky shit. Just fun. It's really too bad there are only about 10 of these. I wish the whole game was like this.
-The soundtrack actually isn't too bad. It's usually pretty hit or miss in games like these, but there are only a couple songs (that I've heard so far) that I bother to skip.
Bad:
-This is by far the most frustrating game I have ever played. There is a very high learning curve. In the first game, there were a few challenges that took me 50-100 tries to finally nail. In this game it seems like every other challenge is like that. I've almost broken my controller a few times out of pure rage. I've even fantasized about flying to wherever Black Box studios is, finding the project leader and punching him in the fucking head.
-The off-board controls are downright terrible. It's nice that you don't have to worry about curbs and stairs getting in the way now, but it's clunky and completely unintuitive. How anything this bad could make it into the final version of a fairly high profile game absolutely boggles my mind. I hope whoever was in charge of this fell victim to the job cuts that just hit their studio (yeah I'm an asshole). Seriously though, this is the kind of shit you would get when game developers were still learning how to deal with 3D movement, which was what...10 years ago?
-Some of the additions were a step in the completely wrong direction. I have no problem with having to call someone up to drain pools that you find or "uncap" (remove anti-skating measures on) rails you find, but having to call Big Black to keep security guards out of your hair is fucking stupid. It's not even that bad in theory, but the fact after I call him, he basically just runs into me and knocks over ramps and rails (thanks new physics system!) that I've set up for a time-based challenge, while mobs of security guards stand there (not attacking me, but still in my fucking way), well...that pretty much defeats the whole purpose. Seriously, there are ways to add more challenge other than adding this bush league bullshit. Learn better game design.
-This is some of the most obnoxious dialogue I have ever heard. Thank god there is a mute/subtitle option. I never knew that 'gnar' could be used as both a prefix and a suffix, let alone that it was even a fucking word to begin with. I realize that high schools kids are probably the target audience, and while I'm not brimming with hope for the next generation, they couldn't really be this dumb, right??
Overall: I don't think I've ever had a love/hate relationship with a game like I am having with Skate 2. I thought the first game was great, and this one builds on it in a lot of solid ways. The Danny Way and photo challenges are fun as hell and the Hall of Meat crashing stuff has been fleshed out into it's own mini game that's a good time-waster. And the skate controls and physics are great to boot. Unfortunately, some of the challenges are just downright ridiculous. If a game has me on the verge of chucking my controller into my TV, then something is just not right. Also, I really feel that they are veering down the wrong path with their additions. They basically knocked the Tony Hawk franchise out with one game by focusing on realism and ignoring all the gimmicky MTV bullshit. Unfortunately that seems exactly where this game is heading (just replace Bam Margera with Rob Dyrdek), which is a damn shame. There may not even be a third game due to all the cuts their studio has just fallen victim to, and honestly I don't know if that's a bad thing. They should quit while they are sort of ahead.
-They have basically perfected the innovative controls from the first game. Now, each face button corresponds to a limb, so there are all kinds of crazy new tricks and combos that are possible.
-There are more varied environments than the first game. Considering that you can spend hours coming up with cool stuff at one spot alone, there is almost too much to do. In particular, the stuff in the rural hills is a nice change of pace from the skate parks and city stuff.
-There are a ton of fun challenges. Danny Way's challenges in particular were awesome. He's a guy know for building crazy ramps and getting big air, and his challenges reflected that. Unlike Rob Dyrdek's lame-ass "grind these 15 rails in one minute" stuff, Way's kept it simple and fun. For example, one had you jumping off the top of a building into a pool below, and then airing out the other side and landing on the second floor walkway of the neighboring building. It's fairly basic in concept, but it still required that you experiment to find just the right angle and technique to nail it. No time limits, point totals, or gimmicky shit. Just fun. It's really too bad there are only about 10 of these. I wish the whole game was like this.
-The soundtrack actually isn't too bad. It's usually pretty hit or miss in games like these, but there are only a couple songs (that I've heard so far) that I bother to skip.
Bad:
-This is by far the most frustrating game I have ever played. There is a very high learning curve. In the first game, there were a few challenges that took me 50-100 tries to finally nail. In this game it seems like every other challenge is like that. I've almost broken my controller a few times out of pure rage. I've even fantasized about flying to wherever Black Box studios is, finding the project leader and punching him in the fucking head.
-The off-board controls are downright terrible. It's nice that you don't have to worry about curbs and stairs getting in the way now, but it's clunky and completely unintuitive. How anything this bad could make it into the final version of a fairly high profile game absolutely boggles my mind. I hope whoever was in charge of this fell victim to the job cuts that just hit their studio (yeah I'm an asshole). Seriously though, this is the kind of shit you would get when game developers were still learning how to deal with 3D movement, which was what...10 years ago?
-Some of the additions were a step in the completely wrong direction. I have no problem with having to call someone up to drain pools that you find or "uncap" (remove anti-skating measures on) rails you find, but having to call Big Black to keep security guards out of your hair is fucking stupid. It's not even that bad in theory, but the fact after I call him, he basically just runs into me and knocks over ramps and rails (thanks new physics system!) that I've set up for a time-based challenge, while mobs of security guards stand there (not attacking me, but still in my fucking way), well...that pretty much defeats the whole purpose. Seriously, there are ways to add more challenge other than adding this bush league bullshit. Learn better game design.
-This is some of the most obnoxious dialogue I have ever heard. Thank god there is a mute/subtitle option. I never knew that 'gnar' could be used as both a prefix and a suffix, let alone that it was even a fucking word to begin with. I realize that high schools kids are probably the target audience, and while I'm not brimming with hope for the next generation, they couldn't really be this dumb, right??
Overall: I don't think I've ever had a love/hate relationship with a game like I am having with Skate 2. I thought the first game was great, and this one builds on it in a lot of solid ways. The Danny Way and photo challenges are fun as hell and the Hall of Meat crashing stuff has been fleshed out into it's own mini game that's a good time-waster. And the skate controls and physics are great to boot. Unfortunately, some of the challenges are just downright ridiculous. If a game has me on the verge of chucking my controller into my TV, then something is just not right. Also, I really feel that they are veering down the wrong path with their additions. They basically knocked the Tony Hawk franchise out with one game by focusing on realism and ignoring all the gimmicky MTV bullshit. Unfortunately that seems exactly where this game is heading (just replace Bam Margera with Rob Dyrdek), which is a damn shame. There may not even be a third game due to all the cuts their studio has just fallen victim to, and honestly I don't know if that's a bad thing. They should quit while they are sort of ahead.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
GTA DLC FTW?
http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/947/947252p1.html
Hey, i don't know if you guys saw this but there is a ton of info on the new GTA dlc in here. About time! Anyway. This sounds pretty extensive, almost 20 hours of content, but i'm not so sure i'm as excited for this as i should be. I mean i really liked GTA. I'm way more excited about the fallout stuff then this. Its 20 dollars which is kind of steap, but not that bad. I'm kind of bummed that it is completely seperate from the original GTA, you have to choose to boot up one or the other. I don't know. What do you guys think of this? you excited? or is too late?
Hey, i don't know if you guys saw this but there is a ton of info on the new GTA dlc in here. About time! Anyway. This sounds pretty extensive, almost 20 hours of content, but i'm not so sure i'm as excited for this as i should be. I mean i really liked GTA. I'm way more excited about the fallout stuff then this. Its 20 dollars which is kind of steap, but not that bad. I'm kind of bummed that it is completely seperate from the original GTA, you have to choose to boot up one or the other. I don't know. What do you guys think of this? you excited? or is too late?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
TheOnion.com is not funny
It seems for once the Onion has managed to write something informative, corredect, and sadly not funny. If only we would have heard them out 7 years ago back in January of 2001.
More after the jump:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28784?Revisit
"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."
More after the jump:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28784?Revisit
Friday, January 16, 2009
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2009/01/16/360-wifi-adapter-for-69-this-sunday-on-buy-com/
Thought i'd share this with you guys. I know you guys probably don't need the wireless adapter but they are also selling the red wireless controller with the plug and charge kit thing for <$45 which is a great deal. After all the madden games I've played i'm due for a new controller, i don't know about you guys.... So check it out. Just make sure i get mine first!
Thought i'd share this with you guys. I know you guys probably don't need the wireless adapter but they are also selling the red wireless controller with the plug and charge kit thing for <$45 which is a great deal. After all the madden games I've played i'm due for a new controller, i don't know about you guys.... So check it out. Just make sure i get mine first!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
L4D update
http://pc.ign.com/articles/945/945150p1.html
It will be out on the 360 in the coming weeks.
Sounds good for the most part. Some notable changes:
Campaign
- Fixed several map exploits. (probably won't be able to do the door smashing shortcut now)
Versus
- Made the Tank and Witch spawn directly on the escape route. (this might suck)
- Increased chance of getting the Tank or Witch. (i'd welcome this on campaign, gonna make vs even harder)
Hunter
- Easier to pounce a Survivor who is meleeing. (thank jebus)
Smoker
- Smoker now has to be killed or the tongue destroyed for the tongue to break.
- Survivor's cannot bash someone off the tongue until the Survivor being pulled is paralyzed or hanging
Tank
- Bashable objects now appear with a red glow.
- Reduced autoshotgun damage against Tanks.
Overall, it seems like most of the changes will beef up the Infected. It'll make playing as them even more fun, but I can definitely see it causing some more frustration as survivors. Also, no mention of changing exploits in VS mode.
It will be out on the 360 in the coming weeks.
Sounds good for the most part. Some notable changes:
Campaign
- Fixed several map exploits. (probably won't be able to do the door smashing shortcut now)
Versus
- Made the Tank and Witch spawn directly on the escape route. (this might suck)
- Increased chance of getting the Tank or Witch. (i'd welcome this on campaign, gonna make vs even harder)
Hunter
- Easier to pounce a Survivor who is meleeing. (thank jebus)
Smoker
- Smoker now has to be killed or the tongue destroyed for the tongue to break.
- Survivor's cannot bash someone off the tongue until the Survivor being pulled is paralyzed or hanging
Tank
- Bashable objects now appear with a red glow.
- Reduced autoshotgun damage against Tanks.
Overall, it seems like most of the changes will beef up the Infected. It'll make playing as them even more fun, but I can definitely see it causing some more frustration as survivors. Also, no mention of changing exploits in VS mode.
Start training now boys!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3831916
Man, i think we could take these guys. What you think?
Man, i think we could take these guys. What you think?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Star Wars Universe!
http://i.gizmodo.com/5130116/the-star-wars-galaxy-fully-mapped-in-high-resolution
In case you guys haven't seen this yet, I just wanted to share it.
In case you guys haven't seen this yet, I just wanted to share it.
Friday, January 9, 2009
http://kotaku.com/5127350/fallout-3-level-cap-getting-dialed-up-to-30
This Fallout DLC info just gets better and better. Turns out the level cap is going to be bumped all the way to 30. Considering the original cap is at 20 thats huge. Considering I finally reached level 20 last night; and the level progression bar showing level 21 is just sitting there in the bottom corner of every loading screen mocking me I can't wait for this change to come. Seriously! Why have that bar and not let it move? Its torture! Anyway, This stuff all looks great. If you haven't yet. Check out the images for the first DLC coming out. Ninja suit? good. Sweet Tank thing? good. Giant snowy Warzones? GOOOOOOODDD
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Piecing together the story of Left 4 Dead
This is an interesting read:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759074
I never really noticed that it is set in PA and that most of the in-game landmarks represent real places. The map of where each campaign probably takes place is pretty cool.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759074
I never really noticed that it is set in PA and that most of the in-game landmarks represent real places. The map of where each campaign probably takes place is pretty cool.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Some notes about buying Blu-rays
When it comes to blu-rays, all discs are not made equal. The quality of a hi-def transfer can vary (sometimes greatly) depending on who's releasing the disc and the effort that has been put into it. You can always go buy your favorite movies, but honestly it's not always worth it. 28 Days Later, for example, was shot on a regular handheld camera and will not look any better than a regular dvd.
I'm not going to go too much in-depth about what makes one better than the other, since it's all pretty subjective. My main reason for posting this is simply to point out that it really important to do a little research before you go on any spending sprees. There are all kinds of sites that review new discs, and the one I generally look at is Hi-Def Digest. AVSforum is another good site, but the reviews are a little more technical.
A couple buzzwords to look out for when reading reviews:
DNR - Digital Noise Reduction is something studios use to make the picture look less gritty. Basically, instead of seeing pores and wrinkles on someone's face (these are some of the details i always look for in HD), they are going to look like a wax mannequin. I'm not sure why studios do this, but it always makes a movie look worse than it should.
EE - Edge Enhancement is something applied to the edges of objects to make them stand out from the background and make the picture "pop" a little more. It creates a "halo" like effect on the object, but honestly I never really notice it. It's something that gets mentioned a lot as a negative, but I don't necessarily see it as a deal-breaker like DNR might be. The Dark Knight, for example, apparently had some edge enhancement and lots of people were pissed. This one doesn't mean as much to me, but I figured I should define it anyway.
Film Grain - This is the most noticeable thing for me and the number one thing I look for. You'll know it when you see it. In some movies it is unavoidable because a movie was shot with film rather than digitally. In these cases it doesn't really bother me, it just gives it more of a natural look. Some times it is added in the studio for artistic effect. Band of Brothers has a lot of grain in some places, but there was only one episode where it was a little distracting. 300 on the other hand, I can't watch in HD. The whole movie has a layer of grain to give it it's distinct look, and you can't really notice it in standard def (like at the theater) but in HD it really distracted me.
So yeah, those are really the main things that are mentioned in regards to picture quality, so now you know a little bit more what they are talking about when the mention it.
There are also a couple of useful sections in their forums:
The Blu-ray tier thread has all titles organized based on how good they look. Tier 0 (reference quality) is the best.
The Blu-ray bargains section is also good to keep an eye on. Basically, buying your movies at stores like Best Buy is downright stupid unless they are having a sale or the movie just came out (and is thus probably a few bucks cheaper than it will normally be. Amazon is almost always the best place to buy from. Their discs are usually 10 dollars or so cheaper than at a normal store (and shipping is free over 25 dollars). They also have sales all the time. Right now, for example, they are having a buy two, get one free sale.
Anyways, I just thought I'd share some of the pointers I've picked up. I want to make sure you guys are getting the best hi-def experience you can.
I'm not going to go too much in-depth about what makes one better than the other, since it's all pretty subjective. My main reason for posting this is simply to point out that it really important to do a little research before you go on any spending sprees. There are all kinds of sites that review new discs, and the one I generally look at is Hi-Def Digest. AVSforum is another good site, but the reviews are a little more technical.
A couple buzzwords to look out for when reading reviews:
DNR - Digital Noise Reduction is something studios use to make the picture look less gritty. Basically, instead of seeing pores and wrinkles on someone's face (these are some of the details i always look for in HD), they are going to look like a wax mannequin. I'm not sure why studios do this, but it always makes a movie look worse than it should.
EE - Edge Enhancement is something applied to the edges of objects to make them stand out from the background and make the picture "pop" a little more. It creates a "halo" like effect on the object, but honestly I never really notice it. It's something that gets mentioned a lot as a negative, but I don't necessarily see it as a deal-breaker like DNR might be. The Dark Knight, for example, apparently had some edge enhancement and lots of people were pissed. This one doesn't mean as much to me, but I figured I should define it anyway.
Film Grain - This is the most noticeable thing for me and the number one thing I look for. You'll know it when you see it. In some movies it is unavoidable because a movie was shot with film rather than digitally. In these cases it doesn't really bother me, it just gives it more of a natural look. Some times it is added in the studio for artistic effect. Band of Brothers has a lot of grain in some places, but there was only one episode where it was a little distracting. 300 on the other hand, I can't watch in HD. The whole movie has a layer of grain to give it it's distinct look, and you can't really notice it in standard def (like at the theater) but in HD it really distracted me.
So yeah, those are really the main things that are mentioned in regards to picture quality, so now you know a little bit more what they are talking about when the mention it.
There are also a couple of useful sections in their forums:
The Blu-ray tier thread has all titles organized based on how good they look. Tier 0 (reference quality) is the best.
The Blu-ray bargains section is also good to keep an eye on. Basically, buying your movies at stores like Best Buy is downright stupid unless they are having a sale or the movie just came out (and is thus probably a few bucks cheaper than it will normally be. Amazon is almost always the best place to buy from. Their discs are usually 10 dollars or so cheaper than at a normal store (and shipping is free over 25 dollars). They also have sales all the time. Right now, for example, they are having a buy two, get one free sale.
Anyways, I just thought I'd share some of the pointers I've picked up. I want to make sure you guys are getting the best hi-def experience you can.
F*C* New Web sites.
I want everyone to do me a favor and travel over to espn.com. I check this site religiously. Not because its got the best coverage, in fact, i think ESPN writers other then John Clayton, Bill Simmons, and TMQ are usually pretty bad. Too many things are the best ever: best player ever, best game ever, best team ever… They need to calm to heck down over there! Anyway that’s not the point of this post. I would go to ESPN because it was the easiest to use, best designed webpage in the known universe. I could always find the top story, new columns from my favorite writers were mere clicks away. Now they have updated the site to some new monstrosity that is waaaaaayyyyy too complex. It’s obvious they are changing the design to make it easier to sell ad space and this pisses me off. The first time i booted up the new page was this morning and I got this stupid b.s. ad with video from GMC or something welcoming me to the newly designed ESPN.com. AHH. I have no problem with web advertising and i understand places have to make money somehow but my god!
The same thing happened over at IGN. I loved that site and the reason i checked it more often then other sites was strictly due to the page design being extremely easy to navigate. Then they f-ed it up to make selling ad space easier. Ads are becoming more and more obtrusive to my internet experience and its driving me away from some of my favorite sites. I may just be stuck in my ways or something, and you guys may not care about this, but I think changes should be made to improve the experience of the user. Instead these two sites made changes to make avoiding advertising harder at the expense of a good user experience. All I can say is Fuck You ESPN. You broke my heart./rant
The same thing happened over at IGN. I loved that site and the reason i checked it more often then other sites was strictly due to the page design being extremely easy to navigate. Then they f-ed it up to make selling ad space easier. Ads are becoming more and more obtrusive to my internet experience and its driving me away from some of my favorite sites. I may just be stuck in my ways or something, and you guys may not care about this, but I think changes should be made to improve the experience of the user. Instead these two sites made changes to make avoiding advertising harder at the expense of a good user experience. All I can say is Fuck You ESPN. You broke my heart./rant
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
I'm a little torn as to how I feel about this film. I was intrigued by the premise (which is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald)--a baby is born with the body of an old man and he ages backwards while learning and maturing mentally as normal. It starts off with an old lady telling a story on her deathbed. I wasn't too excited about this, because frankly I feel like this kind of set-up has been done to death (no pun intended). I guess it might not have worked out as well if it was done differently, but I just kept thinking about Saving Private Ryan. The story itself though is very good. The first things you notice are the special effects, which are outstanding. The way they were able to use CGI to realistically make the actors look older (and younger) is amazing--side note: the visual effects were done by the studio my aunt used to work at, so that's cool. It's very strange to see a wrinkly hobbit-esque old man that looks vaguely like Brad Pitt, but the progression you see throughout is what really makes the movie. The story generally plays out as you would expect: he grows younger while everyone that he loves grows older and dies. Along the way, he travels the world and lives through many events which are uniquely experienced given his condition. Pitt gives a great performance and Cate Blanchett does a good job as well, although her character is unlikable at times. There are some touching moments, but my main problem is that ultimately it just doesn't have a deeply resonating message. It feels more like "here's a different kind of person and these are the events in his life." I just feel like it could have been a little more profound. Another thing I feel I must mention is the length. I have no problem with long movies, and I'm sure I have a higher tolerance for slowly-paced films than the average individual (for example I loved Fincher's last film, Zodiac, which had similar complaints), but there are definitely parts within the almost three-hour run time where I felt the movie dragged. Overall, I still enjoyed it and would recommend seeing it, but I don't think it deserves the best picture awards that it will no doubt be in contention for.
3.5/5
Friday, January 2, 2009
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!
http://gizmodo.com/5122120/stand-aside-n64-kid-someone-else-goes-nuts-for-a-wii
Someone might want to tell this kid that this system has 3 good games. And they have all already come out with no future in site. I think the n64 kid was way more convincing too. This kid kind of hesitates.... As if he was thinking, "I kind of wanted an xbox, but this is kind of cool right? Oh hell, I can tell my parents tried to get me something cool, but since they are old they don't know that only people who don't know anything about videogames buy wii's.... Oh well, its Christmas. I'll throw them a bone, AHHHHHHH!!!"
Someone might want to tell this kid that this system has 3 good games. And they have all already come out with no future in site. I think the n64 kid was way more convincing too. This kid kind of hesitates.... As if he was thinking, "I kind of wanted an xbox, but this is kind of cool right? Oh hell, I can tell my parents tried to get me something cool, but since they are old they don't know that only people who don't know anything about videogames buy wii's.... Oh well, its Christmas. I'll throw them a bone, AHHHHHHH!!!"
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