Finals and Procrastination

I have a physical chemistry final in a few hours and for the past couple of days (and up even up to this moment), I have procrastinated by. . .

1) Playing Majora's Mask. It came out 5 years ago on the Nintendo 64. I bought it (again) recently since I had lost it (read: I have no friggin' clue where it layeth). I'll admit: It was an impulse buy. The graphics suck now, and I'm pretty sure I bought damage goods from EB games. Never buy last generation games thinking you will still play them. Especially if they're in cartridge form make sounds when you shake them.

2) A couple of hours ago I watched The 40 year-old Virgin. Pretty hilarious, but not as funny as Wedding Crashers, which also came out this year. Virgin was very quotable and memorable. I just forget what was so quotable. I'll have to rewatch it to remember what.

3) I watched alot of late night talk shows, specifically the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. I dunno. The writing is very witty and very well executed. Damn I wish I was that quick and funny. Dammit, I wish I was funny. I'll just have to live with what God gave me: a sexy and killer body. The only thing funny about me is how a guy this good looking is named Blueberry.

4) I'm not really sexy.

5) Okay, I am.

Moral of the story: To be announced after I find out the grade that I get for the final that I should be studying for that will be taken in the morning.

Bad News, then the Good News, Then More Bad News

I was always on edge when watching Arrested Development, because I always felt they were always about to be cancelled. 'Lo and behold the great network of FOX reduced the order AD around november from 22 to 13. So Arrested Development is basically cancelled even though FOX has not officially stated so.

Now there's news that Arrested Development might be picked up by smarter networks who do not rely on Pamela Anderson's, err, boobies, if you will. So now I'm thinking,

"Hey, maybe AD will make it to abc since apparently they're having the best years in their history (i.e. some sci-fi island show and some show about too eager female house spouses). This is great news. Maybe even NBC will pick it up since it sorely needs some shows ever since Friends left (Joey does not count, because it's not funny)."

But then I read further, and find that Showtime has the most interest in the show. At which point I say,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

It's good that Arrested Development may get picked up and not die a cruel death in the hands of a Family Guy obsessed network, but getting picked up by a premium channel? I have to pay to watch my AD? Sure, I like to buy their DVDs, but at least I can watch them anytime I want: it's called on-demand viewing. I don't even know what the frick is on Showtime.

So, in some sort of irony, I am hoping that Arrested Development does not get picked up by a network/channel. Hey, maybe the WB can pick it up (Smallville leading into AD)?

Christmas+Rachel McAdams=Feel Good

Just a heads up: There's a new Rachel McAdams movie coming out (Yit-tah-dee!). Need I say more? She's just too cute, and what's more- she's a brunette in "The Family Stone".

There aren't enough movies with Rachel McAdams as a brunette. If this movie is any good (which it will be), it might be on top of my list of favorite Christmas movies with a cute girl. The other one of course is that Will Ferrell movie with the lovely Ms. Deschanel. I almost forgot the title. Just look at that picture on the left and tell me you still remember what this tiny sentence was fore.

Response to Gamespot editorial.

Am I in the minority of gamers when I say that a $50 to $100 price cut on hardware is a significant amount worth waiting for? The only reason why this may seem like a small amount is because xbox 360 games cost $60 which is a 20% increase over the normally $50 price tag of new current generation games (it's 50% if you count the $40 dollar new games). Of course Ekberg is correct that $50 won't cover a $60 game.

But, do we need to buy this overpriced games? I'm not going to spend my money so that games can increase in price even more every year. In fact I think $50 cuts in too much already. You might argue that if I'm not able to spend this kind of money, then I should rethink about my hobby. Well, that's exactly the type of thinking that will destroy the gaming industry. Making gaming accessible starts with the economics, that is, how much games and hardware cost. If prices rise, only those who are willing to devote a large percentage of their earnings to gaming can participate. The fans less blessed financially will have to be more strict in choosing which games to buy more. This will decrease the ammount of innovative games (read: games that the are fresh, but the average "kid" would pass over to kill hookers) made because, not everyone will pay for katamari or shadow of the collosus, if madden or grand theft auto comes along.

As a gamer with a tight budget, the bottom line adds up. Even if you think saving $50 is nothing, those savings can possibly allow many more gamers to purchase out-of-the-box titles that make the gaming experience worth it all.

Stupid Game Commercials

Anyone seen the latest Sony PSP commerical? Yeah, you know, the one with the throwing and the catching of the nearly $300 portable system. Well, I shoudn't have to write any further if you do. It seems like the Sony is trying to focus less on the games and entertainment aspects of the PSP, and more on the frisbee/boomerang features. Great, now I know I want a PSP. If I play three seconds of some random game, and then throw it as far as I can, someone will catch it and play three more seconds, then throw it to another person at an even rediculous distance, then repeat until the PSP returns to me. Who needs an ipod or a Nintendo DS, when I can play catch wirelessly and play a game for three second intervals.

Don't even get me started with the xbox 360 commercial. "Jump in." Jump into what, you stupid m%&$kers. Is the xbox 360 a game console or a jump rope? If Microsoft wasn't greedy for every market before, now they are: tapping into the tweenage girl demographic with a rope that anyone can jump with. Watch out, Nintendo, there goes more of what little market share you have. Microsoft is probablly just trying to hide the fact that the 360 is frickin' huge.

It probablly also won't come back to the owner if thrown like the PSP.

What the frick, man?

I don't confess to be a long time visitor of 4 color rebellion, but ever since I stumbled upon it (not through stumble upon), I have made it one of my top destinations on the web as do many people.

But three minutes ago, my life changed. Well, actually, it's just that 4 color rebellion has become acquired by CNET networks. I don't know much about CNET networks, but feel like 4 color rebellion has lost its originality in this acquisition. Whatever happened to independent publishing, not being restricted in what you can write about?

I dunno. I should probablly get slapped. I didn't fully read the press release, so I don't know if things will "stay the same". Plus, that BS about "independence" and "restrictions" makes no sense in retrospect. (I refuse to edit posts that come spontaneously). Things have and will change. How and how much is another question. Hopefully that iguana jump-off banner with Link is still their main banner. Whoops! Too late...

Heck, I'll prolly read 4 color rebellion still. There, I said it.

UPDATE: Apparantly, it was all a joke. They just needed to take the site down momentarilly so they played a joke in the mean time. Sheisty! I'm still not going to put 4cr on my links- sutiben is way better.

'Tis the season

It's a little too late to be reminding people of the upcoming holiday season, but that's not going to stop me. I've been seeing commercials with evergreens in the background, hearing those jingle bells, and of course another frickin' Harry Potter movie is out (theme song ringing: "dun don da-dun don, da dun dun"). Those are just some of the signals that it's time give and receive, and if you're lucky, do more of one than the other.

There has always been one specific movie that reminded me of Christmas, amongst many others: A Christmas Story. Now, I don't remember the last holiday season when I watched the whole movie, but I at have at least left it on in the background just as much as any Christmas carol. This movie is such a classic because every kid can relate to it.

Do you remember that gift you wanted so badly one Christmas, and all signs up to December 25th indicated a no go. Then all of a sudden that morning comes and you were surprised to find that actually did not get that gift. Well, that's not what A Christmas Story is about. The kid actually gets his gift but it ends up being a bitter-sweet present, because he hurts himself using it.

Last year, on DVD, I saw a future Christmas classic: Elf. Of course Will Ferrell is hilarious in this movie, but I enjoy it for the way it captures the innocence of a childhood Christmas in the elf character and also for Zooey Deschanel. What did it for me was when Ferrell's character walks into the bathroom and listens to Deschanel's character singing Baby it's Cold Outside. Now, in many cases, this scene would follow something sexual and possibly an arrest. But being the innocent child the elf was, this scene was charming and funny. Not to mention this scene introduced me to a classic Christmas song.

Plus how cute is Zooey and her beautiful voice. Damn, maybe that's the reason I love this movie so much.

360 reasons why not to get an xbox 360

(Warning! I am a big Nintendo fan, but of course I won't go as far as say that I am a fan boy. You be the judge. I happen to own a Playstation 2 and find many of its games hizzot. Sorry, I meant hot.)

Tonight at approximately midnight, best buys and video game stores will be opening up their doors for obsessed, loaded, early adopters of the xbox 360. I will not be one of them for several reasons:

1) It's all about the games. None of the launch games interest me so much that I need to get the system, with the possible exception of Perfect Dark Zero and Call of Duty 2. If racing games are your thing, then get an xbox and play Forza Motor Sport or Gran Turismo 4 on a Playstation 2. Do you really want Project Gotham 3?

Recently, I have played Call of Duty 2, but on the PC. I usually dislike World War II games, but this one was immersive. This probablly plays better on a PC than a console anyway. No need to to get this for Xbox 360 if your PC can run the game.

Sure, I am a big Rare fan, as they have made some of the best games for Nintendo's consoles (e.g. Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Golden-Eye, Diddy Kong Racing), but the verdict is still out on PDZ. If the game turns out to be even half as good as Golden-Eye and Perfect Dark, then this may persuade me. But . . .

2) The price ain't right. The system itself will cost upwards of $400 (Don't bother with the "Core" package, you'll end up paying more later for "extra" peripherals that you'll need eventually anyway). I can sort of understand the price, it is new technology, but 60 bones per game? I dont' know about you but my wallet would cry if I bought a game for $60 but it's too busy being empty in the first place.

So, you have the money for the system and games, but do you have a setup at home that can fully realize the potential of this next generation system?

3) High Definition televisions are still not common and an Xbox 360 would look like an xbox with your regular-ass television. I'm going to need a High Defintion TV to run the otherwise excellent looking games. My thirteen inch "tv" in my dorm is not going to cut it, nor will anything in my home or my neighbor's home. I bet you President Bush doesn't have a High Defintion television either. He won't be getting an Xbox 360 either. Once Hi-Def goes down in price in a couple of months, or even years, the Xbox 360 will also have become cheaper.

4) I have no time for games!

5) Heh, who am I kidding, I'll can always make time for video games.

6) Seriously, the games matter the most when buying a new system, so see reason number one and then number two, because that's also a big thing for me.

Arrested Development gets less arrested

Arrested Development is quite possibly the funniest thing on television. I challenge anyone to find another show that you can watch multiple times and still find something new and funny in each viewing. The show is made without a laugh track so it doesn't force viewers to laugh at anything that's not. In fact, it's meant to make you laugh at anything that you think is funny. Isn't that the whole point of a comedy: to laugh?

Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way. People would rather watch crime dramas that use special effects and "intuition" to solve unsolvable murders in 44 minutes. (With this piece of dandruff I can figure out that the killer was wearing sponge-bob squarepants underwear before he killed this dude, all I need is some special effects and I'm done.)

That's why the third season has been reduced to 13 episodes. It's probablly going to be cancelled soon.

My personal favorite episode is 'Marta Complex'. My favorite character: Buster ( "He just wants to see other boys' Linuses").

It starts. . .

I was flipping through the t.v. and saw that the Pussy Cat Dolls were performing on MTV's Europe Music Awards, which made me think. Sure, the girls in this group are not unattractive. If you ever get to see their faces, other than the lead singer's, for long enough, they're probablly not bad. (There is one girl that sorta looks like Rachel McAdams as a brunette which is definitely a good thing (see Wedding Crashers).)

But I am not particulary attracted to any of the women. Now, you might be thinking either,
"Damn, this dude is gay", or "What about the lead signer?"
First, No, I am not. Second of all, my main problem is the fact that Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer, used to be in a reality girl group that I was fan of: Eden's Crush. Sure, it's not really her fault that the group that I was liked/was obsessed with broke up. My problem is that she feels that PCD is more successful because it was not a "manufactured" group like EC, and they have chemistry (my quotes).

How does she think PCD was formed? Did a bunch of chicks decide to make a band? No. PCD is just as manufactured as Eden's Crush. I think the main thing is she likes being the lead singer/ only singer. Can the other girls sing? Probablly not. No, I take that back. I meant to say hell no.

Now I'm not ragging on Ms. Scherzinger's skills. On the contrary, I've always felt that she was a very gifted singer. I enjoyed her voice along with the other girls on Eden's Crush. It's just that I wish two things would happen: either they change the name of the group to Nicole and the Pussy Cat Dolls, or Eden's Crush gets back together.

Because, Rosanna, Ana Maria, Ivette, and Maile could sing circles around any of the other members of PCD with the exception of the single EC alum. Plus, they were hot AND they could sang!

Knickerbockers

Damn, Damn, Damn, DAMN!

The New York Knicks are now 0 for 5.

Can you say first pick 2006 NBA draft?