Monday, June 30, 2008

Three New Games


I broke down and picked up three games tonight for the 360.

NASCAR 09 - Really fun game. I played the demo and decided to buy it. Customization of cars is really cool. My NASCAR Truck is black with neon grean flames on the sides and neon green racing stripes. It's wicked cool.

Lego Indiana Jones - I'm playing co-op with my nephew on this game. It's fun. If you've played Lego Star Wars you know what to expect. It's more of the same minus "the force".

Battlefield Bad Company - Haven't played it yet, but everyone seems to be playing this lately, and it's getting good reviews. On top of that I'm a fan of shooters, so I had to buy it.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

My Nephew Rocks!


I've been spending every Saturday watching my 16 year old nephew race his street stock car at Galesburg speedway. The kid can race. It's always a blast to watch him out there. Even if he doesn't win he makes it interesting. I love the kid to death. It's always awesome when you find someone that you totally click with. He makes me feel like a teenager again when we hang out. It's not often that I post a personal blog entry here, but I felt like it, so I did. The picture above was taken today. You rock, Dustin! Go #6 GO!!!

Friday, June 27, 2008

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's If...


If you're reading my blog you probably know I'm stuck in the 80's. My creative side isn't showing tonight, so I'm posting this cheezy You Know You Grew Up In The 80's If... thingy. The 80's ruled! No decade was better or will ever be better!

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's If...

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE".

2. You watched the Pound Puppies.

3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair " ...and can do the "Carlton".

4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.

5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.

6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. "WOAH " comes from Joey on Blossom.

8. Two words: Hammer Pants.

9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock ".

10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and "spokey-dokes" or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect.

11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales ". (Woo ooh!)


12. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

13. When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles " on the big screen... and still know the turtles names.

15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

17. You played the game "MASH ". (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)

18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

19. L.A. Gear... need I say more.

20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM " in Kindergarten. (She's truly outrageous)

21. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing " and all the Ramona books.

22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF".

23. You wanted to be a Goonie.

24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us... head-to-toe)

25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.

26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

27. You took lunch boxes to school... and traded Garbage Pail Kids in the schoolyard.

28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

29. You still get the urge to say "NOT " after every sentence.

30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.

31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.

32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hookup.

33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.

34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. (and like #24, probably in neon colors, too)

35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"

36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"

37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.

38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.

39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.

40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.

41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.

42. You remember Popples.

43. "Don't worry, be happy"

44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.

45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do...getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family)

46. "Miss MARY MACK MACK MACK, all dressed in BLACK BLACK BLACK "

47. You remember boom boxes. and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.

48. You remember watching both "Gremlins" movies.

49. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!"

50. You remember watching "Rainbow Bright" and "My Little Pony Tales "

51. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

52. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.

53. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool... and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB".

54. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By the Bell ", the ORIGINAL class.

55. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.

56. You just sang those words to yourself.

57.You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.

58. Homemade Levi shorts. (the shorter the better)

59. You remember when mullets were cool!

60. You had a mullet!

61. You still sing "We are the World"

62. You tight rolled your jeans.

63. You owned a bannana clip.

64. You remember "Where's the Beef?"

65. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' about Willis?"

66. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.

67. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head,aren't you!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Vacation, Guitar Hero, and Games I Need To Check Out


I will have a smile on my face tomorrow right around 8:30 pm. Why will I have a smile on my face you ask? My next vacation starts! I'll be off for nine days. Once again I plan on hanging out with my nephew for five or six days just playing video games, watching movies, and eating a bunch of junk food.

In case you've been living under a rock or you're just a casual gamer (nothing wrong with that at all!) the next Guitar Hero game will pretty much be a direct ripoff of that oh so hip and popular game Rock Band. I do not own Rock Band. I do own Guitar Hero 1 & 2 for the PS2. I'm not all that good at it either. Though this new Guitar Hero game entitled Guitar Hero World Tour is basically a ripoff I'm hearing good/great things about it. First off the guitar is supossedly the size of an actual guitar. I've also heard that the drum set is more sturdy than the Rock Band drum set, and it also has cymbal pads as well. On top of all of this you will be able to create your won songs WITHOUT VOCALS. Obviously I'll wait for the reviews to come out, but I'm interested for sure. The only reason I haven't bought Rock Band is because there are just too many modern songs. I'm not big on modern rock at all. I have seen the partial track list for Guitar Hero World Tour, and right away they have songs that I'm interested in.

Games I need to check out soon: GRID, LEGO INDIANA JONES, BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY, CIVILIZATION REVOLUTION, & NASCAR 09. Oh, and BOOM BLOX on the Wii.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

One Reason Why The 360 Will Win The Current Gen War


First of all I'm throwing Nintendo out of this battle. The Wii has last gen graphics and a ton of shovelware type games. Any gamer knows that it's all about Sony vs Microsoft. Both consoles have their pros and cons. I have both, and I can tell you that neither is perfect. There is one major reason why I think the 360 will win in the long run. That reason is achievements. Achievements are the game within the game. It's the new high score. Back in the day we played video games for high scores. It was always what's your high score in GAME X or GAME Y. Now let me explain what exactly it is that I'm talking about. I interact with a lot of gamers. I read four gaming magazines on a regular basis. I listen to gaming podcasts five days of the week. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard or read about someone saying they were going to buy a game that was on both consoles on the 360 because they could get the achievement points. More often than not people who own both the 360 and the PS3 will buy the game on the 360 just for the achievement points. I am the exact same way. The PS3 could start selling all of their games for 10 dollars cheaper and I would still buy the game on the 360 instead of the PS3 just for the points. The points don't buy you anything. The points don't really mean anything...but wait maybe they do. There is just something satisfying about having more points than your friends. Again, it's like a game inside the game. Microsoft nailed it with achievement points. Sony is supposed to be coming out with a trophy system very soon, but I think it's a case of too little too late. Not to mention I think by the time Sony finally gets it right Microsoft will have already released the Xbox 720.

Bad Sequels Piss Me Off!


I bought CONDEMNED 2 BLOODSHOT the day it was released. I enjoyed the first CONDEMNED game, so I figured I'd get more of the same with part 2. That wasn't the case. One thing I can't stand is when a game developer decides to add a bunch of unnecessary new gameplay features. The combat for this game is just crap imo. It's all about timing and combos. The first game wasn't like this. This game calls for a simple combat system, and not a bunch of combos that you have to memorize. It honestly frustrates me and totally takes me out of the game. This is a survival horror game. They made the combat more advanced that it needs to be. I really believe that they should have kept it simple like the first game. I don't see myself finishing this game. It has trade in written all over it.

Oh, and I'd like to say fuck you to whoever thought it would be a good idea to make my character go into a room that was pitch black where I couldn't really see anything and then have an enemy that I really can't see beat the crap out of me making me die repeatedly. That's what I call cheap!

Monday, June 23, 2008

George, Old Snake, & Brun


First I'd like to say goodbye to George Carlin. He just passed away from heart failure. He was 71. I think he was one of very few people who actually had a grasp on what the world and the people in it were all about. I loved his style. He was often hilarious. I'd like to post the seven words you can't say on television in his honor right now. Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits. You'll be missed George!

Now more thoughts on MGS4. It's a great game. The cutscenes can be a bit much at times, BUT man they are really awesome to watch most of the time. I actually saw one of the best fights I've ever seen in a cutscene during act 2. It was truly awesome to watch. I've been playing this game basically in one hour intervals. It's one of those games that I don't want to rush through because I want to savor the experience.

I'd also like to give a shoutout to one of my favorite podcast hosts, Brun. You'll be missed, bro! Xbox Podcast won't be the same without you. I wish you nothing but success in whatever you do. I enjoyed listening to what you had to say week after week. I even enjoyed your long winded high definition talk from time to time. HaHa

I leave you with the awesome Raiden vs Vamp fight on MGS4. It rules!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Darth Vader Being A Smart Ass


Tonight's blog entry is short, but funny. Watch the video.

The Crappening


Every Saturday me and my wife go watch my nephew race his stock car. Those plans were shot for reasons that I can't discuss, so we decided to go to M. Night Shamalamadingdong's THE HAPPENING. Although after seeing it I shall forever refer to it as THE CRAPPENING. I generally like the movies that Sham is involved with no matter how out there they are. This one though was just...well...shit. It was easily one of THE worst movies I have seen. The story sucked. The acting sucked. The dialogue sucked. Some parts were so laughable. I'm talking laugh out loud stupid. I've never really thought Mary Mark was a good actor, but I've seen him do some decent work in a few roles. This was not one of those times. He was just brutal. The entire cast was awful.

Let me just state that I'm not the only person who thought this was a rotten film. My wife, daughter, and nephew thought it was crap as well. Oh, and three guys who I didn't even know who had just saw the same movie were making the same comments about it in the restroom. This movie is so bad that I can't even give it a rating. It doesn't even deserve a 0/10. It deserves a negative rating. I will actually feel sorry for anyone who likes this movie. Anyone who enjoys this movie probably rides the short bus, wears a helmet, and drools on themselves. I'd rather take a sledgehammer to the nuts than have to sit through this pile of steaming crap again!

I'd also like to mention that I called this movie The Crappening before Googling The Crappening. I should have known someone else would have thought of that title. Great minds think alike!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

A Game That Is So Bad That It's Good


You know how certain B movies are so bad that they are actually good? Well, there just happens to be a video game that you can put in that category as well. That video game is EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 2017 for the Xbox 360. I bought it a long time ago, but still haven't finished it. I've only ever played it with my wife. It's one of the few local co-op split screen games on the 360. The graphics are nothing special. Your character's movements don't look real at all. The weapons aren't all that special either. With all of that being said it's a totally fun game. The fun part is blowing up buildings as well as gigantic bugs and robots that are taking over the city.

I'm not the only person who feels that this game is so bad that it's good. I've listened to several podcasts where they have discussed this game being totally addictive, and believe me it really is addictive and fun. I recommend anyone with a 360 to at least rent this game. Heck, you could probably buy it dirt cheap now. I really need to start playing it again. When my nephew comes over again I'll probably have to pop it back in the 360.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Phil's Famous Movie Reviews Blog


Phil is this guy that I met online back in 1999 when we were both still on Webtv. We interacted on a metal music message board known as ADMHM or Alt.Discuss.Music.Heavy-Metal. It was a great little forum for a bit. It was untill I came along and became a troll magnet. I was a bit of a flame monger back then. Anyway, to get back on track back when I was interacting with Phil on that forum we all called him REPRO. I still do actually. Phil is one of very few people from back in that period of time that I still interact with. He's a good guy, and I have a lot of respect for him. I have a lot of respect for him despite the fact that he has an unhealthy love for The Gathering and Anneke HaHa!

Now that you know how I know Phil I'll get to the reason why I'm posting this blog tonight. Phil has watched an ungodly amount of movies. I'm not sure if he's watched as many as King Fowley, but at any rate he's seen a ton. One day I sent him a message asking him about a movie. Then I told him he should create a blog where he reviews movies. He said he should do that. I never thought he would, but he did. I look forward to reading his reviews and checking out his blog. You should check it out as well. I've already posted the link in my list of links towards the bottom of the page. Check Out Phil's Blog

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Initial Thoughts On MGS4


I'm not very far into MGS4 that's why the blog entry is entitled initial thoughts. I'm still on act 1. So far I have some mixed feelings about the game.

1) The graphics are beautiful. A few of the cutscenes have been a bit long, but damn are they sweet looking. There have been a couple of times where I have felt like the cut scenes have taken me out of the action of the game. That's not a good sign because I'm really early in.

2) Anyone who has played any of the MGS games knows what to expect. I have, so I knew I would have to play patient. It's a stealth game. You need to sneak around as much as possible. The developers of the game have said that you can play it as a straight up shooter, as a stealth game, or a mixture of both. So far I'm not so sure that's accurate. I've found myself having to play a mixture of both, but only because while I'm in stealth mode I get spotted, and I'm basically forced to shoot some bastards and then hide again and go into stealth mode. Oh, and about that being patient thing...I'm not a patient gamer. I'm used to run and gun first person shooters. This is not that type of game.

3) You get a ton of weapons and some cool gadgets. It's just too bad that you really don't need a ton of weapons if you're playing this game the way it was meant to be played...in stealth mode.

4) I've died a few times already. I have a feeling the learning curve is kinda steep. I'm not talking about the control scheme. I'm talking about just learning exactly how to avoid enemies and hide from them. It's not like I'm a n00b when it comes to video games. I've played my fair share of games since the 80's. I'm just saying that this isn't just your typical shoot all the bad guys on the screen and move on type of game. Again, the key word is gonna have to be patience.

I think the farther I get through MGS4 the more I'll enjoy it. Once again these are just my initial thoughts. I'll give some more thoughts later on as I progress through the game.

I got nothin'


My brain is asleep. The creativity well has run dry today. I won't waste your time with NPD numers. They mean nothing. I was thinking about making a blog entry about The Goonies sequel, but I just don't have enough info yet. I was going to make some comments about some Microsoft E3 rumors, but I don't like to make comments about rumors.

I can tell you that Metal Gear Solid 4 is a swell game thus far.

I can also suggest that everyone go watch THE KING OF KONG A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS. I've watched it twice now. I just want to smack Billy Mitchell a good one.

I'm on vacation in a couple of weeks. It looks like a solid week of gaming for me and my nephew will be had.

Now I shall go throw myself in bed. I'm mentally and physically exhausted today.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

I Gotta Be Me


My Fathers Day kinda started on Friday. When I got home from work I was presented with a bag. To be exact it was a brown Hollister bag. Right away I thought "Oh dear God no not a Hollister bag"! You see my daughter has been joking about buying me a Hollister shirt for a while now. Anyone who knows me knows that I strictly wear metal t-shirts and Dallas Stars apparel. That's really about it. The first thing I said was "This better not have Hollister shit in it"! Of course laughs came from both my daughter and my wife, so right away I knew I would find some dreaded trendy Hollister shirt inside. I open the bag to find a nifty GWAR shirt. OK, that's cool I thought. Then I find a sweet H.I.M. shirt. Again really cool. Then at the bottom I see this white shirt and it just reeks of cologne. Sure enough it's a Hollister shirt. UGH! Let me just say that the last time I wore any type of trendy type shirt it was an O.P. (Ocean Pacific) shirt back in probably 1983. I generally loathe anything that's hip or trendy. For my daughter I would wear it. We went out for dinner and a movie, and I wore it the whole time. The terrible cologne smell gave me a bad headache, but I wore it. Two comments that my daughter made were "You're the only guy I've seen wearing a Hollister shirt that didn't look gay", and "It's about time you looked fashionable".

The Hollister shirt will probably become a workout shirt or an around the house shirt. When I go out it's all about the Overkill, Danzig, Slayer, and Iron Maiden shirts. Hey, I gotta be me, but I can make my daughter happy for at least one day by wearing a shirt that really wasn't me at all.

Friday, June 13, 2008

So Much For Waiting To Buy Another Game


After listening to the latest episode of Podcast Beyond! and seeing all of the great reviews for METAL GEAR SOLID 4 I had to buy it. So far it's gotten 7 perfect review scores on metacritic.com and an average score of 94/100. When I bought it at Wal-mart today the guy behind the cash register was just raving about how great it was. I haven't played it yet, but I'll probably start soon. I only have one more mission in GTA4 to finish before I'm done with the game. After that I'll start playing MGS4. I watched the video review for MSG4 at IGN, and it looks beautiful. The graphics look amazing. This could possibly be the best looking game graphics wise that I've ever seen on a console. I've said it before and I'll say it again...it's a great time to be a gamer!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Greg Miller FTW!!!


Sometime last year I started listening to as many gaming podcasts as I possibly could. My gaming podcast list has gotten shorter. After a while you realize that some podcasts just aren't as good as others. I basically like getting video game info, but I also need to be entertained. If the hosts of a show aren't well spoken and don't have a personality I'm not wasting my time with their show. After well over a year I have a clear cut winner in my mind as to who is easily the best journalist and podcast host. That person is Greg Miller.

I discovered Greg Miller when I was looking for some new podcasts to listen to. Greg just isn't your average gaming geek with zero personality. The guy is goofy as hell. He's like a middle school class clown really. Greg does two podcasts. He's on IGN's Podcast Beyond which is a Sony podcast, and he's also on IGN's Game Scoop which covers all consoles. I've had the displeasure of having to listen to both podcasts without Greg when he isn't around for whatever reason and they end up being more boring than spending an afternoon with the "Golden Girls". Don't ask me how I know. Just take my word for it. I think the one thing that makes Greg so good is that you can tell that he genuinely loves what he does for a living. He's just seems like that guy that would crack you up for hours on end if you hung out with him. Just listening to him on podcasts has me laughing out loud. I honestly think the guy would do well if he had his own talkshow.

I know I sound like a total Greg Miller fanboy, but...hell I am a Greg Miller fanboy. Greg Miller rules! Check out his blog. You can also listen to Game Scoop and Podcast Beyond over at IGN.com

BTW SAC, if you're reading this Greg is a big wresting fan.

BEYOOOOOOOND!!!!

Check out this hilarious Greg Miller rant.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Top 5 Most Underrated Xbox 360 Games That Every 360 Owner Should Play


There are a bunch of great games for the Xbox 360. There are a bunch of games that are great, but may not be well known. There are a bunch of games that you can now find in the bargain bins for a good price. Everyone knows the great high profile games like COD4, Gears Of War, and yes even Halo 3. I'm not talking about those games. I'm talking about games that didn't get 9's or 10's for review scores, but are still damn fine games that every xbox 360 owner should at least give a rental to.

TimeShift (It's a first person shooter with the ability to pause time, slow down time, and reverse time. The time abilities work well. It's fun to go through the game and use these abilities to your advantage. The graphics are really nice too.)

Frontlines: Fuel Of War (I had a bunch of fun playing through the single player campaign, but I'm finding the multiplayer mode to be even more fun. The maps are just massive, and the amount of people who can play at once is just awesome. I've only ever noticed any lag once or twice, and it was only for a very brief moment.)

Crackdown (This game is incredibly fun and highly addictive. It's a sandbox game, but it's so much more than that. When it was first released the Halo 3 beta was included on the disc. Many people bought it just for the beta. After the beta was over you saw tons of used copies. There are a lot of dumb people out there who I think never gave the game a chance. I still have my copy, and I still have hidden orbs to find.)

Prey (I'm pretty sure you can buy this used now for less than 20 bucks. It's a FPS with some sci-fi elements where you defy gravity in a lot of levels. Do yourself a favor and buy or rent this game. It's fun.)

FEAR (Another FPS, and again it has time changing elements that work. You won't rack up a ton of achievements, but you will have fun playing it if you're a fan of shooters.)

These are all games that I have finished, and had a fun time doing. Check these out if you haven't already.

Monday, June 9, 2008

The Greatest Music Duo Ever!


Yep, that's right, Hall & Oates. Laugh at me. Call me names. Say I need to come out of the closet. Say what you will, but Hall & Oates rule! They were the first group that I ever called my favorite. For me it started with the VOICES album. They had three huge hits off of that album with KISS ON MY LIST, YOU MAKE MY DREAMS, and YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING. These guys could write some catchy as hell tunes. Through the 80's they churned out hit after hit. They had six number one hits and a bunch of top 40 songs as well. In total they had 34 songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100 List. They also have seven platinum albums and six gold albums.

The first album I ever bought with my own cash was PRIVATE EYES when I was 9 years old. I still love that album, and can still sing every song word for word. I can remember begging my parents to take me to see them in concert when they came to town. Of course they didn't take me either. I can also remember watching them a few times on the show SOLID GOLD. Before Mtv was SOLID GOLD. Gotta love those hot SOLID GOLD dancers!

Here are my top 15 favorite Hall & Oates songs in no particular order.

Kiss On My List
You Make My Dreams
I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
Your Imagination
Family Man
Method Of Modern Love
Say It Isn't So
She's Gone
Sara Smile
Rich Girl
Adult Education
So Close
Private Eyes
Don't Hold Back Your Love
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Random Gibberish


Went to Wal-Mart today to pick up some stuff for my lunches at work. I've been wanting to check out the new Mountain Dew flavors. I'm a sucker for new flavors. I like trying weird new flavors of pop/soda whatever you call it in your neck of the woods. It's true that I don't drink non diet drinks on a regular basis, but I will drink non diet drinks that have strange flavors and come in weird colors. I've always been drawn to drinking blue liquids. Today I decided to buy a 12 pack of Mountain Dew Voltage. The can reads (DEW Charged With Raspberry Citrus Flavor and Ginseng) I was hoping it would taste like blue raspberry, and it does. It is in fact blue. I must say that it tastes really damn good. I'm not used to drinking the amount of caffeine that was in this 12 ounce can, so I was feeling energetic. On a scale of 0-10 as far as taste goes I'd give this stuff a 9.8! Now I must try the other two flavors.

I played a ton of GTA4 today. It seems like there is no end in sight for this game. That's a good thing though. I've decided that when I'm done playing GTA4 I'll be jumping into one of the many games that I have not finished. I may have to jump back into Resistance: Fall Of Man on the PS3. I'll probably rent a few games as well.

I rented CLOVERFIELD in HD on Xbox Live Thursday night to kill some time before I went to bed. I wasn't all that impressed. I did like the smaller monsters that they battled in the subway. Those were rather creepy. They were kinda like huge nasty bugs. I'm not a fan of bugs at all which is probably the reason why The Mist freaked me out. Anyway, Cloverfield was pretty average. The shaky home video camera effect didn't bother me too much, but I didn't really think it was needed. My final score is 6/10. It just seemed like it was missing something.

A couple of movies I plan on going to see are The Strangers and The Happening. M. Night Shyamalan gets a lot of crap for his movies, but I usually enjoy what he puts out.

I'm adding the following to my mp3 player:

Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
Cro-Mags - Age Of Quarrel/Best Wish (2 on 1 cd)
Tourniquet - Stop The Bleeding
Tourniquet - Psycho Surgery
Vengeance Rising - Human Sacrifice
Vengeance Rising - Once Dead
Witchery - Restless & Dead
Scorpions - In Trance
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Samson - Survivors
Samson - Head On

On the boob tube I've been watching:

Hell's Kitchen
Seinfeld
Home Improvement
Welcome Back Kotter (on hulu.com)

I've been reading gaming magazines. I really need to pick up a book!

I've been eating lots of pizza lately.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Thoughts On Some New Games


Sooner or later I'm going to finish playing GTA4. I'm going to need a game to play. I have plenty that I could go back to and finish, but I feel like I need to go out and grab a new game or two. There are actually quite a few that have me interested.

Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - Chances are I'm going to buy this at some point. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy it on the 12th of this month or not, but I will pick it up. I own Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty, but never finished it. It was good, but I got to one section of the game that royally pissed me off, so I stopped playing.

GRID (Xbox 360) - I already own Forza 2, PGR3, PGR4, and Burnout Paradise. GRID is getting really good reviews, but do I really need another racer? Probably not...

Lego Indiana Jones (Xbox 360) I've played through all of the Lego Star Wars games, and had a bunch of fun playing co-op. I really want this game, but I'm thinking it's a rent and not a buy.

Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360) Not buying it. I probably won't even rent it. I'm just not into this type of button mashing fighting game. I own Devil May Cry 4 already, and I will probably trade that in for another game.

Dark Sector (Xbox 360) I may go pick this one up used for cheap. I generally like these b grade shooters. They are kinda arcadey and not all that hardcore like COD4 or even Halo 3. I may just rent this because I'm sure I could finish it in 6 or 7 hours.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Xbox 360) Eh, not interested. It only has multiplayer. I need both a single player campaign and a multiplayer mode. I'll pass.

Haze (PS3) I'll pick this up when it's like 10 bucks! LOL Even then I might have to think twice about it. This game is getting bad reviews. When you read as many bad reviews about this game as I have you tend to believe that the game is crap.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (Xbox Live Arcade) I think I'm going to have to pass on this. I'm not paying 20 bucks for a live arcade game. I don't even read the comics, so I really have no interest in this game.

NASCAR 09 (X360, PS3) I'll admit I'm interested, but I'm expecting this to suck. It's probably a rent.

Don King Presents: Prizefighter (X360) If I want to play a boxing game I'll play Fight Night Round 3 because it's the best boxing game ever created!

Battlefield: Bad Company (X360, PS3) I should download the demo. I really hate demos though. I have no opinion on this game because I don't know much about it.

Alone in the Dark (X360) This I'm interested in enough to probably buy.

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (X360) This is supposed to be a 40 dollar game, but even at that price I probably won't buy it. I still haven't finished all the missions in the first C&C game that hit the 360.

Lots of games, but few that I'm willing to spend 60 bucks on. I'm getting cheaper when it comes to blowing money on games. A lot of games just aren't worth 60 bucks to me.

The Best Books Ever


When I was in school I didn't really like to read. Let me correct what I just typed. When I was in school I didn't like reading what the teacher would have me read. I was always good at reading. I just found that all the stories that were in text books really sucked. The stories were just so crappy. I was usually bored to tears by all of the pathetic text book stories. It wasn't untill probably 4th grade that I really started to enjoy reading. I can remember a friend of mine reading this book that was a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. He told me that as you went along in the story you actually got to pick what your character would do next. A book like this surely could not exist! Of course I had to see for myself. On my next trip to the library I snagged a CYOA book. I couldn't tell you which one, but I can tell you that I ended up reading every CYOA book that was in that library. I went to all kinds of different worlds and ended up dying often. As much as I hated dying or getting a bad ending I refused to cheat by looking forward to see which page had the best path. A lot of kids did this, but I felt like it was cheating yourself.

After doing some research I found that all of the CYOA books are being re-published.
I wasn't surprised to find out that the CYOA books have sold 250 million copies since 1979!

I may just have to go to the library and pick some of these up again, and maybe even introduce these to my daughter. As far as I know she hasn't ever checked any of these out at the library. These books are just one of the many reasons why it was good to grow up in the 80's.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

One Of The Hottest Women Of The 80's Part 3


How many of you guys watched Charles In Charge? If you did I'm pretty sure you watched it for one reason and one reason only. Can you say Nicole Eggert?! I never knew what time this show was on, but believe me if I was flipping through the channels and saw that it was on I would immediately stop just to see Nicole Eggert. Face it this show sucked. It was terrible. I have no idea what the ratings were like, but I'm sure all of the male viewers were watching just to see Nicole. Not to sound like a total perv or anything, but she was hotter when she was a teenager. I've seen later pics of her and while she was still hot she was incredibly hot when she was younger. The main reason why I don't feel like a perv saying this is because I was a teen when she was. She was born the same year I was born.

It almost pains me to post this clip because Corey Haim has his filthy hands all over Nicole. BTW This clip is NSFW!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Guess What Game Is Consuming My Gaming Life


Yep, you guessed it. GTA4 is STILL sitting in my 360. I have over 50 hours invested in this game, and I'm still not sick of it. At this point I have to say that GTA4 will make my all time favorite video games list. It's easily top 10 already, and may even be top 5. This is now the standard for "sandbox" games. All other "sandbox" games will have to match the greatness that is GTA4. I don't see that happening. I hope I'm proven wrong. Rockstar just got so many things right this time around. The story is top notch so far. The characters are great. Niko is just a likable guy. Sure he's a murdering bastard kills for the money, but damn it he does have some morals. The only bad thing about a great video game is finishing it. Then what will I have to look forward to? I mean what will be the next game that I can get lost in and have this good of a time playing? There are some games out there that I can see myself having some fun with, but nothing like this game.

The image at the top of this entry is a custom made Niko

Monday, June 2, 2008

One Of The Hottest Women Of The 80's Part 2


The next hottie from the 80's is Deborah Foreman. She played Julie Richman in "Valley Girl". I could easily devote an entire blog entry or even a website to Valley Girl. If I ever get a podcast up and running a Valley Girl podcast will surely be created. Deborah is well known for playing Julie in Vally Girl, but she was equally as hot in Real Genius. She had a small part in Real Genius, but man the couple of minutes that you see her are unforgettable. To me they are anyway. Another reason why I had the hots for Deborah in the 80's was because a girl in middle school that I had a crush on looked a lot like her. Her name was Leah. I liked that name so much that I named my daughter Leah. Anyway getting back to her small part in Real Genius...she had a great line in that movie that most people are sure to remember. "Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?" For you Deborah I would try!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Why Do Most Movies Seem To Be Below Average These Days?


Like any other American I like a good movie. Movies have always been a huge part of entertainment here in America. My problem is that I'm really not being entertained the way I used to be when it comes to movies. They all just seem uninspired and boring. OK, not all of them, but a lot of them seem that way. Have movies changed or have I? Am I just not watching the good ones? I'm also wondering if it has anything at all to do with my age. In the 80's and even part of the 90's it seemed like a ton of good to great movies were being made. Of course I say the same thing about music, so again is it just me? A lot of the time I also have this been there seen that feeling when I watch a movie. It's like all of the best ideas have already been done. It just seems like it takes a lot for a movie to entertain me now. To be fair every year I do see a few good/great films. Maybe I'm just harder to please now. In the 80's life was fresh and new. I hadn't seen everything. Now maybe I'm just older and wiser. I'm certainly older, but wiser? Probably not. Maybe I just have to do now what I used to have to do to find good metal bands. Maybe I have to dig deep into the underground, and forget about all of the mainstream shit movies that bombard me month after month. I believe that Hollywood is on it's last limping severed and bruised leg. I hope I'm wrong.
Games I'm Playing:

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)







About Me

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Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
I'm 38. I'm addicted to Xbox 360 gaming and Dallas Stars hockey. I make a decent living at a boring job where I run two autoclaves and do various other tasks. My escape from this boring as hell life is video games, hockey, and music. I generally listen to Metal music, but I also love 80's tunes as well as 70's tunes. I have an unusual love for the band Overkill. They do it for me for some reason. Blitz is GOD!

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