Christmas

So Christmas 2007 has finally come and gone. What a relief! My parents dragged me out of bed this morning shortly before 9 o'clock. We opened presents for about two hours and then got to cleaning. I vacuumed like mad and was done with enough time to play some Scurge and read some of Neuromancer (which I highly recommend to those of you who read--i.e. Orion). The family came over at about 3:00. It's funny because although I have always felt weird about family gatherings, I've only recently matured to the point where I grasp the subtleties of their interpersonal relationships. Here's a breakdown of everyone who came.

Grandpa Bob
("You'd better watch where you wear the topless swimsuit, Meredith.")

Grandpa Bob is a good guy. He's nice and he'll usually relate half a dozen funny stories of the good old days by the time the night is through. However, he is kind of stressed because my Grandma has Alzheimer's. His hearing is not that great either; this makes for some interesting moments. Also, he is kind of losing it. The younger parts of the family feel like they have to take care of him. And they do.

Uncle Tom
("That's not a Christmas present. That's used crap!")

Uncle Tom is kind of a loner. He acts really gruff and pretends like he doesn't care about what's going on, but then after about half an hour he starts to talking to everyone. He's really dark and makes some funny jokes along the way. His speech is peppered with the occasional swear word. He's usually pissed off about his job because he works for Boeing and they have a really high turnover, even though he eventually gets rehired every time. He acts like he doesn't like children and can't stand being there but inside he really enjoys it.

Aunt Jeannine
("And she said, 'oh, you mean the seven fingers? They're inbred.'")

Aunt Jeannine is married to Uncle Ken (detailed below). They live in Shelton, which is at least two hours east of here. She and Ken are my favorites from this side. She's funny and nice, and lenient enough to let kids have fun without being a pushover. She's a teacher and she has funny stories about her kids and related activities, and she appreciates the irony of living in a place like Shelton. Someone I'm always glad to see.

Uncle Ken
("FRUIT?! Dude, this is CHRISTMAS! What the hell are you bringing out FRUIT for?!?")

Uncle Ken is my favorite personality of the bunch. He is a big, jovial man with a mustache and came wearing a Santa hat. When I was smaller he would always address me as Lad, Laddie, The Lad, or Boy. He used to work for Microsoft and he would always be the one who gave me video games and let me play on his computer and watch movies all night long (he enjoys television very much). He's really funny and fun to talk to. He uses his Outside Voice no matter where he is, which made conversations extremely funny (talk talk talk *Uncle Ken starts* TALK! TALK! TALK!). Also, he talks a lot. However, he is definitely very awesome and the person I am most glad to see.

Charlie
("Davis, if I ever end of like one of these, I want you to put me out of my misery, okay?")

As always, Charlie remained cool-headed and calm. He drove Grandpa Bob back and forth because he is a nice guy. Mostly he sits and waits for someone to talk and then joins in the conversation once he understands what's going on.

Janice
("I was walking up the hill and then I was going down, on top of the McGreely boys!")

As per usual, Janice talked a lot. She is the most coherent and vocal of all her siblings present. She is usually really stressed because meeting with her family is hard but this time she was better, due to the absence of certain persons. Sometimes she gets pissed at Grandpa Bob and manages to only hold it back just enough so that she's not raising her voice. Funny to watch.

We talked for a few hours and then when it became boring Meredith and I went downstairs to entertain our guests with some live music. We put on a terrible show; however, no one in my mom's family is musical so it probably sounded great. Dinner was good, presents were good and less awkward this year (thank God), and cookies were great. Finally everyone left and we went for a walk. I am tired and I will go to sleep soon. New Year's party, anyone?

Delicious Christmas

Mario


Link


The Great Deku Tree


Navi


Samus


A Metroid


The Mirror Shield


A Pokeball

Merry Christmas! May all receive awesome stacks of games and gear!

Today

Today I have not done much. I finished a college application and began some new scholarship applications. I must apply for many different scholarships so that my college experience will be FREE!!!!
Today I have finally resolved to make a post about the pretzel bag from the trip back from Florida when I went to visit Keir oh so many months ago. First, some backstory. I booked my flight with Airtran Airways. Heard of it? I hadn't, but darn if it wasn't cheap. The bag is appropriately titled "How to eat GOURMET PRETZELS on a low'fare airline." The back of the bag says this:

1. Think about our wonderful low fares at airtran.com as you open packet.
2. Place a pretzel in mouth. With each crunch, be reminded of our low fares.
3. As you swallow, remember again just how low the fares are.
4. Repeat until pretzel packet is empty.
5. Keep empty packet to remind yourself to book at airtran.com for our lowest fares and no booking fees.

Of course, the worst part is that I did.

So, we need to get our Starcraft on. And by 'we,' I mean me, since the rest of you guys are probably buried up to your waist in Snowballs. But really, I'm going to try to play. Because I know that everyone will probably get great new video games for Christmas and will play them exclusively for the week afterwards. I, who do not receive video games, shall be left alone.

More to come

The message displayed when I completed the last unit of my online Excel course:

Congratulations! You've excelled in this assignment. Put forth the same effort as you finish the course.
Moani Revoir

OUCH. That pun is so bad that I think my brain just hemorrhaged.

It's been a long time...Comrade

Well, Jack made a real post, so here I will try to make a real one as well.
This week:

Monday: Boring. School. Boring. Boring.
Tuesday: School again. Essay Fun. Not Fun. Boring, in fact. Yes, very.
Wednesday: School again. Pwnage in Wind Ensemble and then in Physics. Music Theory wasn't really that bad either. In all, a good day. I had to take Meredith to the physical therapy place and I read a good book in the car. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov. Then I had piano. THen I studied calculus. Then I finally went to sleep.
Thursday: A less pwnage day. More essay fun, which was not productive in the least. More calculus, which was terrible. More psychology, which was long but great. Psychology is the best class that I have because I get to sit next to Josh Holguin and Emily Forman (who is a noob but fun to talk to, no less). Josh and I just sit back there and make sex jokes the whole time. And when I say the whole time, I mean the WHOLE time. We even made sex jokes about the obituary project (just don't ask). It's good that Josh Holguin is awesome.
Friday: my God, it came so slowly. After the final test in Music Theory, helped Diane carry fruit to her car and then went to Steven's for the paper route, Wario Ware, Mario Party, Deuce Bigalow, Two and a Half Men, and really good pizza. Then to Orion's for some Back to Baghdad ($#^*(^$%*&(^!%#(*%#)&($&$^#@($ BACK TO BAGHDAD) and some Ultimate Alliance, which was actually quite enjoyable. Or maybe it just stood out next to B2B (the graphics are really good)!
On Saturday I went to Archie MsPhee's with Tracy and she bought some stuff to give for people for Christmas. Me, I got out of it because I'm cheap. Heh. I spent the night reading. Today I woke up late and then started on my massive psycho project (a typo, actually, but a fitting one). I started at 1:30 and finished just a half hour ago. If Mr. Messner does not give me an A, I think I will have to stay after class someday and yell at him, vigorously.

I haven't played video games for a while (on my own, at least). I'm still working through Final Fantasy IV...I just haven't had time. Well, the Big Band Dance is in a week and then it will be Christmas parties and Christmas time and then finally Christmas break. It'll be great, except when the break is over then the real AP drive begins. Definitely not awesome.

Good enough for ya?

Since I'm waiting for the SAT scores to update...

I shall write a new post.

Observe: HE RETURNS!


(For those of you that are blind, egreggious's name appears in the center-ish)
(For those of you who don't know who egreggious is, just stop trying).

All right. School is fun. I am tired. I still like video games.
David is placated.

Done is Done

It's not fair. The Legend of Zelda is over. All it does is give you a title screen that says, The End. You can't press A to save or even to continue to the title screen. It's not supposed to work that way. There's so much that I missed--Pieces of Heart, Golden Bugs, Poes, chests, weapon upgrades, the secret dungeon--I'm not done yet! And yet it tells me that I am. And I will never have time to go and find all that I have missed--there is too much going on in my crazy maze of a life. I'll never have time to go and discover everything for myself--if I want to know, I'll have to look it up and follow a guide. It will gut my experience and make getting the items practically worthless. But it's all that I have left. Not to know closure, or to know closure, and know that it is fake, and wonder forever if I ever could have taken it all the way all by myself?


School has started once again. It is full of fresh new opportunities for fame and for folly. Perhaps I have taken advantage of both.
Mornings are the worst. Getting up at 5:30 is never fun. I am always tired, which I admit I was prepared for--but it's still a shock. Everything has been crazy lately, with jazz band, marching band, Honors Society collections, FBLA, filing for Torres, crosscountry, and weekend crosscountry meets. I haven't had a free Saturday yet--each week we have gone to all-day meets and I have had to gut it out on Sunday to get my homework done. Today our group started and finished the psych project all in one shot--and although it took longer than I would have liked, it was actually kind of fun. However, we weren't exactly off to an auspicious start. I forgot who we had signed up for, Josh was babysitting all day, I couldn't get ahold of Lizzie. But some thinking and a few phone calls and it all fell into place, and now it's done and we don't have to worry about it anymore. Now all I have to worry about is jazz band, wind ensemble, marching band, essay fundamentals, ap physics, ap calculus, ap music theory, ap psychology, crosscountry, college applications, working for my neighbors, getting enough sleep, keeping my legs healthy, and the Microsoft Excel course I'm taking online.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Well, now things are winding down, I guess. Honors Society dues are done; I have just a few loose ends to tie up (read: people that can't handle deadlines). Crosscountry is down to one meet a week; no more Saturdays. There are only two more football games left. Jazz is easier for me because I brought all of the skills that I learned over the summer. All I really want is time to play video games and hang out with friends. HALO 3 party sometime? I suppose as the school year keeps going I'll get more and more used to it, but Sunday nights are still hard for me to handle. Suddenly it's eight o'clock and I realize that I have to practice the piano and get my things ready for school and then go to sleep and wake up early for a long grind of a week of early rising and late resting. It's not fair because the game ends at eight o'clock when I have to get ready, and the magic is never supposed to end.

Royalty in the Night

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is perhaps the finest game I have played this year. Or, maybe in my life, for that matter. I rented it because I am cheap. However, it seems that the story will continue for about 20 more hours. Plus I decided that I should own this game. Perhaps I am forced to pay the fifty-dollar price?

Play this game. Now. Everything about it is cool, except for the fact that Heart Containers have been increased to 5 pieces each, instead of four. The reason? I know not. But Link looks better than ever, you can swing your sword WHILE RUNNING, the plot is good, the action engaging. It's Zelda...all grown up.

However, there are noobs in this world.

A Horrible Game
Reviewed By: Liner-n Date: 6/20/2007 7:10:02 PM
I don't get why people think this game is so good. The graphics are fuzzy and blurry, the gameplay is boring and the controls barely respond! The music bores me most of the time and i just never seem to have any fun. Whatever you do don't get this game and get Super Monkey Ball instead. Now that's a great game.

GANNON-BANNED, indeed.

Summer is boring now. I am working on running and playing piano so that I can be good at them. I must also do physical work for money. Everyone is gone and so is teh fun. PAX!

Read, and Thrive.

From Gamasutra:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1524/the_chemistry_of_game_design.php

Gamasutra consistently publishes well-written and researched essays on everything relating to videogames and their virtual worlds. Visit it often!
The only one who will actually think about this is Orion, and even he may not read as much as he should.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!

You know you're a gamer when...(Part II)

-"Getting lucky" means a critical hit.
-Your mom tells you that you need to have "female interaction" this summer.
-The biggest crisis for the day is deciding which game to play.
-Whenever you meet someone named Zelda, you think, "how unoriginal."
-"Getting lucky" means a critical hit.
-When a parent asks "what you like to do," you stutter and avoid until finally coming up with "computers."
-Anything that numerically describes a person (height, weight), is automatically a "stat."
-You think "being productive" is getting a high score.
-Your number of kills far outweighs your number of friends.
-You play games day and night, but still manage not to have any [game].
-You've ever used the term "rl" in rl.
-YOU ARE READING THIS LIST!!!

bananaoracle89: kniving?
bananaoracle89: you mean conniving?
blitzmoose9: no kniving
blitzmoose9: like a knife

IT'S NEARLY THAT TIME AGAIN!

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/sex%2C-crime-and-videogames/gang-kidnaps-gamer-to-get-password-using-fake-orkut-date-280966.php

Read and Learn

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/commentary/games/2007/07/games_frontiers_0716#

I haven't played Pokemon since June 28. That's nearly 3 weeks without it! O_0
But I'm really into some other games right now, like Sigma Star Saga. Actually only Sigma Star Saga.
Hangings out have not happened as much as they must. I declare: More frisbee! More Gears of War! More Super Smash Brothers! More movies! Some Whirly Ball!!

Very entertaining:

http://nigoro.jp/game/rosecamellia/rosecamellia.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/arts/television/11game.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

(read: I read Kotaku so you don't have to!)

IT'S NOT THAT TIME AGAIN!

All right, just forget about that last post until I can think of some funny ones.
Dammit.

blitzmoose9 (5:57:18 PM): i could
blitzmoose9 (5:57:20 PM): i should
blitzmoose9 (5:57:27 PM): but probably i could not
blitzmoose9 (5:57:46 PM): because my father does not like me to have fun on days where he has to do stock trading
blitzmoose9 (5:58:04 PM): if my father can't have fun, everyone should have to suffer no matter what
blitzmoose9 (5:58:10 PM): that is his belief i believe

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!

You know you're a gamer when... Part II

-Your mom tells you that you need to have "female interaction" this summer.
-As you see someone run by, you think to yourself, "man that guy has good AGL!"
-You get overcharged for something at a store and yell "Hax!"
-The biggest crisis for the day is deciding which game to play
-Whenever you meet someone named Zelda, you think, "how unoriginal."
-No one gets most of your jokes.
-When people do get your jokes, they laugh nervously and look at you as if you were an alien.
-You pledge to get out and do something this summer, this year, this month...and wake up in front of a PC in a darkened room in the middle of the night.
-You play games day and night, but still manage not to have any [game].

I'll try to replace the crappy ones with good ones later (maybe I should just make a new list...)

Flaming Creosote

I see that Jack has changed my profile thingy to "gotta catch a girlfriend!" Clever, but you will pay, oh, yes you will.

I got back from Florida okay after having to sit next to a baby for 2 hours of my 5-hour flight. Silly mother, seats are for babies that are as big as yours was.

I am preparing for the STP this weekend. This week has not been particularly eventful, although I did manage to see Transformers with Orion, Steven, and Emily (oh, David, in case you didn't get the memo, you were replaced by a chick. Sorry, we just figured that, you know, maybe she wouldn't run in with her shotgun when we needed her to heal. Plus she talks about penises way less than you).

After the STP, my only hangup is jazz camp, which begins on the 29th and goes until the 6th of August or so.

WE MUST PLAY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS.
I know Steven is around all summer. After Orion gets back we are all good, I think, as soon as I get back. I'm ready to play. I have been studying.

"Why did I delay? I thought that the journey would be too long, and that I had not the time nor energy to complete it. I was wrong on all three counts."

Flovida Stage 7

Woke up late again today. Blueberry muffins for breakfast!
Keir took Rich to the car rental place and I played the piano. For a long time. It was really fun. They got home and I went for a jog. I did all right. We went for a swim and it was very good for a while. We got some lunch at Jimmy John's, a really good sub shop that Zach Newkirk, one of his good friends, works at. It was delicious. We went back and played some vgs and watched some tv and just did general shit.

D: "Why would you spend money to send people virtual shit?"
Keir: "Heeeheeehee, people are morons. Probably only Asian girls who take Facebook way too seriously."

"I am not a loser! And I'll prove it to you by challenging you to a children's card game!" -Joey

So now we are here dicking around at 12:31am. We are getting up early tomorrow and flying for extended periods of time. Then I am engaging in strenuous physical activity. But I demand to do it while tired!
TOday we visited the bat house here at the University of Florida. We waited, and waited, and then suddenly legions of bats flew out! It was pretty sweet.

That about wraps up my trip to Gainesville, Florida. I saw new sights, made some new friends, and got to hang with an old bud. Excellent.

Flovida Stage 6

What is up with all these phallic housing arrangments?!

Keir: "I wonder if we'll see an '8 equals sign capital D' community."



I had a really hard time sleeping last night. I kept thinking about video games and more important things, like Starcraft. Wait...

We woke up late. AGAIN. This time we went to see the Devil's Millhopper, and it was open. It rained hard while we climbed down the winding walkway into the bottom of the sinkhole. It's a pretty big sinkhole just in the middle of the ground. It was cool, but less amazing since I come from a place where the total elevation gain/loss over a mile is more than 10 feet. "Floridians's ears are popping because they've never been that far down before." (Keir). That was cool. AFter that, we tried to edit our music video but we failed because Keir did not have the right cords. Instead, we played video games with Richard, a real loser whom I like for some reason. It was fun. I pwned at Medal of Honor and Super Smash Brothers.
We visited some neighborhood people for fireworks tonight. It was fun. These people live in an uber-rich, gated community. Keir had to type in a combination on a keypad, which opened the gate after a dull metallic beep (like it was directly out of Resident Evil). These people are RICH RICH. We think that the Innis Arden people are rich. These people live in a MANSION. Two floors; the second floor is like twenty or thirty feet up. Marble floors. Their living area looked like a hotel lobby, the kind of hotel lobby that you never see because that type of hotel is too expensive for you. After that, it was stupid rich boys dicking around with fireworks; what can I say? We stayed around for the big ones and then got the hell out of there.


This is sad.

Flovida Stage 5

WTF?!?
It was purely happenstance that we, er, happened upon the db Racquet Club. We were originally looking for the Devil Millhopper sinkhole.


Today was a good day. We had planned to go to THe SPrings, some thing where you pay an exorbitant amount of money for a fleeting experience, but we decided not to. We instead visited a sinkhole, which turned out to be closed (it is a state park). We happened upon the db Racquet Club and another qp-themed housing community. Strange much? We journeyed to an awesome botanical garden with plants from all over the world, and we ended up seeing four armadillos at once. After that, we returned and watched "Father Ted," a show about three Irish priests. It is very funny.
Tonight we went out with some of Keir's friends and set off fireworks. It was fun and dangerous.

Flovida Stage 4

We woke up very late this morning. Keir took me to the University of Florida to see Lake Alice, where we sought to see an alligator. We did indeed. We spotted no less than three alligators and five turtles, as well as a myriad conglomeration of birds, lizards, and arthropods (spiders and insects). It was an alien place. I felt like we were in the Jurassic as we walked through the humid forest, pushing aside great fronds and dodging gigantic ant mounds.
After that we went to see the FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, although I doubt that it is the only one in Florida.It has a fantastic Lepidoptera (butterfly) exhibit, since Florida is THE place to go if you want to study butterflies (or biology, for that matter) in the United States. It also featured the Megalodon, a gigantic shark that was perhaps one hundred feet long (and included a section that showed where the Megalodon has been referenced--DnD Monster Book fan service!!!!!!). That took quite a while. When we got home, we purchased a flag to stomp on the street and we filmed ourselves stomping it (the flag). It will be an integral part of our music video, Nerds Gone Wild 2.5. At 7, a bunch of guys came over for poker. You all should have seen it. I pwned that game as if it was a turtling Zerg nooblet and I was, well, me. I was in the lead (or very close) up until people started leaving. Then I lost interest and my uber-bluffing skills declined. I did beat out a very buff farmboy though.
Keir's friends are cool and I'm having an awesome time. This is a good trip. Tomorrow we will hit one of Florida's infamous springs and raft down it. On Wednesday, we shall journey to Richard's house and edit our music video there, and then we will assist him in shooting off his fireworks later that night.

Memo: The rocks that I noted yesterday prove, upon further inspection, to be of volcanic origin. I cannot remember which type; IPS was long ago.

Flovida Stage 3

Picture that I made on Keir's computer when I was bored.


I shall now detail my observances of the flora, fauna, and minerals of West Gainesville.

On Friday I was lucky enough to spot an armadillo on someone's lawn. It seems that they take the place of opossums down here (i.e. many are on the side of the road).
There are also many small lizards that walk around and can be found outside the house, on the pavement, etc. Tiny frogs are constantly jumping out from underfoot, at least at nighttime. Keir assures me that we will get the chance to see an alligator before I leave. I have not been able to observe many species of insects (or any at all) because during the day it is blistering hot.
The grass here looks like crabgrass. Keir assures me that it is in fact the grass that you want and not a weed-like thing such as the crabgrass we have at home. Its blades are thicker, wider, and taller, and there are fewer blades to each square foot of grass. This leads me to believe that the larger blades take advantage of the sunlight here. Most trees that I have observed are deciduous. Some are tropical coconut-looking palm tree look-alikes. It is novel and strange to see flat roads stretch for miles alongside carefully manicured patches of grass and dark patches of deciduous forest.
We saw some rocks by darkness today. I did not have a chance to examine them. It looked as if they were of volcanic origin. More tomorrow.

Today we slept late, 10:40. Played some Rogue Leader, which we are now stuck on. We began the filming of Nerds Gone Wild 2.5, a film to rival the other two. Muhahahahaha.
We did this for quite some time. After, Ishan, one of Keir's good friends (and now one of mine) came over and hung out for a while. He is a very good guy. Many of his mannerisms are similar to mine.
We left for Moe's, a local Mexican restaurant, at about 6:20 today. I was able to meet three more of Keir's friends: Richard, Zach, and Kristin. They are all nice, except for Richard. He is a loser.
We have nearly finished filming for the music video and are now retiring for the night. Ironic that back home I would never consider going to sleep this early. Usually we've gone to sleep around 1 Florida time.

Tomorrow is the grand poker party at Keir's house. Tuesday, perhaps a chance to go to some lakes and see some gators, or perhaps more hanging out with people. Wednesday, Richard's great illegal fireworks display, which will hopefully not cost me an appendage. Thursday, last-minute finishings up of things, perhaps with a visit to the "gardens" or some other place fun.

Signing off,

Flovida Stage 1, 2

So I got up at 4:30 on Friday to make it to the airport "on time" according to my mom, which was of course like 5 billion hours before my flight left. I had two flights. The first was five hours long. 5 HOURS! It was a bad one. Thank god for my literacy. I caught a connecting flight in Atlanta and found myself in JAX (Jacksonville international) a few hours later. After some commotion about baggage, Keir and Rich (Keir's dad) and I set out. We got home late so Keir and I just hung out and talked much.

Saturday: Woke up at 10. Damn that was nice, especially after the time change. Good breakfast, then Keir and I played some Smash brothers. It was pwnage. I'm sorry Keir, but your Smash skills are not what they used to be (and neither are mine). Keir decided that he wanted to play some old games that we used to play when I came over back in the day. We played Stratego. We were supposed to meet one of Keir's chums after "dinner" (lunch) but he was unable to see us so we hit the pool instead. Then we rode bikes to Haile, a snobby "subdivision" of Gainesville, but not actually a separate town. After "tea" (dinner), we watched a Bad Religion DVD, which was very cool, and played some Rogue Squadron, which was very awesome. FOr the past two hours we have dicked around on Facebook in his room. But why go to bed before 12 anyway?

I hope everyone is well. It is very hot here. Rich said that they would turn their air conditioning down to 78 for me. Jesus Christ! And it's even hotter outside.

To Mom: Don't worry, Rich assured me that we will have a rotation of dinners: Pizza, Taco Bell, and restuarant chicken.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/06/study_for_the_s.html

Lol?

Okay for Japan, but not America:



Also, from Kotaku:

...I am sitting here trying to figure out what to say about the press release I just received, and words are failing me completely. RPG gods BioWare are teaming up with Sega to create a Sonic RPG for the Nintendo DS. My excitement glands and cynicism glands just leapt out of my body and are sword fighting across the top of my desk. We'll see what Sega of America president Simon Jeffery has to say while I wrangle these suckers.

"BioWare is one of the hottest names in RPG development in the world," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America, Inc. "Everyone at SEGA has huge confidence that Sonic is in the safest of hands, and that BioWare can create the ultimate handheld RPG experience for gamers of all ages."


So we have BioWare, who have never created anything I didn't love, working in the Sonic universe, which lately has been transformed into a giant farm where they only grow crap. A shitfarm, if you will. Can a story-driven game about a character who has always been about blindingly fast action even work?

If I think about this too much my head will explode, or I'll be torn into two separate beings with the evil side getting the goatee. Kind of fond of my goatee. Here, have a press release. Michael Fahey

FAITH Must be your strategy guide

This weekend was not so bad. Recording for jazz band went surprisingly well. I had dinner with my grandfather from my mom's side on Saturday night, and Sunday was spent working and then going to senior graduation, where Orion and I were ushers (bitches in suits).

Tomorrow is my eighteenthh birthday. If you wish, you may shower me with gifts and other appreciation. If not, then it does not matter. I am not making a big deal out of it like my mom is and stuff. It's just weird to have a huge milestone like this and not do anything about it. Eh.

Gears this weekend.

TAINK

[19:54] bananaoracle89: thank God they let me keep my tanks
[19:54] bananaoracle89: but wait
[19:54] bananaoracle89: what if they took my Goliaths?
[19:54] bananaoracle89: NOOOOOOOOOO
[19:54] brittlebrit187: the popular term is 'fisher price toys' for the tanks

[19:57] bananaoracle89: really because they didn't seem like toys when they tore you a new asshole
[19:57] brittlebrit187: no, the sc 2 tanks
[19:57] brittlebrit187: alot of people dont like what they look like
[19:57] brittlebrit187: and call them fisher price toys
[19:57] bananaoracle89: oh
[19:57] bananaoracle89: yes they do indeed look like shitty toys
[19:58] brittlebrit187: i swear to you, I have nothing but fear and respect for seige tanks


[20:11] bananaoracle89: Orion suggested that I could write music for video games
[20:11] bananaoracle89: that would be cool
[20:11] brittlebrit187: yeah
[20:12] brittlebrit187: it would
[20:12] bananaoracle89: and it would combine two of my greatest passions
[20:12] brittlebrit187: video games and orion?
[20:12] bananaoracle89:

I'm 18 years old in four days.

Grandmas are threatening you and me

He, For One, Does Not Welcome Our New Wii Overlords
Thursday, June 07, 2007 12:24 AM
By N'Gai Croal

One of the guilty pleasures of having a blog is when a Google Alert arrives in our inbox, pointing out that somewhere, someone is a) reading our blog and even better b) taking the time to write about it. All PR is good PR, as far as the staff of Level Up is concerned, but even more compelling than good PR is the opportunity to become e-quainted with other talented and compelling bloggers.

We made the acquaintance of SportsBlogNation president Tyler Bleszinski--yes, he's also the older brother, by three years, of Gears of War designer Cliff "Cliffyb" Bleszinski--after reading an eminently fair assessment that he'd written on his own blog Gearheads of War about our critique of the dialogue in Gears of War. Since then, we've emailed from time to time on subjects various and sundry. During one such exchange, prompted by our inaugural Monday Morning Quarterback post about the April sales charts, Bleszinski voiced his concern about the impact that the Wii--more specifically, the tidal wave of casual game-oriented newcomers that Nintendo's hit console was ushering into the market--would have on hardcore gamers like himself. Intrigued, we asked Bleszinski to tackle the following question, "Why do you feel threatened by the prospect of a dominant Wii?" Here is his reply.


My brother Cliff and I have been into games long before he ever created Gears of War. He and I played through the original Zelda together and I remember having tournaments with him where we'd play the original Nintendo Ice Hockey game. I liked to stack my team with the fat guys because they had a booming shot that could score from anywhere and were really good at checking. Cliff went the skinny guy route and tried to skate circles around me.

But the times, they are a-changing. If Nintendo has its way, young males will no longer be the dominant segment of the console audience--and this transition appears to be happening faster than I expected. The other day I was in Target looking to pick up some games when I saw an older woman--very likely a grandmother--waiting for the clerk's attention. She wanted him to get her a couple of games from inside the locked glass cabinet. When he asked her which ones, she stated Cooking Mama and Wii Play.

I could barely stifle a groan. Don't get me wrong; I think it's cute that someone who likely had no idea what a video game was would suddenly plunk down her Social Security money so she can cook virtual meals, play a rousing game of table tennis and shark her little grandchildren out of their milk money in billiards. But honestly, I had refused to believe that grandmothers were buying these things as so many news reports have claimed until I saw it with my own eyes. My story may be anecdotal, but the plural of anecdote is data, and there are more than enough news stories on this topic to suggest that this phenomenon is real.

What's more, Nintendo has the sales figures to back up its hype. The NPD sales figures since November have been troubling to me as a hardcore gamer who loves new IPs and in-depth experiences. The Nintendo Wii has built up a ton of momentum in 2007, and despite the fact that it features an internal architecture that maxes out graphically around where the original Xbox did, it has quickly become the darling of the non-gaming press. There have been umpteen stories about the scrappy little Wii wooing non-gamers and bringing in hordes of new converts to worship at the altar of Mario.

I'm not saying that the videogame industry shouldn't strive to bring in as many new people as possible. It most definitely should, because new gamers mean a nice, healthy business. My problem is what this new crowd appears to be drawn to. Games like Wii Sports, Wii Play and Cooking Mama have become some of the biggest sellers, and that is what has me worried. If these are the type of games that become blockbusters, then you can count on other gaming companies who cater to the more hardcore gamer--aka me and the milions of others who've been driving this business--to promptly change direction. If we've learned anything about videogame companies, it's that they all are quick to follow each other if one is successful with something. I mean, Sony already imitated the Wii a bit with their Sixaxis controller; Microsoft followed Sony with their own EyeToy-like camera, albeit far less successfully; and Sony is now trying to replicate some kind of online service a la Xbox Live. If Nintendo winds up outselling the 360 and the PS3 by a wide margin, how soon will it be before we gamers are using the Sixaxis to chop up onions with in Metal Gear Mama? How long before we're frantically swinging waggle remotes for tennis, bowling and golf in Halo Sports?

Will games like Halo and Gears of War ever go away? Hell no. But publishers aren't stupid. They're going to go where the majority of the money is and if people want to play the WarioWare mini-games more than the meaty experiences that hardcore gamers love, you're inevitably going to see a corresponding shift in development. Publishers are in the business of making money, so if they can spend six months or a year developing a mini-game package for five-year-old technology and make more profits than they would by spending 2-3 years crafting a long and detailed experience, you can bet your Wiimote that that's exactly what they'll do.

If casual games become the industry's primary money-making vehicle, these mini-game collections and more casual games could wind up completely redefining the market. I don't think we're far off from the day when Hannah Montana Wii and Wii Sports 2 dominate the NPD charts. And as soon as that day comes, why would publishers want to continue to the time and effort to develop an in-depth, cinematic experience when they could slap together a bunch of mini-games with waggle and make just as much money, if not more? Remember, gaming is a love for you and me, but it's ultimately a business for these publishers and developers.

So while the business of the Wii has great for Nintendo--surprise, surprise--and a handful of risk-takers like Ubisoft, it's thus far been ugly when it comes to the experiences beloved by core gamers like myself. The Wii has been chock full of mini-games, PlayStation 2 knockoffs and PSP ports. Yes, there has been The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but not much else in terms of lengthy, in-depth experiences. As for new intellectual properties, they've been pretty much few and far between, unless you consider Wii Sports and Wii Play new IPs; to me, they're more tech demos than anything else. At least the PS3 has Resistance and MotorStorm, with Lair right around the corner. The 360 has Gears of War, Viva Pinata and Crackdown. But for the Wii, most third parties would rather take the easy way out and continue to port older games with the waggle tacked on than devote the time and resources to creating great new experiences. The fact that the PS2 is still going incredibly strong isn't going to help the situation either, because it and the PSP will provide the Wii with an endless supply of ports for the Wii instead of forcing publishers and developers to think of new and in-depth experiences.

I'll repeat this again: I am not saying that the more hardcore games are going to die out. Smart developers and publishers will realize that they can make a mint off the hardcore, especially if more developers move towards the quick, jump in-jump out type of experience that many Wii and DS games offer. But they will be in the minority. Valve, Epic and others won't turn to making mini-game compilations, but I can definitely see companies like EA and Ubisoft realizing that they don't need huge development teams and hundreds of people working on a game to make a ton of cash in the land of mini-game moneymakers. It's like suddenly discovering that business plan behind McDonald's is applicable to video games.

Some will likely argue that these more casual games are a gateway drug for new users. They'll claim that we should be happy because it will bring a whole new group of people into gaming. I find it hard to believe that something like Wii Play could lead to someone like the little old lady I saw in the store playing Metroid Prime 3. I just don't see it happening. These same people didn't jump into hardcore games before the Wii, but they're suddenly going to do it now because they had some fun playing virtual bowling? I seriously doubt that. She's not going to go from creating a meal in Cooking Mama to saving Zelda. She's never going to defend Sera, guide Reggie Bush into the end zone, or venture into Liberty City. And should the product portfolios of major publishers become a zero-sum game, her tastes will represent a direct threat to my longtime hobby.

I sincerely believe that bringing new people to video games is a good thing. I like seeing the business continue to grow and be even more successful, because I'm old enough to remember the videogame industry crash between the Atari 5200 and the Nintendo Entertainment System. But ultimately, going more mainstream can have unintended consequences--ones that could negatively impact the breadth and depth of the kinds of games that I love, as do millions of others. I think Mike Myers' Wayne Campbell said it best in "Wayne's World" when he was talking about that tool Benjamin Kane, played so memorably by Rob Lowe. "It's like he wants us to be liked by everyone. I mean Led Zeppelin didn't write tunes everybody liked. They left that to the Bee Gees." That statement could very well apply to the Wii and its software lineup.

Me? I'll take "Kashmir" over "Staying Alive" any day of the week.



This is not a good thing.

READING ABOUT HARDCORE GAMING MAKES ME WANT TO CHAINSAW A NOOB SO BAD!

You read this blog why?

From Kotaku:



"Obviously the above display is for a sex game. . .the name of this game? Oppai Baka, or as I like to say, "Boob Fool." There are two words for that plastic display case: absolutely necessary."


[19:42] bananaoracle89: istn' it just guys when I come?
[19:43] brittlebrit187: yup
[19:43] bananaoracle89: SECKS
[19:43] brittlebrit187: perhaps a poor adjective choice but i get your drift

[19:45] oreo2476: heh now theres an idea
[19:47] bananaoracle89: that wuld be such a dick move
[19:47] bananaoracle89: we should do it.
[19:48] oreo2476: last time we did a dick move it made a girl cry
[19:48] bananaoracle89: yeah but that was funny

Everyone bitches about my incoherent posts. And by everyone, I mean Zach, who is busy smoking his brains out and probably couldn't tell you what year it is anyway. I went to Brad's Eagle Ceremony today. It was indeed a good one, with much food and people that were moderately cool. Our jazz band records on THursday night this week. That is such a bitch. Thankfully, it ends a week from tomorrow, so no more getting up and yelling and practicing and shit. I can leave the school year in a blaze of Pokemon glory, and Starcraft pwnage.
Hanging out? Video game parties? Frisbee? Gears of War? Anyone?

Rwanda genocide webquest:
"If Pentagon objections were to be overcome, the President, Secretary Christopher, Secretary Perry, or Anthony Lake would have to step forward to "own" the problem, which did not happen."

The Pentagon is n00b.

Starcraft Again

brittlebrit187 (2:44:34 PM): lets skype it up!
bananaoracle89 (2:44:39 PM): BITCH YEAH
bananaoracle89 (2:44:42 PM): er
bananaoracle89 (2:44:43 PM): SHIT YEAH

Starcraft has been played. Much of it. Perhaps we are once again slipping into the cycle that Ben, Steven, and I so dreaded when we made that fateful decision 7 months ago...
But everything is basically good. School is winding down. My Pokedex is up to about 143. Nearly a third done! (482)
English, French, and APUSH projects loom... in addition, I feel mounting pressure to consider colleges but no motivation.

[15:58] bananaoracle89: COS I COULDN'T THINK OF ANYTYING TO SAY
[15:58] bananaoracle89: IN CAPS LOCK
[15:58] bananaoracle89: I REALLY SHOULDN'T BE ASKING YOU TO PLAY STARCRAT RIGHT NOW
[15:58] bananaoracle89: I HAVE NO TIME FOR IT
[15:58] brittlebrit187: so.....
[15:58] brittlebrit187: sc?
[15:59] brittlebrit187: a little 2v2 noobs! never hurt anyone
[15:59] brittlebrit187: except the noobs

Starcraft?

[16:25] bananaoracle89: but it is sosunny that is makes me feel guilty
[16:26] RunningInSquare3: just close the windows
[16:26] RunningInSquare3: thats what i do

So Starcraft...I really want to play again. But I feel like I should be doing homework or something else instead of it. Eh...

Pokemon report: day 19

Wow, only 19 days. Seems like I've had it forever...I'm coming up on 60 hours now. Beat the Elite Four...now I need to evolve like crazy so that I can CATCH EM ALL!!!
Pokemon has certainly evolved over the years and incorporated a healthy dose of current trends. Just yesterday a female trainer informed me that she was going to use me for practice to see how well she could 'own' the Elite Four. I've been called a noob in-game at least three times. Irony is, as usual, not lost on the folks at Game Freak: I found the TM for Swagger in a rich guy's mansion, and right before battling, a Black Belt informed me that he "doesn't actually know karate."
Gameplay remains much the same: addictive, though repetetive. There are now 482 Pokemon, apparently--not including the 8 extra from special Nintendo events. I've got a long road ahead of me. But PokeDave shall prevail!

Memorial Day?

Kotaku's take on Memorial Day:

Ah, Memorial Day. What's typically known as an excuse for a long weekend, the running of the Indy 500 and back to back BBQ's is actually, as Wikipedia tells us, a holiday intended to "commemorate U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country." My guess is that many of us will spend that time commemorating many lives lost on the virtual battlefield.

I know that as I lose hundreds of Terran marines and firebats this weekend playing my recently re-installed copy of StarCraft, I'll pause, for a fraction of a second, a remember each one.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/frivolous/lawsuit-alleges-xbox-killed-baby-263486.php

Behappy6288 (7:25:26 PM): it was a good wedding
Behappy6288 (7:26:37 PM): "hey lisaim heading up to lovers package you want anything"-rob "yeah remember those things about last time remember"-my mom
bananaoracle89 (7:27:08 PM): !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Victoria

Josh Ku: Nice on becoming Treasurer, man.
Me: Thanks.
Josh: You should embezzle funds.

bananaoracle89 (5:03:45 PM): OMF LIKE SC RITE
brittlebrit187 (5:04:17 PM): sc is cool
brittlebrit187 (5:04:27 PM): i olololoed at the lastest ctrl alt del
bananaoracle89 (5:04:51 PM): OMFG LIKE PLAY SC RITE?
brittlebrit187 (5:05:09 PM): rite now?
bananaoracle89 (5:05:27 PM): LIKE RITE?
brittlebrit187 (5:05:49 PM): talk normal!
bananaoracle89 (5:06:04 PM): let's play Starcraft, goddammit!

bananaoracle89 (5:08:54 PM): well shall we play
RunningInSquare3 (5:09:05 PM): hmm
RunningInSquare3 (5:09:08 PM): how should i put this
RunningInSquare3 (5:09:13 PM): SHIT YEAH

STARCRAFT II!!!

http://www.blizzard.com

I'm sitting in my room right now with a paper bag over my mouth and my head between my knees, hyperventilating because I've just seen footage of STARCRAFT 2! This is so pwnage.

Pure Pwnage < Pokemon < Starcraft 2!!!

bananaoracle89 (11:03:55 AM): not liking the dark dragoons
brittlebrit187 (11:04:02 AM): well
brittlebrit187 (11:04:12 AM): you wont ever like anything that can pwn your precious seige tanks

bananaoracle89 (11:07:24 AM): I dont' like the zealot charge attack either
brittlebrit187 (11:08:10 AM): why not?
brittlebrit187 (11:08:13 AM): i like that alot
bananaoracle89 (11:08:23 AM): it hurt my siege tanks

brittlebrit187 (11:24:59 AM): i bet you wouldnt have destroyed all your units in that nume attack either
bananaoracle89 (11:25:23 AM): fuck no
bananaoracle89 (11:25:28 AM): only would have used two nukes

Ripped from David:
RunningInSquare3: So how is pokemon?
Bananaoracle89: *replying would require putting the DS down*

On somebody that I forget:
David: Getting sex should be our M.O.
Davis: Unfortunately, our MO is followed by RPG.

Yes indeed, Pokemon is indeed an awesome power. Sheer Pwnage must be made soon, for I am full to bursting with Poke-jokes (Kinesis! Kinesis! Kinesis!)

Also, http://www.nuklearpower.com/ is really funny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideburns observe. Notice how it wastes no time getting to the part about important people.

Done

brittlebrit187 (5:04:16 PM): i wrote the dbq in history in 20 minutes
bananaoracle89 (5:04:22 PM): !!!!!!!!
brittlebrit187 (5:04:26 PM): cus i lost all track of time and started panicing

So the AP tests are done. I have Pokemon Pearl.

So it's 12 am this morning, or thereabouts. I'm in the living room in my pajamas, screaming and cussing at Onix because it won't get into the Pokeball. It's at the smallest amount of HP, and I wasted 17 Pokeballs on it, even the single great ball that I found in the grass.

I love Pokemon.

Zach:

4253 0142 6838
Davis

WHY DO YOU TAUNT ME SO?!

Pokemon: a bad influence?

Have you ever thought about how messed up Pokemon is? Let's take a look at some common themes:

Delinquency: At age 10, young men and women are allowed, if not encouraged, to strike out on their own, armed with a trusty bag of Pokeballs and some PBJ sandwiches. Does anyone go to school in the Pokemon world? Because it sure isn't encouraged. How do they have an economy?

Risktaking: Children run into patches of tall grass seeking to get into fights with vicious rats, angry birds, and poisonous snakes. We don't even have to mention the part about Rock Tunnel. They are also allowed to engage large groups of armed thugs, while the police do nothing.

Animal cruelty: Trainers capture wild animals, confine them, and then train them for battle. They also participate in black-market trading of these commodity animals. Selective breeding is encouraged. Is there anything wrong with this picture? Good thing that Kanto doesn't have PETA.

Extortion: When a trainer is defeated in battle, he "loses" half his money, and it is given to the victor. If they want to keep it, too bad! The winner still has a legion of viciously trained attack Pokemon at his disposal.

Gambling: No one stops the kid from entering the casino. No one stops him from getting a coin case. No one stops him from putting coins in and gambling. In fact, the player is encouraged to purchase coins in order to win more black-market animals and goods from the casino.

And they worry about violence in videogames.

Almost there...

HOLY SHIT!



"OMFG Davis, you are so noob. I can't believe that you didn't realize World of Starcraft was an April Fool's joke!" Who's lauging now, you noobs?!

Days until Pokemon: 5

I can almost taste it. And it tastes good.
This week was boring. Lots of studying. The last CID was completed!!!11! This weekend was boring. SAT yesterday, which was really easy and I hope I pwned.
For Mother's day we are going on a family trip to Port Townsend. This would elicit many groans if not for the fact that I shall have Pokemon on that date. Port Townsend and Whidbey Island and their associated areas are indeed beautiful and remind me of Pokemon. It shall be fitting.

More toil

OMFG POWERMON


Hahahahah! They think that they can poll THE MASTER?

Days until Pokemon: 9

It's been really hard. But the last time that I posted it was 15. I have subsisted by playing the piano and thinking about how sad I am that everyone has Pokemon before me. Luckily, we have hit some easy spots on wind ensemble and jazz band; I have practiced for neither in quite some time. French AP on Monday, English on THursday, APUSH on Friday. Pokemon on Friday after the APUSH exam.

I'm really tired. And I keep thinking about when I can have Pokemon. Orion suggested that I get it Monday after French, but David said no. You know what this means: I must ask Steven, the great sage of pwnage.

Days until Pokemon: 16

Tomorrow the jazz band plays at the Spring Sports Assembly. Relation: shaky at best. But who cares. We pwn.

More CID mayhem:

n 1837, Massachusetts founded the country's first public board of education. Gradually, curriculums were fucking changed to reflect "practical education"--geography, physical science, arithmetic.

yep, I put it in there and he didn't catch it. Or maybe he did...

The Oneida Community was one of the last shots at Utopia, because by then people were beginning to figure out that it didn't work. It was important because it established a precedent and a belief net for the later Hippies, who might not have smoked pot and had lots of sex otherwise.

Oh, Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! That is the official name of the Church of Mormon (named after a famous Mormonese prophet). It was founded in 1830. Joseph Smith said that an angel had come to him with a revelation--maybe he should have made better friends with temperance supporters.

The Christian benevolence movement gave rise to hundreds of voluntary societies whose goal was reform all the badness they witnessed in the atheistic and downright hell-fired school systems. The power of Christ compels you!

I can't believe that I wrote all of this crap. What the hell was I thinking?

Countdown until Pokemon: 17 days

I studied a lot today. That's what my schedule looks like until May 11, the end of the AP test week. Lots of studying. Here is me preparing for AP French:

> fuck
(verbe)
baiser.

Expressions :
• Fuck it !: putain de merde.

> fuck
(nom)
acte de baiser.

Expressions :
• Fuck-all: rien de rien.

UPDATERED

Mandatory reading for all noobs:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/news/stories/20070417.html

I find this to be true, particularly the part about knowing that you're playing a game. Exception for Pokemon.

So, this week was like sux and I need not recount it. Last weekend, Amy had invited me to the tolo on Friday, and so we went. It was fun; we ate out, got some food, and then actually went to the damn thing, which was much less fun than the previous activities. I also got to hang out with 7 other seniors. Wowza!

On Saturday I went for a bike ridee with Orion, WIlfred, Andy, and Terence. It was awesome except that Orion and I had to wait forever for them to show up. We returned to his house and partook of his birthday party food, as well as his piano and his HALO. It was awesome. I went home in time to entertain the Powers for dinner. Jacob and I played Timesplitters 2. Then I stayed up late playing Castlevania.
Today started good but then sucked. I had to work and do a bunch of French that I didn't expect. Also my studying for APUSH is lacking. But the absolute worst part is that I am not in possession of Pokemon Pearl. I decided to save my Pocket virginity until May 11, when we have all passed the trial of hell and I can crash the entire weekend with my DS because none of my teachers are mean enough to assign homework *wink wink nudge nudge*.

Science Olympiad weekend post follows.

Friday: We left around 1. Luckily, Orion was the only one in our car. Muchos GBA the whole way down. We finally got to the hotel (it was in Vancouver, Washington) and checked in. We got some cool guys in our room, so it wasn't bad. We got some good Mongolian food at this place. The waitress was hot too. Basically we did nothing and just watched TV. What else do you do in hotel rooms?

Saturday: We got up, had a crappy free breakfast, and headed over to the college. I had three events: the Scrambler, with Orion, the music one, with Lucy, and Entomology, with Erika, my uber assistant. Lucy and I were supposed to build two instruments for the music one, so that was out. Orion and I competed in the scrambler: you have a cart that propels itself (we have a falling weight that tugs on an axle) and you try to get it as close to a wall as possible without too much lateral movement. You also cannot break the egg attached to the front of your cart. Orion and I "inherited" a scrambler that the team has been using for like three years. It's a crappy hulk of wood, glue, and now duct tape. You get two runs with it; the first was not bad, but we gave the weight a real good push on the second one and it slammed into the ground, snapping the string. We promptly decided to curb stomp the scrambler upon our return.
I did entomology with Erika. She didn't know anything about it the first time, but this time she studied up on what I don't know. Together, we managed to net (pun intended) seventh out of 21, which really is not bad considering the questions were things like, "which beetle was put on the endangered species list in the US in 1989?", a question that I still do not know the answer to. Much hanging out in between events, and I actually got some CIDs done. Score.

I will not eat dinner and play the piano, and then fry myself by studying for APUSH. Harrah, harrah, harrah.

Remind me to tell you about those "real beauty" ads on TV.

CIDs of months past

Final Fantasy was such a good game.

Definition
Temper is a level 4 Black spell that raises the target's attack by 10 points and can be repeatedly stacked. It also has something to do with abstaining from the consumption of alcohol?
Examples
Temperance was an important thing for many Christian crazies back in the day. They thought that alcohol impaired the senses and that its drinking was irreligious, so they chose not to drink it.
Alcohol has always been common in America, and the temperance movement was met with fierce resistance.
Unhealthy drinking water, and absence of affordable alternatives like coffee and tea, and the desire to escape from difficult surroundings prompted many to drink. Alcohol also represented many calories in a drink that was common and cheap. Tastes good, too.
Drinking and its effects became more apparent in the 19th century, so more people opposed it. Drinking establishments grew exponentially with the population.
Genteel culture and changing tastes also harbored disdain for alcohol. Coffee, tea, and clean water became available and many thought that alcohol was no longer needed.
Historical Significance
The temperance movement was spearheaded by Protestants who thought that drunkards could not seek slavation---I mean, salvation. Funny typo, that. In any case, business owners also helped the movement because alcohol lowered productivity and increased risks. They thought that they could increase safety and clean up the workers to turn them into clean, self-governing, peaceful workers. Yay.
General Significance
Temperance is a very important part of any battlefield strategy. Lucky that I chose not only a black mage, but a ninja as well. Both can cast medium-level black magic spells. First, the warrior uses the giant's gloves to cast Saber on himself, and black mage and ninja start whoring with Temper. The warrior's attack quickly rises above 3000 per hit. It's a surefire way to defeat any boss, except perhaps Omega.


Grant's attacks were "inexplicable and incredible butchery."
Historical Significance
Grant's tactics were terrible but they won the war. He hit the enemy where it hurt, broke their will, killed their spirit.
General Significance
Stim and hold position. Watch as the drones shatter into piles of blood. Why chase troops when there are overlords to be killed?


Many farmers hired sodbusters to bust their sod and open the land to get at the groundwater. Rainfall was very sparse; after the late 1880s, crop failure drove many families off the plains. It was only after farmers learned dry-farming techniques and got different strains of wheat that they were able to be very successful.
Historical Significance
Agriculture was really hard.
General Significance
Adun Toridaas.


John D. Rockefeller, the petroleum baron, also donated his fortune, creating the Rockefeller Foundation, as well as several other foundations. This was a queer sort of ambivalence: the rich gave back to society while strongly preaching about individualism and using their money in wasteful, exravagant ways.
Historical Significance
Punk rock reigned supreme in the land of the oppressed.
General Significance
3 cultural themes: belief that economy operates on slef-correcting principles such as supply and demand; ideas of social Darwinism; an assumption that people are motivated primarily by a desire for material gain.

General Significance
The I.W.W is coming
Join the One Big Union.

Director of God of War II... a woman?!?!
http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=567482

EDIT: also, Jack Thompson is a douche.
http://kotaku.com/gaming/feature/feature-dissecting-jacks-lies-252914.php

Christ it just keeps getting worse and worse:

http://gamepolitics.com/2007/04/17/dr-phil-blames-video-games-for-virginia-tech-massacre/

Post regarding Science Olympiad coming soon.

I'm probably not going to want to talk to anyone tomorrow.

[19:26] brittlebrit187: i myself have achomplished a 6 pack after many hours of ahrd work
[19:26] brittlebrit187: but the 8 pack still laughs at me from its diamond tower

VICTORY!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Most-kids-unaffected-by-violent-games/2007/04/01/1175366055463.html

also interesting:

http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/commentary/games/2007/04/gamesfrontiers_0409

http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/

JACK

Jack came on Friday this week. It was really awesome.

Friday: I went with Maddy to pick Jack up from the airport. It was a real bitch. We got lost but then finally found the cell phone lot where you wait to pick them up at the baggage claim:

Maddy: There's a stop sign.
Me: *Heavily applying brakes* FUCK!

We finally got him, drove home, ate at Spiro's, and then played some Wii at Maddy's house. It was cool and we stayed up late.

Saturday:
We woke up and had a crappy breakfast, probably. This day was the day for my EAGLE CEREMONY. We did "Jack shit" until the ceremony at the Richmond Rec Center. It was so cool and anyone that missed it should be ashamed. After, we hung out with Orion and David. We went to Dick's and then the Northgate Mall, where I acquired some nice video games. Orion realized, and I quote, that "girls are hot!" It was awesome. We played some Gears at David's after, then came back to my house and watched Idiocracy. It is now my favorite movie. So funny and so much social commentary. "Next on the violence channel: a new 'Ow my balls!'"
Sunday:
Charlie made delicious pancakes for breakfast, according to the Hill tradition. After breakfast we went on a big walk of Shoreline, took some pictures, and realized that everything was basically closed. We were so tired when we got back. I played Fire Emblem while Jack slept for two hours straight. We went and watched Borat at Maddy's house, and we played a killer game of Clue was well. It was indeed the very good.

Monday: BUS TRIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON!! Orion was supposed to meet us and go with us but he slept too late. But we waited for the wrong bus anyway and wound up at the SCC at like 11:00 Luckily, Charlie was heading into Ballard and we caught a ride with him. We went there to find that most registration stuff is online-based, so it was basically a wasted trip. We explored some of the buildings and libraries there but I mean really, what can you do? We boarded the bus for home, surviving a jerky bus driver on the way. Finally, it was time for the uber GEARS OF WAR PARTY at David's house. And man did it pwn. Orion, Jack, David, Jake, Steven, Jacob, Jack Lee, and I microed it up all night long. There were some killer Gear moves, proving that Orion and I and Jack and I can nearly almost maybe somewhat hold our own against the uber team of david and steven. Not really. We watched Young Frankenstein. Jake really loved it. It's a good one.

Tuesday:
Today was a late start. Jack went running and I played Fire Emblem and the clarinet to entertain myself until his return. Hot cross buns for breakfast; yum indeed. We got to hang out for a little while until Jack went to lunch with Linnea and later to coffee with Maddy. I mowed some lawns and had a good lunch with Charlie. After that, we drove around to Jack's remaining visits, including Einstein, Shorewood, and the Shoreline Bank. His house as well. This was indeed the day for Maddy's 1337 party. Orion, David, Jack, and I left for ice cream and later returned packing GBAs and DSs. It was sweet. We talked a lot and I got to show off my piano micro. In all, a sweet time.
Tomorrow...we have absolutely no idea of what the hell we are going to do, but it had better be awesome because we'll never see him again, in all likelihood.

"I am prepared to meet my destiny, but you will not find me easy prey."
--Fenix

search "gears of war in rl" in Google video. We're about the fourth one down.

bobobo-bo-bo-bobo-dasshutsu-hajike-rowaiaru-20050323045158429

I love Jack

This week was hard, but now it is almost done. I leave you with a comment:

I walk up to Sai and Amanuel.
Amanuel: "...and the S is if you like to give pain, and the M is if you like to take it."
Me: "okay, I am never walking into a conversation between you two ever."

Valuable Lessons

I learned valuable lesson yesterday.

If George builds your computer, and then you give it to him to fix later, and he tells you that you don't have to back anything up becuase it won't get deleted, back everything up. Twice, in case he steals your backups.
I lost everythin on my drive. all iTunes files, multiple gigs of family and friend pictures, a whole bunch of gaming pictures, and ever Starcraft file I have ever acquired: screenshots, maps, sounds, everything. needless to say it sucks.
I do have 1.0 gig of RAM though.

Three Weeks

Yes, three weeks until the release of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. I went to Fred Meyer but they won't let you reserve anymore. The lady assured me that copies would be available on Sunday the 22nd. However, I still plan to arrive somewhere around 7:00 am that morning, just to be sure. If I get all my homework done on Saturday, then I can spend all day Sunday playing Pokemon! ...This is why I do not have a girlfriend.

In other news, this week was bleh. It was really long for some reason. And not very exciting. I ran in a track meet and did okay. I didn't get too hurt. I'm watching my neighbors' house again this weekend. It's boring and kind of a waste of time, especially since I have so much school and Eagle work to get done. But, I am paid an exorbitant amount of money, so I cannot argue.

In more other news, Jack is coming soon. Friday, April 6, to be specific. Girls are going wild (or maybe that's just Maddy (who is strangely attached to her boyfriend AND Jack at the same time (but she's Catholic!))) So there shall be a party og uber ossum LOLPWNEDage, complete with Gears of War, Call of Duty, Super Smash Brothers, and other such hits. There shall also be a head-smacking, uber-lame party of Maddy. With girls *gag*. Jack, we await your arrival, honorary clan member. Somehow.

Also, I cut my arm off today. April Fool's! Had to throw that in somewhere.

Conservapedia

Guess what. A bunch of conservatives decided that Wikipedia is too liberal, and decided to found their own site: Conservapedia. This is very dumb. For Conservatives they sure don't like God (Wikipedia). They complain that more Americans are conservative than liberal, so why is there a liberal bias in Wikipedia? Ignore the fact that Wikipedia is open to people all over the world to edit, and you've got yourself a case!

Conservapedia. Today's featured article: Joseph McCarthy?? I don't like where this is going...

No offense, Orion. You are not a prick.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Extreme
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

=nube

Better post coming soon, like at the end of this week Big iMovie project bad.


[19:23] Behappy6288: and he said that he didnt know because of the auction or what ever
[19:23] Behappy6288: what thing is yours
[19:24] bananaoracle89: no thinking
[19:24] bananaoracle89: we were thinking
[19:25] Behappy6288: yeah but what is the thing
[19:25] Behappy6288: i got that you were thinking
[19:25] bananaoracle89: Linnea it's a magic tournament
[19:26] Behappy6288: you said it wasnt
[19:26] bananaoracle89: SARCASM!
[19:26] Behappy6288: fine
[19:27] Behappy6288: you use a little too much sarcasm no girl understands you anymore

. . .

Sweet Jesus Christ Mother of God

http://ds.ign.com/articles/736/736588p1.html

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl have GLOBAL WI-FI TRADING/BATTLING!!!

Damn, and I was so close to having a life, too...

El Posto

Okay, here you all go. You've been asking for it, and I present you with a new post. Nothing much has happened this week. My homework load has been really low so I've been gaming it up even though it's still techinically during school time, which I normally prohibit myself from doing. Scurge: Hive is a helluva game; I'm getting probably 12 hours out of it total. Much better than Metroid's 5 or so, even if it is higher quality.

BSU assembly today wasn't so bad. It was superficial, silly, and unproffesional, but at least it didn't propagate anti-white racist attitudes.

Oh, you loco queso, you

I no longer live by the clock. The passing of night and day means nothing to me. Time is measured in the number of hours until the next period of jazz band.

So this weekend was fun but very stressful. On Friday I went to play practice, and then played some Baldur's Gate, and then played some Resident Evil until I went to the salsa dance. It was really fun. Jacob was there, and I actually came into contact with the female race! I think it poisoned me; I've had this funny rash as well as a terrible cough ever since.
On Saturday we went to the BCC (Bellevue Community College) Jazz Festival. It was really fun. We played in the afternoon and made it to finals, so I grabbed some dinner with Alex, his dad, and Michael the Freshman. I spilled ketchup all over my suit. Good times. We played later that night. It was cool, but culminated in Mr. Harshman getting really mad at me.
Today I worked on CIDs, played the piano, and also wasted time at play practice. So...not a good weekend in terms of teh_video, but an awesome one in rl.

Everybody come see my One Act on Wednesday. 7:30, $4. It's worth it.

The Wisdom of the Brit

[20:20] brittlebrit187: no one wants to die alone
[20:20] bananaoracle89: no one wants to live alone either

\/\/3M/\s 07!

Happy Winter-een-mas! Your King commands it!

Weekend

CID: Seward and the purchase of Alaska. Historical Significance: This got us the territory of Alaska, which we can use to crush Canada in a mighty pincer attack.

This weekend has been neither bad nor especially good. We tried to figure out how to play Baldur's Gate for like 3 hours on Friday, but it didn't work. Then Charlie said we were going to Northgate for dinner. Northgate means Best Buy and Gamestop! Best Buy has a shitty game selection (almost worse than Fred Meyer!) But I headed to GS and picked up Scurge:Hive, Viewtiful Joe, and Resident Evil Zero. 24 bucks for 3 high-quality games ain't bad. Yesterday, we recorded our submissions to the Essentially Ellington concert down at Studio X, the place that is owned by Kirsten's dad. It was...well I don't want to say anything bad about anybody, especially not a certain authority figure. Today I plan on playing Scurge all day. I beat Final Fantasy II on Saturday.

Also here is my finger.




Also here are funny quotes.

[21:58] bananaoracle89: what awas awkward was stefasara
[21:58] fr0nash: thats good
[21:58] fr0nash: ahhh.
[21:58] fr0nash: yeah
[21:58] bananaoracle89: we established a DMZ
[21:58] bananaoracle89: but they continued military operations!!!


[22:02] oreo2476: i would have to say it was like iraq basically
[22:02] oreo2476: no end to the action i nsight
[22:02] bananaoracle89: hahaha

Okay wow image won't load all the way to the right.

[20:35] bananaoracle89: I could never accept such a gift as that
[20:35] brittlebrit187: your healing presense in our household would be worth 10 times the expense
[20:36] bananaoracle89: oh master of flattery I bow to you
[20:37] brittlebrit187: thats what she said
[20:37] bananaoracle89: hahaha

NEW YORK

Well, since nobody around here likes big fatty posts, I shall say that New York was fun. Hanging out after dark, staying up late, attending concerts at the convention, and playing...pretty fun. We played in the biggest room in the Hilton Hotel...for an audience of perhaps 60 people. ECKS DEE! But it was a fun trip and we all had a good time. Now the pressure is on, because we have to record for the Ellington contest by next Sunday, and much learning of parts has to be done. We played with George Cables last night at Shorecrest, and then I got a ride with Chris over to Val and Jenni's birthday party. It was very fun. Daniel Fuerte was there, and he said that I have the best dance moves ever. Well, I wouldn't want to brag.
Today I went to a cool punk record store with Zach. We took the bus downtown and then checked it out. I bought a reggae album. It's so awesome. Afterwards we played Gears of War, but not for long, since I had to be home for when we did our jazz sectional. Surprise! No one showed up except Jomie, and we went to his house and listened to our concert and worked out some stuff. Now I shall eat dinner, do French homework, practice the piano, and play (and perhaps even beat) Final Fantasy 2.

teh_schoolzorx

School hath once again started. Mr. Harshman became the very mad in jazz band, and also in Winde Ensemble when I told him that my teeth removal sites hurt when I try to blow on the clarinet. But, alack, what am I to do?
In other news, the big band dance is happening on Friday, even though I know none of you guys even care. And Gears of War must be played sometime when we are all together. That or perhaps another game such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
We leave for New York on the tenth. Keir arrives on like the thirteenth. You guys had better be good to him.