Quick Stopover

I am back in Seattle again but only for two days, since I am off to LA on Monday.

So it is no secret that I like TV...

I thought it might be interesting to go over what order I would watch the programs I had sitting on my DVRs. While I was away I did not watch anything, so this is kind of a blank slate.


1) Veronica Mars
I like this show a lot. It is well written and well acted. I am not that interested in this years "Big Mystery", but since most episodes A-plot is stand-alone I don't mind.

2) Smallville
This show should not be so high on this list as it is, but I did not want to get out of bed and this was the "best" show on the upstairs DVR. This show is so hit and miss. This episode was a miss.

3) Doctor Who
This show rocks. Had this show been available when I started watching I probably would have chosen this one as my Number 1.

4) Amazing Race.
I really enjoy this show. This is the only reality show that I would ever want to be on. This is another show that would not be as high on the list without ulterior motives. Amazing Race is one of the show that I can watch without paying attention so it is perfect for surfing the web, playing City of..., or writing this blog.

5) Survivor
Same reason as Amazing Race. Plus both of these programs are on the Comcast DVR which has the smallest hard drive and I am unsure how log this stretch of Road Trips will last, so I want to make as much room as possible. If things fall a certain way I may not spend more than 3 nights at home in a row next month.

6) Prison Break
Over the Top Fun. And still more plausible than..

7) 24
I could not believe it when I read in USA Today say that they think this is the best season ever. I am still enjoying the ride but it is all over the place this year.

8) House
Not sure why I like this show. Every show they almost kill someone while they are trying to cure them, and yet somehow they keep me coming back.

9) Alias
Had I noticed the new episode I probably would have watched this earlier. But then I would have been disappointed earlier too.

10) That '70s Show (x2)
I wanted to watch a comedy to get the taste of Alias out of my brain and this is the only one on the downstairs Tivo. Shame this show blows now. I mean come on Jackie and Fez. That chick is such a slut.

I Hate Nevada

So I started today with one personal goal. Watch Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
So at 6 PM, I am ready to go, when I get asked nicely to stay until this one last thing is complete. Forty-five minutes later they are done (without needing my help) and I am out the door.

First stop Target Since I needed some more Poptarts. After picking up my pastries, I head to the DVD section and find they are SOLD OUT of Advent Children.

Next stop Best Buy. As I'm walking in I see a young man holding a copy of this now Grail like DVD. Well it turns out that he apparently grab the last copy. I find this out after waiting 15 minutes for the "idiots that are to stupid to work in the casinos" to tell me they to were SOLD OUT. My options are quickly running out.

Next Stop Wal-mart. If you know me you know I am not fond of Wal-mart. I think they have t strong of a grip on what I get to watch and listen to, so you know if I am shopping there you know it is important for me. After a massive hunt I am able to find the slot were the movie was located at but it has a tag listing the price as $21.97. Which is seven dollars more than Best Buy had it. Luckily it actually WAS on sale for $14.99, so I don't have to live with the guilt of paying full retail at Wal-mart.

So I get back to the hotel room and slap that bad boy in to the old laptop. The first thing I see is that there is a Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Story Digest. This is cool because while I remember that the game was really cool and I remember most of the characters and important plot points, I don't remember what the actual story was about. Well apparently it is about crap!!! I can not believe how shitty the story of FFVII actually is. By the way I am not alone this guy agrees with me.

Thankfully, the movie was a lot of fun. While the story was still laking I really enjoyed the action scenes. There is one battle that has all the original FFVII characters teaming up against a giant monster just like in the video game. The problem is that this scene just reinforces how impossible these kind of fights would be in a "real" setting but somehow they pulled it of through sheer bravado where I just went along for the ride.

In Square's last attempt at a CGI movie, I felt that they made the characters look very real in still shots but as they strong the shots together they became unreal. They were missing the subtle things that we don't even notice normally like the rising of the chest as you take a breath. I did not feel that the character were plastic in this movie, so I enjoyed the movie more.

Which comes first having a slow story that gives you a chance to notice the imperfections in the animation or having the imperfections that drag you out of the flow of the story?

In Carson City Every Day Is a Gamble

So I am in Nevada this week. So far it has been loads of fun.

On Monday, after a long day I was heading to the Hotel to check in. I was driving by the State House building when I ran over this:

At the time I just recognized that I had ran over something but did not think twice. It was a mile or two later when I was able to get over 25 that I started to hear a thump-thump. So instead of making the wise move and pushing on to the hotel, because after all "It's just a rental". I pulled in to the Wendys' parking lot. I called Avis Roadside assistance and was assured it would only be a half an hour. So I went in to Wendys' and had one of the worst Spicy Chicken Sandwiches ever. After 45 minutes I get an automated call from Roadside Assistance asking if help had arrived. Turns out that the tow driver got a call from the police and that takes priority... Apparently over even calling me to letting me know they were going to be delayed. I know they had my number from later events.

So RA finds another tow driver and he was there in 15 minutes. He takes one look at the wimpy ass jack and lug wrench and makes the same call I made No Fucking Way. He pulls out his fancy ass shit and gets the job done in 15 minutes.

The tow driver also repeats the same warning that the RA guy gave "don't drive this tire over 55". Figures I finally get what could be called a "sporty" car and I can't drive sporty-ish-ly. Not that I would.

So to top off the night, it had been a Long day so I went to bed at 9:45 and had just fallen asleep when the asshole from the 1st towing company called saying he could not find my car. A mere 3 hours late. He then wanted my credit card number so that he could bill me for the false call. I did not comply.

New DVD List

I have been spending a lot of my free time working on a new project. An updated version of my old DVD list.

Well after much work it is done. Now I just need to reenter the data. :)

Another One For the List

So I officially adding a new item to 101 things in 1001 days list that I have not posted or even finished yet.

• Go to at least one game every Mariners' homestand.
  

Game 1 -
I did not think to take a picture at the game but I still have the picture. The M's lost the the A's (0-3). Not a very good game the M's could not get anyone across the plate.

Attendees: Steve C., Jim H., Jason B., Jim H.'s Dad

Game 2 -


Got some GREAT seats from work. M's still lose (3-4 against Texas) but it was a fun game. They were in the game until the last pitch.

Attendees: Jason B., Thor B., Marc L.

When Good Control Systems Go Bad

Thankfully myself or anyone I know had anything to do with this. I have managed in my work life to make some mistakes of this nature but nothing to this scale.

Odama You Say

I picked up a new game the other day: Odama.

In short this is a Voice Commanded Tactical Medieval Japanese Combat game crossed with Pinball game. It is even stranger than it sounds. I recommend clicking on the link and watching the video.

The Sky is Falling

Watched a movie last night: Chicken Little

I am of two minds on this movie. The animation was first rate and the story was fun but it was lacking any of the heart that is usually found in Pixar films. I just did not care for any of the characters. Hopefully the Disney-Pixar merger will bring up the quality of the Disney movies and the Quantity of the Pixar movies.

What I've Been Doin'

can be summed up in two words and a Roman Numeral.

Kingdom Hearts II

Kingdom Hearts is a series of Video Games that are in a crossroads between different Disney and Final Fantasy Worlds. The first game had an original character named Sora teaming with Donald Duck and Goofy as he visits different worlds to use the magical Keyblade (Sora's weapon) to seal of the world's so that they are protected for the evil Heartless. Most of the world's that he visits are taken right from Disney movies like Never-Never Land, Beast's Castle, Halloween Town, and Wonderland. Along the way you meet various characters from Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X. It was a really fun game with some cool twists.

The second game was on the Game Boy Advance and was called Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memory. While this is a sequel to the first game, it felt like I was playing the same game again since you go back to the same worlds. The twist is that everyone has lost their memories, so nobody remembers Sora and Sora has forgot them too. I did not find the game that fun, so I never got around to finishing it.

So in a great marketing movie, they named the third game Kingdom Hearts II. This is definitely the third game in the series, since apparently the KH: CoM ended in a cliffhanger that this game eventually picks up. This game has the same problem as the first one in that it is billed as a Disney/FF crossover but it takes a long time for the story to start. In this game I spent 4 hours before I even got to play as the main character!!! The highlights of this game were visits to Port Royal from Pirates of the Caribbean, the Computer World of Tron, and the Disney Past of Steamboat Willey. I really enjoyed the game which is why I spent more than 40 hours playing it over a week and a half.

Moving on up

From Convention Co-Organizer to Convention Co-Guest of Honor, lets give Jim Demonakos a big well deserved round of applause. And to think I knew him when...