An Unfortunately Unforgettable Christmas

I have always been anti-Christmas.

No, I'm not bitter about never receiving the right present nor do I let myself get bothered by all the Salvation Army bells ringing out in front of every supermarket. It's actually because I have to burn a hole in my wallet to show you (insert name of friend or family member) how much I love you. However, ever since the boyfriend and I moved in together this past September, I was actually looking forward to the holidays, what with all the decorating and that tree shaped thing we put up on our wall in place of a real tree (we have cats - they like to climb things), and our effort to boycott buying gifts for the family (failed). Most importantly, it was going to be our first Christmas together as a family. We would be making wonderful memories.

Stupid, stupid, STUPID Vicki!

Latest Fascination

Whew! It's been awhile (not to mention it's been one hectic summer)! Even with my recent pitfalls with how much the economy sucks (thankfully, I'm still employed), I've found that one of the only ways to cheat time and boredom is to do what I do best: go back to school. YES! For two weeks now I have officially been considered a part-time student at Orange Coast College. I'm taking one online course, Business Writing, and am still playing with the idea of taking a rock climbing class that starts in October.

I've always liked going to school, yet, at the same time, school kinda sucks. Let's just say I never really hit the books as hard as I did the on-campus pub. :)

So, to congratulate myself on taking the next step to NOT going for my Master's degree, I have embarked on a new journey on the Xbox. One where the storyline allows me to choose whether my character shall be evil or pure. One where I am allowed to marry more than one villager and receive an achievement for it and even get fat while I'm at it by eating too many pies. That journey my friends, is Fable 2.

...more after the jump

Watchmen Review

*Warning, some spoilers may be detailed below. If you don't want to know, don't read it!

Finally! I got to see Watchmen last night and let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed, even though they did change up the ending just a bit, and I have to agree with @Agent_M that music did play a pretty pivotal role in the film.

And in true Zach Snyder fashion a la 300, there is a minute-long (or it seemed like it) sex scene between Silk Specter and Nite Owl (played by Malin Ackerman and Patrick Wilson, respectively). Can we say O face??

...more after the jump

The Watchmen

"Who watches The Watchmen?"

I will. March 6, 2009

Game Laws, Schmame Laws

Thanks to @fragdolls for posting this on Twitter earlier today:

The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled earlier today that a Calif. law restricting minors from renting and/or purchasing violent and/or mature content video games as unconstitutional, as it violates Constitution's right to free speech.

So, HA! To those irresponsible parents out there who believe that violent video games = violent attacks from their own spawn!

Read more about it here.

Best Picture of the Year

Honoring the Geneva Convention in CoD

I've never, ever played Call of Duty but have seen tsudoku spend many hours laboring over it and to me, it looks like just another first-person shooter game (I really suck at those). But, it's one of the most popular games out there and it's probably one of his favorites, next to Lost Planet and Halo, of course.

Anyway, while on Twitter @fourzerotwo posted a link to a really interesting article that he came across on BoingBoing.net (fourzerotwo, if you're not already following him, works for Infinity Ward, which made CoD, Modern Warfare, etc., so go figure he'd be the first to bring this article to light). Written by regular joe Hugh Spencer, he talks about how one day his son Evan came up to him and said that he really, really wanted to play CoD - can I Dad, can I? Now Hugh, who's done some research on military history, took a look at the game and thought, yeah that's pretty accurate, but you're still blowing stuff up! What's in it for my kid?

Sooo, he asked Evan to Google "Geneva Convention" and essentially told him after he's done his research and discussed what the Geneva Convention was all about, allowed him to play CoD online with his buddies. The catch: Evan and his friends have to play by the rules of the Geneva Convention; any violations mean dismissal of the game for awhile.

Now THAT is what I call responsible and creative parenting. BRAVO!

Read the article here; oh, and the comments couldn't be more off-topic.

Chad Vader Re-enacts The Oscar Nominees

I couldn't resist; it's as accurate as only Chad Vader can make it! (LOL, *snoring* I didn't see this one)

SFIV

Let me tell you, this game is gorgeous!! Hand-drawn characters, fluid animation, same tricks (minus the joystick/d-pad which I need tsudoku to get for me--$80!?! WTF!?), cheesier arcade soundtrack...YES! Street Fighter IV ROCKS! Unless you're playing against tsudoku (Mortal Kombat much, punk?) It's 1992 all over again.

Oh and you know, I just want to say that the only difference between me and that clerk at GameStop is that he's a virgin. (Now that I've bought my game from you and told you that I CAN PLAY Halo Wars -- albeit it was just the demo -- would you like me to tell you what sex is like?)

Speaking of Halo Wars, like I've said, I only got to mess around with the demo and it's actually kinda cool. I've never played a game like that, and my coworker tells me that type of game is called 'real time strategy.' I've got so much to learn! Apparently, if you keep playing games like that (Counter Stike, WoW), you end up ampng your multi-tasking skills. I'm going to keep at it and see if this is the route I'd like to end up going. I mean, it'd be nice to be able to eat a bagel, do my work and command an army of marines to attack the alien enemy all at the same time.

Halo Fever Strikes Again!

Sooooo with the major success of the last Halo installment, why not go a step further and involve some super duper talented artists and writers from Marvel Comics in on the action? While I can't access the photos of the absolutely amazing illustrations of Master Chief, I can point you to the right direction......HERE!!!! Oh, and gamerboyz, lo and behold, there may be a cameo by Spartan 117 before he became Master Chief!

I'm starting to geek out. PEACE!

Wood-n't you know it?

Horrible pun indeed. Someone actually sent in a wooden version of the PS2 and it made it all the way to Sony before anyone realized, Hey, this here's wood! LOL

Check out the article here on Joystiq. Photos included on the site--not bad for a wood shop project.

He Who Complains, Gets Cut (Darwin)

A-haha! You may have heard from awhile back that the voice actor who did GTA IV's Niko had bitched and complained that he wasn't being properly compensated for his role even though the game was making millions of dollars. (He was being paid $100,000 for the gig). Well, looks like he's being cut from the next installment...check it out here.

Fanboys

This movie just opened Friday, Feb. 6. Please, please, please, someone go see it with me!!!

Another casualty due to the economy...

So now that we're forced to participate in the "Work Share" program at work where they make every one of us take off a day a week without pay, I guess I'll have a bit more time to do stuff at home. Oh, and to upkeep this blog, right? Here's what I think I'll do with my extra day each week:

• read
• sleep
• get fat
• surf unblocked websites that would otherwise be blocked at work (e.g., Twitter, Myspace, UrbanDictionary.com; funny how TMZ.com still isn't blocked, wouldn't that site be considered 'tasteless'?)
• play more video games
• snowboard midweek (if the season gets any better, which I doubt due to global warming, the economy, and Al Gore)
• take more social networking photos of myself - here, what do you think of this one?
  

This was last night, where I don't normally look like this. Usually my face isn't so...colorful.

Anyway, since I'm essentially taking a pay cut, that means I have to be a bit more creative when it comes to spending money, meaning, I shouldn't but it happens. Coupons, expired pastries at a discounted price, hitchhiking, tipping 18% instead of 20%, you name it, I'll probably find any way that I can to cut corners just to save money and not change my lifestyle (which isn't too expensive, I don't think).

Happy birthday to me.

What's with all the movies posts?

Hmm...you may have realized that the past couple posts have been about movie reviews...what gives? Well, every year I go on a movie binge right before the Academy Awards just to see which movies can own up to a nomination (Slumdog Millionaire) and which ones I'd feel would be completely worthless to even get a nod (Gran Torino). Gimme a break, it's one of the most important movie events of the year and I haven't missed a beat since I was like, 5. The Oscars are a huge deal, whether or not you're a movie buff (which I'm not compared to my friend Darkhorse David).

Until then, I'm gonna keep watching as many movies as I possibly can before the show...or as long as my budget can hold out. Yay solo film festival for me!

Waltz With Bashir

...won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film! Directed and written by Ari Folman, this animated documentary tells the story of Folman, who goes on an investigative and eye-opening journey to reclaim the memories he had lost, memories specifically dealing with the Lebanon War in 1982 and the Sabra and Shatila Massacre. His only "memory" is that of he and his two other comrades floating and bathing by the seaside in Beirut before flares descend onto the city.

Animated using a combination of computer animation and frame-by-frame, (not rotoscoping as I had hoped but still delightfully pleased), Waltz With Bashir offers history novices like myself a surreal look at the travesty of war and the suffering of those who can still relive those memories, and for those who cannot.

Though definitely not a date movie, artists and historians alike will surely appreciate how the subject matter is portrayed throughout the film. Superb. 4.5 out of 5 stars, 90 minutes. (Some people walked out during the film--how rude! It's a documentary, so you have to keep in mind the slow pace of the film.)

Slumdog Millionaire

Released in December 2008 and directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later - two of my favorite movies of all time), Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal, his brother Salim, and their childhood friend (and Jamal's love interest) Latika set all throughout India from Bombay to Mumbai and how Jamal decides to be a contestant on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in order to reconnect with Latika, who's gone missing from his life several times due to kidnapping and violence. Based on the book Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Slumdog is not to be missed and is not just any love story, where many of the recurring themes include that of friendship, loyalty, and "one for all and all for one." M.I.A. and modern Bollywood music make for a fast-paced, energizing soundtrack. Be sure to stay for the credits for a complete Bollywood-style dance performance featuring the two main actors, Dev Patel (Jamal) and Friedo Pinto (Latika), among 100+ backup dancers.

Five out of five stars, 120 minutes. Don't sleep through this one!

Oh doesn't this totally suck...

One of my coworkers sent this to me - he found it from the Gizmodo blog. Let's just say it sucks to lose your pants in the dead of winter. Dude, I'm glad you had the sense to tuck your dingy in but, uh, I can see it from here.

Really, really BAD Boy TV

Only on MTV can you get away with really, really, REALLY bad TV!

From G's to Gents: really bad gangsta caterpillaz metamorphosizing into really bad butterfliez. Guido, can you tell me which one is the salad fork?

Bromance: aka who wants to be Brody Jenner's BFF? Bro contestant: Brody, I will be your GameCube, just like how you will always be my Natty Lite. Now slip out that black dildo and let's get this friendship started. (Wait, what?)

Tool Academy: The hot chicks from Hot Chicks with Douche Bags have had enough of their men and their douche-baggery! Turn my tool of a boyfriend into husband material! (And OK yes, I know, this is on VH1, but really, it's like MTV 2.1)

Wow, I mean really, wow. Let's hear it for the boys!

Red Ring of Death 2

Are you kidding me?!

Sunday night after watching a couple episodes of Trash TV I decided yes, now's a good time to play some Sea Life Safari. So 'doku goes and turns on the Xbox and what happens? A system error screen in English and Japanese pops up, roughly stating, Oh, haha. Fail.

We haven't even had it for a year! This is the second 360 it's happened to!!

OMG someone help me save it now before I go out and buy a Wii, DS, or PS3. Those sea horses aren't going to take pictures of themselves.

Robbed!

My sister just finished telling me and my mom that she was robbed at supposed gunpoint earlier today while she was working her register at the Rite Aid in Costa Mesa. Scary stuff...I'm so proud of her though; I mean, she completely kept her cool, did what the guy told her to do, and all the while she was getting a really good look at the guy. (Older white male, wore dark sunglasses, about 6 feet tall, maybe 40-60 years old, and calmly left in a white truck driven by another male).

It turns out he's been robbing several different markets and CVS's around Orange County. I even found an article in the OC Register that talked about how he unsuccessfully tried to pull the same thing at two 99 Ranch Markets in Irvine (they're like miles apart from one another). Check it out, there's even a link to a video of the whole incident at one of the 99 Ranch Markets - take a good look at him and if you've seen him before, contact the local authorities.

Even after she gave the police her account of what happened and they collected all the evidence, she went to lunch and came back to finish the rest of her shift. That's ballsy right there.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best line of the film:

Daisy (Cate Blanchette): Sleep with me.
Benjamin (Brad 'Man-Cake' Pitt): Absolutely.

Now if we edit that just a bit for it to say.....

Brad: Sleep with me.
Me: Abso-freakin'-lutely!!!



WHY IS HE SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOT!?

The movie was lovely by the way; cinematography was excellent and from what my friend Darkhorse David told me, it was shot using digital film. Overall, it was a prettily filmed movie. I cried like, every half hour, and I managed to question my own mortality. I'm sure F. Scott Fitzgerald didn't have a god like Brad Pitt in mind when he wrote the story, but I should applaud David Fincher (director, Fight Club), for always keeping my Man-Cake in mind for roles where shirtless, wet, gyrating men are needed.

Go see the film; 4.5 stars out of 5; 2.5 hours. Better go use the bathroom before the previews hit, folks.