Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Post Holiday Stuff

Well, I had an excellent holiday and I don't go back to school for a while longer so I am working and enjoying life every other second.

Right now I have my 16:9 1920x1080p 21.5 inch computer monitor, a very stunning display.
My Logitech G5 gaming mouse, 2000dpi with custom weight cartridge, laser, macro buttons and all sorts of things.
A cool little docking station that acts as a case for any 2.5 or 3.5 inch SATA internal hard drive.
I've got some good games, some of them my friends and family gave me for Christmas, some of them I've bought since Christmas, some of them I've had but haven't played yet because I haven't had free time since August.

I beat Bioshock, Resistance 2, and Little Big Planet (the story mode AND metal gear solid download levels) and I'm still playing Little Big Planet because

A. It is awesome
B. I downloaded EVERY SINGLE PIECE of DLC and I am GETTING MY MONEYS WORTH.
C. It is awesome
D. I'm looking for more inspiration for my stage, Project Awesome (currently in first alpha milestone)
E. It is awesome

All three of those games are amazing. I mean I got caught up on Singstar titles and got Rock Band 2 but that is more of a party thing, I've been catching up on gaming because I haven't been a gamer for the longest time.

Bioshock is an amazing game, played out the good ending on the new PS3 version and WOW to the video after the credits in the end. Amazing stuff. Great game, a perfect 10.

And then if Bioshock was a 10, Resistance 2 was an 11. I mean I loved Resistance: Fall Of Man, it was one of the first shooters I ever really LOVED, but holy God R2 is damn near perfect. I keep flashing back to the end and it BLOWS MY MIND! The gameplay is intense, unlike R1 the graphics are top top top of the line and the story blends seamlessly with the gameplay. I've got the 0 issue of the new comic and the first chapter of Resistance: The Gathering Storm (the upcoming novel), but I just can't shake the devastating feeling that a true R3 will probably not be seen for 2 or 3 years... Amazing in every way AMAZING...

Little Big Planet as a game is rather simple but its community and the open source nature, encouraging everybody to take this program in all of its head crushing depth and spend 30 hours of your life creating 10 minutes of gameplay that can kick the entire story mode's ass... Little Big Planet is conceptually the most exciting thing to happen to the gaming industry in years.

If any of you are out there playing right now I am PaladinBlade on the Playstation Network and I need input on Project Awesome alpha 1. Introduce yourself, I'll return the favor, beat all your levels, heart all your stuff, etc.

Haha, I took a break from Little Big Planet to type this, switching inputs on my new monitor (HDMI= PS3 and VGA = computer)

Those are three of the most amazing games ever. Almost makes me forget I have Valve Complete Pack now (my present to myself). Got some clothes and some money and I am SO broke from spending money on people but I am so happy right now.

Just getting some family time and some personal (gaming) time a few times a week instead of a couple times a month. Nice to finally have my PS3 and my Wii repaired too (not that I ever use the Wii when I have good PC or PS3 games, lol).

Anyway so I am the biggest Resistance fanboy you could ever imagine now. R2 surpassed Call of Duty in huge and Halo in epicness and Resistance 1 in being really fucking hard even. However much I liked Resistance before R2 I like it even more now. Those who know me know how much this is a blasphemy for me to say, but it surpassed Metal Gear Solid 4 in my mind.

Yes folks, MGS4. It was fast paced, harder but not impossible on low difficulty levels, it contained powerful narratives that would just blow your damned mind by the end of it, but with very moderate amount of cutscenes instead of 14 hours worth and none of the pretentiousness or culture shock.

The ending of Resistance 2 keeps playing over in my mind over and over again holy crap...

So everybody already has known Bioshock is awesome by now.

I guess what I'm saying is, make sure you have played

Resistance: Fall of Man
Resistance 2
Little Big Planet

because DAMN! That is all I can say, DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So join me in Resistance and LBP people, especially LPB I need some people to critique my level fragments and give me new things to do!

Umm, who knows what is going on with Massive Echo and But What Do I Know

but I have a couple friends who have been recording stupid videos on the computer and now on the Playstation Eye on the PS3...

and anyway I'm helping them get some stuff on Mevio and Itunes and Zune Marketplace

I'm not in any of it but it is funny stuff so be on the look out.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Movie Review: 24 Redemption (some spoilers)

The family is watching 24 Redemption for the second time as we speak so I felt it a good time to write.

24 was once my favorite show, the traitors and patriots, good versus evil, and the gut wrenching drama. By the end of the 6th season I was still waiting and expecting season 7 the next year. In the show's absence I spent some time dwelling on it and reading the books and felt for a while that it was done for. The character had just been through too many horrors and had too many bad days to buy into it anymore. Metal Gear understood that this was a bad thing when they wrote Solid Snake's story, instead of saving the world 20 or so times he had 3 to 5 major events in his lifetime, one of them which ended in arguably saving the world and disappearing off the face of the earth. I had begun to feel 24 had just hit a point where nothing could intensify anything more. In season 6 when the nuclear weapon went off in Los Angeles that was it. It was gut wrenching and it was powerful and it was well written, but at the same time I recognized that anything bigger would be absurd.

For a while I didn't have much faith in the ability of the show to redeem itself, I had it in my head that it would come back and start slipping. 24 Redemption comes in here.

I think this movie was handled well because they wrote a gut wrenching and powerful story without C.T.U., without most of the usual set pieces, and without the near destruction of the United States. It was also a smooth move because after making Jack Bauer disappear for a while and having most of the cast gone they could start fresh. They have a movie that can attract new viewers and lead directly into the events of the upcoming 24 Season 7.

After losing everything by the end of 6, Jack disappears for a while. He runs around 3 continents avoiding capture by the U.S. government and spends some time with an old buddy from his Special Forces days working at a school for children in “Sangala" (an almost anagram of either Senegal of Angola) in Africa. A war criminal starts another bloody African genocide and civil war and Jack travels with his friend to get these children out of the country. In the end to save these children he has to surrender himself to the U.S. government. A tragic and bone chilling scene occurs at the end as the last of the U.S. forces abandon the base and leave the masses below to face certain genocide, Rwanda all over again.

On the other side of the story the normal political trouble starts and new villians are born, the old president is finishing up with the transition work as a new president takes office, C.T.U. has been destroyed...

The movie is both a powerful story and a device to set up Season 7, it requires little background in 24. Season 7 though according to the previews, requires a little more background in 24... Not gonna spoil it but Season 7 for fans will either blow your mind or piss you off. The movie features a tired and slightly aged Kiefer Sutherland which translates into a tired and aged Jack Bauer, very appropriate for the life he has lead.

Anyway 24 Redemption reminded me that even though the franchise had so much happen on such an unreal time frame so many times, it still tells a gut wrenching story and sucks you in.

I got a kick out of the character they put in there, the U.N. guy who is of course a cold bastard and a coward unwilling to break neutrality even if it means preventing a genocide (and of course he is a crook and a traitor), a pretty strong characterization of the broader U.N. as a whole. No politics in that at all I'm sure, lol.

At any rate I never thought I'd be so excited about 24 again, sure it has its flaws but its still one-of-a-kind and powerfully told story.

Movie Review: Twilight

Well, I saw Twilight at midnight launch with an old friend and haven't taken time to review it yet. I was sitting down to write about 24: Redemption and remembered I never wrote anything on Twilight yet...

So... Twilight... Obviously a chicks thing. Yeah it has the action and stuff but its mostly about the romance and all the beautiful male characters teenage girls fantasize over. Still, it is a rather decent book with well developed characters and there is nothing wrong with a dude reading it. I can see why the hype is so. I'm reading New Moon as we speak so just to take me away from my Ted Dekker stuff it had to be pretty good.

I think the movie was both a good movie and a good representation of the book. Obviously its thinned the hell out, the book is much bigger as expected and the movie is more a cliff-notes version of the story, but it does fit everything that really matters in, it has good music, and the casting was a job well done.

House... the more I think back on House it was a fine movie to complement the book, the book and the movie together were interesting but the movie alone would be a mess... I don't know about Twilight...

The movie contained a lot less than the book, but it was enjoyable and rather well made and it at least gets the point across. I can't imagine not reading a book first but if you're not a book person I think you can probably still enjoy Twilight just fine. I'm not going to say the book is better though, I'm just going to think it. By my standards though its pretty hard to please me with a movie based off of one specific book.

This was precise and enjoyable though.

I know a lot of fan girls who aren't happy with the movie but people who are really obsessive and in love with the books are gonna find flaw in it no matter what.

I don't really have much to say as far as a review... It was a good book, and I think the movie got it right for the most part.

The Fire Catches On Water - reactions

I'm beginning to enjoy listening to these episodes because I have a poor memory of when I'm being recorded and I'm always interested in what our fearless leader puts into these things.

I think I sound so weird on skype recordings... different perhaps than on videos and other audio recordings... Maybe its just me.

Anyway, I'm often in and out of the call, so I get to hear what was being talked about behind my back. Funny stuff. I'm beginning to enjoy this whole thing, even though its mostly just mindless banter.

LOL, I especially got a kick out of how Niko made fun of the Obama Crimes allegations when I was gone for fear of sparking debate. Oh, people people people... snide remarks and clever comments are all fun and good but don't be a smartass about something unless you're willing to argue about it. Thats who I am, I argue about stuff.

Regardless of how much you like Barack Obama there is more than enough evidence to claim that Obama somewhere along the line was either not a natural citizen or forfeited his citizenship in Indonesia. The fact of the matter is Obama is probably not constitutionally qualified to be president and the Democratic National Convention absolutely FAILED to uphold the vetting process. But nobody cares so the Supreme Court will probably never hear Berg v. Obama anyway...

For those who don't know what that means there are legitimate claims that Barack Hussein Obama II was either born in Kenya or somewhere along the line lost citizenship.

Many people have stepped up to lesser courts and attempted to sue the DNC and the candidate and all motions for discovery have been stopped. Maybe all of Obama's paperwork does check out, who knows. But one thing is definite, while posting a certification of live birth and an illegitimate birth record on his website, he has been avoiding going into a court room and whipping out his true birth certificate like the PLAGUE.

Democrat Phillip J. Berg, plaintiff and founder of the Obama Crimes website has claimed three major pieces of evidence against Obama.

1. A supposed recording documenting his grandmother reminiscing about being there when he was born, in Mombasa, Kenya. It is very possible, his father was a Kenyan citizen with no U.S. citizenship and Obama has fought tooth and nail against resolving the claim. Also the system at that time probably could have allowed for him being registered in Hawaii up to a year after birth, it really isn't the big nutty theory people tell you it is. The supposed tape is a mystery to me though, I would think if it were there it would have been "leaked" somewhere by now, but then again most of the mainstream media doesn't seem to want to touch this trial with a 10 foot pole.

2. The birth certificate issue. A while after people started asking questions of McCain's citizenship and that was resolved the same questions were turned at Obama with no resolution. he posted a certification of live birth on his website and then somebody eventually bothered to point out that it isn't a birth certificate and doesn't really mean anything. He posted another such document that is vastly insufficient or fraudulent, but the mainstream media backed off the issue... Anybody can look at their own master birth certificate and know what it looks like versus the stuff posted on the Obama propaganda websites. I even have the advantage of a mother born in Hawaii only a bit older than Obama. Look at the documetns people, it really is a no brainer. Despite claims to the contrary he has never produced any documentation online or to the media that conclusively proves his citizenship. I think this is the biggest part of the case right here Obama has been completely unwilling to shut down the argument and prove himself to have been legitimately vetted, in fact when he went back to Hawaii to visit his grandmother and came home, the governor put a seal on all his records. Sometimes the simplest explanation is right, and often when somebody is hiding something there is something there worth hiding.

3. Citizenship. Obama got a stepfather, an Indonesian national who was also a non-citizen, and lived in Indonesia for a period of time where he was enrolled in school there under the name Barry Soetoro. Here is the thing though, back then you had to be an Indonesian citizen to be enrolled in the school system, and back then you couldn't have dual Indonesian/American citizenship. Oops. Now maybe its his Indonesian citizenship that is fraudulent, it is entirely possible. But many legal scholars would agree that he may have forfeited his U.S. citizenship in exchange for Indonesian citizenship, purposefully or not.

At any rate, Berg v. Obama was dismissed in the lower court by a Clinton appointed judge who claimed that the citizenry has no right to police the vetting process, so Obama has yet to explain anything. Berg v. Obama isn't dead though, it is headed to the supreme court. The paperwork was filed at the end of October, along with a request to suspend the election. Obviously the latter never happened, otherwise no amount of media bias would be able to surpress what was going on. Berg v. Obama still may happen though, Obama and the DNC have until the first of December to respond to the Writ of Certiorari in the case and explain themselves. I think that a "no comment" wouldn't suffice here in a just world, but the fact of the matter is the Supreme Court can pick and choose what cases it hears and this could easily disappear.

Another little bit, a lot of people think the birth certificate has the name Barry Soetoro instead of Barack Hussein Obama II on it, which would be proof it was issued after he was adopted by his step-father Lolo Soetoro, instead of when he was born. Just something to think about.

One could argue that it doesn't matter to them on a personal level, but it is pretty hard to argue that Obama was legitimately vetted and constitutionally qualified for the office he was elected to. Now of course I realize the political suicide that this case could mean for them, and I'm not unaware of the kind of anarchy that would insue if anybody actually prevented the Obama presidency from happening no matter how legitimate the claims. I honestly think it will disappear. Still to claim it never happened or didn't have any legitimacy... THAT is right up there with denying the moon landing.

:) I'm not mad at anybody, I rarely get mad over politics, I just wanted my thoughts to be represented.

I don't know when we will be recording again, the next episode though could possibly come from some old recorded material, something in the category of things that never should have been recorded out of fairness to everybody... we will see what becomes of that.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Nevermind. Tonight.

WE WIN. New episode of But What Do I Know? is up now! Look us up on itunes.

Sorry, Not Tonight.

Dude984 is having uploading problems. The new episode of But What Do I Know? will not be uploaded tonight. Tomorrow definitely though.

I watched 24 Redemption and remember why I fell in love with 24 way back when... I'm newly convinced 24 has a real future, something I was not so sure of 3 hours ago.

Anyway 24 Redemption hits DVD this next week and 24 Season 7 will happen this winter, and I'm fairly excited.

Jury duty tomorrow morning so I'm going to bed.

Sorry about the false alarm, but look for the new episode tomorrow, reportedly called "The Fire Catches On Water"

... Yeah we're kinda hit or miss with episode titles huh, don't blame me though I never named any of them.

New episode being edited.

Dude984 is working on editing a new episode of But What Do I Know? as we speak, probably will go online tonight.

Apparently I'm in it, lol.

I don't pay much attention to when my skype calls are being recorded, I probably should.

Anyway this next episode should be almost as much of a surprise to Massive Echo followers as it is to me...

I just got of work, the Thanksgiving Sales are going to END ME!

I'm watching 24: Redemption tonight. 24 used to be my favorite show on television but I think they hit a point to where everything that was going on was so insane and this one character had gone through so much that they had to lay off and let it die... I don't have high expectations for it but we will see...

I'm working on a new contract with the guys to put an end to secret recording of people talking about sensitive and personal things, and maybe defining the episodes better around some kind of topic or theme... who knows...

At any rate, look for a new episode on itunes tonight, I'm out.