| (no subject) |
[Jul. 15th, 2007|12:31 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Nightwish - The Siren | ] |
While at West Edmonton Mall the weekend before last, I saw in the window of Chapters one of the painted displays of various Harry Potter characters and scenes that have popped up at just about every store that belongs to the Bookstore Monopoly Corporation (Indigo, Chapters, and Cole's) to advertise the impending release of the seventh and final book. This one, however, revealed a rather interesting plot detail. My brother took a picture and was nice enough to add captions:
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| (no subject) |
[May. 30th, 2007|09:03 am] |
Yesterday, I got a package in the mail sent under the name A.N00b.
:D |
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| It's May 19th in South Korea... |
[May. 18th, 2007|11:14 pm] |
...and Starcraft 2 is now official. Ring the bells and sing out loud.
I'm going to go cry sweet tears of joy now. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 8th, 2007|10:06 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Utada Hikaru - Sanctuary | ] |
I went to Caplan last Friday.
It was fun. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 5th, 2006|09:50 am] |
Julian, myself, and a few others went to the premiere of Episode 12 of Pure Pwnage on thursday. It was bloody amazing.
We preordered our tickets and so didn't have to wait in line at all. The n00bstore booth was already open when we got there, so the first thing we did was jump in line and buy some shirts. I got a Boom Headshot one for myself, and a Pure Pwnage logo shirt for Ian. The n00bstore was by a guy whom we suspected was Kyle.
We then took our seats in the theatre. We had to wait a while for the show to start, but thankfully I'd brought my DS. I played multiplayer Mario minigames with some of the other fans until Maddie commandeered my DS. After that, me and Julian talked about school, games, and where our friends had gone after highschool. This continued until the guy from the n00bstore took the microphone at the front of the theatre; it turned out that it was indeed Kyle. He called Jeremy down, and after much cheering, they picked five people from the audience for an uber micro contest - and I was one of them. It was pretty awesome. I lost in the end, but still got to say hi to Jeremy without having to wait in a massive, nebulous "line", so it was cool. The two tied winners squared off in a micro battle that was quite epic. They started with PC, then went console style, arcade, and finally, Wii. It was a sight to behold.
After that, they held another contest, this time a Doug one. One of the eight or so people that was chosen for this one was a six-year-old girl. I don't know what she was doing there. She was one of the tied winners in the end, of course, because of her age - her performance was undoubtedly the worst in objective terms, but she was just so darn cute. The other winner's performance earned him the moniker "crazy spaz guy", he actually seemed to out-doug Doug.
With the preliminaries out of the way, Episode 11 started up. Nothing too remarkable here, though seeing it with an audience was neat. Afterwards, they had the intermission, when we all went out into the lobby to meet Jeremy. I'd already gotten to, but I wanted to get the shirts signed too. Once he'd done that, I told him about my recent surgery, and he was kind enough to put my shirt down his pants at my request. After loitering about in the lobby for a little while, we herded ourselves back into the theatre for Episode 12, the season finale of Pure Pwnage.
What can I say about ep 12 without giving something away? Once again, seeing it with an audience of fans was a really neat experience; there's a tremendous sense of community, being surrounded by members of your unique subculture to enjoy the celebration of it that Pure Pwnage represents. As for the episode itself, it's long. At forty-six minutes, it's almost twice as long as the next longest episode. And it's great. It's not quite my favorite episode, ep 10 still holds that position, but it's a damn close second. Every one of it's 46 minutes, from the opening to the cliffhanger ending, can only be described as pure pwnage. It hits the intertubes tomorrow (which is my birthday, btw).
After the show, we went back to the n00bstore to snag the new pieces of merch which they show in ep 12. I got one for Ian since he couldn't come. I won't say what they are, but they're pretty neat. Ian liked it more than his shirt. I got the shirts signed by Kyle, and after everone in our party had had a chance to meet Kyle and Jeremy, we headed to our respective homes. It had been a night to remember.
God, I'm such a nerd. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|08:26 am] |
I had my hydrocele removed yesterday. Just day surgery thankfully, but it seems I overestimated my own hardiness, and will not be able to go to school today. This is bad, given that I have my two most note-intensive classes and a biology lab on tuesdays. I hope I'll be able to get someone to let me photocopy their notes. I also hope I'll be able to take my Biology midterm tomorrow.
Here's hoping. |
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| Taking Inventory |
[Sep. 18th, 2006|06:35 pm] |
I was thinking of doing this when school started, but, as is my wont, I was distracted by other things. I hardly use this LJ for anything other than the Friends page, so I suppose I may as well put something in here. That something is a geeky sort of accomplishments list. Maybe I'll start blogging about games in general. Or maybe not. Blah.
Games beaten this summer, in approximate order of completion:
System Shock 2
Pirates!
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Far Cry
Half-Life 2: Episode 1
Fallout 2
Lego Star Wars
MGS2
We Love Katamari
Resident Evil DS
KotOR II
MGS3
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Quake 4
I'm currently playing Kingdom Hearts and Moonbase Commander, in what little time I have between homework storms. I also played some multiplayer CS:S this weekend, and remembered why it's so much fun. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 6th, 2006|04:45 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Code Monkey - Jonathan Coulton | ] |
My second year of post-secondary education has begun. So far I've had all but one of my classes, not counting Lab components. Chem 110, Bio 106/7, and two maths: Linear Algebra and Calculus 3. The first Calc 3 lecture is on friday. If the first day of Linear Algebra is any indication, second year math courses will be lots of crazy, abstract fun! Bio and Chem look to be reasonably interesting, though they're a poor substitute for physics.
Those of you who still haven't checked out Jonathan Coulton had better do so right now. I guess he might be classified as a comedic musician, but one might call much of his ouvre Nerd Rock and be closer to the truth, containing as it does songs about zomibes and the Mandelbrot set. I find this song in particular to be irresistible: http://www.jonathancoulton.com/lyrics/code-monkey . Listen to it now. (No, it's not just lyrics. Click the Play button near the top.)
Frances, why are you never on MSN anymore? I enjoy your digitally mediated conversation, and would like to do so with greater frequency. You say you're always on the computer, after all. :p |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 27th, 2006|09:05 am] |
Oh, alright. Here you go. They're huge, I know. If anyone knows how to display them smaller here, please tell me. As is, just right click them and save them to your hard drive, then veiw them in windows
if they're too big.
( What're you waiting for? Hit the jump. ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 25th, 2006|12:46 pm] |
The con was fun. I had the camera for the first day only, while on the second two days my little brother had it, so most of the good pictures - actually, most of the pictures period - are from then. There are still plenty of them. I'm to lazy to post them here, however, so if you want to see them, comment as such, and I'll email them to you.
Muahahahaha. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 28th, 2006|01:11 pm] |
I’m going to try to stick to the relevant facts and keep this as short as possible, as there is the very real danger that I will begin to ramble, and this will probably be pretty long even without extra crap from me. And yes, I'm aware that it's a bit silly to devote such a long and impassioned entry to something as frivolous as video games. I love the medium, what can I say.
We are on the cusp of a very interesting time in gaming. A new console war is about to begin in earnest, and it’s looking like it will be radically different from any previous one. Nintendo has taken a completely different direction with their machine from the other companies, who are making records with the prices of their machines. The former underdog is looking ready to make a major comeback, and some are saying that they may even “win” the generation.
On the PC side of things, Microsoft has pledged to support the PC as a gaming platform in much the same way that it and other companies support and promote their consoles. Their new Games for Windows initiative, the ensuing OS Vista’s status as an ideal gaming platform, and their plans for Live Anywhere, are the manifestations of this. I won’t describe the Games for Windows program here, as I’m sure most of you have read all about it in the latest PCG. Suffice to say, it looks as though Microsoft is honest in its stated desire to inject new life into PC gaming.
There’s a problem with this, however: the Xbox has been, and continues to be, a harmful influence on PC gaming. When looking at the list of recent and upcoming major releases for the PC, one is struck by how many of these are out for or are coming to only the PC and the Xbox 360, such as Bioshock, Alan Wake, Oblivion, and Condemned. Interestingly, almost every single current or upcoming major 360 title is seeing a sort of “Microsoft exclusive” release, that is, coming out on both the 360 and the PC, and nothing else. This is less true for the PC, but not by a lot. Games experiencing a twin release like this vastly outnumber high-profile PC exclusives. Microsoft has in fact said that it wants people to play games on both the PC and 360.
As I am primarily a PC gamer, this troubles me for a number of reasons. Firstly, there isn’t much point in having both systems, as Microsoft wants people to, if they have all the same games. Secondly, I think we’re all aware of how the Xbox ruined many great PC game franchises in the past generation with it’s pandering to the lowest common denominator. Deus Ex: IW, Ghost Recon 2, Far Cry: Instincts, and many others were stripped of many of the things that made their PC predecessors great. This trend became greater than ever in the past console generation, and while all the consoles had a part in it, the most damage was undoubtedly done by Microsoft’s consoles. The fear is that, with so many PC games being released for the Xbox 360, this dumbing-down will continue to happen to the coming generation of PC games.
As a PC gamer, this is not a trend I wish to see continue.
The interesting thing about the coming console war, in addition to the fact that Nintendo’s new console is both revolutionary and much cheaper than the others, is that the Sony, who previously had demonstrated mastery over console gaming for two consecutive generations, seems to be shooting themselves in the foot. The PS3 has been the target of widespread criticism not only for its price, but for the myriad technical problems that it is already facing. Sony just might be dooming themselves with this piece of hardware.
Other big changes are afoot at Microsoft as well: just recently, Bill Gates left his position as MS’s chief software architect. By 2008, he plans to have taken a part-time role in the company that is primarily supervisory. This has led many to question the future of the Xbox series. The Xbox was the brainchild of Gates, his “baby” in his own words, and he was its main supporter within the company. The first Xbox lost the company money overall. Many of the other head honchos in the company were not pleased with it as a result, and were less than enthused about the plans to launch a second machine in the series. Without a key player like Gates to vouch for it, if the 360 repeats its predecessor’s financial failure, it’s quite possible that it will represent the end of the Xbox line. The 360 is already a money sink for the company, what matters is if it stays that way.
Is it just me, or does anyone else see the way being paved for a new golden age of gaming? The next generation, after this one, could well end up with the PC and Nintendo as the dominant – indeed, the only - platforms. This is something I’d be very glad to see, and I imagine that the few people who read this and care much about games are more or less in agreement with me.
There is no guarantee of this, however, which is why I’m making this post. Those of us that care about gaming have to do what we can to make it happen. I do not believe that the PS3 needs any help to fail, and I’m less concerned with Sony anyway. The Xbox 360, on the other hand, is doing better than it really deserves to, and it ought to be ensured that it doesn’t get much more popular.
How can we prevent the 360 from being successful? The best way is to make a grassroots effort. Obviously, don’t buy one yourself. Find out which of your friends have 360s or are considering getting them. Try to convince them that any of the other systems are better. The Wii and PS3 are favourable alternatives to the 360, as they’ll both have more top-notch exclusives, and the PC has or will have every practically every great title currently on 360 or known to be coming to it. Give them reasons why the other systems are better. Emphasize the games. And if you find that you just can’t convince them, help them out by directing them to eBay, where they can get the console for less than they can in stores, and where MS doesn’t get a dime from the transaction. For those of your friends who already own them, encourage them to rent games rather than buy them. Most 360 games aren’t worth more than a rent, given their length and/or quality. This is actually true of all systems, so suggest it to PS3 people as well.
As one of those who bought a 360, there are particular things you can do, Dave. I know that we’ve never gotten along particularly well, but I think this is one topic on which we can see eye-to-eye. If you don’t want your 360 anymore (which is the case for most people I know who have them), and if you can’t convince a friend to get a PC or other console, instead of directing them to eBay, offer to sell them yours for less than they cost in the store. Microsoft won’t get any money, and you’ll get some of yours back. If you don’t have any friends that want to buy it from you, sell it on eBay. If, on the other hand, you decide that you do want to keep it, you can help by renting games for it rather than buying them, when possible. If you’ll help out the PC by doing any of these things, I will revoke my previous statements about your worthiness to be a PC gamer.
Finally, it’s just as important to get others to do these things as it is to do them yourselves. Get the word out to those of like mind as yourselves. Post on forums with this message. You can copy/paste it right out of here, if you like. I don’t care as long as it helps this effort. I believe that by doing these things, we can impact the 360’s success, and make it more likely that the future of gaming is all the brighter. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 29th, 2006|09:59 am] |
This is worth sharing.
http://xenuxenu.ytmnd.com/
Even though it's not quite accurate, because Scientologists don't worship Xenu, they hate him. He's their supreme evil figure. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 24th, 2006|09:14 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Bright Eyes - Jason Mraz | ] |
Summer begins. |
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| "I have had it with these motherf**king snakes on this motherf**king plane!" |
[Apr. 6th, 2006|11:13 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Brighteyes - Simon & Garfunkel | ] |
Well, just a week of class left. One week until my first year of college is over, one week until I never have to take another English class again. Also one week until exams, but I suppose one can’t have their cake and eat it too. I guess that four months of summer vacation is the trade-off for all the work during the school year. Of course, the work load this term hasn’t been as heavy as last term’s, as I’m taking fewer courses, but it was still quite formidable.
Anyway, yes. Four months of summer. Pwnsome. Of course, I plan to spend much of this time catching up on videogames, I’m working on getting a job, and soon I’ll take the test for my N. But I don’t want to do only these things. It might be nice to actually start spending some time with my friends again.
This brings me to my point. The rest of this post is for Fairlith and Sean. Dave can read it too if he wants, but it’s not directed at him.
Lately, you guys have pretty much stopped inviting me when you hang out. This is understandable. For a long time I was practically never able to come due to my work, and I’m sure it didn’t help that on several of the instances where you did invite me, I got mad with both of you because I couldn’t make it. So I’m not angry about it.
That said, I am beginning to feel as though we’re sort of drifting apart, and I don’t want let that happen. Fairlith, we’ve been close friends for almost seven years, and I’d hate to lose touch with you. Sean, it will be a long time before I find friends as good as the Nerds, and I hope that I won’t have to soon.
Given that I’ll have a lot more spare time soon, I’d really appreciate it if you guys started inviting me more often. Even during the school year, that’d be good, because while I may not be able to make it most of the time, I will be able to some of the time, which is better than nothing. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing more of both of you.
Oh, and one other thing: Yes, I got the bloody nightcrawlers. That joke wasn’t very funny the first time you told it, and it’s just gotten less and less so. Please, for the love of god, stop it! |
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