Guuuuuuhhhhhhh...

I feel like (expletive deleted).

And I've got two midterms on tuesday and wednesday. And quite a bit of studying to do for both.

I have two theories:

1: Simple coincidence...

*coughbullshitcough*

2: This is His/Her/Its way of saying "Yo, I'm fucking sick of this crap! I watched you blow off studying for finals through high school, well not this time, bitch! Yeah, you've gotten better, but I'm taking no fucking chances! You're studying this weekend, fucktard!"

And I respond "But I'll study, really! And don't you think that being sick will make it harder for me to study?"

"Compared to your usual studying habits? Fuck no, dog! Now sit yo bum ass down on that bed and start studying. 'sides, with all this fucking election crap going on, both sides bitching about how the other's guy is a fucking retard or indecisive bitch, don't you think a few fucking days of diminished consiciousness will be a lot fucking better than the alternative?"

"Good point, imaginary almighty. But won't a coma be more merciful?"

"Stop talking in your fucking mind, smartass. Study, damn it!"

Yes, you heard it right. At least in my mind, God is fucking metal.

*collapse*

Note: The preceeding post contains harsh language and may offend those who believe in a more traditional form of religion.

President Bush: Voted Movie Villian of the Year!

Read all about it!

Title!

Oooh, look above!

Wraithy has a new title for his blog!

The product of ten minutes of photoshop....

Woohoo!

Sequels!

As in everything, movie sequels are vastly different from game sequels. For one, we see a lot more of the latter. All of the games I am eagerly awaiting (Halo 2, Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within) as well as most of the best games released recently (Tony Hawk Underground 2, Mortal Kombat: Deception, Otogi 2) are all sequels. Now, while the movie crowd will look amazed at the sheer number of sequels, this isn't exactly anything new for gamers.

The reasoning for this goes back to the difference between video games and movies. Because video games are a very interactive media, the main focus of development and creativity goes into the gameplay, rather than the story. With a few notable exceptions, the best storylines in games would be at about the same quality of story as the Terminator series: The story is by and large an excuse to blow shit up. They can easily be intrinsically crafted, such as the Max Payne or Starcraft story lines, but none of them are going to win oscars in a movie conversion.

So, since the main focus of creativity is the gameplay, developers don't want to spend a lot of time engineering a backstory. One of their old games that sold ten million copies can be dredged up so the story can be reused, either by creating an entirely new story that the hero has to deal with or delving into a unfulfilled sub-plot in the original. Either way, the new game gets the face of the old classic.

Also, the most notable thing is that, well, the game designers for the really great companies are fan-boys. They love their characters. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone at Bungie who doesn't love Master Chief, or to find someone at Blizzard who doesn't wish they could start making a new Starcraft game. While part of it is the marketing, the laziness, or the fans clamoring for a sequel, its also the developer's intense willingness to revisit their old universes.

Of course, there's the marketing, and the fanboys who are willing to violently attack developer's headquarters, but that's only a small part of it. And you bet your ASS I'm getting Halo 2 by the 11th!

Child's Play, v2.0

Penny Arcade's Child's Play

For those of you who don't know/remember, Child's Play was a charity event the webcomic Penny Arcade created to get gamers to donate toys and games to the Seattle Childrens Hospital. Since 190,000 children go through that hospital each year, this is an idea that benefits a lot of kids.

Last year, over $250,000 in toys, games, and cash were sent, including a few billion legos, several consoles (Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox), and more GBA's than I've ever seen (yes, all of those boxes are supposedly GBA's...).

They're doing it again, but this time they're doing this for five different hospitals across the nation:

The Seattle Children's Hospital (again)
Children's Hospital & Health Center, San Diego
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Northern California, Oakland
Children's National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Texas Children's Hospital

I realize that my readership can be counted on the hand of a blind butcher, but if the word spreads...

Oh, and I do plan on donating something this year.

Oh, and before you think of last years event as an amazing but one time burst of generosity, remember that Penny Arcade has a readership of 3.5 million people.

So, spread the word, people! Those who work at a computer company filled with rather young people who remember being gamers *coughmomcough*, tell them! Those who write a blog with infinitely better prestige than my own, please link to this! *coughlizcough*

Lets put last years total to shame!

Why Vote?

This is a question that is probably plaguing a lot of voters in non-showdown states. You know, California, Texas, New York, just about every state under the Bible Belt. That lovely POS we call the media has made it quite clear that the presidential election will be decided in the showdown states. California hasn't been a showdown state in a LONG time. Its just a notch on Kerry's wall, a really big freaking notch (55 electoral votes baby :) ), but not one he's really concerned about losing.

Still, there is a reason to vote: State Elections!

There's like twenty propositions on the ballot here in CA, Barbara Boxer is looking for reelection, City Council elections are going on, and every congressman is up for reelection every other year, including the person who may be the only republican congressman in California.

Also, here's a lovely little factoid: Although my vote in the presidential election may be as big a a deer tick in China (joke from the Daily Show book :) ), the only other people voting in the CA Senate election or the propositions are people in California, and the only people voting in the congressional votes are the people in the absurdly gerrymandered congressional district (note: while I don't KNOW that the OC congressional district is gerrymandered, its pretty safe to assume that it was at one point or another...).

That's why I'm voting. Sure, my presidential vote is sorta irrelevant, but there are plenty of votes on the ballot where my vote can make a difference.

Robin Williams!

I'm watching the Tonight Show with Leno simply because Robin Williams is on.

God he rocks :).

One example: He compared the term Compasionate Conservative, Bush's term during 2000, to "a volvo with a gun rack."

And that's not even the best joke he's made :).

Just insane enough...

Best... Quote... Ever...

From Electronic Gaming Monthy's preview of Halo 2:

In-game, members can all wear the same emblem, but forget about designing your own. "We [tried letting users] create their own emblems," says O'Connor, "but even the people here started drawing penises."

Yes, people at Bungie itself were drawing penises for their clan emblems...

So... Beautiful... :)

I SO want to see this movie...

Horribly stolen from The San Fransisco Chronicle

"South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone toned down the puppet sex scene in their upcoming film "Team America: World Police" and finally got an R rating, Paramount Pictures said Wednesday.

Just... So... Beautiful...

I Blame it all on Vin...

Okay, its Baseball playoff time. And we're currently in the divisional series, and you bet yo ass I'm watching a lot of baseball right now. The playoffs are what baseball is all about.

Now, there were four series going on this week:

Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees, and I was rooting for New York so that they could get whooped by the Red Sox (we hope) in the ALCS.

Boston Red Sox vs Anaheim Angels. Everyone except for pure Angels fans were rooting for the BoSox here. Come on, duh!

Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves. No real favorite here. I just want the games to be really good ones.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs St Louis Cardinals.

Now, I'm from the SF Bay Area. I root for the Giants. And who's the Giants sworn enemy?

The Dodgers.

And I'm rooting for the dodgers here, in the playoffs, partially because they are the underdogs, but also for one other reason.

Vin fucking Scully.

Most sports announcers work in pairs: one for hte play-by-play, and one for the color commentary. Vin Scully works alone. He's both. And he's so freaking good at it, too.

So, yeah, I'm rooting for the Dodgers, unless they meet the BoSox. Then screw them. :)

Prince and the Pauper, Barbie style...

Okay, I watch a lot of cartoon network, pretty much because a lot of anime is on it, as well as Family Guy and Futurama. And occasionally I see this ad for a dvd movie of a "Prince and the Pauper" story, Barbie style. Lots of animation, and the main characters are female instead of male

Now, usually when I see these kinds of commercials (doll/action figures types aimed at kids ten years younger than me) I either tune it out or look at it and make fun of it.

It usually isn't hard, and this is no exception.

Now, I have no problem with crappy straight-to-dvd kids films. They tend to sell surprisingly well, given the lack of effort that went into making them.

But here's the thing: The two main characters in the Prince and the Pauper were virtually identical. That's sorta the whole point of the story, right?

Barbie version has the princess with blonde hair and the pauper with brown.

(sensitive ears/eyes should beware the next part of this post)

WHAT'S THE (expletive deleted) POINT OF A "PRINCE AND THE PAUPER" STORY IF THE TWO (expletive deleted) CHARACTERS AREN'T (expletive deleted) IDENTICAL? IS THE (expletive deleted) SALES ASPECT OF GETTING RID OF A FEW THOUSAND EXTRA BROWN HAIR DOLLS SO (expletive deleted) TREMENDOUS THAT YOU FEEL THE NEED TO (expletive deleted) PISS ON WHATEVER SENSE OF ARTISTIC PRESENCE YOU (expletive deleted) USED TO HAVE? (expletive delted)!

*grumble grumble grumble*

Internets

"I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft."
President George W. Bush,
October 8th, 2004

I'm sure everyone on the internets has heard of Bush's latest verbal slip-up. But this isn't the first time he's said something like that:

"We can have filters on Internets where public money is spent."
Governor George W. Bush,
October 17th, 200

I wish I could find more quotes like that, or find examples of when bloggers went to town on Bush for using "Internets", but unfortunately Google is deluged by cases of bad grammer ("The Internets" instead of "The Internet's").

Oh well.

The South Carolina GOP Platform

"State political platforms are the BEST!!! They're typically put together by single-issue-focused advocates who get into a platform meeting and outlast everyone else to make sure that their thing gets in. As a result, they're generally filled with occasional instances of complete lunacy."

James R. Miller, aka Dadster

Boy, is my dad right!

Some gems from the SC GOP Platform:

"The South Carolina Republican Party condemns the publication and consumption of obscene, pornographic and sexually violent material, as a major contributor to moral decay and a fundamental threat to our domestic tranquility. We favor legislation to prohibit the distribution of obscenity and pornography by print, telephone, television video, computer, the Internet, or any other means. The Party believes that obscenity and pornography as defined by state law are not protected under the First Amendment. We urge the state of South Carolina and all of its municipalities to strictly enforce all existing laws against obscenity and pornography."

Yeah, like that'll happen. Its not even possible to do that on the local level, especially when you take into account the internet. Let alone the fact that it could easily be argued that porn is protected by free speech.

At least Naked News...

"Morally and pragmatically, the Party considers homosexuality a lifestyle detrimental to the health and well-being of individuals and therefore opposes its promotion as simply “an alternate lifestyle.”"

Gay bashing can sometimes be funny, but this is just rediculous.

"We oppose holding out the myth of “safe sex” to our teens as it is morally debasing and medically questionable."

...

Morally debasing, that's just their personal opinion. Medically Questionable? Condoms have a 99% success rate when used successfully. Don't cars have a smaller success rate?

"Although we support tolerance, we do not agree that unnatural or unhealthy sexual practices ought to be legitimized or promoted in the classroom, nor do we believe that known practicing homosexuals should serve as teachers in public schools."

...

You're supporting tolerance, yet you take THAT position?

...

Of course, if you look at the CA Dem state platform, there's probably something in there about legalizing marijana, so I guess I can't laugh TOO loudly...

...

Oh what the hell...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Okay, this pisses me off.

Candidate: No single, pregnant teachers in classroom

This comes after the same candidate says that gay and lesbians should not be teachers, because they aren't amazingly great role models in his opinion.

Quote from the Article: "We need the folks that are teaching in schools to represent our values," he said.

Does the GOP not believe in sensativity? Do they somehow think that they have the right to say "No, we're not racist, not at all, but you guys can't hold a teaching job because you aren't the kind of role models we want."

And, just so you know, the South Carolina State GOP Platform includes this.

Bastards, all of them.

Hope has returned...

Polls: Kerry won debate

The most intresting part of this article is the poll comparisons:

Pre-Debate (Post-Convention):
Bush: 54
Kerry: 43

Post-Debate:

Kerry/Edwards: 47
Bush/Cheney: 45
Nader/Camejo: 2 (heh, silly nader...)

The most accurate way to interpret this poll is not that Kerry won a great victory, and that voters flocked over to him (not exactly accurate...), but that instead a lot of previously "decided" voters changed their minds about Bush, and are now giving Kerry a chance. Undecided voters in the first poll made up only 3%. The second poll has 6% undecided, more than enough to swing the vote either way.

So, its a toss up now. Better than it was a week before tho...