Calling All Geeks!

I picked up a couple of new DVDs this evening. First, I finally picked up ‘Arrested Development’ Season One. I missed the series when it was on Fox (I know, I’m sorry.), but I’ve been watching the repeats on G4 and I’ve really gotten into it. Well, actually, to tell you the truth, I hated the first episode or two that I saw, but it slowly grew on me until I was completely hooked. (It’s hard to jump into the show mid-season.) It truly is/was one of the better shows on TV, and also proof that Fox cancels anything good. Oh, well. Now I can now get my Maeby (Alia Shawkat) fix any time I want.

Then I finally broke down a bought Battlestar Galactica Season One. That’s right. Somehow, I became an even bigger geek tonight then I was before. What can I say, though? I’ve only ever seen one or two episodes the whole way through, but every time I see it flipping through the channels, it seems completely fascinating. (Even if I have no clue what’s going on.) And everyone keeps saying that it’s supposed to be so good. I’ve even heard it compared to LOST on several occasions. So, well see.

I’m a Ferrari 360 Modena!

You’ve got it all. Power, passion, precision, and style. You’re sensuous, exotic, and temperamental. Sure, you’re expensive and high-maintenance, but you’re worth it.

“Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Oh, yeah, that’s me, baby. Vroom, vroom!

For the record, I drive a ‘91-’92 (I can never remember which.) Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra S that I got off of my grandmother that’s literally falling appart. (The car, not my grandmother … well, okay, maybe it’s both.)

I don’t know why I’m just now trying this out (I know Jon’s been using it for a while.) but I just signed up for Bloglines yesterday. I’ve decided that this is both the greatest and the worst service ever. It’s the greatest because it allows me to visit all of my favorite web sites all from one place and it even notifies me when there are updates. (So I don’t have to waist time checking on a site when they haven’t updated.) I even transferred all of my email discussion groups over too it so my inbox is no longer being over run by nerds talking about who they think the new Ronin is going to be in “New Avengers”. (I really have no idea who it is, but the one theory I liked is that it was Nick Fury.)

Unfortunately, it’s also the worst because it allows me to visit all of my favorite web sites all from one place and it even notifies me when there are updates. (So I don’t have to waist time checking on a site when they haven’t updated.) I even transferred all of my email discussion groups over too it so my inbox is no longer being over run by nerds talking about who they think the new Ronin is going to be in “New Avengers”. (I really have no idea who it is, but the one theory I liked is that it was Nick Fury.)

I’m burning through all of my sites in half the time! I’m not double checking everyone’s blog every fifteen minutes in case they updated just after I clicked off their page because now I can just see on Blogline that ‘no, they didn’t’.

Seriously, Blogline is awesome. I’m just a little desperate to find some new feeds to keep myself occupied.

I picked up “Trauma Center: Under the Knife” for the DS the other day and I have to say it’s actually very addictive. You literally perform surgery with your stylus on the touch screen. It’s a great balance of skill and puzzle solving skills. And overcoming some of the more difficult operations is extremely satisfying. (I literally JUST finished surgery #5 after a few days of absolute frustration. Now I feel like the king of the world) Also, the game features a few “cameos” that I thought were quite amusing. The game was originally developed in Japan and, to give the characters more American sounding names, a lot of characters borrow names from characters in Scrubs, ER, and House. When I read that my first operation would be on a Mr. Turk, I couldn’t help but chuckle. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t stitch my initials in his stomach.)

There are a few things that irk me, however. For one, there is a lot of story in between the operations. That equals lots and lots of text screens. And not only is the story not very interesting (as far as I’ve gotten, anyway.) but you have to sit through it any time you fail a mission. I mentioned before that I was having trouble with one particular procedure. After about the second attempt at it, I couldn’t click through those screens fast enough. Also, this game commits one of my big pet peeves in video games: Characters acting one way in a cut scene and another during game play. Most of the time, it involves your character doing something really cool (amazing acrobats, jumping from great heights, easily overcoming countless enemies, ect.) during a cut-scene that you are unable to do when you’re actually playing. In this game, though, it’s the complete opposite. No matter how good you are in the game, you’re character is a total fuck up during the non-playable parts. For instance, I know the nurse is usually right, so I always listen to her advice when I play. If nothing else, it’s better to be safe then sorry. But then, in the non-playable parts, when presented with medical evidence that my patient is, like, seconds away from death, my character blows her off to go schmooze with other doctors at some conference. All the while I’m screaming at my DS “Help him! Help him! Help him!”

Still, story issues aside, Trauma Center offers some very entertaining game play. It’s defiantly worth checking out.

I just want to begin by saying that ‘300’ is a good movie. I liked ‘300’. I just want to make sure that point is clear when I say that, despite my overall enjoyment of the movie, I found the latest ultra-accurate adaptation of a Frank Miller graphic novel to be somewhat disappointing.

‘300’ is the story of a Spartan king who learns that the entire Persian Empire is about to bear down on him and his people but, due to the scheming of a corrupt senator, he is denied use of the actual Spartan army. Undeterred, the king decides to disobey the laws that even he must abide by and selects 300 “personal body guards” and decides to “take a stroll” that just so happens to lead him face to face with the Persians, lead by a man who believes himself to be a god.

More so then the story, however, the majority of talk concerning this movie has been on its ultra stylized visuals. Those who saw Sin City two years ago may recall the all-digital look. (Almost the entire thing was filled before green screen.)

There in lies the problem, however. I still remember seeing the preview for ‘300’ the first time back when I saw Clerks 2. The preview was awesome! To see so much … coolness crammed into a 2-3 minute preview nearly gave me a sensory overload. Unfortunately, having that same coolness stretched out to nearly 2 hours turns ‘300’ into little more then a slightly more stylized ‘Gladiator’. And as far as style goes, it doesn’t go anywhere near the high water mark left by Sin City. Sure, some of the creatures are really cool and the colors are quite striking, but it was the risks that Sin City took that put it over the top.

After the general look, there has been a lot of talk in the comic community about how accurate ‘300’ is. I have never read it myself, but I’ve heard it said that it has, in fact, surpassed Sin City in how closely it followed the source material. (And, having read “the Hard Goodbye”, I can tell you that at least the first third of Sin City is unbelievably accurate.) Again, I’ve never read ‘300’, but if the movie is as true to it as they say, the beginning of it must be very slow. Indeed, right up until it’s first real battle scene, I found the beginning to drag.

I feel like I must say again that, despite all of my complaints, I did like ‘300’. And perhaps it’s unfair to compare it to Sin City. True, the comics they were based on were both written by the same guy, but the stories themselves are quite different. Nevertheless, ‘300’ comes short of its predecessor in nearly every sense. Still, coming in second to a movie as great as Sin City is no shame. That’s why I’m giving ‘300’ a 4 out of 5.

“Well, how do you explain all the dead unicorn?”
- Metalocalypse

Conservatives sometimes confuse and frighten me. Not all conservatives, mind you. Just the psycho one. Apparently, 58 home schooled students (from New Jersey, no less.) took it upon themselves to create the ‘conservative answer to the liberally-biased’ Wikipedia, Conservapedia. As a self-proclaimed liberal, I must admit that they have uncovered our dastardly plot to cover up unicorns.

SPOILTER ALERT!

The spoiler alert is somewhat moot considering I, myself, know the big news before my weekly trip to Comic Town, so you probably know already as well. I mean, actual news shows are talking about it. Captain America has been KILLED!!!

I only just heard about it this afternoon and, already, I’m sick of hearing about it. I’m truly disappointed in my fellow fan-boys who are actually falling for this crap. At best, a few of the less brain dead are saying “Yeah, well, he’ll probably be back in a year anyway.” A year? Come on! He has an ongoing title, for crying out loud, that, as far as I know, hasn’t been canceled.

Okay, as I understand it, the latest issue of Captain America ends with him being shot, like, six times and APPARENTLY dying. My prediction: He’s in a coma for a few issues, max, before making a big, triumphant return.

B-but, Travis, they’re going to make the PUNISHER the new Captain America. Yeah, I heard that, too. There’s just one little problem with that. You see, the Punisher has a new ongoing series that has actually been doing quite well, from what I’ve heard. If he became the new, PERMINANT Captain America, then they would have to cancel Punisher War Journal. The bit where he becomes the new Captain America is just temporary! As in, one story arc.

I’m just a little annoyed by this whole situation. It’s the same people who freaked out over the whole Iron Spidy costume, even thought everyone was saying from the very beginning that it was just temporary and would only last through Civil War. Still, the fan-boys went crazy. And now, once again, my email inbox is being inundated by messages of geek rage. I just wish people would stop and think this stuff through.

Just some follow up. About a month ago I wrote about how much SPAM I got in a week. Well, I wanted to wait and see how much a month would get me. I currently have 685 SPAM emails. (And props to Gmail for catching 99.9999% of it, too!) Man, don’t people have anything better to do with there time. (Says the guy blogging about the SPAM he got. lol.)

A web comic about working at a movie theatre? How the Hell did I let somebody beat me to it?

Very funny. Check it out.