It's been forever since I posted a blog.

Whatever. I officially have something to complain about.
Fox cancelled Drive. I admit that when I first heard the concept, it sounded really stupid, but a friend convinced me to give it a try, and I'm glad he did. I loved that show. All four episodes of it. I understand that FOX is supposed to be showing the remaining two episodes, and even though the last one will probably be an unresolved cliff-hanger, I'll still watch them. Drive was a great show, the best that FOX has attained in years. I'm disapointed but not surprised that it was cancelled. We are, after all, talking about the network that cancelled Firefly and John Doe.
What's more annoying is FOX's excuse for cancelling it. They SAY it was ratings...what they DON'T say is that ratings for their hit show 24 have gone down. The word that FOX is quietly passing around is that Drive was actually hurting 24's ratings. No people...24 was hurting 24's ratings. The proof is in the numbers. 24 has been declining in ratings all season. Word from the fans is that the show is more of the same over and over. It's getting predictable. Still, it matters not where the blame lies. Drive was a great show, but now it's over before it's time. What's done is done.

But that puts fox in a lower category in my book.
I watch 2 shows on FOX. House (when I get the chance) and Bones. (Drive would have been 3).
I'm only interested in 1 show on NBC, and that's Heroes. Even that I dont' watch weekly, I'll wait for the DVD.
With ABC, it's the same. Lost. On DVD.
CBS? Well, I've gained a new interest in CSI with the whole miniature killer thing. So I'm a re-fan of that. I like Numb3rs, and I watch it when I get the chance. Criminal Minds is brilliant. I love that show. And then there's NCIS, the only network show I refuse to miss. That makes 4.
CBS: 4
FOX: 2
ABC: 1
NBC: 1

CBS still wins in my book, and again, they are the only non-cable network with a show that I make the time to watch: NCIS.

I think SciFi Channel has the most votes from me, and that's a number that none of the major networks are likely to dethrone anytime soon. And even SciFi has made it's share of FOX-like mistakes. (Cancellation of Farscape for example.) Still, FOX has a bad track record with me. I don't trust them, and I really don't invest a lot of my time in their shows. Sorry FOX, but why invest my time in a great show that you'll just cancel in favor of some stupid reality show? I'll take my viewership elsewhere.

Wow, so it's been a while since I did a blog post. Ironically, my last post was about Firefly. This one? Serenity. I can't believe it has taken me so long. Stupid. I don't know if anyone is reading this, but if you are, you may have picked up on the fact that I'm a huge Firefly/Serenity fan. If you have not seen this series/movie, you are truly missing out. If you have seen it, and didn't like it, then you simply haven't seen it.
Yeah, I said it. Serenity was without a doubt the best movie of 2005. I bought it on DVD the day it came out, and it was so totally worth it. What a true masterpiece. Not only was it an extremely funny movie, but it was high on action and deep in story...just like the series, only better! I didn't even know that was possible, but I see now that it is.
Yeah, I know it bombed in theaters, but the DVD sales have been astounding. So eat that FOX. Keep playing your decadent, shallow teenage soap operas. Obviously, Joss Whedon doesn't need you anyway.
The movie has proven one thing FOX. No matter how moronic your executives are...
you can't stop the signal.

So I'm watching the reruns of Firefly on the SciFi Channel. It merely reminds me that the execs at FOX are complete morons. How they dropped this truly magnificent show is beyond me, but they seem to be getting pretty good at doing it. I mean, they air it out of order, if they air it at all, and hardly promote it...and then wonder why nobody watched it. Idiots. I despised them for cancelling Family Guy, abhored them for not renewing John Doe, but I think just outright dropping Firefly was entirely unforgiveable. Even their newest accomplishment, House (one of the greatest new shows to premier last year) can not make up for what they have done. They are too far gone, and they don't deserve House.
Firefly is a work of art. And despite it's abysmal failure, the show has picked up quite a following. It's ironic then, that the very words of the opening theme seem to just echo the fate of the series.
Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me.
Fox just didn't know what to do with an original thought, that's the problem. If it didn't involve the sleezy shenanigans of undeserving brats (cough...The O.C....cough), then how could it possibly be a hit? They're all idiots.
I want to see the new Firefly movie, Serenity, do well for three reasons:
1) Firefly was a great show. It had a great story, a great cast, and a great chemistry, and I would love to see it continue.
2) (Almost) everyone involved deserves it. Wheldon deserves it for imagining such a masterpiece. The actors (and crew) deserve it for bringing that masterpiece to life. And we, the fans, deserve it for recognizing such a masterpiece. The only ones who don't deserve it is FOX, for trying to screw with the show. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And Firefly was not broekn.
3) Which brings me to my final reason for wanting Serenity to be a smash hit. To show the world that the execs at FOX are all brainless idiots.

To the crew of Serenity, you keep flying, and I'll be there for your adventures.

I'm starting to hate TV. Or at least become generally annoyed with it. And for a change, it's because there's TOO MUCH on that I want to watch. I'm a busy guy, I've got things to do. Not a chance any of that is going to happen though. It seems like every day of the week I've got something that I either DO watch, or should be watching. Thankfully, this season's new shows all look to be astounding flops. Whew...getting off easy this time. Two Years ago, I added NCIS to my schedule. Last year, I added Stargate: Atlantis, and House to my schedule. (Dang me for never getting around to LOST...I swear I will.) For a change, FOX decided to keep one of it's good shows around (House). And for NOT a change, CBS is adding yet more crime dramas to their primetime lineup. It's okay though, because they'll probably fail and things should return to normal. I think NBC is looking to get some viewers this year with their LOST rip-offs...and I might turn there long enough to laugh and shake my head at the poor fools. Speaking of LOST, once I get my head on straight, I'll catch up with season 1 and flip over to ABC for season 2. That's about all they'll get me for though. Overall, my show schedule isn't changing that much, thankfully. It looks like CBS will once again be getting the majority of my time with NCIS and the CSIs. FOX will come in second though, grabbing only two of my precious hours this year (until 24 starts again). I don't trust the idiots over there though, they cancelled John Doe and Firefly on me. (And who can forget the 'hiatus' that Family Guy was forced into?) I don't know, really, what the season will hold. As pathetic as the current wave of sci-fi seems to be (give it up morons, leave it to SciFi Channel or JJ Abrams), it's not nearly as sickening as the FOX trashbags we've seen over the past couple years (The O.C. and it's cohorts...oh and can anybody say 'reality tv'?). No matter how DUMB this season may be, it looks like it won't be nearly as REVOLTING.

YES! Absolutely the ONLY thing I love about Halloween is the release of Mountain Dew: Pitch Black. The grape blasted Dew totally slammed my taste buds last year, and now it's back with a sour bite.
ALL HAIL MOUNTAIN DEW!
Pitch Black II. I better stock up this time.

Some of the moderators in a few of the unions I'm in are getting on my nerves. Where some of us are trying to have a decent conversation, mods are closing threads because they dont' like the topic or they didn't pay attention to ALL of the posts. Who cares if a topic has been covered before? If that topic is months old, then why can't we start a new one about it? In one thread, we were all conversing well when one person got SLIGHTLY off topic, and ONE person responded. After that, original discussion resumed. Well, whatever moron was promoted to officer saw that one off-post topic and closed the thread without looking at the rest of the posts.

I think for some of you it's nothing but a power trip. "Whoa, I'm a MOD, bow to me or you will never post on this union again!" I know, stupid rant, but I have nothing else to talk about today.

This is most distressing.
Seriously, I am a huge fan of Stargate SG-1. I wasn't too sure how the series would hold up once front man Richard Dean Anderson left, but it's going well, and I'm confident the series as been given to life. Since the announcement of the videogame Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, I've been pretty excited. I've been following this game from the beginning when it was just in talks. The original actors were all doing the voices, heck they even made a season 8 episode USING the models from the game.
I guess it should be no surprise then that the game has been (temporarily?) cancelled. I mean, I really wanted it, so why shouldn't it be cancelled? Besides, it's not like this is the first time such a thing has happened to me. (Earthbound 64, the new Full Throttle). I should be used to it. But I'm not. I absolutely hate it when it happens.
It's not all bad I suppose. I mean, JoWood pulled it from the developer for a good reason. They figured that Perception couldn't make a good product withing the given time (having seen what was previously done), so they yanked it. It's not so much that that annoys me, it's that it may have been pulled for good. It would be one thing if they had cancelled it before very much had been done, but that's not how it was. If this game never gets made, we'll always have the screenshots and movies of gameplay footage to haunt us.
It's a sad day in the Stargate universe, but I still have hope. I believe Stargate is worthy of a game, and someday, it will happen. I just have to wait longer than I wanted to.

We all know how 'successful' the attempts to bring games to film have been. From the early days of such attempts (the painful Mario Brothers) to the more recent Alone in the Dark (which was laughable at best). So why would anyone hold out hope for good game movies? Well, I think (more like hope) that Hollywood may start taking us seriously. There are a couple reasons I say this.

First, I actually have high hopes for Hitman, with Vin Diesel jumping on board. He's one of my favorite actors, and I'm truly hoping he can bring the story to life. I'm less enthusiastic about the casting for the much delayed Spy Hunter (The Rock), but as that is a classic, I'm willing to give it a shot.
One film I'm particularly interested in is Silent Hill. With Sean Bean on board as the main character, I am really excited and really hoping they don't screw it up. On the same note, Fatal Frame is another game I'm glad to hear will be heading to the big screen. News that God of War is making it to the big screen is enough to make me do a happy dance, and news that Jerry Brukheimer will be overseeing Prince of Persia just doubles my anticipation for the newsest games-to-film attempts. I think we're heading in the right direction here.

Of course, I DO have my concerns. Namely, the peculiar trent of trying to turn fighting games into movies. (Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter anyone?) We're looking at film adaptions of Tekken, Dead or Alive, and perhaps most surprising of them all, a third Mortal Kombat. I guess we'll see how it goes, but I don't have high hopes for these.

Speaking of not having high hopes, Resident Evil: Afterlife is still in talks, and there's always the upcoming Bloodrayne. Both of these movies (and probably that Dead or Alive movie) are just excuses to see lots of skin on the female stars and very little if any clothing. Of course, if that's your thing...whatever.

All in all, I think we have a mixed bag here. There are many movies I didn't mention, I didn't feel they were worth the mention. If Prince of Persia, God of War, and Silent Hill all tank, then it's probably time to put to rest the games-to-film ideas. If those don't make it, I don't know what will. At least not until Hollywood starts taking gamers seriously, which may or may not happen.

I hate bills. Particularly, I hate credit card companies. I owe way too much many to way too many people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not passing blame to anyone for my own irresponsible spending. I've taken full credit for the debt I've gotten myself into, and I'm proud to say that I haven't used a credit card in well over a year. Still, I get mail and phone calls from credit card providers every day. I mean, I know how to shut them up. I just tell them that I think credit card providers are the key players in a national conspiracy to subjugate the American people. They are like wolves.
That whole rant was to say this, on top of my credit cards and other monthly bills such as utilities, I also have a $700+ a month tuition payment. There are times, like now, when it's hard to come up with money for groceries. And there have been many times when we have sold things just to help pay down some of the balances on our cards. Recently, I realized that my PS2 and GameCube could probably fetch some nice money on ebay.
Can you believe it? I have actually considered selling my videogames! Why? I mean sure, it's nice to have money for groceries, but lunch is only enjoyable for a short period of time, and then what? I'm hungry again. Games, on the other hand, last hours, and sometimes days.
I'm not selling my videogames. Some would call it irresponsible. I call it good business sense and great time/resource management.

Frankly, I am absolutely disgusted over this whole Grand Theft Auto: Sand Andreas thing. But not just at Rockstar, at everyone involved.
If indeed Rockstar left these sex mini-games in the code on purpose, I am shamed by how they treat us gamers. They would have known the backlash that the discovery would cause. As much as I have loved the GTA games, Rockstar is pushing the envelope simply because they know it is their right to do so. They don' t seem to care how it might hurt the game industry as a whole.
Second, as usualy I'm angered by the media. The media has been beating this dead horse for years now, and every time, they manage to paint all gamers in a bad light: that we are all quiet and dangerous kids living with our parents and rarely come out of our dark basements where, when we're not playing games like Grand Theft Auto, we're making bombs are planning city-wide attacks. They refuse to see us for who we really are: everyday people working everyday jobs and for some idiotic reason giving their networks the ratings they need so that they can even have their jobs.
Third, I'm angry at everyone else. The politicians for being so opportunistic. Newsflash people, they don't give a rip about you or your kids, but as long as you believe their lies, you'll probably vote for them. And that leads me to the people buying these games. Take the grandma who is now suing Rockstar. She bought the game for her grandson, but once she heard about the sex-minigames, she was traumatized, and only a few million dollars worth of a lawsuit will make her feel better. Idiots. If your kids shoot up their schools, you ought to be hauled off to jail for not paying attention to what they're doing. Stop blaming us for your screw-up.
See, this has nothing to do with the existence of the mini-games, it has to do with the idea that they may have been intentionally hidden. THAT is what is causing all the problems.
Now that I've had my words about this abysmal situation, let's hope we don't have to hear about it or feel the reprecussions from it for the next several years.