When was the last time I blogged, March? Wow, I've neglected this thing for a while now, and I probably will continue to after I write this. I really don't care though, nor do I care if anyone reads this. So yeah anyways...

I've decided that unless you have a job, girlfriend, or something extremely interesting going on in your life, the months of june, july, and august are really boring. Considering I have none of the above my life is a living borefest (which explains why I'm blogging right now). The most interesting thing I did all summer was take a road trip to Chicago (which was awesome I might add). The problem is, that roadtrip was in early June and I didn't do anything realitively close to as exciting as that other than go to Warped Tour (which was also awesome). So basically, my summer peaked way too early and every other activity I partook in just didn't compare.

Getting beat on Fight Night made me want to bite someone's ear off.

So what did I do all summer? The last thing any college should be doing; spending money. Most of that went to my Xbox 360 however, as I hoped a new game or two would releave me of my boredom. Well that sort of worked. Fight Night Round 4 came first, and while that game is very fun, getting destroyed by 12 year olds who had mastered the art of exploiting (or were just really, really good) made me shelve the game for weeks at a time.

I put this guy on the Bobcats, and they won the NBA Title. Maybe the actual Bobcats should do the same.

Next I tried NBA 2k9. I've come to the conclusion that this game is an addiction, because I bought it back in March or April and played the hell out of it to the point where there was no point in playing it again. Problem is, I kept coming back to the game, playing it for a extended period of time, then realizing I have zero desire to go through a franchise mode with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Whats worse is I've repeated this process at least a dozen times.

This game saved me from cured me of my chronic boredom.

So what game came to my rescue? Tales. Of. Vesperia. I totally missed out on this game, and am now currently playing it and loving it. I needed something different, and Tales is certainly that. I have all intentions to finish the game, and hopefully by that time something else has come out that can relieve me of my boredom, except by that time I imagine, school, basketball, and parties will be keeping me from being bored.

Knowing

Directed by: Alex Proyas

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury

Plot: A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Source: imdb.com

Review:

This is going to be a tough review, mainly because even with all the flaws I found in this movie, I still throughly enjoyed it. First of all, Nicolas Cage is great, not his best performance by any means (and it will be hard for him to touch his Lord of War performance) but it was good. Anyways, this movie centers around these numbers, and how they predict all these major catastrophic events that have or are going to happen. As Cage trys to figure out what the numbers all mean, events happen just as they numbers say they will. These catastrophic events are played out very well, and are in fact the best parts of the movie. They're shocking to say the least, even though the special effects aren't the greatest, they still show terrible events happening right before your eyes and its pretty intense stuff. One scene in particular reminded oh too well of 9/11 in fact.

As the movie goes on, I became increasingly more excited to find out how this story would eventually play out, then, the movie almost does a complete 180. I won't spoil it for you but its a pretty big twist, and in all honesty its not the twist you're hoping for, at least it wasn't the one I was looking for. Even though I am a big sci-fi buff, I sort of questioned the direction the movie goes. I understand the meaning and all that, it just wasn't what I was expecting at all or what I was looking for.

I should also point out that the child actors in the film, are terrible. Like, I know most child actors aren't good ever, but usually they have smaller roles and don't bring down the movie with their awful performances. However, the son in this movie has a really big part, and by the end you're rolling your eyes at the unconvincing performance he gives. Also, I'm a big Rose Bryne fan, I loved her in Troy, 28 Weeks Later, the TV show Damages, and especially in Sunshine. She is basically one of my favorite actresses. With that being said, I felt her performance in this was sub par. She was good up until she went into panic mode, and then she just sort of turned into an annoying b*tch.

So all in all, Knowing is good and enjoyable. However, I left the theater feeling a little unsatisfied. Whether I'd recommend this movie to you or not really all depends on you. I saw the movie with two others, and we all enjoyed it, but all of us felt about the same regarding the ending. If you like the premise and idea of the movie, or you're just a Nic Cage fan in general, I say see it. If not, save your money for something else.

My Rating: 2 1/2 Stars

I can see down your shirt!

One thing you'll learn (or haved learned) about college is you have a lot of free time; which, can be spent doing a number of things. Now as fun as getting piss drunk can be, I reserve the weekend for doing that, leaving me five days in which only 3 hours are spent in school. So, I like to play a lot of video games during the week. After finishing Dead Space and not wanting to beat Fallout 3 just yet, I decided I needed to search out a new game to go through. I brought up the suggestion of Assassin's Creed to my suitemates and I received the following responses:

"That game is f*cking awesome."

"Dude, thats the best game I've ever played on the 360."

"That sh!t is dope."

Guess I missed something. All I've heard is Assassin's Creed is fun, but too short and repetitive. So far, none of that is true. After getting it used for 17 bucks, I've found the game not fun, but really fun, not short (if you reach every high point and save every person), and too be honest, not that repetitive. I mean yeah, you are doing the same thing 9 times, but repetitive is only bad if doing the same thing over and over again is boring, and I can think of a number of other "repetitive" things that don't get boring (having sex, watching your favorite youtube videos, posting on Gamespot message boards). So basically what I'm saying is that Assassin's Creed has been real pleasant surprise. I expected a good game, but I've been enjoying it much more than I thought I would. And the whole, "memory used to go back in time thing", thats pretty cool.

There's something behind me, isn't there?

I have to give EA credit, they finally made a REALLY good game. They must of hired some devs who thought to themselves, "You know, I'd like to actually make a really good game instead of the mediocre crap that this company is known for." Whatever their reason, they nailed it straight on the head with Dead Space. What an amazing gaming experience, from the opening sequence (which to me, is one of the most beautiful and haunting scenes in video game history) to the climactic finale Dead Space delivers one of the most rewarding gaming experiences of 2008.

Resident Evil and Silent Hill had their time, it's Dead Space's time to shine.

I choose....

If you're a Cavs fan, you've got to be dreading the summer of 2010.  What a summer that will be though, there will be trips to the beach, the 2010 World Cup, oh and yes, Lebron James will be a free agent.  By the way things are looking in the league right now, you'd think King James was a free agent after this season.  Teams have been clearing cap space in hopes to cash in on the best player in the NBA, the most promienent being the Nets and Knicks.  Jay-Z (who owns the Nets) said recently he really wants James in New Jersey (or Brooklyn, where the Nets will be in 2010), and the Knicks have said recently its Lebron or bust for them. 

Obviously only one team will be able to get Lebron, and its just as likely that he could stay in Cleavland, but teams like the Nets and Knicks shouldn't feel bad if they don't land the big star.  Other notable stars that could be filing for free agency in two years include Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobli, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Michael Redd.  Now obviously some of these players have no intention of leaving their respected teams (Pierce and Ming come to mind for me), many of these players look like fair game.  Its going to be one hell of a summer no doubt, and it could ultimately make or break many teams looking to land the biggest stars in the NBA.  So if one of these players listed above belongs to your beloved team, you better hope their treating that player well.

EDIT:  While you're here, check out these latest 2 dunks by King James that show why this guy is wanted so bad.  Honestly, there probably isn't another guy playing right now that can do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk7QqnLpcEA

For the past week and a half I've been unable to make any forum or blog posts due to an error when I submit my post, so if it appears that I was disappearing again you now know why.  But good news, I've figured out how to fix the glitch so now I can post away once again.  Look for new blogs soon.

Someone didn't pay attention in Geography

For all of you who didn't vote for McCain because of Sarah Palin, your reason may have some merit.  Republican aides that worked for John McCain are speaking out against Sarah Palin detailing some pretty shocking information.  According to these sources, Palin became more and more irriated throughout the election and near the end had an emotional breakdown.  She was also very rude and mean to her aides, causing some to come to the verge of tears.  The worst part though is the report that she thought Africa was a country, not a continent (she appartently figured the country of South Africa was a region of Africa).

Although I still stand by my support for John McCain, this news troubles me.  Picking Governor Palin as his running mate was a controversal one from the start, and now I see why so many conservates were concerned with the choice.  I for one supported the pick at first, but as the election progressed my support for Palin declined.

The main question here is, how many votes did Palin lose for McCain?  If I had to guess, quite a few.  This makes me wonder, did Palin think Zimbabwe was a state?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc

Adrian Peterson was great this week, Jake Delhomme...not so much.

Gonna start this weekly segment, yes the Monday Night game has played out yet but I want to write a blog so this week's segment will be on Monday instead of Tuesday like it will normally be.

Winners...

Julius Peppers.

Last season Peppers was a complete non-factor, his heart didn't seem in it and he looked far from the Pro-Bowl defensive end we were so used to seeing. This year, the guy is back in full form and he proved it yesterday. Yes it was against the Raiders but Peppers posted 3 sacks (which is more than he had all last season), 2 forced fumbles, and had constant pressure on the quarterback. With this being a contract year for the former Tar Heel, expect a big pay day for Peppers.

The Indianapolis Colts.

People were ready to write these guys off a couple weeks ago after their loss to the Titans but since then they have bounced back, winning 2 in a row and beating the Steelers on the road. Although they aren't the dominant Colts were used to seeing, a wild-card berth is looking better and better for them each week.

Adrian Peterson.

Peterson torched the Packers for 192 yards rushing and a TD. Not only that, but the Vikings won putting them in a tie for first place in the NFC North. After a 0-2 start, this team is back in it and Peterson is carrying them on his back.

Losers...

Jake Delhomme.

Yes, the Panthers won but Jake Delhomme was 7-22 with 72 yards passing, 1 TD, 4 INTs, and a QB rating of 12.3 (an all time low). The guy has made a great recovery from Tommy John surgery but this performance was probably one of the worst Panthers fans have seen since David Carr was sporting the white gloves. Seeing Jake play as bad as he did yesterday reminded me of why I wanted this guy's head on a spike two years ago. The Panthers can survive bad performances like this when they play teams like the Raiders, but they don't have a chance if he lays an egg against the Bucs or Giants.

The Buffalo Bills.

Remember when this team was 5-1 and were the favorite to win the division? After losing to the Patriots yesterday they've lost 3 straight to division opponents. Its obviously not too late to salvage the season, but other AFC teams like the Colts and Jets right there in the mix, the Bills need to get things straight if they want to have any chance of making the playoffs.

Ben Roethlisberger.

Jake Delhomme may have had the worst performance of the week, but Big Ben was right behind him. Roethlisberger had 0 TDs and 3 INTs yesterday and just played poorly throughout. If the guy was hurt, the Steelers shouldn't have played him, Leftwitch came in last week and played well so why not give him the start again and if he sucked it up, put in Ben. Obviously Roethlisberger is a better QB than Leftwitch but did he give the Steelers the best chance to win yesterday? That I'm not so sure about.

Here comes that change he was talking about.

I'm going to try and be as non biased as I can here. First off, let me say my support was with John McCain. I researched both canidates and came to the conclusion that McCain was the better choice. If you have a problem with that, I couldn't care less.

Now however, the votes are in. Barack Obama will be our next president. Not only that, but the Senate's power has shifted to the Democrats. So now, after eight years of complaining, the Democrats finally get their chance to back up their bark. They now hold the majority, let's see what they can do. More importantly, let's see what Barack Obama can do. His promise is "change" but will he be able to keep that promise? Our country is $700 trillion dollars in debt, and we are still at war. Much of Obama's success as president will ride on how he deals with those situations.

Right now there's a lot of tension in the air, Obama supporters are going rejoicing while McCain supporters are severely pissed (trust me, I'm witnessing it as I type this). My message to all of you is vent tonight and tomorrow, then make up. What's important now is that everyone eventually supports Obama, because hoping he will fail just so you can say, "I told you so" is just plain wrong. If he fails, our country suffers, its that simple. So please Mr. President, don't screw it up.

Enjoying the sunset Mr. Fenix?

The other day I was in my suitemate's dorm room watching some show that I can't remember the name of. Anyways, the commercials came on and the three of us in the room were using the break in the show to do other things until a commercial for Gears of War 2 came on. The three of us stopped what we were doing and watched the 30 second commercial which is known as "The Last Day". Although I don't have a lot of interest in the game, I found myself sucked into the commercial, as were my suitemates who are far from being videogame fanatics. That commercial alone sparked some interest in the game for me, and has caused me to find the full version on youtube and also find out the name of the song used in the commercial (which I find sounds very good).

Gears 2 isn't the only game come up with some great commercials. Fable 2's use of the boy sitting at the table and changing into different types of heroes ranging from an old wizard with a long white beard to a flaming monster with horns was described by a frien of mine as being, "bada**." Dead Space's use of a haunting version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" sent chills down my spine (well maybe not, but you get what I'm trying to say). Probably my favorite though is Sony's commercial for Resistance 2. The 60 second TV spot shows different people proclaiming the coming of the alien race and the end of the world while showing clips of the game in-between.

For us gamers that know our stuff, these commercials serve only as hype inducers since we already know what the game is all about. However, for those who are un-aware of these games, these commercials alone can grab people's attention. I guarantee you there was someone who saw the commercial for Gears 2 and went, "Holy crap, Gears of War 2 is coming out!?!?! I'm so getting that!" Obviously that reaction was probably from a 12 year old or someone with the vocabulary of a 12 year old but again, you should get what I'm trying to say. My point is that these commercials are accurately describing the games while being very well done at the same time. Being a future marketing major, I take my hat off to Microsoft and Sony's marketing teams, their doing their part to get these games advertised.

Here are the commercials I was referring to:

Gears of War 2 - "The Last Day"

Fable 2

Dead Space

Resistance 2 - "Rise, Stand, Resist"