If you are not done shopping do not start freaking out. You can always start that later, I do. If you are looking for great deals you may find some over the weekends or online.

Anyway, I was told that my aunt and uncle were given ideas on what to get me for christmas. I am the only male nephew that they have(I believe). So my mom told them some things that she wouldn't really tell me, but when I asked if it was movies, she said that the movies I wrote down were hard for her to find. I then asked which movies and then stated where I was able to find them. So she may need to call down to Virginia and tell them the new info.

The films were:

The Sting staring Paul Newmen and Robert Redford

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly staring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef

Star Wars The Original Trilogy(which I hope the p. units get me, cuz I want it to replace the VHS tapes)

but the list could have been longer, but they had trouble finding them, and I could walk in to a Target or Best Buy and find most if not all of the movies I want.

But today I was an ad for the 75th anniversary of 20th Century Fox and the movies that they are re-re-releasing look like a great list. fromCavalcade(1933) to Avatar(which I don't think is that great, for my own reasons with the story). Movies like Alien, Patton, MASH and the many other older films are going to be great redone on DVD but who in the world needs a fourth copy of Avatar? I mean really there isn't that much more they could add to the DVD that isn't already out there. What did they add a program that lets you make your own Navi and control it in an MMO game. They should have just gone with the older movies that are not on dvd yet or only have the basic version out.

#1

What an insanly fast and talented drummer. His solo is incredible to see and so is his drumming with Slipknot. His set is a great black color and has the trible S on the shell. I have a 13" snare drum from his sig. series from Pearl.

I got the self title cd on a vacation to Salame Mass with the family. I didn't stop listening to it till we got to where ever it was we were going to that day. Playing to the cd was kind of hard what with tring to get a sense of what Joey was playing as compared to Chris and Clown. But once that happened I was amazed by his abilites.

Slipknot is great live and are just insane on stage.

#1

Chad Smith is were I get the little funky snare drum hits that I play during songs. He is incredible at playing funky yet not over doing it. He plays at a great volume and never over powering the rest of the band. Be that RHCP or Chickenfoot, or whatever band he has or will play with.

His drum set is not big, yet he can get the most use out of it. Each of his sets are all very nice in color and some in design. I always wanted to make a design on my bassdrum head because of him.

#1

David Silveria of Korn. He is the first drummer that I really wanted to play like. He is talented and plays with a huge amount of passion. The first time I saw the video for "Got the Life" I was hook into Korn and David. I just wanted to play a song with Korn and have him say that I did a great job.

His set has a gong drum, which I tried to make for my set, but I never got to right pieces for the hooks. Each cd of Korn that I got, I found one or two songs that David would sound get in. when he left the band I didn't get teh new cd, still haven't yet, but wold like to own it, Now that Korn has a new drummer I will have to give him a chance. but David is the original drummer and the better drummer to me.

#2

Terry Bozzio. Just looking at one of his six drum sets makes you wonder how he can play all of them. Well he can, and does. All six of his drum sets are setup in six areas across the world. Why? Because he plays for bands, clinics, drum show whatever he gets asked to play for.

From playing for Frank Zappa to Korn(Their Untitled Album with Evolution and Hold On. Terry is insane behind a drum set. I have only seen a video my dad owns of a benefit concert he was a part of. But what I saw was something I haven't seen before or again yet.

I have never tried to play anything of his, except Korn(but not sure which songs he did for them). If you ever see a video of him playing a drum set like the pic. above, you'll see what I am talking about. I got some set ideas from him, like placeing a cymble upside down on top of a bigger cymble and hitting both at the same time, his movements around the set make me want to flow around my drums just as perfectly. So why is he not number one if I just said that, well this is a list on the subject of influence not perfection. But the #1 spot will hopefully be a surprise.

#3

Tre Cool from Green Day. A band I got to see live with Blink-182 and Saves the Day in Hershey. Green Day was one of the first bands that I would play to and the first band that the band I was in, in high school, would cover.

Tre is on very interesting drummer, next to No Doubts drummer Adrian Young. Tre is always moving and showing emotion when he plays. Thou the band may sound the same through their albums, I still enjoy their songs. Plus I did a small paper on the band. Why you may ask, cuz I was able to pick the topic. Not a very interesting English course but the teacher was retiring.

Tre has a very nice looking set and uses a nice pair of drum sticks. Also Green Day got to remake the theme song for The Simpsons: The Movie and be animated in the film, where they die from the toxic waste.

#4

John Bonham. Led Zeppelin. If you think Stairway to Heaven is over played or over hyped, then I would agree. But if you listen to songs like Templed Under Foot or House of the Holy, you get a good idea of his skills, but if you listen to When The Levee Breaks or Moby Dick then John really starts to shine.

I don't have a big gong hanging behind my set, and I never will, but he does and it works for him. Plus seeing a live video of him playing and then hitting it is something to see. He has to turn almost all the way around to hit the thing and then he has to get back to hit something else on his drumset.

Anyway, I was given to two disk cd set and I couldn'd stop listening to it. I would play a song leaving and returning to Shippensburg University. I though that the other students needed to hear something that was great and not just the latest hit song. I learend how to play a simple yet complex pattern and not letting it get out of control. So that is why he is number four.

#5:

QuestLove from The Roots. Yea I may be a little bias being from Pennsylvania, but I am really impressed by his drumming. I am the first to say that I am not the biggest rap fan. I do have a few songs and a cd or two, but The Roots are different. Their not just a rap group, they are a rap band. Questlove provides a great rhythm and is great time keeper.

The Roots may be a late night band for Jimmy Fallon, but they still have time to create great music and put out new albums every few years. The first time I hear of them was the song The Seed v.2, then I got the change to see them live in NJ for the Y100 festival.

Now I do try to play to the cd Game Theory and try to see how closely I can play to Questlove. I think I'm doing well, but I have no idea if that is accurate or not.

If you like rap or want a great collection of cds that will make you enjoy the music and the lyrics more then someone yelling into a mic, then pick up a Roots cd and give them and Questlove a listen. He is the only rap drummer on the list.

So everyone has turned on a tv and seen a video game commercial. Do you remember the song that was playing during the commercial? Do you have it on your computer or iPod?

Here are a few of the songs that I enjoyed for commercials that I have or have yet to get on my iPod.

"Oh No You Didn't"-from Mercenaries 2. A funny song that works with the commercial, but the game was lacking in the hype generated.

"In for the Kill" La Roux-from Bayonetta. Old song that worked perfectly of the dance movements in the game and commercial.

"You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" Queens of the Stone Age-from Bad Company 2. It takes some time for the song to start up, but once it does it makes the commercial.

"Train to Miami" Steel Pole Bath Tub; "Grounds for Divorce" Elbow; "Electric Worry" Clutch -from Left 4 Dead/2. They all work in their own way. Steel Pole is the song about the 4 players, Elbow is the sitting in the bar like Shaun of the Dead and Clutch is the "Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang". They all made the game seem funny yet exciting.

"One" Mastodon-Army of Two. Yea the song is not on any of their CDs, but it is a great remake of the Three Dog Night song, and makes the game more exciting to have a second player beside you.

"Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" Bill Withers-from Dante's Inferno. Played during the Super Bowl it was a great metaphor for a game that takes in a dark world of Hell.

"I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" The Ink Spots-from Fallout 3. A very old band that is from the 30s or 40s. But the song gives the time of the 50s seem to fit in the game that takes place in 2777.

"Young Men Dead" The Black Angels-from Fable 3. A Perfect song for a game that is built around starting a revolution in the first half.

"Snake Eater" Cynthia Harrell-from Metal Gear Solid 3:Snake Eater. Makes you feel like your playing a great Bond game that is not Bond. Works both in the commerical and in the game. Really helps as you climb a very boring ladder.

"How it Ends" DeVotchka-Gears of War 2. Makes you think it may just be over in the end for Delta. But it makes you think of if it was to end, how would/should it end.

"Far Away" Jose Gonzales-from Red Dead Redemption. The only game not used in the commercial but I wanted to give it credit anyway. Once you first ride the horse in Mexico the song starts up and builts. If you go to the farther location you get to hear more of the song to the point of hearing the whole song. It works by making you feel far away from finishing the journey(sorry for the bad pun).

I know of more songs that work, but I can't get to them right now, but later on after the holiday I will get to them.

I have somehow gotten out of working on the day called "Black Friday" at my part-time job. But that means that my p. units will be in the fray for shopping for gifts. So I gave them a list and now have to wait to see what they picked off of it and what they think is a good sub for one on the list.

But if your going out on Friday to get gifts for your family and anyone else special then all I can say is good luck out there. if your a gamer(which most of you are) then when asking for games please follow these suggestions.

1) Don't ask for a game because a friend said it was good, do some research on the game for yourself. that way you don't have to feel bad for returning it later.

2) Ask for what you want, hoped to have played when the game was first released. Don't just go with the latest games that you may not have played older games of, but you think look good.

3) Make sure to give the whole title of a game. No abbreviations I know it's easier to write GOW2 or RDR but your parents or who ever is getting it for you will most likely not understand what that means and then they'll call you and ask what you meant and then you know one gift your getting.

4) Hold off on buying any games till after Christmas, you may get one from your list(cuz you forget with everything going on) and buy one and have open waiting in a closet in the house for Christmas.

5) If your a parent, research the game, look at the ESRB rating and make a sound decision on what game(s) you want your kids to be playing.

6) Don't go looking for the gifts ahead of time. if your parents are like mine, they just wrap them right away anyway.

So if you follow these suggestions or not, have a safe Thanksgiving day/weekend, and a safe Black Friday.

There are too many great games coming out. Now there is Call of Duty: Black Ops. So there is Epic Micky, which I think may be a great Wii game right up there with Zelda and Metroid. Still to come out is Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and Gran Turismo 5(if that is done by the date) and Donkey Kong Country Returns(Which I only saw the first time at E3 this year).

But that means that there are more great games going unnoticed. If you take the time to read up on a game coming out later this year of earlier next year, you may find a gem out of all the same old games. I got that feeling when I first heard of Bioshock, and Fable. Bioshock was a great experience in that I was the only person I knew of in my dorm room hall that got the game, but now I know a lot of people that ask me about the first game and if they should get the second game first. Which I tell them to go find the first game and then play it at which point if they enjoyed it, then they can get the second game.

Fable was a different story in that I was excited by the hype, which the game never got right completely. But once I started playing, I was hooked, till the second game came out and then I was hooked into that game. Now that the third installment is out I now have a game I can't wait to get my hands on. I don't care it the hype of the game is beyond what the game actually does, if I enjoy the game as much as I did the other two, then I'm happy.

Other games that are getting to that stage of excitement are the new/return of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuits, and Mortal Kombat. Both look great and very promising. Mortal Kombat is going to take me back to a time when the arcade was filled with teenagers shoving quarters into the machine and facing off in a bloody match that was over in a matter of seconds. I was never that good at the arcade version, but I was better in the console versions. And the return of fatalities is going to make many older players happy to inflect on their friends.

Need for Speed is a great series that I remember pulling off crazy stunts that I would never do in a real car ever. The first crazy thing I pulled off was in Need of Speed 3(I believe) with the Nova car. I got up to a high speed going towards a small tunnel. Sitting in the tunnel were two cop cars the were facing each other slightly with their front end facing me. So as the car got closer to the tunnel, the car got air and the wheels landed on the lights on the top of the cop cars and gained some traction(if they could) and the car landed on the other side without hitting the ground hard. I was shocked and after finishing the race I proceeded to watch the replay video. I got teh camera to a great spot in the tunnel and saw the wheels slow and move on the lights. I wish I was able to save the video and have uploaded it to a computer, because I doubt anyone is going to believe it unless they saw it happen. But the return of being chased by the cops and being able to see how good I am at getting away is something I can't wait to try.

Soon the Supreme Court will decide if video games should be given a statues that would make them illegal for anyone younger then 18 to buy a violent video game. Putting it right up there to adult entertainment and the restrictions they have in place. Something that does not make sense is that how are they going to decide what falls into the new law and what games do not. Are they going to make it anything that has an ounce of violence? If so then they are going to have a lot of games off the market. Also, what will happen to the ESRB? Are they going to still have a handle on any of this or are they just done completely. If it was not for the creation of the ESRB and the rating system the government would have had control of the industry.

Do I think that it will happen. No, but I may as well get ready if it ever happens later in the future. But the government has some bigger things they should focus on instead of video games and violence in them.

If it were to happen, would that go into effect right away before Christmas or not till the new year? If its before Christmas, then what game is used to be the one made an example of? What store is going to get fined or person fired or jailed(which I don't think will happen)? So if the government is going to be made to handle this new area, who is going to be in charge?

Hmm....things to think about and keep an eye out for.

Watch the Daily Show episode with john hodgman and his "Your Welcome" segment.