A belated Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, guys :) This month has been up and down for me. It started well with the purchase of Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion and Skate 3. Power of Illusion was a great nod to the Castle of Illusion for the Genesis and Skate 3 is fantastic trip down memory lane for guys like me who haven't touched a skateboarding game since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Else wise I got all the DLCs for MW 3 (thank you for making them half price, Microsoft!) and a really entertaining remake of Super Monkey Ball 2 for my smart phone. As far as movies go I've seen The Hobbit twice now (including once at midnight) and both times in IMAX 3D and I've also seen Les Miserables. The Hobbit is as amazing as I hoped it would be. Martin Freeman, Sylvester McCoy (Radaghast the Brown) and the Dwarf cast are all fantastic, and Ian McKellan, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Christopher Lee all reprise their roles as if they'd never left them. The real show stealer was Andy Serkis's return as Gollum, though. He sequence is played to perfection. Howard Shore's music is flawless and WETA's CG and miniature work is as impressive as it ever was. I was pleasantly surprised by Les Mis. I'd heard a lot about it but had never seen any version of it until last week. It was good, albeit a bit unusual even for a musical. In spite of all that good stuff, my Christmas was terrible. I got a chance to go to Buffalo with my family to go visit my brother who moved up there back in July. Thing is, Murphy's Law hindered us at every turn. It started with my dad having to stay home because my grandparents wouldn't come, then I had to shell out a large sum of money because they wouldn't let us borrow their vehicle. Then I spent the whole week we were up there sick as a dog. At least I got to see my brother for a bit, anyway. Still I'm a little depressed about all that, and the fact that I miss my hometown of Buffalo and my brother. My gf and I are fine, and work is still work (I am REALLY not looking forward to going back in a few days). Hope you guys all have fun on New Year's Eve :)

Very busy month this November. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving, 'cuz I certainly did :) My Thanksgiving week started with the purchase of a Wii U. It's a fantastic little machine. I can't wait to see what Nintendo's got in store for it. Else wise, my Thanksgiving was spent enjoying with family and friends. We had all sorts of good food, and we indulged in some Wii Bowling and NFL Blitz 2012. In the mean time, I've been enjoying Nintendoland and New Super Mario Bros U. I also intend to get Epic Mickey 2 and the new Sonic kart racer for it, and the Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for 3DS. Of course, the other major news this month gaming wise is Halo 4. It's absolutely fantastic. 343 really proved that they can handle the Halo series with this game and I look forward to their future efforts. The only game I've purchased is a fun, chaotic combat racer called Wrecked: Revenge Revisited from Xbox Live Arcade. The local multiplayer is fun and absolutely hilarious when played with the right friends. I've seen two movies this month: Wreck-It Ralph and SkyFall. Wreck-It Ralph was wonderful. I highly recommend it to those you who would normally be turned off to family entertainment, because this film is worth a look. It's really funny and packed to the gills with great gaming references. Disney really did their homework. The new Bond film is just plain fun. There are a ton of nods to past Bond films, and the writing and acting are both excellent. My job is going well, although the thing with GameStop didn't work out. On the upside, that means I get to see my brother for Christmas, so it's a fair trade. Finally, my girlfriend and I are doing really well. No drama to report, for once :)

Another Halloween has come and gone, and this one was kind of depressing for me. My wallet's been missing for about a week so I wasn't able buy my costume or any candy for the kids. It killed me to have to turn away so many last night. Still, at least I have Assassin's Creed III to cheer me up. The game is awesome. I absolutely love the setting and the attention to detail therein, and Connor is an awesome new character. I haven't really gotten much else this month, although I did get the Captain Scarlette DLC for Borderlands 2. It's funny and more BL 2 is always a good thing. Work is tiring, and it's only gonna get worse from here. I've been hired on at GameStop to help with their holiday stuff and between that and Bojangle's I'm gonna be exhausted by the time New Years rolls around. My gf is ok, but we've not had much time together and, although that's really bothering her, she doesn't have much of a choice as she really needs to focus on her schoolwork as the end of the semester is approaching. That's it for this month, guys.

Been a long month. Work is going ok. I'm still doing long hours but at least I'm earning more money. Things with the GameStop job are going pretty well, though. As far as games, I got a lot this month. I bought a 3DS and picked up Pokemon Black, Shinobi, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario Tennis Open. I also got Borderlands 2. I've had a chance to play all of these games and they're all fantastic. Borderlands 2 was definitely worth the wait. It's fun in its purest form. I also changed my old phone for a Smart phone (a Samsung Stratosphere, to be specific). I was worried about the high cost and how much I'd use the all the bells and whistles, but this thing is totally worth it. It fits me really well. As far as board games go I've finally picked up the Cthulhu themed Munchkin game and it's hilarious and awesome. Some friends of mine have started holding a game night every Friday and it's been nice to have a venue to play board games as I love them just as much as video games. Haven't seen many movies this month other than ParaNorman, and that was really brilliant. The story is great, but a bit darker than I was expecting. By all means see it if you can, but be ready for a darker adventure than the trailers would lead you to believe. Finally, I haven't had much opportunity to talk to my baby this month because she's going nuts with school, but we're doing ok in spite of the lack of contact.

Somehow we've made it through the month with no 100 degree days. Well, I'm not complaining. I'm hoping this means that we'll have a cool autumn and a cold winter. As far as gaming goes this month I picked up the new NFL Blitz game as well as Alice: Madness Returns and the original Alice. Blitz is a fantastic QB sweep down memory lane. The fast and loose football gameplay is still a party favorite, but it's annoying that the wealth of unlockables have to be obtained via online play only. American McGee's Alice is an interesting game. The platforming and boss battles are still fun and challenging, but the artistic side of the visuals are lost in the outdated graphics and the story and dialogue are both clunky. I haven't been able to start Madness Returns yet. I've also started a second playthrough on Dragon Age: Origins. I completed my Mage playthrough and am now working on a female dwarf warrior. I rarely ever play a tank class but it's a lot easier to play one in DA:O than on, say, most MMOs. Finally, I started working on my Necromancer in Diablo II again. I got tired of waiting for my brother and advanced the storyline by a few quests last night. Finally, fantasy sports have started up again! I've got my pre-draft rankings set for both my football and hockey leagues and am psyched to start the regular season for both (let's hope there's no NHL lockout)! :) I've only seen two movies this month: Ted and The Bourne Legacy. Ted was really funny, but it was quite clear that Seth McFarlane used it as a vehicle to write a two hour long episode of Family Guy, only with the ability to let loose on the profanity. The Bourne Legacy tried really hard to stand up along side the excellent original trilogy, but it hamstringed itself by not using the title character at all save for a mention early in the movie. The story was pretty good notwithstanding, though and Rachel Weisz did a fantastic job. Else where in my life, work at Bojangle's is going well. I've gotten a substantial increase in hours thanks to a manager switching shifts. I may also have a second/new job at GameStop. As you guys know I've been putting down payments on my reserved games (AC III, Halo 4, Borderlands 2) every paycheck for the last several months. In that time the store manager at my local GameStop and I have gotten to know each other pretty well. During one visit he handed me an application and told me to fill it out as he wants me to join his holiday crew as well as potentially working as a full time employee. I've been trying to get in at GameStop for years, so this is pretty exciting for me. :) Finally, my girlfriend is doing ok. She's started at a different college this year and it's already wearing her out, so definitely keep her in mind.

Greetings all. It's been a pretty good month. Work is going ok, but I can't live on fast food wages, so I'm looking into college this fall. The degree I'm after is a bit daunting but...if I'm eligible then I'll do what I have to to make up for my failed previous attempt at college. Wish me luck, guys. As gaming goes, I picked up Dragon Age: Origins to fill in the gap while I'm waiting for Borderlands 2, Assassin's Creed III, and Halo 4. Speaking of Halo, I picked up Primordium, the second book in the Forerunner trilogy. This trilogy is a direct tie-in to Halo 4 and the trilogy of games that it will become. It's easily as good as the first book, Cryptum, and I can't wait for the final entry in the series. I also got the DLC for Puzzle Quest and got the last three achievements there (they were driving my OCD nuts :P ) and I've also been working on my characters in LotRO and SWTOR. Movies this month included several viewings of Brave (excellent film, just as we've come to expect from Pixar), The Amazing Spider-Man (great casting and story, but the overall look for the Lizard wasn't great) and The Dark Knight Rises (fantastic film, but it still takes a well deserved second place to The Dark Knight). My gf is doing ok, although she's dealing with some familial troubles right now. That's it for this month.

Bleh, South Carolina summer sucks. I wish SC spring was here all year round with the exception of winter so we could have some proper snow. It's been especially hot lately, with the last few days being over 100 degrees. This nastiness doesn't usually happen until August. This is not a good sign of what might be ahead of us weather-wise this summer. Regardless, we move on to gaming news. I have reserved copies of Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4 (LE), and Borderlands 2 from GameStop. I'm really psyched about all three games. AC III has looked simply incredible from the reveal, Halo 4 has slowly won me over from my initial skepticism with the lures of fleshing out the Forerunners in the story mode and many exciting multiplayer bits that 343 has up its sleeves, and Borderlands 2 seems like it will be vastly improving on every part of the original. Speaking of Borderlands, I downloaded all four DLCs (there were all half price) and beat and got every achievement out of them. They were a bit too grind/farming heavy, but there was so much great humor and so many great characters that made it worth it. As for new games I picked up Magic the Gathering 2012 and have found it to be a great way to play the actual game, but it lacks so much of what makes the whole MtG experience so addicting for long time players like me. I dearly wish that they'd add a real deck building feature. Anyway, I also picked up a freebie from GOG.com called Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. In spite of being extremely old school (it runs on a DOS emulator) I find myself really, really enjoying it. If I could just get a handle on the controls it'd be perfect :P Finally, my brother picked up Sonic 4: Episode II for my 360 and, just like it's predecessor, it's a fun romp down memory lane for us old schoolers. However, they add a few excellent twists such as combination attacks for Sonic and Tales to keep it interesting for new comers. My movie roster this month consisted of Prometheus and Brave and both were good. Prometheus shows a lot of promise in spite of being a bit scatter brained and Brave, being a Pixar product, is top knotch as we've come to expect. Work is going ok, although I'm still not seeing the hours they've been promising me and my gf is doing in spite of concerns about continuing her education. All in all it's been a pretty good month. How about you guys?

My birthday, the 7th of this month, has come and gone once again. Man, do I feel old some times, even though I'm only 26 :P Things continue to go well for me. My gf and I are doing great, and my job is going really well. As gaming goes, I received Lego Batman as a gift and have been really enjoying it and I've also gotten into Diablo II at long last (yes, I know, Diablo III just came out). The Lego games are always a good value and Diablo II...well, let's just say that it's a good thing that I'm not in school any more ;) I also picked up the Fallout pack from Steam which has given me access to the original two Fallout games and Fallout Tactics, and I also grabbed an old school Sega Genesis favorite from Steam called Shinobi III. Oh, also, I finally upgraded to an Xbox360 Slim. Having 12 times the hard drive space and wireless internet is so very, very nice. On to the movie scene, for the few of you who live in a cave and haven't seen the Avengers yet, it's absolutely amazing. It'll still be in theaters for a little while longer so see it while you can, otherwise you'll be waiting until August or September :) I also just saw Men in Black 3 last night (after a great Memorial Day celebration that involved a cookout and ultimate Frisbee :D ) and enjoyed it immensely. It's no Avengers but I think it'll be a sleeper hit this year. I mean, it managed to knock the Avengers out of the top box office spot for the first time in about a month, so that should tell you something right there. I also got to see The Gray and Chronicle via a movie streaming service and found both to be excellent watches. Watching Liam Niesen (in The Gray) be badass never gets old and Chronicle is a breath of fresh air for the found footage genre. It's just been a great month for me in general, and I hope it's been as good for you guys :)

It's been a fantastic month. They like me at work, so I've gotten great hours and have been able to catch up on a few things gaming wise. I finally picked up SF x T (weird, but good) and SC V (great combat, inconsistent content) as well as the DLCs for Gears 3 and the Anniversary map pack for Reach (the return of Battle Canyon for the win!). I also got the excellent arcade racer HydroThunder and its DLC and have been having a blast with it. Brings back good memories of the arcades :) My gf and I are doing great. She's graduating this weekend and she's really psyched as well as a bit astounded that she's made it this far in her college career. Next up for her is law school :D Also, I can't freaking wait to see the Avengers! My brothers and I have tickets for the midnight release, and we're currently going through all the Marvel films that have lead up to the Avgeners film thus far. I hope your month has been as great as mine! :)

Good news, everybody! I finally got a job after all these years of searching. I'm not thrilled with the early clock in time (I'm not a morning person at all) but it's employment so I'll live with it. As gaming goes I managed to squeeze every single achievement I could out of Assassin's Creed II and traded it in along side of my copy of Reach and picked up Borderlands and Darksiders. I got both last Friday and have yet to even touch Darksiders :P Borderlands has been absolutely wonderful. It's like Fallout meets Phantasy Star Online. At this point I plan to pick up the DLCs for Borderlands, the Anniversary map pack for Reach, all the DLCs for Gears of War 3, the map pack for MW 3, Soul Calibur V and SF x T. Oh, and I plan to reserve Halo 4 and Assassin's Creed III. Of course I won't be doing that all at once, but with my newly acquired steady income I'll have the ability to actually do all of that for once. My gf's physical problems are pretty bad and really things, school in particular, difficult for her. I have to applaud for her for doing her best to keep up her spirits, though. She's a strong woman and I'm glad to be with her. That's all for this month. :)