Beautiful packaging on the SE of ToV.

`Nick

Well, after only about 30 hours, my power has returned. Please note that when I blamed Hurricane Ike, I was only speaking of the remnants of the storm. Somehow, we ended up with low-level hurricane-like gusts of 75 mph (really high for Ohio). However, I do not claim to have been put in a situation even slightly comparable to those who actually suffered through the storm. I had it easy and it's already over.

Anyways, to answer Mr. O'Dwyer, I typed that last entry at school. Even though it's only a 15 minute walk from my house, it never lost power. I even took my DS to school to charge it... I'm a bit ashamed of that one, but reading by candlelight gets old fast.

Anyways, I took this oppurtunity to start FFIII (DS) and I must say I'm impressed so far. The job system adds some interesting variety and the cutesy visuals are a joy to behold. Seeing the characters change jobs is interesting and I like the idea of leveling up the jobs themselves. While I haven't made it particularly far in the game, I can see the difficulty harkens back to the old days of Final Fantasy (NES).

Another very noticeable aspect of the game is the music. Sometimes it's just standard FF fair (meaning it's noticeably good), and other times it is excellent. There's nothing like entering the load game screen and hearing that catchy little tune we all love. I've heard this game is pretty lengthy, so it may be a while before you hear about it from me again.

Half-Life (PS2) remains on the backburner, while No Country For Old Men will entertain me tonight. Peace.

`Nick

No electricity makes Nick a sad panda.

Blast you, Hurricane Ike!

`Nick

30 Days of Night is bad. Somehow, the director/writers/producers managed to take a fresh idea concerning vampires (how often does that come along?) and turn it into a mindless action movie. I say action because this movie does not qualify as a horror film due to it's frequent missteps and complete avoidance of suspense. When people are dying in the dozens, you get desensitized to it. When vampires are howling with mindless screeches and making cliched errors, you get annoyed with them. When obviously doomed characters die, you die a little inside.

Don't take this review the wrong way. There are a couple of great shots in the movie and the idea itself is brilliant. In that way, it reminds me of communism. In a perfect world it would work, but in the hands of middling fools, it crumbles.

By the way, I finished Zelda: PH (DS). It was awesome. Go buy it, play it, and smile.

Things have been a bit busy as of late, but I've managed to game here and there. I believe I'm nearing the end of Zelda: PH and, while I've found one or two things that irk me, my experience has been extremely positive. Next up on the DS will be Final Fantasy III, one of the few FFs I have yet to play.

Progress in Half-Life (PS2) is slightly slower, but I'm really enjoying it as well. My only complaint is the insane amount of damage that your human opponents can take on standard difficulty. I'm still waiting for some challenging puzzles, but I don't think the game will be too much trouble.

I've been watching a lot of movies lately, but I'm not going to get into that here; although you should definitely check out Sunshine if you enjoy atypical sci-fi flicks. I will say that the backlog has been fully updated and you should feel free to peruse and give me suggestions. Link is up top. Peace.

`Nick

Despite the fact that I should be studying like crazy, I keep finding myself playing Phantom Hourglass. The game is simply stunning and an absolute joy to play. It makes me remember why I started playing video games; it's that good. Beyond the great puzzles and beautiful graphics, the touch controls revolutionize what the DS can do. These words may seem premature, as I haven't finished the game yet, but it has me this excited. If you own a DS, you owe it to yourself to play this game.

`Nixk

I never got around to that video blog because I've been up to some other things. For starters, I finished God of War (PS2) and X-Men Legends (GC), the latter of the two I started about two years ago. Both are good games but suffer from a lot of repetitive gameplay. I'll probably play through the sequels to both games and see if they improve upon the formula. Right now I'm just starting The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for my shiny new DS and the original Half-Life (PS2) so I can get to the rest of my delicious Orange Box.

I've also recently subscribed to Netflix and have been checking out tons of movies on my new HDTV which is simply amazing. I've been watching Blu-Rays and DVDs on the PS3 and HD-DVDs on the 360 and I couldn't be happier with the picture quality. If I ever make a video, I'll be sure to show you the setup.

Anyways, recently checked out Thank You For Smoking and Rogue; the first is an extremely smart comedy that will give you lots of laughs and the second is about a murderous crocodile. I know that the idea of a man-eating reptile has been done to death, but this movie does the best you could possibly do with the topic. It comes by way of Wolf Creek director, Greg McLean and has some of the most beautiful shots of the Australian outback that you will ever see. Give it a chance if you like suspense/thriller movies and don't need a gore-fest to be entertained.

I've also been watching Firefly (DVD) lately, which has been on my shelf for a couple years. I'm not quite feeling the love and I'm 6 episodes in. I'll see it through to the end and then watch Serenity (HD-DVD), but I don't think I'm going to join the cult. For more nerdiness, I'll eventually check out Battlestar Galactica. Also, the new Futurama movie is excellent.

Other than that I've been busy with school and working as an anatomy teaching assistant. I basically help the new students dissect the bodies and give them advice for finding structures; it's right up my alley.

That's it for now. See you soon.

Now Watching:

• Firefly - Episode 6 - DVD

Now Playing:

• Half-Life (PS2)
• LoZ: PH (DS)
  

`Nick

Well, I'm back. Graduated yesterday morning and spent all day in airports and on planes. I've got a whole lot to say about the whole experience, but I'm going to leave that for a video blog. I'll also be keeping a better eye on your blogs from now on, so expect to see me commenting.

I'll run down my training in the video blog, but use this entry as a place to post any specific questions you have for me. They can be about the Army, my training, or just life in general. If you have no specific questions, then just stay tuned and you should hear from me in the next week or so.

`Nick

Sorry about the lack of follow-through on my previous post. My best intentions were thrown to the wind and the video blog that never was, shall never be. I'm here at my officer basic course and I've been busy like crazy. My day started at 3:30 AM this morning and went until about 8:30 PM tonight and it's about 100 degrees (F) here during the day. Needless to say, I'm tired. Fortunately, I'm also finding this experience to be an excellent one and look forward to my upcoming field training. I'll do my best to keep you all updated, but please forgive my lack of comments in your blogs.

`Nick