Hey everybody. It's been a while, eh?

First and foremost, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy whatever you've been celebrating these past few days. I had a great holiday, very relaxing, I've been catching up on all the gaming I've missed in the past months, and have also been skiing and skating a lot. I've played a bunch of Modern Warfare 2. Yesterday I finished the campaign on Veteran (which was a decidedly frustrating but fufilling experience), which means I just have to grab all the intel and finish Spec Ops (still looking for partners to play through this with me *wink wink* [GT: "Purple Polo"]) to get the full 1000/1000 points, which, depending on how I feel, I might just do. A really awesome game.

For Christmas I got Asssassin's Creed II from my parents, which I took as a sign that it's time to finish off the original. Assassin's Creed is an interesting experience, but I'm finding it a struggle to play through. Originally I was doing all the side quests and exploration, but now I'm just burning through the story in anticipation of playing the supposedly-excellent sequel.

I've also been taking advantage of the excellent XBLA sales. I bought Shadow Complex for 33% off, Monkey Island for 1/2 price, and I'll be buying Castle Crashers for a mere 560 points on Dec. 30. Looking forward to playing through these arcade goodies. Shadow Complex is a lot of fun.

Hope you all had a great 2009.

Hey guys. Played and beat Modern Warfare 2 last night and today, and then jumped online for a few matches. It's great. The campaign is really intense, but ultimately isn't quite as moving as CoD4's. However, the online is much improved. If you want to play some, add me on Xbox Live: Purple Polo.

The fantasy genre has always been my favourite, for some reason. I don't know what it is about dragons, elves, dwarfs, and magic that draws me in, but I get sucked into these books and often end up reading them cover-to-cover in the wee hours of the morning. They have affected me so much that I am writing my own fantasy novel, and have already poured dozens of hours of my life into the project. So today I thought I'd tell you about my five favourite fantasy authors and their best books. Maybe you'll find a new favourite here too.

5. J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter"
What can I say that has not already been said? It's Harry Potter. They're amazing books, and although I think Rowling herself has been rather corrupted by fame and money, Harry Potter remains an incredible series that I have read five or more times.

4. Cornelia Funk, "The Inkheart Trilogy"
Funk's books are great, especially Inkheart, which I've read many times. Ultimately, it was a tough decision between her and Tamora Pierce for this spot, but I think I like Funk's books a bit more. Check out Inkheart (but skip the movie, which was nowhere near as good).

3. Jonathon Stroud, "The Bartimaeus Trilogy"
Perhaps a bit of a lesser known choice, Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy are excellent. They paint a dark picture of a modern world controlled by magicians, and looks at the corruption that would come with such power. As a bonus, the book's wily protagonist, Bartimaeus, is a hilariously cynical djinni. It is he who truly makes the books great.

2. Terry Pratchett, "The Discworld Series"
I only started reading Discworld in the summer of '08, but since then I have been devouring them at a freakish pace. They are witty, but not stupid, something surprisingly hard to find in a novel. Pratchett was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but I hope that he continues to write, for his books are superb.

1. J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings"
Is anybody surprised? The Lord of the Rings is undoubtedly the epitome of the fantasy genre, an epic, exciting, immersive adventure. I greatly admire Tolkien's ability to be descriptive but not long-winded (something Christopher Paolini could take note of). This book, along with the Harry Potter series, is probably the most influential fantasy book of all time. It simply can't be beat, and that's why Tolkien is my favourite fantasy author.

Honourable Mentions: Nancy Farmer, "The House of the Scorpion," Tamora Pierce, "Circle of Magic Series," Eoin Colfer, "The Wishlist," T.A. Barron, "The Great Tree of Avalon Series"

Do you guys have any authors you think I might like? I'm looking for a good book to read.

Hey guys,

I know I haven't been around, but I simply haven't been gaming all that much. Plus, I've been super busy with school and stuff, so have had to prioritize.

Anyways, I've just got something I wanted to share with you. I've been participating in the beta for Better the World. It's this really cool website that lets you raise money for charity by basically doing nothing. It simple installs an unobtrusive sidebar that runs ads while you surf the web. Companies pay Better the World to run their ads, and the site donates 90% of the money to a charity of your choice. I'm raising money for the World Wildlife Fund Canada. I've already raised over $100, and barely even notice the sidebar anymore.

Anyways, if you're interested I really encourage you to check it out. The site is small now, but I think that it will catch on and become big, and being a part of that expansion could be a really cool and rewarding process.

BETTER THE WORLD

I am a major procrastinator.

Maybe I should write a blog about it. Nah, I'll do that later.

Yesh. Tagged by GamerJM, thanks bud :)

1. My name is Stephen and I was born in '93, the year the Jays won the World Series.
2. The only family I have in all of North America is an aunt and uncle in Vancouver. Otherwise, I have cousins in England, and all my grandparents and other cousins live in South Africa, where my parents were born.
3. Hockey, baseball, and golf are my favourite sports. I've played all three since I was six years old, but I'm not that great.
4. I've travelled extensively, from the Caribbean to Europe to South Africa. The only continents I haven't been to are Asia and Antarctica.
5. My major hobbies are video games and reading. My favourite books are the Discworld series, the Lord of the Rings, and the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I also like to write, and am working on-and-off on a book.
6. I go to a university prep school on Vancouver Island, and plan to attend university either in the eastern US or England. We'll see what happens.
7. I've had very little time to game since I started at the above school. it kinda sucks, but of course, it's worth it
8. I'm a mod at the Pokemon RP Midamis Region, which features an incredible Fakedex by Neoriceisgood
9. My favourite video games are Mass Effect, Fire Emblem, and Halo. I can't wait for Mass Effect 2.
10. I'm sad right now because the Vancouver Canucks just lost to the Detroit Red Wings.

I'll let you know who I tag.

I've got some interesting news, a bit different than my recent "wah, I can't play games!" blogs.

Yes, I've been infected with H1N1 and sent home from school. My dad drove all the way from our house and back to pick me up, a round trip of 16 hours, and I was able to sleep in my own bed last night.

I'm really glad that I'll be able to recover at home. It's much better for a variety of reasons. For example, you don't have to buy your own drinks, and the food is much, much better. I feel pretty terrible. I have a really bad headache, an awful cough, and my sinuses are all blocked, but supposedly the flu only lasts for four or five days at most and hopefully I'll be back to normal in no time. For now, I'm just happy to be home.

Hey guys. Just a quick update here, I have Jazz Band rehearsal in ten minutes.

Only one thing to talk about. I took advantage of this week's Steam deal: Civilization IV: Complete Edition for only $20. If bought seperately, the games would be $80. Normally the package is $40. I've been waiting for a sale like this, and have wanted the game for a long time, so I'm pretty excited about finally getting it.

The kicker is that I won't be able to play for two weeks. Steam is blocked by the Proxy server here (I boguht the game online), so I can't update Steam or download the game. I'll have to wait until mid-term break to download the game and set my Steam settings to play offline, but I think it's worth the wait.

That's all folks.

I've said some bad things about GameSpot's Greatest Video Game Hero competition. Yes, it hasn't been all that legitimate. But all that doesn't matter anymore.

Gordon is beating Mario in the finals.

Woot!

And this made it all the more sweet:

[quote="theherooftime1"]omg u fat pc nerd company stepped in this is hax go outside and excercise or if u don't want that buy a wii and excersise u fat pc nerdsvaultboi

I laughed so hard.

Go Gordon! Definitely a true video game hero :)

Alright, I'm jealous.

I'm jealous of all you out there who get to game out every night, and I'm jealous of PS3 owners who get to play Demon Souls this week. I didn't have much interest in the game before, but after reading a couple reviews I must say it looks awesome! I don't know what the chances of it coming to 360 are, but one can hope!

Hopefully I'll be able to bring my 360 down here after Thanksgiving weekend. I'd most likely be playing Fallout, Fable, and Lost Odyssey. We'll see.