here we are, a week removed from the start of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con and it's time to put down in words what i experienced. to sum it up in two words, the San Diego Comic Con was crazy fun. crazy because of all the people and the countless things to do in a span of just 3 days. fun because it's nerd heaven and i got to hang out with some of my bestest of friends.
let's break down what has easily become one of my favorite extended weekends of my entire life.
Wednesday, 9:45pm
i depart for San Diego via Salt Lake City. why in the world Delta has me flying all the way to Salt Lake City first and THEN returning to San Diego i'll never know. all i know is that it was the cheapest flight i could get.
Thursday, 10:45am
i arrive in San Diego and meet up with Bill (my good friend from Phoenix) and Dave (one of my good friends i met in Vancouver). i quickly learn that Todd (another good friend from Vancouver) has not arrived yet (he should have arrived first). we end up waiting for him for over an hour. at the point when his plane finally lands we are hungry and hearing the call of nerd prom (the con).
noon-ish
we arrive at the hotel, drop our shit off, and head out to find some sustenance. as luck would have it, there is an excellent, EXCELLENT Mexican restaurant across the street. we eat up and head off for the trolly. see, since we booked our hotel sort of late in the game, we couldn't stay near the convention center, so we had to settle for a hotel a few miles away but right near the trolly that would take us to the con.
2pm
we finally arrive at the con. it is wonderous. there are people everywhere and it is only Thursday. the most packed days are to come. we hit the main exhibition hall floor and just walk around in a stupor. Bill and i manage to buy some toy exclusives (available only at this year's con), but otherwise we just sort of wander around.
3pm
Diego (the third and final friend from Vancouver) calls us and lets us know that he's arrived. we meet up with him and Outsourced Games (+ Bill) is reunited for the first time in a year and a half. it's great seeing everyone. if i were a girl i would have cried.
3:30-7pm
we all wander around the main floor - sometimes together, sometimes by ourselves - and just get lost in the nerdiness. no panels were attended. oh, and Dave showed off Saints Row 2 (there were surprisingly a lot of video game publishers showing off their wares at the con - probably because E3 was the week previous and was just up in LA).
the main floor is divided into several areas. first are the big companies giving away free stuff and showing off their wares. next are the artists and creators that aren't necessarily affiliated with any big company showing off their wares. and finally there's the retailers selling a bunch of shit. at the Chicago Comic Con (the only other one i've been to) the space was pretty evenly divided. this time around it seemed like more room was given to the big companies, followed by the small companies, and then the retailers. i was actually expecting a few more retailers. oh well.
7pm
we all 5 leave the con and grab a bite to eat in San Diego's Gaslamp District (right across the street from the convention center). the place reminded me of Vancouver sort of, but with even more bars and a little more upscale. we find a hole in the wall bar and get some bar food.
8pm
at this point Dave, Bill and i are pretty much done. our legs are tired from all the walking and we just want to head back to the room. Todd and Diego however want to head back to the con for some nighttime entertainment - there were a few panels they wanted to see. so we go our separate ways. Dave, Bill and i catch a cab back (too tired to walk the 10+ blocks back to the trolly station), grab a case of beer from a nearby liquor store, and drink, talk, and watch TV.
12-1pm
Todd and Diego return. we call it a night. Day 1 is a wrap.
Friday, 8:30am
we all get up and get ready for the day.
10am
we head across the street for some Mexican breakfast. and a beef taco. oh man is it good.
11:30-noon
we arrive at the con. we walk around for a while, trying to decide what to do. we finally split up, with Dave and i checking out the line for the Spaced panel. surprise surprise, the line is long.
now it's time to take a time out and explain something about the panels at SDCC that i didn't know going in. ok, so at SDCC you can attend one panel early in the day and then squat in the room until the panel you want to see comes up. you never have to leave the room! it's unbelievable. on top of that, they scheduled some of the MAJOR panels in the smallest of rooms! i wasn't able to see Spaced, MST3K, or JMS because of this screw up! so next year i'll know NOT to plan to see any big panels in small rooms and learn to squat in a room earlier in the day if there's an awesome panel i want to see later.
12:30-1:30pm
ok, so we got screwed out of seeing Spaced. that's fine, because there's ALWAYS another panel to see. so Dave, Bill (he met up with us) and i went to see the Spectacular Spider-Man panel (even though they'd never really seen the show). it was great. a lot of the voice actors were there and the creators were there too. it was a great panel with a good balance of questions from the moderator and from the audience. got to see a bit from season 2 and learned it won't be on until next year! oh well. i still love you Spectacular Spider-Man.
1:30-4:45pm
Dave, Bill and i hit the main floor and again got pretty lost in it all. to be honest, i can't exactly remember what happened. we probably hung out for a while, then split up, then got back together again. i know we took a look at some of the retailer booths. got another exclusive toy. Bill went off to meet up with some other friends for the rest of the day.
4:45-6:30pm
i split off on my own to check out the 24 panel. it started at 5:30, so i knew to arrive early and stand in line. i got up there (2nd floor, almost all the panels were on the 2nd floor) and there was already a pretty long line. no big deal i thought, the room was plenty big.
well, i barely got in. i'd say that at least HALF the people in this huge room (the third largest at the con) didn't leave from the panel before. damn squatters. anyway, maybe 50 people after me were let in and that was it. there was AT LEAST 300 more people after that that didn't make it in. that's nuts.
anyway, i got in and it was a great panel. Kiefer was there - along with the guy that plays Tony Almada and a bunch of the writers and producers - and they showed off clips from the season 7 prequel movie (airing in November) and talked about the upcoming season. basically they got me all excited for 24 again. i really think the year off did them some good. at least it sounds like it. oh and man was Kiefer awesome. he said it was his first time at the con. glad i got to see it.
6:30-7:30pm
met up with Dave, Diego, and Todd. we decide to take off and get some supper. after a lot of walking around and not finding what we wanted, we decide to grab a pair of bike taxis to take us to a fish market that's a little ways away. now, these are guys that have a cart for 2-3 people that they pull behind them on a bike. it's sort of like a modern-day rickshaw. so we get a price estimate on it and we all hear the guy say "two ninety-five." everyone but me thinks we're only paying $2.95 a person, but i'm worried that's WAY not enough and that he's going to charge us $295 for the 4 of us. so the entire ride there i'm completely nervous. we get there and he wants $25 per cab (so $50 total). we argue but i guess when we all heard "two ninety-five" what it really was was "twenty five." haha. whatever. at least it wasn't $295.
7:30-9:15pm
we eat at this really great fish market place right on the water. i've never been a seafood guy, but ever since Vancouver i've been a lot more willing to try foods, and being back with my Vancouver crew i felt it only appropriate to try something new - so i ordered the swordfish. freshly caught by the restaurant that morning. $30. oh my GOD was it good. also tried for the first time clam chowder (holy shit was it creamy) and boiled peel-and-eat shrimp. not a big fan of the shrimp. but the rest was excellent. even the creme brulee.
9:15-10:20pm
Todd was going to leave us to hang out with some Vegas friends in town for the con, so Diego, Dave and i had to decide what we wanted to do with the rest of the night. well, none of us had seen The Dark Knight yet, so we decided that's what we'd do.
oh what an adventure it was.
we all 4 grab a cab back to the Gas Light District. we tell the cabby to take us to the movie theater in the Gas Light District. he drops us off pointing a block away saying that the theater is there. ok, so Dave, Diego and i split off from Todd and go check it out. nope, no theater there. we walk around a bit more and finally ask someone. they tell us the theater is 5 blocks up, not even close to where the cabby told us it would be. ok, so we begrudgingly walk the 5 blocks and come to a theater. in the ticket window is a sign that says:
sorry, we're not showing The Dark Knight. try the so-and-so theater a few blocks up.
we ask the guy at the ticket counter where the theater is and he says it's only 2 blocks up, 1 block over. so off we go. in retrospect, we should have asked WHY they weren't showing the #1 movie in the country, but oh well. we get to the theater, get our tickets for the 10:20 showing (next showing was an hour later - at least we lucked out at something that night) and got ready for The Dark Knight. FINALLY!
10:20pm-1am
Dave, Diego and i watch what is:
- the best movie of this year
- my favorite comic book movie of all time
- one of my favorite movies all around
The Dark Knight does not disappoint. but that's for another post altogether.
we grab a cab back to the hotel (the trolly shut down at midnight, and besides, it was at least 20 blocks away from where we were at that point) and are greeted by Todd and Bill when we get back. we all talk a bit and then turn in for the night. end Day 2.
Saturday, 9-11am
we get ready for the day and head down for a free breakfast at the hotel. then we hit the trolly and head to the con.
11:45am-3:15pm
we arrive at the con and all head into the Dean Koontz panel. Dean Koontz used to be my favorite writer in high school, so to hear him speak in person was really awesome. half the panel was a prepared speech which consisted of personal stories that were rather humorous and the other half was questions from the audience that were pretty good. overall it was a blast. i really should start reading his stuff again.
then Todd, Dave and i became the very thing we hated: squatters. see, the Battlestar Galactica panel was in the very same room only an hour away, and if we were to leave, we'd have to get in a no-doubt HUGE line to get back in, so we stayed. we saw the Dollhouse panel with Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, and Hilo from Battlestar. the Dollhouse is a show coming out on FOX this January and, well, the panel made me a believer. i'll check it out.
FINALLY the Battlestar panel started and wow, a ton of the stars/creators were there:
- Ronald D. Moore, the creator/writer
- the main producer
- Tricia Helfer/Six
- Gaius Baltar
- Starbuck
- Starbuck's husband
- Lee Adama (wasn't scheduled to be there)
- Hilo (wasn't scheduled to be there)
oh, and it was moderated by Kevin Smith.
anyway, it was really great seeing all of them and hearing them talk about Battlestar - especially since it just wrapped up shooting a few weeks ago. unfortunately there were too many stars on the panel and not enough time. i think the moderator should have kicked it to the audience sooner because there was hardly any Q&A with the audience. panel should have been 2 hours instead of 1. oh well. got to see a longer teaser for season 4.5 (not coming out until 2009) and a trailer for Caprica, the prequel series. looking good! and Eric Stoltz to boot!
3:15-4:30pm
well, it was time to hit the main floor finally for the first time that day and pick up some more toy exclusives. Dave and Todd were with me, and we eventually met up with Bill. now, Bill was leaving us at 6pm to head back to Phoenix so i decided to grab a bite to eat with him, Todd and Dave before he left. i missed the JMS panel for this, but it's no big deal. JMS was in one of the small rooms. i'm sure i wouldn't have gotten in.
4:30-6pm
Todd, Dave, Bill and i grab a bite to eat at a Mexi-American bar a few blocks from the convention center. food was ok, beer was good. we had a good last meal with Bill. we said our goodbyes and Todd, Dave and i were off to the con for my last hour there.
6-7pm
i hit the floor one last time by myself and look around for any last minute purchases. i find one last exclusive toy that had alluded me up until then. finally, it's time to say goodbye to the con.
7pm-1am?
Todd, Dave and i head off in search of a bar to hang out for the rest of the night in. we happen upon Jolt N Joes (or something like that) and it's just perfect. we spend a good chunk of the night at the bar, then Diego joins us, and so do a few of Todd's Vegas friends, and we head upstairs to hang out. we have some more drinks and i do some drunk texting to Bill. ah, good times. it's a great blowout to end San Diego 2008.
2am?
we're back at our hotel. i promptly pass out.
Sunday, 8:30-9:30am
i somehow get up and ready for my flight at 11:30. i say my goodbyes to Dave, Diego, and Todd, have the hotel call me a cab and i'm off.
goodbye San Diego.
Epilogue
we've been talking since we've been back and everyone wants to make this a yearly thing. so watch out San Diego! come next year, we'll be back with a vengeance! and maybe we'll know what we're doing this time. like maybe we'll grab a hotel that's right there next to the convention center. oh! and we'll know all about squatting.
CRAZY FUN!!!
-k
ps - those that know me, watch out for pics. and i might do a post on the toys i got... though i don't want to seem too nerdy.
TOO LATE.
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31
Tuesday, July 22
San Diego Comic Con - the panels wish list
the San Diego Comic Con is but a few days away. it's my first year attending. i don't think i've been this excited for an event in a long time. here are the panels that, if i had all the time in the world, i would like to see while there:
- spotlight on Steve Purcell, creator of Sam & Max, now part of the creative braintrust at Pixar.
- a few panels on science fiction writing (if you've been reading the blog, i've been on a sci fi kick the past several months).
- Halo Wars and the Halo Universe. what can i say, i'm a Halo fanboy. also, with the ball being dropped by Microsoft last week at E3, maybe something will slip out this week about the new Halo game Bungie's working on.
- Entertainment Weekly is sponsoring a few panels that feature "creative visionaries" in fields such as comics and movies. the comics one is going to have Mignola, Kirkman, and Morrison. the movies one is going to have Kevin Smith, Apatow, Frank Miller, and Zack Snyder.
- bunch of Star Trek panels.
- Episodic Games: Rewriting the Adventure Game. a panel about a rather new trend in video games. i'm interested because of the talent at the panel.
- a bunch of Marvel Comics panels, though not as many as i would have been interested in attending in the past. i'm just not reading that many mainstream comics nowadays.
- a bunch of television show panels that will feature some/all of the cast and creators/producers. shows include: The Big Bang Theory, 24 (with Kiefer!), Heroes, Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and Chuck.
- spotlight on Max Brooks, author of World War Z (perhaps my favorite work of zombie fiction).
- one on one with Terry Moore, author of Strangers in Paradise, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Echo, and Runaways. SiP has been over for a year now, but maybe he'll talk about it a little... however, i'm really going just to get some news on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.
- Watchmen (the movie) with the director and a bunch of the movie's stars. i'm psyched for this movie, since the director did 300 before this.
- a Spaced reunion, with the creators/cast. Spaced is one of my favorite shows of all time. from the guys that made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. as good as those movies are, Spaced is 10 times better.
- a Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon panel with a lot of the voice actors and a few producers of the show. this is at the same time as the Spaced panel, so we'll have to see which one has the shorter line to get in. i want season 2 details!!!
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game panel, with Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. if by some stroke of god Ramis and Murray show up, i will die a happy man (IF i'm there to see it).
- The Spirit panel, with director Frank Miller and cast members SAMUEL L. JACKSON and Eva Mendes. movie looks like the spiritual successor to Sin City. looks good.
- a Family Guy panel. even though i don't really like Family Guy anymore (the formula wore thin on me after the third season), i have to admit, it'd be pretty cool to hear Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green talk about the show.
- an Image and Vertigo panel. more comic panels. mainly interested in them because each panel has a few of my favorite writers/creators on them (Kirkman, Larsen, Buckingham, Morrison, Wood).
- a Venture Bros. panel with the creator and some of the cast. great, underrated cartoon airing on adult swim.
- a Robot Chicken panel with the creators and a few of the cast members. another adult swim program. would mainly go to see Seth Green talk.
- a Futurama panel with a bunch of the cast and crew. always been a casual fan of the show, would be neat to see the cast.
- Sam & Max, Strong Bad, and the Secrets Behind Turning Comics into Games. interesting because, well, i'm in the games business.
- spotlight on Dean Koontz! those that know me well know that i grew up on Koontz novels, reading them all through high school. his latest novels haven't interested me much - maybe my tastes just evolved - but he is still the writer of one of my favorite books of all time, Lightning. even though he'll be talking about his new books and new comic deal with Marvel (i.e. stuff i won't care about) it'll still be cool to see one of my former idols.
- Xbox Creators' Showcase: Gears of War 2 and Fable 2. 2 great games coming out this fall, both being shown off by their semi-famous creators. would be neat to see. hey, maybe i'll have my own panel at SDCC 10 years from now! ah, but as a game designer, or as a writer? hmm...
- spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski. one of my current writing idols. still can't believe that he was at a Chicago comic con back 10 years ago when B5 was in its hayday and i didn't see him (hell, i didn't even know who he was, or what B5 was). this time, i won't miss him. this is the panel i'm probably most excited to see.
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming survival horror game, Dead Space.
- A STARSHIP TROOPERS 3 PANEL! FEATURING NONE OTHER THAN THE STAR OF THE SERIES, CASPER VAN DIEN!!!
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed.
nighttime programming:
- Comedy Central's TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel. some of you may have heard of Smigel - he does Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on Conan and Saturday TV Funhouse on SNL - but i know him best for this short-lived, wonder of a show called TV Funhouse. it's a reunion of sorts. should be a blast (whether or not i choose to go).
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Reunion. with the creator, producer, and i believe the entire f'in cast/crew! and Patton Oswalt is the host!! ENOUGH SAID!!!
- Spaced screening. the cast is back to screen their favorite episodes. if i don't make it to the earlier panel, i'm definitely hitting this one up.
...and that's it! whew! now, that's all the panels that i WANT to see. i would be surprised if i actually make it to 1/4 of those.
i mean, first off, this is my first year at SDCC, so i'm sure a lot of time will be just figuring the whole thing out. i also need at least a day to just walk the floor and buy stuff/get a bunch of free shit. next, the lines for some of these panels i'm sure will be INSANE. some i'll be willing to wait for, most i won't. oh, and a lot of the above panels are happening at the same time - like i think the worst is there are 4 panels i want to see that overlap in a 2-hour period. so i can only go to 1 of those 4 panels, if that. and finally, i'm going to be meeting up with a bunch of friends i haven't seen in a while, so i'm sure i won't want to spend the majority of my time in panels (or in line for panels).
however, there are those that i'll do everything in my power to make. i need to see JMS, Dean Koontz, MST3K, Spaced, Terry Moore, Max Brooks, and maybe Spectacular Spider-Man. oh, and it'd be great to attend a few of those TV show panels - specifically 24, Battlestar, and Heros - but i imagine the line for those will be crazy long. crazy crazy long.
i'll let you know how it all went on the flip side. wish me luck!
-k
- spotlight on Steve Purcell, creator of Sam & Max, now part of the creative braintrust at Pixar.
- a few panels on science fiction writing (if you've been reading the blog, i've been on a sci fi kick the past several months).
- Halo Wars and the Halo Universe. what can i say, i'm a Halo fanboy. also, with the ball being dropped by Microsoft last week at E3, maybe something will slip out this week about the new Halo game Bungie's working on.
- Entertainment Weekly is sponsoring a few panels that feature "creative visionaries" in fields such as comics and movies. the comics one is going to have Mignola, Kirkman, and Morrison. the movies one is going to have Kevin Smith, Apatow, Frank Miller, and Zack Snyder.
- bunch of Star Trek panels.
- Episodic Games: Rewriting the Adventure Game. a panel about a rather new trend in video games. i'm interested because of the talent at the panel.
- a bunch of Marvel Comics panels, though not as many as i would have been interested in attending in the past. i'm just not reading that many mainstream comics nowadays.
- a bunch of television show panels that will feature some/all of the cast and creators/producers. shows include: The Big Bang Theory, 24 (with Kiefer!), Heroes, Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, and Chuck.
- spotlight on Max Brooks, author of World War Z (perhaps my favorite work of zombie fiction).
- one on one with Terry Moore, author of Strangers in Paradise, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Echo, and Runaways. SiP has been over for a year now, but maybe he'll talk about it a little... however, i'm really going just to get some news on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.
- Watchmen (the movie) with the director and a bunch of the movie's stars. i'm psyched for this movie, since the director did 300 before this.
- a Spaced reunion, with the creators/cast. Spaced is one of my favorite shows of all time. from the guys that made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. as good as those movies are, Spaced is 10 times better.
- a Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon panel with a lot of the voice actors and a few producers of the show. this is at the same time as the Spaced panel, so we'll have to see which one has the shorter line to get in. i want season 2 details!!!
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game panel, with Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. if by some stroke of god Ramis and Murray show up, i will die a happy man (IF i'm there to see it).
- The Spirit panel, with director Frank Miller and cast members SAMUEL L. JACKSON and Eva Mendes. movie looks like the spiritual successor to Sin City. looks good.
- a Family Guy panel. even though i don't really like Family Guy anymore (the formula wore thin on me after the third season), i have to admit, it'd be pretty cool to hear Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green talk about the show.
- an Image and Vertigo panel. more comic panels. mainly interested in them because each panel has a few of my favorite writers/creators on them (Kirkman, Larsen, Buckingham, Morrison, Wood).
- a Venture Bros. panel with the creator and some of the cast. great, underrated cartoon airing on adult swim.
- a Robot Chicken panel with the creators and a few of the cast members. another adult swim program. would mainly go to see Seth Green talk.
- a Futurama panel with a bunch of the cast and crew. always been a casual fan of the show, would be neat to see the cast.
- Sam & Max, Strong Bad, and the Secrets Behind Turning Comics into Games. interesting because, well, i'm in the games business.
- spotlight on Dean Koontz! those that know me well know that i grew up on Koontz novels, reading them all through high school. his latest novels haven't interested me much - maybe my tastes just evolved - but he is still the writer of one of my favorite books of all time, Lightning. even though he'll be talking about his new books and new comic deal with Marvel (i.e. stuff i won't care about) it'll still be cool to see one of my former idols.
- Xbox Creators' Showcase: Gears of War 2 and Fable 2. 2 great games coming out this fall, both being shown off by their semi-famous creators. would be neat to see. hey, maybe i'll have my own panel at SDCC 10 years from now! ah, but as a game designer, or as a writer? hmm...
- spotlight on J. Michael Straczynski. one of my current writing idols. still can't believe that he was at a Chicago comic con back 10 years ago when B5 was in its hayday and i didn't see him (hell, i didn't even know who he was, or what B5 was). this time, i won't miss him. this is the panel i'm probably most excited to see.
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming survival horror game, Dead Space.
- A STARSHIP TROOPERS 3 PANEL! FEATURING NONE OTHER THAN THE STAR OF THE SERIES, CASPER VAN DIEN!!!
- a panel on the creation of the upcoming Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed.
nighttime programming:
- Comedy Central's TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel. some of you may have heard of Smigel - he does Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on Conan and Saturday TV Funhouse on SNL - but i know him best for this short-lived, wonder of a show called TV Funhouse. it's a reunion of sorts. should be a blast (whether or not i choose to go).
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Reunion. with the creator, producer, and i believe the entire f'in cast/crew! and Patton Oswalt is the host!! ENOUGH SAID!!!
- Spaced screening. the cast is back to screen their favorite episodes. if i don't make it to the earlier panel, i'm definitely hitting this one up.
...and that's it! whew! now, that's all the panels that i WANT to see. i would be surprised if i actually make it to 1/4 of those.
i mean, first off, this is my first year at SDCC, so i'm sure a lot of time will be just figuring the whole thing out. i also need at least a day to just walk the floor and buy stuff/get a bunch of free shit. next, the lines for some of these panels i'm sure will be INSANE. some i'll be willing to wait for, most i won't. oh, and a lot of the above panels are happening at the same time - like i think the worst is there are 4 panels i want to see that overlap in a 2-hour period. so i can only go to 1 of those 4 panels, if that. and finally, i'm going to be meeting up with a bunch of friends i haven't seen in a while, so i'm sure i won't want to spend the majority of my time in panels (or in line for panels).
however, there are those that i'll do everything in my power to make. i need to see JMS, Dean Koontz, MST3K, Spaced, Terry Moore, Max Brooks, and maybe Spectacular Spider-Man. oh, and it'd be great to attend a few of those TV show panels - specifically 24, Battlestar, and Heros - but i imagine the line for those will be crazy long. crazy crazy long.
i'll let you know how it all went on the flip side. wish me luck!
-k
Tuesday, June 24
quick tidbit
i'm currently trying to get back into blogging and commenting, but i find the longer i let it go, the more there is to blog about and comment on. it's for people like me that the following website was created:
twitter.com/kawitchate
here i'll post brief thoughts and links to cool stuff IN REAL TIME (hopefully). this is sort of combining the small stuff that's too small to blog about and my "around the web" feature i gave up on all in one. it's pretty neat because it forces you to be short and concise in your posts by only allowing 140 characters per post. now, i've been known to ramble, so this is pretty cool.
-k
twitter.com/kawitchate
here i'll post brief thoughts and links to cool stuff IN REAL TIME (hopefully). this is sort of combining the small stuff that's too small to blog about and my "around the web" feature i gave up on all in one. it's pretty neat because it forces you to be short and concise in your posts by only allowing 140 characters per post. now, i've been known to ramble, so this is pretty cool.
-k
Tuesday, June 10
what i've been up to - may edition
i'm in the process of updating my blog. tonight i posted on what television i watched in the month of May, what interesting things i read in the month of May, and what movies i saw in the month of May. stay tuned for what video games i played in the month of May, as well as an Arizona wrap up, and what's coming up this month.
-k
-k
what i've been up to - may reading edition
so wow. may's over. what did i read?
...
NOTHING!
huh. i should really read something in June other than blogs and gamer mags. something of substance maybe.
-k
...
NOTHING!
huh. i should really read something in June other than blogs and gamer mags. something of substance maybe.
-k
Tuesday, April 29
what i've been up to - april edition
so wow. april's over. what happened?
i'll tell you what happened:
- finished off the seventh and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. i watched the entire series in just 3 months. wow. and i was giving myself until summer! it's a great show that really hits its stride in the third season and never slows down after that (well, it does a little in the sixth season). i could go on forever about it - and maybe i will later - but just know that it's a great show that any self-respecting sci-fi geek has to watch.
- immediately after finishing Star Trek i hopped on Battlestar Galactica and got caught up on the entire series - 60+ episodes (including the movies) - in under 2 weeks. there were nights after work when i was watching 6-7 episodes before succumbing to exhaustion. needless to say, it's a great, GREAT show (or else i wouldn't have been so obsessed as to watch 7 episodes a night). it's not without its faults - in fact, the current season (starting with the season 3 ender) is probably the weakest stuff in my opinion - but it's a very dark, very religious (i was surprised just how religious) sci-fi that stands up there with Star Trek: TNG and Babylon 5.
- all my March/April shows are over. New Amsterdam pretty much sucked but i watched it anyway (hey, nothing else was on). if it comes back for another season (doubtful) i probably won't watch. Bizarre Foods was good, but it always is. and South Park - oh South Park. great, great stuff. a few of the episodes felt a little "been there, done that," but not so much as to bog them down. 12 1/2 seasons and they're still going strong.
- now i'm watching House (back for 4 episodes starting tonight), Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, and Hell's Kitchen. these should take me to the end of the month, at which point i'm not sure WHAT i'll be watching. i'm not even sure if any of my summer shows are returning this year or not - what with the writer's strike and all. might be able to catch up on all those OTHER shows i've always been meaning to watch (like Star Trek and Battlestar) this summer.
- in fact, after finishing Battlestar i moved on to Freaks and Geeks. started it this past weekend and i'll be finishing up the series tomorrow probably (there's only 18 episodes). it's a great high school comedy/drama with just the right jokes. it's some of Judd Apatow's first work (guy that did 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, along with another favorite of mine, Undeclared) and his influence definitely shines through.
- i'm reading my first manga series (that's a japanese graphic novel, for those not in the know). it's called Yotsuba&! and it's a really light, funny series about how happiness can be found all around us. i bought and read the first 5 volumes and am patiently awaiting more (volume 6 is out but that's it right now).
- also read the latest Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperback. it was... ok. it seemed rushed, like it should have been at least another issue or two to deal with all the problems that were brought up. but no, it ended rather abruptly and sloppily. whenever Bendis isn't on his game with Ult. Spidey i just chalk it up to him being too focused on his other work (he's got like 10 projects going at once). i just hope it doesn't continue.
- finishing up reading my Spider-Girl trades. i learned about halfway through that they don't collect the whole series - in fact, they only collect half of it. so if i want to continue the Spider-Girl story i'll have to either wait or go out and buy the single issues. i think i'm going to wait. it's a good, fun series that hearkens back to comics of old, but it's by no means groundbreaking or anything like that.
- Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon continues to ROCK. seriously, they're hitting all the right notes. my only complaint would be that the stories tend to be rushed as they try and pack too much in. oh, and they introduced Mary Jane earlier than i thought they would... and their interpretation of her seems to be based off the one in the original comics - where she's this party girl, a real flirt. maybe it won't turn out that way, but if they do go that route, good on them for staying true to the roots. every other portrayal of MJ nowadays is that of a good girl.
- saw 2 movies in april: 300 and I Am Legend. 300 is a masterpiece. i'm calling it best movie of 2007 without having seen ANY of the Oscar contenders. it was just... brilliant. it was the beauty of Sin City combined with a story that actually had a message. awesome stuff. I Am Legend on the other hand... it was just ok. everything is cool until the monsters attack and you realize that they move EXACTLY like the robots in I Robot (another Will Smith movie). it was more action movie than horror movie. oh, and it didn't know how to end. i saw 2 endings and neither one was very good. now, could i have done any better? i don't know. all i know is that both of those endings sucked. got me interested in checking out the book though, maybe even the other 2 movies that were made about it before I Am Legend. someday.
- after playing Star Wars: KOTOR i decided to take a step back from role-playing games and just knock off as many action games as i could before Grand Theft Auto IV came out (which is tomorrow, by the way). well, it was a good plan, but Battlestar screwed with it. i was able to beat Heavenly Sword, play a little of Folklore before giving up on it, and beat the career mode in DiRT. this was all while playing more Halo than i had been the previous month - new downloadable content came out that my friends and i just had to have, so we've been playing Halo on and off again. oh, and Call of Duty 4. i hope to get a review up of Heavenly Sword one of these days. if not, i'll just say this: it's a beautiful looking, beautifully acted, beautifully crafted story that's way, WAY too short (we're talking 4-5 hours if you're taking your time).
and that's about it. what will May bring?
- i'm going to start watching Ashes to Ashes (the sequel to one of my favorite sci-fi shows of late, Life on Mars) after Freaks and Geeks. then it's on to Deadwood.
- i'm going to be playing Grand Theft Auto IV every night starting Wednesday. it's going to be good. damn well better be - i've been waiting years for it.
- i'll be watching my TV shows until the new episodes run dry.
- i'll still play Halo here and there.
- i'll be on vacation for a week and a half May 16th - 26th down in good-ol' Phoenix, AZ.
- i'll keep on keeping on.
you stay classy.
-k
i'll tell you what happened:
- finished off the seventh and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. i watched the entire series in just 3 months. wow. and i was giving myself until summer! it's a great show that really hits its stride in the third season and never slows down after that (well, it does a little in the sixth season). i could go on forever about it - and maybe i will later - but just know that it's a great show that any self-respecting sci-fi geek has to watch.
- immediately after finishing Star Trek i hopped on Battlestar Galactica and got caught up on the entire series - 60+ episodes (including the movies) - in under 2 weeks. there were nights after work when i was watching 6-7 episodes before succumbing to exhaustion. needless to say, it's a great, GREAT show (or else i wouldn't have been so obsessed as to watch 7 episodes a night). it's not without its faults - in fact, the current season (starting with the season 3 ender) is probably the weakest stuff in my opinion - but it's a very dark, very religious (i was surprised just how religious) sci-fi that stands up there with Star Trek: TNG and Babylon 5.
- all my March/April shows are over. New Amsterdam pretty much sucked but i watched it anyway (hey, nothing else was on). if it comes back for another season (doubtful) i probably won't watch. Bizarre Foods was good, but it always is. and South Park - oh South Park. great, great stuff. a few of the episodes felt a little "been there, done that," but not so much as to bog them down. 12 1/2 seasons and they're still going strong.
- now i'm watching House (back for 4 episodes starting tonight), Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, and Hell's Kitchen. these should take me to the end of the month, at which point i'm not sure WHAT i'll be watching. i'm not even sure if any of my summer shows are returning this year or not - what with the writer's strike and all. might be able to catch up on all those OTHER shows i've always been meaning to watch (like Star Trek and Battlestar) this summer.
- in fact, after finishing Battlestar i moved on to Freaks and Geeks. started it this past weekend and i'll be finishing up the series tomorrow probably (there's only 18 episodes). it's a great high school comedy/drama with just the right jokes. it's some of Judd Apatow's first work (guy that did 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, along with another favorite of mine, Undeclared) and his influence definitely shines through.
- i'm reading my first manga series (that's a japanese graphic novel, for those not in the know). it's called Yotsuba&! and it's a really light, funny series about how happiness can be found all around us. i bought and read the first 5 volumes and am patiently awaiting more (volume 6 is out but that's it right now).
- also read the latest Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperback. it was... ok. it seemed rushed, like it should have been at least another issue or two to deal with all the problems that were brought up. but no, it ended rather abruptly and sloppily. whenever Bendis isn't on his game with Ult. Spidey i just chalk it up to him being too focused on his other work (he's got like 10 projects going at once). i just hope it doesn't continue.
- finishing up reading my Spider-Girl trades. i learned about halfway through that they don't collect the whole series - in fact, they only collect half of it. so if i want to continue the Spider-Girl story i'll have to either wait or go out and buy the single issues. i think i'm going to wait. it's a good, fun series that hearkens back to comics of old, but it's by no means groundbreaking or anything like that.
- Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon continues to ROCK. seriously, they're hitting all the right notes. my only complaint would be that the stories tend to be rushed as they try and pack too much in. oh, and they introduced Mary Jane earlier than i thought they would... and their interpretation of her seems to be based off the one in the original comics - where she's this party girl, a real flirt. maybe it won't turn out that way, but if they do go that route, good on them for staying true to the roots. every other portrayal of MJ nowadays is that of a good girl.
- saw 2 movies in april: 300 and I Am Legend. 300 is a masterpiece. i'm calling it best movie of 2007 without having seen ANY of the Oscar contenders. it was just... brilliant. it was the beauty of Sin City combined with a story that actually had a message. awesome stuff. I Am Legend on the other hand... it was just ok. everything is cool until the monsters attack and you realize that they move EXACTLY like the robots in I Robot (another Will Smith movie). it was more action movie than horror movie. oh, and it didn't know how to end. i saw 2 endings and neither one was very good. now, could i have done any better? i don't know. all i know is that both of those endings sucked. got me interested in checking out the book though, maybe even the other 2 movies that were made about it before I Am Legend. someday.
- after playing Star Wars: KOTOR i decided to take a step back from role-playing games and just knock off as many action games as i could before Grand Theft Auto IV came out (which is tomorrow, by the way). well, it was a good plan, but Battlestar screwed with it. i was able to beat Heavenly Sword, play a little of Folklore before giving up on it, and beat the career mode in DiRT. this was all while playing more Halo than i had been the previous month - new downloadable content came out that my friends and i just had to have, so we've been playing Halo on and off again. oh, and Call of Duty 4. i hope to get a review up of Heavenly Sword one of these days. if not, i'll just say this: it's a beautiful looking, beautifully acted, beautifully crafted story that's way, WAY too short (we're talking 4-5 hours if you're taking your time).
and that's about it. what will May bring?
- i'm going to start watching Ashes to Ashes (the sequel to one of my favorite sci-fi shows of late, Life on Mars) after Freaks and Geeks. then it's on to Deadwood.
- i'm going to be playing Grand Theft Auto IV every night starting Wednesday. it's going to be good. damn well better be - i've been waiting years for it.
- i'll be watching my TV shows until the new episodes run dry.
- i'll still play Halo here and there.
- i'll be on vacation for a week and a half May 16th - 26th down in good-ol' Phoenix, AZ.
- i'll keep on keeping on.
you stay classy.
-k
Monday, March 17
a weekend by any other name
been a while... what's up? oh, nothing much:
- just finished season 5 of Star Trek: TNG. you could say i'm moving at a considerable pace, seeing that i just wrote about finishing season 3 a little over 2 weeks ago. as i said then, i'm able to watch so much because there's absolutely nothing else on regular TV, so sometimes i get in 3-4 episodes a night. seasons 4 and 5 were great seasons. seasons 1 and 2 set things up, then the show starts to get its bearings in season 3, and really hits its stride in 4 and 5. there's only 2 seasons left (6 and 7) so i'm wondering if they keep on rolling or if there's a reason they stopped at 7 (if it got old). we'll see.
- started watching New Amsterdam, Bizarre Foods w/ Andrew Zimmern, South Park, and Spectacular Spider-Man. New Amsterdam is... ok. it's only 6 episodes (so far) and with nothing else on, i'm willing to make room for it. Bizarre Foods this past week was in Iceland and it was a BEAUTIFUL episode. Iceland has suddenly and unexpectedly made it on my list of places to visit before i die. South Park's first episode of its 12th season was pretty good. i'm definitely psyched for the new season - moreso than i've been for the past few years. and Spectacular Spider-Man... well, it's so good it needs its own post (above).
- finished World War Z a couple of weeks ago. really should get around to posting about it, as it deserves its own post. anyway, great read. one of my favorite books. it could have went on for 100-200 more pages and it would have been perfect. oh, and if there were some hard numbers in terms of how many died, etc. oh well. still a great book.
- currently reading Spider-Girl. i'm on volume 4 of the trades (issue 20 or so) and i've got several more to read. it's a good series that's starting to come into its own the more i read.
- learned the new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed, has been pushed back AGAIN - this time to August. while i'm saddened that i have to wait even longer to play it, i'm kinda glad too. there's just too much coming out in April (when it was supposed to come out) - Grand Theft Auto IV, Persona 3: FES, Arcana Heart, Baroque...
- i finished that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game i said i was playing. in fact, i think i finished it a day or two after posting about it. the game was short (maybe 6 hours) and basically had you reenact the movie/book (though there were probably sub-plots missing) and discover things around Hogwarts. the real joy of course came from walking around a virtual Hogwarts and mimicking wand movements with the joystick. however, it wasn't enough to keep this from being a pretty mediocre game.
6.0 out of 10
- currently playing Mass Effect for the 360. it's a sci-fi third-person shooter/RPG hybrid. i've got my complaints, but overall it's a pretty great game. i'm about 30 hours in and will probably beat it in another 5-10 (so, this week sometime). after that, i expect to write a review.
- haven't touched Halo 3 since my work buddy and i stopped playing it. at first it was weird not playing, but now it's not even an afterthought. i'm sure the Halo bug will bite me one of these days and i'll start playing it again, but for now i'm actually glad to have the time to be able to beat other games like Naruto, Harry Potter, and Mass Effect.
- i'm headed to Phoenix in a couple of months. i'm headed there for a little over a week in the middle of May, the week before Memorial Day. i'll be visiting all my AZ buddies, a couple of friends coming down from WI (they are seeing if they want to move down there), and my parents! it'll be quite the trip. looking forward to it!
- and finally, i'm excited about writing again. for the past year or so, i haven't really been doing any writing on the side because i've got to be pretty creative at work and it drains me. well, now i've got an idea that's got me excited about writing again. it's a sci-fi story - my first actually. with all the sci-fi i've been surrounded by lately - Babylon 5, Star Trek, Mass Effect - it's actually surprising it took me so long to come up with my own idea. it's just... any idea i would have always seemed like a "been there, done that" sort of thing. but this idea... i don't think it's been done before. i hope. at any rate, i'm pretty private when it comes to my personal writings, so you might have to bug me to find out more... but just know that i'm writing again. and it's fun.
have a good week all! Happy St. Patrick's Day today and Happy Easter this coming weekend!
-k
- just finished season 5 of Star Trek: TNG. you could say i'm moving at a considerable pace, seeing that i just wrote about finishing season 3 a little over 2 weeks ago. as i said then, i'm able to watch so much because there's absolutely nothing else on regular TV, so sometimes i get in 3-4 episodes a night. seasons 4 and 5 were great seasons. seasons 1 and 2 set things up, then the show starts to get its bearings in season 3, and really hits its stride in 4 and 5. there's only 2 seasons left (6 and 7) so i'm wondering if they keep on rolling or if there's a reason they stopped at 7 (if it got old). we'll see.
- started watching New Amsterdam, Bizarre Foods w/ Andrew Zimmern, South Park, and Spectacular Spider-Man. New Amsterdam is... ok. it's only 6 episodes (so far) and with nothing else on, i'm willing to make room for it. Bizarre Foods this past week was in Iceland and it was a BEAUTIFUL episode. Iceland has suddenly and unexpectedly made it on my list of places to visit before i die. South Park's first episode of its 12th season was pretty good. i'm definitely psyched for the new season - moreso than i've been for the past few years. and Spectacular Spider-Man... well, it's so good it needs its own post (above).
- finished World War Z a couple of weeks ago. really should get around to posting about it, as it deserves its own post. anyway, great read. one of my favorite books. it could have went on for 100-200 more pages and it would have been perfect. oh, and if there were some hard numbers in terms of how many died, etc. oh well. still a great book.
- currently reading Spider-Girl. i'm on volume 4 of the trades (issue 20 or so) and i've got several more to read. it's a good series that's starting to come into its own the more i read.
- learned the new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed, has been pushed back AGAIN - this time to August. while i'm saddened that i have to wait even longer to play it, i'm kinda glad too. there's just too much coming out in April (when it was supposed to come out) - Grand Theft Auto IV, Persona 3: FES, Arcana Heart, Baroque...
- i finished that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game i said i was playing. in fact, i think i finished it a day or two after posting about it. the game was short (maybe 6 hours) and basically had you reenact the movie/book (though there were probably sub-plots missing) and discover things around Hogwarts. the real joy of course came from walking around a virtual Hogwarts and mimicking wand movements with the joystick. however, it wasn't enough to keep this from being a pretty mediocre game.
6.0 out of 10
- currently playing Mass Effect for the 360. it's a sci-fi third-person shooter/RPG hybrid. i've got my complaints, but overall it's a pretty great game. i'm about 30 hours in and will probably beat it in another 5-10 (so, this week sometime). after that, i expect to write a review.
- haven't touched Halo 3 since my work buddy and i stopped playing it. at first it was weird not playing, but now it's not even an afterthought. i'm sure the Halo bug will bite me one of these days and i'll start playing it again, but for now i'm actually glad to have the time to be able to beat other games like Naruto, Harry Potter, and Mass Effect.
- i'm headed to Phoenix in a couple of months. i'm headed there for a little over a week in the middle of May, the week before Memorial Day. i'll be visiting all my AZ buddies, a couple of friends coming down from WI (they are seeing if they want to move down there), and my parents! it'll be quite the trip. looking forward to it!
- and finally, i'm excited about writing again. for the past year or so, i haven't really been doing any writing on the side because i've got to be pretty creative at work and it drains me. well, now i've got an idea that's got me excited about writing again. it's a sci-fi story - my first actually. with all the sci-fi i've been surrounded by lately - Babylon 5, Star Trek, Mass Effect - it's actually surprising it took me so long to come up with my own idea. it's just... any idea i would have always seemed like a "been there, done that" sort of thing. but this idea... i don't think it's been done before. i hope. at any rate, i'm pretty private when it comes to my personal writings, so you might have to bug me to find out more... but just know that i'm writing again. and it's fun.
have a good week all! Happy St. Patrick's Day today and Happy Easter this coming weekend!
-k
Tuesday, March 4
new to my stomach - chocolate mix skittles
a couple of months ago, nestled between the Smoothie Skittles and regular Skittles at my local 7-11 was an oddity. an affront to god.
it was a bag of Chocolate Mix Skittles.
i was wary, but being someone that is always looking for the next good thing, i gave it a shot.
the taste? well, if you grab a handful and just throw 'em in your mouth, more often than not it will just taste like Tootsie Rolls. that's right - Tootsie Rolls, with a hard candy shell. if you separate the 5 flavors and try one each individually, that's when you can taste the differences. i'll pretty much defer to the link above for their take on the 5 individual flavors (as it mirrors my own reactions, except for the brownie batter - i found that to be fine).
so, hard candy shelled Tootsie Rolls. doesn't sound so bad right? in theory, it's not. in practice, it is. see, my problem with this candy is purely a mental one.
Skittles are supposed to be fruity. their slogan is "taste the rainbow." so you rip open this Skittles-shaped bag, pour these these round candies with an S on them into your hand, pop them in your mouth, and you expect FRUIT FLAVORS.
why do i refer to it as an affront to god? because Skittles shouldn't taste like this.
VERDICT: try it if you think you can get over the mental block AND if you can find it (since the initial shipment, my local 7-11 hasn't had any in - of course, i live on an island, so who knows). otherwise just go buy a bag of Tootsie Pops.
oh, and Skittles? yeah, i'm talkin' to you.
stick to fruit flavors.
-k
it was a bag of Chocolate Mix Skittles.
i was wary, but being someone that is always looking for the next good thing, i gave it a shot.
the taste? well, if you grab a handful and just throw 'em in your mouth, more often than not it will just taste like Tootsie Rolls. that's right - Tootsie Rolls, with a hard candy shell. if you separate the 5 flavors and try one each individually, that's when you can taste the differences. i'll pretty much defer to the link above for their take on the 5 individual flavors (as it mirrors my own reactions, except for the brownie batter - i found that to be fine).
so, hard candy shelled Tootsie Rolls. doesn't sound so bad right? in theory, it's not. in practice, it is. see, my problem with this candy is purely a mental one.
Skittles are supposed to be fruity. their slogan is "taste the rainbow." so you rip open this Skittles-shaped bag, pour these these round candies with an S on them into your hand, pop them in your mouth, and you expect FRUIT FLAVORS.
why do i refer to it as an affront to god? because Skittles shouldn't taste like this.
VERDICT: try it if you think you can get over the mental block AND if you can find it (since the initial shipment, my local 7-11 hasn't had any in - of course, i live on an island, so who knows). otherwise just go buy a bag of Tootsie Pops.
oh, and Skittles? yeah, i'm talkin' to you.
stick to fruit flavors.
-k
Wednesday, February 27
what i've been up to - mid-week edition
- finished season 3 of Star Trek: TNG and have moved on to the fourth. let me just say this: the first few episodes of season 4 have been among some of the best, with the second episode (entitled "Family") just very well may be my favorite so far.
- why am i able to watch so much Star Trek? well it's because i'm hardly watching any real tv at all. right now it's just Sarah Connor Chronicles, No Reservations, and Law & Order. however, next week is the season (probably series) finale of Sarah Connor, and i think Law & Order is taking a break after next week as well, coming back when the rest of the shows do at the end of April. here's what i'll be watching starting next week:
- New Amsterdam
- Bizarre Foods w/ Andrew Zimmern
- South Park (starting March 12th)
those should tide me over until the old shows return. can't wait for House to come back... CAN'T WAIT!
- still reading World War Z. still loving it. the whole time i've been reading it i was wondering "what happened to Hawaii?" and i've finally got my answer. it actually surprised me. thought we'd be one of the first places overrun by the living dead. oh, and there was a chapter on what happened to someone from Waukesha, WI. not pretty. let's just say it involved cannibalism. it's actually one of my favorite chapters.
- learned the new Indiana Jones game isn't going to be coming out for another year. it got pushed back because they needed more people to work on the new Star Wars game. now, i'm all for a new Star Wars game (this next one looks super-cool), but the fact that Indy had to suffer for it makes me sad. i guess the LEGO Indiana Jones game coming out this summer will have to tide me over.
- PERSONA 3: FES IS COMING!!! (see last post)
- i finished a video game this past weekend. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. i'll try and give it a writeup later, but let's just say the game did not disappoint. it was a good, fun game that took me about 15 hours to beat - just the right amount of time. in case i don't write it up, here's my score:
8.25 out of 10 (+/-.25)
- i'm now working on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the 360. never read any of the books, only seen the movies - and this is the first Harry Potter game i've ever bought. the reason i bought it? it looked like it pretty faithfully created a Hogwarts that you can freely run around. also, i thought it would be like Bully - a game where you have to manage your time between quests and going to school. i was right about the faithful recreation of the school (well i don't know HOW faithful since i haven't read the books, but it looks like the movies to me) BUT it's nothing like Bully. in fact, the best way i can put it is that you're pretty much reenacting the movie while searching for hidden thing all around Hogwarts. i'm liking it, not loving it.
- finally, i'm going to have to end this on a sad note. this week my coworker Halo buddy and i decided to stop playing Halo 3 so religiously. for those that didn't know, i've been playing that damn game almost every single day since it came out back on September 25th of last year. that's almost 5 months. we're now only going to plan to play Friday and Saturday nights... at least until the new downloadable maps come out later this spring. :)
-k
- why am i able to watch so much Star Trek? well it's because i'm hardly watching any real tv at all. right now it's just Sarah Connor Chronicles, No Reservations, and Law & Order. however, next week is the season (probably series) finale of Sarah Connor, and i think Law & Order is taking a break after next week as well, coming back when the rest of the shows do at the end of April. here's what i'll be watching starting next week:
- New Amsterdam
- Bizarre Foods w/ Andrew Zimmern
- South Park (starting March 12th)
those should tide me over until the old shows return. can't wait for House to come back... CAN'T WAIT!
- still reading World War Z. still loving it. the whole time i've been reading it i was wondering "what happened to Hawaii?" and i've finally got my answer. it actually surprised me. thought we'd be one of the first places overrun by the living dead. oh, and there was a chapter on what happened to someone from Waukesha, WI. not pretty. let's just say it involved cannibalism. it's actually one of my favorite chapters.
- learned the new Indiana Jones game isn't going to be coming out for another year. it got pushed back because they needed more people to work on the new Star Wars game. now, i'm all for a new Star Wars game (this next one looks super-cool), but the fact that Indy had to suffer for it makes me sad. i guess the LEGO Indiana Jones game coming out this summer will have to tide me over.
- PERSONA 3: FES IS COMING!!! (see last post)
- i finished a video game this past weekend. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. i'll try and give it a writeup later, but let's just say the game did not disappoint. it was a good, fun game that took me about 15 hours to beat - just the right amount of time. in case i don't write it up, here's my score:
8.25 out of 10 (+/-.25)
- i'm now working on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the 360. never read any of the books, only seen the movies - and this is the first Harry Potter game i've ever bought. the reason i bought it? it looked like it pretty faithfully created a Hogwarts that you can freely run around. also, i thought it would be like Bully - a game where you have to manage your time between quests and going to school. i was right about the faithful recreation of the school (well i don't know HOW faithful since i haven't read the books, but it looks like the movies to me) BUT it's nothing like Bully. in fact, the best way i can put it is that you're pretty much reenacting the movie while searching for hidden thing all around Hogwarts. i'm liking it, not loving it.
- finally, i'm going to have to end this on a sad note. this week my coworker Halo buddy and i decided to stop playing Halo 3 so religiously. for those that didn't know, i've been playing that damn game almost every single day since it came out back on September 25th of last year. that's almost 5 months. we're now only going to plan to play Friday and Saturday nights... at least until the new downloadable maps come out later this spring. :)
-k
good week, and here's why
i'm having a wonderful week this week and here's why:
- Persona 3: FES is coming state-side! this is an alternate version of Persona 3 that includes an additional 30+ hours of gameplay with more story and more unlockables. at just $30, i'm gonna have to buy it. Persona 3 was probably my favorite game of 2007. it ought to be - i logged over 100 hours into it.
- one of my favorite authors, J. Michael Straczynski, is moving from Marvel to DC Comics. why is this good? well, he's stated that now at DC he's hoping to do some Babylon 5 graphic novels. YES!!!
- one of my favorite comic book series of all time, DEMO, is coming back this fall! slated for a 6-issue mini-series, the series will focus on everyday people discovering extraordinary powers. it's a more-real world X-Men. even though the series REALLY got good in the later issues that stared focusing less on powers and more on love and life, i'm still glad this series is coming back in some form.
-k
- Persona 3: FES is coming state-side! this is an alternate version of Persona 3 that includes an additional 30+ hours of gameplay with more story and more unlockables. at just $30, i'm gonna have to buy it. Persona 3 was probably my favorite game of 2007. it ought to be - i logged over 100 hours into it.
- one of my favorite authors, J. Michael Straczynski, is moving from Marvel to DC Comics. why is this good? well, he's stated that now at DC he's hoping to do some Babylon 5 graphic novels. YES!!!
- one of my favorite comic book series of all time, DEMO, is coming back this fall! slated for a 6-issue mini-series, the series will focus on everyday people discovering extraordinary powers. it's a more-real world X-Men. even though the series REALLY got good in the later issues that stared focusing less on powers and more on love and life, i'm still glad this series is coming back in some form.
-k
Monday, February 18
god bless american presidents
normally i'm only aware of secondary holidays like President's Day because places like Best Buy and car manufacturers decide to have sales. this year, however, i'm more than aware, as i got the day off. yay for presidents! yay for 3-day weekends!
that said, i'm writing this in the middle of working... so it's a working holiday. at least i didn't have to put in a full 8-hour day.
random things that have been going on in my life and/or stuff that i've been meaning to talk about for a while:
- the writer's strike is over! from everything i've read the writer's are pretty happy with the deal they got, but i think they had to give a few things up they were asking for. hope it was still a fair deal. anyway, half-hour comedies like The Office and 30 Rock and established, episodic dramas like House and Law & Order SVU will be coming back mid-April and air about 6 episodes a piece to try and salvage each of their respective seasons. newer shows like Chuck and Life and dramas that take longer to play out like Heroes and 24 will be returning next year. nowhere have i read how the strike is affecting summer shows like Burn Notice. i'm happy the strike is over, but hope the writer's got a good deal.
- finished reading the first trade paperback of Spider-Girl (DeFalco/Olliffe) this weekend. the editor of Marvel Comics told Spider-Man fans to buy books like Spider-Girl and Ultimate Spider-Man if they were unhappy with what's happening to mainstream Spider-Man lately - so that's what i did. Spider-Girl takes place in an alternate universe where Peter and Mary Jane got married and had a kid. this kid - May Parker - finds out she has the same powers as her now-retired father. she becomes Spider-Girl. it's a fun book that's total fan service. it's told in the 80s/90s style of writing where a lot happens in a single issue (as opposed to today's style where something may take 6 issues to develop), which i'm not a huge fan of, but it's still good. i'd still suggest reading Ultimate Spider-Man or Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane over this any day, but this is a nice alternative to mainstream Spider-Man right now.
- still watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. still not sure whether or not i like it. scratch that - i LIKE the show... i'm just not sure if i LOVE it. it's weird. the first episode was really great, and every episode after that has been a little worse. i'm just not sure if i like how much it's playing with established history. i wish it would just come up with all new characters not related to anyone in the movies, have the series stand on its own. oh, and it better not turn into a love story like Bionic Woman did. ugh. what's wrong with an powerful, independent woman that's single? anyway, there's enough here to like, but not to love. i can't help but feel that if the strike didn't happen and there were other things for me to watch, i probably would have dropped this.
- still making my way through Star Trek: The Next Generation. i'm about 1/2 of the way through season 3 already. each season gets a little better, but there are still episodes here and there that are pretty ho-hum. and again, i can't stress enough that this show would not be greenlit for television today. that said, i still like it.
- i'm buying figures (not toys dammit!) again. actually, i started late last year. haven't collected for a good 3 years now. it's something i really hate getting into because it can get expensive FAST. last time i spent probably $200-300 in just a couple of months before i quit. so far this time i've kept it to a minimum, only spending around $100 in 5 months, but i'm dangerously close to going all-out again. one thing stopping me? i don't have much more room! haha. anyway, i'll post about what i'm collecting right now later.
- finally, i started reading the novel World War Z (Max Brooks) this weekend. i'm only 60-some pages in and i can already say that it's one of my favorite books of all time. it is the fictional telling of the war with the zombies some ten years after it happened. it's told from a number of different perspectives (so far none of which have been revisited, so i think there will probably be over 100 one-shots when its all said and done) from around the globe and it's VERY grounded in reality. the manner in which the zombies come about and destroy the earth is just so well written. for instance, one of the outbreaks happens in China, but no one outside of China knows about it because they cover it up by threatening World War III and diverting attention. could happen. one of the reasons the zombies spread so far is because of the smugglers in Eastern Asia that smuggled infected out to Europe and America where they thought there was a cure. could happen. another reason it spread was infected black market organs that came from third world countries. could happen. one of the reasons it takes America by surprise is because we were sold a "wonder drug" that would vaccinate us against it (in truth, it was a placebo) and thus we weren't worried. could happen. IT COULD ALL ACTUALLY HAPPEN. in fact, sometimes i forget i'm reading a zombie book and am just thinking of the plague as a new virus that wipes us all out, a new AIDS or whatever. it's scary - not because there's zombies, but because the future described in it could be a very real one. not a future with zombies, but a future with death and destruction nonetheless.
now, back to work.
-k
that said, i'm writing this in the middle of working... so it's a working holiday. at least i didn't have to put in a full 8-hour day.
random things that have been going on in my life and/or stuff that i've been meaning to talk about for a while:
- the writer's strike is over! from everything i've read the writer's are pretty happy with the deal they got, but i think they had to give a few things up they were asking for. hope it was still a fair deal. anyway, half-hour comedies like The Office and 30 Rock and established, episodic dramas like House and Law & Order SVU will be coming back mid-April and air about 6 episodes a piece to try and salvage each of their respective seasons. newer shows like Chuck and Life and dramas that take longer to play out like Heroes and 24 will be returning next year. nowhere have i read how the strike is affecting summer shows like Burn Notice. i'm happy the strike is over, but hope the writer's got a good deal.
- finished reading the first trade paperback of Spider-Girl (DeFalco/Olliffe) this weekend. the editor of Marvel Comics told Spider-Man fans to buy books like Spider-Girl and Ultimate Spider-Man if they were unhappy with what's happening to mainstream Spider-Man lately - so that's what i did. Spider-Girl takes place in an alternate universe where Peter and Mary Jane got married and had a kid. this kid - May Parker - finds out she has the same powers as her now-retired father. she becomes Spider-Girl. it's a fun book that's total fan service. it's told in the 80s/90s style of writing where a lot happens in a single issue (as opposed to today's style where something may take 6 issues to develop), which i'm not a huge fan of, but it's still good. i'd still suggest reading Ultimate Spider-Man or Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane over this any day, but this is a nice alternative to mainstream Spider-Man right now.
- still watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. still not sure whether or not i like it. scratch that - i LIKE the show... i'm just not sure if i LOVE it. it's weird. the first episode was really great, and every episode after that has been a little worse. i'm just not sure if i like how much it's playing with established history. i wish it would just come up with all new characters not related to anyone in the movies, have the series stand on its own. oh, and it better not turn into a love story like Bionic Woman did. ugh. what's wrong with an powerful, independent woman that's single? anyway, there's enough here to like, but not to love. i can't help but feel that if the strike didn't happen and there were other things for me to watch, i probably would have dropped this.
- still making my way through Star Trek: The Next Generation. i'm about 1/2 of the way through season 3 already. each season gets a little better, but there are still episodes here and there that are pretty ho-hum. and again, i can't stress enough that this show would not be greenlit for television today. that said, i still like it.
- i'm buying figures (not toys dammit!) again. actually, i started late last year. haven't collected for a good 3 years now. it's something i really hate getting into because it can get expensive FAST. last time i spent probably $200-300 in just a couple of months before i quit. so far this time i've kept it to a minimum, only spending around $100 in 5 months, but i'm dangerously close to going all-out again. one thing stopping me? i don't have much more room! haha. anyway, i'll post about what i'm collecting right now later.
- finally, i started reading the novel World War Z (Max Brooks) this weekend. i'm only 60-some pages in and i can already say that it's one of my favorite books of all time. it is the fictional telling of the war with the zombies some ten years after it happened. it's told from a number of different perspectives (so far none of which have been revisited, so i think there will probably be over 100 one-shots when its all said and done) from around the globe and it's VERY grounded in reality. the manner in which the zombies come about and destroy the earth is just so well written. for instance, one of the outbreaks happens in China, but no one outside of China knows about it because they cover it up by threatening World War III and diverting attention. could happen. one of the reasons the zombies spread so far is because of the smugglers in Eastern Asia that smuggled infected out to Europe and America where they thought there was a cure. could happen. another reason it spread was infected black market organs that came from third world countries. could happen. one of the reasons it takes America by surprise is because we were sold a "wonder drug" that would vaccinate us against it (in truth, it was a placebo) and thus we weren't worried. could happen. IT COULD ALL ACTUALLY HAPPEN. in fact, sometimes i forget i'm reading a zombie book and am just thinking of the plague as a new virus that wipes us all out, a new AIDS or whatever. it's scary - not because there's zombies, but because the future described in it could be a very real one. not a future with zombies, but a future with death and destruction nonetheless.
now, back to work.
-k
Monday, February 11
new to my stomach - reese's peanut butter & banana creme cups
*** NEW FEATURE *** NEW FEATURE ***
there's a 7-11 near where i work, and me and the engineers head over there maybe 2-3 times a week. well, going to 7-11 and getting the same thing all the time can get a little boring. so, when we see a new food stuff, we buy it.
this new post type will be where i document the new food stuffs i try. strap in, because it's time for the first installment of "new to my stomach."
what's new to my stomach today?
reese's peanut butter & banana creme cups
actually, this was new to my stomach a few months ago, but we're cheating a bit for this first post.
let me start off by saying i'm not a huge fan of reese's peanut butter cups. the only time i've been known to eat them is if i got them while trick or treating or as candy from Christmas or Easter. they're good, but not great. i prefer reese's pieces better, but even those i'm not a huge fan of.
all that said, reese's peanut butter & banana creme cups are TO DIE FOR. they're so damn rich and creamy, with just the perfect blend of peanut butter and banana. warning: you will probably only be able to eat 2 of these cups at a time, and even that's pushing it.
VERDICT: seek it out and devour it. now. i'm not sure if it's a limited-time variant on the classic peanut butter cup, but all i can tell you is that the local 7-11 hasn't had them in stock for a while now. and i'm sad because of it.
-k
there's a 7-11 near where i work, and me and the engineers head over there maybe 2-3 times a week. well, going to 7-11 and getting the same thing all the time can get a little boring. so, when we see a new food stuff, we buy it.
this new post type will be where i document the new food stuffs i try. strap in, because it's time for the first installment of "new to my stomach."
what's new to my stomach today?
reese's peanut butter & banana creme cups
actually, this was new to my stomach a few months ago, but we're cheating a bit for this first post.
let me start off by saying i'm not a huge fan of reese's peanut butter cups. the only time i've been known to eat them is if i got them while trick or treating or as candy from Christmas or Easter. they're good, but not great. i prefer reese's pieces better, but even those i'm not a huge fan of.
all that said, reese's peanut butter & banana creme cups are TO DIE FOR. they're so damn rich and creamy, with just the perfect blend of peanut butter and banana. warning: you will probably only be able to eat 2 of these cups at a time, and even that's pushing it.
VERDICT: seek it out and devour it. now. i'm not sure if it's a limited-time variant on the classic peanut butter cup, but all i can tell you is that the local 7-11 hasn't had them in stock for a while now. and i'm sad because of it.
-k
Friday, February 8
thoughts from a busy week
haven't been writing/commenting because i'm really busy at work this week. that and not much is going on - either in my life or on the internet (no really interesting links). i'll try and put together a "best of the week" tomorrow after work. here's what's on my mind:
- added a shit-ton of pictures to my blog earlier this week, and it wasn't an easy task either. i was scouring the internet for hours for just the right pictures, at just the right sizes. i'm glad it's over for now, as it turned from something to do into an obsession rather quickly. in retrospect, i may have gone overboard just a bit, but it pretties up my blog and for that i'm happy.
- bought 2 new games last week that arrived in the mail this week. they are Naruto: Rise of a Ninja for the 360 and Civilization IV: Gold Edition for the PC. Naruto i picked up for $38 (list price is $60) and Civ IV for $20 (list price is $50). i was actually going to wait to pick up Naruto when it was a little lower, but i was buying Civ IV from amazon and needed to buy something else in order to get the free shipping - and Naruto was on sale, so i bit. why did i buy these 2 games? Naruto - never been a fan of the anime, but the game intrigued me with its blend of open world and fighting. it's like a mix of Grand Theft Auto and Dead or Alive. add that to the fact that the game follows the anime somewhat from start to where it is now and well i'll get most of the story. oh, and it's a beautiful looking game. Civ IV - always felt i should try a Civ game, and at the price point it was finally worth picking it up. we'll see when i have time to play it. Naruto i MADE time for. just finished Assassin's Creed, so i had a slot open. it was either Naruto, Heavenly Sword, or Harry Potter. i went with Naruto.
- halfway through season 2 of Star Trek: TNG. i can't stress enough that this is a show that simply would not make it on television today - there's just not enough going on in each episode to satisfy today's audience! i kinda like it, but maybe it's a nostalgia thing. season 2 is better than the first season, but it still has its faults. oh, and they sure are focusing on Data a lot. if he's not the main character of an episode i'd say he's the secondary focus in probably 9 of the 12 episodes so far of season 2. it's almost overkill. there ARE other characters to focus on.
hope you're all having a good week, especially all you in Wisconsin. damn that's a lot of snow you guys got!!! all i've got to complain about this week is the humidity from the rain - and it's not even that bad!
-k
- added a shit-ton of pictures to my blog earlier this week, and it wasn't an easy task either. i was scouring the internet for hours for just the right pictures, at just the right sizes. i'm glad it's over for now, as it turned from something to do into an obsession rather quickly. in retrospect, i may have gone overboard just a bit, but it pretties up my blog and for that i'm happy.
- bought 2 new games last week that arrived in the mail this week. they are Naruto: Rise of a Ninja for the 360 and Civilization IV: Gold Edition for the PC. Naruto i picked up for $38 (list price is $60) and Civ IV for $20 (list price is $50). i was actually going to wait to pick up Naruto when it was a little lower, but i was buying Civ IV from amazon and needed to buy something else in order to get the free shipping - and Naruto was on sale, so i bit. why did i buy these 2 games? Naruto - never been a fan of the anime, but the game intrigued me with its blend of open world and fighting. it's like a mix of Grand Theft Auto and Dead or Alive. add that to the fact that the game follows the anime somewhat from start to where it is now and well i'll get most of the story. oh, and it's a beautiful looking game. Civ IV - always felt i should try a Civ game, and at the price point it was finally worth picking it up. we'll see when i have time to play it. Naruto i MADE time for. just finished Assassin's Creed, so i had a slot open. it was either Naruto, Heavenly Sword, or Harry Potter. i went with Naruto.
- halfway through season 2 of Star Trek: TNG. i can't stress enough that this is a show that simply would not make it on television today - there's just not enough going on in each episode to satisfy today's audience! i kinda like it, but maybe it's a nostalgia thing. season 2 is better than the first season, but it still has its faults. oh, and they sure are focusing on Data a lot. if he's not the main character of an episode i'd say he's the secondary focus in probably 9 of the 12 episodes so far of season 2. it's almost overkill. there ARE other characters to focus on.
hope you're all having a good week, especially all you in Wisconsin. damn that's a lot of snow you guys got!!! all i've got to complain about this week is the humidity from the rain - and it's not even that bad!
-k
Monday, January 28
28 weekends later
notes from the weekend:
- rocked out with some Rock Band with coworkers Friday after work. actually almost lost my voice. not my best session. still a good time was had by all.
- cut the Halo time down this weekend, only playing about 4 hours Friday, 4 hours Saturday, and 2 hours Sunday. did not play well at all. i'm either reaching a level where the other players are just plain better than me and the only reason i'm ranked so high is because my teammates do well and win for us, or i'm just getting a little sick of the game - which is weird, because i still LIKE the game. might have to cut back some more.
- continued watching Star Trek: The Next Generation this weekend. about 2/3 of the way through Season 1. still liking it, but still can't believe it ever aired - it's way too slow by today's standards. still on track to finish it sometime this summer.
- watched the movie 28 Weeks Later Saturday night. see the above post for more.
- i finished a video game! Eternal Sonata for the 360. see the above post for more.
i read this weekend. A LOT.
- read the first volume of the Scott Pilgrim series, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'Malley. this author/artist previously wrote/drew one of my favorite graphic novels, Lost At Sea, a real soul-searcher. this new Scott Pilgrim series is a complete 180 from Lost At Sea. it's a comedy/drama with lots of nerd humor. follows the life of 23 year old Scott Pilgrim and his trials and tribulations with his band and his love life. it's a good read, and there's 3 more out currently that i'm thinking of picking up - but i gotta say, i really wish O'Malley would have done another soul-searching graphic novel. oh well. OH! almost forgot - Scott Pilgrim is being turned into a movie, directed by Edgar Wright - the creator of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. right up his alley.
- read the first volume of a comic called DMZ. this first trade is called DMZ: On the Ground, written by Brian Wood and drawn by Riccardo Burchielli. reason i picked it up is because Brian Wood is the author of another one of my favorite series, Demo. anyway, DMZ is set in a not-too-distant future where the US is suffering from another civil war and New York is the current battleground. the island of Manhattan is the DMZ. series follows a photojournalist straight out of college that is thrust into the DMZ and decides to make the best of a bad situation and report on how people live there. the series so far reminds me of Y: The Last Man and The Walking Dead - series that both deal with a dystopian future. it surprised me how much i liked DMZ (i thought it might be too preachy, too anti-American policy, too political - but it's not really, it just tells it how it is, or would be) and am going to pick up the next volume ASAP.
- read the 3-volume series The Waiting Place written and created by Sean McKeever with art by Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim, and Mike Norton. reason i picked this up is because McKeever is the author of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (you all know how i feel about that one) and another series i liked, Sentinel. oh, and he's from Wisconsin, and The Waiting Place deals with life in a small fictional town in Wisconsin. never before have i read such a real portrayal of small-town life. it also had one of the most real portrayals of high schoolers i've read in a while. the series deals with an ensemble cast of about 20 characters, most of them high schoolers, and all their different problems. it's about the trappings of small-town life. it's about hook-ups and break ups, friendships formed and friendships lost. it's about life. my only complaint is that there were a few too many loose ends when it concluded, but the author explained that away with a speech he gave one of his characters at the end. it's New Year's Eve and the character has this to say about New Year's: "Everyone thinks, like, when the clock strikes midnight you've suddenly entered this new chapter in your life, but it's nothing like that, you know? You still have the same bills to pay, you still have to go to the same job. You still have to look at the same you in the mirror. Life isn't made of nice, neat little chapters. Not really." to drive the point home, another character checks his watch and notices it's 12:42 - well past midnight. they didn't notice because, well, another chapter HADN'T started. it's the same chapter. same everything. still... just out of sheer reader's curiosity, i wish a few more plotlines would have been wrapped up.
what did you do this weekend?
-k
- rocked out with some Rock Band with coworkers Friday after work. actually almost lost my voice. not my best session. still a good time was had by all.
- cut the Halo time down this weekend, only playing about 4 hours Friday, 4 hours Saturday, and 2 hours Sunday. did not play well at all. i'm either reaching a level where the other players are just plain better than me and the only reason i'm ranked so high is because my teammates do well and win for us, or i'm just getting a little sick of the game - which is weird, because i still LIKE the game. might have to cut back some more.
- continued watching Star Trek: The Next Generation this weekend. about 2/3 of the way through Season 1. still liking it, but still can't believe it ever aired - it's way too slow by today's standards. still on track to finish it sometime this summer.
- watched the movie 28 Weeks Later Saturday night. see the above post for more.
- i finished a video game! Eternal Sonata for the 360. see the above post for more.
i read this weekend. A LOT.
- read the first volume of the Scott Pilgrim series, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'Malley. this author/artist previously wrote/drew one of my favorite graphic novels, Lost At Sea, a real soul-searcher. this new Scott Pilgrim series is a complete 180 from Lost At Sea. it's a comedy/drama with lots of nerd humor. follows the life of 23 year old Scott Pilgrim and his trials and tribulations with his band and his love life. it's a good read, and there's 3 more out currently that i'm thinking of picking up - but i gotta say, i really wish O'Malley would have done another soul-searching graphic novel. oh well. OH! almost forgot - Scott Pilgrim is being turned into a movie, directed by Edgar Wright - the creator of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. right up his alley.
- read the first volume of a comic called DMZ. this first trade is called DMZ: On the Ground, written by Brian Wood and drawn by Riccardo Burchielli. reason i picked it up is because Brian Wood is the author of another one of my favorite series, Demo. anyway, DMZ is set in a not-too-distant future where the US is suffering from another civil war and New York is the current battleground. the island of Manhattan is the DMZ. series follows a photojournalist straight out of college that is thrust into the DMZ and decides to make the best of a bad situation and report on how people live there. the series so far reminds me of Y: The Last Man and The Walking Dead - series that both deal with a dystopian future. it surprised me how much i liked DMZ (i thought it might be too preachy, too anti-American policy, too political - but it's not really, it just tells it how it is, or would be) and am going to pick up the next volume ASAP.
- read the 3-volume series The Waiting Place written and created by Sean McKeever with art by Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim, and Mike Norton. reason i picked this up is because McKeever is the author of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (you all know how i feel about that one) and another series i liked, Sentinel. oh, and he's from Wisconsin, and The Waiting Place deals with life in a small fictional town in Wisconsin. never before have i read such a real portrayal of small-town life. it also had one of the most real portrayals of high schoolers i've read in a while. the series deals with an ensemble cast of about 20 characters, most of them high schoolers, and all their different problems. it's about the trappings of small-town life. it's about hook-ups and break ups, friendships formed and friendships lost. it's about life. my only complaint is that there were a few too many loose ends when it concluded, but the author explained that away with a speech he gave one of his characters at the end. it's New Year's Eve and the character has this to say about New Year's: "Everyone thinks, like, when the clock strikes midnight you've suddenly entered this new chapter in your life, but it's nothing like that, you know? You still have the same bills to pay, you still have to go to the same job. You still have to look at the same you in the mirror. Life isn't made of nice, neat little chapters. Not really." to drive the point home, another character checks his watch and notices it's 12:42 - well past midnight. they didn't notice because, well, another chapter HADN'T started. it's the same chapter. same everything. still... just out of sheer reader's curiosity, i wish a few more plotlines would have been wrapped up.
what did you do this weekend?
-k
Tuesday, January 22
no reservations: vancouver
i just got done watching the most recent episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel. tonight he visited Vancouver.
why was i so compelled to write? well because i think he did a good job of showing and explaining why Vancouver is such a wonderful place to live. sure he missed some stuff (and i, apparently, missed some stuff too), but the message he hit right on the head.
Vancouver is a wonderful urban melting pot that's got one of the densest populations on earth in the downtown core but yet manages to keep nature all around you. it has wonderful food, friends, and work (if you can get it).
so check it out on reruns if you can. see why i love the city of Vancouver so much. it doesn't cover everything, but it covers enough. oh, and i recognized some of the places and streets they were filming. at one point they were about 2 blocks away from where i used to live - right in front of where i used to grocery shop.
Vancouver. the best place on earth that i've been to.
i will return.
-k
why was i so compelled to write? well because i think he did a good job of showing and explaining why Vancouver is such a wonderful place to live. sure he missed some stuff (and i, apparently, missed some stuff too), but the message he hit right on the head.
Vancouver is a wonderful urban melting pot that's got one of the densest populations on earth in the downtown core but yet manages to keep nature all around you. it has wonderful food, friends, and work (if you can get it).
so check it out on reruns if you can. see why i love the city of Vancouver so much. it doesn't cover everything, but it covers enough. oh, and i recognized some of the places and streets they were filming. at one point they were about 2 blocks away from where i used to live - right in front of where i used to grocery shop.
Vancouver. the best place on earth that i've been to.
i will return.
-k
Monday, January 21
of all the weekends i have encountered in my travels, this was the most... human
*bonus points to anyone that knows what movie quote i'm referencing in my blog title. hint: it's extra dorky (as if anything i quote would be any less).
yes, the weekend. mine was good, how was yours? here's what i did:
- jammed with some coworkers Friday night. real instruments? no. we played a little Rock Band. the game is simply amazing. top 5 pick for me for 2007. now, there's no way i would have shelled out the money to buy the thing (it's like $180), but that's why i'm glad i work at a video game company. they buy stuff for us. since the game came out last November, we've been playing it quite a bit - though it has trailed off a bit since Christmas. what once used to be a daily after work routine has become a Friday night jam session. this week we played for about 3 hours - not bad, but we've gone for 4 or 5 before. Rock Band. great game.
- the question answered this weekend? "can one play too much Halo?" the answer - in my case at least - is "yes." over the course of Saturday i played over 8 hours of it. first i played some multiplayer online with a friend, then we later met up and played some co-op online, and finally i topped the night off with even more multiplayer with a different friend. now, i didn't play 8 hours straight - that would be murder. no, i took a couple of breaks, but they weren't enough. by the time i was playing with my other friend later at night, i was sucking pretty bad. hey, i was on my 6th - 7th - 8th hour of Halo for the day! give a guy a break. there IS such a thing as too much Halo.
- watched the Packer game Sunday. watched them stumble and throw away all they worked so hard for this season. Giants shut down their running game, Packers panicked like usual and put the game on Brett's shoulders, Brett couldn't handle it this time. what bothered me the most is that he didn't look distraught over how badly he was doing either. oh, and our pass defense was pretty abysmal. it doesn't matter anyway - nobody can beat the Patriots. good luck Giants.
- read the graphic novel Good as Lily this weekend by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm. i picked it up on a whim at a 50% off sale a few weeks back. it's about a teenage girl that is visited by her 6-year-old self, 29-year-old self, and 70-year-old self - all at the same time. well, you know me and time travel... i had to give it a shot. i'm glad i did. it's pretty cleverly written, with each of them coming to terms with problems at the points in their lives, with the main character (teenage one) having the biggest revelation of them all - and they don't go and try explaining the whole time travel thing, it just happens. sort of like Big. and i liked that. it was a good read.
- also reread 2 novels this weekend. wow, 2 whole novels in just a weekend?!? ok, they're "young adult" novels. inspired by the Ultimate Spider-Man universe, these tell the tale of a younger Spider-Man ensemble cast from the eyes of Mary Jane. the books are Mary Jane and Mary Jane 2 by Judith O'Brien. while they're "inspired" by the Ultimate comic, they don't quite have the same story. the novels are actually more like another favorite comic of mine, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane... but the stories in each differ as well. anyway, i've been pretty upset with what Marvel is doing with mainstream Spider-Man (they split Peter and Mary up and are acting, for the moment, as if they weren't married for the last 20-some years), so i go to the more obscure tales and find solace in them. these novels aren't great by any stretch of the imagination, but they're good reads if you're a young Spider-Man fan (i mean young as in Spider-Man is young, not the fan is young, but it's good for them too - i guess maybe i'm young at heart when it comes to Spidey). what can i say? i love my Spider-Man, and i love my Mary Jane.
- 2 of my friends are in a band called Spiral Trance. they played out Saturday night for the first time in a while. since i'm thousands of miles away, i was unable to attend. (and even if i was back home, i'm sure i would have been too busy playing Halo.) i hear the show was a bit rusty, but nobody noticed, and the place was packed, so i'll let it slide. next time i expect perfection. unfortunately i won't be able to make that show either, but someone will tell me how you guys did. i've got my sources. (it's Paul.)
-k
yes, the weekend. mine was good, how was yours? here's what i did:
- jammed with some coworkers Friday night. real instruments? no. we played a little Rock Band. the game is simply amazing. top 5 pick for me for 2007. now, there's no way i would have shelled out the money to buy the thing (it's like $180), but that's why i'm glad i work at a video game company. they buy stuff for us. since the game came out last November, we've been playing it quite a bit - though it has trailed off a bit since Christmas. what once used to be a daily after work routine has become a Friday night jam session. this week we played for about 3 hours - not bad, but we've gone for 4 or 5 before. Rock Band. great game.
- the question answered this weekend? "can one play too much Halo?" the answer - in my case at least - is "yes." over the course of Saturday i played over 8 hours of it. first i played some multiplayer online with a friend, then we later met up and played some co-op online, and finally i topped the night off with even more multiplayer with a different friend. now, i didn't play 8 hours straight - that would be murder. no, i took a couple of breaks, but they weren't enough. by the time i was playing with my other friend later at night, i was sucking pretty bad. hey, i was on my 6th - 7th - 8th hour of Halo for the day! give a guy a break. there IS such a thing as too much Halo.
- watched the Packer game Sunday. watched them stumble and throw away all they worked so hard for this season. Giants shut down their running game, Packers panicked like usual and put the game on Brett's shoulders, Brett couldn't handle it this time. what bothered me the most is that he didn't look distraught over how badly he was doing either. oh, and our pass defense was pretty abysmal. it doesn't matter anyway - nobody can beat the Patriots. good luck Giants.
- read the graphic novel Good as Lily this weekend by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm. i picked it up on a whim at a 50% off sale a few weeks back. it's about a teenage girl that is visited by her 6-year-old self, 29-year-old self, and 70-year-old self - all at the same time. well, you know me and time travel... i had to give it a shot. i'm glad i did. it's pretty cleverly written, with each of them coming to terms with problems at the points in their lives, with the main character (teenage one) having the biggest revelation of them all - and they don't go and try explaining the whole time travel thing, it just happens. sort of like Big. and i liked that. it was a good read.
- also reread 2 novels this weekend. wow, 2 whole novels in just a weekend?!? ok, they're "young adult" novels. inspired by the Ultimate Spider-Man universe, these tell the tale of a younger Spider-Man ensemble cast from the eyes of Mary Jane. the books are Mary Jane and Mary Jane 2 by Judith O'Brien. while they're "inspired" by the Ultimate comic, they don't quite have the same story. the novels are actually more like another favorite comic of mine, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane... but the stories in each differ as well. anyway, i've been pretty upset with what Marvel is doing with mainstream Spider-Man (they split Peter and Mary up and are acting, for the moment, as if they weren't married for the last 20-some years), so i go to the more obscure tales and find solace in them. these novels aren't great by any stretch of the imagination, but they're good reads if you're a young Spider-Man fan (i mean young as in Spider-Man is young, not the fan is young, but it's good for them too - i guess maybe i'm young at heart when it comes to Spidey). what can i say? i love my Spider-Man, and i love my Mary Jane.
- 2 of my friends are in a band called Spiral Trance. they played out Saturday night for the first time in a while. since i'm thousands of miles away, i was unable to attend. (and even if i was back home, i'm sure i would have been too busy playing Halo.) i hear the show was a bit rusty, but nobody noticed, and the place was packed, so i'll let it slide. next time i expect perfection. unfortunately i won't be able to make that show either, but someone will tell me how you guys did. i've got my sources. (it's Paul.)
-k
Tuesday, January 15
my weekend - let me show it to you
notes from my oh-so-glorious weekend:
- purchased 3 games over the course of the weekend. first off was Eye of Judgment for the PS3. it comes with the PS3 camera and it's a card game that you play using the camera. for $45, it was quite the steal (the camera alone is $40 retail). then i also bought 2 more RPGs for the PS2 - Steambot Chronicles and Digital Devil Saga 2. the first i bought after reading about it on destructoid (my gaming news site) and the second i bought because it's by the makers of Persona 3, and i LOVED Persona 3. both were steals again at only $15 a piece. now, when will i have TIME to play these games? who knows.
- watched the latter half of the Packers/Seahawks game Saturday and wow - color me impressed! with the Cowboys loss on Sunday, i'd say we've got a pretty good chance of making it to the Super Bowl! here's hoping we mop the floor with the Giants. GO PACK!
- read the graphic novel series Love as a Foreign Language. i'll dedicate a post to it later this week, but overall it was pretty good. the first 4 books were a lot better written and paced than the last 2 (ESPECIALLY the last one). but i still liked it.
- watched the premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on FOX. the first episode was ACTION PACKED! the only time you had to catch your breath was really during the commercials. again, i'll dedicate a post to my thoughts on the show so far (also watched the 2nd episode tonight), but overall i'm liking it. a lot.
- decided with the writer's strike on i'm going to try and tackle some of the series i've been downloading over the past year (like i did with Babylon 5 this past summer). first up? Star Trek: The Next Generation. watched the first 4 episodes last night and hope to watch at least an episode a day until i'm finished - sometime this summer. the series is LONG!
- played lots and lots of Halo 3. Sunday-Thursday nights i play for about 2 hours a night, but on the weekends i sometimes play for 4-6 hours a night. it's unbelievable. i don't know why i don't tire of the game, but i don't. it's seriously impeding my making progress on any other games. damn you Halo 3.
- finally, it was my friend John's birthday on Saturday. i heard there was a party. unfortunately, i wasn't able to attend. hopefully you guys made do without me. miss ya buddy. have a happy 26th year of your life! i know i'm sure living it up!
-k
- purchased 3 games over the course of the weekend. first off was Eye of Judgment for the PS3. it comes with the PS3 camera and it's a card game that you play using the camera. for $45, it was quite the steal (the camera alone is $40 retail). then i also bought 2 more RPGs for the PS2 - Steambot Chronicles and Digital Devil Saga 2. the first i bought after reading about it on destructoid (my gaming news site) and the second i bought because it's by the makers of Persona 3, and i LOVED Persona 3. both were steals again at only $15 a piece. now, when will i have TIME to play these games? who knows.
- watched the latter half of the Packers/Seahawks game Saturday and wow - color me impressed! with the Cowboys loss on Sunday, i'd say we've got a pretty good chance of making it to the Super Bowl! here's hoping we mop the floor with the Giants. GO PACK!
- read the graphic novel series Love as a Foreign Language. i'll dedicate a post to it later this week, but overall it was pretty good. the first 4 books were a lot better written and paced than the last 2 (ESPECIALLY the last one). but i still liked it.
- watched the premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on FOX. the first episode was ACTION PACKED! the only time you had to catch your breath was really during the commercials. again, i'll dedicate a post to my thoughts on the show so far (also watched the 2nd episode tonight), but overall i'm liking it. a lot.
- decided with the writer's strike on i'm going to try and tackle some of the series i've been downloading over the past year (like i did with Babylon 5 this past summer). first up? Star Trek: The Next Generation. watched the first 4 episodes last night and hope to watch at least an episode a day until i'm finished - sometime this summer. the series is LONG!
- played lots and lots of Halo 3. Sunday-Thursday nights i play for about 2 hours a night, but on the weekends i sometimes play for 4-6 hours a night. it's unbelievable. i don't know why i don't tire of the game, but i don't. it's seriously impeding my making progress on any other games. damn you Halo 3.
- finally, it was my friend John's birthday on Saturday. i heard there was a party. unfortunately, i wasn't able to attend. hopefully you guys made do without me. miss ya buddy. have a happy 26th year of your life! i know i'm sure living it up!
-k
Monday, January 7
weekend notes
- caught the latter half of Jurassic Park on cable this weekend and i've got to say, i forgot just how much fun that movie is. is it a GREAT movie? well, i don't know. there is some great camera work, and they try to work in some deeper issues, but honestly it still is just a popcorn summer blockbuster that pales in comparison to the book. however, it's great FUN.
- as many of you know, i haven't been to the beach yet since i've been here. 10 months and counting. first i just never went, and now it's like "well let's see if i can live here in Hawaii without ever going to the beach." well, my aunt and uncle are in town for the week and tonight we were walking around Waikiki (the Disneyland of Hawaii) and we ended up on the beach. now, i'm not going to count it as "going to the beach" because 1) it was night, so i wasn't soaking up any sun, and 2) i didn't go in the water. for me to "go to the beach," it would have to be during the day either to soak up some rays or to go swimming (or both). what i did tonight, that was just a stroll on the beach. :)
- anyone else think the NFL playoff games this weekend were rather lackluster? granted, i was only able to catch one of them in full (the rest i caught highlights of on ESPN), but they just lacked a certain something. even the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville game (the one i watched), where Pittsburgh came back only to lose in the end... it almost felt like it was all staged, fixed. i don't know. well, go Packers next weekend. they got a tough game ahead of them, facing the red-hot veteran Seahawks.
- k
- as many of you know, i haven't been to the beach yet since i've been here. 10 months and counting. first i just never went, and now it's like "well let's see if i can live here in Hawaii without ever going to the beach." well, my aunt and uncle are in town for the week and tonight we were walking around Waikiki (the Disneyland of Hawaii) and we ended up on the beach. now, i'm not going to count it as "going to the beach" because 1) it was night, so i wasn't soaking up any sun, and 2) i didn't go in the water. for me to "go to the beach," it would have to be during the day either to soak up some rays or to go swimming (or both). what i did tonight, that was just a stroll on the beach. :)
- anyone else think the NFL playoff games this weekend were rather lackluster? granted, i was only able to catch one of them in full (the rest i caught highlights of on ESPN), but they just lacked a certain something. even the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville game (the one i watched), where Pittsburgh came back only to lose in the end... it almost felt like it was all staged, fixed. i don't know. well, go Packers next weekend. they got a tough game ahead of them, facing the red-hot veteran Seahawks.
- k
Tuesday, November 6
the rainy season
random notes from paradise:
- it's officially the rainy season here and MAN can you tell the difference. this past Sunday was the first day i can remember where the sun didn't come out ONCE during the whole day - it was gray and rainy just like Wisconsin autumns/springs. and the rain? it's not like it was before (where it would drizzle/shower for a few minutes, then clear up - like Florida). now it pours, and it pours for a while. we'll keep you posted as to how the rainy season affects my moped riding and my MOOD.
- parents visited for a week and a half about a week and a half ago. was really nice seeing them. however, when they left it reminded me of just how lonely things can be out here in the middle of the Pacific. oh well. on my days off we did touristy stuff and at night we sat and watched our television shows. the last weekend they were here we went to the Big Island hoping to see some lava flows but came away only seeing the crater/cauldron and some steam and sulfur vents. oh, and there was the most awesome highway in the U.S. it was a pretty awesome trip - such an alien landscape there. definitely have to go again. next time they come out.
- my birthday was last week. thanks to all that wished me a happy one (and for those that didn't, don't worry - i don't care much when it comes to happy birthdays). i'm 26 now, which actually took me a while to figure out. when i first sat down and thought "how old am i turning again?" i had myself CONVINCED that i was already 26 and that i was turning 27. just goes to show you that once you're old enough to drink and drive rental cars, nothing much matters after that. ok, maybe 30. and then 40. after that the stress of being a game designer will probably have killed me.
- i've got lots on the back burner that i've been meaning to write about - finished television shows, video games reviews/news, movie reviews, album reviews, etc. - but i've been busy. one of these days.
laterz.
-kawitchate
- it's officially the rainy season here and MAN can you tell the difference. this past Sunday was the first day i can remember where the sun didn't come out ONCE during the whole day - it was gray and rainy just like Wisconsin autumns/springs. and the rain? it's not like it was before (where it would drizzle/shower for a few minutes, then clear up - like Florida). now it pours, and it pours for a while. we'll keep you posted as to how the rainy season affects my moped riding and my MOOD.
- parents visited for a week and a half about a week and a half ago. was really nice seeing them. however, when they left it reminded me of just how lonely things can be out here in the middle of the Pacific. oh well. on my days off we did touristy stuff and at night we sat and watched our television shows. the last weekend they were here we went to the Big Island hoping to see some lava flows but came away only seeing the crater/cauldron and some steam and sulfur vents. oh, and there was the most awesome highway in the U.S. it was a pretty awesome trip - such an alien landscape there. definitely have to go again. next time they come out.
- my birthday was last week. thanks to all that wished me a happy one (and for those that didn't, don't worry - i don't care much when it comes to happy birthdays). i'm 26 now, which actually took me a while to figure out. when i first sat down and thought "how old am i turning again?" i had myself CONVINCED that i was already 26 and that i was turning 27. just goes to show you that once you're old enough to drink and drive rental cars, nothing much matters after that. ok, maybe 30. and then 40. after that the stress of being a game designer will probably have killed me.
- i've got lots on the back burner that i've been meaning to write about - finished television shows, video games reviews/news, movie reviews, album reviews, etc. - but i've been busy. one of these days.
laterz.
-kawitchate
Monday, October 15
yes i read my comments
for those of you NOT commenting on my blog because you wonder if i even read the comments - and for Ben who WAS commenting and wondering if i even read them - yes i do. and i'll do my best from now on to respond to them ASAP.
Ben, check the posts you commented on - i responded! wow!!!
- kawitchate
Ben, check the posts you commented on - i responded! wow!!!
- kawitchate
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