So republican nominee Rudy "I mention 9/11 in everything I ever do" Giuliani has also dropped out of the race, thought it took me a while to pick it up. It's funny, I remember some of the polls from like... a year ago, in which Giuliani was supposedly winning the actual presidential election.
Goes to show why you shouldn't take such polls seriously, I guess. Giuliani might have had a more universal appeal, but as most people have said, he was too "left-wing" for a republican.
On the subject of comebacks, Lost is finally returning tonight, with the first of what will be a really short season. Eight episode long, to be exact, half of what it was supposed to be. I'm calling it now, there will be a heck of a lot of frustrated people screaming "ZAMG WAI NO ANSWERZZ!!!" once these eight episodes are over. People, get over it. That's how Lost is, it always raised more question than the ones it answered.
That being said, I find myself not being quite as hyped for this than I thought I'd be. I absolutely loved the finale of the third season, but that was in May 2007, feels almost like a lifetime ago, and I've sorta lost my Lost vibe since that. I'll remain cautiously pessimistic about tonight's episode. With any luck, the episode will catch me by surprise.
Lastly, after trying to give the 5 versus 5 arenas in World of Warcraft one last serious attempt, one word sums up my feelings perfectly...
LOL
So that's not exactly one word, more of an abbreviation of three ones, but whatever. The matchmaking system is an absolute joke, and this is painfully obvious after the sublime system in Halo 3.
My 1390-rated team had to wait for around five minutes on average for one game, and when we actually found a game, what were we up against? Teams with a rating of more than 2000, and as a result, their gear level was so much better than ours that there wasn't even a point in trying to fight back. Which we did, because we're stubborn like that, but the result was depressing.
I understand not everyone is familiar with the system implemented in WoW's arenas, so here's the deal: It's a rather simplified version of the Elo rating system, commonly used in chess.
What this means in WoW is that the higher rated team (which start at a 1500 rating, mine is lower than average therefore) will always have access to better gear. The problem is that while the matchmaking system is supposed to match rating as well as gear level, it gives me the impression that it's been programmed in such a way in which after the first two minutes, it goes all "Fuck it, I'll just randomly put two unbalanced groups together and piss both of them off." Fun fun fun.
One step closer to a permanently canceled account, yes sirree.
Thursday, January 31
So Edwards dropped out.
John Edwards, that is. A few days before "Super Tuesday" too. Shame, as I liked him. It didn't really seem like he ever got a legitimate chance at winning, but I liked him more than Hillary, and even Obama at times.
It'll be interesting to see which remaining Democratic candidate his followers will turn to, seeing as Edwards will not officially endorse either of them. The easy answer would be Hillary because "lol she's white" but Obama has shown to be quite popular amongst the white population as well.
In other news, I need to stop posting at such late hours, and House was of course awesome last night. It was a bit strange to see an Xmas episode one month after the actual holiday, but the episode itself was wonderful. Fantastic dialog once more, and an ending with a surprise, sardonic, twist. Also, milk in the knee, what the Hell?
It'll be interesting to see which remaining Democratic candidate his followers will turn to, seeing as Edwards will not officially endorse either of them. The easy answer would be Hillary because "lol she's white" but Obama has shown to be quite popular amongst the white population as well.
In other news, I need to stop posting at such late hours, and House was of course awesome last night. It was a bit strange to see an Xmas episode one month after the actual holiday, but the episode itself was wonderful. Fantastic dialog once more, and an ending with a surprise, sardonic, twist. Also, milk in the knee, what the Hell?
Wednesday, January 30
Guillermo Del Toro to direct The Hobbit
Hello.
Yes, I know. Long time no see. As I've said a few times before, this is a slow month. Plus with me having a new console after so long, I haven't been particularly inspired with writing anything. It's much easier to shoot people dead in Halo 3. I'm loving the matchmaking system they've implemented, too, as it helps hopelessly bad players such as myself to avoid all the "pros" and "elites" out there. Much love.
Anyway, cult-favorite Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro has been rumored (or should that be pretty much confirmed?) selected to film the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. After the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was inevitable that this movie would be someday made, and after Peter Jackson announced that he wouldn't be involved in directing the Hobbit, most people were rather skeptical. Myself included.
But I think this is good news. As a fan of both of Del Toro's commercial projects (Hellboy, I even liked Mimic. But not Blade 2) and his more low-key, more personal films (The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth) I'm quite pleased to hear he's, probably, going to be the man to direct the Hobbit. He has both the artistic vision to make sure the movie will stay true to its roots, and hopefully add his special kind of eerie, surreal horror to it, as well as the necessary knowledge on how to make a commercially successful movie. And let's face it, this is going to be a big, expensive project, and it will have to be a box office hit. Not that this is a bad thing, unlike what some people would have you thinking.
New House M.D episode tonight, too! The wait has been long, but it's definitely worth it, as we're getting three episodes in eight days (today, on Superbowl Sunday and again next Tuesday.) Of course the wait after that is going to be even longer, but y'know, shtuff happens.
Yes, I know. Long time no see. As I've said a few times before, this is a slow month. Plus with me having a new console after so long, I haven't been particularly inspired with writing anything. It's much easier to shoot people dead in Halo 3. I'm loving the matchmaking system they've implemented, too, as it helps hopelessly bad players such as myself to avoid all the "pros" and "elites" out there. Much love.
Anyway, cult-favorite Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro has been rumored (or should that be pretty much confirmed?) selected to film the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. After the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it was inevitable that this movie would be someday made, and after Peter Jackson announced that he wouldn't be involved in directing the Hobbit, most people were rather skeptical. Myself included.
But I think this is good news. As a fan of both of Del Toro's commercial projects (Hellboy, I even liked Mimic. But not Blade 2) and his more low-key, more personal films (The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth) I'm quite pleased to hear he's, probably, going to be the man to direct the Hobbit. He has both the artistic vision to make sure the movie will stay true to its roots, and hopefully add his special kind of eerie, surreal horror to it, as well as the necessary knowledge on how to make a commercially successful movie. And let's face it, this is going to be a big, expensive project, and it will have to be a box office hit. Not that this is a bad thing, unlike what some people would have you thinking.
New House M.D episode tonight, too! The wait has been long, but it's definitely worth it, as we're getting three episodes in eight days (today, on Superbowl Sunday and again next Tuesday.) Of course the wait after that is going to be even longer, but y'know, shtuff happens.
Friday, January 25
I has a 360
An Xbox360, that is. About time, too.
Setting up Xbox live prove to be a long and frustrating affair, I honestly don't understand why simple things like this must take so damn long. I'm not trying to sell my spleen here (or worse yet, somebody else's) -I'm just trying to play some games. Anyway, all's well that ends well. Fuck Greece, though.
First thing I did was download the new Devil May Cry 4 demo. It's really damn impressive. You get two options, either play a 10-minute long run of a stage (reminiscent of the old Resident Evil 2 demo) or the Executioner mode, in which so far I've fought three opponents that looked like mini-bosses, and an actual boss. I kinda suck in DMC games, so I haven't finished either so far, but it's damn fun and the boss fight is visually astonishing.
The new moves, namely the ability to "charge" your sword for stronger attacks and a throw ability, really add a lot of depth to the gameplay and provide with even more options to (stylishly) dispose of your enemies. I can't wait to see what kind of combos the "pros" will come up with. I was a bit skeptical about this game at first, but it's shaping up to be a must-have.
The special edition is available for pre-order for a mere 30 English pounds at Amazon, by the way. Heck of a deal, if you ask me.
After that, I just had to download Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It doesn't matter if I've completed this game like 6-7 times so far, I just have to have it. I'm probably going to play it through again during the week. A full run takes me less than eight hours, nowadays.
But the game I was really waiting to play? Guitar Hero 3! Or its demo, at any rate. Damn. I ended up playing for around 90 minutes and I didn't even realize how time had passed. My hands hurt, even. And to think I used to mock this game, heh. I don't even want to imagine how addicted I'll be to the full game. Or worse, Rock Band.
One last thing about Xbox Live, there's this fun, addictive, little game called Undertow that's being offered for free through Xbox Live Arcade until the 27th of this month. It's a small download and the game is definitely worth it. I'm willing to bet it's awesome on multiplayer.
Next games to play: Virtua Fighter 5, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Street Figher 2 Hyper Fighting and Ultimate Mortal Kombat. Oh, my poor aching wallet. :[
Setting up Xbox live prove to be a long and frustrating affair, I honestly don't understand why simple things like this must take so damn long. I'm not trying to sell my spleen here (or worse yet, somebody else's) -I'm just trying to play some games. Anyway, all's well that ends well. Fuck Greece, though.
First thing I did was download the new Devil May Cry 4 demo. It's really damn impressive. You get two options, either play a 10-minute long run of a stage (reminiscent of the old Resident Evil 2 demo) or the Executioner mode, in which so far I've fought three opponents that looked like mini-bosses, and an actual boss. I kinda suck in DMC games, so I haven't finished either so far, but it's damn fun and the boss fight is visually astonishing.
The new moves, namely the ability to "charge" your sword for stronger attacks and a throw ability, really add a lot of depth to the gameplay and provide with even more options to (stylishly) dispose of your enemies. I can't wait to see what kind of combos the "pros" will come up with. I was a bit skeptical about this game at first, but it's shaping up to be a must-have.
The special edition is available for pre-order for a mere 30 English pounds at Amazon, by the way. Heck of a deal, if you ask me.
After that, I just had to download Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It doesn't matter if I've completed this game like 6-7 times so far, I just have to have it. I'm probably going to play it through again during the week. A full run takes me less than eight hours, nowadays.
But the game I was really waiting to play? Guitar Hero 3! Or its demo, at any rate. Damn. I ended up playing for around 90 minutes and I didn't even realize how time had passed. My hands hurt, even. And to think I used to mock this game, heh. I don't even want to imagine how addicted I'll be to the full game. Or worse, Rock Band.
One last thing about Xbox Live, there's this fun, addictive, little game called Undertow that's being offered for free through Xbox Live Arcade until the 27th of this month. It's a small download and the game is definitely worth it. I'm willing to bet it's awesome on multiplayer.
Next games to play: Virtua Fighter 5, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Street Figher 2 Hyper Fighting and Ultimate Mortal Kombat. Oh, my poor aching wallet. :[
Wednesday, January 23
R.I.P. Heath Ledger
At first I thought it was some sort of stupid internet joke, but sadly it's true.
I don't make a habit of being riled up by deaths of people I've never met, as I find there's a certain amount of hypocricy there, but... When a young man, who at the same time is such a talented actor, dies it's hard not to feel bad about this event.
He was one of my favorite young actors, he had several "big breaks" on the horizon, and he had earned the respect of a great many people for playing in films actually worth a damn, rather than every single teen rom-com on Earth, even though he could have easily done that.
A damn shame.
Nothing more worth saying. Rest in piece, Heath.
I don't make a habit of being riled up by deaths of people I've never met, as I find there's a certain amount of hypocricy there, but... When a young man, who at the same time is such a talented actor, dies it's hard not to feel bad about this event.
He was one of my favorite young actors, he had several "big breaks" on the horizon, and he had earned the respect of a great many people for playing in films actually worth a damn, rather than every single teen rom-com on Earth, even though he could have easily done that.
A damn shame.
Nothing more worth saying. Rest in piece, Heath.
Thursday, January 17
Headaches, Animaniacs, Shakespeare and whaaa?
First of all, headaches suck. I have one right now and it feels like my head is going to explode. Therefore this post is going to be really short.
Even though I'm a huge Animaniacs fan, I haven't watched all the episodes of the show, as it was canceled half-way through season two here in Greece. Yesterday I came across a video I hadn't seen before, a modern-day translation of the "Yorick" soliloquy from Hamlet, thought I'd share:
And last thing for today, a blog post by the (in)famous WoW player Ming. He's good at theorycrafting and makes decent WoW movies, but sometimes he represents everything that's wrong with this world. It talks about how WoW players could/should find a girl through WoW, and the nonsense starts from the very title, "When She Called Me By My Forum Name, I Turned Soft"
Dude, what the fuck?
Even though I'm a huge Animaniacs fan, I haven't watched all the episodes of the show, as it was canceled half-way through season two here in Greece. Yesterday I came across a video I hadn't seen before, a modern-day translation of the "Yorick" soliloquy from Hamlet, thought I'd share:
And last thing for today, a blog post by the (in)famous WoW player Ming. He's good at theorycrafting and makes decent WoW movies, but sometimes he represents everything that's wrong with this world. It talks about how WoW players could/should find a girl through WoW, and the nonsense starts from the very title, "When She Called Me By My Forum Name, I Turned Soft"
Dude, what the fuck?
An astronomy picture a day...
Does something-something-something-else-that-rhymes-with "day."
Quiet days, these last ones, not too exciting either but hey. I'm not complaining, I like quiet.
I did come across something very interesting today though. A website called Astronomy Picture of the Day. As you may have guessed, it features a different picture of our universe every day, accompanied by commentary by an astronomer.
I find pictures of different planets, solar systems and even galaxies to be quite fascinating. It's always a good reminder to know that we live in a practically infinite universe, where our little blue planet is but less than a drop in the proverbial ocean.
Yes, there's just something about the universe, and pictures related to it. Sometimes I actually find them scary, be it a picture of a supernova or a picture of a lonely planet. I'm not sure why, but pictures of a single planet, with only perpetual darkness around it is just... terrifying to me.
Some others are simply majestic. Especially Nebulas, and the myriads of colors that make them up. I guess supernovas are also majestic. In a terrifying way. And then there's always the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.
Speaking of Nebulas, the Carina Nebula might be on to us, despite it being 8,000 light years away.
I know we earthlings aren't the best of kinds, but that's just rude, man. It's not polite to give the finger like that to people you don't know. *pouts*
Quiet days, these last ones, not too exciting either but hey. I'm not complaining, I like quiet.
I did come across something very interesting today though. A website called Astronomy Picture of the Day. As you may have guessed, it features a different picture of our universe every day, accompanied by commentary by an astronomer.
I find pictures of different planets, solar systems and even galaxies to be quite fascinating. It's always a good reminder to know that we live in a practically infinite universe, where our little blue planet is but less than a drop in the proverbial ocean.
Yes, there's just something about the universe, and pictures related to it. Sometimes I actually find them scary, be it a picture of a supernova or a picture of a lonely planet. I'm not sure why, but pictures of a single planet, with only perpetual darkness around it is just... terrifying to me.
Some others are simply majestic. Especially Nebulas, and the myriads of colors that make them up. I guess supernovas are also majestic. In a terrifying way. And then there's always the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.
Speaking of Nebulas, the Carina Nebula might be on to us, despite it being 8,000 light years away.
I know we earthlings aren't the best of kinds, but that's just rude, man. It's not polite to give the finger like that to people you don't know. *pouts*
Tuesday, January 15
Sunday, January 13
So, like
Two toothpicks are walking down the street. Right across the street there's a pin walking the opposite way.
One toothpick turns to the other and goes, "Dude, check it out, it's Robocop!"
(Haven't had anything remotely interesting to say lately, so a horribad joke sounded like decent filler material.)
One toothpick turns to the other and goes, "Dude, check it out, it's Robocop!"
(Haven't had anything remotely interesting to say lately, so a horribad joke sounded like decent filler material.)
Thursday, January 10
Some good news
Hey, it's late and I've been traveling, so I forgot to mention these on the previous post. Plus they're good news so they'd feel out of place in the previous post of random negativity.
First piece of news isn't really that new, but it's awesome nonetheless. Nobody has a clue yet if A Dance With Dragons is coming out this year (thought it'd be ace if it did, I could use something to read while in the army), buuuuuuut! There's a new sample chapter up at George R.R. Martin's website, and it's a...
*drumroll*
Jon Snow chapter! I tend to avoid sample chapters as they're spoilerish in nature, but Jon Snow is one of my favorite characters, and I certainly don't regret reading through that chapter, as it's well, sublime. Do want.
The second, and more unexpected, news of the day came from Ron Gilbert's blog. Gilbert, the creator of the first two Monkey Island games for you heathens out there, is working on an episodic RPG-Adventure game called "DeathSpank: Episode One: Orphans of Justice." It goes without saying that this is excellent news. Gilbert is one of the few original game creators out there. Between his new game, Tim Schaefer's new game and Street Fighter 4, 2008 looks like an amazing year for gaming. Read more about DeathSpank here.
First piece of news isn't really that new, but it's awesome nonetheless. Nobody has a clue yet if A Dance With Dragons is coming out this year (thought it'd be ace if it did, I could use something to read while in the army), buuuuuuut! There's a new sample chapter up at George R.R. Martin's website, and it's a...
*drumroll*
Jon Snow chapter! I tend to avoid sample chapters as they're spoilerish in nature, but Jon Snow is one of my favorite characters, and I certainly don't regret reading through that chapter, as it's well, sublime. Do want.
The second, and more unexpected, news of the day came from Ron Gilbert's blog. Gilbert, the creator of the first two Monkey Island games for you heathens out there, is working on an episodic RPG-Adventure game called "DeathSpank: Episode One: Orphans of Justice." It goes without saying that this is excellent news. Gilbert is one of the few original game creators out there. Between his new game, Tim Schaefer's new game and Street Fighter 4, 2008 looks like an amazing year for gaming. Read more about DeathSpank here.
There and Back Again
I may have a few more kilos and fewer hair than I used to, but I'm back in Athens. Karditsa, my hometown, felt like London lately, or perhaps even Silent Hill with all that damn fog going around night and day. The cold wasn't very welcoming, either.
Seems like I'm back just on time, as the Daily Show and the Colbert Report re-appeared after a long hiatus, although they're still missing their writers. I've only seen one TDS episode so far, but I thought it was still as funny as usual.
I can't wait to see what they'll have to say about the New Hampshire primary results, which saw Hilary clinching the win with a small 3% difference, and McCaine winning the Republican primary, despite most people writing him off already. Moreover, Bill Clinton called Obama's campaign the "Biggest Fairy Tale I've ever seen!" Ouch. Looks like the kid gloves are off. /cliché.
I'm not sure why I'm keeping such a close eye on the primaries. $10 say that if I were American I'd probably wouldn't give a shit about them and probably wouldn't even vote either. Don't tell anyone, but I only decided to vote on the Greek election about two hours before the deadline.
What I'd really like to know is what the HELL are Darth Vader and Yoda doing in Soulcalibur 4. I mean, WHAT?! Spawn and Link in Soul Calibur 2 at least made a little bit of sense from a purely marketing point of view, and could even perhaps convince people buy more than just one version of the game. Spawn still was a friggin' weird idea to which I had objected back then as well, but his creator, Todd McFarlane, or rather his company, was creating Soul Calibur action figures back then. So go figure.
But Darth Vader and Yoda? Sweet zombie Jesus. I hope that Inigo Montoya and Zorro will appear in SC5. Now that'd be something to wait for.
Seems like I'm back just on time, as the Daily Show and the Colbert Report re-appeared after a long hiatus, although they're still missing their writers. I've only seen one TDS episode so far, but I thought it was still as funny as usual.
I can't wait to see what they'll have to say about the New Hampshire primary results, which saw Hilary clinching the win with a small 3% difference, and McCaine winning the Republican primary, despite most people writing him off already. Moreover, Bill Clinton called Obama's campaign the "Biggest Fairy Tale I've ever seen!" Ouch. Looks like the kid gloves are off. /cliché.
I'm not sure why I'm keeping such a close eye on the primaries. $10 say that if I were American I'd probably wouldn't give a shit about them and probably wouldn't even vote either. Don't tell anyone, but I only decided to vote on the Greek election about two hours before the deadline.
What I'd really like to know is what the HELL are Darth Vader and Yoda doing in Soulcalibur 4. I mean, WHAT?! Spawn and Link in Soul Calibur 2 at least made a little bit of sense from a purely marketing point of view, and could even perhaps convince people buy more than just one version of the game. Spawn still was a friggin' weird idea to which I had objected back then as well, but his creator, Todd McFarlane, or rather his company, was creating Soul Calibur action figures back then. So go figure.
But Darth Vader and Yoda? Sweet zombie Jesus. I hope that Inigo Montoya and Zorro will appear in SC5. Now that'd be something to wait for.
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