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I’ve been a couch potato for a few months, playing my video games, and I thought about reviewing the games, but all three are very popular titles and have already been reviewed over and over to the point where I really don’t have anything fresh to add. So today I want to review another product that I’m using now that I’m through my gaming binge and back in the gym (almost) every morning. I’m talking about H2O Audio’s waterproof earphones for the Ipod Shuffle.
I saw Blackberry Smoke and ZZ Top on Saturday night, at the Keith Albee theater in Huntington. The theater was a nice change of scenery for a concert; I’m more accustomed to open venues, stadium seating, or general admission. I’m also used to wilder crowds. The theater was perfect for the laid-back blues music. Dark drapes and underlit, ornate carvings framed the stage and set the mood. It felt like we had stepped back in time, back to when the blues began. I finished The Force Unleashed last night. I played it through on the standard difficulty without too many problems. I found all of the hidden items, unlocked all of the additional content, and completed all optional mission objectives (except for one really annoying one.) When I beat it on “normal” mode, it unlocked a “super hard” mode. I ‘m playing the game through one more time on the super hard difficulty level. The story elements, voice acting, facial animations, and plot revelations make this game a must-play for any Star Wars fan. I won’t spoil the story, but I will say that it really does show what a bastard Darth Vader really is, and it sets up Episode IV perfectly. When I’m done with this play-through, I’ll loan it to a friend because, as much as I enjoy the game, it is short. I didn’t track my playing time to the minute, but I know it didn’t take more than ten-twelve hours to beat it. By the time I play through it one more time, I’ll be ready to put it down and try something else. I still have a month to go before Fable 2 comes out. I see this game the same way I see Bioshock. It’s incredibly fun to play because there are so many ways to wreck havoc, but it’s only good in short doses. I’ll pick it back up in a few months and have fun all over again as I kill things in ways I didn’t try during the first go-around. For now, I think I’ll dust off my copy of “Knights of the Old Republic 2.” It isn’t as action-oriented as the one I’m playing now, but my current game allows minor lightsaber customization through the use of two types of crystals. It’s simpler but similar to the customization options available in KOTOR2 (which allowed players three or four customization options plus three blade styles.)
I picked up my copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the Xbox 360. I played it for a few hours last night and wanted to share my initial impressions. In terms of story, the game fills in the gap between Episode III and Episode IV. (That means it takes place between the last “new” movie and the very first original Star Wars movie.) The developers worked so closely with George Lucas that the game’s story is considered Star Wars cannon. As I understand it, events of this game set the stage to lead right into Episode IV. You play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and you can use the Dark Side of the Force in very amazing, primal, and destructive ways. The entire game is all about you using the Force to utterly destroy all enemies and obstacles in your path.
In case you haven’t heard, Mötley Crüe has released a new album entitled Saints of Los Angeles. I’ve listened to it a number of times, and as a long-time Crüe fan, I think I am qualified to express my humble opinions concerning the new music.
I recently attended Cruefest 2008 at Blossom Music Center, a few miles south of Cleveland. We had decent seat, a bit left of center stage, and just behind the VIP front-row area. I guess we were about 25 feet from the stage. We weren’t close enough to get any good photos with the disposable cameras that security let us have, but we were close enough to see everything we wanted to see. It was a cool day (for Auguts,) we had seats to sit in between bands, and concession lines were not too long. Also, the acoustics of the music center were much better than the other places I’ve seen live acts in recent years, so all in all it was a very enjoyable experience.
I ended up with a Kodak Easyshare Z1285:
It’s exactly what I wanted, except I would have preferred more than a 5x optical zoom. There were a few other models that had better zoom, but they lacked more in other areas. I bought a 4-gigabyte memory card, rechargeable batteries, and a small, sturdy water resistant case for it, and so far, I’m supremely pleased with it. There is only one small problem. I want to use the camera to record the occasional video for this blog, but the .mov video files are HUGE, and most of the best Wordpress video players only stream flash video. I’ve found software to convert the file formats, but all of them cost $100 (or more.) That’s about $100 more than I want to spend for the ability to post my ugly mug in videos.
Most people have heard of I-pods by now. If you haven’t, I’d really like to know where you’ve been hiding, (and do you have room for one more?) I-pod’s are definitely cool little gadgets, but they do not have a total monopoly on the music player market. Microsoft offers a line of comparable products called the Zune. I bought one a couple weeks ago, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on the device. Continue reading Review: Zune 80 »»
After writing the general review on Joel Shepherd, I could barely wait to find, purchase, and read the final Kresnov novel entitled Killswitch. Killswitch is another solid entry into the sci-fi universe Shepherd has created. I’m happy to report that this book boasts all of the strengths I mentioned in my previous review. It also does better in all of the weaknesses I mentioned in regarded to his other two books. He weeded out almost all of his sentence fragments. Dialogue tags were not nearly as annoying, and he made the female characters seem more feminine. In addition to all of these improvements, Shepherd demonstrates an ability to clearly describe a large-scale firefight involving multiple parties. I never lost track of the action, the strategies involved, or the characters’ positions. It was very well done. It’s clear that his writing style has matured over the span of these three novels, and I look forward to reading his new fantasy series. Shepherd ends the novel in such a way that more may be written in the future, and I hope he does, because I really enjoy the characters, the predicaments they get into, and the ways they save the day. Despite the following nitpicks at certain plot points, this is a fine novel, maybe the best of the series. The series overall has very few weaknesses. I’m satisfied that the time I spent reading these books was time well spent. My complaints about Killswitch are very minor, but of course I must have a few. Most require me to discuss portions of the book that you won’t want to know about if you plan to read the novels. Massive spoilers await in the following paragraphs. You’ve been warned. Continue reading Reviewed: Killswitch »»
We arrived with plenty of time to spare because we wanted to eat before the show. Continue reading David Copperfield »»
On Saturday night I went to Columbus, Ohio and saw Marilyn Manson on his “Rape the World” tour. Love him or hate him, the man can rock, and he can put on one hell of a show. I’ll watch him every chance I get. The crowd was the predictable mix of rockers and Goths – lots of platform boots, black clothes, white face paint and dark mascara. Funky hairstyles, beer, and weed abounded. Some of them were disturbingly hideous. Others were beautifully surreal. Most fell somewhere in between. I don’t even know who opened for him. I expected Slayer, but got some band I never heard of before. They did OK, I guess, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to hear. They only played one song that got me moving. The rest was just lame almost-rock that was partially drowned out by the lead singer’s overbearing caterwauling/yodeling/opera singer impersonations that made my ears bleed. Manson played for two and a half hours. He played only two songs from his new album, Eat Me, Drink Me, (which was fine by me because I think most of the album sucks.) He played many of his older songs, including some I hadn’t heard in a very long time. I was hoping to hear “Lunchbox” or anything from Golden Age of Grotesque, but I was disappointed on both counts. Even so, they did an outstanding job. The sound was mixed well and the acoustics were fine. It wasn’t too loud or too soft. It’s probably the best sound mix I’ve heard in recent years. I don’t remember the exact playlist, and I can’t find it posted anywhere yet, but I pulled this one from Wikipedia. It’s fairly close to what he played Saturday night: Continue reading Marilyn Manson »»
I was seven years old when John Rambo took America by force in First Blood. It was 1982. I was probably ten or eleven before I actually saw the movie on VHS, and I still remember it – where I was, who I was with, what we were eating. It’s probably been over fifteen years since I last saw that movie, and I still remember the music and many specific scenes. It left an impression. Then came Rambo 2 and 3. I remember the very basics of each movie, but most of both movies are obscured by the acrid taste of bile that rose in my throat as I became more and more disgusted by the movies. Sure, even I’ll admit that First Blood was over-the-top Hollyweird bullshit, but it was almost feasible. The sequels just got more and more ridiculous, as if they said to themselves, “Hey, we have all this money. What can we buy and stick into this movie? A helicopter? Sweet! A TANK?? Fuckin’ A! Oh, and order up a shitload of those exploding arrows, and make sure his knife is even bigger than before, with more crap stuffed into the handle. We’ll figure out some way for him to use it when he’s not in the helicopter or the tank. God, this is going to be AWESOME!” Well, I didn’t think it was awesome. I thought it was idiotic, and that was before I was in the Rangers or had any real military training. I felt the same way about the Rocky movies. The first one was great, and they just went downhill from there. When I heard that they were dusting off the franchise and releasing Rambo, I was skeptical. I thought I might rent it on DVD when I really needed a fix of gratuitous violence. Then I watched Rocky Balboa. I was so impressed by that movie. I don’t know that Sly managed to get back to the roots of the story, but he did a damned fine job trying. As I watched it, I thought “This is the kind of movie that made Stallone. This is what he does. This is all he should have ever done.” Continue reading Rambo »»
Today I want to discuss author Joel Shepherd. Since his own website offers no biographical information, I pulled the following from Wikipedia:
Before we dissect Joel’s work, I should mention that his first three novels are titled Crossover, Breakaway, and Killswitch. His website displays cover art for a fourth novel titled Sasha: a Trial of Blood & Steel. From the artwork, I assume it’s fantasy, not science fiction. Continue reading Focus on Joel Shepherd »»
I’m a little further along with Mass Effect. I think I’ve completed all of the side quests, based on a list I looked up on GameSpot. I haven’t looked through the guide (I never use them on the first play-through of a game,) but I think I’m about 75% done with the main quest, barring any unforeseen plot twists. After re-reading the negatives I posted before, I just wanted to restate that this game is A LOT of fun to play, especially now that I’ve found or bought some really great gear. It’s difficult to successfully mix RPG, sci-fi, and shooter genres, but Bioware has done a good job. I haven’t had this much fun since I played System Shock 2… well, maybe the first Deus Ex was this fun. I’m already planning my character design for the second playthrough. This time I played a long range fighter, using assault rifles and sniper rifles for most of the game. Next time I’m going to focus on close combat skills, boosting my hand-to-hand, pistols and shotgun. I’m looking forward to duking it out toe-to-toe with a geth juggernaut. Or I might try the tech and/or biotic skills. There are so many ways to play; it’s hard to decide. Continue reading Mass Effect Part 2 »»
I’m a little more than half way through the game, and I’m enjoying it so far. There’s a number of little quirks that annoy me, and I’m aggravated at Bioware for the mistakes, because they’re not the kind of goofs I’d expect from an established veteran of the RPG genre. They’re just little things… so little that I almost feel foolish when I complain, but they do add up after awhile. I’ve been playing RPGs since AD&D First Edition was still on the shelves. I remember when Dragon Quest for the Atari was the closest you could get to a console RPG…. I’ve been a fan of the genre for a long time. I like RPGs for a few reasons: Continue reading Mass Effect »» I went to Ozzfest yesterday. I had to take a day off without pay to do it, but I guess sometimes sacrifices just have to be made. Germain (formerly Polaris) Amphitheater is a festering shit hole, but we always make the best of it, despite the conditions. As unusual, it was hot and crowded. The second-stage bands all looked and sounded pretty much the same, and as usual, it’s a look and sound I don’t much care for. I love hard rockin’ music, but I prefer a style where I can actually understand some of the words the vocalist is “singing,” and what’s the point of having three guitarists if all three are slashing away so hard and loud you can’t hear them individually for the ear shattering roar they make? That being said, it was cool to see Devil Driver again, even if I did get sun burnt like a baked potato. See, we usually splurge and get the “party like a rock star” package, which always has good seats for the main stage, grants access to a private bar, restaurant, and bathroom, and also gains admission to a viewing pavilion set up around the sound boards for the second stage, where you can see the crowds and have a great view of the bands. I prefer to be out in the crowd, in the mosh and circle pits, but I can’t go due to my “bodyguard” obligations with my girlfriend. So at least it’s nice to get into the pavilion where I don’t have to endure the sun and fight the crowds. Except this year the tent wasn’t set up around the sound board. It was BEHIND it, and offered no view of anything but the ass cracks of the sound board operators. So we fought the crowd and got burnt to a crisp for as long as we could stand it, and then went to the bar and chilled out until the main stage opened. We didn’t even bother watching the last two bands. The back stage tour was a total joke this year as well. A total bummer. The main stage bands were Lordi, Static X, Lamb of God, and Ozzy. Lordi’s costumes and pyrotechnics more than made up for his unoriginal eighties-rock/metal rip off “style” of music. It was a feast for the eyes, if not for the ears. On the opposite side of the spectrum was Static X, who absolutely rocked the house, but their stage presentation was nothing to get excited about. I kept looking at the vocalists and thinking, “This is what Ryan Reynolds would look like if he grew some hair and then stuck his cock in a light socket.” This was my first major exposure to their music, and I think they’ve converted me. I’m a fan of their sound, if not their look. Lamb of God was…. Well… Are there really words to convey how much I loathe them? It’s beyond my mental powers to imagine how they ever crawled their way up from the second stage to the main. It was about an hour of agony, just waiting for them to shut up their incomprehensible screaming so Ozzy could play – an hour of hoping my ears, nose and guts weren’t bleeding yet. My sole entertainment for the entire set was to scream “Leg of Lamb!” instead of “Lamb of God!” They should be exiled back to the second stage with the rest of the guttural screamers and thrashers. Then there was Ozzy…Thank God for Ozzy Osbourne! The man is the father, grand father, god father and everlasting KING of hard rock. He’s been setting the standard for nearly 40 years… and still going. He hasn’t played the last two Ozzfests due to health problems, but this year he was back in fine style, singing his guts out, cracking us up, making us scream louder, headbang harder, and jump higher than we’ve done since the last time we saw him. Zakk Wylde (Ozzy’s lead guitarist and my own personal Jesus,) stood nary three feet from me for the majority of the set. When they played “War Pigs,” “Crazy Train,” and “Paranoid,” I thought I was going to tear that gate right out of the concrete floor. Seeing and hearing Ozzy and Zakk again made the entire day of cumulating disappointments just crash away in a flurry of headbanging, fist shaking, stomping, jumping, and lung-shredding screaming. In the aftermath, I can’t hear much over the ringing in my ears. The muscles in my neck, shoulders, and upper back have fused into an unyielding slab of sore meat. My eyes still burn and ache from the lights and smoke. My voice is totally gone. My feet feel like they’ve been smashed with hammers. My skin feels like an overcooked pig rind, and I’m so tired I want to sleep for a year. I’m short a day’s pay and spent about $100 in overpriced food and water, so my bank account is making sounds similar to the wretched “music” Leg of Lamb cranked out. But it was worth it. I’d go again today, if I could. Thanks go out to my girlfriend, who bought the ticket as an early birthday present and then took over the drive home after I got us clear of city traffic. Thanks, darlin’ for a great time and for getting us home safely. (I know you’ll never read this, but thanks anyway!) |
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My girlfriend and I went to see David Copperfield on Wednesday. The show was held in the Palace Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. It’s a grand sort of place, with ornate domed ceilings, marble steps, balconies, chandeliers, etc. We decided to dress up a little, just to make the occasion more special. She wore a sexy, elegant red dress with black leather high-heeled boots. I wore dark grey slacks, black shoes, white shirt (no tie,) and a navy blue jacket. We looked quite nice together, if I do say so myself.
