College Life Version 3.0

(I took this picture so I don't want to be bothered by any random admins about it...)

So I started my 3rd year of university this past Monday and I must say that this year, this semester at least, is looking up. My new roommate has a lot more to offer to the room than my last roommate did, he was a huge moocher, and one of my friends is rooming with my other friend across the "hall," our room is set up in a "suite" style which basically means behind an outer door there are two rooms connected by a small hallway and a bathroom. Our gaming power is probably the craziest thing about our current setup though. We have two PS3's, three Xbox 360's, Three Wii's, and two PS2's. Throw a few Nintendo DS's and PSP in the mix and you've got us.

On the actual academic side of things, classes are looking pretty good as well. I'm taking five classes this semester, 15 credit hours, and most of them are based on papers. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I have Intro To STAC(Science Technology and Culture) from 12:05 to 12:55 and the class is basically about different types of technology and their effect on the modern world. I then follow that with Modern Japan from 1:05 to 1:55 and, as the title suggests, it is basically about Japanese history. The professor of the class is a native Japanese who is extremely nationalistic. He makes sure to remind us about every class how impressive the Japanese people are.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Intro to Film from 12:05 to 1:25, Linguistics from 1:35 to 2:55, and Cognition and Culture from 3:05 to 4:25. Also on Tuesdays my Film class has a showing from 5:00 to 7:00. These classes are all alright, except for the fact that my Linguistics teacher is awful because she has terrible handwriting and refuses to use PowerPoint, and my Coginition and Culture class, which is a high-level Computer Science class that doesn't have any programming, is full of 5th years+, Grad students, and PhD students.

So yeah, this first week we didn't do too much but I don't think it will get too difficult throughout the semester. I'd probably have to say that my most interesting class will be Cognition and Culture as it is purely based on discussion and the topics are very deep. I just wrote a short paper today about how thought isn't limited to those who exist in a social environment. It was a fun write but I won't bore you with the details. Good luck to everyone else out there who just started a new semester. Hopefully you're hanging tough.

My Phone: Mark II

I finally got my new phone yesterday! As stated here, I lost my beloved LG CU500+ while riding a roller coaster in North Carolina. While this phone, the Samsung A737, could never really replace my old one, I had a lot of pictures and important texts saved on it, it is actually really nice. It's a slider phone, as you can tell, and it has a lot of features in the way of personalization.

It is compact and comfortable to hold and talk on, which is always a plus. It has a speaker phone option and sound perception is high in quality on both sides. The large screen is nice as well and the images shown are clear. It has a microSD card slot on the side and also plays MP3s which is great in terms of finding ringtones. While it lacks an external camera button, the camera is easy to get to and the picture quality is quite nice, though a flash ability would have been a nice addition. It also had Ms. Pac Man preloaded on the phone so that was a nice surprise as I have strayed from phone games since the days of Snake on my first phone. Those were good colorless, large pixel, times. Anyways, the interface itself looks great and you can set up a variety of nifty little graphics for entering numbers and such. I haven't finished exploring all of the features just yet, but as I said before I am really enjoying this phone. Now I just have to protect it from various dangers like large bodies of water and coconut bears. You know, the normal stuff.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Impressions

Wow it has been a while since I last did an "Impressions" post. Well, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PS3 is a good enough game to break that dry spell with.

I'll begin by saying that I had no intention of playing this game. My new roommate owned it and it looked like an easy time killer. Though during the duration of the game I quickly realized that I was very, very, wrong. Drake's Fortune was not by any means and easy time killer. It was a very difficult time killer. And by very difficult I mean pull your hair out difficult. There were seriously points in this game where I felt like I was walking to my death every time I stepped around a corner. And I was playing on Normal. It was just that much of a ball buster.

That being said, I found this game's difficulty to be it's best point. The challenge it presented was all that really kept me playing. The graphics were what I expected from a PS3 game. Lush environments and well designed mechanics. The game play basically ran like Prince of Persia mixed with Tomb Raider with better voice acting and dialogue than both. (I think they picked up real actors for this one instead of just random interns we usually see in games) You scale conveniently cracked walls and buildings, solve simple puzzles, and shoot hordes of enemies. The story was entertaining enough but it was really just your run of the mill "treasure hunters" plot line filled to the brim with mercenaries, bad puns, car chases, Nazis, evil British old guys, and lots of explosions. Not that any of that stuff is bad, well I'm not too big on bad puns, it's just that the game didn't score too many points in originality.

The real marvel of this game comes to you in the collecting of treasure, 60 hidden trinkets scattered throughout the entirety of the game, and the enemy AI. Seriously, the enemies in this game were amazing. They could set up ambushes, dodge out of the way when you shot at them, take cover and pop out to shoot, and toss grenades that will land at your feet no matter where you are. Not to mention they had the aiming abilities of gods. If you are in their line of sight then they will hit you. Hell, sometimes they'll even hit you if you're not in their line of sight.

So even though your death count will hit somewhere in the hundreds, I know mine did, Drake's Fortune will thrill and chill you to the very end. Though the story and game play could have been a bit more original. I give Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 3.5 stars out of 5 for it's great voice-acting and challenging situations.

Half-Blood Prince Delayed Until Summer 2009

(Title image from here)

Big news Potter fans. As you can tell from the title, the previous release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, November 21st, 2008, has been pushed back to July 17th, 2009.

Why the delay you ask? Is it because the film is not yet complete? Is it because the film is tied up in some new controversy? Nope. The film has been pushed back in an attempt by Warner Bros. to "take advantage" of an open weekend in the summer '09 movie schedule. So in essence, the film studio hopes to make more money in the summer than they would have made in the winter. I personally think that this is ridiculous as all the Harry Potter films have been high grossing and I really don't think it will make that big of a difference when it is released. Also, this delay will mean a full two year gap between the previous film, The Order Of The Phoenix, and Half-Blood Prince. I really think this news will(has) upset most of the fans, but in the end they'll still be there on opening night. I know I will. But I definitely won't be wearing my nifty Hufflepuff robes. I can do that much against them at least... but maybe I'll still wear my tie. *cough*

Gyllenhaal In My Prince Of Persia?

Photo(with article and more pictures) thanks to justjared.


For all of you who don't know already, Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast to play the role of the Prince (or Prince Dastan as they have taken the liberty of naming him) in the upcoming Prince Of Persia film. Now I don't mind Jake, I especially prefer him over his sister Maggie, but I don't think he's right for this role. I mean, what was wrong with the guy from the Mummy and the second and third Resident Evil movies? I think he would have made a good Prince. Anyhow, I just wanted everyone to be aware of this and keep an eye out for more information regarding the film. It's sure to be a blockbuster...

As a side note, yes, that is Reese Witherspoon holding hands with Jake. The recently divorced mother of two sure hasn't wasted any time getting back into the dating life.

The Dark Knight- Joker Interrogation Scene Spoof

"Alternate take of Batman and the Joker's first conversation in The Dark Knight.

*Okay this question's getting asked a lot so just to be clear: I play the Joker, and I play Batman. Same guy. I did everything except punch myself in the face, which came compliments of my friend Robert (I think you can see how much he enjoyed it). Thank you all for watching."


While The Dark Knight is quickly becoming one of the most popular movies of all time, you just can't help but cringe when you remember how gruff the editors made Batman sound. I know they were trying to go for the big, rough looking, Batman we saw during the Dark Knight era, but I could barely understand what he was saying for most of the movie. Ah well, it was still an awesome film and this video is equally as awesome. This guy is really talented, he plays both parts here if you couldn't tell, and you can go here for more video hilarity from him and his friends.

This one is for you Jarred because I know you'll love it.

Muppets Meet The Web

Just something silly because I'm feeling lazy. You have to love the Muppets though. Classic fun times.

For more from the "virmup" campaign you can go here for the video list. The links are on the right side. (Except for the bottom one, the links are in the title since there are multiple videos.)

Xbox 360 Elite: It Eats Money!

Since I'm already in a "political" mood, I thought I'd share some qualms I have about the Xbox 360 Elite. Well, sans the fact that the only real advantage I can see to getting an Elite is an HDMI cable and a bigger hard drive, though the former should be included with every 360 and the latter isn't really necessary at all.

So last week my friend bought an Elite that was bundled with two games, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Forza Motorsport 2, neither of which are more than mediocre at best. The price for this? $449.99 plus tax. (As a side note both games together would only net you about $9 at your local GameThief, I mean GameStop, as my friend tried to sell them almost immediately. But that's a different post all together.) He also bought three other games but I won't include them in the price as they were individually selected. Anyhow, when my friend got back to his house, set everything up, and turned on the system he realized that he didn't have an Ethernet port near his Elite, as it doesn't have wi-fi capabilities, and would have to go out and get an adapter. The adapter's cost? $99.99 plus tax. He had to drop one hundred dollars just so that he would have the ability to get online and pay a $49.99 subscription cost (per year) to be able to use Xbox Live, which lets you play your online 360 games well... err... online! He had to pay money just to be allowed the privilege of paying more money! Outrageous! Not to mention that there wasn't one time while he was on Live that I didn't hear some little kid talking crap or see some guy named "ILovePenis" (or some variation of "ILovePenis").

I honestly have no clue as to why someone would get a 360 over a PS3 unless they were getting an amazing deal on said 360. (i.e. it was free) I mean, the PS3 has wi-fi capabilities, a blu-ray player, and free Internet services. Not to mention most of the same games as the 360, since the 360 only has a hand full of decent to good exclusives anyway. Sure the games may be a bit more expensive on the PS3, but you can play online with any of them without being some kind of "premium" member and the quality is generally higher. So in summary, for shame 360 buyers, for shame. If you are having such a hard time holding on to your money I suggest investing in something, donating the money to a charity, burning it, or my personal favorite: building a miniature money castle... and then burning it.

VG Cats Gets "Political"

Well not exactly "political," but if you're knee deep in gaming then you'll have to agree with me. The latest page of that funny little webcomic we know and love addresses an important point that has arisen since Nintendo's recent excursion into the world of demographics: has Nintendo abandoned their "hardcore" fans in the pursuit of capturing a wider group of buyers?

While I wouldn't necessarily use the word "abandoned," I would kind of have to say that they have moved away from their "hardcore" audience to a degree. Now Nintendo has always been a first party system, that's just a fact. Games such as Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda (among others) have always been big sellers for the company and fans around the world have enjoyed them for many years now. In recent times, however, big first party releases have become noticeably few and far between. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing good third party games on the Wii and DS, but being constantly bombarded with gimmicks and whatnot is really starting to get to me. Now I know that Nintendo can't be expected to just shell out game after game, but I would at least like to know a bit more about what is ahead. I mean at E3 recently the biggest thing Nintendo had to say was that new Mario and Zelda games were "in the works." That's all they had to say about that but they could show me extensive footage of their new Wii Sports Resort game. I am still an avid Nintendo fan boy (and will probably be for life) but I am going to need to see a few changes very soon or I am going to be pretty... uhh... disappointed! You know how much Miyamoto hates disappointment don't you? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Alright, below is the comic in question from above. So I put it at the bottom so you'd have to read for a change? Do something about it.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

As a prelude to this posting, I will inform the five of you out there who aren't Potter fans of what happened last year. Well, J.K. Rowling in her infinite charity decided to write a storybook that was mentioned in The Deathly Hallows called, as the title of this entry suggests, The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Only seven super special copies (each was bound in high quality leather and fine silver, and each bore a particular precious gem) of this book were originally produced, six of which went to "key people who have been very closely connected to the 'Harry Potter' series," and the seventh (the "moonstone edition") was auctioned off in support of the charity group Rowling co-founded called The Children's Voice, which was ultimately purchased by Amazon.com for almost 4 million dollars.

As for the point of this post, it was announced just two days ago (July 31st) that the collection of stories would be released worldwide on December 4th in two editions, a standard edition and a collector's edition. While I saw this coming a year ago as I knew Rowling wouldn't miss an opportunity to add more billions to her bank account, I am also kind of excited to read this new publishing as I am an avid Potter fan, I won't get into how "avid" I actually am.

The tales will include:

“The Wizard and the Hopping Pot”
“The Fountain of Fair Fortune”
“The Warlock’s Hairy Heart”
“Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump”
And the one we should all remember from Deathly Hallows:
“The Tale of the Three Brothers”

Below I have detailed what will be included with each edition, though I am not quite sure as to whether or not both will include the same commentary by Dumbledore, and links to each edition if you'd like to pre-order them through Amazon.

"The Collector’s Edition ($100) will include the following: • All five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard • Outer case disguised as a wizarding textbook from the Hogwarts library • Exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling’s handwritten introduction • 10 new illustrations by J.K. Rowling not included in the Standard Edition or the original handcrafted edition • Velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature • Metal skull, corners, and clasp • Replica gemstones • Emerald ribbon

The Standard Edition ($7.59) will have: • All five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard • A new introduction by J.K. Rowling • Illustrations reproduced from the original handcrafted book • Commentary on each of the tales by Professor Albus Dumbledore"

Collector's Edition Pre-Order

Standard Edition Pre-Order

Starting The Month Out Amazingly

No, that isn't my cell phone, but I am sure it isn't too far off the mark. Today I went to Carrowinds, a theme park in North/South Carolina, with my family and while I was riding one of the coasters my phone fell out of my pocket and into the bubbling, boiling, water below. Well, it wasn't really bubbling or boiling... but it sounds a lot cooler that way so that's how I'm going to tell it. Anyway, I actually didn't even realize it had fallen out until the kid sitting next to me pointed it out as we were going back to the docking. The ride was called the NightHawk and it is a fairly standard coaster except for the fact that you go through the ride on your back. What hurts the most about the whole thing, however, was that I waited in line a little over an hour and a half just to ride this lackluster ride... oh, and lose my phone.

Ah well I suppose, it's just really annoying being without a phone after having one close to you for the previous seven or so years. It's amazing how much we rely on cell phones nowadays. I couldn't even check the time for the rest of the outing. Hopefully I will be able to get most of the numbers I had back, and my ring tones are saved on my computer, but all of my texts and pictures are gone for good. Sigh... I hope this isn't a precurser to worse events.