Obligatory New Years Resolution Post

With 2008's end close at hand, I can only wonder... where was I for most of it? Seriously, I honestly can't tell if this was the longest or shortest year ever. It feels like a lot has happened, but some of it feels like it was so long ago that it couldn't possibly be a part of 2008. Ah well, such is life.

Considering one's New Years resolution is always a rather strenuous ordeal. You know that you should make at least one, but the very fact that you need to make it is detrimental to actually going through with whatever it is you decide on. This year, however, was a fairly obvious decision for me. My New Years resolution is to take at least one step forward. Simple, I know, but it has been the source of a great deal of grief over the past year. Anyhow, enjoy your respective New Years festivities and see you in 2009... if we aren't all destroyed before then. Cheers!

Street Fighter... Evolution?

"Her strength. Her fury. Her vengeance. Will become legend."

No, no, it isn't really called "Street Fighter Evolution." You would, however, be hard pressed not to see striking similarities between this trailer and the recent Dragonball Evolution one. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li will star everyone's favorite Smallville hottie, though I was always partial to Chloe myself, Kristen Kruek as the title character. The rest of the cast is poorly selected, at best, and this trailer really shows that underwhelming thrill I've seen all too often lately. (Though kudos for casting Liu Kang(Robin Shou) as Chun-Li's mentor) So needless to say, I am not looking forward to this film. I will see it of course, just don't ask me to be happy about it.

And To All... Tons Of Presents!

Merry Christmas and welcome all to The Deaf Rogue's first Christmas post! I don't really have much planned for the day myself, but I hope that all of you got exactly what you wanted and enjoy your day off. Now... here is a little Calvin and Hobbes and a Christmas video that I am sure you will enjoy.

"Screw the yules, I have money!!"

The HAWP Before Chirstmas

"Why aren't there any games about the holidays?"


Just when I was beginning to wonder when I would get my next HAWP. What a nice Christmas gesture from the Birch siblings. Foul-mouthed, mind you. But still nice.

P.S. Major kudos to them for using Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. I just love his music, especially during this time of year.

Let The Right One In Impressions

I know that it is kind of late, but I just finished watching this film and I am obligated to praise it. Yes, I enjoyed it that much. This film is in Swedish with English subtitles... in case reading is a put off for you... anyways, read on!

Here is a short synopsis a la Flixster:

"Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can't stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other peoples blood to live he's faced with a choice. How much can love forgive?"

I know what you are thinking: this film sounds a little bit too much like that vampire movie we all love to hate, Twilight. While the two films do share the fact that they are based off of bestselling novels, allow me to be the first to tell you that Let The Right One In is nothing like Twilight. It is dark, chilling, violent, amusing, romantic, and beautiful all at once. This film declines the cheap theatrics that have marred the medium in past years and pushes on with pure, and slowly building, storytelling. While the acting by both of the main characters was excellent, I believe that it is safe to say that Lina Leandersson was the shining gem of the film. She portrayed the dark, lonely, conflicted, and murderous Eli perfectly. She was able to show the two hundred year old cautious and violent vampire while maintaining sad and lonely "girl-ish" (I won't spoil the surprise) Eli underneath it all. Along with this, the cinematography was absolutely fantastic and the music did not detract from that, which can be a common issue nowadays.

I am awarding Let The Right One In a perfect five out of five, as well as a rightful place amongst my favorite films list, because it is the first vampire film, and horror film for that matter, that I have been able to wholly support in ages. I understand that the film shies away from some of the content of the novel, which I will definitely be reading now, but I really want to see what happens next. I can only hope that more of the story is told eventually.

Visit here to view the international trailer for the film and I can only hope that you "get your hands" on it somehow, though the film will be released sometime in March of 2009 I believe.

This Day In Calvin And Hobbes: December 22, 1985

Haha, your fort may be impenetrable, but that means nothing to someone that you have already let inside. Be careful who you trust hmm? There's a funny little lesson for you.

Also, I can not stand boring, and ultimately uneventful, days. They drive me insane.

"New" Final Fantasy XIII And Versus XIII Trailers

For all of you living behind the times, here are the two newest trailers for the upcoming console Final Fantasy games. I must admit, Versus XIII is looking better and better the more I see it, now we just need some game play footage and we'll be set.

Prince Of Persia Impressions

My list of "beats" has drastically increased since I procured a Playstation 3 of my own a few months ago, but I have yet to actually review any of those games. Well now that school is over for the moment I can finally get to it, and what better to start off with than one of this Winter's most anticipated games: Prince of Persia.

The Plus: Firstly, this game is beautiful. The characters, the environment, everything. You will find yourself swiveling the camera around in every new area just to try to take it all in. I know I did. Secondly, the area designs are amazingly well done. The previous Prince of Persia games all had decent level designs, but none of them were as open and creative as the ones you will see in this iteration. This is a very good point for the game as you will find yourself traversing the same areas over and over again in an attempt to collect the world's many light seeds. Thirdly, the musical score is extremely well done, and fitting. This is a major change in the face of the last two games as they had us listening to either overly dramatic rock, or terribly messy mixtures of traditional Arabian music and... more rock. In Prince of Persia the music really fits the environments quite well. It's not overdone at all and it is actually quite epic. You really get that "lost civilization" feel while you're jumping from beam to beam and climbing up and down conveniently viney walls. Fourthly, and finally, are the trophy/achievement systems. This is one of the first games where I believe the little challenges are completely necessary as this game only sports one difficulty, and I really don't think I would be playing it again if it weren't for these little "rewards." Instant replay value.

The Minus: As great as I would like to claim this game to be, Ubisoft made quite a number of mistakes in this newest Prince of Persia addition. Firstly, a lot of the dialogue is quite terrible. The voices are decent, but you will find yourself having to listen to the Prince and Elika droll on so much that it really makes you just want to mute the game all-together and just read the subtitles. I mean for goodness sake, they play a game of I Spy at one point! Secondly, there is no game over screen to be found in this game. When you are about to fall to your death (which happens quite often) or an enemy or boss is about to decapitate you, Elika just uses her magic to save you. Now I am fine with this being outside of boss or enemy fights since the time reversal mechanic is gone, but they could have at least allowed for game overs in said fights. I mean, it is kind of sad that you can leave during a fight with the game unpaused and come back with everything being just like it was. Thirdly, the combat was way too simple. If you force an enemy to a wall or a ledge the game automatically goes into a cut scene where you either oneshot the enemy (for normal battles) or go into a button-mashing QTE (for bosses). This really becomes a hindrance when you try to pull off the big combos. Fourth...ly(?), the mechanics are frustratingly off kilter. You will make so many bad jumps and catches that your head will literally explode. Seriously, it took the doctors over thirty hours of surgery to put my roommate's back together. I was lucky enough to be wearing a toboggan at the time so it didn't take nearly as long for me.

So there you have it, my seventy-five cents. I am awarding Prince of Persia 3.5 stars out of 5 for being so much fun and oh so pretty, but for still needing a lot of work. I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

The Day the Earth Stood Still Impressions

I will be very honest here, this film was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it wasn't that great either. It was actually a lot more interesting and entertaining than the original film, but that is not saying too much as the only real reason that the original received its four star rating was because of the fact that it was "ahead of its time." There just wasn't too much that could be done here without diminishing the integrity of the original film.

On the plus side, the acting was decent, Keanu wasn't a terrible choice for the role of Klaatu role because he was playing a character that was actually supposed to be emotionless and a bit confused all of the time, and the story was passable, albeit fairly boring overall.

On the minus side, it really seems as though Jaden Smith is just receiving roles like this due to his parent's popularity, though he played a spoiled brat very well. There were multiple times where I was calling for his character to be beaten by his step mother. Also, the characterization of the American military was a little too exaggerated. I know that we would probably go in armed to the teeth, but I really don't think we'd be that foolishly aggressive.

I am awarding The Day the Earth Stood Still three and a half stars out of five because although it was a decent film, there just wasn't that much to work from to begin with.

**On a side note, the "exclusive" Wolverine trailer that was shown before the film was very very disappointing to me. I thought that it looked far too over-the-top and even kind of cheesy. I really hope that it shapes up before the release.

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: Fan Service, Of A Sort

"What hath Ash wrought?"


Another funny episode where Ash and Anthony get the chance to poke fun at... well... the people who poke fun at them. It's really awesome when you are able to turn someone's joke about a joke into an even funnier one. Enjoy.

Dragon Ball... Evolution?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay. You got me Fox. I will admit it. You got me. I thought that you were attempting to make a serious Dragon Ball film that was inspired by the anime series. I thought that you had seriously enlisted Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, and Jamie Chung to play main characters in said film. Now, however, I have come to see that you were just kidding around. Just playing us all for fools. There is no way anyone could think that what you did was a good idea. No possible way. You created the perfect joke.

Alright it has been said... I've admitted it... now please stop with your plans to release this "movie." Please?

Mmm... Cake...

Wow. Just... wow. This is probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Not the coolest, mind you, but definitely one of the coolest. I mean, not everyone's dad can be a master engineer and baker, but how awesome would it be if your dad was? You know it would be awesome. Though I do wonder if they were able to eat all of it. It would be such a waste if they didn't. Anyways, feel free to visit here for the full story and a host of pictures.

Imaginary Friends

Imaginary Friends

You say that I am
Empty,
But that is not
True.

I am half
Full.

You tell others that I am
Blind,
But that is a
Lie.

My vision is
Skewed.

You accuse me of being
Fictitious,
But that is mere
Speculation.

I am a waking dream
In your reality.

As real and alive
As anyone else.
So why must you make me so
Imperfect?

Are we not friends?


Copyright © 2008 Jarred Lee

Random Musings

It sure has been a long time since I had a good rant. I suppose now is as good a time as any to do a little "mind cleaning." Firstly, though, I took the opening picture a couple of years ago while I was sitting around on a nice Spring day. I should have been in class though... but it was just so nice outside! You shouldn't be so quick to judge others, you know.

So the last month of the year has finally begun... crazy right? I miss the days when I actually cared about what time of the year it was, you know? Now I just kind of want to get through them all, which is kind of terrifying to me, having the beliefs that I do. I have tried to do more socializing this semester, even going as far as to visit a friend of mine's frat house, but I just can not seem to want to be around a bunch of people that I don't know. It's just not my thing. I am the antisocial guy who hates the fact that he is antisocial. At least I still have that close little circle of friends that never ceases to fill my time with amusement. Now I just need to figure out a way to get them to like doing things outside. It's free, fun, and good for you. Plus, I love the feeling of freedom I get while I am outside. Ah well, maybe next year will be different.

Anyways, have you ever thought of the fact that we live in such a big world? I mean, every person that you have ever met or seen has had some sort of life experience all their own. Every person in every car you have ever passed on the highway, every person that you have ever pushed through at the mall, they have all been alive up to that point. They didn't just appear from nothing for that one brief meeting and then returned to the abyss afterwards. I just find that to be such an amazing thing. I really wish that more people would stop their mindlessness to think about it.

Moving along, what I really want to discuss is the rather vast realization I came to this year while I was in the car with my best friend's fiance on our way to pick up another of my best friends. The world is completely driven by greed. Now I know that sounds cliche, but have you ever really thought out the idea completely? What makes this such a big issue for me is that it is so hard to think about because we have been raised on the idea of compensation. I mean, have you ever considered that everything we pay for could be manufactured for no cost to you, the manufacturer, and everyone in between if it wasn't for the fact that every human involved desires payment? When we see a house being built we wonder how much it is going to cost, correct? We think about the size of the house, what materials it is going to be made out of, what equipment will be needed to modify said materials, and how many workers it is going to take to put it all together.

Have you ever considered that if we lived in a society that didn't have the concept of "compensation" that the house could be built for nothing at all? Just the desire of humans to build a house? If individuals didn't require money for making the equipment and materials used to build the house, the workers didn't require money to put everything together, the land owners didn't require money for using the land, etc., then the house could still be built. Can you fathom that? People today can't seem to even comprehend such a thing. A house, or any structure for that matter, being built without any exchange of currency. But it could happen. There isn't a mystical money god out there that requires money to be spent before anything can get done. It is our own greed that drives that idea.

If I could acquire that proverbial "one wish" I would have to wish for a world that didn't require compensation for their actions and just created for the sake of progress. A Utopian society, I know, but it could work if we weren't bound by the beliefs we have now. This kind of idea would never be able to work in our current world because we have already tasted the sweetness of being paid for our labor. Maybe someday, though. In the meantime, I will be fervently working on that wish I mentioned. You should do a little work too.