Red, Red, Red Let me tell you why I keep Lady Hilden around.
My Junior year in college was when I first lived with that little red skank. He was very polite, kept to him/herself, and held strange rituals in his bedroom with mousy girls that looked at me as though I was the devil. He was a very kind and friendly chap, and never one to instigate any shit.
The next year, he had graduated and I - due to my slacker behavior - had one more year to go. One evening, after not hearing from that little whore for almost six months, I heard a rap-tap-tapping on my door. I opened the door to find the lovely Lady Hilden with a bottle of Captain Morgan and some relatively classy cigars. Although I think he may have taken advantage of me in my drunken state, it still was pretty cool of him to bring me the Captain like that.
Anyway, I think that may be the sign of a lifelong friend. Even if it is someone like the nefarious Lady Hilden.
Anyway, I'm all over the place tonight.
So I watched Aretha Franklin lip synch the Star Spangled Banner last night during the NFL season opener. I'm motherf**king dumbfounded. In fact, I don't even know what to say. That big fat mama is supposed to have one of the greatest voices in popular music, yet she has to f**king lip synch the Star Spangled-God-Damned Banner.
Has the whole world gone crazy?
So it's Friday night and I'm going to put the "Uh!" in "Uh".
It's Larry, and I just happened upon Bombastic for the PS2 at Babbages. Now, I haven't heard a word about it's development, sadly enough, and if I hadn't seen it on the preorder wall I probably would've missed it for quite some time. Did you know about this title? Do you know about its background? Its background as arguably the best puzzler on the PSOne, Devil Dice (or XI, pronounced "sai," as it's known in Japan) and its sequal, XI Jumbo, which never made it to the states? This title is just so playable and addictive. You always have room to improve, and you're encouraged to do so through its multitude of unlockable modes (even the original PSOne modes are tucked away!!). Capcom also has Mario Golf-esque challenge codes on their their website that they are releasing at one code a week to give you even MORE to do in the game. Please go out, buy this title, and give it some room on the site or, if you feel like taking the risk, let me write up a review of it for posting. Either way, this game is due some deserved recognition.
Take care, and continued luck with the wedding arrangements.
Sincerely, Larry Lammers II
Thanks for the tip, Larry. Unfortunately, I don't have a great deal of background with the game and to be quite honest with you, the name is only vaguely familiar. I know, I know, it's my job to keep up with this stuff, right? But there are only so many hours in the day and unfortunately, the developer dropped the ball in getting a review copy to us.
I do fancy a puzzle game from time to time, however, so perhaps I'll check this one out.
D-Money writes in about the N-Gage:
Hey again there John. What's up in the hizlouse? Cool. Yea, anyways... The N-Gage is wierd... I'm fairly interested in buying on, but at the same time not. While the games sound fairly decent and look it also (Tomb Raider screens look awesome, and while I know the game sucks, I'm intrigued. As do Super Monkey Ball, a game that wtfpwns everything.) and I do need a cellphone as I'm the only kid in school without one, the hefty price-tag for a poor kid such as myself is a little steep. I mean, I don't have a gamecube yet, or a preorder for Halo2. What am I supposed to do. I guess I could sell my soul on ebay.
Anyways, back the the N-Gage. I wonder if I'd get in trouble for having on in school. While on one hand I don't get in trouble for my GBA that I play, Cellphones are confiscated quite frequently. It'd be fun to screw with the principal who knows jack shit about game though. The MMORPG thing would OWN though, if they did it. And I love the idea of being able to AIM and check my mail (which I get a bunch of because I am the most popular kid I know - Note the sarcasm please.) whenever I want. Oh yea, Virtual Tennis looks fun also.
All in all, if I had the money, and a few other things on my priority list, I'd definitly check the N-Gage out. I'm hoping one of my friends gets it. And possibly, later down the road, me.
Nice feature you did with Lady Hilden by the way, very informative, though it was hard for me to readjust to the text after that horrid picture of some dude holding the phone. (Who was that guy? Note: I know who it was.)
Anyways, thanks for the offer to win the Ninja Scroll Series DVD (On a side note: Is it based on the Ninja Scroll movie with Jubei where he beats everyones ass?) and good luck to you and Christine.
As always, an avid reader of the CWJ series and GWX in general, D-Money
Thanks, man. You've won your way into my heart in so many ways, the least of which is certainly not your ability to rip on Mrs. Hilden.
Your reaction to the N-Gage is one that I seem to come across quite often, and one that I think is appropriate and perfectly understandable. We just stuck a new poll up on the site and while the results are still early (why don't you guys ever participate in that thing?), it's apparent that none of you are going to be rushing out on launch day.
Oh, and Virtua Tennis is not fun, D-Money. Sorry to break it to you.
Live n' Learn Hopefully by now you've read the Nokia feature that Hilden and I have put together for you. If not, take a moment to give it a look. Consider the contents, and please write in to let us know what you think of the N-Gage. I'm hoping that people aren't as harsh and negative as they usually are when a newcomer hits the stage. Why is it that people just love to attack new gaming consoles without giving them a chance to breathe?
True, I did say that I would recommend taking a wait-and-see approach before jumping on the N-Gage bandwagon. But I didn't come out of the gate screaming "Doomed! Doomed!" I think Nokia has put together a nice little machine. And yes, that machine has some glaring flaws. However, it also has some really cool features and a boatload of potential.
So anyway, write in. Join the contest. Maybe I'll send you some free stuff.
I was afraid that the release of Otogi would be overshadowed by that of F-Zero GX and Soul Calibur II, and sure enough, it did. It's a shame, really, because Sega and From Software's new hack n' slash is a tremendous load of fun. In all honesty, the most impressive feature of the game is the soundtrack, which features all the traditional Japanese instruments of the medieval era. If you're a big fan of the shamisen, by all means, Otogi is your game.
I've been doing a bit of research on next year's presidential candidates. I don't consider myself affiliated with any one particular party. On one ballot I've been known to vote Republican, Democrat, Green, and Independant. Whether this the result of having an open mind or being a mindless idiot, I have no idea and I'll let you make that decision for yourselves. Out of the Democratic lineup, I seem to be most interested in John Kerry. Maybe it's his war record, or perhaps his droopy eyebrows. Either way, I'm going to keep an eye on him.
My question is, does anybody take the "Reverend" Al Sharpton seriously anymore or has he been whitled down to the status of cartoon caricature? Maybe it's because to me, he is a cross between Jessie Jackson and Don King. He strikes me as the kind of guy who owns a pool parlor in the hood.
Sharp left turn coming.
I've been basking in the glory of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVDs and all the corniness that lies within. I'm glad Michaelangelo retains his 80's surfer dude personality and all the street thugs still resemble the enemy characters from Final Fight and Streets of Rage. It's funny, I forced Christine to sit down and watch an episode with me last night - which was surprisingly easy to do - and the first thing she said was, "What the hell happened to the theme song?"
Two weeks before the wedding, she finally affirms my decision.
Candy Coated Poo There are times in life when you'll meet somebody, and at the time it seems like a good idea to be nice to this particular person. They seem nice enough. Their odor isn't particularily offensive, and their conversation is at least enough to hold your attention for a minute or two.
As time goes by, you begin to realize that maybe this individual's personality doesn't necessarily jive with yours as much as you first thought it would until one day you come to the conclusion that this person is clinically insane. However, because you've invested so much time in the relationship, you feel a certain obligation to be cordial and polite. No matter how the person irritates you.
I am extending a bit of advice to each of you right now. If you happen to have one of those unfortunate relationships with somebody, do yourself a favor and end it immediately. It'll save you from having to read emails like these:
I had to put my beloved guinea pig, Elise, down yesterday. She had been losing weight recently, and on Thursday she wasn't moving around much, so I knew she was in pain. I noticed that her little butt was not looking right on Friday, so I took her to the vet. They said her bladder was the size of a plum, probably because she had a calcium stone that was blocking her pee. Anyway, this all leads to kidney failure and a lot of discomfort for her, and she wouldn't have made it another 24 hours, so I had to let her go. Zeke, my other pig, seems a little confused, but he's fine otherwise.
Well thank God for that. And yes, that is a real letter. How in the hell could I have made that up?
As for the N-Gage feature that I've been promising for the past week, it is almost finished. Hilden and I busted some serious ass on it yesterday. It's about halfway finished and already quite beefy in size. I'd love to hear your thoughts after it's posted, so please don't hesitate to send them in. In the meantime, don't forget about the N-Gage related contest I've mentioned in my earlier post.
Jimmy Cracked Corn... ...and I don't f**king care.
I apologize for not being around the past few days. But here I am, on Labor Day, to assure you that I am in fact not dead. Because I know you all care.
I've spent an unbelievable amount of money over the past few day on everything from DJs to cakes, new clothes to kegs of beer. It's funny how quickly a bank account can drain.
Somehow, throughout all this madness, I've had the chance to spend a great deal of time with Amusement Vision's lovely F-Zero GX. Believe the reports: this game is hard. However, don't be a pussy like those who are telling you that this game is too difficult and unnecessarily so. Yes, the learning curve is steep. Yes, the game can be frustrating. But yes, it is also worth every obscene word and bursted blood vessel.
Heather writes:
Hey! What's up? I haven't written in in a long time. Miss me? Haha just kidding...
I totally feel you on the Soul Calibur 2 expert thing. Me and a recently converted to games friend of mine are going to tear this thing apart! My character is going to be Talim. I don't have it yet, though.
Weddings are EXPENSIVE, aren't they? Don't worry, it's all worth it! Oh yeah, and I might take the time to enter your contest if you quit giving away anime... lol Talk to you later! ~H
Yes Heather, weddings are damn expensive.
About the contests, my surplus of anime titles far outweighs my surplus of anything else I'm willing to part with, so for now you'll have to be patient. However, I do have a few other items on deck for future contests, so hopefully they'll trip your trigger more than the anime.
Speaking of, don't forget that I have that copy of Ninja Scroll: The Series Vol. 1 to give away. All you have to do is write in giving me your thoughts on the N-Gage. What is your opinion of it? Are you considering buying one? Why or why not?
And now, I'm going to go enjoy my Labor Day. I suggest you do the same.
