Thursday, May 04, 2006

Finals Bi-Polar

All this week I wish I had another week. It's weird what college does to a person. It's the only time when you don't look forward to summer for some reason. Having nothing to do isn't great, it's boring. Before my World Civ test today I totally wanted another week. After the test, my hand hurt and I was so ready to go home. I have finals bi-polar or something. Oh well, I'm excited to go home and take it easy for a couple days until I start work on Monday.

My US & Canada test was good and for Urban Geography we watched Falling Down. Good movie. The World Civ test went well and I think I did good on it. I got my Con Law take home final done (finally) today and I think/hope I did well. I gave Dr. Slaymaker my paper because he wanted to use it as an example. He said I got a B in the class. That makes me happy considering how my first test went.

Well, to everyone up at Wayne, see you in 3 months!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

I hate you, Kenny

So it turns out they're going to release the Star Wars films on DVD again as individual two-disc editions with both the 2004 special editions and the original unaltered theatrical editions as bonus material. Thank you so much, Lucasfilm, for having us buy a trilogy DVD pack when you plan on releasing them again and again. They'll be out only from September 12 to December 31 so it looks like I'll be buying that, again. Why? Because I'm insane. Plus, it never hurts to have more than one copy of Star Wars. Believe me, I will now have 3 after this.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The Week of Film Clips

Wow, new footage was released for 3 of the summer's hot movies:

X-Men: The Last Stand - Wolverine vs. Sentinel clip
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Trailer
Superman Returns - Full Trailer

Review of "Crash"

We had to pick a movie to watch for Urban Geography. Tough homework. We picked Crash because it was the closest thing we could think of that would show city dynamics. This movie is a very powerful film. I don't think it was a good as previous Oscar winners but it is still very well told. The cast is huge so you can't really focus on one character because everything comes full circle. The movie is basically on racism in Los Angeles. It shows different people in different situations and how they react to the situations. It illustrates the snap judgments and tensions we all experience at some point. It shows you that sometimes those feelings are justified but most of the time people call a situation totally false.

I really enjoyed this film and I recommend watching it at least once. I also not recommending watching the menu for more that 15 seconds because the looping music doesn't last very long and, on its own, it very annoying. Just ask my class and the Class Evaluator who had to listen to it for about 10 minutes. Honestly though, watch this movie, it is very eye-opening.

My rating: 9.5 out of 10
DVD-worthy: At this point, with all the hype, it's most likely expensive but I probably will own this movie.

Monday, May 01, 2006

I actually knew the answers

I am such a slacker. I really should blog more. It's not that I don't care, it's just that nothing seems to happen. Today we had no Bertolas class but if we went to the Undergraduate Research Celebration, we would get the questions for the final on Hawaii. It started at about 2:00 and I showed up at 2:30ish and there's most of my class looking bored. I sat next to Dan and he told me he had been sitting there since it started and that he had ice cream, saw the posters, and watched the movie twice waiting for Dr. Bertolas. I waited for a while and then Cara called him. He was at his office so she told him to get here because we're waiting. He tells her that the questions are already there. So everyone scatters like a scavenger hunt looking for this paper. We find it and leave. Too funny.

I had my World Lit final today rather than Friday, nice. I was so mad at myself for not knowing #10 on the last test but I redeemed myself by having notes on every question and I was able to write on everyone with detail. I also wasn't the first one done so I knew I wrote more that others in the class. I may reward myself by going to Norfolk and buying Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 13 early and getting my Wal-Mart supplies since Wayne has none of it here.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Another new MSN...in a way

I've been seeing the advertisement at the bottom of MSN for too long..."Download the new Windows Live Messenger Beta Now!" I decided to try it. I knew that there's been some talk about Windows Live and what it's about and it seems that it will be a part in replacing MSN with Windows Live. There's very little differences aesthetically. I've also confirmed my feelings on what Microsoft wants you to do with their program. Basically, in the newest release, they added the Personal Message space that is really easy to edit and change. They assume that people would do what they want...Use the main blank for a name and put the stupid quote in the Personal Message blank. But people don't get it. They still use quotes, 2 quotes, for one person. OK? Personally, I like to know who the person is in my messenger list. I don't want to have to get through the dumb quote just to find the email address, who sometimes I can't even remember from that. Now I admit I do have a quote, and they are stupid, but I want people to know that that is me right away so they know who they can avoid talking to via MSN. Well, in this new beta, they give you the opportunity to change someone's name on your end. This means that if your friend Jimmy's name is some really long, really stupid quote, you can right click on Jimmy and make the messenger call him "Jimmy" as a nickname (finally!). This has been a feature in Messenger Plus for a long time and now it's official. However, the new nickname replaces the main blank, meaning you will only see the quote in the Personal Message blank. They really want you to use a name. I like this because people can rename my name to however they know me. The Jimmy group can rename me to that, the Kevin group can change it to Kevin. That way no one would think that Kevin/Jimmy is two people sharing one MSN.

Long story short...download the new Messenger and try it out for yourself.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Too Many Comics

Today we went off to Omaha for a Comic Book Convention to see what they had. We picked up Angie in Norfolk first and we were off. We found the convention and it was neat. It was basically a large WillyCon vendors area but with a lot of crap in it. I wanted the next Ultimate Spider-Man volumes but they had none of them. There was a good amount Ultimate X-Men, though. They had Amazing Spider-Man #36 which is the 9/11 reaction black issue for $35.00. I thought that was too much and I wouldn't keep it in perfect mint condition so I declined. I did pick up Marvel Zombies which is hilarious. Everyone came out with purchases.

We then went to Dragon's Lair to see the selection. Steph toyed around with purchasing Munchkin, 1602, or Maus. She decided to wait. I picked up volumes 8 and 9 which made Book Lady giddy. We then went out eat at Biaggi's. I had to tell Daniele, the driver, 5 times to turn right onto Dodge. Frickin' A! Biaggi's was awesome, as always. We then went to Krypton to see the selection. They had a Green Goblin from the movie! It was out of packaging too so it was cheap. I'm excited. Steph picked up action figures as well and got 1602. We then went to Dave & Buster's to see the arcade. We then returned to Wayne to read the multitudes of comics.

Monday, April 17, 2006

The Da Vinci Dream

Last Friday, I had a strange dream. Not only is it strange because I actually remember it, but it was epic. I dreamed that there was a group of us in Paris. I figure it's because I read The Da Vinci Code not too long ago. We decided to go to the Louvre. It's basically me, Daniele, Steve, and Jodie for some reason. We getting our tickets to go in and we see the Inverted Pyramid. Bear in mind, I have neither been to the Louvre nor Paris in my life so my brain is in overtime. They see the pyramid and decide it would be funny to take a picture of it because of the novel. So they stand in front of something, but instead they're in front of some other display next to some Dutch people. I get them over to the correct area with the pyramid and after trying to get my battery-hogging camera to take the picture we walk off. I stop to check that no one actually stood in front of the pyramid.

We go up to the first floor and everyone scatters. So I wander for a while, find a map, and meet up with Daniele at the staircase. She's watching the other people's stuff and I wonder when they're getting back because I want to see the Mona Lisa on the second floor (I know it's there because I now have a map!). She says, "There's more!" as she stands next to the giant staircase. I say, "Of course," she starts running up the stairs. I remind her that she's watching people's stuff so she comes down and a few seconds later they how up. For some reason, I'm really apprehensive about walking across balconies, stairs, catwalks, etc. So walking up these stairs is freaking me out because I don't want to trip or drop something over the banister. We see the Mona Lisa and start walking around. Somehow the Louvre has a Lincoln section because I remember seeing a door and saying, "Oh, that's the State Library. We've already been there," recalling spring break.

I then walk upstairs to the third floor and for some reason, there's a ton of books as if the Louvre has books now. I'm looking at books and there's this statue of Leonardo Da Vinci. The statue says to me, "You want the gold?" I say, "What gold?" and he tells me to follow some guy in the distance. He instructs me to grab one of the brown books and follow him. I pick up a book with a wooden cover and strange, red and black text in it that is unreadable (You can't read in a dream anyway). I follow him back down to the lobby level, freaking out down each stair. There's a not-so-secret passageway right off the lobby that the guy disappears into. It's very dark and shadowy in there. The others find me somehow and Sam winds up in the shadows. We find the gold behind a door. It's basically a bunch of coins, chains, crowns, and other treasure classics. So Sam takes a wheelbarrow and drives all this gold out of the passageway into the lobby with us following him. He walks past the ticket clerks as they give odd looks at the sight and we get outside. Suddenly a guard starts running after us and, for the one logical moment, as Sam takes off running with the gold in tow, we all freeze and ignore him as the guard slips past us. I wake up. I said it was epic.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Holy crap! They shot him!

Well I was fairly productive over the weekend. I got a job at the bank I always work at. This time I'm a teller at the downtown branch. It's a little nice because it's full-time and from May to the end of July so I have August to prepare myself for college mode. Now let's see if I can manage to squeeze in some midnight showings this year...

On one hand, I'm really glad I have a job. On another I wish I was moving to Omaha or Lincoln to work because I would like to be on my own. It's just not cost-effective at the moment. Well, one less stress in my life.

I got a haul from the weekend. I got so much money to buy more Ultimate Spider-Man volumes. Apparently, Book Lady went up to my room before I got back wanting #5. I surprised her by not only bringing #5, but #6 as well. She may have joygasmed.

My room is much smaller now it seems. I took some stuff home. I don't miss any of it but it reminds me that all things end, well at least for 3 months. I never thought I'd be at a point where I'd rather be at school than out for summer. It's a good thing I'm going into teaching!

When I was at Wal-Mart, I saw they had Superman Returns action figures. They had every concievable Superman, but where was the pussy Lex Luthor? Who is he supposed to fight? I just found out the other day that they did make a Green Goblin from the first Spider-Man movie. I would love to find that nice and cheap. It would be neat if they released a line based on Ultimate Spider-Man.

A few days ago I was playing Star Trek: Armada and I was getting upset at getting owned too easily. I basically pulled a Brenner and chucked my mouse. It got jammed. I opened it up and cleaned the gunk out and fixed the problem. After doing that, I realized I actually improved the thing. My scrolly thing no longer clicks and scrolls much smoother. Cosmic.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Registration

I forgot to say...I got all nice and registered on Monday. Apparently I ended last semester with 91 credits so I'm technically a senior. Cool! It's a little disconcerting knowing that it took me 5 semesters to get to seniority, and it will take another 5 to attain a degree. What can you do? As a senior I had no difficulty getting into classes. I'm taking:

MWF 10:00 am - Intro to Anthropology with Ellis
MWF 11:00 am - Child Growth and Development with Dinsmore
MWF 1:00 pm - The Ancient World with Taber
MW 2:00 pm - Human Relations with Dinsmore
TR 2:00 pm - Ethics and Values with Slaymaker

My Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to rock. I won't even need an alarm. I kinda wish I could take 18 hours again but it's hard to find good classes that aren't MWF 10:00 am. On the other hand, being so busy with 18 hours makes my grades drop a little and with the presidency keeping me occupied, I could afford a break. Dinsmore is really going to get tired of me after a while. I'm also looking forward to Taber's Ancient World because I like his classes and a lot of people are going to be in it. In a way I wish I could take more Leeper or Bertolas classes but I don't need anymore. I think the Political Science classes are starting to get to smart for me anyways but I still wouldn't mind another Bertolas class. Well he won't miss me because I'll still be in Explorers Club.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Elections

Yesterday I was elected Sci-Fi Club President which is exciting. I know a lot of people wanted me to be the next president. I also have a great officer team for next year as well. I'm excited to see what will happen and I look forward to leading the club.

Today we had ACM elections and honestly, I'm glad I didn't win. This semester I have been running low on time constantly and I basically fail at being the Secretary. Also, I'm no longer in the major and I feel that the majors should be the ones taking initiative.

Tomorrow I have no class so I may sneak into Sioux City and get the next Ultimate Spider-Man volume before the Haunted House brainstorming session at 6:00pm in the gag.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

A neat idea

A few minutes ago, Book Lady, Steph, and I were talking about an idea the campus could do to make a small amount of money. Charge students for storage space over the summer. It would be neat if the college would let you keep your stuff in your room, especially in Morey which isn't used over the summer, for like $50 so you wouldn't have to take it home. They probably would deny access to your items until the dorms reopen in the fall and they would have to clear it to make sure there is no pest control issues but I think it's neat but that they'd never do it. Oh well, one can dream.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

A light heart carries you through all the hard times.

Yesterday Steph, Book Lady, and I went into Sioux City because I wanted to get Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 3. We spent a good while there and then we went over to Rainbow Sportcards. This was recommended by Heath and it's a neat place that's not very far from ACME as well. They have a nice selection of comics and they sell some as complete sets. They also have a ton of action figures from everything. It was very random to see everything there. It does smell like cigarette smoke but it's still a neat place. I have found out that only ACME has all volumes of Ultimate Spider-Man up here so that's all I can go to. After we came back we went to Magic Wok to eat something besides Gag food. It's been a while since I've been there. Well, I have a small amont of homework to do so I should get to it...

Sunday, April 02, 2006

WillyCon VIII: Sunday

Today, I woke up to get to the con again! We were watching the last episode of Enterprise and discussing it today. We had more technical problems... The room had no DVD player. The DVD player in the atrium had no remote to select the episode. The speakers in the room with Curt's borrowed DVD player were too quiet. So we got it set up in the atrium. It went well. People would stop and see Riker and Troi and watch for a while. We then watched some movies. I got Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 2 from ACME and a double roller from Sci-Fi Kingdom. I went to Mike Marek's panel about Sci-Fi on TV and he was right about a lot but then it got into which Treks were better and it just sounded like originalists vs. new shows and I don't see a difference personally. I watched Spider-Man 2 for a while then. I went to Steph and Jodie's Firefly/Serenity panel which went very well. I hope they do it or another one similar again next year. Then the con wrapped up and now I'm blogging.

WillyCon VIII: Saturday

Yesterday I worked the registration desk most of the day to see what happens. Heath arrived and soon it was our panel. It went well despite taking 20 minutes to get technology to work. First we had no wireless receiver for the mouse and keyboard. We stole a keyboard and mouse from the lab but the mouse had no ball. We soon found one and we were ready. We showed the trailers and images and a lot of people commented. I think Heath enjoyed the discussion so that was good. I will definitely do that panel again next year either with movies or with comics alone. I hope Heath can help too because he is very good. We'll see what happens. The Star Wars panel went well. Jenn was kinda quiet and attendance was a little low. Matt, Jen, Norby, and Will basically randomly discussed things. I don't blame Jenn for being quiet. It was a very Expanded Universe heavy panel and I don't think I will do it next year unless there is a lot more information on the TV shows next year. Jenn stormed out later and Steph kinda made it worse. She felt that she was useless and that she should quit but she calmed down. There were some problems earlier and this just compounded it. After that I bought Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1 from ACME. I read that during the art auction and I got in the mood to dress as Wonka. Steph and I won best Eye Candy so we each got $15. After that Steph, Greg, Shawn, and Angie played Munchkin. Greg won easily and at one point got 17 treasures. We watched some RPGs then left. I was really food-deprived so I bought some vending food. I love a Saturday Con!

WillyCon VIII: Friday

On Friday I spent most of the day at the registration desk signing up people for the Halo Tournament. We got a good amount of players and everything went well. Dan got everything set up in the lower level and I think a lot of the club was surprised and happy to see such a turnout for a WillyCon event. There were a lot of games and a lot of Capture the Flag teams. Daniele won newbie followed by Angie and Book Lady. Jason won Legendary which was cool. Jason's team of him, Demon, Hinkel, and Mole won CTF. During the large intermediate matches it got down to Mark, Brenner, a Wayne High student, and Hinkel. The match was for 50 but at first they thought it was to 25 so when they got to 25 there was a tie for 3rd but it was set up for 50. As the game went on Brenner slipped to 4th. He slammed his controller to the ground and walked off. I felt bad but there was nothing I could do. After it ended I cleaned up and went back to the dorm. I couldn't get to sleep until 5 am because my legs were freaking out. All in all, a good day.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Your Quirk Factor: 52%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it.
Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Explorers Club Trip


Today, the Explorers Club went to Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. We had to meet at 8:00am and the drive was a while so I brought The Da Vinci Code I bought on spring break to read. There's a lot of homework I should read, but this is a day off. I got halfway through on the way up so that was great timing. The monument is really neat. Its nifty to see what they can turn a rock into. I picked up a pendant out of the pipestone. The quarry was very neat and a great expression of nature.

We ate a Lange's Cafe, a local joint. It was really good food. On the way back we stopped at Sioux Falls to see the Sioux Falls. Those were really neat. The city basically made it into a park and you could easily jump in if you wanted to die. There are all these rocks everywhere and it was really neat. On the way back I finished the novel. It's a very good work of fiction. I highly recommend it. I can't wait to see the movie! Also, just to give some props... If you like going on field trips you should join Explorers Club. That's all they do!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

I hate restructuring!

Next year, Morey Hall will change floors. Currently 1st and basement are girls and 2nd and 3rd are guys. It will be now basement, 2nd, and 1st south will be girls and 3rd and 1st north will be guys. I thought this would be a little nice to be on the ground floor but now I'm starting to hate this. I figured the guys on my floor would like the ground floor and having more girls around so I went to ask them where they're moving to and they said they're going off campus. I'm not sure now who all is moving as well and who's staying. If that is the case, I'm in the position I was in last semester. Where should I go now? I like Morey and the girls are fun but they're not my neighbors. I'm thinking about Pile but I'm not sure I would like it there or not. I don't think I would like Neihardt also so I'm not sure. I may just move to 1st and see who else goes there but I like certainty. It bugs me because the guys wouldn't be moving at all if it wasn't for restructuring and I wouldn't be in this mess. I don't need anymore stress!

I figured it's all because Anderson is going co-ed so now they move guys from Morey to Anderson and women from Anderson to Morey.

UPDATE: It's about 12:00 AM and I still feel like crap because I'm not sure where I'm going to live next year. So basically I'm looking for pros vs. cons on Morey and Pile...

Morey:
Pro = Parking lot behind it is convienient
Pro = I'm familiar with it
Con = All (or most) of my neighbors are moving away
Con = I'm going to miss my room
Pro = 1st is closer to the ground floor
Con = I will know no one on this new floor

Pile:
Pro = I know a number of people there
Con = How many of those people are moving?
Pro = 24-hour visitation
Con = Unfamiliar
Pro = Center of campus
Con = Will I get visitors?

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Your Values Profile

Loyalty:

You value loyalty a fair amount.
You're loyal to your friends... to a point.
But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties.
Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself.

Honesty:

You value honesty a fair amount.
You're honest when you can be, but you aren't a stickler for it.
If a little white lie will make a situation more comfortable, you'll go for it.
In the end, you mostly care about "situational integrity."

Generosity:

You value generosity a fair amount.
You are all about giving, as long as there's some give and take.
Supportive and kind, you don't mind helping out a friend in need.
But you know when you've given too much. You have no problem saying "no"!

Humility:

You value humility highly.
You have the self-confidence to be happy with who you are.
And you don't need to seek praise to make yourself feel better.
You're very modest, and you're keep the drama factor low.

Tolerance:

You value tolerance highly.
Not only do you enjoy the company of those very different from you...
You do all that you can to seek it out interesting and unique friends.
You think there are many truths in life, and you're open to many of them.

Saturdays go by so fast

Yesterday, Steph, Jenn, Book Lady, Daniele and I went to Sioux City. We went to ACME, of course, and I picked up a comic. We also told them about what's going on at WillyCon so they can prepare. We then went to Sci-Fi Kingdom because they're also going to be up at WillyCon. They're really neat. They have great prices on everything and they are cheaper than anywhere else. They wanted to know if we wanted to play Munchkin. They had never played so I encouraged them to try it. We played for about 3 and a half hours and Jenn won by Divine Intervention. They seemed to have a lot of fun and I was happy. Then we went to McDonalds to eat and Target. I picked up the guide to Ultimate Spider-Man so I can get some of the stuff done that I need help on. We then went to Wal-Mart where I got blue duct tape and a laundry bag because I forgot mine at home. We played with the bouncy balls for a while. On the way home we played "Name That Tune" with my iPod and then Steph and I watched finished Season 3 of Enterprise.

Friday, March 17, 2006




You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause.

Batman, the Dark Knight


75%

James Bond, Agent 007


71%

The Amazing Spider-Man


63%

Indiana Jones


58%

William Wallace


54%

The Terminator


54%

Neo, the "One"


54%

Lara Croft


50%

El Zorro


50%

Maximus


42%

Captain Jack Sparrow


38%

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Random Edition

At the gag today they had Superman ice cream. It was yellow, red, and blue ice cream mixed together. It tasted wierd but it was funny.

I think Daniele might be a little addicted to Ultimate Spider-Man. She's good at the combats and even beat Electro faster than I did, but she's not good a direction and movement so the races are difficult. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it.

Book Lady wrote quotes on her cape today. Hilarious!

I was shocked to hear that Isaac Hayes left South Park because of the Scientology episode. It's a shame he can make room to allow parody of his own religion. But at the same time I could see myself in his position, not a Scientologist, but upset that my bosses made fun of something I believed. It's hard to tell when tolerance begins and ends sometimes.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

You Are 60% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

Over with Break

Well break is over now. It did go out with a bang though. I went to Red Lobster today because it's Lobsterfest. I had the Lobster Bisque which is freakin' awesome and the Crab Alfredo. I also had $25 to Best Buy so I picked up Ultimate Spider-Man for $5. It was between that, DDR Extreme 2 (temporarily on sale for $30, I'd rather rent), X-Men Legends II (I'd rather rent), LEGO Star Wars and Episode III game (I can steal Ep3 and I'd rent the LEGO one), Fantastic Four, or a Batman Animated Series set (but then I'd have to buy the others). I finished the story missions after a LOT of cursing. The races are starting to get to me though, but it is fun to terrorize as Venom. I also found out I'm getting around $300 in tax refunds. Please don't tell me that. I know I will spend it! So basically I'm a little ready for classes and excited for the rest of the month.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Comic Store Review

I'm bored and I've got some break left so I will review the area comic book stores. These are the only ones I know of and I have been to so if I missed any, let me know because I'd love to check them out.

ACME Comics and Collectibles
Sioux City's comic book shop is basically the only place to go when I'm in Wayne. Luckily, it has a great and various selection. They have a small amount of archives but a large array of current comics on display. I like how they categorize the comics not just by publisher, but by topic. There's a Spider-Man wall, an X-Men wall, and a Star Wars wall which makes finding things easy. They have a decent supply of gaming supplies also, enough to get what you need. They are also the only place I've seen Dungeons & Dragons Clue. They obviously have a good amount of collectibles including the HeroClix Galactus and a great deal of statuary. Plus, they come to WillyCon so I support them as well. On a nerdy note, I love the double-sided tape they use on their comics. They are the only place to use it instead of simply taping the bag shut. This keeps tape off the comics and prevented the bag from warping. On a bad note, they don't allow you to "feel up" any booster boxes and just hand you one that you're supposed to buy. I don't like this and I am more apt to check boxes for the one that is most likely to have the piece I need then take one at random.

VFG Comics
Fremont's only comic book store is one that you might miss if you didn't know about it. It's a relatively new and small store so I try to hit it first to give them my business. They have a good amount of comics but don't typically subscribe to limited series. For example, they didn't have Books of Doom #4 but they did have Justice #2, both of which I was looking for. A nice convenience is the fact that they bag and board all their comics, including the new releases. Usually I try to get them bagged unless the comic is a cheap-o and when it's automatically in a bag, it helps. They are not a library so don't expect to read anything there. They have little archives but they may surprise you with what they have. They also have gaming supplies and sell a tiny amount of individual miniatures. They're small, but I would love to see them grow. They are also much closer to where I live and if I can find it there, I'd prefer to get it there.

Dragon's Lair Comics
When I first got to this Omaha store, I described it as a mini-WillyCon. Dragon's Lair has the best mix of gaming and comics in Omaha. Also, they have 2 locations, so they have enough storage space for comics that one store can't hold. The big thing I love about them is the huge amount of individual miniatures for all games. They will every once in a while get a super rare gem of a fig that tempts me. They also have a lot of boosters and buy in bulk; both stores do. The Millard store is smaller but has a decent selection and the most miniatures. The Blondo store has more comics and a large amount of miniatures, too. I also noticed the Blondo store has a ton of manga there. Unfortunately, they bag most of their stuff including their trade paperbacks so there's no reading them there. They do leave out the new releases to read though.

Krypton Comics
The big one. This Omaha store has the largest selection of comics in the area. They have so many archives that if they don't have the comic or any of its titles, it must not exist. They also have a ton of action figures. The "Star Wars Wall" as I dub it is the whole back of the store with action figures from all eras. There's also a good amount of Star Wars collectibles there as well. They also have action figures from most of the movies and TV shows that were comic related. They have a limited amount of individual miniatures, though. But their selection is well worth the drive.

Coliseum Gaming & Collectibles

Coliseum is kinda a drive being in La Vista but is an interesting place of note. They have no comics and focus on gaming. For focusing on gaming, they seem to lack in surplus to the likes of Dragon's Lair. It may be because the boosters are bought more frequently there. They also really don't sell individual miniatures. One plus is that they sell food there such as Hot Pockets and whatnot. Hungy Hungry Gamers. They have a ton of tables and usually several different games at once.

Ground Zero Comics
Now, I've only been there once because it's a drive deeper into Omaha for me, so I'm not going to destroy them. They have a good amount of comics and a large amount of games. Not so much in miniatures, but more of Munchkin and Zombies. If I had time and the urge, I would go there again, but usually the other Omaha stores will take care of what I need first.

Trade-A-Tape Comic Center
The Lincoln store was very neat. They had an amount of Comics like Dragon's Lair's Millard location and like ACME, they categorized by hero for some comics. They are basically comic-only and I didn't see any gaming. Their comic selection was good as well but honestly, there was nothing that would make me go to Lincoln rather than Omaha to purchase anything. If I was in Lincoln, that's where I would go and probably wouldn't go to Omaha and if I were to find myself in Lincoln loose again, I would go there again.

Best Comic Quality: ACME Comics and Collectibles
Most Comics: Krypton Comics
Best Gaming Quality: Dragon's Lair Comics
Most Gaming: Coliseum Gaming & Collectibles/Dragon's Lair Comics

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

To Lincoln!

On Tuesday Daniele, Megan, Book Lady, Steph and I spent the day in Lincoln. We first went to Morrill Hall down at UNL. It was weird to see all those students going to class as we were on spring break. Is it weird that we choose to go to another college during break? Anyways the museum was neat but it's weird to see all these animals we saw yesterday, alive. It's been a while since I had been there but I thought it was really neat. We then headed back to the car to go to Pioneers Park to eat. There were some playground equipment so we got to feel young again by seizing control of the "castle" I wanted to go on the merry-go-round but I knew it would make me sick after I ate so I went on the swings which hurt adults. I eventually went on the merry-go-round but Daniele wouldn't stop spinning and I did get nauseous. Go figure. I laid down for a while and mainly recovered. We then were going to see the columns in the park but Daniele doesn't understand the concept of a roundabout. We went through twice (which didn't help anything) and she went down the exit lane. She was about to go back when we finally said that no one cared anymore and we left.


We then went to Trade-A-Tape Comics and looked at what they had. We then went to Bluestem Books which has used, rare, and out of print books by the plenty. That was neat and they had chairs for me to sit in. I picked up The DaVinci Code for cheap because I know I'll be reading it at some point. Megan bought a crap load and it was hard to get Book Lady to leave. It was cool because both Trade-A-Tape and Bluestem had WillyCon posters up as well as Krypton and Dragon's Lair yesterday.


We then went to the Unicameral with 30 minutes to spare. We went to the top and saw Lincoln and the upper rotunda. We then went down to the main rotunda and foyer and saw the busts. I felt like a tour guide because I knew a lot of information about the chambers and the Nebraska Supreme Court. We also found the Nebraska State Library on the 3rd floor that Daniele wanted to find. If you need any retentive information on law in various sates, go there. We then left and walked outside to the statue of Lincoln and talked for a while. I wish we had more time and went to the stores after the Capitol but no one thinks. We then went on an errand for Megan and returned to her house. We read our comics for a while as we waited for Megan's mom to show up to see if she could talk her into going out to eat. She didn't show up so we went to the mall. We spent a while there until we got tired and we left.


Book Lady kept saying that Nebraska has a lot going for it that Nebraskans don't realize and it's true. Our capitol building is one of the neatest and most artistic buildings in the nation and I would love to spend more time there.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Henry Doorly Zoo

Today Daniele, Steph, Jenn, Book Lady, and I were off to the zoo! Since Book Lady is from Pennsylvania we figured we'd show her what our zoo is about. Our goal was to see everything and not leave until we did so. We went to the Desert Dome first. I had never been there before and it was neat. One thing I like about the Omaha Zoo is how the animals don't really seem like they're in cages. On some you can see the pens but others just roam free. It was really nice to go in the dome because it was really cold in the morning. After that we went to the nocturnal Kingdoms of the Night which was neat, too. We then went and saw the orangutans and gorillas. They were neat and kept banging on the glass. After the gorillas we went into the aviary. We then saw the bears and got a few pictures. The Dairy World was closed for winter and we didn't get to milk the mechanical cow but the petting zoo was open.


We should've gone off to the small animals north of the petting zoo but Daniele, the seriously insane one, and Book Lady, the one that's never been here, started going somewhere else and wouldn't stop so we were at the Cat Complex which was neat. Daniele and I walked to the ATM. When we got there I asked what she needed money for and she said for the train. We were just there and saw it was closed. What a waste of time! So we saw the cats and ate by the tigers who would periodically jump on the glass to see what we were eating. We then were deciding on the IMAX. It was between Sharks 3D and Walking on the Moon 3D. I wanted to see the moon one and Jenn did too but I knew we wouldn't go on it because Daniele blindly believes the moon landing was a hoax and honestly won't listen to reason and logic so we got our tickets for Sharks. We killed some time by seeing the aquarium which was neat as always and went to the movie.


The IMAX was neat but it seemed like it was made for little kids. The 3D was cool and it was fun to "try" to touch the images. Luckily, there was no attack or jump footage because they swam what appeared to be really close. We then went to the Wild Kingdom Pavilion which was somewhat for little kids and boring so we left and went into the Lied Jungle. That's usually the first thing I go to but not this time. We were going to make it last but I'm glad we didn't. We then went over to the giraffes which got Book Lady a little excited. We then walked along the hoofed animals looking at whatever was out. The cheetahs weren't there but we saw the Garden of the Senses which was interesting. The monkeys weren't out so we saw the sea lions. After that Daniele and Book Lady were "headed" toward the elephants and rhinos but went the wrong direction. We tried to correct them but they didn't listen. Eventually they arrived and we saw them and then we realized we still had the small animals left and walked all the way back to where we were earlier and saw what was out. We then needed to see the nursery but it was closed for renovations so we saw it all!


When we left the zoo, Steph noticed she lost her wallet. She went to the IMAX where it was in the lost and found. We then went to Krypton Comics to see their vast selection. We stayed there until rush hour was over and Daniele for some reason wanted ice cream. I didn't know any until the way out so we went to Dragon's Lair. After that she lost the urge for ice cream and they dropped me off at home. Sometimes I swear Daniele is honestly like a 5 year-old. All around it was a fun trip and I'd like to go back in the summer when things are open.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Midterms and WillyCon

Well I had 3 tests today. World Civ went good as always. Those tests are long and challenging but he grades well. Geography of US and Canada was fine. There were a few that I didn't know but I knew the rest. World Lit was fun. I knew the other 9, but the last one I had no idea on at all. I tried to BS some of it but halfway I simply said: "If you've read through this so far, well done. I honestly cannot remember anything about Baldwin. I will endeavor to do better next term." I found out later that another guy apologized for his last answer and another didn't really know either.

I am so excited! The ideas of mine and those I have heard and suggested all went through for WillyCon. Here they are:

  • We're setting up a TV in the Gag that will play like Empire Strikes Back or Spider-Man so that way people in the Gag will be involved in WillyCon is some form.
  • The TV will then move down to the registration desk where a chart will show what the TV will be playing all day.
  • A big schedule behind the registration desk, because that's our #1 question: Where is this thing at?
  • Random Room names such as "The Fortress of Solitude" for the bathroom, "The Puppet Hospital and Burn Center" for one of the Suites, and "Ten Forward" for the Hospitality Suite.
  • Since the band will not be at opening ceremonies, we'll have a talent show of sorts with random videos and 30-second skits.
  • HALO TOURNAMENT passed meaning people can play Halo for cash without entry fee. There will be 3 different categories of play with higher money as you go up. This is on Friday night at 8:00pm.
  • Costume Contest reforms such as an assembled costume for those who bought elements of their costume and random where we provide odd materials like milk jugs and cardboard an hour before the masquerade and they get a small prize.
  • Chris and I talked to Ben Vrba today who is a state Magic champion about helping with the tournament and possibly doing a forum on intro to Magic, setting up a deck, getting into tournament level, etc. I hope he does it,
  • Heath and I are going to do a forum on Upcoming Comic Book Movies discussing where they're going with X3, Superman Returns, Batman Begins Sequel, Spider-Man 3, Hulk 2, Fantastic Four 2, etc.
  • Roger, Levi, and I are going to do an Enterprise one where we watch the last episode and criticize it because it was kinda lackluster.
  • Matt Ptacek, Jenn, and I are going to do a Star Wars one about how the movies are over, where is the saga going? This will be a discussion of the novels, comics, gaming, video games, and TV shows that will explore what to do post-Episode III.

Monday, February 27, 2006

You Are a Fun Flirt

You just can't help yourself... you flirt with everyone you know. Guys, girls, crushes, and friends. They're all victims to your charm. You're into silly innuendos, sexy jokes, and playful touches. You are a huge flirt, yet you never make anyone (too) uncomfortable!

More fun with Photoshop and Killer Tina Posted by Picasa

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Fun with Photoshop Posted by Picasa

Original Photos

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Things we noticed during "Lady and the Tramp"

  • I bet they're monsters. That's why you can't see their faces
  • Because the dog can understand.
  • She got fat overnight.
  • Dogs love coffee and donuts and will dunk the donuts into the coffee.
  • I've never seen a dog so happy to get a collar.
  • Price can be detected by smell.
  • How come the two main dogs aren't trying to jump her?
  • Dogs take showers.
  • How does a dog know what starch is?
  • "That dog" is the most offensive thing you can say to a dog.
  • Why won't she walk her? She needs to poop!
  • When people have babies, animals piss them off.
  • Even dogs get the "birds and the bees" talk.
  • Is there a doggie-condom?
  • All baby food is green.
  • Why does the Scottish dog have a French name? Picard?
  • Everyone else calls her Darling too.
  • Cats aren't nice in Disney movies.
  • When dogs think to themselves, they sing.
  • Did no one tell Aunt Sarah about the rules of the dog?
  • Cats have a lot of dexterity in their tails.
  • She barks in time with cat songs.
  • It's obvious the dog did it all.
  • Jim Dear and Darling wouldn't mind that Aunt Sarah is buying a muzzle.
  • How come Tramp isn't territorial?
  • Dogs can fight and end up unscathed.
  • The beaver just broke his own cage at the zoo.
  • Beavers can support themselves on their tails.
  • All of this would kill the beaver!
  • Humans will spend more time catering and entertaining the stray dogs than the paying customers.
  • They know the dogs can read the menu.
  • The other chef is the only sane person: "Tony, dogs don't talk."
  • This is what we teach children: Give in to peer pressure.
  • Why doesn't she yell back?
  • Why doesn't the chihuahua just jump out?
  • Stereotypes are a real timesaver.
  • Dogs get married?
  • When dogs get married, they move in together.
  • Tramp can talk just as fine with a bone in his mouth than without.
  • A rat injures him, but three dogs don't.
  • The guy at the pound is psychic and can read Aunt Sarah's mind.
  • How did the other dogs know what's going on?
  • Is the black one a gay dog?
  • How did he get hurt, he was on the other side?
  • When dogs have babies 3 look like the mother, one looks like the father.
  • Who owns these dogs?
  • It's a good thing he doesn't have rabies.
  • The cats are androgynous.

Friday, February 24, 2006

You Are 42% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side.
Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

Review of "Saved!"

I rented some more movies from the library and this is one of them. Nord told me good things about this movie so I decided to pick it up. This movie is very funny. It's basically about this girl who tries to cure her newly-gay boyfriend by having sex and winds up pregnant at a Christian school. It's a good parody of
über-fundamentalist people and how they judge and treat other people. There are some errors in the "Christian" teachings in this movie. The acts they do are more Catholic or televangelist than what would really be involving in forgiveness. The feeling that you need to confess verbally and in public is not dogmatic but seems to be encouraged in some situations which is alienating.

The movie actually has a message summed up in: "Why would God make us all different if he wanted us to be the same?" In the movie, everyone has a problem of some sort no matter how holy they makethemselvesf out to be. It shows that you can't get hung up on what people are doing wrong because no one can live up to purely Biblical expectations. It's not in our nature.

The movie is very good at emphasizing the clicks that form in social situations and how they affect who our friends are. The acting is solid and the story is fun to watch. Unfortunately the movie does suffer from the teen movie clichés that always show up: Everything happens at the prom, anything incriminating is revealed publicly, and the mean girl becomes the outcast. What I like about this movie is every "bad" character is somewhat redeemed and you don't really hate them at the end. I also like how naïve (so many special characters in one post) that the Christians are portrayed which seems all too real.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10
DVD-worthy: If it's cheap, it's a god buy.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Black Costume

It's not a black and white photo. This is an official picture of Spidey's new black costume. Whether this has anything to do with Venom is probably likely.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

brain
You're an evil genius. Whether a machine maniac or a psychological expert, the evil genius uses his/her wits and resources to defeat the opponent.

What type of Villian are you?
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Friday, February 17, 2006

Review of "Logan's Run"

Holy Crap, it's so retro it's scary! Logan's Run is a sci-fi classic. Basically, it's the 23rd Century and the world's population lives in a domed city where people only live to age 30 and they are ceremoniously killed. Logan is a sandman, ordered to eliminate any runners who are trying to escape their destiny. He is then ordered to find Sanctuary, the place where the runners go.

It's made in 1976 and has 1976 effects. The domed city is painfully obviously a model and the outfits look like bad Halloween costumes. The guns seem to shoot fireworks that hit only the ground and rarely people. People are killed in the psychedelic Carousel with visible wires and obvious charges strapped to them when they "die." It has the first use of holography on film to an even more psychedelic effect. You can see the human under the robot. Can you blame them? No, but it can be painful to watch and know that Star Wars was only a year away and doesn't suffer from these cliches.

The story on the other hand is awesome. It's a very compelling and touching story about what happens to Logan. It's creepy to see a young Michael York and Old Man doesn't shut up. There's a lot of material in this film and it runs long but you don't feel robbed. Despite the cheese this film is ripe for remaking. The story is so sound, it just needs to be de-futurized. Just because it's the future doesn't mean it isn't unrecognizable as Earth. I would enjoy watching this film again and would love to see the remake of it.

My rating: 7 out of 10, good but so, so scary
DVD-worthy: It's a bare-bones release so it's cheap.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Review of "Shattered Glass"

This is one of the movies I checked out from the library. I was a little surprised they had it because it's not very well known. This is an independent film about the true story of Stephen Glass who worked for the New Republic magazine and fabricated stories on a consistent basis. Of course, I wanted to see this movie because it starred Hayden Christensen AKA Anakin Skywalker. I had previously seen his work in Life As A House which was really good and once again, he performed well in this movie by contrast to Star Wars acting. I think his main problems with his acting in Star Wars is the fact that there's no backgrounds. It's all CG. In his other performances, you can see he kinda works with his surroundings and is able to act. He's very good at doing angst.

The film is not epic in scale and it's not supposed to be. It's a very limited story with a limited cast but the cast is really good. What makes this character fun is not how he gets away with lying but how he reacts when everything falls apart and it's fun to yell at him for being stupid. When you rewatch it, you notices several things in the film that you may have missed the first time around which is nice. What makes this film (or DVD) worth watching is the special features. It has a 60 Minutes interview with the real Stephen Glass which is amazing how twisted he is and how calm he is about what he did. The commentary has the director and the real editor Chuck Lane (who Peter Sarsgaard does a great job emulating) discussing the film and illustrates its amazing attention to detail. They tried to get as many people as possible involved and if they couldn't they created compsoite characters that were similar to the real employees. Some of the scenes are verbatim from the actual conversations which is so cool. You can only get factual events like that from an independent film. The ending was a little lofty but all-in-all it's a very enjoyable movie and a good rent. I fear the layman couldn't watch this movie because there's a lot of drama and dialogue but if you enjoy that then you will enjoy this movie

My rating: 8-9 out of 10, I'm trying not be too generous but I can't help it.
DVD-worthy: Yes! I liked this movie a lot and it's probably cheap because it's only a few years old.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Review of "Red Eye"

It's been a while since I've reviewed a movie and I've got a bunch coming because I checked out a few from the library over the weekend so here's one we saw in the Morey lobby. I had a feeling that I wanted to see this movie because I've heard good things about it. They are basically right. It's a compelling story and has awkwardly funny moments. It's those moments that aren't supposed to be funny but end up being really funny, like most of Fantastic Four. It's very suspense filled and I liked it because it was very liberal in showing the amount of pain this guy receives . Cillian Murphy gets the crap kicked out of him and they show no blood which is refreshing because I'm not watching Nip/Tuck. I get enough blood. It's also fun to yell at Rachel McAdams for whenever she does something stupid or just simply has bad luck.

The plot was solid with no major holes. I liked the music score. It was no John Williams but had a good theme that was repeated and worked well for this movie. I also like the name Jackson Ripner. It's just so cruel to name your child that. It makes me wonder if Cillian Murphy is as good playing someone who is not creepy since he does creepy so well. I liked the movie but it's losing some points with the super-super security for the Deputy Director of Homeland Security although I don't really know how much security the guy would have. I also felt a bazooka was a tad excessive but beyond that I really liked the acting.

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10
DVD-worthy: Not for $20, not yet. If I get compelled I might for that much but I'd buy it when it goes down.

Victory Comics?

I got my paper back on Monday for World Lit on Nigerian and Irish Nationalism and I am so happy (still). I got a 180/200 points which is like a 90%! He said I had no factual errors, just grammatical ones which I noticed upon review. It bugs me a little because I gave him my rough draft and he only pointed out 2 things but I should've checked it harder. I think he liked my PowerPoint because he has a dry wit and as I was transitioning from a map of Nigeria to a timeline of the history of European contact, I just threw the title "The British Are Coming" at the top of the slide and I think he got a kick out of it. He says he wants me to keep it to give it back at the end of the year to use as a sample for future classes. That makes me very happy. I just have to remember to print off my slides to include in my packet. I'm also excited because that's really the only project for that class. We picked our times for presentations and mine was the 4th but became the first so I'm done with papers until April for that class when I have to do a response. I wish I was done with all papers as I have my Auckland paper due on Friday, my Machiavelli paper done and due tomorrow, my Military History huge essay test next week and other stuff for the semester.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal.
You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk.

You should major in:

Philosophy
Music
Theology
Art
History
Foreign language

Saturday, February 11, 2006

You Are Curling

What you lack in athleticism, you make up for in concentration.
And while curling isn't much more of a sport than bowling, you *can* win a gold medal for it!

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Dohnny Jepp

We're watching Spaceballs and The Lion King while coloring and we noticed some things:

  • Bill Pullman will go on to play the President.
  • Where exactly is Nunavut?
  • Book Lady doesn't know which Transformer is H_t Sh_t.
  • She's insane. She's Martin Lawrence on a bender.
  • Nice dissolve.
  • Mel Brooks is obviously on his knees.
  • I hate Yogurt!
  • Spaceballs the Blog Post.
  • Nobody notices the Alien scene.
  • We don't talk through major plot points.
  • Steph knows the entire script in her head.
  • It's essentially Hamlet meets Hitler.
  • Why is everyone American except Zazu and Scar?
  • The new song sucks.
  • Why is Darth Vader so happy?
  • A smiley face would look wierd on the Emperor.
  • "I'd say he looks more of a goldish-brown." is something we would say.
  • We're gonna need a montage.
  • We can talk but we don't have opposable thumbs.
  • Slow-motion makes it faster.
  • In the special-special edition of The Lion King, Mufasa's ghost will be digitally replaced by a younger version of himself.
  • Where's Laertes?
  • They should make a Disney movie without character names and instead use actor names such as: "Why are you attacking me, Matthew Broderick?" "Because I can, Jeremy Irons."
  • Fire and rain can undo anything.
  • How can love make kings and vagabonds?

I have to vent something

I called my mom on Monday and caught up with things at home. It turns out my cousin refuses to be in my brother's wedding in November. She was aked to be a candlelighter and she just doesn't feel like it. So now my brother's anxious about asking anyone else. This bugs me because she's just a 16 year old who actually knows him and she's just being a pain. She's done this before. When my grandma was near death and my cousin from California came out we were going to get a picture. She didn't feel like it being in it. I would've told her that I don't care if you're sick, this only happens once you're going to do it. This is just another snag that disturbes my brother and that's not good for him. I'll admit that I didn't want to be in my cousin's wedding last fall because I was up in Wayne and I couldn't do much but I got over it. To just flat out say no is rude and I can say now that when I get married, she will not be asked. It may be cruel but that's just the way it goes.

Monday, February 06, 2006

YOU ARE DR. SEAN MCNAMARA!
You are Dr. Sean McNamara!


Which Nip/Tuck Character are You???
brought to you by Quizilla

It's a little too big for my blog:
My Result

Which Firefly (or Serenity) Character Are You?
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You Are Gonzo the Great

"Is something burning in here? Oh, it's just me."
You're a total nutball who will do anything for attention.
The first to take a dare, you'll pull almost any stunt.
You're one weird looking creature, but your chickens don't mind!

Sunday, February 05, 2006

I have Hitler hair!

Angie came up this weekend so we would not go crazy. Yesterday we went to ACME Comics because I got my homework done and I could get a reward. I picked up a couple in a series I've been working on and then we went to the Dowry to get Daniele's Harley Quinn shoes. We then went to the mall and there was a Beatles hirt that was shiny that I liked but I resisted. We then went to Besst Buy and Target. I picked up a magazine rack and a Star Wars coloring book. Eeee! Then we went to McDonald's to eat and then to Wayne. Book Lady was ready to throw her blue hair dye in so she gave herself some Rogue streaks and they look cool. There was some extra so we threw some in at random patches and my hair was surprisingly uncooperative. I have so much that the small streaks kinda disappeared into the hair. Steph tried to add a stripe but it just bleached near the roots without coloring so she had a patch.

We went to Pamida to get some repair dye for Steph and I picked up Star Wars Game of Life which is surprisingly fun. I also taught Book Lady how to play Miniatures. Steph dyed her hair blue and it just absorbed into her black hair but it worked in mine. So now I've got a few random blue patches of hair for about a week or two.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Dr. Doom is back!

Fantastic Four was a really funny movie. It's a shame it wasn't supposed to be a comedy. ComingSoon reports that they will start filming the sequel soon and that Doctor Doom will be in it but they didn't say anything about Julian McMahon repeating the part. His portrayal was...chilling. In a bad way. I've got it figured out that they could conceive a reason for him to alter his voice when he puts on the mask. After how they defeated him in last movie, I'd say he's got a reason to sound scary this time. No more Marco Polo. They did say he would be back "as full DOOM" so I'm hoping that I may be right. I like it when movies complement each other in a series. I'm hoping that the newer Doom will expand on why he seems so odd in the first movie and that it was his method of defeat that altered him. I do hope they keep the costume, because that coat is freakin' sweet. Of course, they really don't need Julian McMahon to play him since he's all mask now but it still would be fun to know it's Dr. Troy under there. He did almost get scary when he zapped the Invisible Woman and said she was fired. It's just that you're Dr. Doom, don't ask me what I don't like about myself!

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=12947

I keep lucking out!

I'm taking World Lit right now and it's starting to kick me at times. With my 18 credit hours it's getting hard to read. I've been doing well but sometimes it's hard to understand. I never really read Heart of Darkness the first time and when he was calling on people, he missed my row so I lucked out. Today we were discussing Death and the King's Horseman and I really don't understand that one at all. He was going alphabetically and we ended just when it would've been my turn. I think he doesn't like the sound of my voice or something but it's kinda nice because I learn about the stories by taking the notes in class. I will try to get through it before next class and the girls said they may help me act it out so that may be fun.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Mahershalalhashbaz

Earth
lake
book on bench
overflowing tub with floating soap
telephone off hook
hallway
blooming tree
truck
burning cigarette
window
freaky old lady

Thursday, January 26, 2006

X-Men: The Last Stand

Yeah, that's the title according to ComingSoon.net. They also said that this movie will close out the movies as a trilogy. I kinda like that. When movie series are left hanging open it feels like the series has no climax. I have a feeling they'll do that with the Batman reboot because Bruce Wayne said he'd be Batman until they no longer need him and people are safe which shows me he's thinking about the end before he even begins. I fear Spider-Man may have no series end the way it sounds but we'll see what heppens. They also sorta confirmed (oxymoron?) that they're working on a Wolverine movie and a Magneto movie.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

More with the survey and the questions and the oh PLEASE don't judge me...

I'm sorry, I just channeled Jerry Lewis or Professor Frink again...

  1. Initials: K.R.R.
  2. Name someone with the same birthday as you: I don't know.
  3. Last thing that you ate? Peanut butter jelly time
  4. For or against same sex marriage? I will support whatever the lawmakers do.
  5. Are you homophobic? Nope.
  6. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? I'm rarely awake.
  7. Do you believe in God? Yes.
  8. How many U. S. States have you been to? 15
  9. How many of the U. S. States have you lived in? 1
  10. Have you ever lived outside the U. S.? Nope
  11. Name something you like physically about yourself: "Tell me what I don't like about myself..."
  12. Something non-physical you like about yourself: My dementia.
  13. What is your dad's name? Mike.
  14. What is your dream car? That James Bond car that vanishes.
  15. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Europe.
  16. Favorite type of food? The gag! No, really...Chinese or seafood or Chinese seafood.
  17. Favorite holiday? Independence Day for its controlled explosions.
  18. Do you download music? I actually use the iTunes Music Store.
  19. How many illegal things have you done? [Phantom Edit]
  20. Where would you want to go on a first date? I know I wouldn't go to MarsCon.
  21. What is your favorite sport? Curling, hilarious.
  22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you? I walk in on people playing but then they stop.
  23. Have you ever cried for no reason? Nope.
  24. Do you like President Bush? "I know why America loves you. It's like loving a retarded baby."
  25. Have you ever bungee jumped? I would love to if it wasn't for gravity always bringing me down.
  26. Have you ever white water rafted? Yes! I was one of the few that didn't fall out.
  27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? Nope.
  28. Last person you hugged? Faye.
  29. Have you met a real real redneck? My brother, no that's harsh. Not really then.
  30. How is the weather right now? Strange.
  31. What song are you listening to right now? "Cash Machine" by Hard-FI.
  32. What is your current favorite song? It's between "Your Beauty Is A Knife I Turn On My Throat" by Eagle*Seagull or still "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers.
  33. What was the last movie you watched? Fantastic Four, not very fantastic.
  34. Do you wear contacts? Nope.
  35. Where was the last place you went besides your house? US Military History in Connell Hall.
  36. What are you afraid of the most? I don't know, The Carver.
  37. Have you ever hit on someone of the opposite sex? Constantly.
  38. Any pets? A dog and two cats.
  39. Have you ever loved someone? Yes.
  40. What really turns you on? Everything and fire.
  41. What do you usually order from Starbucks? It varies but I love Vanilla Creme with Caramel thanks to Claire.
  42. Are you missing someone? Not really, no regrets.
  43. Say something totally random about yourself: www.clownpenis.fart
  44. Do you have an iPod? Yes.
  45. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? When I dressed up as Willy Wonka, people told me I looked like Willy Wonka.
  46. What's your mom's name? Kellee, you won't find that spelling in too many places.
  47. Who would you like to see right now? Stupid visitation rules.
  48. Are you comfortable with your height? Sure.
  49. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing? Almost.
  50. Favorite flower? Helicopter eggplant. No, I don't know.
  51. Butter, plain, kettle, or salted popcorn? Movie theatre butter.
  52. What books are you reading? Just finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was reading Paradise Lost by John Milton until I took World Lit.
  53. Have you ever ridden in a limo? Nope.
  54. Has anyone you were really close to passed away? My grandma.
  55. Do you watch MTV? I agree with Eric, when they played music.
  56. What's something that really annoys you? Stupid little errors and assumptions.
  57. What are some things you really like? Pepsi.
  58. Do you like Michael Jackson? He didn't molest me.
  59. Can you dance? Sure: up arrow, down arrow, left arrow, right arrow, jump!
  60. Favorite baseball team? I'm sorry, baseball sucks.
  61. Favorite breakfast food? French Toast.
  62. What's the latest you have ever stayed out? 7:00 am at the Blast.
  63. When was the last time you went bowling? 2 years ago when Tony was an RA.
  64. Were you ever rushed into the emergency room? Nope.
  65. If 64 is true, why? ---
  66. What's your favorite state to live in? How would I know, our capitol looks like a...

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

The WB and UPN Merge

So it seems that The WB and UPN are combining in the fall of this year to create The CW. OK? It's a little late for Star Trek who got dismal ratings thanks to UPN and if it was on this new CW replacing The WB it probably would've been able to been seen. Oh well.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=12867

Sunday, January 22, 2006

You Are 40% Abnormal

You are at medium risk for being a psychopath. It is somewhat likely that you have no soul.

You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess.

You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection.

You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement.

You are at medium risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is somewhat likely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3

ComingSoon reports that Bryce Dallas Howard has been cast as Gwen Stacy in the new Spider-Man movie. Hooray for finding out new information!

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=12756

Random Social

Dan, Andie, Chris, and I were talking for a while on Monday about issues in the Sci-Fi club and we got down to a few points. First, we thought that the tables and circle arrangement we had last year works better than the rows of chairs so we decided to rearrange for the next meeting. We also were discussing the issue of changing the name to remove the stigma but we couldn't think of anything. We also talked about my idea to have two categories for the costume contest: Home-made and assembled. I love my Wonka costume and I didn't sew anything but I didn't buy it at a costume shop. When it's just homemade, the only members who enter are Jen, Rachel, Jodie, and Laura but if we opened it to anyone who wants to, it will be more successful. Anyways, Dan got on his rant about girls' night and how he doesn't like fracturing the club for socials. I told him we have a lot of socials of sorts with the Haunted House and end of the Year parties but he doesn't go. He also didn't like being off-campus and on weekends. So I said that it won't happen unless we make it happen. I told him on Wednesday, after ACM, people can come to Gardner, bring movies and games and just butt around. We got it announced in the meeting.

So I knew we wouldn't be done before 5:30 because it just doesn't work that way. Megan and Steph showed up and others remained but Dan went to go eat. I went and got the Risks and Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. We played Risk for a while with missions and Roger won while we watched Batman Begins. I knew there wasn't going to be an awesome turnout because it's so random and sudden so I wasn't expecting much. Some left and we played Trivial Pursuit only for a little while when they kicked us out. I would love to do it again, but it will have to be somewhere else such as my dorm or something so we have enough time. The thing that bugs me is that Dan left and never came back. He was the one that was complaining and knew and said he could be there when we decided it on Monday but he didn't even stay. So if he ever complains about the fact that we don't really do socials under his circumstances he has no ground to talk because he designed this social and didn't go. If he doesn't complain, he knows now why we don't really have that many socials.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

66 in January?!

On Friday night, the girls came up and we were watching movies and building my puzzle towers. I was playing the Sims 2 I borrowed from Daniele and I made a virtual them. Faye and Daniele look so like themselves. Anyways the movie people got done and Steph and I were still playing the Sims and I think everyone had a lesbian experience at some point. Everyone cheated on Faye. Dr. Troy was thrown in for some balance into a house of girls and he proposed to Steph. After that Dr. Troy wanted to not get married, have 2 loves at one time, and have sex with 3 people. Steph didn't want to get married but she wanted a party and a better kitchen. Demanding little sim. We played that until my computer freaked out and we lost everything up to when they moved in.

Yesterday we all went to Sioux City. Book Lady freaked out at Barnes & Noble so Steph and I took off toward Hot Topic. I got 3 buttons, a patch, a Franz Ferdinand Shirt, and a Sith Happens shirt all for less than a regularly priced shirt. Steph wanted a book bag and she found a HIM one and she also got a corset. She also got a Wonka coat because she said she would actually wear it around. She did save $200 on books for buying them online so it's all good. We the went around the mall for no reason and ate. I never tried Chick-fil-A before but it was good. We then went to Toys R Us which is closing and Steph got an action figure of Liam Neeson and a cheap poster. I got a puzzle for $1.50 and Daniele got some toys. We then went to Thinker Toys and spent forever in there. Daniele got a puzzle and I got a gorilla to stick on my Empire State Building. We then went to Wal-Mart where I got the University expansion pack. I played that only for a little while as they watched movies but I didn't delve into the college scene yet. That's for today. Steph put on her outfit when she was here and she ironed on my patch. Stu walked in to see these women in my room, one in a corset ironing and I think he was a little freaked. That was funny though.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

School Days

Well, I've had my first classes of the year. It's time to figure out how I may like them. World Civilizations II should be no different from the first except without bibliographies which is nice and I expect lots of notes. Urban Geography has a lot of reflections and 2 of the 3 projects are before midterm so it will be nive to have those done. Geography of US and Canada shouldn't be too bad expect notes and knowledge. World Literature may require some caffiene but it seems we have a lot of time to read the stuff. American Constitutional Law may take some thinking but I hop that I will do well. US Military History should be fine if it keeps a good pace because it's a night class. I will try to read for that class as well. All in all not a whole lot has happened since I've been back but I'm sure something will happen.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Adventures in Customer Service

Back in October, Cingular accidentally charged me 6 times in one month. I didn't notice because I didn't check my bank account and my phone didn't show a huge surplus of minutes. I noticed it in December and had the bank return all but 5. On December 27 I tried to use my phone and noticed I had no money to use. Apparently on the 23rd, my payment didn't go through and the 4 days grace period passed and I lost my Rollover. We went in to Cingular on Thursday to figure out what's going on. We were on hold for a long time until they were getting close to closing and after all that we only found out who we needed to talk to, a financial specialist.

I went into the bank where my mom works and I called Cingular again. Customer Care sent me to a financial specialist. There was a series of holds and I found out what happened. Cingular was supposed to credit me for those 6 payments and I would get a free month of service for the accident. That credit never came in and the bank told them that. When I returned the payments Cingular thought my account was insufficient or something and they flagged my account. When my December bill went out, Cingular's flag prevented the payment and I lost my service. I got the flag removed and paid my bill so I had service again.

I then wanted to get my Rollover balance because they cancelled it on their flag and not my negligence. They sent me to Customer Care. Keep in mind there are about 10 minute waits in between. Customer Care sent me a number that didn't work so I had to call again. Customer care sent me to the billing department. A guy there couldn't help me so he sent me to his supervisor. After 15 minutes of holding the supervisor said she couldn't help me and Customer Care could. She transferred me to Customer Care and the transfer was unsuccessful so I had to call in again. When I called Customer Care again I asked for a supervisor. She was very helpful and eventually got my balance back.

So I'm back to where I was if it never happened. That took two lousy hours on the phone to get back to where I was. I still promote Cingular because I have a GoPhone and if I was under contract I'm sure they would care more. Well now I'm going to watch my account better so they don't screw me again.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Wake Me Up When December Ends

OK, a new year. There's only a week left of break and I need to spend money. It must be so hard to be me. Actually they're gift cards and they work only in Omaha so I need to figure out what I'm getting. Maybe shoes, maybe Trivial Pursuit, maybe something random.

What I'm looking forward to in 2006 (in no particular order):

  1. No more Star Wars - Not something to jump for joy for but my bank account will be happy.
  2. Superman Returns - I've been downloading the Bryan's Journal podcast off iTunes and it has made me excited for this movie.
  3. X3 - Once again, another superhero movie so I'm looking forward to this as well.
  4. Other movies - I also have an interest in: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Casino Royale, and The Da Vinci Code.
  5. 18 credit hours - Another busy semester that should be nice and hectic.
  6. WillyCon VIII - At least I think it's 8. I may have to do some enhancements to my costume such as new super glue and adjustments that I've learned from the Haunted House, that is if they're relaxing the categories. I am looking forward to other tuff as well
  7. New music - Eee! I think the Killers are recording as well as other favorites of mine.
  8. Summer work - $ coming in.
  9. Concerts - I got bummed last year when people were in town but I missed them. Must be more vigilant.
  10. Miniatures - Many more new minis will be coming out and I've been in a form of hiatus which is good but I don't even have the AT-AT yet.
  11. First Senior year - I hope to not have a second year, but an additional semester. It will be weird for me to be in a senior position and have the class above me leave because I've always been around them.
  12. PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution - I want to see how the PS3 does but I probably won't get it but the Revolution I'm interested in.
  13. Nip/Tuck Season 4 - Please start in May, please start in May.
  14. The 4400 Season 3 - In summer, but well worth the wait.
  15. Class of 2003 Trip II - World's of Fun was a blast and I hope they think about doing another trip this summer.
  16. My computer not breaking - As much as I want an excuse to get an iMac or an iBook, I don't want it to crap out completely yet.
  17. PPST - Sometime this semester I have to take that dang test!
  18. Haunted House - I'm interested to see how the Serial/Cereal Killers turn out.
  19. My brother's wedding - I just hope I'm not swamped with crap during the September-November thinking days.
  20. Study Abroad? - I really want to explore this before all I have left is core classes that won't transfer at all.
  21. Halo 3 - After the crappy cliffhanger it's time to see what's next.
  22. Faye's coming - She should be happy she gets a whole bullet point but Morey is going to get a little bit more crazy.
  23. New students in fall - A group of Mead kids are coming up to Wayne after graduation, frightening.
  24. The unexpected - Everything I do is random so I must expect it...