Norfolk vs. Sioux City

I love Sioux City. I used to go to Norfolk for everything until Sioux City came into view. Recently though, I've been finding out that Norfolk just disappoints me often. All it has going for it is Hastings, Sonic, and a closer Wal-Mart. Hastings is a big guess as to whether they have anything. If they do have it, it will cost you at least a testicle to purchase it. We midnight run to that Wal-Mart because it is closer but other than that, I find myself rarely in Norfolk.

Sioux City has ACME, which is awesome, and Rainbow which has the things ACME might not have. They also have the Dowry which is so unique for the area. They have a good mall with a Hot Topic, Spencers, and Barnes and Noble. They have Chick-fil-A! And recently, they have Best Buy and Old Navy. It's only tacking on another 10 minutes to get there and the road does get curvy, but I end up there more than Norfolk. And now that South Sioux has a super Wal-Mart on the way to ACME, I'm more appreciative. And most of this is in Iowa, too, which is amazing that I like going there for some reason.

And at times, Sioux City even makes Omaha cry all the way home to its mother. This weekend, I wanted to pick up Superman: Birthright while I was in Omaha. I went to PhantaC just to hope they had it. I went to Dragon's Lair with no luck, and also Barnes and Noble. Nothing! I was too lazy/tired/weak/stubborn to go into Krypton which probably had it but it was on the wrong side of town. I figured at least one of these places would have it since both ACME and Barnes and Noble in Sioux City had it. Of course, Norfolk's selection is pitiful, unless you want just Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 11 or Ultimate X-Men Vol. 8 with nothing else. Sioux City is also the place where you could go just to see on the small chance they may have a Smallville Clark "super-angst" Kent action figure and be able to find one at both ACME and Rainbow for cheaper than online. What a world!

Terminator TV

ComingSoon! reports that "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" has been given the go-ahead to make a pilot. The show will tell the story of Sarah and her son John after Terminator 2 while they are on the run. On the run from what? In the crappy Terminator 3, John just lives "off the grid" and wasn't expecting anything else from the future until it arrived. They must be running from the law for blowing up Cyberdyne or something. Oh well, it seems interesting so we'll just see how it turns out.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, You are from Krypton

We've been watching way too much Smallville. I am so surprised by Faye's reaction to it all. She really gets into it. She talks to them and then flips them off when they don't cooperate. It's fun watching the first season again because it's been under a month. We've also adapted lines from "The Juggernaut Bitch" towards Clark. "Are you shooting bullets at me? You must not know who I am. I'm Superman, bitch! You're weapons don't affect me." They also want some red K even though they've never actually seen the effects yet, they know what it does. Luckily you can Lana's kryptonite necklaces at www.replicaprops.com. We've also adopted a new axiom: Whatever doesn't kill you gives you superpowers. Oh well, I'm excited for Season 5 on DVD in a couple of weeks along with the new season after that!

Your Taste in Music:

90's Rock: Highest Influence 90's Alternative: High Influence Adult Alternative: High Influence Alternative Rock: High Influence 80's Alternative: Medium Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

Juggernaut?

Well, I'm all moved in. I like being on the first floor for once. It makes moving and odd trips to my car a snap. I am going to miss going to the basement without going through the lobby, but now I'll get to know the desk workers better. The Organizations Fair went well I'd say. We raffled off some random stuff we found at Wal-Mart including a Marvel coloring book, some Krazy Kryptonite, and Marvel POGs. I brought up my Atari 2600 for some retro gaming fun. Today we went over to Movie Gallery and I rented V for Vendetta and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows so we'll see how that goes. I'm all excited to get another year off the ground.

The Star Trek XI Teaser Poster

The Dark Knight

Well, the next Batman movie isn't called "Batman Continues" or...um "Batman Returns". It's "The Dark Knight". That's a nice nifty title. It looks like they're doing away with any "Batman Does-Something" convention of titles. I wonder what Bryan Singer's going to do... They also announced that Heath Ledger would be playing the Joker. Now that's interesting. He has the world's largest smile so I can somewhat see it, but I mainly can't. I'm looking forward to being surprised on that one.

July is not so boring

I finished with X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it. The story is better in the first one but the second one moves through the game much smoother. It remembers your stats even when you start a new story so you do simply replay and re-level up over and over again. I picked up LEGO Star Wars as a party game. It's so stupid that it's fun. I want to get Gauntlet next ('bout time). That or a DDR or some sort. I've also been buying the seasons of Smallville to watch now that they're on sale because of the new movie. I miss watching a TV show nonstop in order thanks to DVD. All those times with Nip/Tuck...aah. I want to watch those again once I'm caught up.

It's weird, but I think I'm at a point when I'm done buying HeroClix. I have all or most of the pieces I want. There's just a few left and I can upgrade some of the ones I have but I find myself buying only a few at a time. It's kinda nice because Star Wars Miniatures really has no end because you can have multiple pieces of the same figure in play. You can only have one Gambit! It makes room for me to get Munchkin already. PhantaC Comics now has the resurgence of Marvel POGs. I though those would die, but never fear, the POGs are here. I'm also finished with the Ultimates and Ultimate Galactus for now until the new ones are out. Ultimate Spider-Man is also getting interesting in the new issues.

Despite all this spending, I'm really doing better in comparison to last summer. I was even shopping for MacBooks. I'm not sure if I want one or not because my laptop is fine, but Macs are cool. I just don't know if you can view the Windows partition in OS X or not. I think I would want to share my iTunes between the Windows and OS X partitions but if they can't see each other, that kinda craps on my dreams. I just want to try one out to see how it works. Oh well.

Superreview of "Superman Returns"

No midnight show for this one. People work, I guess. I saw this in Norfolk with Rachel and Jodie and I liked this movie. It's got a lot of connections with the first two, especially the first. It also retcons III and IV into nothingness which is another plus. It also includes some dialogue and homages to tie in its vague history. Basically Superman leaves in search for Krypton for 5 years and now, he's back! But does the world still need the Man of Steel?

Brandon Routh does a good job as a Christopher Reeve impersonater but is also a good actor as well. Jodie complained that there was too much of him in the movie but I reminded her that it was called "Superman Returns." Kate Bosworth does a good Lois as well. One thing I liked was the scarcity of kryptonite in the movie compared to other incarnations where there's a glowing, humming ball of the stuff everywhere. The plot was neat and Kevin Spacey was an awesome Lex Luthor. He puts to rest a lot of the quirkiness of Gene Hackman from the first two by making him bitter for what Superman did to him. So now he's pissed and bald. One thing that bothered me about Superman as a character was that he was too overpowered and his arch-nemesis was an ordinary man with a special rock. Ooh! Kevin Spacey actually provides a threat to Superman that is worthy of his attention.

After the movie, we called up Matt and Will to get their takes and I tried to get a hold of Heath who is a huge Superman fan with no avail. When we went to ACME, the owners said that they went to the Des Moines screening that Brandon Routh went to. They said he's really nice and still down to earth so there's hope that he won't become a jerk. Overall, most people liked the movie with only minor complaints. Rachel commented that there's a lot of unanswered questions that hopefully they'll field in the sequel: "Superman Stays." No, not really. I made that up.

My superreview: 9-9.5 out of 10- It's just thuper!
DVD-worthy: I will probably go midnight run to pick this up and I hope it doesn't take too long to be released. I think they're also re-releasing the originals in nice super editions along side with it. I need to see it again because that frickin' John Williams score has been playing in my head for the past few days. Just ask Rachel, she had to deal with me.

Back, Superman, back! I have kryptonite!

Last weekend I went up to Wayne to go see Rachel. I brought her up some tamales, empanadas, and Mexican pop. I also brought up my toys with the new additions of the Green Goblin, Kevin Spacey, and Superman. On Saturday we went into Norfolk. We went to Hastings where I got a couple HeroClix boosters and then to the theatre to see Superman Returns with Jodie. After that we went to Wal-Mart to waste time before the fireworks. I picked up some Krazy Kryptonite to keep Superman at bay and to keep me entertained. I also picked up Futurama Volume 2 for cheap. The fireworks were neat and once they were done it started to rain. We waited forever to get out of the parking lot and then went back to Wayne.

On Sunday we went to Sioux City and stopped at ACME, of course. We then went to Rainbow but they were closed. Chick-Fil-A was also closed. What is it with Sunday? We wandered the mall and found Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly at Barnes & Noble. After that we went to Best Buy and I got X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse which I am currently playing. After that I went home and relaxed. All in all it was a fun time and it got me all excited to go back in August!


You'd think Superman would win, but Batman's got kryptonite!

Spider-Man 3 Teaser Trailer

OK wow! The trailer was released today and it is really nice. Like the one for Spider-Man 2 they don't give you just crappy shots just to tease, but they give you enough to want to make it be May 4th already. Check it out:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/spider-man_3/

June is so Boring

Yes, I have the Internet. Yes, I view this site on a fairly regular basis. So why are there no updates? Basically because so little happens outside of work. Let's see..

The comic book store in Fremont closed so now I have to go into Omaha to get my fix. There's a new store in Omaha that I try to give my business to called PhantaC Comics. He's basically selling his personal collection along with any new things he gets so he has a lot of HeroClix. I went to the free Bright Eyes concert where I realized I'm not young anymore. It started to pour and was relentless and everyone's excited and having fun and I'm thinking, "Is anyone else wet because I am wet?" So Daniele and I went back to Jodie's car to dry off. The concert was good, I just don't find much fun in being totally soaked.

I am planning on being up in Wayne this weekend. I have to work a lot this week to do it but it's worth it. Because Superman Returns premieres on a Tuesday night I probably won't be seeing it at midnight so I'll see if I can get to it up in Sioux City or something. I picked up X-Men Legends and have been playing that for a few weeks. It's fun but I just gotta beat this thing. I am so ready to go back up to college. I have so many ideas for this semester that I really want to get started.

Midnight Review of "X-Men: The Last Stand"

Josh and I planned on seeing this a few weeks ago and Matt and Jen were gathering a group as well. We caught up with them at Barnes & Noble and Will and I geeked out on comic stuff. We then went in and I played some of the clips on my iPod as we waited. Now, to the movie.

The movie revolves around the development of a cure for mutation that threatens mutant existence. Magneto and his followers believe it is an attack on the mutant community. We also see the return of Jean Grey as the incredibly powerful Phoenix. One thing that got to me was the explanation of the Phoenix for the movie continuity. Although I prefer their reasoning for movie audiences than the comic one, it made Professor X seem like a jerk. Others didn't like the "Serenity factor" that if you see the movie, you'll know what I'm referring to.

Personally, I liked the movie. I really enjoyed it and it was visually neat. Josh very rarely likes many movies so I don't take his interpretations very seriously. Listening to him complain on the way home I could tell he was reaching for reason to hate it. Everyone except me and one other guy felt disappointed but it was what I expected. I knew it would feel different because of the change of direction. As for the other two movies, the third one felt slightly betrayed. In a small nitpick, the first two started with a narration by Xavier followed by a CGI opening sequence. The third one has no narration and begins with chronological flashbacks before giving the credits.

On the whole, I enjoyed this movie and I would see it again. To those who didn't like it, I asked, "Which is better: X3 or Fantastic 4?" It was very hard for some to answer. I liked the movie because of the explosion of evil in this. Finally a relentless Magneto and Brotherhood! Some complained that they didn't develop the new characters because some don't really need or require an advanced backstory. Also they complained that Rogue was useless, but she was already in X2. I do like what they did with the characters because they don't have hundreds of movies to evolve characters slowly. Also, the franchise is still open and I encourage people to stay after the credits when you see this movie.

My review: 8.5 out of 10- Although others felt disappointed, I didn't give it unreal expectations.
DVD-worthy: Yes, I will probably do a midnight run to get this movie.

Your IQ Is 120

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Looks like I went up from last time.

It's Electric! 

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

You Passed 8th Grade Geography

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Geography?

Free Comic Book Day

Today was Free Comic Book Day. I went over to Krypton because they had Sarah Douglas, the actress who played Ursa in Superman II. I didn't get in line but she seemed really nice. There were so many nerds in costume, especially Jedi and stormtroopers. I was there for a while and then I went to Dragon's Lair in Millard. Not only were they giving out the standard free books, but they were also giving away other free ones. There was a good amount of Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men but I am done with the series. I picked up a few good ones and then went to see what the other Dragon's Lair had. I picked up a few more and then I maxed out on comics. That's good. Now I have to read!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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!

How Quirky Are You?

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

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!

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?

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.

The Five Factor Values Test

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.

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

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.

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.

How Open Minded Are You?

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.

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

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.

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.

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.
  

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!

What Kind of Flirt Are You?

More fun with Photoshop and Killer Tina 

Fun with Photoshop

Original Photos

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.

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.

How Evil Are You?

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.

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.

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?
brought to you by Quizilla

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.

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.

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.

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

What Should You Major In?

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!

What Winter Sport Are You?

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.

You are Dr. Sean McNamara!


Which Nip/Tuck Character are You???
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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!

The Muppet Personality Test

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.