House With No Corners Gets Press

In Crystal Lake, Illinois, there are a few places that have gained popularity because of rumors and legends spread about their mysterious past. There is one place that is set way back behind a forest that supposedly houses a crazed old man waiting to slash up trespassers. There is another, however, that is in plain sight. “The House With No Corners,” also known as the Stickney House, is well known amongst locals as a place where the original residents used to communicate with spirits of the deceased. According to their religion spirits hide in corners, so with all the corners of the house rounded the spirits would be forced out in the open. The local paper has an article discussing this house and its historical value.

Restoring Local Legend A Spiritual Experience

Thanks to b1ngo for the link.

Picture Time: Halloween/Video Game Edition

In the spirit of Halloween there have been many video game themed pumpkin carvings featured on Kotaku. I wasn’t going to talk about it at all until seeing what I saw today (the WoW pumpkin). I wish I was capable of producing something like these.

 

 

The 360 bundle is out in stores now. I am tempted to not wait anymore, but it just isn’t logical. (Jordan’s thought: “What if it sells out and I miss the chance to get the bundle?!”) (Jordan’s other thought: “You idiot, it’s a holiday bundle. It will still be around for the most important consumer holiday.”)

 

And finally, look at these adorable chocobos! Added to the job system already including White Mage and Black Mage: Christmas Caroler!

Subculture Explosion

Things are getting out of hand.

Jor’s Getting A 360!

Sometimes I feel like I talk big about video games like I’m a super hardcore gamer. If that was true, however, wouldn’t I have an XBox 360 already? Right now I’m sitting here trying to remember if I’ve ever gotten a new gaming console right when it was released and all I can remember is getting a Wii about a month after it was in stores. I got my PS2 (original one now dead) 6 months late, my original XBox about 2 years late… Oh! I got the GameCube when it was released, too. What is it with Nintendo systems? They must always release one of their heavy-hitters as a launch title for new consoles (this time it was The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess).

So I have a Wii now, and I’m really enjoying Metroid Prime 3. There’s something so fun/terrifying about walking through small corridors with recently escaped-from metroid containment chambers, especially when the music is so tense. The new Mario game comes out next month (I think) and I definitely want to play that one, but there is a list of 360 games I want to play that has been stacking up pretty high lately. My problem is that I just don’t have the time, or I don’t want to sacrifice other things to make the time for video games anymore. I still love them, it’s just hard to get anything done. I’ve had something to play ever since I got the Wii simply because I only get an hour or so in per week, and I don’t like spending money on things that I’m not going to use (like most people, right?). So my plan was to finish Metroid and then buy a 360 with a game or two.

One of the games I want to play for the 360 is called Mass Effect which comes out on November 20. So I thought if I bought an XBox in early November with a game I could play that for a bit before I bought Mass Effect and dedicated all my time to that one. Metroid isn’t coming along as quickly as I had hoped, though, and I think I’m only about halfway through it. Basically I’m struggling with my desires competing with my time, and it’s all covered in a money-management blanket. That’s another reason why I’ve been waiting so long too: price decreases. As a result of waiting until now, or November, whatever, is that I’ll be getting a slightly better XBox 360 with a slightly lower chance of breaking down (red ring style) for slightly less money.

Also on the wasting of money front are games found from the XBox Live Arcade. For those who don’t know, this is an online marketplace accessible by the XBox 360 that allows you to purchase games with a more casual style. Just made available was a Battlestar Galactica game that I’ve heard a few bad things about, but I might be forced (by my insatiable need for more BSG) to buy it. These games are usually only around $5 or a little more, so I wouldn’t feel that bad. A newly drawn, high definition version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo is also coming out sometime soon, and I’m seriously considering this one too. That was really my first fighting game and I feel like it would be really fun to play with my brother. I’m having flashes back to playing in the rental house on Crystal Lake Avenue….. Click on the picture for a prettier version.

 

Any thoughts on other games I should be looking at? I’m all for older games, too, since they’ll be new to me anyway. Here’s a list of what I’m looking to play in the coming months:

Mass Effect

Halo 3

Crackdown

BioShock

Blue Dragon

Assassin’s Creed

Lost Odyssey

And for the Wii:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Zack And Wiki

Super Mario Galaxy

Rapid Feed: Nostalgia And Even More Distant Futures

The Movie Blog has posted a list of “8 Life Lessons From Star Wars All Kids Should Learn.”

They also posted a list of possible giant robot movies that could be made now that Transformers has done so well. But there was one glaring omission.

 

“Veronica Mars” is over but will never leave my heart. The end of that show is very hard to handle, and now it just got a little harder. Rob Thomas (TV version, not music version), in an attempt to save the show, pitched an idea for season 4 to The CW that took Veronica 4 years into the future when she was a rookie FBI special agent. He even shot a 10-minute clip. For some reason it was split in two, but here it is:

 

The rumors of “Battlestar Galactica” not ending until 2009 are still unconfirmed, but the L.A. Times says that the beginning of the fourth and final season won’t start until April of 2008, about three months later than initially reported. Oh, and Ron Moore will be making his directorial debut with one of the episodes. I guess I don’t mind waiting, but I just want to know what happens so much.

The Dark Knight

King Who?

Apparently all Smash Bros. fans have been long awaiting the addition of King Dedede ever since the N64 version. Again… King who? Ohhhh… he’s the king of Dreamland from the Kirby games and he’s going to “mechanize his wooden mallet,” whatever that means. This makes at least two new characters I’m completely underwhelmed by (the other is Sammy from the Mother/Earthbound games, the same place Ness came from… okay, not Sammy, Lucas, as if it makes any difference). This got me thinking, though: What characters would I be extremely happy to see in this new installment? I’m glad Sonic is in, but what other iconic Nintendo (or Nintendo friendly) game franchises haven’t been represented yet. What about Simon Belmont? Mega Man? Some villain from Metroid? This little doggy?

 

Who would you add to the fighting roster? I’d love to get some ideas in the comments. I bet they’ll all be better than King Dedede.

Hell’s Dildo.

My crush on Neil Gaiman just tripled.

Neil Gaiman Receives Hell’s Dildo – Scream 2007

Neil Gaiman accepts “Hell’s Dildo” at the 2007 Scream Awards.

PS. I think we’re going to get a bunch more interesting hits now.

Peach’s World

How can one character be so great yet so terrifyingly, deliciously maniacal all at the same time?

I love this line from Smash Bros. Dojo:

“Somehow, Princess Peach always seems go at her own pace. Her Final Smash will lure you into her world.”

Her pinkness and flowers are just a disguise for the malice within.

New Final Fantasy Potion Drink Commercial

Awesome.

And here’s this one again in case you forgot.

Thought I would share…

This is the Lost Season 3 Finale trailer from the UK. I think it’s pretty freaking awesome. It makes me want to see Seasons 3 and 4. As a result, I am currently downloading Season 3. WHY IS IT NOT JANUARY.

I think there will be a lengthy forthcoming post about Lost. But for now!

Awesome Lost Trailer.

I want to embed it but it isn’t letting me.

Live Action Smash

It’s kind of long, but there are some good parts.

Sneaky Sneaky

I like to check out the stats of this blog every once in a while just to see how many people are reading it and where they come from. You’d be surprised at how many searches for Heath Ledger, Olivia Munn, and Michelle Williams lead here. I feel sorry for the true fans looking for something juicy, especially because of my campaign against Olivia Munn. So today I was looking to see what other sites led people to this little blog, and an interesting URL showed up: therealchrislee.com. I know this strange, elusive character (Chris Lee) from when I was younger; I’d even say that we’ve been friends now for about 13 years. Because of his elusive nature I had no idea that this blog existed, but now that I do I will put it over in the margin. Check it out. He’s got a brain worth exploring.

Acrobatics, A Small White Bunny, A Dumb Brown Bunny, And More About Animal Rights

Peaceful Warrior is based on the true story of a Olympic level gymnast named Dan Millman. It’s actually based on his best-selling autobiographical novel. Scott Mechlowicz stars as Millman and Nick Nolte*** is his, well, mentor I guess. I suppose when this movie was recommended to me by Netflix I thought it would be a nice story about a guy who suffers a great loss and overcomes his hardship by the end. Millman was in a traffic accident and was told he would never be able to compete again. Right from the beginning, however, this movie is not quite what it seems. There’s a scene in which Nick Nolte’s character, an old-time gas station attendant (still full-service), is talking with Millman outside the station and suddenly appears on the roof of the building. This is the event that inspires Millman to accept Nolte’s tutelage so he can learn how he basically teleported to the top of a building. I know this is the dream of every gymnast, but it seemed a little implausible to me. It turns into a philosophical journey towards learning that now is now, and it doesn’t matter how you teleport to the top of a building, all that matters is the journey itself. Despite the random fantasy elements it was a pretty enjoyable movie.

*** ouf of *****

 

I think there should be a new genre name for movies like The Last Mimzy***. I put it in the same category as Powder, Phenomenon, and K-PAX as kind of a philosophical statement involving futuristic/space technology or abilities. I always really like the concept of these movies, but the execution isn’t always there. One of the best like this that sticks out for me is Contact with Jodie Foster. Mimzy wasn’t a bad movie at all, it just had a few annoying things about it that kept me from liking it more, like little girls saying the word “Mimzy” (the name of her little futuristic stuffed animal) in the most annoyingly ultra-adorable way. Rating systems are interesting. I’m giving this the same score as the previous film, but this one gets the added bonus of “don’t bother.” Maybe the problem would be solved with halves. Too bad Netflix isn’t cool like that.

*** out of ***** (sort of)

 

Just a moment while I go change into my hater pants….. Okay, now on with the next reviews.

 

I don’t even know what to say about this movie. The Brown Bunny was a sort of experimental movie by Vincent Gallo who has been in a lot of stuff, but I didn’t remember him from anything. This movie was written by, directed by, and starred Gallo. He was absolutely in love with this movie, and it’s blatantly obvious. This is one of the most narcissistic movies I’ve ever suffered through. I really can’t remember a single word of dialogue mostly because there wasn’t any. I think you’d like this movie if you enjoy driving in a car through nowhere with no music playing or thoughts running through your head. Most of this movie consists of Gallo driving his truck alone with a camera looking out the windshield. It actually reminded me of one of George Lucas’ first films, 1:48:08: A Man and His Car, about a race car driver trying to qualify for a race. Booooooooring. Oh, there’s also an actual blow-j performed near the end of this completely pointless piece of crap, which was yet another way for Gallo to assert his love for himself. So yeah, this movie gets absolutely no support from me.

* out of *****

 

I love quirky, independent comedy dramas, even if they have sometimes questionably talented ex-”Saturday Night Live” stars. I like Molly Shannon a lot, especially a certain joyologist character she did, even though I do think she’s a little creepy sometimes (that Catholic school girl always made me uncomfortable but not in a funny way). Anyway, Year of the Dog looked like it was going to be a winner for me. It’s about a woman whose loss of her dog incites changes in all areas of her life. First of all, the “loss of her dog” part was almost unbearable for me to experience. I’ve grown up with dogs my whole life, and I generally love all animals. The first twenty minutes of this movie made me seriously consider never getting a dog of my own because of their shorter-than-mine life-span. STRIKE! There were scenes between her and several characters that were extremely uncomfortable in the way that made me feel like never interacting with other humans again ever. STRIKE! And eventually I felt like there was a never-ending in my face message about animal rights. As I said, I love animals, but I have an adverse reaction to over-zealous activism, and I think taking small children to a slaughterhouse is a little over the top. STRIKE! I’m sorry to say I was really disappointed by this one.

** out of *****

Halloween

Thanks to my brother, b1ngo, I’ve found my dream costume!  Who wouldn’t pay $42.99 for this?

Rapid Feed: Never Say Die!

Soon “Goonies II” won’t just be the name of a strange little NES game. Both Corey Feldman and Sean Astin have said that a sequel to the 1985 original is a certainty. (Is that normal sized guy in the front Chunk?)

 

A retelling of The Wizard of Oz called “Tin Man” will be airing on SciFi channel this December. I can’t tell if it looks good or not, but I love Zooey Deschanel and will see anything with her in it. Here’s the trailer.

 

The birthplace of such childhood favorites as “Animaniacs” and “Batman: The Animated Series” is coming to an end. The CW is dropping Kids WB from its lineup in favor of something called 4Kids Entertainment.

 

Did anyone see this video? Apparently there will be no repercussions for Mr. Bonaduce. Oh, and “hugs” are one of Fairplay’s signature moves.

FNL Tonight!

Please watch “Friday Night Lights” tonight. I just found out today that a bunch of the stuff they do is improvisational which makes a lot of sense because of the intense realism that is achieved. It’s so great. As Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins) said in an interview, give the show a chance to prove you wrong. Watch it a couple times even if you don’t think you’ll like it because maybe you will. If you watch it and still don’t like it, then by all means never watch it again. I think you might be surprised, though.

Watch “Friday Night Lights” on NBC at 9:00pm eastern, 8:oopm central. Or watch it on the NBC website later.  Just watch it.

Zombie kid…

Jordan’s response was, “Meh…” but come on, this is funny.

Best Smash News Yet!

 

One of my favorite parts of Melee was the single-player adventure portion of the game.  I miss side-scrollers a lot, so this brought back some fond memories.  And it looks a lot prettier than the older games with the same gameplay style.  Now, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a much deeper single-player mode that I’m really excited about.  They just announced today, though, that this single-player mission will have an option to be two-player!  That’s right!  Co-op Smash Bros. adventure mode!

Read about it.

Speaking Of Final Fantasy…

The trailer for the new 3D version of FFIV coming out for the DS was released. There are so many reasons why I need a DS…

Watch the trailer.