Booyor's BLOGgh!

Check out the Freedom site for the new podcast.

My wife and I beat the new Super Mario Bros. game, so if you have any recommendations for a good co-op Wii game (in short supply, surprisingly enough) send them my way. The good thing with Mario is that you can keep going back to any level and still have a considerable amount of fun.

While searching for details about LEGO Star Wars III, I’m annoyed that I fell asleep during 30 Rock last night:

Let’s hear it for Hulu.

What? You can watch episodes of the Clone Wars online? When did this happen? I’m so behind. Not that I’m an uber fan of the cartoon, but it would have been nice to know after the third time in a day watching the Don Knotts episode of the Muppets. (If you listen to the podcast there’s a reference to Sweetums. That’s not on accident.)

Tonight’s Chuck was great. Expect no spoilers other than that from me (although I will say that Jeffster songs get stuck in my head).

The irony of all-out Nerf warfare on the show did not escape my sense of timeliness.

Okay, so maybe some spoilers from me, but Nerf is not integral to the plot.

Or is it?

Thanks to everyone who listened to my beautiful wife on the radio. I’m proud. And for those that may wonder if celebrity has caused her to ignore the little people, she still helps us out:

This is how my wife clamped down the lining for my orthopedic insert for the glue to dry.

Video game news: If you haven’t gone to Gamestop yet to get your free demo disc of Monster Hunter 3, you need to. I initially set out to play a Final Fantasy-esque protagonist with a giant sword:

but the camera angle (which doesn’t rotate with you…unless it’s an unseen option) couldn’t keep up with the hunt.

I’m not too proud to admit that I switched to the hunter with the shotgun. Those poor herbivores never saw it coming.

On the topic of Final Fantasy, FFIV (or II if you were like me and bought the original cartridge back at Babbage’s) released on the Virtual Console today. Airships and dragoons are always fun additions to the party. I didn’t pick it up (since I still have the original cartridge) but I’m holding out for the actual FFII and III for the Virtual Console. Is it sad that I’m more excited for those than the big release of Final Fantasy XIII this week? (And yes, Dad, I know that since there’s 13 of them, Final is not an appropriate adjective. Don’t get me started on the Crystal Chronicles spin-off.)

When that comes, we’ll have cannons and Russians.

Like in traditional bloggh format, we’ll celebrate today’s posting achievement with a song:

Seriously. Who knew politicians were so entertaining? And applause for rhyming “preterite” with “Connecticut”.

This came across my e-mail today:

Choreographing all of those middle schoolers is actually pretty impressive. I also would love the compliment of some kid holding up my book and screaming while pointing at it.

The related videos on the “district appropriate video service” (YouTube being completely blocked) made me laugh:

In video game news:

Did you see the kid who created a strategy guide for Zelda – for people who can’t see?

The impossible is only the untried.

Also – the Playstation Smartphone should debut sometime this year. This year will also see Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M.
What is Nintendo going to release for Christmas? Probably Zelda.

Finally – You’ve gotta love Yahoo tech blogs.

Regardless of it’s sales, it’s still fun to play.

Which it’s is it, people?

Nintendo had a big press conference today. Here are some exciting dates:

March 8 – Free Monster Hunter demo disc at GameStop
May 23 – Super Mario Galaxy 2
June 27 – Metroid: Other M

On June 14 the DS will have a “game” called 100 Classic Books that will let you read public domain classic books. The $19 price tag is cheap when compared to other DS games but expensive when compared to Kindle-ish apps for phones. A plus, though, is the ability to download new content via the Nintendo WFC. I’m intrigued to see how this plays out. I know that people bought a PSP just to watch movies. Will people prefer this over an iPod Touch?

Today I stayed home from work due to a scratched right eye. Today consisted of laying in bed while watching Hulu Simpsons. Did you know that Star Trek Generations is on there now? In the darkened milieu of my Hibernation Chamber, I pondered what it would look like to have a throw-down between Avatar acolytes (I think ‘fan/fanatic’ is putting it lightly) and Macross mavens. Giant transforming robots, no matter how capitalistic, are still cool.

Another fun mash-up from today: Buzz Lightyear as a River/Dollhouse character from Joss Whedon. He has memory loss; his altered perceptions cause him to blank out and shoot lasers at people. I believe that he is the prototype for a Firefly character.

Do you remember these clips from Sesame Street? Did that cake guy always trip? Is the cake guy Jim Henson?

Watching Sesame Street today on non-Hulu it was the habitat/40th anniversary episode. That was playing the last time I stayed home sick.

Saturday, to de-compress from our coordinating/catering, we watched the G.I. Joe movie (not the cartoon movie with Nemesis Enforcer…that would have been more realistic). Yes, I understand that the Bloggh should have certain standards and now I have learned my lesson.

Here’s the set-up: Cobra creates genetically-engineered fearless soldiers. So, if they’re so fearless, why do they scream in panic when they fall down a conveniently-placed shaft and/or have a grenade shoved under their collars? Next time, can I get hired to read over the script? $10 for a quick run-through. Was it supposed to be gritty or cheesy? The language says gritty. The impalements say gritty.

Seriously: next time you watch the film, keep a tally of how many people get impaled in the movie. Double the score for each time the spike is revealed stabbing through another device, like a datapad/pillar/Hummer.

I don’t care what anyone tells you, take it from me: Marlon Wayans is cheesy in the film. Plain and simple.

I was okay with one thing they changed about the franchise, though. I like that Zartan can switch faces. The action figure just turned a sickly blue in the sun. But replacing the president as a shapeshifter? X2 did that well with Senator Kelly. Heroes copied that. G.I. Joe copied that. Through the Xerox effect, the initial luster has dulled and the copy has become muddled and inky.

I also broke down and got Tomena Sennar for my brother’s bachelor party. Yes, it is as psycho as advertised. It was a great way to keep the guys’ attention while we waited for Mike to bail us out with Rock Band 2. With the left-over WiiPoints, I sent Mega Man 3 to myself. I hadn’t played that game for 15-20+ years. I beat Tomena Sennar before I went to bed on Friday night.

Let’s just say video games have been dumbed down over the years. My wife laughs at me losing horribly to a game I could beat as an elementary school kid.

And yes, Chaarli, today’s wootshirt is very librarian-esque:

What do you do with your old Rock Band/Guitar Hero controllers? Why, you play loud rock and roll to vanquish zombie hordes, that’s what! Hit perfect note combos to send the undead packing.

Expect more information to come from Nintendo tomorrow, but this spring you’ll see Netflix on the Wii. Microsoft got in quickly and bought up the rights to a Netflix channel in the home menu, so PS3 users have to load a DVD like a game in order to boot up Netflix. I’m guessing that’s the same thing that will happen with the Wii.

I don’t use Netflix at all. The times when I do watch movies are the $1 Redbox ones. I don’t think we’ve ever gotten up to $9 worth of rentals. Before I commit I’d have to see how many TV shows the Wii version of Netflix would offer.

(The ability to have any Disney film a Wiimote click away would be pretty cool, though. Then my kids wouldn’t be watching Little Mermaid repeatedly.)

It’s supposed to come out in Spring.

A big announcement will happen on January 11 from Electronic Arts.

A big announcement if you ever hung out with me at Peter Piper Pizza during junior high and/or are my brother/roommate from college.

NBA Jam is coming to the Wii. It’s going to be in stores, versus a digital download, so we might see some new content. I would be okay having Kevin Johnson take on Hakeem Olajuwon again (remember that dunk? I do.)

For my brother’s sake, I hope they let Kobe be a playable character. I remember that Michael Jordan had his own licensing, so the biggest #23 fan (the only #23 fan) in the family had to choose between Scottie Pippen and some guy with goggles.

How many sites mentioned Horace Grant today?

I could mention how I modeled myself as a player after Mark West, making three obscure basketball references, so that the announcer could yell, “The bloggher’s on fire!!!”

But I wouldn’t want to get a big head. [rimshot]

I don’t claim to be able to predict the future (especially since my VCR is not working up to its full potential), but here are some guesses of things to come:

1. A software developer will release a compilation of party mini-games for the Wii.
2. The PS3 will welcome a game that has excessive amounts of entrails and nudity, garnering a Mature rating. I will still question the ESRB as to why sociopaths are not valued as the paragon of maturity for our society.
3. The XBOX360 will add a game to its library where the hero has a machine gun and the entire game’s perspective is from behind that gun. It will be hailed as the most innovative game of the year.
4. A country with nuclear (or even nuculear) weapons will threaten the US. Our population will not be able to identify the country on an unmarked map (unless the country was featured in an XBOX game).
5. In the light of my disappointment at space stations in the year 2001, I’m guessing that the manned mission to Saturn to find the Star Child will probably be postponed until some time after 2010.
6. Universal Health Care will not be as universal as advertised. The Star Child’s mother will still be paying towards a huge deductible from the Star Hospital, due to an error in a DRG code.
7. A celebrity will die and the news will run the person’s picture for a week. Thousands will die from hunger-related complications each day, receiving minimal media coverage. Money from the celebrity’s funeral could have fed a significant amount of those people. (Oh, am I ranting on the bloggh? That’s never happened before.)(Here’s one of the scariest Excel spreadsheets ever.)
8. A sports player will get arrested.
9. One local professional team will do well while the rest sit in mediocrity.
10. Erin Hunter will publish five books about a cat civil war. I, on the other hand, will be thankful to publish one book (not necessarily about a cat civil war).
11. I will lobby for nutmeg to be the main ingredient for every family meal.
12. Disney will release another Buddies movie. (We’re watching one of the four-pack that my mom got my daughters. Gee. Thanks, Mom.)
13. Chuck will rock.
14. We all thought Apple was releasing a tablet. Nope. Mind-control device.
    
15. We’ll start bracing for teenage adolescence. The next decade makes me nervous.
16. I will replace my torn-ligament foot with a giant metal claw.
17. I will update something called a “bloggh” from time to time.

Ten years ago I was a Resident Assistant in a Freshman dorm, hung out with this hot girl who bought me donuts, and played Final Fantasy VIII in Mike’s room until insane hours of the morning.

Things have progressed, as I now have my own assistant in my library, I married the hot girl with the donuts, and I play Star Wars in Mike’s living room until insane hours of the morning.

Ten years from now I will have a famous book about a toilet in an elevator (old RA joke), my hot wife will be baking health-smart donuts (I’ll be 40, after all), and I will probably be obsessing over some nerd entertainment in Mike’s holodeck. (It will be something akin to when Picard thought he was Robin Hood, but we will find some way to turn Riker to the Dark Side. Consider the beard.)

Did you know that ten years ago I had been asked if I could grow a goatee? The rest, as they say, is history.

I hadn’t realized just how many games involve long playtime with a flashlight, but it makes sense when you point the controller at the screen.

Can I add that the scales are imbalanced? For every survival horror game invoking a flashlight, it should be federal law requiring the release of a game revolving around nunchuk combat and/or two WiiMotes being used as John Woo guns.

Other game topics:
Did you see the tonberry cake?

How about the Marriage Program, complete with USB cupcakes?

Oh, semicolons. You make things happen.

Check out these and deformed turkeys at Cake Wrecks.
Makes me hungry for a M Crib. Right, Mike?