Hi,
I've been thinking about what to do with this blog a lot. I know it's all over the place, so I should probably just whittle it down a bit.
So I think I'll stick to these three elements: My rants (I gotta do them, I just get pissed off), The Optimist, and I think I'll start a video game offshoot of the optimist. Sort of like the opposite of the Angry Video Game Nerd. Though most games will infuriate me. Stuff like not being able to get to the fourth stage in Battletoads for 20 years, but I'll still find something good. So stay tuned, I'm not dead, jut slow.
-Vamp
P.S. - I'm gonna try so hard not to just rehash news stories. Like most blogs where they just blog about what happened in another blog, which happened in another blog, which happened in real life. Those bug me. I may do one, if it directly involves me, or someone near to me. So fuck that, I'm going for original content. /minirant
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
My first post that isn't a repost of a repost or a repost - Ten Signs You May Be a Nerd
To preface this, yes, I know there are waaaaaay too many top ten lists. However, Since this is my first serious attempt at a blog, I had to do a top ten list. It's cliche, and everyone does it at one point or another, so let's get on with the list.
-Let's say you're really, really, bored, and you start quoting Star Trek bloopers. Not the actual episodes, but the outtakes.
I'm proud to say that I personally have done this. One winter, my car broke down, and it was freeeeeeeeezing. My brother and I had to walk a few miles home, in below zero temperatures (MN FTW...). On the way home, we got really, really, bored, and really, really, cold. So out of nowhere. My brother and I start quoting Star Trek bloopers. Of course we both laughed due to us being gigantic, hopeless nerds. After we ran out of blooper lines, we started to quote movies lines, which will lead into my next topic. It was the only thing we could do to keep our minds off the cold. Looking back on it, that was one of the most fun times I've had with my brother. We still periodicaly quote bloopers when we're in need of a good cheer up.
-You've seen the movie Free Enterprise, and can understand all the refferences. For those of you who don't know, the basic premise of the movie is that two nerds meet William Shatner, and end up making a movie with him. The movie is rife with Star Trek refferences, including some by Bill himself. It is a great movie and, it is semi-autobiographical. The two main characters are based on real people. The screenplay writer, and the director: Mark A. Altman, and Robert Meyer Burnett. PROTIP: There are little extras in the credits. Read them, they will amuse you, at least half of them, if you understand them. If you happen upon this blog, you can message me for stuf you don't understand, and I'll point you in the right direction.
-Of course this one had to come up. If you've ever gotten into a discussion about whether the tech in Star Wars or Star Trek is superior.
My two cents: Star Trek tech would win because of one thing. The Borg. All they'd have to do, is beam aboard the Death Star, inject some nanites, just about anywhere and then you have a Borg Sphere capable of destroying planets. Slowly it becomes assimilated, and you've got the most powerful wepon in the galazy. Since their shields adapt, blaster fire would be no problem, due to not being able to change the frequence of the blasts. Soon, you'd have a roving Death Star of Borg. Who would then start beaming aboard other ships, i.e. The executor, and then you'd have the most baddass leader of the imperial senate: Borg Emperor. Now, you're probably thinking since the Emperor has lightning powers, he could take down the Borg which are mechanical. All it takes is a lot of Borg to overpower him. Then he'd go around assimilating everyone in sight pretty much. Even Vader. This would give the Borg extremely strong force powers, and the entire Empire would fall to them. Also, in terms of pure firepower Star Wars also has the advantage. The only thing I could think of that the Star Wars universe has is The Force. Also, ther aren't enough jedi left in the world to take them on because of the massacre when Vader and Palpatine took over. Feel free to dispute in the comments.
-This one is an easy one if you've ever been to any kind of Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Anime Convention; I might have some bad news for you... Double points if you cosplayed. Cosplay. Also known in non-nerd terms: dressing up as your favorite character.
I myself am guilty of this. Since I was 6 years old, I've been going to Star Trek cons, anime cons, sci-fi/fantasy cons. I've dressed up numerous times. Mostly as a Starfleet officer, and I plan on cosplaying in the future. I also go to on average 6-7 cons a year.
-You quote movies. Constantly. You have no original jokes of your own. You just have really good comedic timing where you put in an appropriate movie quote to make it funny.
Yes, I am extremely guilty of this. I have no original jokes of my. It's always movie quotes. The best is when the people don't know the quote. That's quite hilaious. Every once in a while, I'll be able to spout my own joke, but it's an extreme rarity
-You like Anime and Manga. That is one of the nerdiest things you can love next to Star Trek. and of course, I looooooove it. Ther are as many anime genres as there are movie genres, and they tend to go more in depth. Lately, it's been going mainstream, but it's still a nerdly persuit.
-You spend too much time on the internet looking at 4chan, the numerous other chans, lolcats, and digg. Also, guilty.
-This one should be obvious. You play Dungeons and Dragons, or some other table top RPG. This includes Warhammer too. I think this would also work in this part too. You play video games, especially the retro ones on a regular basis. You also bitch about how games are so much easier now-a-days (That's me included, but that's a whole other article..
-You're reading this list...
-Last but not least. You build your own computers, and have LAN parties. Both of which I'm guilty of.
Come to think of it. I fit all ten criteria. So I must be an uber nerd...meh, that's not too bad. I enjoy my nerdiness.
Your partner in nerdom,
VampKei
-Let's say you're really, really, bored, and you start quoting Star Trek bloopers. Not the actual episodes, but the outtakes.
I'm proud to say that I personally have done this. One winter, my car broke down, and it was freeeeeeeeezing. My brother and I had to walk a few miles home, in below zero temperatures (MN FTW...). On the way home, we got really, really, bored, and really, really, cold. So out of nowhere. My brother and I start quoting Star Trek bloopers. Of course we both laughed due to us being gigantic, hopeless nerds. After we ran out of blooper lines, we started to quote movies lines, which will lead into my next topic. It was the only thing we could do to keep our minds off the cold. Looking back on it, that was one of the most fun times I've had with my brother. We still periodicaly quote bloopers when we're in need of a good cheer up.
-You've seen the movie Free Enterprise, and can understand all the refferences. For those of you who don't know, the basic premise of the movie is that two nerds meet William Shatner, and end up making a movie with him. The movie is rife with Star Trek refferences, including some by Bill himself. It is a great movie and, it is semi-autobiographical. The two main characters are based on real people. The screenplay writer, and the director: Mark A. Altman, and Robert Meyer Burnett. PROTIP: There are little extras in the credits. Read them, they will amuse you, at least half of them, if you understand them. If you happen upon this blog, you can message me for stuf you don't understand, and I'll point you in the right direction.
-Of course this one had to come up. If you've ever gotten into a discussion about whether the tech in Star Wars or Star Trek is superior.
My two cents: Star Trek tech would win because of one thing. The Borg. All they'd have to do, is beam aboard the Death Star, inject some nanites, just about anywhere and then you have a Borg Sphere capable of destroying planets. Slowly it becomes assimilated, and you've got the most powerful wepon in the galazy. Since their shields adapt, blaster fire would be no problem, due to not being able to change the frequence of the blasts. Soon, you'd have a roving Death Star of Borg. Who would then start beaming aboard other ships, i.e. The executor, and then you'd have the most baddass leader of the imperial senate: Borg Emperor. Now, you're probably thinking since the Emperor has lightning powers, he could take down the Borg which are mechanical. All it takes is a lot of Borg to overpower him. Then he'd go around assimilating everyone in sight pretty much. Even Vader. This would give the Borg extremely strong force powers, and the entire Empire would fall to them. Also, in terms of pure firepower Star Wars also has the advantage. The only thing I could think of that the Star Wars universe has is The Force. Also, ther aren't enough jedi left in the world to take them on because of the massacre when Vader and Palpatine took over. Feel free to dispute in the comments.
-This one is an easy one if you've ever been to any kind of Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Anime Convention; I might have some bad news for you... Double points if you cosplayed. Cosplay. Also known in non-nerd terms: dressing up as your favorite character.
I myself am guilty of this. Since I was 6 years old, I've been going to Star Trek cons, anime cons, sci-fi/fantasy cons. I've dressed up numerous times. Mostly as a Starfleet officer, and I plan on cosplaying in the future. I also go to on average 6-7 cons a year.
-You quote movies. Constantly. You have no original jokes of your own. You just have really good comedic timing where you put in an appropriate movie quote to make it funny.
Yes, I am extremely guilty of this. I have no original jokes of my. It's always movie quotes. The best is when the people don't know the quote. That's quite hilaious. Every once in a while, I'll be able to spout my own joke, but it's an extreme rarity
-You like Anime and Manga. That is one of the nerdiest things you can love next to Star Trek. and of course, I looooooove it. Ther are as many anime genres as there are movie genres, and they tend to go more in depth. Lately, it's been going mainstream, but it's still a nerdly persuit.
-You spend too much time on the internet looking at 4chan, the numerous other chans, lolcats, and digg. Also, guilty.
-This one should be obvious. You play Dungeons and Dragons, or some other table top RPG. This includes Warhammer too. I think this would also work in this part too. You play video games, especially the retro ones on a regular basis. You also bitch about how games are so much easier now-a-days (That's me included, but that's a whole other article..
-You're reading this list...
-Last but not least. You build your own computers, and have LAN parties. Both of which I'm guilty of.
Come to think of it. I fit all ten criteria. So I must be an uber nerd...meh, that's not too bad. I enjoy my nerdiness.
Your partner in nerdom,
VampKei
Police Encounters - Repost
Repost from 9/11/07
I've been pulled over a multitude of times for a multitude of reasons as I'm sure many of you have. We've all gotten ticketed, and had a "talk" with cops. Some of them are nice, but the majority of them are people who are "drunk" with power and abuse it way too much. I'm not saying that cops are bad, and aren't needed. I'm just saying that there is a way that we need to deal with cops without giving up our constitutionally given rights as North Americans.
I've been pulled over before by a cop who couldn't tell me why he pulled me over. I asked him why instead of telling him why I thought he did, and he stuttered, then he went and sat in his car doing who knows what before finally let me go. As I left he told me, "Well, don't do it again!" What the fuck did I do? I was doing nothing wrong, and he felt the need to pull me over and waste my time.
There are many ways to deal with cops, and most of us in the USA do it the wrong way by giving up our rights granted to us by the constitution. Something as simple as a cop asking you, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" can make you loose one of your rights. If you admit to him that you did something, you just waived your fifth amendment right to not incriminate yourself in a crime. You don't even have to answer that question. There's no law that says you have to speak to a cop. Just let the cop tell you what you did wrong and admit nothing. They can give you a ticket for one of two ways: If they have evidence against you such as their speed gun, or if you tell them that you did something. There's a chance that you could even avoid a ticket because of that.
The cops play mind games and use word play to make you give up your rights just like I stated above. In the video it tells you how to deal with the cops in different situations. Like if they come to your house, if you get pulled over, and even random ID checks. (Those are illegal. They need probable cause to do those. This isn't Nazi Germany.)
This video is made by the ACLU. A group that specialize in the Constitutional rights of North Americans. This video is made to teach you how to deal with cops without giving up your rights, and to keep yourself safe from harassment by some law enforcement people. You should watch this whether or not you're breaking the law. Everyone has to deal with the cops and this will teach you how to handle them.
In this video it will show what to do and what not to do in certain situations. The acting in this isn't the best, but it accurately detail how many police officers act, and how some people might react.
Edit: This video is especially important right now around September 11th. People are gonna be a bit scared, and the police are gonna be bulking up and gonna be on the offense. Unless they have a warrant, exercise your rights.
I've been pulled over a multitude of times for a multitude of reasons as I'm sure many of you have. We've all gotten ticketed, and had a "talk" with cops. Some of them are nice, but the majority of them are people who are "drunk" with power and abuse it way too much. I'm not saying that cops are bad, and aren't needed. I'm just saying that there is a way that we need to deal with cops without giving up our constitutionally given rights as North Americans.
I've been pulled over before by a cop who couldn't tell me why he pulled me over. I asked him why instead of telling him why I thought he did, and he stuttered, then he went and sat in his car doing who knows what before finally let me go. As I left he told me, "Well, don't do it again!" What the fuck did I do? I was doing nothing wrong, and he felt the need to pull me over and waste my time.
There are many ways to deal with cops, and most of us in the USA do it the wrong way by giving up our rights granted to us by the constitution. Something as simple as a cop asking you, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" can make you loose one of your rights. If you admit to him that you did something, you just waived your fifth amendment right to not incriminate yourself in a crime. You don't even have to answer that question. There's no law that says you have to speak to a cop. Just let the cop tell you what you did wrong and admit nothing. They can give you a ticket for one of two ways: If they have evidence against you such as their speed gun, or if you tell them that you did something. There's a chance that you could even avoid a ticket because of that.
The cops play mind games and use word play to make you give up your rights just like I stated above. In the video it tells you how to deal with the cops in different situations. Like if they come to your house, if you get pulled over, and even random ID checks. (Those are illegal. They need probable cause to do those. This isn't Nazi Germany.)
This video is made by the ACLU. A group that specialize in the Constitutional rights of North Americans. This video is made to teach you how to deal with cops without giving up your rights, and to keep yourself safe from harassment by some law enforcement people. You should watch this whether or not you're breaking the law. Everyone has to deal with the cops and this will teach you how to handle them.
In this video it will show what to do and what not to do in certain situations. The acting in this isn't the best, but it accurately detail how many police officers act, and how some people might react.
Edit: This video is especially important right now around September 11th. People are gonna be a bit scared, and the police are gonna be bulking up and gonna be on the offense. Unless they have a warrant, exercise your rights.
The Optimist: Rob Zombie's Halloween - Repost
Repost 9/7/07
I don't feel that I've explained well enough about what I plan on doing with The Optimist. I'll be reviewing both "bad" (There are very few bad movies) and good movies. I'll just review and talk about whatever piques my interest in a certain movie. Not really review, just talk about. This time it's the Halloween series and Rob's re-imagining. Before I go into this, and those who would bitch about spoilers. There aren't any huge surprises with this new movie. It's a logical step into what happens with Michael during his time in Smith's Grove. We all know the ending.
I have a very long and intricate history with Halloween. It was the first R-rated horror movie I ever saw. It's also the reason I love horror movies like I do.
I bought my first copy of it at Blockbuster for five bucks. (I say first because I have three different versions of it.) We had just moved here to Apple Valley, and my Dad and I were checking out the local Blockbuster. At the time Blockbuster had their own brand of movie releases. They released a bunch of older movies with their name stamped on the cover. I also have a copy of Night of the Living Dead from this series. My Dad said to me that it was a good movie and that I was old enough to watch it now. I was 11 at the time. I had no idea what it was. He just bought it for me. It was strange, and it changed my life. (Yes, it's a cheesy line, but it really did change my life. You'll soon see why.)
At the time all I knew was that it was an R-rated horror movie and those were forbidden in my house. (Now at all hours of the day and night you will hear screaming coming from my TV or computer.) We brought it home, and I was so freaked out at the prospect of what I might see that I couldn't get myself to watch it for five days. (Whatever you can think of is always scarier than what the movie actually is.)
Everyday I tried to put it in, but I just couldn't muster the courage. Finally, on the fifth day, I remember this like it was yesterday. It was early September, and the leaves were just starting to turn. My parents were out, and my aunt was watching my brother and I. She was in my parent's room watching a movie with my brother when I finally got the courage to put it in and hit play. I'm not entirely sure what it was that I like about it, but I LOVED it.
I'm still not entirely sure why I love it so much. From there on I saw them all out of order because of the differing prices of the movies, and the availability. At the time Halloween 4 and 5 were out of print. It was almost a year before I found them, and at Funcoland of all places!
The first one I saw after the original was Halloween 6. It was so much more violent than the others. The original didn't have much gore. It was more of the suspense of not knowing where he was or why he was killing everyone. This one had so much more, and it really freaked me out and enthralled me at the same time. I was in awe of what was going on before my eyes, the sounds of the knife going in, that haunting melody that John Carpenter wrote. It all just fit perfectly. I remember being amazed that they brought Tommy Doyle back. 6 was a decent movie, and it doesn't deserve all the flak it gets!
After Halloween, I started renting every horror movie I could get my hands on. Now I buy horror movies weekly. The DVD's are so cheap now. I have over 300 DVDs and easily more than half of them are horror.
Last year, I heard rumblings of a new Halloween movie, and this of course excited me. Then I heard that Rob was directing it. I was ecstatic! He's perfect. I couldn't think of anyone better to direct it than him. He definitely knows how to make a good horror movie. (Devil's Rejects is awesome!)
I heard that he had talked to John Carpenter about it and he gave him the ok. Even better! Then I heard that Rob was going to be basing this new movie in reality rather than the supernatural storyline that was part of the series already, and I was sort of put off by that, but it was Rob Zombie. He'd do a good job no matter what!
This movie is more of a re-imagining than a remake. Only part of it is a remake, and it's completely different from the original. The first third of the movie is about Michael and his life before he kills his sister. We see the classic beginnings of a serial killer. He's killing small animals, and taking pictures of road kill, he's being picked on, and he's just generally anti-social. He also wears this creepy as fuck clown mask all the time. The kid who played Michael did an amazing job, this kid is just creepy. His name is Daeg Faerch. Of course he snaps and is put into Smith's Grove Insane Asylum. This is where we meet Dr. Loomis played brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell. This part we see Michael slowly slip further and further into his insanity until finally he stop talking all together. The third part of the movie is where he escapes and where the remake part comes in. We all know what happens so I won't have to explain it.
Fast forward to a year later, last Friday. My Dad, Brother, and I went out to see Rob Zombie's Halloween on the huge screen at Carmike Cinema. We saw the midnight showing. There were surprisingly a lot of people there for something so late. As the movie started, I was so excited, and a little bit on edge. As the movie kept going, I was actually getting scared and genuinely freaked out with what was going on. This never happens with me and horror movies anymore. It takes a lot to bring that out of me now, and Rob did it with flying colours. As the credits hit, my jaw was on the floor. The first thought that came into my head was, "He did it. He actually, made a better movie than the original!"
In the earlier films Michael's story became so outlandish that it wasn't scary and just interesting. You always wanted to see where he'd go next. That's part of what I loved so much about them. In this Rob stripped all that away, and made Michael a human. Just a very sick person who wants a family. All he's got left of his family is Laurie, and his whole motive in this movie is to find her and connect with her.
That's what this movie boils down to: Family. Michael wants someone to connect with. His Mom killed herself shortly after realizing Michael would never leave the sanitarium. Shortly after that, Laurie is adopted by a new family and never told about her relation to him. He knows she exists, but he cannot get out. Loomis over the course of 15 years, tries to get through to him, and fails. He tells Michael there's nothing he can do for him, and leaves. Michael is left alone, and when he breaks out he just wants to find Laurie and make some kind of connection with her. This was the strength of the movie right here. Rob made Michael a human. I saw Michael as a human for the first time in this. There were times in the other movies where something similar to this was attempted, but the story made the impact slightly less than what it should have been like it was in this. This is shown especially in the scene where he meets Laurie for the first time since she was a baby. He drops his knife, takes off his mask, kneels in front of her, and gives her a picture of the two of them when they were young. At that point, my jaw was on the floor. It was such a powerful scene.
Every single actor in this movie did a great job in the parts they were given. The music and sound was mixed perfectly. I was glad that Rob kept the original theme. Early in development there were rumours that it wouldn't be kept. This is definitely a worthy remake and superior to the original in many ways.
Over Labour Day weekend, it broke records. It has already doubled the money it cost to make it, and everyone I've talked to seems to like it. I can't wait to see it again, and I suggest to everyone with an interest in horror to see this movie. This is what a horror movie should be. It shouldn't be torture porn, or a lame PG-13 movie. It should be balls out terror, and that's what this movie achieved.
-VampKei, The Optimist
I don't feel that I've explained well enough about what I plan on doing with The Optimist. I'll be reviewing both "bad" (There are very few bad movies) and good movies. I'll just review and talk about whatever piques my interest in a certain movie. Not really review, just talk about. This time it's the Halloween series and Rob's re-imagining. Before I go into this, and those who would bitch about spoilers. There aren't any huge surprises with this new movie. It's a logical step into what happens with Michael during his time in Smith's Grove. We all know the ending.
I have a very long and intricate history with Halloween. It was the first R-rated horror movie I ever saw. It's also the reason I love horror movies like I do.
I bought my first copy of it at Blockbuster for five bucks. (I say first because I have three different versions of it.) We had just moved here to Apple Valley, and my Dad and I were checking out the local Blockbuster. At the time Blockbuster had their own brand of movie releases. They released a bunch of older movies with their name stamped on the cover. I also have a copy of Night of the Living Dead from this series. My Dad said to me that it was a good movie and that I was old enough to watch it now. I was 11 at the time. I had no idea what it was. He just bought it for me. It was strange, and it changed my life. (Yes, it's a cheesy line, but it really did change my life. You'll soon see why.)
At the time all I knew was that it was an R-rated horror movie and those were forbidden in my house. (Now at all hours of the day and night you will hear screaming coming from my TV or computer.) We brought it home, and I was so freaked out at the prospect of what I might see that I couldn't get myself to watch it for five days. (Whatever you can think of is always scarier than what the movie actually is.)
Everyday I tried to put it in, but I just couldn't muster the courage. Finally, on the fifth day, I remember this like it was yesterday. It was early September, and the leaves were just starting to turn. My parents were out, and my aunt was watching my brother and I. She was in my parent's room watching a movie with my brother when I finally got the courage to put it in and hit play. I'm not entirely sure what it was that I like about it, but I LOVED it.
I'm still not entirely sure why I love it so much. From there on I saw them all out of order because of the differing prices of the movies, and the availability. At the time Halloween 4 and 5 were out of print. It was almost a year before I found them, and at Funcoland of all places!
The first one I saw after the original was Halloween 6. It was so much more violent than the others. The original didn't have much gore. It was more of the suspense of not knowing where he was or why he was killing everyone. This one had so much more, and it really freaked me out and enthralled me at the same time. I was in awe of what was going on before my eyes, the sounds of the knife going in, that haunting melody that John Carpenter wrote. It all just fit perfectly. I remember being amazed that they brought Tommy Doyle back. 6 was a decent movie, and it doesn't deserve all the flak it gets!
After Halloween, I started renting every horror movie I could get my hands on. Now I buy horror movies weekly. The DVD's are so cheap now. I have over 300 DVDs and easily more than half of them are horror.
Last year, I heard rumblings of a new Halloween movie, and this of course excited me. Then I heard that Rob was directing it. I was ecstatic! He's perfect. I couldn't think of anyone better to direct it than him. He definitely knows how to make a good horror movie. (Devil's Rejects is awesome!)
I heard that he had talked to John Carpenter about it and he gave him the ok. Even better! Then I heard that Rob was going to be basing this new movie in reality rather than the supernatural storyline that was part of the series already, and I was sort of put off by that, but it was Rob Zombie. He'd do a good job no matter what!
This movie is more of a re-imagining than a remake. Only part of it is a remake, and it's completely different from the original. The first third of the movie is about Michael and his life before he kills his sister. We see the classic beginnings of a serial killer. He's killing small animals, and taking pictures of road kill, he's being picked on, and he's just generally anti-social. He also wears this creepy as fuck clown mask all the time. The kid who played Michael did an amazing job, this kid is just creepy. His name is Daeg Faerch. Of course he snaps and is put into Smith's Grove Insane Asylum. This is where we meet Dr. Loomis played brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell. This part we see Michael slowly slip further and further into his insanity until finally he stop talking all together. The third part of the movie is where he escapes and where the remake part comes in. We all know what happens so I won't have to explain it.
Fast forward to a year later, last Friday. My Dad, Brother, and I went out to see Rob Zombie's Halloween on the huge screen at Carmike Cinema. We saw the midnight showing. There were surprisingly a lot of people there for something so late. As the movie started, I was so excited, and a little bit on edge. As the movie kept going, I was actually getting scared and genuinely freaked out with what was going on. This never happens with me and horror movies anymore. It takes a lot to bring that out of me now, and Rob did it with flying colours. As the credits hit, my jaw was on the floor. The first thought that came into my head was, "He did it. He actually, made a better movie than the original!"
In the earlier films Michael's story became so outlandish that it wasn't scary and just interesting. You always wanted to see where he'd go next. That's part of what I loved so much about them. In this Rob stripped all that away, and made Michael a human. Just a very sick person who wants a family. All he's got left of his family is Laurie, and his whole motive in this movie is to find her and connect with her.
That's what this movie boils down to: Family. Michael wants someone to connect with. His Mom killed herself shortly after realizing Michael would never leave the sanitarium. Shortly after that, Laurie is adopted by a new family and never told about her relation to him. He knows she exists, but he cannot get out. Loomis over the course of 15 years, tries to get through to him, and fails. He tells Michael there's nothing he can do for him, and leaves. Michael is left alone, and when he breaks out he just wants to find Laurie and make some kind of connection with her. This was the strength of the movie right here. Rob made Michael a human. I saw Michael as a human for the first time in this. There were times in the other movies where something similar to this was attempted, but the story made the impact slightly less than what it should have been like it was in this. This is shown especially in the scene where he meets Laurie for the first time since she was a baby. He drops his knife, takes off his mask, kneels in front of her, and gives her a picture of the two of them when they were young. At that point, my jaw was on the floor. It was such a powerful scene.
Every single actor in this movie did a great job in the parts they were given. The music and sound was mixed perfectly. I was glad that Rob kept the original theme. Early in development there were rumours that it wouldn't be kept. This is definitely a worthy remake and superior to the original in many ways.
Over Labour Day weekend, it broke records. It has already doubled the money it cost to make it, and everyone I've talked to seems to like it. I can't wait to see it again, and I suggest to everyone with an interest in horror to see this movie. This is what a horror movie should be. It shouldn't be torture porn, or a lame PG-13 movie. It should be balls out terror, and that's what this movie achieved.
-VampKei, The Optimist
Nintendo is fucking up...let's just hope it isn't for long - Repost+New Stuff
Before I start this rant I'll state my credentials. I've been gaming since I was 4. My Dad bought an Atari 7800 and it was all over for me. Two years later, I got an NES. I've bought all the major systems over the years, and I love games, but right now Nintendo is fucking up with the Wii.
When I say that Nintendo is fucking up, I don't mean overall since it's the biggest selling console in the world and of all time. I'm extremely happy for them. It's outselling the PS3 3 to 1 and the Xbox 10 to 1. They haven't had these kinds of sales for them since the days of the SNES. I've been waiting for them to get back to where they used to be, and now they're there. This is awesome, but for content it fucking sucks.
The way they got there is to get new gamers. The way to get new gamers is to get girls and older people.
The drawback of Nintendo's new platform of making gaming accessible to everyone means they're putting out a shitload of mini-game games. There are currently 60 games for the Wii. 2/3 of these are ports from other systems (These rarely work because the game was not made for the Wiimote so they're a bit awkward to play.), and the other 1/3 is mini-game games. A couple of mini-game games are good, but I don't need a shitload of them. I have Warioware, and WiiPlay. They're both great games, but I don't need anymore mini-game games! I'm tired of this shit! Give me some hardcore games. Games that'll take more than an hour to beat.
There are currently three hardcore games for the system. I own them all, and they're all quality games:
Zelda: Twilight Princess is truly the best Zelda game of them all. My favorite has been A Link To The Past for the SNES forever until this one. It was amazing.
Super Paper Mario: This game is also awesome. It takes the fun of the old side-scrolling Mario games, mixes it with some goodness of the 3-D versions, and gives it an awesome story to make a great game all around.
Finally, they've got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: This is the game that has me liking Metroid again. I loved the other Metroids. Super Metroid might be the greatest side-scrolling adventure of all time, but I didn't like Metroid Prime because of the way it played. It just felt too complicated for the controller. Metroid Prime 3 has fixed that with the power of the Wii's controller. What little I've played is so, so great!
Sadly, this is all they have for hardcore games. When I say hardcore, I mean games that take some time to beat, and not in just one sitting. Hardcore games don't have to have blood or violence either. They just need an epic storyline, and some time to beat. I'm talking story here, not game play. Game play is a definite plus, but I can struggle through some crappy game play as long as the story is good. Story is what matters in a game otherwise, it's a fighting game (No story, like fucking Super Smash Brothers).
The first party Nintendo games are the strength of the system, but they need to make some deals to get original Wii games with other publishers. Games like Elebits, and Dewey's Adventure are a step in the right direction.
I also want some darker games. I like me some bright happy, but I want some dark and depressing sometimes like BioShock, or Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines.
There have been some darker games announced for the Wii but they're either getting cancelled or just disappear. Some games like The Sadness (According to IGN it's coming out March of 2008, but they can't usually be trusted.), Project Hammer, Day of Disaster. I really wanted them, but they've sort of disappeared. The only game I'm looking forward to for my Wii now is Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, and the new Fire Emblem.
I know some of you will be thinking, "Hey, give it some slack, It's only in its first year." The upcoming year doesn't look too interesting. I'm not a fan of Super Smash Brothers. The amount of fighting games I like you can count on one hand. I'm looking for story not mindless fighting.
The big games at E3 were WiiFit, and Mario and Sonic Olympics. Those aren't fun. If I was trying to get Fit, I'd walk up and down some stairs, or take a walk outside, and Mario and Sonic Olympics just seems boring. IT'S MORE MINI-GAMES.
I bought my Wii to play Wii games. Now it's just a virtual console. I WANT TO PLAY WII GAMES GODDAMN IT, AND NOT JUST MINI-GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-VampKei
PS I'm sill pissed at Nintendo. My Wii just sits, collecting dust, except for when the rare good VC game comes out, or even *SHOCK* a good Wii game comes out. I want to play Mad World and House of the Dead: Overkill. They both sound amazing. Oh, and No More Heroes. That's about it. Nintendo needs to go back to their hardcore audience, but this is for another article. My updated thoughts...
When I say that Nintendo is fucking up, I don't mean overall since it's the biggest selling console in the world and of all time. I'm extremely happy for them. It's outselling the PS3 3 to 1 and the Xbox 10 to 1. They haven't had these kinds of sales for them since the days of the SNES. I've been waiting for them to get back to where they used to be, and now they're there. This is awesome, but for content it fucking sucks.
The way they got there is to get new gamers. The way to get new gamers is to get girls and older people.
The drawback of Nintendo's new platform of making gaming accessible to everyone means they're putting out a shitload of mini-game games. There are currently 60 games for the Wii. 2/3 of these are ports from other systems (These rarely work because the game was not made for the Wiimote so they're a bit awkward to play.), and the other 1/3 is mini-game games. A couple of mini-game games are good, but I don't need a shitload of them. I have Warioware, and WiiPlay. They're both great games, but I don't need anymore mini-game games! I'm tired of this shit! Give me some hardcore games. Games that'll take more than an hour to beat.
There are currently three hardcore games for the system. I own them all, and they're all quality games:
Zelda: Twilight Princess is truly the best Zelda game of them all. My favorite has been A Link To The Past for the SNES forever until this one. It was amazing.
Super Paper Mario: This game is also awesome. It takes the fun of the old side-scrolling Mario games, mixes it with some goodness of the 3-D versions, and gives it an awesome story to make a great game all around.
Finally, they've got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: This is the game that has me liking Metroid again. I loved the other Metroids. Super Metroid might be the greatest side-scrolling adventure of all time, but I didn't like Metroid Prime because of the way it played. It just felt too complicated for the controller. Metroid Prime 3 has fixed that with the power of the Wii's controller. What little I've played is so, so great!
Sadly, this is all they have for hardcore games. When I say hardcore, I mean games that take some time to beat, and not in just one sitting. Hardcore games don't have to have blood or violence either. They just need an epic storyline, and some time to beat. I'm talking story here, not game play. Game play is a definite plus, but I can struggle through some crappy game play as long as the story is good. Story is what matters in a game otherwise, it's a fighting game (No story, like fucking Super Smash Brothers).
The first party Nintendo games are the strength of the system, but they need to make some deals to get original Wii games with other publishers. Games like Elebits, and Dewey's Adventure are a step in the right direction.
I also want some darker games. I like me some bright happy, but I want some dark and depressing sometimes like BioShock, or Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines.
There have been some darker games announced for the Wii but they're either getting cancelled or just disappear. Some games like The Sadness (According to IGN it's coming out March of 2008, but they can't usually be trusted.), Project Hammer, Day of Disaster. I really wanted them, but they've sort of disappeared. The only game I'm looking forward to for my Wii now is Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, and the new Fire Emblem.
I know some of you will be thinking, "Hey, give it some slack, It's only in its first year." The upcoming year doesn't look too interesting. I'm not a fan of Super Smash Brothers. The amount of fighting games I like you can count on one hand. I'm looking for story not mindless fighting.
The big games at E3 were WiiFit, and Mario and Sonic Olympics. Those aren't fun. If I was trying to get Fit, I'd walk up and down some stairs, or take a walk outside, and Mario and Sonic Olympics just seems boring. IT'S MORE MINI-GAMES.
I bought my Wii to play Wii games. Now it's just a virtual console. I WANT TO PLAY WII GAMES GODDAMN IT, AND NOT JUST MINI-GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-VampKei
PS I'm sill pissed at Nintendo. My Wii just sits, collecting dust, except for when the rare good VC game comes out, or even *SHOCK* a good Wii game comes out. I want to play Mad World and House of the Dead: Overkill. They both sound amazing. Oh, and No More Heroes. That's about it. Nintendo needs to go back to their hardcore audience, but this is for another article. My updated thoughts...
Computers: A Necessary Evil - Repost
In my real life I fix computers for a living. You'd think that I like computers, but I downright despise them. Well, that's not true. I despise Windows. Since most of us are stuck using Windows, I have to fix Windows. 2/3 of the problems I fix are Windows related. The other 1/3 is networking problems. This last week I've been dealing with both of those problems on my own computer.
I bought a new stick of RAM so I could edit my Buffy fan-edit faster. So, I install the RAM, and the fucking computer won't start up. It gets to the Windows is loading screen and it restarts itself. So, I try safe mode and it won't even boot that. I get my XP CD to do a repair install, it gives me a blue screen of death 4 separate times. The first few are IRQ fuck ups, AND THERE WASN'T AN IRQ PROBLEM GODDAMN IT! The other one was a page file fuck up! Stupid piece of shit. Then I tried again and it said that some of the files on the CD were corrupt...I called up Wilford and got a copy of his, and it worked just fine. I decided to install windows on a new HD instead of the one it was on. I'm happy because finally it's working...except it isn't. I get to the load up screen and the RAM is giving me false readings. I'm supposed to have 2 gigs in there but it only shows 760mb! I had to rearrange my ram to get it working. Then it just fucking died on me again! I reinstalled it on yet another new HD and now it's working.
I'm happy for a moment. Then I try to access my old HD to transfer all the files to this new one. It says it's fucking corrupt and unreadable. I got this program called Acronis Disk Director Suite. It said it could fix corrupt HDs, and I also read on message boards about how some people had gotten all of their data back. I got a copy of it, and ran it. It made the HD readable, and sadly only saved a few files, but not the ones I wanted...I lost everything from my Buffy fan-edit. I have to start over again from scratch. That part is my fault for not backing up the script...
This shit should not happen. Installing RAM should not fuck up XP. That's fucking bullshit. Stupid piece of shit, and it's all I have if I want to play games. I've got just about enough money to buy a MacBook, and that's what I'm going to do. I'll only be using my Windows computer for gaming, and my MacBook for everything else. I won't have to deal with the fucking bullshit that Windows gives me.
On top of all that, a few days ago my internet started flaking out. I did the usual unplug the modem and router and plug it back in, and that didn't work. I thought it might be the router since all the lights on the modem indicated it was working. I plugged the modem directly into my Dad's computer and poof it worked. Stupid router. I hit the reset button on the router and that didn't work either...We had to buy a whole new router, and it got here a few hours ago. My Dad researched it and showed the results to me, and it got mainly positive reviews. It's a WRT300N Wireless Linksys Router. It's much faster than the older one, and it looks cool too. It's got some weird rader dish looking thingy. It's how the aliens keep tabs on us...
-VampKei
PS: I have my MacBook now, and I love it. I'm never buying a windows computer again, unless there's a game which isn't on any console. FUCK WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought a new stick of RAM so I could edit my Buffy fan-edit faster. So, I install the RAM, and the fucking computer won't start up. It gets to the Windows is loading screen and it restarts itself. So, I try safe mode and it won't even boot that. I get my XP CD to do a repair install, it gives me a blue screen of death 4 separate times. The first few are IRQ fuck ups, AND THERE WASN'T AN IRQ PROBLEM GODDAMN IT! The other one was a page file fuck up! Stupid piece of shit. Then I tried again and it said that some of the files on the CD were corrupt...I called up Wilford and got a copy of his, and it worked just fine. I decided to install windows on a new HD instead of the one it was on. I'm happy because finally it's working...except it isn't. I get to the load up screen and the RAM is giving me false readings. I'm supposed to have 2 gigs in there but it only shows 760mb! I had to rearrange my ram to get it working. Then it just fucking died on me again! I reinstalled it on yet another new HD and now it's working.
I'm happy for a moment. Then I try to access my old HD to transfer all the files to this new one. It says it's fucking corrupt and unreadable. I got this program called Acronis Disk Director Suite. It said it could fix corrupt HDs, and I also read on message boards about how some people had gotten all of their data back. I got a copy of it, and ran it. It made the HD readable, and sadly only saved a few files, but not the ones I wanted...I lost everything from my Buffy fan-edit. I have to start over again from scratch. That part is my fault for not backing up the script...
This shit should not happen. Installing RAM should not fuck up XP. That's fucking bullshit. Stupid piece of shit, and it's all I have if I want to play games. I've got just about enough money to buy a MacBook, and that's what I'm going to do. I'll only be using my Windows computer for gaming, and my MacBook for everything else. I won't have to deal with the fucking bullshit that Windows gives me.
On top of all that, a few days ago my internet started flaking out. I did the usual unplug the modem and router and plug it back in, and that didn't work. I thought it might be the router since all the lights on the modem indicated it was working. I plugged the modem directly into my Dad's computer and poof it worked. Stupid router. I hit the reset button on the router and that didn't work either...We had to buy a whole new router, and it got here a few hours ago. My Dad researched it and showed the results to me, and it got mainly positive reviews. It's a WRT300N Wireless Linksys Router. It's much faster than the older one, and it looks cool too. It's got some weird rader dish looking thingy. It's how the aliens keep tabs on us...
-VampKei
PS: I have my MacBook now, and I love it. I'm never buying a windows computer again, unless there's a game which isn't on any console. FUCK WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This shit only happens in movies, literally - Repost
Repost from 8/26/07
What the fucking hell?!! My brother and I were sitting in a parking lot with the windows open eating our lunch, AND A FUCKING BIRD SHIT ON ME!!!
I was just sitting there enjoying my delicious Cane's when I felt something fall on my leg. I look down, and it's fucking bird shit! What the hell?! That only happens in the movies to the bad guy to make fun of him. I'M NOT THE FUCKING BAD GUY!!!!!!!!!
-VampKei
What the fucking hell?!! My brother and I were sitting in a parking lot with the windows open eating our lunch, AND A FUCKING BIRD SHIT ON ME!!!
I was just sitting there enjoying my delicious Cane's when I felt something fall on my leg. I look down, and it's fucking bird shit! What the hell?! That only happens in the movies to the bad guy to make fun of him. I'M NOT THE FUCKING BAD GUY!!!!!!!!!
-VampKei
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