Wednesday, December 23, 2009

BootLeG's Year In Review

As you might have guessed it from the date and timestamp from this post, it's almost the end of the year. 2009 had a lot of stuff personally that happened to me and I just felt like I should share some of that to the world. Or at least the world that gives a damn enough to read my blog. BIG THANKS TO THOSE THAT READ MY BLOG (two thumbs up). Just to let you know, I'm not going to just write stuff down in a linear chronological order, just in the most importance for me that I'm willing to disclose. But don't worry, I'll either leave links and/or dates among the things I'm listing. So here to 2009; a blog. (Sorry, it was the only thing that I could come up with at the time).

June 22, 2009 :: Of course I gotta brag about this. The birth of my third son, Logan James. Such a cute little kid when he was born. And now he's growing, and drooling, and eating solid foods, and crapping solid foods, and all the other stuff that's normal for babies to do at 6 months. Yup, he's still cute, until he decides to pee on you while changing his diapers. So much of a mess (in the physical sense of the word), but so much to love. Just like my older 2 boys, Blaine and Skyler, so much to love. And speaking of the 2 boys...

August 2009 :: They started their first days of school (well, non-homeschool) this year; and I am so proud of them and how much they're learning and adapting from homeschooling to organized schooling. It also helps that it's the Christian School that our church provides, so it's free for the most part of any of the bad influences that we didn't want our kids to be exposed to in public school at such a young age; which is one of the most important reasons why the wifie and I wanted to homeschool them to begin with. Not only that, but it's an accelerated learning program and they're learning so much and doing so much, I just can't wait to see what the end of the school year would produce in their efforts.

May 20, 2009 :: I started this blog, BootLeG'd Ramblings. Just a simple rant and rave of things that peaked my interest. And my have that grown. (That would be sarcasm in cased you missed it). But seriously, I think that it went from just some mindless self-indulging rant to bringing up something a little more solid. And I hope that I can continue to grow in 2010 and more so with my blog.

Thanksgiving Weekend :: The wifie and I have been doing ever since we got married when I was in the Marine Corps. We invite a few friends to come over and have some dinner and such because we were both away from our homes at the time. But even so now that we've done it for 7 years now, we still get a kick out of doing it. A lot of turkey, a little football, and a helluva time with some good friends... can't really ask too much more for any weekend, huh?!?

October 19, 2009 :: I get a vasectomy. That's a life-changing decision right there. I mean, to be separated from something so near and dear, all for the benefit of the wifie not to go under the knife and endure surgery getting her tubes tied; that's a noble act if I do say so myself. But it was for the greater good, and I do it again if it was possible. (Thank goodness it's not possible).

So that's what I thought was definitely noteworthy as of this post for the year 2009 in the BootLeG sampler..'s world. Now I'm sure that there's plenty more that I'm forgetting and I'm gonna get flack from it from the wifie (because she always check on my blog, gotta love her), but for now that's what I can think of. So there's to 2009, hope for a helluva time for 2010.


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Friday, December 18, 2009

Confessions of a Tech-whore

I'm in love with technology. I've been in love with it almost my entire life. I personally blame the Mattel Aquarius as the gateway to my obsession with technology and all things nerd and geeky. It was truly my first computer/console/piece of crap thing of technology that I ever had. But as time go by, technology has advanced to new heights and all I can do is just drool over all that is tech.

But I also realize that I'm a broke-ass and can't afford the luxuries that I so desperately want. And as technology advance more and more, the more and more I drool over things that are just out of reach. It's a cruel thing wanting the newest and greatest of things at the moment because in just a short amount of time, it'll be outdated. We all know that, but we're all guilty of it's beacon call. We all wanted the next big thing; whether it's a next-gen videogame console, a high-def TV and Blu-Ray player, the latest smartphone, fastest computer with the fastest internet connection available; everything under the sun and more. And just for the record, I'm not singleing out anyone, hence the title of the post in case you forgotten.

I was always fixated with technology. One of my earliest memories is my dad playing his Atari 2600 with his drinking buddies. It looked like so much fun. Then I played it a little, and I was hooked, like a junkie to the needle. It only grew worse when I got my first console at the ripe young age of 5; my NES was the shit back then, and it's still is now. And for the longest time, I was the freckin' man in my neighborhood cause I had a Nintendo, then... The SNES came out; and I was like "Ahhh, crap!!!" with the new hotness that I didn't have. Eventually I got a Sega Genesis, but that was feeling of being the man again was short lived with the next gen consoles hitting the streets. My best friend had all the consoles at the badass consoles at the time. From the NES to both the SNES and Genesis, and even a Nintendo 64 when it came out. Of course his mom and oldest sister worked at Toys-R-Us and had it held for them during it's release, so they had the hookup. And in turn, I had the hookup.

But finally as I was old enough for a job, I bought my first console (with my own money that is) on it's release day, 9.9.99; the Sega Dreamcast. In my opinion the best damn console ever made giving it's time of inception. (Honestly, the best damn console ever: I just pissed off everyone that owns a PS3 and a 360). But for what it's worth, at the time it had the best controls on its games, the most fluid graphics, and well, IT'S SEGA!!! Ya can't go wrong with Sega. Until... (ugh), the Playstation 2 came out. Then the XBox came out. Next thing you know, The Dreamcast is nothing but a memory and my elite status was shot to hell, yet again.

And the fact of having the best in electronics isn't just on the videogame aspect as well. Although, videogames are a pretty big chunk of that experience. There was plenty of instances where I longed for what I could afford and get the best for what I could get. Everything from cellphones, to camcorders, to computers. It's nothing but a big friggin' rat race. I just stopped trying to compete for the best and now I guess I can call this me being in tech-addict remission. I still want, but I know that I don't need it.

Currently, I'm working on building the computer of my dreams. It will handle normal stuff, but it'll mainly be for music production and other media storage. I want this computer to be a media center for my living room as well as if I wanted to just jam on my bass guitar, play some chords on it and record it for prosperity. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of my music to be put onto the internet for those to enjoy. But that computer is a little ways from being built and all that I can do is just build and collect little by little. But once it's done, it'll be epic. Then I'll work on getting that Playstation 3.

So for now, I'll just sit at home and watch my kids play the Wii then watch House in HD. (yeah, that's not bad if you ask me...)

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Saturday, December 12, 2009

I Am Gamer (Epilogue)

I almost didn't think I make it to my epilogue with my sanity trying to write this on the fly. Just wanting to give a brief (and I use that term lightly) explanation of various gamers. Sure it was mainly opinionated, but, that's what my blogs are mostly, just me shootin' the shit about whatever comes to my mind at that moment. The hard part was just the gathering of thoughts in a way that someone other than myself could understand it.
So in retrospect, I just wanted to say that there are a plethora of gamers among us. From big time non-stop gamers to those that couldn't care less if their console was collecting dust or not. I just wanted to recognize some of them (or as much as I could think of off the top of my head). Now I know that I missed out on some different variants of gamers even as I'm writing this post such as competitive gamers, videogame journalists, and well, other stuff... (can't ya tell that I'm still writing on the fly here :P...) But gamers are gamers. Even if they don't play but the one time, they're gamers. And I just wanted to created some sort of unity between all types of gamers so that... Ahh, who the hell am I kiddin', I just wanted to bitch about somethin' that's been on my chest for a while in a constructive fashion. And the fact that I got away with it, kudos. I just hope that you all had fun and not get to pissed off at me about bashing gamers and non-gamers.
So to paraphrase AC/DC :: To those about to frag, we salute you...


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
(Holy crap, a short post for once... :P)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I Am Gamer pt IV (The Non-Gamer)

Okay, so at this point of my exploration of different types of gamers, I'm getting to the part where I'm winding down to scrape the last bit of the gamer population in and make some use for them.  I am talking about a non-gamer.  And quite frankly, I don't know what to actually say about them.  It's almost like the feeling that after working on a manure pasture that you come home and step in dog shit in the front yard.  It's almost pointless, and the keyword for that is almost.  We shouldn't alienate them just cause they don't play, or play as regularly as other gamers.  We need to give them credit for at least trying and playing games on their own level.  So I'm gonna try my damndest to find some sort of degree of gaming to those 'non-gamers' and make them feel welcomed to the gaming community; as well as poke fun to them because I'm an asshole like that.
 
Non-gamers are a unique breed.  They're likely to not play or play extremely rarely just out of curiosity.  And it's not the fact that they don't play, it's just that what they do play aren't really considered videogames.  In fact, it's probably best for me to link the graph here again just for a refresher to show you the differences between a gamer (in general) and a non-gamer.  Now with that brief explanation said and done, let's get a little deeper into this and break down some of the various degrees of separation of non-gamers, and hopefully in the process not piss off more people than from previous attempts...
 
  • The Gateway Gamer :: They're like the closest to becoming a casual gamer than any other archetype of non-gamer.  Simple videogames such as old school platformers and even the occasional rhythm based game could turn them on to a new addiction.  They could have been an intense gamer until something happened and they might have the urge to fall off their videogame sobriety wagon to get back into gaming.  Another scenario would be that they could quit gaming at any time and not pick up a controller for months at a time prior to getting back in the habit.  And just because I'm an inhibitor of bad habits, they would probably like this read to get them in their gaming fix.
  • The Can't Hold a Controller Worth A Damn Gamer :: These guys are usually those that give up gaming cause they suck.  Sure they might try to pick it up again, but once they get into a button-mashing state and fail miserably, they're the first to throw their Wiimotes to the TV not by accident, but by pure rage.  Their better off playing chess in Central Park against some old blind fart in my opinion that playing a videogame.
  • The Solitaire Player :: We all know this person.  The guy that just bought this super kickass computer with Windows 7 Ultimate-Super-Kamehameha Edition Service Pack 8000 and all they do is play Solitaire or Minesweeper.  ARE YOU FUCKIN' KIDDING ME!?!  SOLITAIRE AND MINESWEEPER!?!  Dammit man, do something, install a piece of shit game from the $5 bin at Staples or run a torrent and download something, anything... Just, just... *MIND EXPOSES FROM EPIC WTF-NESS!!!*  Yeah, I don't get it either...
  • The Flash Gamer :: These people are the ones that either go to Facebook not to network and catch up with friends and family but play their apps; buy an iPhone only for playing their apps; or go onto the various flash game intensive sites to play, well, flash games.  I must note that flash games are not real games.  They're time wasters and commercial producers.  If you game on these exclusively, you're lame.  :P
  • The Too Good for Videogames Gamer ::  This is the guy that has so much on their fuckin' plate as far as work, family, and/or other activities that they can't even be near the presence of a console.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but when you're trying to be a poser and pick up a controller, it can be misleading as you being a closet gamer.  (Damn, I knew I forgot to add something from my prior post.)  But really, it's just them trying to network somehow to whomever they're playing with to hookup some other way in a different activity.  So to put it plain and simply put, they use it as a business meeting or a family reunion tool.  Lame.
  • Amish People ::  Well, duh!?!  (I just pissed off the Amish Community)  But primarily this is in regard to those that has little to do with anything electronics, nonetheless videogames.  They consist of those that might be too busy with other things such as going out and enjoying life, or doing other things in their leisure time such as reading a book or other things you see on probably those arts and crafts shows on PBS.  (BTW, Bob Ross is still the man!)
 
 
 And that as they say is that.  It's not that I discriminate on gamers and non-gamers and that everything here is black and white.  It's just that there is a lot of gray area that goes unnoticed.  And I like to expose as much of that as I can while instilling a level of being a smartass into the mix.  Simple, yet complex; much like gaming in general.  So, who's up for a game of Tetris?!?
 
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Saturday, December 5, 2009

I Am Gamer pt III (The Casual Gamer)

So I don't know if you've read my previous two posts in my I Am Gamer synopsis, but here's a quick rundown in cause you were too lazy to click the links.  This series is about the different degrees between gamers.  In my last post of I Am Gamer, I looked at the wide world of hardcore gamers. This time around I'm talking about the casual gamer.
 
The casual gamer is pretty much in my opinion the general marketed public that most developers try to reach to spend millions of dollars for mostly crap games.  Sure there are some gems out there like Little Big Planet, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Wii Sports Resort, but mostly it's crap.  These gamers aren't nearly as intense in gaming as hardcore gamers and usually tend to stay towards popular franchises such as Madden or Street Fighter when the next big game of that franchise comes out.  Hey I don't blame them, they're the ones that account for practically just as much sales for games as hardcore gamers, it's just that what they show for in games are different.  While the hardcore gamer gets a game cause it's shit-hot or it's a collectible (I still have my original FFVII with case for the PSone as well as the Greatest Hits version and a bootleg copy of it for the PC), they buy games either for the cheap or rent them from Blockbuster or Gamefly.  Just cause someone has a crapload of games to show how much of a gamer they are, doesn't mean that the other guy had spent just as much, if not more on games in their time as well.  We just can't rely on sales to own anymore.  Also, just having a plethora of $60 titles won't keep the business afloat, we need those casual gamers to buy, rent, and also use and abuse the DLC and original titles that can be downloaded to their consoles for a few bucks at a time to keep up the flow of money.  And we as gamers don't want another 1983 again, don't we!?!
 
But back to the disection of a casual gamer.  Just like last time, there's different degrees of what a casual gamer is and they can be a different mixture of at least the following ::
  • The Glancers :: This kind of gamer that know of a popular title, might have even played a videogame or two, but just enough in the loop to know what other gamers are talking about.  They could hang with those that can post in forums about in-depth gameplay, but once they're asked for their opinion on something about a game, they're just about as lame as a turd in the middle of a manure field.
  • The Wii fanatic :: These are the people that are only into the fad of gaming.  And since Nintendo is indeed the godfather of modern console gaming, everyone knows that this little white box is the shit.  First to come out with motion controllers that are completely functional versus others that I've mentioned in a previous blog, and the novelty of owning the Wii with it being bundled with WiiSports making the game the best selling videogame title, it's not much of a hard sell.  People love the Wii.  Hell, I love my Wii and I'm not afraid to admit it.
  • Old People :: It's pretty strange to see that more and more older adults playing videogams now than before.  Definately the 40+ clique is wanting to break into games, but less than those that are more serious.  Also with old people playing more actively with such sport games for the Wii and various puzzle games for the DS and PSP they're finding a youthfulness in them that has seem to been dormant since the dawn of the first Pong cabinet.  I just find it weird that my 60-something year old father in law is actively playing his DS more than me.  PRETTY FRICKIN' WEIRD I TELLS YA...
  • Nostalgics :: Those are the ones that can't get rid of their consoles of yore.  They are the collectors and the supreme nerd of old school gaming.  They refuse to shop the Virtual Console for titles that they can just get with a little more effort in a cartridge that they have to blow the shit out of to make it work on their NES.
  • The in-the-knows :: Those guys are the ones that read up on everything, might even be able to hang with someone talking about the game, but when it comes to playing, they either epically suck or never touched a controller in their freakin' lives.  They might be labeled as posers and even evolve to some people that claim to be gamers but are not truly gamers as their fans suspect.
I personally like to call myself the middle ground between casual and hardcore gamer.  I rent a lot of the titles I play.  I'm also an old school gamer and try to play the old console titles themselves as much as I can until a suitable remake (not a rehash of the same damn concept of a great game) comes out.  Which is why I practically fell head over heals for Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on XBOX live arcade and the Playstation Network and MegaMan 9 for the Wii Virtual Console (ok, maybe that's a rehash, but it's the exception).  I play other games on occasion only in between breaks of an epic adventure.  This is also in between work, blogging, family time, and song writing.  So, yeah, it's a pretty full plate, but I make time for gaming and that's what sets me into the degree of gamer that I am.
 
 
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I Am Gamer, part II (The Hardcore Gamer)

So as I continue to explore the rather expansive pallet of gamers that are playing, I came across these articles about this dude from Taiwan practically beating WoW.  Pretty much the icing on the cake for what I'm blogging about for this feature of I Am Gamer.  I'm talking about those that are so into games that it practically engulfs their lives.  Not that there's anything wrong with that but you just have to say 'Damn, that's hardcore.'
 
And of course there's plenty of those out there, I mean those that are serious about gaming could only wish for that kind of determination.  Not to say that's a bad thing, hell I personally wish I had more time to play, but there are those hardcore gamers that are just so epically into all thing of such to practically be a jedi master about it.  The key to being a hardcore gamer would probably be how intense and active you are to one or a few games.  We all probably know of the type of games or at least the individual game titles that hardcore gamers play.  From a broad range of first person shooters such as the Call of Duty and Gears of War series, to sandbox games such as Assassins Creed and the Grand Theft Auto series, to MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft and Everquest.  (Yes, I still have friends that play Evercrack).  The ideal hardcore gamer is to master one or two great videogame titles at a time before moving onto a different game or set of games.  Of course like I said from my previous post, there's no set rule to that.  It depends on the degree of the gamer themselves.
 
There's multiple types of hardcore gamers, and they can be and combination of but not limited to the following::  (and these are my own interpretations, nothing real scientific, unless having a masters in smartassology is real).
 
  • The Nerd :: This guy does nothing but play games and try to become the master of that game.  Usually talking smack online to other players if playing something like Gears or organizing guilds for WoW.  Pretty much any and all social interaction with any form of carbon based life is via the internet, school, or their job.  This is the classic general example of a hardcore gamer.
  • The Convention-goers :: This is maximum extreme of a hardcore gamer.  These are the guys that goes the fan-based gaming conventions such as BizzCon, E for All, and others.  These dedicated lackeys show up in avant garde with drooling smiles on the next best thing; everything from the next next-gen console to an overpriced piece of shit expansion pack.  Some even go as far as cosplaying and making more of an ass of themselves than normal.  The only exception to this is that you have to be at least this hot to not make an ass of yourself.
  • The Brute :: This is the minimal extreme of a hardcore gamer.  These are the guys more playing the FPS and sandbox games, while trying to create an auspice of being cool and socially adept.  Typically they can be real douchebags when it comes to games where being cheap and waiting for a target to show up and snipe it down like a 12-point buck, or just some jackoff that just want to give you hell and a potty mouth of smack over XBox Live.
  • The Collins College graduate that plays games for a living :: I personally call this guy the jack-hole cause their living the dream.  Fuck you, fuck you so very very much.
And like I said from before, there's intermediate levels of gamerness within those categories. Of course like I said it's not an exact science, but it's one helluva platform to start off on.  Especially if you truly think about it, every gamer can fit into such categories from time to time, bouncing back and forth.  But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, these are what hardcore gamers are made of.

So that's my quick synopsis on the hardcore gamer.  Swift, dirty, and straight to the point.  Like most gamers want their gaming experience every chance they get to play.  Next time, I look at the various degrees of casual gamer..  But until then...



BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Saturday, November 28, 2009

I Am Gamer

So I was browsing the inna-webs and I came across this article. And I was thinking, man, it can't be that generic and clear cut. The gaming republic isn't just set to two or three different classes. There's different degrees of separation on what kind of gamer anyone can be. Now I know most gamers try to be as epic of a gamer they can be sticking to a slew of hot titles and not becoming more of a renaissance gamer being more eclectic and exposing themselves to a wide variety of genres and games. Hence why I love Screwattack so much because it's for all types gamers.

Just to clarify, I am a gamer. What kind of gamer I might be, or anyone for that matter, well, that's a whole 'nother can of beans. I mean there's the serious hardcore gamer, the casual gamer, the non gamer, the WTF kind, the crap in your pants cause you can't hold it anymore cause you wanted to be the first in line for 3 days for the next new console release at Best Buy kind, the list goes on and on. My point is there's a friggin gagglefuck of gamers out there and different types to boot. Just to label them into three or so different categories is not doing the gaming community any justice. This has been a debate for quite some time and I can't stand to see why there's such a brick wall between those that label and those that are labeled; especially when they are of one of the same people.

So I came up with the liberty of creating a general gauge on the archetype of a gamer. I think that it's quite introduction to what a gamer is and also how gamers interact within different game genres. It's just a quick synopsis of what goes on with a generalized genre. And of course, it's also funny as hell. I mean c'mon, it's from graphjam, what do you expect.

I mean sure, I could possibly make a series out of this, and go real in depth. In fact, I'm definitely gonna make that happen. So consider this the prologue of the different gamer personalities. A little bit of insight, a lot of poking fun of, and definitely me making a complete jackass of myself. That shouldn't be too hard, right?!? (Especially the third one...) So I hope you'll enjoy this as many more (at least 4 more) will come to on this topic. So, have fun; happy gaming; and please, it's mostly satire here, don't get bent outta shape.


BootLeG sampler.. signing off...

Thursday, November 26, 2009

List o' Greatest Videogame Cheats, Glitches, and other Cheap-Ass Tricks

Yeah, it's been quite a while since I'd did a top whatever list, so here's my contribution to something that I felt has been once again, overlooked.  More or less we have all played a videogame that at one point or another, there's that brick wall that we just can't get passed without a little help.  Some games seem that they're just made not to be beaten while others are so unbalanced with it's level of difficulty that winning in it is not just a far off dream, but a hellish nightmare to even attempt at trying.  This is why developers gave us various tools on our side to show those games who's boss; I'm talking about cheats.  Ya gotta love 'em.  They're there to take some of the slack off to make a game easier to play and beat, but then again there are some that are just there to completely obliterate any opposition that comes upon you.  Here is my homage to the best videogame cheats, glitches, and other cheap-ass tricks.  And always remember, this is completely opinionated so if I forgot something at the time or completely ignored, burn me on the comments, it's just all that I had in mind at the time.
 
Just a small disclaimer: this list is in no particular order, it's just the first few things that I could come up with off of the top of my head.  It's not a top list, it's just a list of tops.
 
  • The Contra Code ::  It's the epitome of all codes.  This code is so infamous that practically all Konami title either has it or mock it in some form or another.  It's so popular that it's just known to as "The Code" and is forever engraved as a part of our videogame culture.  Hell, it's so popular that even Facebook adapted the code for a neat little easter egg if you try it.  Here's how to pull it off... up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, enter (that's if you haven't already tried it out.)
  • The Game Genie ::  Now this mo-fo was the king of all cheap tricks.  It made the unbeatable game beatable.  It gave birth to such features such as infinite lives, invincibiltiy, unlimited anything, and all the other stuff that makes a hard-as-hell game seems like you're playing a baby's toy.  So I solute you Game Genie, the Rosetta Stone of hacks and codes.  Without you, I would've smashed my Genesis with a sledgehammer 10 times over as a kid.
  • The Koopa Shell in Super Mario Bros. World 3-1 :: We all know that one.  A quick way to get 99 lives and hopefully not lose them all cause you would've sucked at later levels.  This has to be one of the first cheap-ass moves I've ever experienced as a gamer.  Especially once you reached 100 lives, you die, game over, and all those 1-ups were just a waste of time.  This game still all so many years later gives me nostalgic angst in the fact on how cheap some things are in this epic title.  Of course if you really want to be cheap...
  • The Running 1-UP on any Mario 2D platformer :: that's as cheap as you can get.  A ba-jillion points and a 1-UP at the end of it all... that's eff'd up.  Not to mention in Super Mario World that in some cases you could get a 2-UP... A FRIGGIN' 2-UP!!!  NOW THAT'S TRULY EFF'D UP!!!
  • God Mode (any single-player FPS) ::  I remember my first time using this code.  It was DOOM.  Just tearing through imps and demons and well, hell itself.  Knowing that I could just kill any hellspawn with only a chainsaw or my fist...  Bruce Campbell would be so proud (single tear rolls down cheek.)
  • Big Head Mode (any game) ::  Quite possibly the worst thing to put on unless you're happen to be playing NBA JAM, big head mode is useless.  So I'm categorizing this as a cheep-ass trick.  Especially in the aspect of multi-player FPS's (Goldeneye comes to mind).  Enable this, and you might as well just shoot yourself and get the misery over with.  Such a huge target, so many weapons to frag it with...
  • The Blood Kode from Mortal Kombat :: The arcade cabinet trumps the console versions for one reason only, blood.  Instead you had white sprites to simulate blood and that was pretty lame.  Until you enter the Blood Kode.  Let the epicness begin!!!  Unless you're playing the SNES port then you're screwed...  XD
  • The Warp Whistles form Super Mario Brothers 3 ::First introduced in the movie The Wizard months before the release of the game, it's the most effective way to move throughout the game.  Especially if you're smart and get the two whistles in World 1 to get to World 8.  Then at that point if you didn't get any power-ups along the way or you just plain suck at 2D platformers, you're screwed.
  • Unlocking Super Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 :: The best way to play that game.  Let's do the math here; you do the code, play as normal, and as soon as you collect 50 rings, jump and transform into Super Sonic.  Quite frankly, the simplest and most effective way to play any platformer in my opinion.
And that's all of the classic codes that I could think of just off of the top of my head that could be worthy of this list.  That's not to say that the others were all crap, it's just that these I have a great fondness to and I would like to think that as a gamer, you guys do too.  These games were epic even without it, it just that when in use with the codes, it was a while different experience.  Whether it helped you or pissed you off because someone was being cheap with it, these are the ones that will outlast the test of time for any cheat for any videogame.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Saturday, November 21, 2009

I'm Still Too Cheap for a PS3

With Christmas time coming around the corner, it's usually the time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, goodwill towards men, and being merry and all that jazz. Trust me; those are all good things and as well we should be doing all these things, but there's still something that's been very elusive from me for the past 3 years or so. The Playstation 3. Sure, I've seen friends play it, I hang out there a whole helluva lot just to play Street Fighter IV and Modern Warfare 2. But for a good long while the Playstation 3 has eluded my grasp. And with the release date for Final Fantasy XIII set for early 2010, the urge to get one has magnified ten fold.


And just a little quick rundown as far as what I currently own as far as current-gen consoles is the Wii. There's 2 reasons for that and not owning a 360 as well: 1) I'm a cheap bastard and, 2) there's more stuff for my kids for the Wii then on the 360. But I figure the time has come to step up to the majors and get me a PS3. And now you're saying why not get a 360, it's cheaper and FFXIII will be on that as well. Well, it's not like I got anything against the 360, it's just that I prefer having blu-ray and all the other good stuff that the 360 don't offer as well as that I'm a bigger fan of Sony than Microsoft any day of the week. That and the whole red ring thing's a real turn-off. Just sayin'...

Anyways, with that being said, I'm on the trek to save up for a PS3. Sure it's late in the season for a cheap bastard like me to get enough saved along with bills and other stuff. So I vowed to save enough for a PS3 and get it FFXIII on it's release. So that's what I'm venturing to do. March 9, 2010, the day I start to live as a true gamer again. A long anticipated game of epic proportions on a system that does everything; oh hellyeah that'll be excellent!!!
But for the mean time, I guess it's just going to have to be New Super Mario Bros Wii to satisfy my palette. And oh yes, it's does.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Friday, November 20, 2009

WTF People!?! Country Music

What can I say about this genre that hasn't been said as of late. It seems that everybody has gone and joined the country music bandwagon and who can blame them. Back in the day the only way country music stars could reach audiences outside of their genre was in side projects like Kenny Rodgers Smokey and The Bandit Movies, Monday Night Football featuring Hank Jr.'s theme music, or to the lesser known extent of Billy Ray Cyrus' role in the quasi-decent western drama Doc (which by the way was a poor man's version of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Little House on the Prairie.) But like I said, that was back in the late 80's early 90's. But now, it's like if you're country, your like a friggin' rock star. With such big acts and huge up-and-comers coming into the country scene, it's REDONKULOUS on how big country is.

Lets start in the beginning of the decade with probably my favorite country singer, Toby Keith. He's probably in my opinion the last American Bad Ass since he took stride with his controversial song "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" and his thoughts on the September 11th attacks and promoting his brand of patriotism. I am in total agreement on what he promotes as far as most of his songs to include "Beer For My Horses", a ode to how things were done to those that terrorized honest citizens (that and a cameo featuring Willie Nelson isn't that bad either.) Also his dedication to help those that serve in the Armed Forces by performing at USO's all over the world to lift morale is an awesome endeavor as well. But to that accolade we can practically contribute most if not all of today's country music artists for their patriotic efforts in song from Alan Jackson's "Where Were You" to Darrel Worley's "I Just Came Back From A War" and etc.

Now that's just one facet of country music, and I'm not complaining about that. And as you all know with all WTF's here, there's always something there that just left of center and all sorts of, well, WTF-ish about it. That my friend is the "
jump the shark" complex. Don't know what jumping the shark means, just follow the link. And there has been plenty of acts that seem to have done it well and then some not quite. One of which that falls on the latter is Kid Rock. Seriously, someone like Kid Rock is actually getting airplay on country stations?!? Not only that, but was at this years CMA's trying to get all countryfied and all... that in among itself is deserving of a WTF?!? Kid Rock himself is deserving for a WTF, but that's for another time. An example of doing well, quite well as a matter of fact, is Darius Rucker. You just can't touch him right now. WHO WOULD'VE FIGURED HOOTY FROM HOOTY AND THE BLOWFISH WOULD STILL BE ON THE RADIO!?! None the less, becoming the new thing in country. From Hooty and the friggin' Blowfish to country rock star?!? I don't friggin' get it?!? All I know is Kid Rock, stick to the trailer park sounds; Darius, keep up the good work. Best to both and steady the course.

Now artists aren't only jumping the shark to country; but country artists are, and well, has been, jumping the shark to mainstream pop culture. From old examples of Garth Brooks attempt to alt-rock with his pseudo Chris Gaines to the latest example Taylor Swift. And boy-o-boy can I talk about Taylor... She's young, hip, and her blend of country and pop crossover is such an unbelievable feat that hasn't been done since Shania Twain back in the 90's with her country/adult top-40 efforts. Seriously, Taylor Swift is everywhere; from MTV to CMT; from country stations to top-40 stations; from Radio City Music Hall to Radio Disney; it's a pandemic on how huge this 19-year-old sensation is. With two highly successful albums and a horde of fans that can rival other acts, she's on the fast track to a highly successful music career. Who knows, this might be a new trend. Kenny Chesney might be the next Sammy Hagar. Hell; he's practically this generation's Jimmy Buffet when it comes to his country in my opinion.

And you know what?!? This kind of stuff was previously unheard of where if you were a fan of country you were a black sheep among popular culture. Now if you don't know crap about country, you're pretty much out of the loop. Some of the most profound musicians from other genres of music (mainly rock) attribute some of their influences to country greats such as Johnny Cash, Lynard Skynard, Charlie Daniels, and the list goes on and on. My personal favorite for the record has to be Alabama. It was my first live country experience besides going to bars and such. I was there for their final concert in Pittsburgh back in 2003 and it was EPIC. My first country concert and to say anything, NOTHING AND I MEAN NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO ALABAMA!!!

And that's WTF's up people...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Change in Seasons

So the weather outside now is frightful, and sun would feel so delightful; but for now to me it's to freakin' cold... And I can't find a replacement word for snow to make this opening parody work, so I guess I'll just start with what's getting me. It's like this every friggin year here since I moved to Arizona roughly 3+ years ago. You tolerate the hot-as-balls weather for a good while then it has like two weeks of perfect temps (at least perfect for me), then BAM!!! It's friggin' cold outside.

OK, so it's not exactly cold, but when you're so damn used to the heat, anything below 75 is frigid. I love the heat, keep me warm. That's one of the driving influences that drove me to come to Phoenix and move from Philly. In the sun, I could get in the pool and cool off, hell, I could even get in the jacuzzi and cool off if it was hot enough. :P And until about the end of October I was doing just that. Try doing some crazy crap like that in Philly, I DARE YA!!!

But now, it's getting colder, the sky's are a little more gray, and I'm feelin' like, "Damn, where did my perpetual summer go?" What says this change in season has to effect the Valley of the Sun. THE VALLEY OF THE FRICKIN' SUN PEOPLE!!! C'mon, I wanna soak up some sun.

But don't get me wrong. I grew up in the cold weather for most of my life. I remember snowboarding in the Poconos, sliding on black ice driving on the Blue Route, and all that shoveling off snow off the stoop just to get to the car so I can move it on street cleaning day and not get a ticket. Good times, gooood times... Yup, the cold had its up and its downs, but by far, I rather have the warmth any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

So I ask myself, "What the hell?!?" On one hand, it's friggin colder than a witches tit to me and it's only 68 degrees, but I have friends (both here and back east) that is saying 'quit your bitchin!' Seriously, it's a lose-lose situation in my book. Damned if I do (grin and bear it with the mediocre cold temps); damned if you don't (bitch about it and get flack for voicing my dilemma to those back east.) I'm just sayin'...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

"Trying to give you summer // but it's winter // just to see you spring // but it falls so short" -Seasons by Alien Ant Farm from ANThology

Thursday, October 29, 2009

I heart the King of Prussia Mall

So I was talking to some of my fellow co-workers the other day about how we used to spend our youth.  And I was like how I thought most teenagers spend their time, as a mallrat.  I figured the mall was the place to be.  It was a joining place for friends and acquaintances to convene, shop, eat, and have a good time with other amusements that the local mall could provide such as movies, outdoor vestibules for concerts, indoor mini-golf, and even the occasional carousel for the little ones and those bigger kids that want to make an ass out of themselves.  And I guess that I could consider myself lucky for having such a kickass mall in my old stomping grounds as a youth...  The King of Prussia Mall.  By far the best mall that I've ever had the luxury to visit.  Now I know that some people would say that the Mall of America trumps anything that is out there.  I'm not gonna deny their claims.  But this is my blog, and I've never had the luxury to visit the Mall of America.  But believe me when I say this; the King of Prussia Mall is by far the most epic of all shopping venues that I've ever had the fortune of waiting so much of my time and money at.  I truly heart the King of Prussia Mall.
 
Let me break it down for everyone just in case you were too damn lazy to follow the links from above.  The King of Prussia Mall consists of two separate buildings, the Plaza and the Court.  The Court was majority upscale vendors and department stores where glitz and glamor reign supreme; while the Plaza caters to more of the common man while still having an upscale facet for itself.  Where I spent most of my time however was the Plaza.  It was more of the commoners section of the Mall, especially since the food court was the epicenter of all social interaction cause everyone needed to eat, right?!?  But that's not to say that that was the only conveyor of food there.  With plenty of upscale restaurants in and around the mall, there are plenty of options to choose from.  It's just from a mallrat's perspective eating at Panda Express and BK was more feasible than the Cheesecake Factory and Ruth Chris Steakhouse.
 
But the mall isn't just for eating (of course it doesn't help that I love to eat and I'm married to a chef), it's for shopping as well.  The galleries of clothing stores, gadget shops, beauty salons, and the occasional comic book retailer was what and has continue to draw consumers and customers to the mall.  Everything from Lord and Taylor to Foot Locker to Fredrick's of Hollywood to the Discovery Channel Store to the comic book store to the Timberland Store to, you get the idea.  Everything for everyone.  Hell, that's why it's slogan is "Life, and all it's stores."  (Gosh I feel cheezy just typing that...)
 
But seriously, it's a friggin' beast the King of Prussia Mall.  No mall that I've been to have even come close to light a friggin' candle to how epic the Plaza and the Court is.  Hell, it was so good that some of my fondest memories with my uncle was just going to the mall after church and just walk the entire damn place.  We start at the third floor of Sears, JC Penney or Macy's (whichever he's in the mood to get a decent shirt from that day) and then canvas the Plaza and every square inch that catches our interest then walk (or drive depending on the weather that day) to the Court and do the same there as well.  By that time it would be close to closing time for the mall and we've already been there since 11-ish.  There's a day well spent for any mallrat and a bonding experience with a great man in my family.
 
So I conclude, the mall was excellent.  Hell, it still is.  With the Court and the Plaza, the IMAX theater, and other surrounding stores and restaurants on it's grounds, I just wish I was there right now.  And if you're reading this and haven't experienced the King of Prussia Mall, I just wish that you were there too to experience such an epic place.
 
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Some side effects may include...

So I'm writing about my post-op experiences after the vasectomy. And I'm getting lots of questions from those close to me about how was it and all sorts of weird crap. So I decided to make a generalized FAQ about my experience with the whole nip/tuck from down under. Without further ado, cause FAQ's are all about as direct of a response as possible, let's cut (bad use of word here) the crap and list some FAQ's.

Q: Did/does it hurt?
A: The only thing that hurt during the process was the needle to the sack and the fact that there was a lot of pressure on there due to the clamping of the tube and the local anesthetic not kicking in just yet. And as for currently, it only feels a small bit of pain if I get up, sit down, or move too fast too suddenly.

Q: Are you taking anything for it?
A: An antibiotic to combat any infections and percocet for any pain that is not manageable without it.

Q: Why didn't you just have your wife get her tubes tied instead?
A: The process of a vasectomy is a quick 30-60 min office procedure with a day or two to recover from. This versus my wife that has to go under general anesthesia and major surgery with a helluva lot longer recovery time. Also my wife's been though hell enough already giving birth to our three sons and I don't want to worry her with any kind of complications in that regard as well.

Q: Can you still do the things you used to do?
A: This is in regard with my sex life and pleasing my wife. Yes, I can still do all that stuff just like I've been able to do the whole time. It's not like it's going to be nothing coming out, it's just that there's no sperm in the semen to impregnate the wifie. So it's like you can't tell the difference. At least that's what I heard. By the time of this post I'm still in the "can't have sex for 7-10 days because you might tear those stitches" window. So that's fuckin' killing me.

Q: Can you walk.
A: Uhhh... yeah, duh?!? I made it from the doctors to wherever I am now, right?!?

Q: Do you still have your balls.
A: Of course. They didn't take those away from me. The only thing that they've done was separate the tubing from my testicles that produced sperm and made sure that I wouldn't be able to produce again. Unlike popular opinion, it's not like if you take a dog to the vet and they totally snip the whole kibbles and bits off. That's just barbaric to even suggest that to a man, we're more sophisticated and have the ability to just go under and sever the ties (no pun intended, I swear) to what allows us to procreate.

So that's the the FAQ's about my vasectomy experience. I hope that this answered some of your general questions as well as some that might not have came into your mind. I tried to keep this as short as possible due to the strange and variance of off-the-wall responses that I've been experiencing. Hopefully this will silence the masses for a moment until the next radical thing that happens to me.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, October 19, 2009

My Balls, Interrupted

So today was the day that I go to the urologist to undergo a vasectomy. I call it an everlasting kick in the balls that doesn't seem to know when to stop. But I'm jumping ahead here. Let me give you a little back story here to shine some light on why I'm icing my sack with a bag of frozen peas.

The decision to get this was for my wife. I'd do anything for her (well, anything legal :P) and while seeing the pain of her being pregnant with our third child over the past year and knowing that she can't go though that kind of pain for a fourth time , we decided that one of us should take more permanent measures on preventing anymore pregnancies. I didn't want to put my wife though the pain and hassle of going under the knife for a hysterectomy, so I manned up and said, I'll go though and get a vasectomy. And after some research on how vasectomies are performed and how less labor intensive they are compared to the other option for my wife, it was an easy decision.

This brings us to this morning. We arrive at the doctor's office in Tempe around 7:35am for an 8 o'clock appointment. The older two boys were dropped off at school by a friend of ours and we had our four-month-old with us waiting in the, well, waiting room... (no shit, huh?!?) So the nurse gets me at about 8:20, takes my vitals and my wife and kid is left in the waiting room while I get my snip-snip on in the office. (It's an outpatient procedure for the most part so no hospital stays here people...) The nurse brings her laptop (because every nurse that works there has one to record vitals to their servers through wi-fi) and then asks me what kind of music I like. Initially thinking that that was an odd request but knowing now the motive of it, I decided to go for some rock music, so she starts streaming Yahoo! music set to Alternative Rock. Pretty decent for the most part, kept me relaxed during the whole thing. So she leaves and tell me to strip from the waist down; alright, can't really get to my junk with denim jeans in the way I guess.. She comes back and I'm sittin on the deli paper on the table holding my package; and she replies "You know that you can drape yourself with that paper behind you?" Modesty check, failed. Oh yea, did I forget to tell you about the arsenal of forceps and cutty-things on their rolling table just waiting to make contact with my ballsack, very intimidating.

Then the doc comes in., just swaggering as if we're just going though a walk in the park.. But like any smart dog knows that a ride in the car might end up to trip to the vet's office for a little bit off the top... (Just imagine the sound of a dog yelping and that's what going through my mind a the time.) By this time a little Foo Fighters and Atreyu had already finished playing and that put me into a decent mood, until the damn big-ass needle with the local anesthetic. OMFG I hate fuckin' needles with a passion. The doc told me that I might feel a pinch then some pressure afterwards. So he stuck me, in my sack, and it punched, and it BURNED!!! Oh God the burning sensation. Then the doc felt around and clamped my vas deferens with the forceps, and that was no pressure, that was vice smashing my balls into a paste, like a vicious pit bull snacking on meat flavored rag doll. Told the doc about the pressure and he said, it's normal... and I'm thinking (what the hell was the point of the anesthetic. Also doesn't help that he didn't give the anesthetic enough time to work it's magic. By this time he made a slit in my scrotum and he's pulling my vas deferens from there. How ironic that Slipknot's Dead Memories start to play as he's going though this. Then he shows me the cauterizer, that's what the doc uses to burn off each end of the tube after he removes the section of it. It supposed to smell like burning and luckily for me the anesthetic was in full force at that time. The he stitched me up, moved on the second side (God I wished that I was Lance Armstrong at that time.)

He started to clamp, felt pressure, can't do shit about that, but then he started to make the incision, that I'm not supposed to feel, but I did, and I told him, "I kinda felt that, can you hit me up with that needle again?) Figure a needle is gonna be a helluva lot less painful then feeling an open sack and a cold pair of scissors or scalpel. By that time, My Chemical Romance's Black Parade was playing and I started to cringe. The doc thought he was doing something or if it was the pressure, and in part it was that and the other part was that I fuckin' hate that band. I don't do emo and if I want to hear from a bunch of whiny pussies, I'll watch Lifetime with the wifie. Somehow it seems that the second side was much faster than the first by no comparison. And the stitching was done lickity-split. Hep put some bandages on the incisions and I was just thankful that they're weren't the Dora the Explorer kind, cause that would just be too weird. Like any of my other posts are normal, right?!? Also per the doc's instructions I was supposed to have supportive underwear to protect my balls from just flopping around and that meant tighty-whities. I haven't warn them since the fifth grade and man, that is an uncomfortable feeling at first, but I've gotten over it by now I only know now that that uncomfortable feeling now was really just my balls on recovery at the time. So I continue to get dressed and then, and THEN, after all that, Red Hot Chili Peppers comes on. I swear, the only thing that I could think of was, "If I have to go though all that hell, just to hear By The Way, I'm never playing Give It Away on my bass ever again!!!"

So I'm outta the office, the wife's driving me home avoiding any potholes and speed bumps to make sure that the package arrives safely at home. She filled my prescription of Percocet and not a moment too soon cause the boys were definitely starting to feel all butt-hurt and everything, for good reason I might add. Started watching a DVD to pass the time and I was passed out for like an hour or so, had to start the movie all over again which kinda pissed me off a little bit, but if that was the only thing that really pissed me off all day (and it was,) then I can say that it was a good day.

Yup, that's my interpretation of a vasectomy. That was my experience. This is my experience right now. Still have a pack of frozen peas on my balls typing my blog, switching back and forth from this, Facebook, my Project Playlist, and other stuff online. But if I could do it again for my wife, I would. I'm just lucky that I can only do it once.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Fantasy Football: Full Throtle

So it's October and we're knee deep in gridiron action. We had injuries, surprises, and hell even the Detroit Lions won a game finally (nothing like a 19-game losing streak to make the news scoring a W). But what I'm talking about in relation good ol' BLG.. is fantasy football. I posted a helluva long time back about being asked to join a fantasy football league. Well, that spawned to me being associated in three, yes three different leagues simultaneously. Seriously, that's a lot of maintenance.

I have one from work that I was invited into (that would have been number 1). Then there's one that I'm doing with a few of my friends from work and outside of work, plus a third one with another set of close friends. That's a lot on my plate this year, the most that I've done yet. And it wasn't until about 2 years ago that I've been bitten by the fantasy football bug and at first it was fantastic just learning the ropes. The second year was more of a rebuilding fundamentals and I made it to the playoffs only to be knocked out on the first round last year. Now it's like running a friggin' gauntlet with three different leagues with three totally different lineups hoping that I could just break even at the end. Although I am happy to say that I'm 3-1 on one league and had a bye week on another that was well needed cause most of my lineup was eff'd up for that week. Ah the troubles of having eyes that are too big for your stomach, it's a fickle bitch.

What the hell ever happened to just going to a sports bar, enjoying a beer and the game and not worry about "crap, like a third of my lineup is on a bye week and I'm gonna get screwed over like a $3 whore." I miss those days when I just enjoyed the game because it was a sport and I was a spectator. Now I feel like that being commissioned by the NFL to micromanage a select few to assemble the most epic of all teams for that season. ISN'T THAT WHAT THE EFF'N PRO BOWL IS FOR!?! I mean that's been a NFL institution for-like-ever now, why mess with perfection that worked back in the day. I mean, I do it because it's fun and has comradely between friends and co-workers. That's it. Sure the occasional smack talk ensures but that's because we're a bunch of men and that's how we handle our business. But for goodness sake people, it's just a eff'n game. Let it be, and have some fun with it. So what if your team sucks, just remember one thing: at least you're not the 2008 Lions (still LMAO on that one).

To a healthy season for every football fanatic...



BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Sunday, October 4, 2009

List o' Best Songs You Might've Never Heard Of

So I'm back with another list. This time its a music list because as we all know, I loves me some good tunes from time to time. But I feel that some songs go unrecognized on how epically great they are. That really saddens me on that concept. So I decided to give these tracks some well deserved recognition. The only thing is that they're so many songs for me to choose from that deserve some respect. I mean do you choose those that are meaningful in their lyrics, ambiguous with their instrumental prowess, a combination their of, or just something that is just wacky and left of center. I mean, that's a lot to sink your teeth into, so I just decided to make it a hodgepodge of it all and make the sky the limit on which stylings to have available. In saying that, what I did was that I decided to give myself a restriction on such by just limiting songs that I could find and put onto my project playlist which is embedded on my post for your listening pleasure. Also I wanted to add the stipulation of only 1 song per artist/group/band so that it inhibits more of a variety for you all. So without further ado, here's BootLeG sampler..'s top 17 underrated songs... or whatever the hell I called this post. Just look at the title and you know... (And why top 17 you ask? Because it's the perfect length of tracks for a mix tape, duh!?!)

*Disclaimer :: This playlist is rated M for Mature. Don't listen unless you want your ears to bleed from all the possible F-bombs*

And in the order of my mix tape on how they're played out, here they are:

  • 11:59 by doubleDrive :: Didn't I already mention that I friggin' love doubleDrive!!! They're so talented and yet so underrated themselves. Thus the reason why I established the 1 song stipulation.
  • Zebra by John Butler Trio :: This Aussie outfit lends some great skills to creating a neo-folk piece of greatness.
  • Starshines by 311 :: Just listen to the first set of words in the song, it says it all. (Honestly it was a toss-up between that and Homebrew, but I had more of a fondness for this track, so Homebrew deserves an honorable mention).
  • The Icicle Melts by The Cranberries :: Such a subtle track but powerful in meaning, it deserves to be on this list.
  • Charlie Brown's Parents by Dishwalla :: If you ever had angst about authority and fitting in as a kid, this one's for you.
  • Lemonade by Tsunami Bomb :: When life gives you lemons, yada yada yada... And this song takes the cake in that message.
  • Suite-Pee by System of a Down :: This track is just sick, no other word to say it, it's just friggin sick.
  • End of the World by Cold :: Screw R.E.M.'s song of the same name, this is what I want to play just before it happens.
  • Walking thru Barbed Wire by Papa Roach :: Quite honestly their best song in their entire catalouge that didn't end up as a single (Between Angels and Insects is their best song, but it's too well known to be considered underrated.)
  • Pollution by Limp Bizkit :: I tried to find one with the intro track before this so that it would be even more epic; but it's still stands out on it's own and a great leadin to the next track.
  • Everything Remains Raw by Busta Rhymes :: When I first heard this back in 1995, I was like "Damn, that's some great solo rappin shit!!! He's gonna go far in his career." And I was right.
  • Inhale by Stone Sour :: People really gotta give Corey Taylor more props with his stuff outside of Slipknot. Stone Sour ain't just all mellow and pussified, they have balls.
  • Alone I Break by KoRn :: This is one of the few of my tracks that actually made it as a single. While most thought of it as tame, I thought of it as intriguing and stepping into a new realm for the band.
  • O Paranoia by Gangster Fun :: I don't do ska that often, but these guys are really good. I had to find the best one available instead of the track I wanted, Skarabia.
  • Summer by Alien Ant Farm :: It shows the complete range of the band all in one track without mocking a classic Michael Jackson song.
  • Boyz In Da Hood by Dynamite Hack :: This is the only cover I have on my list and they made a great song by NWA legend Eazy-E even greater.
  • Triumph by Wu-Tang Clan :: In my opinion their last great track they produced. Honestly, anything after 36 Chambers really was shit, so I had to promote this track cause this was really good in my opinion.

And just for show, here's the playlist for everyone to enjoy. You'd honestly think that I would leave ya'll hangin?!? C'mon...



Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones




So that's my piece on great songs that need to be recognized. Hope ya'll enjoyed it.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Friday, September 25, 2009

Transmissions in Analog

Let's take a pause for the moment right now and I want to take you back in time. How far you ask?!? We'll see and find out how dated you really are or not.

Now, I like to consider myself a connoisseur of old school and new school with everything; from television, to fads, to methods of day-to-day living, to just about most things. But this is a topic that I'm sure you're all know is a fancy of mine if you have read other posts here on my blog. And especially from the title of this post you should be aware of what that topic is about... MUSIC. Such a great topic and my personal favorite thing to talk about being a musician and all (duh). Lately I've been thinking of how technology nowadays although gives us a vast medium of music delivery devices and production of music, it also kind of in my opinion alienates the true art and passion of what it was. Digital anything is friggin' awesome don't get me wrong, but my allegiance belongs to good old analog.

This has to go to what I grew up with. Let me take you back to the mid-80's where the only thing that was digital was the watch you were wearing on your arm. My family were just now getting into cassettes as a new medium of listening to music but we mainly had old records of Wild Cherry, Cameo, Four Tops, you named it, we had it on vinyl. It was then that we jumped into cassettes and a new genre of music was emerging; rap. It was times where if you wanted to get recognized that you passed out mixed tapes and took it on the streets (see, viral campaigning was cool way back in the day even ). And then we (friends, family, and I) made mix tapes of what we heard on the radio and started dubbing our own stuff pretty much what I believe music should still be like, shareware. And if I continue with that concept this is going to end up being a rant on DRM and for yours sake I'll stop right there. But that right there was the last great renaissance for analog as far as recorded media. Sure nowadays they're some bands that want to put out vinyl exclusives to some of their albums (Pearl Jam's self titled album having to be my favorite of the bunch), but that's just about as tongue and cheek as someone from the ghetto wearing a Michael Jordon throwback jersey, very cheesy and almost forcing a lackluster approach mocking the great media.

But that's not to say that analog only existed in the delivery of music, that's the tip of the iceberg. I'm a big fan of the acoustic sound, the original analog transmission of music. Before drum beat machines, before synthesizers, before electric guitars, there were music that was *gasp* unplugged. In fact if I could I would be playing an acoustic bass right now out on Mill and Fifth in Tempe right about now finding someone else that plays guitar and jam into the night. It's just the sound and feel of playing to a close group of people without the aid of an amplifier; it seems that it gives the art a more intimate feel when you're playing and the audience appreciates it more. I know I do from both sides of the coin. Besides, that can incorporate other instruments into that intimate feel, such as violins, flutes, steel drums, and xylophones (yes, I think of these combinations to make it sound good to me, but what do I know as a starving artist). Let the orchestra run wild as it all jams into the night air with sweet, unadulterated sounds. That's what I say...


So that's my short ode to analog. I hope that this short (compared to all my other ramblings) synopsis of the great transmission doesn't die off or fizzle, but to live on in a way that is most appreciated by all musical enthusiasts. Rock on...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Monday, September 21, 2009

How BootLeG got his groove back

Yeah, I know it's been like for-friggin-ever between posts, but I have a good reason for such.  Honest.  For starters, I've noted on one of my first posts that I've seem to have hit a roadblock on writing songs.  After all; as a bassist/lyricist that thinks very highly on his talents; that was a hard pill to swallow.  I always hated hitting those slumps where I think for the longest time that I had peaked and can never reach any higher of an apex.  It's a real crappy feeling for anyone I would assume.  But that was also when I was working overnights and had some time in my hands.  But as we all know now that I'm back working daytime shifts and that leads me to a more compact constraint on outside interests.  But sometimes in the strangest of times, inspiration comes and then you just have to let it take hold.
 
I've been back on days for well over a month now.  And as for the past three weeks, I've actually have been productive in song writing again.  I have seven songs at the time of this post that I'm working on currently that are brand-spankin'-new.  And it didn't occur to me until a few days ago on what my muse was in song creation.  Oddly enough; public transportation.  It's my funnel to find out what I can create during my 90+ minute commute from work to home and vice versa.  I guess it's the ambiance of having all the different people that takes the bus from the princes to the paupers, all the peaks and valleys of our society gathered in a 45-foot long tuna can.  It's strange on how just a simple change to someones environment can create a catalyst of events.
 
I can even see how since the break from the last time I wrote songs which was probably just after the beginning of the year to three weeks ago how my style of writing changed as well.   It's strange how my taste in lyrics matured after each hiatus in my opinion.  I found that it's more of a redemption and new found life type of message in these recent lyrics versus others that was motivated by angst.  But that's not to say that I have angst in these songs as well, it's just that it's more than that in these.  Some of my lyrics are as follows:
 
Lyrics from If I'd Won the Lottery:  Who needs a second house when you already have one // who needs so many cars that you could lose count // all I ever wanted was a simple life // so the hell with all the toys that the world could provide...
 
Lyrics from All the Pretty Girls: Oh, you pretty girls // you just don't know the trouble you're about to get in tonight // living in your own world // the consequences you'll have in store, are far to dire so I make this song out to // all the pretty girls...

Lyrics from Nothing to Prove:  Allegiance, deceit, and lies, can never hide in the fashion that you're wearing // burn the chevrons off your sleeve and wear your heart proud when your the victor, faker...

And that's just a sample (no pun intended) of what I've been up to.  Hopefully once I get some things together I could post the full version but I'm a perfectionist like that and I would also would like to get some audio with it as well to post.  But that's gonna be a good while before that happens.  So until then, I'm just gonna have to keep up with perfecting these songs analog before posting them on my blog; but rest assure, they're gonna be friggin' awesome when I do.

To finding my muse, flowing with it, and finding a balance between my songs and finding time for my blog...

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Thursday, September 10, 2009

When two passions merge, pt 3

So this has been bugging me since I've started this about two months ago. Music and videogames is like peanut butter and jelly, two completely different things that are part of a complete good. But sometimes, we need a little marshmallow fluff to go with our peanut butter. That's all that I ask for, a little variety. But nowadays it seems like when someone thinks of music and videogames their pea-sized, narrow-minded brain routes them to either Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Sure, they're the big names in videogames now when it comes to what they're truly classified genre is called "rhythm based games"*, but it seems like the current reincarnations of such is just a constant rehashing of their big start and now it's getting to become mediocre.

It seems like that since the first Guitar Hero came into the picture, it unleashed all of our inner rock guitarist out in the open. Those who couldn't play a chord to save their life are now posting their high scores as viral videos on YouTube. People that couldn't spell Metallica was breaking out cans of whoop-ass playing "One" on expert, causing guitar enthusiasts like myself to drop their jaw in saying "WTF?!?" Basiclly its a self esteem booster that turns people with little or no talent in playing guitar to an icon in their own eyes. It makes posers out of anyone that plays it. And worst of all, those that can play guitar like myself (ok so I play bass, but it's essentially the same principle here) it is very disorientating on how to control that towards what you want to do naturally, slide to different frets on the fretboard. A very big annoyance if I do say so myself. And this argument had been said and done; beaten to death already, yada yada yada. It still grips the hell outta me. And now with the addition of faux bass, drums, and karaoke from hell, it's just got ri-friggin-diculous.

And it's not getting any better with the incorporation of all these epic expansions such as Beatles Rock Band, Guitar Hero World Tour, and other specialized instruments of torture for the musically retarded. Sure the novelty seems like it's peeking still and no sign of it dropping, but c'mon, it's not any different then the novelty of karaoke in a sake bar awaiting the hangover of spirits and sushi-mi. And besides, it's not like that's the only music based game that's out there. There's DanceDance Revolution, Karaoke Revolution, WiiMusic**, hell, DJ Hero was introduced at E3 lest we forget. So much other options but not as much of a cult following as to the big two. And why not if you can choose between a Gibson Flying V or Paul McCartney's bass.

Since I'll try to keep this short and not to look like I'm forcing angst over this too much, I like them. They're a fun break versus the same old doldrums of FPS and MMOs that are out there. And don't get me wrong, I love those too, and I'm also a musician to boot and if I can't feel like I play it, then it's pretty much wack to me. But then again just like music, I'm always competitive when it comes to videogames as a whole. So until next time, I'll be playing in my own rock band...


BootLeG sampler.. signing out...


*And just for a side note, in my opinion the first true rhythm based game has to be Simon way back in like the 80's. That was hardcore.
**And another side note I think that the most innovation when it comes to musicgames has to be WiiMusic. But they're still reasons why it suck. First of all it's lack of variety to what you can truly do with the wiimote, and second, the fact that you still look like a complete douchebag waving your wiimote controlling those miis in a symphony. Just my (and many others) opinion.