Hey, BootLeG sampler.. here, back with another installment of "WTF PEOPLE!?!" More ranting about the subtle tendencies of a majority that drives me completely insane... New to "WTF PEOPLE!?!", then check out the first post here.
Any cubicle working drone and seven year old pretty much by now knows what I'm talking about. Flash games, those little snippets of pointing and clicking to make an action and achieve an unbeatable high score that we're all seem to be addicted to whenever you think of gaming on the computer that isn't World of Warcraft. They're quick little bundles of joy for the moment we start to play them, then after 10 minutes or so, we start to realize how much time is truly wasted on these games. Granted it's time well wasted, but it is indeed wasted time regardless. It sounds good, it looks good, but is it really. In the grand scheme of gaming, is flash games really a great gaming medium or just another waste of space in the infinitely massive world wide web.
First things first, breaking down what is a flash game in as simplistic of a way as I can produce. It's a game that takes little or no effort and some simple programming skills to create; most likely consisting of activities that stay within a 800x600 resolution window where the objective is to click something to make something happen. This also might include the use of the following keys on a keyboard for special features: A,S,D,W, space, the arrow keys, as well as the top row of numbers on said keyboard. Simple enough right, well, that's all it takes nowadays to make a very cheap and mediocre game. But is it truly a game to gamer standards? I don't think so. A game has to be of some kind of playability on someones television or installed onto someones computer hard drive. that doesn't have to have an Internet connection to play it. This is the most generalized rule that I can possibly think of. Of course there's aways exceptions to the rule when it comes to games, but in the case of flash games, the rule is finite.
Now that we got the technicalities of flash games outta the way, let me talk about all the BS that is flash games. First off, they're every-friggin-where. I can't browse online anymore without seeing a banner ad for a flash game. They're like the cockroaches of the Internet, right up there with penis enlargement junk mails and YouTube. They can survive a nuclear holocaust and some radioactive person on the verge of dying will still be able to see "Chocolate Rain," WTF!?!
It's a friggin' epidemic on how many different sites out there has these things. And they all seem to fall under the same five different genres of flash games; shooter, puzzle, racing, RPG, or a hybrid of any of them. The games are short, usually featuring unlockables for advancement to other levels or upgrades, and tries your patience if you so happen to fail on accomplishing such. It tries to imitate some features of old school gaming such as the classic side scrolling flow of progress, simple sound effects, and even simpler controls until the more advanced levels come to kick you in the junk. This might sound like intriguing concepts, and it's because they are. If the developers and programmers that designed and produced such games didn't make them so effin' likable, then there would be no need to have them so other banner ads for other useless crap on the Internet can interrupt you while playing. They are literally interactive advertisements; and not like those banner ads where they're an object that replaces your cursor is something that give the illusion of interacting with it while in reality they're just waiting for you to click and spam you with adware, spyware, and all malware crap. It's the same principles as television programs, the main purpose of them is of being a delivery device for commercials.
Another thing about them is their addiction factor. It's an escape for anyone that works in a cubicle, a student during study hall, or any Joe Schmoe that want to waste time from between downloads and checking email. And part of that addiction is that they're friggin everywhere; from the most apply site name for flash games addictinggames.com to even the bombardment of them on Facebook. I admit, I play some on my account, and I am quasi-addicted to it. But I don't consider them games for the above reasons. *famous last words coming up* I can quit when I want to, it's not a problem with me. I feel like they overwhelm what little else is there to do on the Internet that it's gone from funny to disturbing. It's time to take a queue from the boys in Mayberry, NC and nip it in the bud.
So finally, as I try to stifle myself from prolonging this rant any longer than necessary, flash games are in my opinion much like America's Funniest Home Videos. They're entertaining for the moment, but a marathon of hours among hours of watching some random guy get hit in the groin 50,000 different ways start to get a little dull.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
P.S. Tom Bergeron did AFV better than Bob Saget, but Bob is the funnier comic by far...
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
List o' Best and Worst Game Controllers
We gamers should know that a game can either be make or break with its control scheme. Whether its too hard or easy to maneuver a character in a game; the control options and sub options make for either easily selecting attributes or not; or that the game allows for such precise sequence of movements that it could render your hand crippled at the end. That my friend is control design in a videogame, not what I'm talking about. Right now I'm talking about the actual controller, the effin' thing you play with, remember? It is a vital tool in game play because without it, you're pretty much just watching a title screen that you paid $60 for. And just a heads up, this is only consisting of original manufacturer's produced controllers for each console, no third party designs or homebrew mods. So lets get started with the list. Here's my top seven best and worst videogame controller designs. Why top seven, because all other numbers are too cliche.
Best Controllers:
- Sega Dreamcast with VMU: It was a two for one deal. The best design, it was like holding a starship in your hand and its memory card you can play side games and check what's saved on itself. EPIC.
- NES Advantage: Because it's the convenience of an arcade cabinet on crack on your lap. A base that had a joystick with the standard A/B buttons but had turbo features, sweet.
- Playstation 2 DuelShock: Reason 1, it vibrated. Reason 2, it had two joysticks that acted as triggers. And reason 3, it was black, that just looks cool
- Super Nintendo: Two Words, L/R buttons. It was the first to have it, 'nuff said.
- Nintendo Entertainment System: The best way to play all the classics. It's the controller that brought us the Contra Code.
- Atari 2600: The granddaddy of all controllers. Eight directions and a single button. If you can't handle that, than you can't handle crap.
- Sega Genesis 6 button: The best way to play Mortal Kombat 3, ahh memories...
Worst Controllers:
- Power Glove: It doesn't work, it's a piece of crap... This is so, so bad that in fact, the only way to do it any justice on how craptastic it is, is to just follow the link here.
- Sega Activator: Motion detection at it's crappiest. It used infrared sensors on an octagon that senses motion of the player inside of it. Half the time it didn't work and the other half when it responded it did the exact opposite of what the hell you wanted to do. Thank goodness that I didn't own one and just made fun of my friend that did buy that piece o' crap.
- ColecoVision: It's not a controller, it's a friggin' phone pad with a dial for an earpiece. Even the controller had wood paneling, what were they smoking back in '82.
- Playstation 3: No vibration, come the eff on people. We live in an age of consoles playing in 1080p capable of the best resolution to date, and we can't have a controller that originally had vibration features as it predecessors? WTF!
- The WiiMote: So many broken televisions, so little flack from it because it's still part of the ultimate family and party console. Bull!
- XBox: This behemoth was so huge that you needed a friend in the next zip code to press the buttons on the other side of it.
- Nintendo 64: An awkward three handled boomerang shaped failure. At least it had introduced the trigger button with the 'Z' under the middle handle.
So anyways, that's my list of the best and worst of controllers. It may be brief, but what hasn't been said about them already. It's just my way to say that the game isn't all about what's on the screen, but how you're interacting with it.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
When did punk music die?
That's the question that I'm posing right now. I just don't know when exactly did this important sub genre in rock music just either died out, sold out, or even if it's still here and it's not as prominent as it once was back in my day. Seriously, I may be one of the biggest music fanatics out there when it comes to all things rock, but what really burns me up is the decline of punk music. Good quality punk music. The way it was back in the day shouldn't even be compared to the tripe that is considered punk right now. Hell, I don't even think that there is punk anymore, they call it pop-punk, emo, and all that other bullshit. And that amongst itself is barely in my opinion considered music; given the fact that it consists of a chord or two, a tempo to follow, and a relative idea of amalgamating notes to make harmony/melody/rhythm/crap.
I mean there's a few that are out there still and can be considered punk. The biggest out of them that are still rockin' hard has to be Pennywise. These guys rock. They're true to their punk natures since 1991. I've gotten to them from fellow skaters that I used to hang out with while I was in high school and after some kick ass listening to them, I was hooked. These guys knew how to keep the tradition of what punk's really all about. From the super-stardom of The Ramones and Bad Religion to the last great punk acts of Offspring and Green Day (both before circa 1998) no one had done it better during their reign than Pennywise. It had balls, it was harsh yet simple, it had meaning and was true, not any bubblegum-pop prepackaged stale piece of shit that out there now.
Then of course there are some 'punk' bands that are half way decent, almost like hybrids, they're like the E85 ethanol vehicles of 'punk' banks. Taking on some of the old sound of punk and generating a thumbprint for themselves. So in short, they have balls, but not made of steel like their predecessors. Bands such as Authority Zero (Mesa, AZ FTW), Sublime, anything from Blink-182 up to 'Dude Ranch', Unwritten Law only up to and including their self titled album, Pepper, MxPx, Tsunami Bomb, and to a last resort, the first two No Doubt albums. These lighter sounds are an excellent gateway to introducing someone to true punk rock. Don't get me wrong, these bands are/were good in themselves; but if you want to ease someone to what punk really is, then start 'em off with them. You'll thank me later.
And then further down the road, there are bands that claim the title of 'punk'. Trust me, it's about as punk as the likelihood of Toby Keith collaborating with Lil Wayne and Elton John for a song. These abominations that dare to even tread on the brand sickens me like the black plague. This consists of anything that is included into the genre of 'PopPunk.' This is not a genre, it's a spoonful of bullshit that is tried to be stirred into your medicine to put as many varieties of crap and mix it into something that is solid and true to make it more bearable to swallow. It's a joke. These include such lame ducks such as Avenge Sevenfold, Good Charlotte, Plain White T's, and others that if I continue that I would probably drown in my own vomit.
Also those that were punk and then either sold their soul for profit or stardom to produce said crap. Much to the demise of Blink-182, their split-up showed two very different sides of the bands. One of which was Angels and Airwaves which was a lame experiment with Tom DeLonge of Blink and Noodle, the guitarist of Offspring, to produce an emo piece of crap. The other was +44 which was Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker's attempt to be punk again, but it was all for not. But the biggest pain in this is the succession of putrid has to be the rise of Green Day. Somebody tell me how does a band in which their songs were all three chord fast paced 'give em hell kid' music (especially in the success of Dookie), to a bunch of middle aged emo punk wannabes that try to show politico-social-emo *gulps own vomit before continuing* wretched pile of buffalo dung. I think it's safe to say that all of us that remember what good punk music was we would hold Green Day to that standard. But ever since I think Warning with their song 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' that they would just begin to suck it, and suck it hard.
When, I say, when did music begin to die. For my grandparents generation it was told in 'American Pie' by Don McLean. For my parents, music was resuscitating back into its prime. In my generation, it's dying again; and I just want to pull the plug on it and let it die. So for all those artists that are sucking all the goodness out of music in our airwaves, here's two big fat middle fingers in your general direction (( nlm mln )).
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
I mean there's a few that are out there still and can be considered punk. The biggest out of them that are still rockin' hard has to be Pennywise. These guys rock. They're true to their punk natures since 1991. I've gotten to them from fellow skaters that I used to hang out with while I was in high school and after some kick ass listening to them, I was hooked. These guys knew how to keep the tradition of what punk's really all about. From the super-stardom of The Ramones and Bad Religion to the last great punk acts of Offspring and Green Day (both before circa 1998) no one had done it better during their reign than Pennywise. It had balls, it was harsh yet simple, it had meaning and was true, not any bubblegum-pop prepackaged stale piece of shit that out there now.
Then of course there are some 'punk' bands that are half way decent, almost like hybrids, they're like the E85 ethanol vehicles of 'punk' banks. Taking on some of the old sound of punk and generating a thumbprint for themselves. So in short, they have balls, but not made of steel like their predecessors. Bands such as Authority Zero (Mesa, AZ FTW), Sublime, anything from Blink-182 up to 'Dude Ranch', Unwritten Law only up to and including their self titled album, Pepper, MxPx, Tsunami Bomb, and to a last resort, the first two No Doubt albums. These lighter sounds are an excellent gateway to introducing someone to true punk rock. Don't get me wrong, these bands are/were good in themselves; but if you want to ease someone to what punk really is, then start 'em off with them. You'll thank me later.
And then further down the road, there are bands that claim the title of 'punk'. Trust me, it's about as punk as the likelihood of Toby Keith collaborating with Lil Wayne and Elton John for a song. These abominations that dare to even tread on the brand sickens me like the black plague. This consists of anything that is included into the genre of 'PopPunk.' This is not a genre, it's a spoonful of bullshit that is tried to be stirred into your medicine to put as many varieties of crap and mix it into something that is solid and true to make it more bearable to swallow. It's a joke. These include such lame ducks such as Avenge Sevenfold, Good Charlotte, Plain White T's, and others that if I continue that I would probably drown in my own vomit.
Also those that were punk and then either sold their soul for profit or stardom to produce said crap. Much to the demise of Blink-182, their split-up showed two very different sides of the bands. One of which was Angels and Airwaves which was a lame experiment with Tom DeLonge of Blink and Noodle, the guitarist of Offspring, to produce an emo piece of crap. The other was +44 which was Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker's attempt to be punk again, but it was all for not. But the biggest pain in this is the succession of putrid has to be the rise of Green Day. Somebody tell me how does a band in which their songs were all three chord fast paced 'give em hell kid' music (especially in the success of Dookie), to a bunch of middle aged emo punk wannabes that try to show politico-social-emo *gulps own vomit before continuing* wretched pile of buffalo dung. I think it's safe to say that all of us that remember what good punk music was we would hold Green Day to that standard. But ever since I think Warning with their song 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' that they would just begin to suck it, and suck it hard.
When, I say, when did music begin to die. For my grandparents generation it was told in 'American Pie' by Don McLean. For my parents, music was resuscitating back into its prime. In my generation, it's dying again; and I just want to pull the plug on it and let it die. So for all those artists that are sucking all the goodness out of music in our airwaves, here's two big fat middle fingers in your general direction (( nlm mln )).
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Kids and their toys
If you're a decent reader of my blog, you should know that I have three sons. Two of them being the oldest at ages five and six. They love their toys, and that's respectable. But they love my toys as well. And by my toys, I mean my bass guitars (yes, plural) and my videogame consoles, in particular the Wii. I don't mind it sometimes; but there are times that when I see them playing I either want to take it away from the both of them because they're misbehaving, or because they can't play the game the way it's intended to be played. The sad thing is that I don't know what irks me more.
So I guess that I'll start with the part of them misbehaving on the Wii. First off they're five and six, they're prone to be in trouble all the friggin' time anyways. Always roughhousing in our home causing more noise than necessary, it can lead to insanity at times. But for the most part they are good boys, and they do listen to instructions (remember that one for later in the post). But there are some things that I just don't understand with them and the operation of the Wii, much less the playing of the titles. First is the dreaded WiiStrap. They sometimes pass the WiiMotes back and forth to each other forgetting to strap that thing on, it's an annoyance and I really don't want a broken TV because of that. It's a pet peeve that I'll probably contest to a future 'WTF PEOPLE?!?' posting *hint* but for now it's just a nuisance that they don't remember at times. Another nuisance is them touching the discs. Like I said, they're 5 and 6, greasy, grimmy, disgusting, slimy, booger infested, dirt-in-nail, and otherwise gross out until you vomit fingerprints all over my games? I don't effin' think so! I take care of my stuff and try to find classic stuff to horde (I swear I was going to go all Bilbo Baggins on this Nintendo PowerPad I saw at Goodwill today, but the wife wouldn't let me, damn). I like to keep my stuff in mint condition if I can, so I don't ever let my kids take out the discs and scratch 'em all to hell and back. Also, they tend to be a sore loser if they're losing on something. I keep telling them "so what!" and let them sort it out in a mature way (as mature as a 5 and 6 year old can be).
The other thing that gets me isn't quite the conduct and etiquette in playing a videogame, it's the execution of playing said videogame. I have a lot of stuff on Virtual Console for my Wii because I like the old school games and that they're a good basic building block for any gamer, even little kids. It's just that with little kids, they tend to do some of the most mind-numbing things that I just gets my blood pressure rising. Take for example, Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES; my kids love this game, but not for what you might think. There's a minigame in it that let the two players play the original Mario Bros. arcade but as a port (transport with an updated look from the original) of course. Well, that's all they play. They don't continue on through the actual game and accomplish anything, it's just the constant playing of the port that makes me wanna yank the controllers off their hands and play the whole damn game myself just to show them what the hell they're missing by playing that stupid effin' port!!! That pisses the crap outta me. But that's not the only game they play (thank goodness for options); they play WiiPlay as well. Here's where the etiquette thing comes back to bite me in the ass. It's a game essentially of minigames, and they're supposed to take turns on which games to play, but that doesn't happen usually. Usually it ends up with the same damn game being played multiple times, and the same kid winning multiple times, that it causes the other one to get pissed off. So I come to the rescue and pwn the winner in his own game. They're both upset, they're either in time-out or in their room sulking, and I'm not stressed out over the arguing of a videogame.
I seriously get irked to hell by both of these instances and I try to reason with those boys. They sometimes get it, but I swear they're both thick in the head. Must have gotten that from their mother.
I'm BootLeG sampler.. and I'm sleepin' on the couch for that remark...
So I guess that I'll start with the part of them misbehaving on the Wii. First off they're five and six, they're prone to be in trouble all the friggin' time anyways. Always roughhousing in our home causing more noise than necessary, it can lead to insanity at times. But for the most part they are good boys, and they do listen to instructions (remember that one for later in the post). But there are some things that I just don't understand with them and the operation of the Wii, much less the playing of the titles. First is the dreaded WiiStrap. They sometimes pass the WiiMotes back and forth to each other forgetting to strap that thing on, it's an annoyance and I really don't want a broken TV because of that. It's a pet peeve that I'll probably contest to a future 'WTF PEOPLE?!?' posting *hint* but for now it's just a nuisance that they don't remember at times. Another nuisance is them touching the discs. Like I said, they're 5 and 6, greasy, grimmy, disgusting, slimy, booger infested, dirt-in-nail, and otherwise gross out until you vomit fingerprints all over my games? I don't effin' think so! I take care of my stuff and try to find classic stuff to horde (I swear I was going to go all Bilbo Baggins on this Nintendo PowerPad I saw at Goodwill today, but the wife wouldn't let me, damn). I like to keep my stuff in mint condition if I can, so I don't ever let my kids take out the discs and scratch 'em all to hell and back. Also, they tend to be a sore loser if they're losing on something. I keep telling them "so what!" and let them sort it out in a mature way (as mature as a 5 and 6 year old can be).
The other thing that gets me isn't quite the conduct and etiquette in playing a videogame, it's the execution of playing said videogame. I have a lot of stuff on Virtual Console for my Wii because I like the old school games and that they're a good basic building block for any gamer, even little kids. It's just that with little kids, they tend to do some of the most mind-numbing things that I just gets my blood pressure rising. Take for example, Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES; my kids love this game, but not for what you might think. There's a minigame in it that let the two players play the original Mario Bros. arcade but as a port (transport with an updated look from the original) of course. Well, that's all they play. They don't continue on through the actual game and accomplish anything, it's just the constant playing of the port that makes me wanna yank the controllers off their hands and play the whole damn game myself just to show them what the hell they're missing by playing that stupid effin' port!!! That pisses the crap outta me. But that's not the only game they play (thank goodness for options); they play WiiPlay as well. Here's where the etiquette thing comes back to bite me in the ass. It's a game essentially of minigames, and they're supposed to take turns on which games to play, but that doesn't happen usually. Usually it ends up with the same damn game being played multiple times, and the same kid winning multiple times, that it causes the other one to get pissed off. So I come to the rescue and pwn the winner in his own game. They're both upset, they're either in time-out or in their room sulking, and I'm not stressed out over the arguing of a videogame.
I seriously get irked to hell by both of these instances and I try to reason with those boys. They sometimes get it, but I swear they're both thick in the head. Must have gotten that from their mother.
I'm BootLeG sampler.. and I'm sleepin' on the couch for that remark...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
WTF PEOPLE!?! Over-breastfeeding
Hey, I decided to start a new ongoing rant titled simply 'WTF PEOPLE!?!' It's an outlook on my askew look at some of the most eccentric things that some people do. This may consist of certain habitual ways of people, OCD related tendencies, or other compulsive crap. But most of all it is what I think of why it rates themselves of having me to say about it, "WTF!?!"
This installment is mothers that breastfeed their children past a certain point in their child's lives. Let me first start off by saying that I am a big advocate for breastfeeding. I think from research and experience that breastmilk for young nursling's (that's the term for a breastfeeing child) is best suited for their growth and development from newborn to infant to toddler. It assists them with natural antibodies to fend off minor illnesses and the hormones in breastmilk is known to greatly set the child up for a well developed life in all facets of it. This is great for the first year of a child's life and development, then the child should be weened off or already off after 15 months. But what gets me is those mothers that have their children (notice I didn't say nursling's this time) feed off of them at 2, 3, even 4 years old. That's too old for a child to be on the teet. If a child is successfully eating solid foods (not just jarred puree foods) but McDonald's Happy Meals, then the child should be off the boob.
These mothers and their children in my opinion are seriously messed up in the head, and I can only think of two effects that might be a direct cause to this prolonged breastfeeding epidemic:
1) The mothers themselves have such a symbiotic relationship with their nursling's that they develop such separation anxiety that it could potentially kill them, or
2) The children themselves would grow up with such a dependency/codependency with their mothers that it would make them virtually useless to function by themselves as adolescents and adults.
This dilemma is in my opinion a root of so much problems of both parties. Most mothers use the excuse of only nursing for comfort purposes to either put them to sleep or to ease their transition of waking up in the morning is such a cop-out in my opinion to their own obsession to not let go. Nursing is intended for nutritional purposes only. Sure it serves as a comforting mechanism, but that benefit should be reek by those that are in dire need of its nutritional value only, such as babies that are under 1 year old and experimenting with solid foods (the puree kind this time.) After the age of 1, breastmilk's nutritional value isn't all that impacting and it so becomes a physical and emotional demanding venture for both parties. That in my opinion is more of a hassle than anything on the breastfeeding circuit.
In short, feed your children what is necessary, not what you want to do for them to further inhibit your separation anxiety. So to all breastfeeding mothers: breastfeed, please, but don't drag on to possibly destroy you or your child.
BootLeG sampler.. signing off...
This installment is mothers that breastfeed their children past a certain point in their child's lives. Let me first start off by saying that I am a big advocate for breastfeeding. I think from research and experience that breastmilk for young nursling's (that's the term for a breastfeeing child) is best suited for their growth and development from newborn to infant to toddler. It assists them with natural antibodies to fend off minor illnesses and the hormones in breastmilk is known to greatly set the child up for a well developed life in all facets of it. This is great for the first year of a child's life and development, then the child should be weened off or already off after 15 months. But what gets me is those mothers that have their children (notice I didn't say nursling's this time) feed off of them at 2, 3, even 4 years old. That's too old for a child to be on the teet. If a child is successfully eating solid foods (not just jarred puree foods) but McDonald's Happy Meals, then the child should be off the boob.
These mothers and their children in my opinion are seriously messed up in the head, and I can only think of two effects that might be a direct cause to this prolonged breastfeeding epidemic:
1) The mothers themselves have such a symbiotic relationship with their nursling's that they develop such separation anxiety that it could potentially kill them, or
2) The children themselves would grow up with such a dependency/codependency with their mothers that it would make them virtually useless to function by themselves as adolescents and adults.
This dilemma is in my opinion a root of so much problems of both parties. Most mothers use the excuse of only nursing for comfort purposes to either put them to sleep or to ease their transition of waking up in the morning is such a cop-out in my opinion to their own obsession to not let go. Nursing is intended for nutritional purposes only. Sure it serves as a comforting mechanism, but that benefit should be reek by those that are in dire need of its nutritional value only, such as babies that are under 1 year old and experimenting with solid foods (the puree kind this time.) After the age of 1, breastmilk's nutritional value isn't all that impacting and it so becomes a physical and emotional demanding venture for both parties. That in my opinion is more of a hassle than anything on the breastfeeding circuit.
In short, feed your children what is necessary, not what you want to do for them to further inhibit your separation anxiety. So to all breastfeeding mothers: breastfeed, please, but don't drag on to possibly destroy you or your child.
BootLeG sampler.. signing off...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
If it's in HD, I'll watch it
That is the cold honest truth. I am an HDTV whore. If it's shown in at least 720p than I'll pretty much put it on my living room. I'll admit; at first I didn't really understand the whole new high definition revolution. Sure it was cool, but it was way too expensive. But I finally caved in and about 9 months ago I was amazed. I knew of how great it was from my friends (mainly playing either XBox 360 or PS3) and every time I went window shopping with my family. But I can tell you my friend from personnel experience, that having it in your house is a totally new game. I love whatever is on it and I can't seem to get enough of it.
I'm amazed of how many things are available in HD. I don't even have cable (or satellite for that matter, that's what friends are for, lol) and just picking up all the digital over-the-air signals are great; even thought I've posted on that already. But what I'm talking about is some of the things that I find myself watching in high definition. Some of which does makes sense, but others are just odd for a grown man to be watching.
One thing I never thought would be more interesting was local news. I'm actually more interactive in local happenings and current events due to news channels showing their broadcasts in HD. It's wonderful how clear it is seeing an birds eye view of a fire in progress or the weather being shown. I never felt that connected before and the only thing that I can think that attributed to this was my HDTV. Another thing that I currently enjoy is watching certain syndicated shows, not just re-runs. I loved watching 'Jeopardy!' before, but now I curse myself if I miss a day of it. Hell I even started watching 'Wheel of Fortune' again and Vanna White looks just as hot in high def as when she was young and hot twenty-some-odd-years-ago. And some syndicated re-runs of shows are shown in high def as well (at least where I'm at.) Shows like 'Everybody Loves Raymond' and 'Two and a Half Men' weren't on my list of must see TV, but are now things that I try to watch for a quick snippet of humor now that they're shown in HD. Even the 'Price is Right' is awesome to watch. My only regret on that is that it's friggin' Drew Carey and not Bob Barker. But with high def still in an infantile stage for most television viewers, you just have to take what you can get.
Which brings me to some more of the things that I find myself watching because its in high def. If you have children and actually give a damn on what they watch on television, than you might be able to relate. My kids watch a lot of educational programming and there's this show called Wordgirl. It's the only show on my PBSkids lineup that I know of that is shown in HD; and I submit myself to watching it because it's in HD. Essentially it's an animated cartoon about a super heroine that is very linguistic. But me being the HD junkie, I'm friggin hooked to it, it works! That's my pledge to all those dads that don't spend too enough time teaching their kids values; more HD educational and moral programming. You might learn something and, I dunno, bond with your children!?! What a concept...
But as we all know, HDTV was meant for us guys that loves to see guy stuff. And since I know that my wife is reading this, I AM OWNING THE TV ALL DAY SUNDAY FOR FOOTBALL!!! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Football is awesome, it is meant to be seen with the utmost clarity. You can have your NASCAR (which I enjoy as well, lovez ya babe), your gymnastics, your equestrian riding, your whatever non-football sport that you have to watch, but I own it for football. No I am not foaming at the mouth, yet; but it is destiny that I shall be one with the gridiron. So I'll lay down a few guidelines. If your team is on, I'll give you superseding rights to watch your team (lose) over mine. If it's a game that I'm not interested in, you can have control until the next game of interest. And finally, there shall always be a cold beer near by. This is my offer, take it or leave it (please take it, that couch really sucks monkey nuts.)
But really, all sports are pretty damn awesome in high def. It gives the smack-in-your-face feel of being there, and that's to include all of the previous mentioned sports as well as professional wrestling. I know it's fake, but damn does it look awesome. Some other things that look awesome is graphic intense prime time shows such as CSI, NOVA, Law and Order, and even some of those reality shows like Big Brother. I like my HDTV, a lot (now I'm foaming at the mouth.) And I'm just talking about television programming in HD, not anything about Blu-Ray or videogames, or other media outlets that can be viewed in high def. Maybe another rant, but for now I think we need to rest. If you need me, I'll be waiting for Antiques Roadshow to come on, in high definition of course.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
I'm amazed of how many things are available in HD. I don't even have cable (or satellite for that matter, that's what friends are for, lol) and just picking up all the digital over-the-air signals are great; even thought I've posted on that already. But what I'm talking about is some of the things that I find myself watching in high definition. Some of which does makes sense, but others are just odd for a grown man to be watching.
One thing I never thought would be more interesting was local news. I'm actually more interactive in local happenings and current events due to news channels showing their broadcasts in HD. It's wonderful how clear it is seeing an birds eye view of a fire in progress or the weather being shown. I never felt that connected before and the only thing that I can think that attributed to this was my HDTV. Another thing that I currently enjoy is watching certain syndicated shows, not just re-runs. I loved watching 'Jeopardy!' before, but now I curse myself if I miss a day of it. Hell I even started watching 'Wheel of Fortune' again and Vanna White looks just as hot in high def as when she was young and hot twenty-some-odd-years-ago. And some syndicated re-runs of shows are shown in high def as well (at least where I'm at.) Shows like 'Everybody Loves Raymond' and 'Two and a Half Men' weren't on my list of must see TV, but are now things that I try to watch for a quick snippet of humor now that they're shown in HD. Even the 'Price is Right' is awesome to watch. My only regret on that is that it's friggin' Drew Carey and not Bob Barker. But with high def still in an infantile stage for most television viewers, you just have to take what you can get.
Which brings me to some more of the things that I find myself watching because its in high def. If you have children and actually give a damn on what they watch on television, than you might be able to relate. My kids watch a lot of educational programming and there's this show called Wordgirl. It's the only show on my PBSkids lineup that I know of that is shown in HD; and I submit myself to watching it because it's in HD. Essentially it's an animated cartoon about a super heroine that is very linguistic. But me being the HD junkie, I'm friggin hooked to it, it works! That's my pledge to all those dads that don't spend too enough time teaching their kids values; more HD educational and moral programming. You might learn something and, I dunno, bond with your children!?! What a concept...
But as we all know, HDTV was meant for us guys that loves to see guy stuff. And since I know that my wife is reading this, I AM OWNING THE TV ALL DAY SUNDAY FOR FOOTBALL!!! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Football is awesome, it is meant to be seen with the utmost clarity. You can have your NASCAR (which I enjoy as well, lovez ya babe), your gymnastics, your equestrian riding, your whatever non-football sport that you have to watch, but I own it for football. No I am not foaming at the mouth, yet; but it is destiny that I shall be one with the gridiron. So I'll lay down a few guidelines. If your team is on, I'll give you superseding rights to watch your team (lose) over mine. If it's a game that I'm not interested in, you can have control until the next game of interest. And finally, there shall always be a cold beer near by. This is my offer, take it or leave it (please take it, that couch really sucks monkey nuts.)
But really, all sports are pretty damn awesome in high def. It gives the smack-in-your-face feel of being there, and that's to include all of the previous mentioned sports as well as professional wrestling. I know it's fake, but damn does it look awesome. Some other things that look awesome is graphic intense prime time shows such as CSI, NOVA, Law and Order, and even some of those reality shows like Big Brother. I like my HDTV, a lot (now I'm foaming at the mouth.) And I'm just talking about television programming in HD, not anything about Blu-Ray or videogames, or other media outlets that can be viewed in high def. Maybe another rant, but for now I think we need to rest. If you need me, I'll be waiting for Antiques Roadshow to come on, in high definition of course.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Ellipses, and the people that uses them
I admit, I am guilty of using ellipses. And in case you don't know what they are, they are generally the three periods at the end of a trialing sentence that indicates it being a run on sentence. Or to put it more simply this (...) is an ellipse. I use it all the time when casually texting, IMing, or writing a casual email. It works for me because that's my personality, if you give me something to talk about, I'll go on and on and on... See I just did it again. I'm so friggin' bad at that.
But what gets me is those that don't follow that grammar rule. The rule of ellipses is to you three periods (...), just that and no more. But sometimes I see those in live chat applications utilizing what I consider ultimate ellipses (............................., etc.) It irks the hell outta me. That's just uncalled for in my opinion. I mean that's just the biggest annoyance that I can possibly think of whenever I'm reading someone's message on a board, forum, or even through a direct message. That too me shows lack of compassion to what you really want to say or just other plain disgrace in the form of electronically written mediums.
That's just about as bad as those jackholes that type IN ALL CAPS (note: only for example purposes in the particular reference of all caps that I just typed.) That's pisses me off too. The significance of typing in call caps is to express excitement or exclamation. Typing in all caps in written medium is practically the same as screaming in ones ear at point blank range. It's annoying, it's a stupid thing to do, and I don't like it. (Note: example purposes again here); WOULDN'T THIS JUST ANNOY THE PISS OUTTA YOU IF YOU HAVE TO READ EVERY SINGLE WORD IN CAPS THROUGHOUT A 350 WORD MESSAGE? I know I would be very discouraged to continue such conversation like that. It's total bs and should be outlawed. The next person I find that try to type in all caps is going to get an all caps punch in the face by my very real fist. I don't mean a nasty letter, just a direct 'caps lock on me will ya' punch in the face.
I just want to see some messaging etiquette here from my peers. It's not too much to ask. A little less over-ellipsing and a lot less caps-lock-whoring is not to much to ask I think. And just so I don't get any flak on this one, I know about my signature at the end of all my postings 'BootLeG sampler.. signing out...' and the use of only two periods for 'BootLeG sampler.' That's totally different, in the fact that that is how I write down my handle on paper. The actual design, which I'll probably upload as my main banner instead of the text seen currently soon, will show how I write the design of the signature. The BootLeG sampler.. signature has those two periods out there not for any real reason like being a semi-ellipse signifying that although I may ramble, I end short of making an eternity of it; or that it's a continuation of how I acquire inspiration from others and hope to pass it on to complete the ellipse. It's just the design that I made for the original handwritten signature/autograph of how the BootLeG sampler.. Just how like the B,L, and G really don't mean much either, it's part of the signature. Although, now that I've written what I've just did for the ellipses; I wonder if I could use that as why my signature is the way it is... Na, I have my personal integrity to uphold.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
But what gets me is those that don't follow that grammar rule. The rule of ellipses is to you three periods (...), just that and no more. But sometimes I see those in live chat applications utilizing what I consider ultimate ellipses (............................., etc.) It irks the hell outta me. That's just uncalled for in my opinion. I mean that's just the biggest annoyance that I can possibly think of whenever I'm reading someone's message on a board, forum, or even through a direct message. That too me shows lack of compassion to what you really want to say or just other plain disgrace in the form of electronically written mediums.
That's just about as bad as those jackholes that type IN ALL CAPS (note: only for example purposes in the particular reference of all caps that I just typed.) That's pisses me off too. The significance of typing in call caps is to express excitement or exclamation. Typing in all caps in written medium is practically the same as screaming in ones ear at point blank range. It's annoying, it's a stupid thing to do, and I don't like it. (Note: example purposes again here); WOULDN'T THIS JUST ANNOY THE PISS OUTTA YOU IF YOU HAVE TO READ EVERY SINGLE WORD IN CAPS THROUGHOUT A 350 WORD MESSAGE? I know I would be very discouraged to continue such conversation like that. It's total bs and should be outlawed. The next person I find that try to type in all caps is going to get an all caps punch in the face by my very real fist. I don't mean a nasty letter, just a direct 'caps lock on me will ya' punch in the face.
I just want to see some messaging etiquette here from my peers. It's not too much to ask. A little less over-ellipsing and a lot less caps-lock-whoring is not to much to ask I think. And just so I don't get any flak on this one, I know about my signature at the end of all my postings 'BootLeG sampler.. signing out...' and the use of only two periods for 'BootLeG sampler.' That's totally different, in the fact that that is how I write down my handle on paper. The actual design, which I'll probably upload as my main banner instead of the text seen currently soon, will show how I write the design of the signature. The BootLeG sampler.. signature has those two periods out there not for any real reason like being a semi-ellipse signifying that although I may ramble, I end short of making an eternity of it; or that it's a continuation of how I acquire inspiration from others and hope to pass it on to complete the ellipse. It's just the design that I made for the original handwritten signature/autograph of how the BootLeG sampler.. Just how like the B,L, and G really don't mean much either, it's part of the signature. Although, now that I've written what I've just did for the ellipses; I wonder if I could use that as why my signature is the way it is... Na, I have my personal integrity to uphold.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Don't forget what lyrics?
In an earlier post I written about how certain theme songs are epic with and without lyrics to them. But what if they did have lyrics, all of them. That would be pretty sweet. But only if the lyrics truly represented the show. I hope that this would at least stir some stimulation to the idea that that would be either hilarious or just plain awesome. So I'm compiling a list of shows that could benefit for some help from a disembodied voice.
1) Bobby's World: I mean c'mon it has to be the sleeper cartoon of the 80's and 90's. Fox had a goldmine and if they could have Howie Mandel do the theme in Bobby's voice, that would be epic. Here's a sample line from an improved theme... "De de de, I'm a kid on a trike//de de de, I have a really big head..."
2) Seinfeld: Truly, it doen't need a theme, and it doesn't even have a theme per say. It's just a random jazz bass riff and some scatting that what it opens to. But it's true theme song is at it's ending credits, at which you can play at any part of the show seriously. Think about it, a theme that could potentially last the entire show, c'mon?! "This is a show about nothing, and we make big bank//and this song is played at the end, because we're that bad ass"
3) M.A.S.H.: I've already talked about it in my last theme lyrics post, but still, it would rock if it had it's own lyrics for the series versus just having some morbid message of suicide for the M.A.S.H. movie. It would be a nice uplifting comedy of errors that should suffice for the lyrics on M.A.S.H. because the show itself was a comedy of errors. "Why the hell this war's still going//it's been eleven seasons//and is Klinger ever gonna get away"
4) C.O.P.S.: I know, what's with all these acronyms. Well, C.O.P.S. was a show on CBS Saturday morning cartoon lineup that took place in the then future with this bad ass half cyborg cop that was more or less like a cross between RoboCop and Lawrence Fishburne. Classy, but lacking a good theme; all it did was repeat it's title name kind of how like Eek the Cat did in its theme. Repetitive and lame. So here's my take on it... "We're off to kick some cyber ass//C.O.P.S.//C.S.I. ain't got crap on me//C.O.P.S."
5) Beetlejuice: It's just that epic. A sick and twisted tale about a goth girl and her friends in some sort of bizarro limbo world. That and it came from Tim Burton. The only thing missing from it is lyrics to make it a grand opus of cartoondom. "Beetlejuice//he is one//sick little//demented person//oh no here come a huge sandworm//he chasing us oh W.T.F.//this some twisted stuff that Tim was smokin up"
So that's my rant on only some of the shows that could benefit from some theme lyrics. I hope you like where this was going and if you want more insight on where that idea came from, just follow the link here to That Guy With The Glasses and you'll find out. And no this is not a paid promo, it's me just being a huge fan of the sight.
I'm The BootLeG sampler.. and I approve this message, I mean, signing out...
1) Bobby's World: I mean c'mon it has to be the sleeper cartoon of the 80's and 90's. Fox had a goldmine and if they could have Howie Mandel do the theme in Bobby's voice, that would be epic. Here's a sample line from an improved theme... "De de de, I'm a kid on a trike//de de de, I have a really big head..."
2) Seinfeld: Truly, it doen't need a theme, and it doesn't even have a theme per say. It's just a random jazz bass riff and some scatting that what it opens to. But it's true theme song is at it's ending credits, at which you can play at any part of the show seriously. Think about it, a theme that could potentially last the entire show, c'mon?! "This is a show about nothing, and we make big bank//and this song is played at the end, because we're that bad ass"
3) M.A.S.H.: I've already talked about it in my last theme lyrics post, but still, it would rock if it had it's own lyrics for the series versus just having some morbid message of suicide for the M.A.S.H. movie. It would be a nice uplifting comedy of errors that should suffice for the lyrics on M.A.S.H. because the show itself was a comedy of errors. "Why the hell this war's still going//it's been eleven seasons//and is Klinger ever gonna get away"
4) C.O.P.S.: I know, what's with all these acronyms. Well, C.O.P.S. was a show on CBS Saturday morning cartoon lineup that took place in the then future with this bad ass half cyborg cop that was more or less like a cross between RoboCop and Lawrence Fishburne. Classy, but lacking a good theme; all it did was repeat it's title name kind of how like Eek the Cat did in its theme. Repetitive and lame. So here's my take on it... "We're off to kick some cyber ass//C.O.P.S.//C.S.I. ain't got crap on me//C.O.P.S."
5) Beetlejuice: It's just that epic. A sick and twisted tale about a goth girl and her friends in some sort of bizarro limbo world. That and it came from Tim Burton. The only thing missing from it is lyrics to make it a grand opus of cartoondom. "Beetlejuice//he is one//sick little//demented person//oh no here come a huge sandworm//he chasing us oh W.T.F.//this some twisted stuff that Tim was smokin up"
So that's my rant on only some of the shows that could benefit from some theme lyrics. I hope you like where this was going and if you want more insight on where that idea came from, just follow the link here to That Guy With The Glasses and you'll find out. And no this is not a paid promo, it's me just being a huge fan of the sight.
I'm The BootLeG sampler.. and I approve this message, I mean, signing out...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Rentals
Rentals; it's the poor man's video game catalogue. And I'm proud to be a poor man. I get to play what I want to play whenever I feel like it from whatever is available, and if I really like it, I'll buy it from a retailer and make it part of my videogame gallery's permanent collection. I don't have to go through the burden of wanting to buy a videogame for $40 to $60 (more if it has peripherals to it) and possibly hating it being a potential piece of crap and then either getting suck with it or trading it in to GameStop for like pennies of what it's really worth towards another potentially crappy game; continuing the circle of life. That's total bullshit in my opinion, and I don't want to subject myself to such mediocrity and wasteful spending. I'm a cheap bastard and I'm a gamer. I need my fix but I also need to eat. I want the best for the least and buying crappy games outright is not alright with me.
Renting videogames isn't any difference than borrowing a book from the library. You go to the store (or in some cases choose from an online catalogue) and see what is available. I select it and have it for a certain amount of time. If it's a short game and I finish it; just like a short book; I'd return it either on time or earlier for something else. If it's a really long game, than I'll see if either I can get it again or keep it longer to finish it. But more likely, if its such a good game or book, I'd want it as part of my permanent collection. I have a few books that I like to read that I own; although I'm not much to read outside of comicbooks. Just the same as videogames; I have a few that I have in my collection and have a lot of replay value or was just that badass of a game that I had to have it (all of the Final Fantasies from VII onward FTW!)
With renting a game I do not think that I'm any less of a gamer than anyone that getting the same game during it's release date. In fact, I think it makes me more of a gamer instead. A thrifty gamer that have variety versus someone that frivolously spend a crapload of money for a game they reserved six months in advance just so they can have some sort of commemorative swag that goes with the SAME DAMN GAME!!! It doesn't make any effin' sense to me. I want to know why exactly would someone go through that torture. And even if they have all the swag and the bragging rights of saying that I was the first to reserve it in their own respective group of people they hang out with, if the game is crap, than all that you can brag about is wasting a huge amount of time and money on a steaming pile. It boggles my mind, I have no idea what goes on in their little hamster wheels inside of their brain. Sure most games are pretty good, some are great and even fewer are epic, but to put that much time investing on a gamble versus just getting the game from a retailer or have it delivered to you to play it before possibly buying it; I think the logical choice is obvious. But what do I know, maybe I'll become a better gamer if I play the same damn game wearing a shirt about the game that's too tight for me because they ran out of XXXL and my ultra kickass lanyard.
Maybe I'm just out of the loop. I can understand preordering consoles, that's different. That's what you need to play the kickass games. And although the last console that I preordered was the Sega Dreamcast (greatest console ever) I just can't say the same about a game. I like playing my videogames. I like having money to do other things such as paying rent, putting food on the table, and putting gas in my car as well; but what the hell do I know?
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Renting videogames isn't any difference than borrowing a book from the library. You go to the store (or in some cases choose from an online catalogue) and see what is available. I select it and have it for a certain amount of time. If it's a short game and I finish it; just like a short book; I'd return it either on time or earlier for something else. If it's a really long game, than I'll see if either I can get it again or keep it longer to finish it. But more likely, if its such a good game or book, I'd want it as part of my permanent collection. I have a few books that I like to read that I own; although I'm not much to read outside of comicbooks. Just the same as videogames; I have a few that I have in my collection and have a lot of replay value or was just that badass of a game that I had to have it (all of the Final Fantasies from VII onward FTW!)
With renting a game I do not think that I'm any less of a gamer than anyone that getting the same game during it's release date. In fact, I think it makes me more of a gamer instead. A thrifty gamer that have variety versus someone that frivolously spend a crapload of money for a game they reserved six months in advance just so they can have some sort of commemorative swag that goes with the SAME DAMN GAME!!! It doesn't make any effin' sense to me. I want to know why exactly would someone go through that torture. And even if they have all the swag and the bragging rights of saying that I was the first to reserve it in their own respective group of people they hang out with, if the game is crap, than all that you can brag about is wasting a huge amount of time and money on a steaming pile. It boggles my mind, I have no idea what goes on in their little hamster wheels inside of their brain. Sure most games are pretty good, some are great and even fewer are epic, but to put that much time investing on a gamble versus just getting the game from a retailer or have it delivered to you to play it before possibly buying it; I think the logical choice is obvious. But what do I know, maybe I'll become a better gamer if I play the same damn game wearing a shirt about the game that's too tight for me because they ran out of XXXL and my ultra kickass lanyard.
Maybe I'm just out of the loop. I can understand preordering consoles, that's different. That's what you need to play the kickass games. And although the last console that I preordered was the Sega Dreamcast (greatest console ever) I just can't say the same about a game. I like playing my videogames. I like having money to do other things such as paying rent, putting food on the table, and putting gas in my car as well; but what the hell do I know?
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Internet Escapes (revisited)
"I love firin' up my 'puter and gettin' on dat inna-web... It's fantabulous... There's dis youtube n myspace n twittidy-tweets n all the games in the world n dat yahoo place, ooh child I get lost in that place if it wasn't for my 7 year old helping me click on where to get my inna-mails and stuff... Yup, da inna-web is the new place for me, I tells you what..."
That is what my general consensus of what I think most (like I said most, not everyone) that has an internet connection goes and do in their minds. It's pretty sad is all that I'm saying. But that's not to say that having leisurely time while on the internet isn't bad. I do such like I mentioned on a prior post, and it's a great escape. I just find that sometimes there's escape, than there's assimilation to the point that your brain becomes pudding that Bill Cosby won't even touch.
In this day and age, we have the internet: a medium of communication that was initially used by U.S. Armed Forces in the 1970's that is now in my assessment; a vessel that's 80% porn; 5% WOW users and boards; 5% MySpace and Facebook (apps included); 5% YouTube and other viral video sites; 4% shopping outlets; and 1% actual stuff that is useful. So I'm gonna focus on some of these things for recreational purposes that can still be considered PG for all intensive purposes, I'm steering away from porn, I just think that that's enough said about that one. So here's my rant on some more internet escapes.
The first of these things that I want to tackle is Facebook. I love it, I use it, it's not too shabby to say the least. I go and interact with my friends and family from the comforts of my own bedroom while doing other mundane things like folding laundry or changing the baby. It's fun, and some of the featured applications are pretty decent such as FarmTown, Mafia Wars, Texas Hold-Em Poker, and other fun things on it. Its just that sometimes, too much of a good thing, or maybe just any thing, is not a good thing. For instance, I have currently about 50 requests combined of quizzes to take, gifts for apps to receive, and the occasional friend here and there. It's too friggin' much. I mean Facebok has so many apps that it just becomes more of the center of attention at times versus the whole networking side of things (which is what a SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE is supposed to do anyways.) And don't even get me started on some of the quizzes it has. First off there's like three dozen quiz apps and some of the quizzes that are created are stupid to boot. Like I give a damn about how old do I act or what my name means if it was an acronym for a robot. It's effing stupid. I felt like I just wasted two and a half minutes of my time taking each test and that Facebook should give me a refund for allowing that tripe to be on it. It just annoys the crap outta me sometimes.
Another thing that I use to escape in the internet is viral videos and lol'z. It's just fun either making them or watching them, and trust me, I've done quite a few of them. It's not bad, definitely if you want a quick laugh, and just to pass the time. But sometimes some people just get overboard with some of the stuff on there and they get too cliche at times. I'm all good for the random video of someone getting kicked in the junk or falling on their head now and then; but seriously people, we've been seeing that since before Bob Saget was doing dirty jokes and hosting America's Funniest Home Videos. It's funny, but not all the time. And I know that there's a gem out there that goes along with the cliche, but that's the exception, not the rule. Now about those lol'z that are out there. It either consists of cute cuddly kittens speaking in broken English; to bashing on whatever is the current pop icon until it becomes so predictable that the joke is lame two hours before you even saw it; to some of the most perverse things out there that makes you either LOL or OMG on the spot. There's a lot of them. And to narrow down on such is just too much. It's all over. I mean, there's so many videos there that you'll bound to hear about one or the other that might (and I mean lottery odds might) be epic enough to make it into the water cooler at your job and talk about it. Same to go with the captions from those lol'z that are created. Sometimes they make the grade, but others are just weak. Not to mention those captions are cliched as well (I know I mentioned that earlier, but it really gets to me.)
And you know what, there's still more that's out there that I've still yet haven't touched on yet. But I will you can bet on that one. Making headway to all the crap on the 'net, I'm gonna keep my sieve out and dump all that won't pass.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
That is what my general consensus of what I think most (like I said most, not everyone) that has an internet connection goes and do in their minds. It's pretty sad is all that I'm saying. But that's not to say that having leisurely time while on the internet isn't bad. I do such like I mentioned on a prior post, and it's a great escape. I just find that sometimes there's escape, than there's assimilation to the point that your brain becomes pudding that Bill Cosby won't even touch.
In this day and age, we have the internet: a medium of communication that was initially used by U.S. Armed Forces in the 1970's that is now in my assessment; a vessel that's 80% porn; 5% WOW users and boards; 5% MySpace and Facebook (apps included); 5% YouTube and other viral video sites; 4% shopping outlets; and 1% actual stuff that is useful. So I'm gonna focus on some of these things for recreational purposes that can still be considered PG for all intensive purposes, I'm steering away from porn, I just think that that's enough said about that one. So here's my rant on some more internet escapes.
The first of these things that I want to tackle is Facebook. I love it, I use it, it's not too shabby to say the least. I go and interact with my friends and family from the comforts of my own bedroom while doing other mundane things like folding laundry or changing the baby. It's fun, and some of the featured applications are pretty decent such as FarmTown, Mafia Wars, Texas Hold-Em Poker, and other fun things on it. Its just that sometimes, too much of a good thing, or maybe just any thing, is not a good thing. For instance, I have currently about 50 requests combined of quizzes to take, gifts for apps to receive, and the occasional friend here and there. It's too friggin' much. I mean Facebok has so many apps that it just becomes more of the center of attention at times versus the whole networking side of things (which is what a SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE is supposed to do anyways.) And don't even get me started on some of the quizzes it has. First off there's like three dozen quiz apps and some of the quizzes that are created are stupid to boot. Like I give a damn about how old do I act or what my name means if it was an acronym for a robot. It's effing stupid. I felt like I just wasted two and a half minutes of my time taking each test and that Facebook should give me a refund for allowing that tripe to be on it. It just annoys the crap outta me sometimes.
Another thing that I use to escape in the internet is viral videos and lol'z. It's just fun either making them or watching them, and trust me, I've done quite a few of them. It's not bad, definitely if you want a quick laugh, and just to pass the time. But sometimes some people just get overboard with some of the stuff on there and they get too cliche at times. I'm all good for the random video of someone getting kicked in the junk or falling on their head now and then; but seriously people, we've been seeing that since before Bob Saget was doing dirty jokes and hosting America's Funniest Home Videos. It's funny, but not all the time. And I know that there's a gem out there that goes along with the cliche, but that's the exception, not the rule. Now about those lol'z that are out there. It either consists of cute cuddly kittens speaking in broken English; to bashing on whatever is the current pop icon until it becomes so predictable that the joke is lame two hours before you even saw it; to some of the most perverse things out there that makes you either LOL or OMG on the spot. There's a lot of them. And to narrow down on such is just too much. It's all over. I mean, there's so many videos there that you'll bound to hear about one or the other that might (and I mean lottery odds might) be epic enough to make it into the water cooler at your job and talk about it. Same to go with the captions from those lol'z that are created. Sometimes they make the grade, but others are just weak. Not to mention those captions are cliched as well (I know I mentioned that earlier, but it really gets to me.)
And you know what, there's still more that's out there that I've still yet haven't touched on yet. But I will you can bet on that one. Making headway to all the crap on the 'net, I'm gonna keep my sieve out and dump all that won't pass.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The stuff that kids are watching
I don't want to come out as being an old fart; but I just don't know what kind of weird crap that they're passing off as programming that's intended for children. It's lame, senseless, sissified, lacking of humor, and all around crap-tacular in nature. I can't for the life of me figure out how we had gone from a generation in which had produced He-Man, Transformers, Thundercats, G.I. friggin Joe, and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show; into the state of annoyance and stupefied characters of today. And yes; I know of all the gay undertones proclaimed in He-Man, but we all watched it anyways so don't go trying to BS around that one. I mean these cartoons don't even try to make any sense at all. It's as if the animators and producers smoked a pound of hash each, decided to spew out random crap, and sell it to your friendly neighborhood children's network. Seriously, this stuff is some of the most bizarre crap that I have ever had my eyes and ears on.
I honestly don't know where to start, so I'm just gonna blame the entire friggin' network here; Cartoon Network. With shows (if you want to call them that) like Boingy Mc Boing Boing; My Gym Partner's a Monkey; and Ben 10 (just to name a few); you wonder what the hell is keeping them afloat and becoming a profitable cable network. Seriously, these shows are lame. It looks like a bunch of random sequences spun out together to make some sort of a script for the animators (which are probably chained to their desks for fear of them escaping) to draw out. The only thing close (and I'm really stretching this out here) to a half decent show is The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It's like Ren & Stimpy and the Crypt Keeper had a lovechild and out came this pile. It tries to be in my opinion 'kiddie-noir' with the slapstick humor that made Ren & Stimpy infamous. It's a near-failure at best, but as for the other shows on this network; there is no excuse to why they're still on. I remember when Cartoon Network actually rivaled their other two competitive networks; Nickelodeon and Disney Channel; with somewhat decent shows like Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, and Powerpuff Girls. These were in their right their classics and they can only be found in their classic subsidiary channel Boomerang with a bunch of old Hanna Barbera classic cartoons as well. I think that it's Cartoon Networks' version of how their great shows of the past dies off they ship them off to sea just like the vikings did to their old dying warriors and let them go to their Valhalla with the greatness of The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo. Cartoon Network; because change is not for the good.
Another network that was notorious for such acts, but took it to a different medium of crap-tastic is The Disney Channel. At one point, they had quality programming with their cartoons with their syndicated cartoons that they decided to put on regular rotation at the time such as Duck Tales, Gargoyles, and Goof Troop. Disney had some quality stuff, but then sometime during this generation of kids time, the quality of Disney programming went from simplicity and slapstick to bratty and stupid. That probably stems from them trying to introduce live action shows that truly sucked such as Lizzy McGuire (in my opinion the start of its downward spiral), Even Stevens, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. It made me felt like my brain was turned into pudding and Bill Cosby himself was pimping it out to be sold with the rest of the Jell-O lineup. And don't even get me started with their cartoons; actually, you really can't. I don't even think that Disney even produce any new cartoons outside of Phineas and Ferb, and that's is just as dull and bland as all the other crap that the house that Walt built had excreted out. Disney: because if you want quality, you have to pay an arm and a leg in their theme parks to find it; cause it ain't on television that's for sure.
And now we finally meet up with the children's programming juggernaut that is, Nickelodeon. Let me go and say that when I was a kid, I loved Nickelodeon; it was awesome. So many great original shows came from there that it became a cartoon's Mecca of greatness. If you made it to Nickelodeon's rotation you were practically set for life. I mean there was Ren and Stimpy like I mentioned from before. Rugrats which was their longest running cartoon series spanning past 10 years and producing a spin-off. Doug which was picked up by Disney after it's original series ended (and then it bombed there sparing Nick from any embarrassment.) And that's just the cartoons. There live action series of shows were pretty decent as well, with shows like Clarissa Explains It All, Double Dare, and Solute Your Shorts. But my favorite of them has to be The Adventures of Pete and Pete; originally starting off as a series of 2 minute shorts then expanded to a 30 minute series of awesomeness. But those days has passed us my friends...
Nowadays, Nickelodeon has succumb to the dumbing down of quality of most of their cartoon lineup and their live shows are more for a teeny-bopper version of a soap opera than anything else. With the exception of 'Avatar: The Last Air Bender', all of their cartoons have seem to make about as much sense as a bipolar eight year old with A.D.D. on the ultimate of sugar-highs. And the comedown effect is what they use for their sitcoms. I mean who can make any sense out of a sexually confused sponge or a socially awkward boy with fairy godparents that can do anything he wants, but have to keep it PG. And that's their flagship cartoons is what I'm describing, don't even let me talk about my their non-cartoons. Their only good show was 'Drake and Josh' and they let the main stars go to pursue their careers elsewhere. So that leaves them with not-so-memorable shows and Zoey 101; a teen drama about a co-ed boarding school that eventually got cancelled because the lead actress got knocked up at 16 (also doesn't help that her sister was Britney Spears, you do the math on how much logic that family has.) I'm disappointed at Nickelodeon. It loss its luster to appeal to kids as kids instead of making it look as if they went and vomited all over their product placed their orange feces stamp over it and called it a day.
I ask again to everyone. What has happened to cartoons nowadays. And I'm just at the tip of the iceberg only naming cartoons from the top three kid networks. I haven't dived into comparing PBS shows from before and after or from any other media outlets, and there's a lot to choose from as well. But I felt that I ranted long enough and chewed your ear off more so than a Mike Tyson fight. So I'll be scouring my local DVD outlets for box sets of the classics. The good old cartoons of my youth that I've grown to love. And hope for a resurgence of those to comeback to today's new generation of kids to show how cartoons really kicked ass.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
I honestly don't know where to start, so I'm just gonna blame the entire friggin' network here; Cartoon Network. With shows (if you want to call them that) like Boingy Mc Boing Boing; My Gym Partner's a Monkey; and Ben 10 (just to name a few); you wonder what the hell is keeping them afloat and becoming a profitable cable network. Seriously, these shows are lame. It looks like a bunch of random sequences spun out together to make some sort of a script for the animators (which are probably chained to their desks for fear of them escaping) to draw out. The only thing close (and I'm really stretching this out here) to a half decent show is The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It's like Ren & Stimpy and the Crypt Keeper had a lovechild and out came this pile. It tries to be in my opinion 'kiddie-noir' with the slapstick humor that made Ren & Stimpy infamous. It's a near-failure at best, but as for the other shows on this network; there is no excuse to why they're still on. I remember when Cartoon Network actually rivaled their other two competitive networks; Nickelodeon and Disney Channel; with somewhat decent shows like Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, and Powerpuff Girls. These were in their right their classics and they can only be found in their classic subsidiary channel Boomerang with a bunch of old Hanna Barbera classic cartoons as well. I think that it's Cartoon Networks' version of how their great shows of the past dies off they ship them off to sea just like the vikings did to their old dying warriors and let them go to their Valhalla with the greatness of The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo. Cartoon Network; because change is not for the good.
Another network that was notorious for such acts, but took it to a different medium of crap-tastic is The Disney Channel. At one point, they had quality programming with their cartoons with their syndicated cartoons that they decided to put on regular rotation at the time such as Duck Tales, Gargoyles, and Goof Troop. Disney had some quality stuff, but then sometime during this generation of kids time, the quality of Disney programming went from simplicity and slapstick to bratty and stupid. That probably stems from them trying to introduce live action shows that truly sucked such as Lizzy McGuire (in my opinion the start of its downward spiral), Even Stevens, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. It made me felt like my brain was turned into pudding and Bill Cosby himself was pimping it out to be sold with the rest of the Jell-O lineup. And don't even get me started with their cartoons; actually, you really can't. I don't even think that Disney even produce any new cartoons outside of Phineas and Ferb, and that's is just as dull and bland as all the other crap that the house that Walt built had excreted out. Disney: because if you want quality, you have to pay an arm and a leg in their theme parks to find it; cause it ain't on television that's for sure.
And now we finally meet up with the children's programming juggernaut that is, Nickelodeon. Let me go and say that when I was a kid, I loved Nickelodeon; it was awesome. So many great original shows came from there that it became a cartoon's Mecca of greatness. If you made it to Nickelodeon's rotation you were practically set for life. I mean there was Ren and Stimpy like I mentioned from before. Rugrats which was their longest running cartoon series spanning past 10 years and producing a spin-off. Doug which was picked up by Disney after it's original series ended (and then it bombed there sparing Nick from any embarrassment.) And that's just the cartoons. There live action series of shows were pretty decent as well, with shows like Clarissa Explains It All, Double Dare, and Solute Your Shorts. But my favorite of them has to be The Adventures of Pete and Pete; originally starting off as a series of 2 minute shorts then expanded to a 30 minute series of awesomeness. But those days has passed us my friends...
Nowadays, Nickelodeon has succumb to the dumbing down of quality of most of their cartoon lineup and their live shows are more for a teeny-bopper version of a soap opera than anything else. With the exception of 'Avatar: The Last Air Bender', all of their cartoons have seem to make about as much sense as a bipolar eight year old with A.D.D. on the ultimate of sugar-highs. And the comedown effect is what they use for their sitcoms. I mean who can make any sense out of a sexually confused sponge or a socially awkward boy with fairy godparents that can do anything he wants, but have to keep it PG. And that's their flagship cartoons is what I'm describing, don't even let me talk about my their non-cartoons. Their only good show was 'Drake and Josh' and they let the main stars go to pursue their careers elsewhere. So that leaves them with not-so-memorable shows and Zoey 101; a teen drama about a co-ed boarding school that eventually got cancelled because the lead actress got knocked up at 16 (also doesn't help that her sister was Britney Spears, you do the math on how much logic that family has.) I'm disappointed at Nickelodeon. It loss its luster to appeal to kids as kids instead of making it look as if they went and vomited all over their product placed their orange feces stamp over it and called it a day.
I ask again to everyone. What has happened to cartoons nowadays. And I'm just at the tip of the iceberg only naming cartoons from the top three kid networks. I haven't dived into comparing PBS shows from before and after or from any other media outlets, and there's a lot to choose from as well. But I felt that I ranted long enough and chewed your ear off more so than a Mike Tyson fight. So I'll be scouring my local DVD outlets for box sets of the classics. The good old cartoons of my youth that I've grown to love. And hope for a resurgence of those to comeback to today's new generation of kids to show how cartoons really kicked ass.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
I miss old school gaming
If you're a gamer like me, old school gaming is our baseline on how epic we can judge any game that is current or next gen. We crave for old school schananigans to come back and resurge into a new renaissance (well, at least I do.) We love the feel of a good classic NES controller and all of a sudden, memories of playing Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, Double Dragon, or Contra surface and we enter nostalgic bliss. I can honestly say that dusting off my old copy of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out and popping it in my NES is a helluva lot better than downloading Punch-Out featuring Mr. Dream on the Wii's Virtual Console and playing it on a Wii-mote. It's just that I need that natural feeling of an NES controller, a Genesis controller, even an Atari Joystick with it's one button action. ONE BUTTON, INFINITE POSSIBILITIES...
There lots of things that the old school have that the new school doesn't. Although I love the innovation of what possibilities our consoles can produce, I miss the imagination of what the games of old had to offer. And in regard to keeping it old school, there's plenty of variety out there paying homage (sort of speak) to old school titles and systems as well. If you're a gamer like I am, you're probably already know about such internet phenomenons as The Angry Video Game Nerd, Game Heroes, and others out there that speak of exclusively on old school gaming at its finest (or worst in some cases, AVGN and Irate Gamer for example.) But it's kind of like a breath of fresh air to see the old school titles once again.
It's even a sad state of affair when such platforms such as the Sony Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, and even the Nintendo 64 are considered old school. I understand that it's been at least a decade since these systems were available new in the market, but these systems in particular broke ground in making a bridge from then old school to current ventures. The Sony Playstation for mastering first the delivery of a videogame via an optical disc in a graphical sense. Sure other systems tried, but Sony was the one that perfected it first. The Sega Dreamcast mastery of controls on its games and introducing triggers on controllers were phenomenal. Also having an on-board modem that made the system online capable out the box was pioneering to how current generation systems evolved; having broadband readiness available such as wi-fi and ethernet capabilities for a LAN connection. And the Nintendo 64 being the last great cartridge based console. Bringing such unforgettable titles such as Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Goldeneye. Classics that have been the baselines for titles in their respected genres; dungeon crawling RPGs, platform games, and first person shooters. Nintendo was the baseline for what gaming should be for the consumer.
So I employ you not to forget old school gaming. Not to forget your gaming roots and pay homage to such. Go to your local used game store, breathe in the stale air of nerd and nostalgia, and even if you don't pick up an old game, at least look at it as a trip through time. A modern day historical museum of videogaming. I know I will.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
There lots of things that the old school have that the new school doesn't. Although I love the innovation of what possibilities our consoles can produce, I miss the imagination of what the games of old had to offer. And in regard to keeping it old school, there's plenty of variety out there paying homage (sort of speak) to old school titles and systems as well. If you're a gamer like I am, you're probably already know about such internet phenomenons as The Angry Video Game Nerd, Game Heroes, and others out there that speak of exclusively on old school gaming at its finest (or worst in some cases, AVGN and Irate Gamer for example.) But it's kind of like a breath of fresh air to see the old school titles once again.
It's even a sad state of affair when such platforms such as the Sony Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, and even the Nintendo 64 are considered old school. I understand that it's been at least a decade since these systems were available new in the market, but these systems in particular broke ground in making a bridge from then old school to current ventures. The Sony Playstation for mastering first the delivery of a videogame via an optical disc in a graphical sense. Sure other systems tried, but Sony was the one that perfected it first. The Sega Dreamcast mastery of controls on its games and introducing triggers on controllers were phenomenal. Also having an on-board modem that made the system online capable out the box was pioneering to how current generation systems evolved; having broadband readiness available such as wi-fi and ethernet capabilities for a LAN connection. And the Nintendo 64 being the last great cartridge based console. Bringing such unforgettable titles such as Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Goldeneye. Classics that have been the baselines for titles in their respected genres; dungeon crawling RPGs, platform games, and first person shooters. Nintendo was the baseline for what gaming should be for the consumer.
So I employ you not to forget old school gaming. Not to forget your gaming roots and pay homage to such. Go to your local used game store, breathe in the stale air of nerd and nostalgia, and even if you don't pick up an old game, at least look at it as a trip through time. A modern day historical museum of videogaming. I know I will.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
He's Dead, Get Over It
Here's my piece on the whole Michael Jackson crap... HE'S DEAD, GET OVER IT!!! I mean, c'mon here people. At the time of me posting, the dude has been dead for almost two weeks now. It's re-friggin-diculous. I don't know about you, but I'm friggin' tired of the whole media circuit that can't go one-half-hour without talking about this jackhole. It's boggles the mind. I eventually gave up watching the news from normal means and just started filtering what crap I want to know about from the internet. And even in that I have to bypass all the Michael Jackson crap (if only for a brief glance) to get to what I want to read and hear about. Hell, I've resorted if I wanted to watch the news in my living room that I would turn on my Wii and select the News Channel from the Wii Menu. It's frustrating to the max and to quote Peter Finch's character in the 1976 movie Network: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
Ok, so I might be a tad bit overreacting, but I feel that this recourse is indeed in order. I'm sick and tired of it and I'm sure most of you are as well. And just in case you were stuck in the whirlpool of King of Pop crap, there were more than that happening in the world as well. Such things include North Korea's nuclear missile testing and shooting 7 missiles at my last count; the deaths of several other celebrities such as Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, the murder of former Tennessee Titans Quarterback Steve McNair; and my personal favorite the Philadelphia Phillies opening up a can of whoop-ass on the Cincinnati Reds on Monday's game with a 22-1 win. This is just to name a few, a few of the things that happened. And I'm not even going to touch local issues which I'm sure that you Michael Jackson attention whores have just ignored along with the rest of reality.
I promised myself that I would keep this brief because I don't want to sink into that void. I just wanted to vent and to say, GET OVER IT. OTHER PEOPLE DIE, THIS IS JUST ANOTHER PERSON. So what if he's been in the limelight more often than any other piece of celebrity crap than what I can remember. It's just a memorial. Get it done, put 'em six feet under, and get on with your life already. That is what you do with any other dead person that was worth a damn, why give this jackhole more attention than he deserved.
I'm BootLeG sampler.. and I'm fed up with this crap...
Ok, so I might be a tad bit overreacting, but I feel that this recourse is indeed in order. I'm sick and tired of it and I'm sure most of you are as well. And just in case you were stuck in the whirlpool of King of Pop crap, there were more than that happening in the world as well. Such things include North Korea's nuclear missile testing and shooting 7 missiles at my last count; the deaths of several other celebrities such as Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, the murder of former Tennessee Titans Quarterback Steve McNair; and my personal favorite the Philadelphia Phillies opening up a can of whoop-ass on the Cincinnati Reds on Monday's game with a 22-1 win. This is just to name a few, a few of the things that happened. And I'm not even going to touch local issues which I'm sure that you Michael Jackson attention whores have just ignored along with the rest of reality.
I promised myself that I would keep this brief because I don't want to sink into that void. I just wanted to vent and to say, GET OVER IT. OTHER PEOPLE DIE, THIS IS JUST ANOTHER PERSON. So what if he's been in the limelight more often than any other piece of celebrity crap than what I can remember. It's just a memorial. Get it done, put 'em six feet under, and get on with your life already. That is what you do with any other dead person that was worth a damn, why give this jackhole more attention than he deserved.
I'm BootLeG sampler.. and I'm fed up with this crap...
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Lots O' PS3 news
First I just want to thank Screwattack and Hard News for bringing this info to the masses in an informative (and I use that term loosely) mean. I enjoy going to Screwattack's site and getting my viral videogame fix. I just wish that I was in Dallas to be part of SGC this year. That would have been epic. Well, at least I got the chance to name their new retail videogame store.
So onwards to what I want to talk about on this post; the Playstation 3. I want one so bad, and yes, I'm a gamer that don't own a PS3. I have lots of expenses behind the scenes that needs to be dealt with before throwing down $400 for the best blu-ray player money can buy. And I say it's the best because it's a game console for crying out loud. What made the Playstation 2 dominate over Sega's Dreamcast, the ability to play DVD's back in 2001 that's what. And I'm not afraid to admit as a die hard Sega fanatic that that was the company's downfall as far as competing in that generation's console war. (Crap I'm going off topic, better start a new paragraph to get back on...)
The Playstation 3 when it first came out had backwards compatibility to it's predecessor's games, the Playstation 2 and the original Sony Playstation. We all rejoice because in this generation's console war, a big issue was backwards compatibility between older systems, the PS2 had it with all PS1 games and so on. But then it took a turn for the craptacular in that later models of the PS3 would drop PS2 compatibility. It still kept it for the PS1 but that drove some gamers that haven't purchased the console (like myself) towards their competitors, Microsoft's Xbox 360 that was backwards compatible to most of the original Xbox's titles and the infamous Nintendo Wii (same deal with it's Gamecube games.) That was a crap move on Sony's part. Sure systems still sold, but not as much in my opinion. Now news is surfacing that they're trying to produce an emulator engine for the current processors that are in the PS3's to make them run PS2 games once again. This beacon of light is great because its a software emulation versus with the first batch of PS3's and how they did it was that they put in an emulator chip that played PS2 games (thus the high price mark.) With this rumor, maybe it would drive sales of PS3's like free money spewing out of a broken ATM.
Second for the next tidbit of Sony info was rumors of the PS3 slim. The reasoning behind that is with all of Sony's consoles in time they slimmed down to be more streamlined and not a friggin' behemoth in your living room or game room. That tactic worked for it's PS2 and PS1 and many people just don't like the fact that currently the PS3 looks like a $400 George Foreman Grill. So it seems that now they're trying to manufacture PS3 slims to be available later this year. There have been pictures of what the PS3 slim might look like and each incarnation is different from the last. It's a true enigma on if this would come out and if so, would it also share the same fortune as being backwards compatible again (if that rumor holds up as well.)
All of this I'm definitely hope for would be true so this way I can finally convince my wife on allowing us to have a Playstation 3 at home. So far, her main gripe about the PS3 was at first it's too expensive. Currently her main gripe is it's not backwards compatible to the PS2 and I don't want to have a console that is not going to let me play the games I'm currently playing for so much money. I can definitely understand her stance on this one. But as a gamer, I want the PS3 because it's the friggin' PS3. Why the hell not don't you want it! But I'm not about to go and pick a fight on that one because I'd know where that would end; and it ain't pretty folks. So I ask of these rumors; please don't tease me. Let this be the real deal here. That is what I (and I think a lot of gamers would think) would call a win-win situation. There's not much more to say for now except "Please babe, the PS3 its a good thing to have."
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
So onwards to what I want to talk about on this post; the Playstation 3. I want one so bad, and yes, I'm a gamer that don't own a PS3. I have lots of expenses behind the scenes that needs to be dealt with before throwing down $400 for the best blu-ray player money can buy. And I say it's the best because it's a game console for crying out loud. What made the Playstation 2 dominate over Sega's Dreamcast, the ability to play DVD's back in 2001 that's what. And I'm not afraid to admit as a die hard Sega fanatic that that was the company's downfall as far as competing in that generation's console war. (Crap I'm going off topic, better start a new paragraph to get back on...)
The Playstation 3 when it first came out had backwards compatibility to it's predecessor's games, the Playstation 2 and the original Sony Playstation. We all rejoice because in this generation's console war, a big issue was backwards compatibility between older systems, the PS2 had it with all PS1 games and so on. But then it took a turn for the craptacular in that later models of the PS3 would drop PS2 compatibility. It still kept it for the PS1 but that drove some gamers that haven't purchased the console (like myself) towards their competitors, Microsoft's Xbox 360 that was backwards compatible to most of the original Xbox's titles and the infamous Nintendo Wii (same deal with it's Gamecube games.) That was a crap move on Sony's part. Sure systems still sold, but not as much in my opinion. Now news is surfacing that they're trying to produce an emulator engine for the current processors that are in the PS3's to make them run PS2 games once again. This beacon of light is great because its a software emulation versus with the first batch of PS3's and how they did it was that they put in an emulator chip that played PS2 games (thus the high price mark.) With this rumor, maybe it would drive sales of PS3's like free money spewing out of a broken ATM.
Second for the next tidbit of Sony info was rumors of the PS3 slim. The reasoning behind that is with all of Sony's consoles in time they slimmed down to be more streamlined and not a friggin' behemoth in your living room or game room. That tactic worked for it's PS2 and PS1 and many people just don't like the fact that currently the PS3 looks like a $400 George Foreman Grill. So it seems that now they're trying to manufacture PS3 slims to be available later this year. There have been pictures of what the PS3 slim might look like and each incarnation is different from the last. It's a true enigma on if this would come out and if so, would it also share the same fortune as being backwards compatible again (if that rumor holds up as well.)
All of this I'm definitely hope for would be true so this way I can finally convince my wife on allowing us to have a Playstation 3 at home. So far, her main gripe about the PS3 was at first it's too expensive. Currently her main gripe is it's not backwards compatible to the PS2 and I don't want to have a console that is not going to let me play the games I'm currently playing for so much money. I can definitely understand her stance on this one. But as a gamer, I want the PS3 because it's the friggin' PS3. Why the hell not don't you want it! But I'm not about to go and pick a fight on that one because I'd know where that would end; and it ain't pretty folks. So I ask of these rumors; please don't tease me. Let this be the real deal here. That is what I (and I think a lot of gamers would think) would call a win-win situation. There's not much more to say for now except "Please babe, the PS3 its a good thing to have."BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Friday, July 3, 2009
I love July
Just like the title of this post. I'm not gonna repeat myself, I love this month. It's full of festivities and merriment. Joy and laughter. There's barbecues and beers as far as the eye can see. It is in my opinion the closest thing that man can create to what heaven would be like. I friggin' love July. It's phenomenal; it's like the stars were set to be aligned perfectly throughout the month to give everyone a joy-gasm. And all that stems from my past experiences of what July has brought upon me. Let's dive in shall we and see what pinnacle of awesomeness these 31 days of sweetness had to offer and hopefully some to carry over into the near future.
First for me, July is my birth month. I'm proud to be a summer baby. It's fan-friggin-tastic. It's the time for when I get to relax on usually one of the most beautiful days of the year back in the day, have my cake and eat it too (both literally and metaphorically.) The games we played back in the day was awesome and kept on getting a helluva lot better with each passing year. As a kid, I was content with playing tag and hide-and-seek out in the middle of the streets. And as I got older, I actually gotten to go to places that are normally the best time to go and have it all to myself. Places such as the park and zoo as a pre-tween, and as I've gotten older, amusement parks. I think my best birthday was when me and my best friend Mike went to Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom. It was especially awesome since Mike's birthday was two days after mine so it was like we had it to ourselves; and it was EPIC! We were kings of the castle, we conquered Steel Force, we rode down the big tube ride and the rapids, we ruled the park.
Another thing is the friggin' Fourth of July. It's a time for Americans to celebrate our independence from England and striving as our own. It's time for remembrance for everyone who served in our Armed Forces to keep our freedom that we strive for way back in 1776. THAT, am I proud not only to served but to honor those who had. That, and it's also a time for great celebration. I remember the spectacular fireworks displays from my own back yard to my local park to Center City Philadelphia along the waterfront. It was a great experience each and every year. Sure I miss those, and some fireworks displays won't live up to others in the past, but I think that everyone is in consensus that celebrates Fourth of July. We love the fireworks, no matter what they are or where they are. I love the energy of everyone around me while the works were at work in the sky. It was like a gathering of the masses to witness a feat that symbolizes our fight for freedom from our oppressors. That in amongst itself is a phenomenon.
And with celebrations comes, well, celebrating. And boy do I love celebrating. Barbecues, beer, friends, beer, partying, summer concerts, friends, and beer (honestly, I'm not an alcoholic.) But with all that celebrating, and beer, I did it responsibly and I hope that you all do it the same as well. And I think that speaks on its own.
Well, I'm not gonna let this month pass me by. I'm gonna enjoy every moment of it and push for society to institute August to be an extension of July for two reasons:
1) There's no holiday in August, it's a dead zone for that crap. And
2) My brother's birthday is in August, so he's just the leftover energy for partying that I had carried over from last month.
Hoping to have a great July,
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
*An addition is needed to be added to this post. I've seem to have done the stereotypical bonehead male thing and forgot to incorporate that my wife and I's anniversary is in July as well. Yes, I'm getting a lot of crap at home for that one from my wife since she reads my blog. So, sorry babe for forgetting to add one of the happiest days of our lives on here and please let me back in bed. The couch is a real pain on my back.
First for me, July is my birth month. I'm proud to be a summer baby. It's fan-friggin-tastic. It's the time for when I get to relax on usually one of the most beautiful days of the year back in the day, have my cake and eat it too (both literally and metaphorically.) The games we played back in the day was awesome and kept on getting a helluva lot better with each passing year. As a kid, I was content with playing tag and hide-and-seek out in the middle of the streets. And as I got older, I actually gotten to go to places that are normally the best time to go and have it all to myself. Places such as the park and zoo as a pre-tween, and as I've gotten older, amusement parks. I think my best birthday was when me and my best friend Mike went to Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom. It was especially awesome since Mike's birthday was two days after mine so it was like we had it to ourselves; and it was EPIC! We were kings of the castle, we conquered Steel Force, we rode down the big tube ride and the rapids, we ruled the park.
Another thing is the friggin' Fourth of July. It's a time for Americans to celebrate our independence from England and striving as our own. It's time for remembrance for everyone who served in our Armed Forces to keep our freedom that we strive for way back in 1776. THAT, am I proud not only to served but to honor those who had. That, and it's also a time for great celebration. I remember the spectacular fireworks displays from my own back yard to my local park to Center City Philadelphia along the waterfront. It was a great experience each and every year. Sure I miss those, and some fireworks displays won't live up to others in the past, but I think that everyone is in consensus that celebrates Fourth of July. We love the fireworks, no matter what they are or where they are. I love the energy of everyone around me while the works were at work in the sky. It was like a gathering of the masses to witness a feat that symbolizes our fight for freedom from our oppressors. That in amongst itself is a phenomenon.
And with celebrations comes, well, celebrating. And boy do I love celebrating. Barbecues, beer, friends, beer, partying, summer concerts, friends, and beer (honestly, I'm not an alcoholic.) But with all that celebrating, and beer, I did it responsibly and I hope that you all do it the same as well. And I think that speaks on its own.
Well, I'm not gonna let this month pass me by. I'm gonna enjoy every moment of it and push for society to institute August to be an extension of July for two reasons:
1) There's no holiday in August, it's a dead zone for that crap. And
2) My brother's birthday is in August, so he's just the leftover energy for partying that I had carried over from last month.
Hoping to have a great July,
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
*An addition is needed to be added to this post. I've seem to have done the stereotypical bonehead male thing and forgot to incorporate that my wife and I's anniversary is in July as well. Yes, I'm getting a lot of crap at home for that one from my wife since she reads my blog. So, sorry babe for forgetting to add one of the happiest days of our lives on here and please let me back in bed. The couch is a real pain on my back.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Back on the bicycle
From my prior posts towards the middle and end of June, you all should have known by now that my wife and I just had our third kid. That in itself is fantastic. But that doesn't mean that it's been easy for anyone of us since that time. Now I'm not going to go into the BS of the problems and delays that we had in the NICU, you can read that if you want here. What I'm posting about is more or less the day to day things that we're trying to get adjusted to again since our two oldest boys are four and six; it's been a while since we had to do the whole baby thing. Oh, and whoever said that it's like riding a bike is completely full of crap. It's more like getting back behind the wheel of a bumper car; you know that they're gunning for ya and you have little room for error when they all try to ricochet you in that steel arena.
Now I was going to write this post later (maybe after our baby had been home for a week) but I feel that now is a good time to let it all out.
First off, I love the little booger; I love him just as much as the older two boogers. Even throughout all the times I was feeding him and he decides to lay out a huge explosion of poop in his diapers; even that he's the hardest to get to burp and fall asleep to train into any resonance of a schedule; even just to do all the behind the scenes things that we have to do for him because we (my wife and I) decided a long time ago to institutionalize; I still love him until the day I die and afterwards, just like his brothers. But the one gripe I have to say is just the general maintenance of what we want to have for our baby. We are using cloth diapers that my wife made by hand for his sensitive skin to not get a rash (it's hereditary, I had it and the boys had it too.) The upkeep with those is to collect enough of it to make a load for the wash and get it recirculated again for more peeing and pooping from the bowel factory we gave life to. It's pretty draining, but it's a labor of love. Plus it's a helluva lot cheaper than buying disposables like Luvs and Pampers in the long run. And that maintenance is totally separate from just making sure he has clean cloths. So that's like a major/minor thing, but it's still a drain on energy.
Another thing that wears on my wife and I is the breastfeeding. Any parent knows that breastmilk is the best thing that you can feed your child. We try to keep store of reserves via breastpumps to extract milk from my wife and store it in our fridge and freezer (thaw first before serving, eating a breastmilk popsicle is not as appetizing as you might think....) But that drains a lot out of my wife, literally and metaphorically. She is wanting to breastfeed our newborn straight from the source, but he sometimes want no part in that. It was suspected to be the nipples from the bottles we were using that allowed more to flow with less effort. Now that we switched, he is using less of the bottles and more of the breast. I like that because of research that shows that babies that are fed directly develop better than those that don't. That and I really think that my wife likes the bonding between her and our little one (I swear that it's almost symbiotic in nature.)
But the biggest thing that is draining all the energy from us has to be execution of daily tasks. I think that we've grown accustomed to having older kids to help and not drag around while doing such things as grocery shopping or going to the library. Our buffer of conveyance has been our demise (or at least mine) in execution of such. It isn't that much of a crimp in that lifestyle, but it is a noticeable, but well welcomed, nuisance. Sure I don't mind carrying a 9 pound baby across the library while my boys pick out books they want to read, but that's not stopping me from thinking in the back of my mind: "Grow up kid. You really need to learn how to walk. I ain't gonna carry you forever you know. Just ask your brothers." Call me lazy, call me a glutton for punishment, but I love both side of the equation.
I mean I can go on and on and have a point-counterpoint match up with myself all day. But do you all really want me to drag this on more than necessary? I know I don't, but I just wanted to let some of the air out, vent, and recollect myself. I think I made my point and hopefully by now you understand it just a little as well.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Now I was going to write this post later (maybe after our baby had been home for a week) but I feel that now is a good time to let it all out.
First off, I love the little booger; I love him just as much as the older two boogers. Even throughout all the times I was feeding him and he decides to lay out a huge explosion of poop in his diapers; even that he's the hardest to get to burp and fall asleep to train into any resonance of a schedule; even just to do all the behind the scenes things that we have to do for him because we (my wife and I) decided a long time ago to institutionalize; I still love him until the day I die and afterwards, just like his brothers. But the one gripe I have to say is just the general maintenance of what we want to have for our baby. We are using cloth diapers that my wife made by hand for his sensitive skin to not get a rash (it's hereditary, I had it and the boys had it too.) The upkeep with those is to collect enough of it to make a load for the wash and get it recirculated again for more peeing and pooping from the bowel factory we gave life to. It's pretty draining, but it's a labor of love. Plus it's a helluva lot cheaper than buying disposables like Luvs and Pampers in the long run. And that maintenance is totally separate from just making sure he has clean cloths. So that's like a major/minor thing, but it's still a drain on energy.
Another thing that wears on my wife and I is the breastfeeding. Any parent knows that breastmilk is the best thing that you can feed your child. We try to keep store of reserves via breastpumps to extract milk from my wife and store it in our fridge and freezer (thaw first before serving, eating a breastmilk popsicle is not as appetizing as you might think....) But that drains a lot out of my wife, literally and metaphorically. She is wanting to breastfeed our newborn straight from the source, but he sometimes want no part in that. It was suspected to be the nipples from the bottles we were using that allowed more to flow with less effort. Now that we switched, he is using less of the bottles and more of the breast. I like that because of research that shows that babies that are fed directly develop better than those that don't. That and I really think that my wife likes the bonding between her and our little one (I swear that it's almost symbiotic in nature.)
But the biggest thing that is draining all the energy from us has to be execution of daily tasks. I think that we've grown accustomed to having older kids to help and not drag around while doing such things as grocery shopping or going to the library. Our buffer of conveyance has been our demise (or at least mine) in execution of such. It isn't that much of a crimp in that lifestyle, but it is a noticeable, but well welcomed, nuisance. Sure I don't mind carrying a 9 pound baby across the library while my boys pick out books they want to read, but that's not stopping me from thinking in the back of my mind: "Grow up kid. You really need to learn how to walk. I ain't gonna carry you forever you know. Just ask your brothers." Call me lazy, call me a glutton for punishment, but I love both side of the equation.
I mean I can go on and on and have a point-counterpoint match up with myself all day. But do you all really want me to drag this on more than necessary? I know I don't, but I just wanted to let some of the air out, vent, and recollect myself. I think I made my point and hopefully by now you understand it just a little as well.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
I don't understand why rapcore has a bad rap
Music; a medium amongst itself that is universal. Everyone can understand it, everyone can march to whatever beat of the drum that their respected genre wants to present to that audience. It is an all around, universal language no matter how is form is presented. Whether it's acoustic or electric; classical or modern; abstract or clear as day; whatever form it presents itself is beautiful and majestic. But there is a few musical acts that particularly tickle my fancy, and I hope to dive just a little bit to peak your interests in these groups. These groups either had their share of 15 minutes of fame or still currently performing in an undertow of more popular acts. So hopefully this post could give them some justice and let them know that their works haven't been forgotten. And yes, I know I've ventured this road before in my post Bound to Ramble, but I feel that that was just the beginning of an ongoing report on under-appreciated musical acts and giving them the credit they deserve.
First thing that came into my mind in a while is this group called Shootyz Groove. I remember when this New York troupe came out with their hit 'L Train' back in the late 90's. It was frequently requested on the music channel The Box while I was getting ready to go and leave for school and when I came home to veg out and was actually at that phase of my life where I was your typical teen glued to music icons on the screen. The Box was an all request channel for viewers to see whatever video they had in circulation at the time and I don't mind to say that I requested them a few times. They were awesome and now their fame kind of fizzled out and rarely opening for such bands like 311 and Pepper (which isn't that bad in itself might I add.) They were my first experience with the genre called rapcore; with collaborated rap and rock/nu-metal in a unique hodgepodge that was among itself, magnificent. Some might claim that earlier works like Run-DMC/Aerosmith's co-op on 'Walk This Way' or even Public Enemy/Anthrax's 'Bring Da Noize' was the start of rapcore. It might have been, but to perform it as their sole lineup versus just a single, I think Shootyz Groove was the first to hit that nail on the head.
Another act that was awesome in my opinion was another rapcore group, Darwin's Waiting Room. These guys had an epic sound that perfected the genre in what my opinion; it had all the elements to make a great rapcore band. Grimm, their emcee, had a snarly voice that flowed with the rhythm even when switching from rapping to damn near screaming until your ears bled. The lead singer, Jabe, kept the harmony in check during Grimm's rampage in their songs. The guitarist, Eddie The Kydd, showed excellent talent and execution transitioning from rhythm-to-solo guitarist; this making him one of my top 10 guitarists of all time. And we must not forget the rhythm section; Alex and Joe on bass and drums respectively, kept it going for everyone to homage in unison. It's just a sad state of affairs in my opinion that they disbanded after their mainstream debut album, Orphan, and they have let a void in the rapcore venue forever.
And to segway to my final rapcore score to settle, back in 2000, there was a compilation album called Take a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap. It showcased a bunch of popular rock acts (and Fred Durst) to cover great rap singles from the 80's and 90's (before Notorious B.I.G. died.) It was a decent effort to say the least. It showed the versitlity of how homogenized rap and rock can be and to present itself as a new medium for both genres to enjoy. But in the mist of it all, it's just another bargain basement album that you'll most likely pass by at your local FYE. It's a crying shame because it had some of the greatest one-offs that I've ever heard. The most famous would probably be Dynamite Hack's cover of Eazy-E's 'Boyz 'n da Hood.' I'm sure that if you lookup Dynamite Hack and Boyz 'n da Hood for a YouTube search, you'll find some of the most funniest dubbed humor videos out there. Hell, it was so good that Dynamite Hack actually put the single on their album Superfast. Now that's true appreciation of the art (although the song is very mellow and has no decent rendition of what rapcore is, technically I would consider it more alter-hip-hop if there was such a phrase to coin.)
All in all, I thought that rapcore would be the next big thing just like nu-metal acts of KoRn, Papa Roach, and even Slipknot. But even those in that genre has either fell from that pedestal and ventured either deeper into rock or that pussified emo stuff. Rapcore in my opinion was the last great new genre of music. And sure there still some acts out there that represent that style such as P.O.D., Nonpoint, and Dope (on some instances); but for the most part that bandwagon had long passed and derailed in pop culture. What a shame, a crying shame. But that doesn't mean that their music is gone. As long as we remember it, it shall always be there. Here's to my playlist, and hopefully some of yours.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
First thing that came into my mind in a while is this group called Shootyz Groove. I remember when this New York troupe came out with their hit 'L Train' back in the late 90's. It was frequently requested on the music channel The Box while I was getting ready to go and leave for school and when I came home to veg out and was actually at that phase of my life where I was your typical teen glued to music icons on the screen. The Box was an all request channel for viewers to see whatever video they had in circulation at the time and I don't mind to say that I requested them a few times. They were awesome and now their fame kind of fizzled out and rarely opening for such bands like 311 and Pepper (which isn't that bad in itself might I add.) They were my first experience with the genre called rapcore; with collaborated rap and rock/nu-metal in a unique hodgepodge that was among itself, magnificent. Some might claim that earlier works like Run-DMC/Aerosmith's co-op on 'Walk This Way' or even Public Enemy/Anthrax's 'Bring Da Noize' was the start of rapcore. It might have been, but to perform it as their sole lineup versus just a single, I think Shootyz Groove was the first to hit that nail on the head.
Another act that was awesome in my opinion was another rapcore group, Darwin's Waiting Room. These guys had an epic sound that perfected the genre in what my opinion; it had all the elements to make a great rapcore band. Grimm, their emcee, had a snarly voice that flowed with the rhythm even when switching from rapping to damn near screaming until your ears bled. The lead singer, Jabe, kept the harmony in check during Grimm's rampage in their songs. The guitarist, Eddie The Kydd, showed excellent talent and execution transitioning from rhythm-to-solo guitarist; this making him one of my top 10 guitarists of all time. And we must not forget the rhythm section; Alex and Joe on bass and drums respectively, kept it going for everyone to homage in unison. It's just a sad state of affairs in my opinion that they disbanded after their mainstream debut album, Orphan, and they have let a void in the rapcore venue forever.
And to segway to my final rapcore score to settle, back in 2000, there was a compilation album called Take a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap. It showcased a bunch of popular rock acts (and Fred Durst) to cover great rap singles from the 80's and 90's (before Notorious B.I.G. died.) It was a decent effort to say the least. It showed the versitlity of how homogenized rap and rock can be and to present itself as a new medium for both genres to enjoy. But in the mist of it all, it's just another bargain basement album that you'll most likely pass by at your local FYE. It's a crying shame because it had some of the greatest one-offs that I've ever heard. The most famous would probably be Dynamite Hack's cover of Eazy-E's 'Boyz 'n da Hood.' I'm sure that if you lookup Dynamite Hack and Boyz 'n da Hood for a YouTube search, you'll find some of the most funniest dubbed humor videos out there. Hell, it was so good that Dynamite Hack actually put the single on their album Superfast. Now that's true appreciation of the art (although the song is very mellow and has no decent rendition of what rapcore is, technically I would consider it more alter-hip-hop if there was such a phrase to coin.)
All in all, I thought that rapcore would be the next big thing just like nu-metal acts of KoRn, Papa Roach, and even Slipknot. But even those in that genre has either fell from that pedestal and ventured either deeper into rock or that pussified emo stuff. Rapcore in my opinion was the last great new genre of music. And sure there still some acts out there that represent that style such as P.O.D., Nonpoint, and Dope (on some instances); but for the most part that bandwagon had long passed and derailed in pop culture. What a shame, a crying shame. But that doesn't mean that their music is gone. As long as we remember it, it shall always be there. Here's to my playlist, and hopefully some of yours.
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
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