What I'm Watchin, What I'm Playin, What I'm Listening To.

We'll start with what I've been watchin.

So, I think I've seen the original Battlestar:Galactica movie, but it was a long time ago. I heard some good things about the Sci-Fi's channels new Battlestar TV show, so I decided to check it out. I've watched the two part premiere, and the first few episodes of season 1; and dam its a good show. I usually am not crazy about shows on the sci-fi channel, bad acting, bad graphics....They tend to come off as pretty cheesy. But I think the acting in this show is great, the graphics aren't bad, I love the story. If you haven't seen this show, and you like sci-fi, check it out.

What have I been playin? I had a hankerin to play some Heroes of M&M IV, but I don't have the CD with me at school. Now, I never bothered to try Heroes V, I know it didn't get good reviews, but I decided to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Its basically the same as Heroes IV, but with much better graphics. I am also still playing some Titan Quest.

There are of course some other exciting releases coming up for us PC gamers.
-Neverwinter Nights 2(10/17/06)
-Hellgate: London(1/1/07)(wo0t)

Besides games & TV..music and pod casts consume a good chunk of my time. Based on Andys K recommendation I checked out the geekdrome podcast, I'm enjoying that quite a bit. Also still listening to the PC gamer pod cast.

Music. Two Gallants still reign supreme as my favorite band ever. However, someone recently turned me on to The Black Keys, a blues rock group, they are also quite good.

Titan Quest

Recently I found myself itching for a new Diablo style action RPG. I remembered hearing good things about an upcoming title called Titan Quest. I was skeptical because it is actually set on Earth, in ancient times in Greece and Egypt; I'm not usually a big fan of the historical theme. However, there is a playable demo out so I checked it out. I'm quite impressed, this is a really top notch diablo clone. The graphics are great, far better than any other diablo style game out there. The loot system works much the same with a nearly infinite number of possible items in several different types...mundane..magic..better magic...and epic; epic items can also come in sets. They also have a system similar to the rune words in diablo II, but simpler. However my favorite part of the game is the class system. There are 8 different masteries that you can choose to start with, 4 melee, 4 magic; each mastery features a skill tree ala' diablo II. The problem with that is that even with a "flexible skill tree" there is usually only two practical paths. In Titan Quest, when you reach level 8, you get to pick a second mastery! So now you can mix/match skills from two different classes, Hot. There are of course other features worth mentioning. The story is stronger than most action RPG's, very good voice acting, sweet introduction, and the historical/mythic theme is actually pretty cool. The demo is available from the link below.

http://titanquestgame.com

Only problem with the demo is that it only lets you get up to level 6, not high enough to start your second class. As you might be able to tell from the screens below, I've since picked up the full version of the game.

My warrior fighting Nessus early in the game.

My Warfare/Defense Specialist.

Fightin some harpy's.

Its Always Sunny In Philidelphia

So, I just finished watching the premier of the new comedy, "Its Always Sunny In Philaldelphia", starring Danny DeVito. The show follows the exploits of a wealthy family in Philaldelphia, ala. Arrested Development. The comedy is not nearly so witty as the Ron Howard classic, but the jokes are just as insensitive; no one is trying to be politically correct on this one. I found myself laughing out loud more than once during the two hour premier, unusual indeed. Will it fill the vast black void left in my heart when Arrested Development was canceled? No way. The main reason that show was so great is because the comedy was so intelligent, and subtle; unfortunately this is also the main reason the show was canceled; despite rave reviews and a fanatic fan base, the moronic masses could not grasp the witty comedy. The show aires on FX, thursday at 10PM/9PMCST, I suggest you tune in next week.

PS. It doesn't hurt that this familys last name happens to be......REYNOLDS. Dam Straight.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Its amazing how fast things can change.

Seems like just yesterday we were all just kids playin games at BrainSnacks. I always assumed some of us would always be together. Playin games, hangin out at the store.

Now I'm in Normal, Hebert is in Downers Grove, Sullivan is in Downers Grove, Andy K is in Minnesota(how did that happen?), Todd is in Costa Rica(not permeantly I assume), and BrainSnacks is gone. The BS crew has been scattered to the wind it seems.

Some of us are out of college and have real jobs, some are almost done with college, some are not. When did all this happen? I don't mean to be a downer, but where did the good'ol days go?

Post

Ok, so, my last post on my old blog was a long time ago. November 25th to be exact, a lot has changed since then. Most notably, I moved to Normal, IL in January to start school at Illinois State....

(I'm not even sure where to start this post.)

(I think I'll go with a chronological approach.)

The move went well. I was transferring in the middle of the semester, and knew very few people down here so I was kinda hard pressed to find a roommate. Luckily, one of my two friends down here at the time put me in contact with Ben, from the frisbee team, whose roommate was moving out at semester and was looking for a subletter. I came down a couple weeks before the semester started for an 80's party at Pats, I met Ben and abunch of other people; met Ben, saw apartment, signed lease. I didn't really have much of a choice, I needed a place to live; but it worked out very nicely, Ben was a totally cool guy, had a good time rooming with him.

My first semester blew by pretty fast. I am on the Ultimate Frisbee team here, we're the Illinois State Gnomes. I spend a lot of time playing frisbee. Most the rest of my time was spent studying, partying, and napping. I've met a ton of people, made new friends, grown further from old friends. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying myself here, I'm happier here than in Downers Grove. I had to get out of my house. I'm much more productive here, I get more done, I'm doing better in school than I ever have before.

Originally I was planning on being home this summer. I wanted to see my DG/Chicago friends, do some traveling, work at my old job. I had a lot I wanted to do. But things don't always go how you plan. REI didn't want me back, so I needed a new job. Then it worked out that it was gonna be much easier to take the class here at ISU, than at home. Then Easter weekend happened and I realized how much happier I was here at school than at home. I decided than that I was staying here, no matter what I had to do. I got a job down here, I work at Jimmy Johns right near campus. Its an alright job, its extremely simple compared to the any of the other jobs I've had in food-service.

This post is proving harder than I thought to get together.

New Blog

So, some time ago I forgot my password for my old blog and it wouldn't tell me what it was. So I mad a new blog. Stay tuned for exciting stuff.