Saturday, September 27, 2008

3 is a Magic Number

In honor of my 30th birthday, I'm posting the very 1st SchoolHouse Rock, which is all about the number 3. Three actually is a very important number for me. I was born in the 9th month on the 27th day at 9:15pm. All divisible by 3. If you're a generation Xer like me, this video will be quite nostalgic. Enjoy! I'm going to eat some more birthday cake. :)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

James Franco=Justin Bobby

Back in August I saw Pineapple Express and it was actually quite well written and very funny. But that's not the point of this post. This is about a couple of videos you must watch if you have ever seen 5 minutes of The Hills and/or if you are a James Franco fan.

First go to MTV Rough Cut and watch this video.

Then go to FunnyorDie.com and watch this video.

Warning! Adult language is used in the clip on the funnyordie website.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Unleashing the Force


I picked up Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on its release date of 9/16 last week. I swung by my local Blockbuster and got the last copy that was not on reserve. The Blockbuster associate told me it was my lucky day but I prefer to think that the force was with me. ;) So I've been playing it for the last week and I'm almost finished. I'm making my way through the Death Star to the final scenario. Here's the scoop on this game.

You play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice which automatically aligns you to the dark side and your powers are tailored as such. You go through about 3 different worlds hunting and destroying Jedi masters. After you're successful in this task Vader forces you to dissociate yourself from him and the Empire so that you can gather rebels to your cause in an attempt to destroy the Emperor.

You have to go back through the same planets you just came from only this time, they're run by the Empire and you must destroy the outposts. All the while, you begin to feel "conflict" and start to have feelings for your new rebel friends. Apparently at the end of this game you must choose whether or not to save or destroy them and that choice results in unlocking either a Sith or Jedi costume. Maybe there's more but I have to say that a new outfit is kinda lame especially when you can put in a cheat code to get both costumes. (I've already done that in case you're wondering.)

The force powers and light saber techniques are pretty cool and your powers increase as you move through the game. You can blast your opponents with force lightening or impale them mid-air with your light saber. The graphics are great and objects in the environment react to your movements, mimicking real life.

What bothers me about this game is the jumping. I was never very good at jumping in any video games except for maybe Super Mario Brothers and even then it was touch and go. In The Force Unleashed you are required to make great leaps at times or else you'll fall into an abyss or some molten lava. I had to repeat these sections more times than I can count because I couldn't quite make the jump and I would die. I really hate wasting time on menial tasks like this in a game. If I'm going to die I'd rather die against a boss opponent. They need to make it worth my while. Obviously, when I kept dying during these jumps, I got frustrated and stopped playing the game for a while. I also had to get my husband to help me in a few sections. He's somehow able to magically connect with the game to make the jumps. So annoying!

This game is a decent slasher game, plenty of power, cool graphics and enemies to destroy. But I feel like it lacks some substance. I played Knights of the Old Republic II and although the graphics were not as good, it was a game centered around the history of the Republic, Jedi, Sith and Empire and required you to make choices throughout the game that would influence other characters, circumstances, your alignment to the dark or light side of the force and ultimately the game's ending. It was kind of like Choose Your Own Adventure for Star Wars geeks.

Still, The Force Unleashed is a solid game and I'm sure there will be aspects to enjoy even after I've beaten it.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Jessie Spano Caffeine Pill Freakout!

OK, a friend of mine emailed me this clip over a month ago and I meant to post it immediately since it is my favorite clip of all time from Saved by the Bell. Somehow it just slipped my mind. I was actually reminded of it today as I went through my morning routine of watching Saved by the Bell while I ate breakfast. This morning's episode was the one where they struck oil at Bayside. The school was going to get lots of funding from the oil and everyone was super psyched about it, except Jessie. But then tragedy struck in the form of an oil spill in the school pond. The school pets were covered in oil and died. I know; it really was sad. So the kids protested and demanded alternative energy sources. Sounds like today's mantra. Could Saved by the Bell have held the key to the energy crisis back in the 90’s? The world may never know.

Josh's TV Medley

I missed the Emmys last night but I imagine this was the best part. Any man that can sing the TV show theme songs this well wins my heart. :)