Hotpocket Defense

Hi LOST fans! If you've been following my tweets (which you should by the way) you'll know that I spent last Wednesday glued to my TV watching the season premier of LOST. During commercials I tweeted and facebooked my complaints that the first hour was a recaps show. I got totally distressed and emailed ABC because I thought I'd been duped again. But I was wrong. The first hour was recaps but then I was provided with a full two hours of season premiere delight. Sorry ABC, I jumped the gun and complained to you irrationally.

However, I would like to have recaps shows and season premiere clearly defined in the future. ABC said to tune in at 8pm EST for the "season premiere event." I did and I got highly disturbed when I realized i was not seeing new material. It was almost as traumatic as the few times when I could not be at home for LOST and had to record on the DVR. I heart my LG TV with built in DVR but it does this thing where sometimes it stops recording about 20 seconds before the show actually ends. This happened a couple of times when I recorded LOST and I nearly had a panic attack. Does anyone realize how important the last 20 seconds are? I also need to see the next week's previews and it would cut that out too. ABC won't post the night's episode online until about 24hrs. later! I have friends in Arizona and I've actually resorted to calling them to find out the ending. I'm quite sure they think I'm a lunatic but out of the kindness of their hearts they've answered the phone and given me the final rundown.

Back to the topic at hand. I posted my favorite scene from last week's episode. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a huge (no pun intended) Hugo fan but he does provide comic relief on occasion. I don't know why I like this scene so much but I think it's two reasons. One, that Hugo uses a hotpocket to defend himself and two, that Ben doesn't have to even say anything, his look says it all. Here is a very short clip of Ben, Hugo and a hotpocket.

W.

I started this post way back in November but it fell by the wayside for some reason. But today, on the day of the inauguration, I feel that it is poignant. I read reviews and synopses of W. before I saw it because I absolutely did not want to sit for two hours and watch a Bush bashing movie. I prepared myself for a healthy dose of criticism (good and bad), got my popcorn and sat down to watch. Director Oliver Stone showed Bush as neither saint nor devil. I came away from the movie thinking that W was a relatively normal man who accomplished something extraordinary in becoming the elected leader of the free world for 8 years. If anything, I think the movie had a more personal and sympathetic quality to it. I was pleased with the portrayal and had a new respect for the Office of the President of the United States.

I think most people don't take into consideration the insurmountable and overwhelming task of the Presidency. My father always said you have to be a bit crazy to want to be President and I have to agree. The information the President receives everyday is I'm sure enough to scare the bejeezus out of even the toughest. But they have to make agonizing decisions that can ultimately affect millions of lives.

I commend President Bush for making those decisions and keeping America safe after 9/11. I don't know how history will reflect his Presidency in the end but I do hope that people will remember that America chooses its leaders and for 8 years, they chose George W. Bush. Now, we have chosen our new leader Barack Obama. I watched the inauguration today and felt truly proud to be an American. I love watching democracy in action and that's what I saw today. I wish President Obama well and hope that he will always keep America's best interests in mind and at heart.

Bush Farewell Address Part 1


Bush Farewell Address Part 2


Obama Inauguration Speech Part 1


Obama Inauguration Speech Part 2

Lost Returns

Fallout 3: Because War Never Changes

For the last month, I have been completely obsessed with playing Fallout 3. I finished the game this past weekend and now it's time for my review. I'm not going to go into the whole back story of the Fallout series; watch the video if you want more details or go to Wikipedia. I'm here to give my take on the game.

Overall, I loved it! It has all the elements I enjoy in a game (please refer to list below). I'm not terribly familiar with DC (I've only been there once) but I think the creators nailed it with the setting. The structure was still in place but areas and some buildings were demolished from the bombs and the atmosphere was one of decay and desertion. An eerie quiet in many places; that is until a feral ghoul or super mutant attacks.

Yes, there's lots of bloodshed in this game but in the harsh world of Fallout, most of the time it's either kill or be killed. Because the game is set in an alternate future in 2277, there's quite a bit of advanced technology such as the stealth boy and plasma rifle but remnants of a retro, 1950's style society linger. Brilliant!

I chose to be a good character for this round of play. This simply means I can go back, create another character and be evil the next time. A third round of playing could allow me to have neutral karma. Each karma rating has its own advantages and disadvantages which I think will serve well to keep the game fresh after repeated play.

Fallout 3 has 30 main and miscellaneous quests, as well as free form quests and mini-encounters. You also have the option to take on one follower and a dog. If you purchase the game I highly recommend the obtaining the Official Game Guide as well to get the most out of your gaming experience. You don't want to miss out on helpful hints such as the location of every Vault Boy Bobblehead in the Wasteland!

I did experience a few glitches. Sometimes my character would get stuck in between some rocks with no way out or my follower would just disappear for a while and then return later. Mainly, I think my XBox360 is on the verge of death and the game froze quite a bit or would stop and tell me the disk was not clean. But glitches happen in any game and these were a minor inconvenience compared the hours of entertainment and enjoyment.

In my gaming experience, this one's the bomb! :)



My Fallout 3 Top Ten Favorite Things

1. Listening to songs like Civilization and Way Back Home on GNR.
2. Mysterious Stranger Perk
3. Searching for Sugar Bombs and Nuka-Cola Quantom
4. Skill books like Nikola Tesla and You and Lying, Congressional Style
5.Cultural References
6. Karma ratings
7. Law Bringer Perk
8. The subversive motives of the Enclave
9. Listening to Three Dog proclaim my heroism over GNR
10. Touring the Capital Wasteland and the DC Ruins




The Washington Monument in Post-Apocolyptia




Robots have a sense of humor even in bleak nuclear winter!




Where the White House was...




Congress is in recess. Permanently.





Just me, Fawkes and Dogmeat preparing to save humanity.





Please note my stats and the fact that a Jesus like figure symbolizes me. I'm here to combat evil and show compassion to the less fortunate!