Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Somewhat busy weekend



This weekend was a pretty good one. Although we didn't do our separate movie plan on Friday (He was going to see Shopaholic, I was going to see Friday the 13th) because of the snow, the rest of the weekend was quite fun, including Valentine's Day! Ben enjoyed his gifts, and felt bad that he wasn't able to get me anything as great as he did last year.
We had a wonderful sushi dinner at Sakura Bana (with pretty much every hipster kid in Omaha). I even tried "real" sushi, rather than California Rolls. They were called Tijuana Rolls, and had cilantro, tuna and pickled jalapeno, with the rice and seawead. They were good, I was suprised I couldn't even taste the fish.
We also bought a new dishwasher from the Mart (which is being delivered today), had some coffee at Barnes and then swung through World Market and got a vase and a pretty snazzy new candleholder for the bathroom.

On Sunday, I downloaded PixelJunk Monsters (a tower defense game with pigmis, I guess) and we've been playing that quite a bit. It's nice to have a game that we can both enjoy.

I started back up on Dead Space last night too, and am halfway through Chapter 2. I normally don't get freaked out too easily, but I can't play that game for long periods of time alone in the dark, otherwise I think there are things crawling on the ceiling or hiding in my cupboards, waiting to grab me, heh. Fun game though, and it'll keep me busy until RE5 comes out.

My manager accepted my leave request for the beginning of March, and I can't wait to see Watchmen in KC! On IMAX!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

This bitch better win!



Fantastic! Love her!

I'm loving the art direction of the promos, too. The paper-doll concept is pulled off EXTREMELY well

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Scottie dog bats and jumping mouse-rats!


This past weekend had ups and downs. Friday night, I was in a mood and Ben and I ended up having a bit of a fight, thus cancelling our movie plans. But he made dinner, and we watched BSG and kind of forgot about the argument.
Saturday I pretty much stayed in bed all day, I was not feeling well at all. I watched an America's Next Top Model marathon (Joanie SO should have won) and when Danni cancelled dinner/movie plans with Ben, I got my butt up and out of bed and took her spot. Ben had a gift card to Outback Steakhouse, but there were other restaurants where it could be used. We decided on Fleming's Steakhouse. While the food and drinks were excellent, the prices were extremely high. I don't think we'll be eating there again, but it was fun to see how the other side lives.
After dinner, we drove out to Village Pointe and saw Coraline in 3d, and I was in love. Such a cute movie, but also really dark in some places. The visuals were fun, and a lot of the voice acting surprised me. I didn't think Teri Hatcher would be as fun to listen to as she was, and the change in tone for each character she played, really fit the mood of the movie.
Sunday was another lazy-ish day. Ben and I co-op'd on RE5 and still couldn't beat the damn chainsaw guy. So I went to work and got there a bit early. Just early enough to bust some creepy old guy looking for sex in Barnes' bathroom. I watched him wash his hands as I went over to use the facilities, then heard him walk behind me and into the handicapped stall. I finished and washed my hands and rinsed out my coffee mug and he was still back there. When the other man had left, I looked back and saw the guys feet just standing at the door. So, in my most stern voice I said "I'm an employee! If you're looking for anything special back there, I'm going to call security." I saw his feet jump, then he walked back out of site and said "Nope, just using the bathroom!" then flushed the toilet. I called bullshit and told my manager about the incident. The guy had high-tailed it out of there, so we didn't catch him, but it's definitely a funny story. And work was busy and sucked pretty hard after that, so I was happy to go home, make some Philly-ish sammies for dinner and get to bed early.
Monday, I was sick as ever. I had trouble sleeping all night and woke up with a sinusy-migrainey headache and a nauseous stomach. I started to get ready for work, then said frack it and called in. I left my manager a voicemail and went back to bed. I slept off and on throughout the day, getting up once or twice to nibble on some food and then wishing I hadn't. Around 7 last night I started to feel a bit better. I made myself some soup, watched a bit of TV, read some more of my book and fell asleep around midnight.
I hate when weekends, especially Saturdays, are my only days when I have no obligations and then I'm sick and can't really enjoy them. Oh well, next Saturday is Valentine's, and that should be tons of fun :)

Friday, February 6, 2009

Star Trek Opera = Genius (and suprisingly heartfelt)

Very Tired and Very TGIF

I worked at BN the past two nights after the day job, and today I'm fairly exhausted. Not to mention I haven't shaved in quite a while and my hair is getting shaggy in the back. I just feel pretty gross today, all around.

This weekend will be laundry, catching up on the Tivo and playing some Dead Space (and work of course). I am excited, though, because Ben agreed to see Coraline tonight after dinner. Whether we'll see it in 3d or not remains to be seen.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Lil John and Lazy Town, all swirly

Best? or Worst? mashup ever



You probably shouldn't show this to your kids...

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Lazy Tuesday Night

I have yet to play Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, but I'm already pumped about the sequel Uncharted: Among Thieves. Joystiq has a preview of the game and it looks pretty sweet. Plus? Claudia Black is voicing a character, and I love her!
I'm having a dilemma in terms of game playing. I'm currently mid-play of Silent Hill: Homecoming, but I can't get myself to jump back in and play. Dead Space is looking more fun at this point. And come March 13, I'll be Resident Evil 5-ing with no time for other games. So what to do? I'm thinking I'll probably pop Dead Space in and start over (I previously played a bit of it to get a feel, then went back to playing Assassin's Creed, which I've since beaten) from the beginning. Maybe I'll get back to Silent Hill eventually, I mean I was enjoying it, but I need something else.
I also really need to bust out the Wii Fit and give it a try. I read a rather distressing article that made me feel even worse for not giving it a go sooner. With the new PS3 and movies and TV and birthdays, my Wii has been collecting a bit of dust as of late, which also makes me feel pretty terrible. Oh well, they're just game consoles right?

I made a Sausage and Pepper Frittata with goat cheese crumbles for dinner last night (served with some crusty baguette) and it was really delicious! I still don't know how something like that can be considered dinner though, I mean it's essentially eating breakfast during dinner hours, y'know? For instance, I brought leftovers for lunch today at work and I've already downed it. It really was a good breakfast, and there's more at home. We're getting a bit low on protein at home, but I found our last chub of beef (*snicker*) in the freezer, and I have some kaiser buns, so I'm thinking sloppy Joes (a spruced-up Rachael Ray version of course) and roasted peppers and potatoes for dinner.

Ben and I watched the first episode of Heroes' new "Volume", and I have to say I enjoyed it more than I anticipated, but I also think they're coming scary close to copyright infringement or something with all the storylines they're blatantly stealing from the comics. Not to mention that there's about 3 characters they could permanently kill off and the show would be so much better. (Peter, Mohinder and Sylar? I'm looking at you!) It was a lot of fun to see Claire in a more "kick-butt" mode, as well as watching Hiro cope with the fact that he's not the hero anymore, rather the Oracle to Ando's...I dunno...Black Canary? Huntress? Whatever?. I liked their new digs, very cool.

I wanted to watch Fringe (possibly the best new series from the fall season) but Ben had American Idol to watch, so I cleaned up from dinner and then played some more RE5 Demo. I'm getting better, but I still can't beat the damn guy with the chainsaw.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Raw Shark Texts & Resident Evil 5 (demo)

The Raw Sharks Texts by Steven Hall
****1/2 (of 5)
There is so much to say about this book, and yet, there is so little I can say because I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. It's kind of like House of Leaves mixed with Jaws, with tinges of The Matrix and Memento, if that makes sense. The book is so out there, and everything feels like it needs to be interpreted and studied to get the complete feel of the book. The title itself is a play on Rorscharch Tests, which adds a whole new aspect to the story now that I've finished.
I loved the interaction of the main character, The 2nd Eric Sanderson, with those around him, including The 1st Eric Sanderson who we learns about via notes left from the latter.
The book starts as a journey as 2nd Eric tries to figure out what part of his memories are gone and why they left him. During this investigation, he stumbles upon conceptual fish, fish that steal people's memories, alter moods, change attitudes, feed on desolate minds, etcetera. After an attack in his own home, 1st Eric's letters lead him on the trail of Dr. Trey Fidorous and into the arms of Scout, who may be the 1st Eric's girlfriend Clio, supposedly dead from a scuba accident in Greece. She has her own reasons for capturing whatever is chasing 2nd Eric.
The last quarter of the book is basically Jaws, only on a conceptual plane, as the three (and Ian, 2nd Eric's ginger cat, along for the ride and none too pleased) try to kill the Ludovician, a conceptual shark that has been hunting 2nd Eric, and may have been the cause of 1st Eric's demise.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the plot and who was what, when and where, but I loved reading this book. The unique print style (with shark attacks being visualized with word pictures) and the way 2nd Eric jumped around in prose, from letters to maybe-remembered memories to the 'here and now'. The references to books, people, history and old films boggle the mind, and I'm sure further research could add depth to the book. I found The Annotated Raw Shark Texts wiki, and I'm totally going to read the hell out of it and see if what I think happened, actually happened.

Resident Evil 5 (demo)
****
I've been excited for this game ever since it was announced 2+ years ago, and yesterday, a demo finally appeared on PSN, so of course I downloaded it immediately when I got home. I'm still a newbie to PS3 (and I never really owned a PS2) so the button configurations still confuse me a lot of the time. Apparently, the controls of RE5 are similar, if not the same, as RE4 (one of my personal favorite games, although I played on the Gamecube, so I'm even more unfamiliar with the controls).
The demo consists of two scenarios, one in a Public Commons area after a rather bloody execution, and the second in a desolate Shanty Town with a rather wicked boss at the end. I started with the Commons area and it was apparent immediately that I would need this demo as practice if I were ever to get the buttons correct. I died pretty horribly that first go through, but by the third, had completed the section (by running from the Executioner and shooting him outside rather than in the house where the action starts), although with very little ammo or life left.
I never fully beat the Shanty Town area. It's quite long for a demo level (at least 15 minutes) and the boss at the end is a pain. I never did beat him. He's a play on the Chainsaw Guy enemy from RE4, although scarier and a LOT faster. I think you're supposed to kill him by exploding gas barrels near him, but I couldn't quite get the hang of it.
I think I'll really enjoy this game. The AI of Sheva (your in-game partner) is spot on, other than she's a bit more of an ammo hog than I'd like. I liked being able to set her to either attack other enemies on her own, or cover me as needed. And the partnering up to solve problems was refreshing, after the drain Ashley Graham was in RE4. I was sort of sad that I couldn't damage Sheva, but I guess it makes sense when she's always so close to you. The equipment storage solution for this game is unique (real time, I guess they call it) in that you don't go to a separate screen to get items from your briefcase, rather you use buttons on the direction pad, or you open up your inventory in the middle of the action and dole out ammo/change guns/heal yourself. I'm not sure how much I like not being able to take a break to heal, but I guess it adds to the ambiance, right? And unlike a lot of people that have reviewed the demo, I actually prefer not being able to move and shoot at the same time. I inevitable run in, guns blazing, and get myself horribly killed with games like that. With RE5, I'm able to actually focus and aim, running just adds to the frantic-ness.
I already pre-ordered the game (the super special edition, even) and cannot wait to wait in line at midnight and race home to play the full game!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Two in a day, I am getting back to form



I just found out Resident Evil 5 (in demo form) is on PSN starting today, so that will eat up most of my after-work time tonight. That's a shot from the game (courtesy of Joystiq), isn't Chris Redfield dreamy? Sheva is pretty attractive as well, but I swoon for some Redfield arms! I even went to GameStop over lunch and preordered the game, I'm so excited. The collector's edition (with figurines and bags and such) to boot!

I gave Ben the choice of a sausage and pepper frittata or fried chicken for dinner, and fried chicken won out. I'm gonna look up some recipes and see if I can find a baked version so I don't feel bad eating like 4 drumsticks. And if we go to the gym tonight, I don't want to negate any of the calories/fat burned by scarfing down on some bad-for-me breading.

This past weekend, I had an OCD, I'm-not-on-meth-but-may-as-well-be cleaning session in the house. Christmas decorations were taken down, the floor was swept and mopt, the ceiling was vacuumed, the bathroom was scrubbed down. Now all I can think about is how dirty the rest of the house is in comparison. Next on the list? The office. It's in need of a really good vacuuming and dusting. I also need to clean out my desk and the filing cabinet and *maybe* the closet too, we'll see. After that, our walk-in. My clothes, especially t-shirts, need to be gone through and any unwanted items need dropped off at Goodwill.

Also, Heroes is back tonight, but I find myself not all that excited. Obviously, I'm more excited about RE5!

New Year Resolution, a month late

One of my new year's resolutions was to get back on the blogging bandwagon, something I haven't been riding since about 2 years ago. I just kind of fell off the map. A friend said my old blog was like "a season finale of a show that may or may not have been cancelled." And I totally get what he means. I just stopped posting, the prospect didn't have as much appeal to me as it once did. That said, I've noticed my writing skills have gotten seriously rusty, and realized that maybe blogging on the daily was not only letting me vent, but also keeping my writing/grammar/etc skills in tune.
So here I am, back again.

I guess, since this is my "new season" I should do one of those montage-y "previously on" things they usually do. So, in no particular order:

-Got together with a boy that I fancied
-Procured another cat
-Purchased a Wii, and more recently received a PS3 from the bf for Christmas
-Bought a house
-Still working, only as a Web site tester instead of a business editor
-Became obsessed with Rachael Ray in general and cooking in particular
-Celebrated my 9th anniversary at Barnes and Noble and my 3rd at info

That's about up to where I'm at now. As for this blog, I know it's fun sometimes to have a particular bent and then that keeps the posting coming, but I don't really have anything interesting that happens regularly for me to really make that mission statement yet. So until I figure out what that is, or if I really have/need one, this journal will be just like the last one, filled with stupid anecdotes, life happenings, the occasional meme and maybe something that's actually worth reading.

Until next time.