JFK - The Death of a Dream ...

I was watching a documentary just last night on the different theories and conspiracies behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy ... and then it got me thinking ...

... think about all of the presidents we've had since JFK and Eisenhower ... those two actually had values for the country and wanted to enhance the idea of a unified nation. Every president we've gotten after that, sad to say, has done an extremely appalling job ... just look back on it.

• Nixon = Watergate Scandal, where he had to resign from office. "I am not a crook ..."
• Bush (Sr.) = "Read my lips ..."
• Clintion = the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman ..."

I could list so many more, but it is sincerely appalling to see such a good man (JFK) die such a tragic death only to have his spot constantly replaced by these embeciles. If you listen to JFK talk in any of his speeches, he has such charisma about him. And then you look at George W., president of our country today ... and he could barely string together two intelligent sentences for the life of him.

Honest-to-God, what in the hell is our country coming to nowadays?

Why is it that all the people who have dreams die and all of the idiots are kept alive and safe?

Martin Luther King. He was assassinated. By a southern redneck with a rifle. John Kennedy's son? Killed in some mysterious plane crash. JFK's brother? Shot at point-blank range by some Palestinian radical by the name of Sirhan Sirhan. If we want to go even further back, how about Abraham Lincoln? He was in the process of freeing the slaves ... and what happens to him? Shot in a movie theatre by an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth.

Anyhow, why is it that all of the good guys, trying to spread these messages of love and peace get assassinated? I'll tell you why.

People are ignorant and resistant to change.

You can disagree with me all you want, but you know that I'm at least right on the fact that since Eisenhower and JFK there has not been one president that hasn't gotten in trouble for something (scandal) or has attempted to turn the country around like they (JFK + Eisenhower) did.

--Reaper

Gears of War -- The Exclusive Review, Courtesy of M80

Welcome, one-and-all to my first-ever review of a game here. I like to value my opinion, so for all of you who stop by and read my humble little dialogue, you'll get a taste of what I like and what I think. Since I've never committed to writing a review before, let me set out the blueprint for what my reviewing scale for the various subjects shall look like. Vanna, could we raise the picture?



Thank you, Vanna. Alright, now I will review the game over various different categories and give you the grand total average by the end. The categories I will be reviewing under shall include:

Gameplay
Storyline
Graphics
Sound
Value
Multiplayer (if applicable)
Bonus (in case I feel it incorporates something not falling under the above categories)

Alright. Now you know my scale as well as my categories. All we need is my opinion, what I give them, and some screenshots to boot ... and off we go!

Gameplay

Gears of War is very entertaining, even from the start. From its cat-and-mouse, duck-and-cover control scheme all the way up to its various weapon choices, it'll provide hours of fun in campaign mode alone. Straight from the beginning, you'll notice that while all is well and good, the "A" button is clearly used for more than one function: running, ducking for cover, rolling, interacting with the environment, et cetera. This can cause some rather distinct problems. Per se, there is a heated firefight between the Locust and your soldiers (as well as yourself) interacting in front of you. Your teammates are already firing upon the threat and you, or should I say Marcus Fenix (your character), has just entered the fray. Naturally, you're gonna duck for some cover to save yourself from being fried by the Troika Gun across the way. So, you hold down A to run forward for cover. This cover is also small enough to climb over. You run directly into the slab of concrete to use as a shield and, unknowingly, tap "A" once again ... Marcus climbs over your cover and is exposed to the flying metal-and-other-material flying all around. Could that be avoided by mapping it to another button? Maybe. But this small fact doesn't hinder the ability to play Gears of War much (if any) at all. Just something worth noting. While I understand Epic Games tried to make the controls as simplistic as possible, I believe the buttons could've been mapped slightly more comfortably ... but this doesn't take away from the value much at all, and after some getting used to feels almost natural in your hands as you blind-fire and Action Reload your gun over the armoire you've ducked behind whilst fighting the Locust. For gameplay, I grant Gears of War an 10 out of 10.

Storyline

Well, I must say that creating a solid, memorable, and not to mention valuable storyline for such a game as Gears of War isn't an easy task, especially after its gained so much hype from the media. Needless to say, though, I do believe that GoW pulled it off. In a nutshell, you are Marcus Fenix, an ex-COG (or Coalition of Organized Governments) operative turned-convict for some undisclosed reason. Somehow, the prison has been infested and overrun by the planet's native enemy, the Locust. Somebody from Delta Squad belonging to the COG breaks in and breaks you out, throwing you your armor and sending you into battle. Yet again, needless to say, Fenix is somewhat happy by the proposition of kicking some alien ass after being locked up for so long. After a brief introductory sequence, you break out of the Locust-infested prison and meet up with a chopper along with the rest of Delta Squad to whisk you away to another locale of the planet in order for you to be sent on your first mission and, as well, your first firefight -- locating Alpha Squad, who also seems to've been holding a bomb-of-sorts that, if positioned in the right place, could exterminate the Locust threat for quite a long time, if not inevitably, called the "resonator". Of course, though, everything goes to hell in a handbasket for reasons which I will refuse to spoil. Even though the background story (being a sci-fi fan myself, I had to enjoy it) caught my attention fairly quickly (even having not read the accompanied manual first), I believe the characters'-depth could've been brought together much more nicely. You relate to the characters somewhat, but it's brought together in such a way that you feel something's missing, and while everything is set in place to explain that missing data, nothing's ever said about it. Again, while the character development is lacking in some areas, the storyline is nothing to groan over. And am I the only one who isn't getting what the whole deal behind heading back to the "Fenix Estate" is all about nearing the end of the game? For its confusing-yet-entertaining storyline, I grant Gears of War a 9 out of 10.

Graphics

Ah, yes. The wonderful, wonderful graphics. I, case-in-point, haven't actually been able to test out the graphics of the XBOX 360 on an HDTV as of yet, but still Gears' graphics still look amazing. How the environment gets destroyed so easily, the atmosphere around it, (especially on a train-ride of sorts near the end of the game) the characters, and the models still gets to me, regardless of whether I have hi-def or not. The textures look expertly crafted and modeled and, for this, I believe Epic Games may've just proven to us how far the 360 can actually go, pushing the boundaries of technology to this day. Maybe, eventually, Cliff [Blezinski] as well as his staff at Epic Games will show us even more of the 360's technology in days to come? For the graphics element how Gears of War is rendered on the XBOX 360, it receives a 10 out of 10.

Sound

For a game with such wonderful visuals and storyline as this one, it doesn't slack off when it comes to sound, either. The futuristic weaponry sounds intense and realistic, the voices of Marcus Fenix as well as your squadmates sound extremely realistic, the alien grunts and grunts almost sound well-done enough to make you look over your shoulder scared, and the environmental detail is awesome in itself. Awesome enough that, although of course not having surround-sound, either, makes me almost feel like I'm in the world of Gears of War itself. And that's saying something ... not many games feature such ambience, yet GoW pulls it off so flawless. For that, I applaud Epic Games once again.

Oh, and let's not forget the music.

The musical score behind the game is astounding, as well as the song used for the trailer (Mad World by Gary Jules, the cover of the Tears for Fears version) left me ... well, astounded. I absolutely loved it ... although the song at the very end of the credits left me scratching my head at first with an expressionless "WTF"-expression on my face, (impossible? Dunno.) I ended up loving that just as much as the songs throughout the rest of the game. For the composition of an astounding musical score through the entire game, I give Gears of War its well-deserved 10 out of 10.

Value

Saying GoW lacks value is like saying Halo sucked. Closer to the point, some would go as far as saying Gears of War is very well the Halo-killer. With that ... shockingly enough, I must agree. Gears of War sucked me in so much that during my first (turned out to be--) 7 hours-straight of playing it, I hadn't even noticed how much time had gone by ... like I've said previously, it's been an incredible while since any game has done that ... *wink wink* *nudge nudge* Resident Evil 4. Don't get me wrong, I still have an undying-faith and soft-spot for the Halo franchise, so take pride in my word when I say that while GoW appears to be the Halo-killer thus far, maybe Halo 3 will make me eat my words, no? Despite the looming fact of Halo 3 drifting closer and closer, I give the value of Gears of War a 10 out of 10.

Multiplayer

I must say, I've played around with Gears' Co-op and XBOX Live functions. Co-op's been a blast, especially with yelling at your friend to cover you instead of hiding behind a pipe like a pansy, as well as versing many others over XBOX Live. The only obstacle I can see that would prevent this from getting a much higher score would have to be the chainsaw-bayonet melee attack attached to the end of your weapon for the majority of the game (if you hold onto it) called the Lancer. Why would this be a problem? Because, for most of the time, using the chainsaw is a grab-bag of chance while facing an online opponent over XBOX Live. You may think you've revved up your chainsaw before the opponent but he may let one rip on you, (no pun intended) making for an instant kill and a gear-and-skull icon hazing the bloody screen appear. Let me tell you -- that's no fun. If you can get your chainsaw up first, you can laugh in the victory of seeing the creature's blood across from you scatter across the screen. While this may be entertaining for awhile, it provides no challenge, so unless you're constantly on your feet and making sure you're nowhere close to the enemy (hence, a useless shotgun) when their hands are on the Lancer or your opponents over Live agree to avoid using the chainsaw-bayonet, the multiplayer matches are more of a spin-of-the-wheel in luck rather than skill. Due to this, I must grant this game its 9 out of 10.

Bonus

I guess bad things come back to haunt you, yes? I believe this game is in need for some special mention here. We've already established most of its features are outstanding, yet its multiplayer could need some work, but its downfall must possibly be its best feature ... the chainsaw-bayonet. While I just previously mentioned its a lucky-item for multiplayer, single-player is a completely different story. Watching in glory as you carve your victim up, the Lancer's an amazing tool when it comes to single-player (mainly on the lower difficulties). I, myself, have stayed on Hardcore and resulted to Casual for a couple parts later on, but Insane looks to be like some true fun. Its three modes, though challenging on different levels, clearly leaves something to be desired, but in the end its extremely fun anyway. The torque bow, as well, (think: a bow that fires dynamite-arrows covered in sticky adhesive) is an extremely awesome weapon, especially against the Locust's Theron Guards later on. The dialogue made me laugh out loud a couple of times between the entire of Delta Squad, and bringing military-branded humor into dialogue and making it funny isn't an easy task. How many other games do you get to curb-stomp an enemy while their knelt down crying? Not many, I can tell you. For its bonuses, I grant Gears of War another 9 out of 10.

Overall, Gears of War has scored an average of 9.5, a game near, but not quite, perfection.

And there you have it! Reaper's exclusive first-ever review, happening to feature Gears of War. Of course, though, none of this would be possible if it weren't for Nico from M80 Teams.

I'd recommend this to and because of that I extend an extremely open-armed thank you to him as well. I hope the review has met your specifications, and it was a blast playing it. I'll probably keep playing it for months, maybe even years to come.

I'd recommend this to any fan of shooters or stealth. While this game may not focus too much on stealth, you most certainly will need it to finish off Berserkers as well as duck from cover to cover.

Wish me luck, I'm off to play some multiplayer and unlock some more of those 49 unlockable achievements! This is Reaper, signing off!

--Reaper

Gears of War -- First Impressions

Wow. What else can I say besides “wow”? The game looks absolutely friggin’ amazing, the storyline is well thought-out, and the controls feel right at home. I’ve been playing Gears of War now for about 5 or 6 hours straight, now. Lord only knows what it’s doing to my eyesight … ‘like I care. =P I actually lost track of time playing it! I haven’t had something do that to me in quite some time.

I’m currently approaching the end of Act III with 9 out of the 49 achievements unlocked.

I’ve been so exhilarated by the game that I, yet again, hadn’t even kept track of the achievements until I got off the console to play this.

Ah, man -- I think I feel an ulcer comin’ on … a Gears of War ulcer … and I’m happy to say I don’t regret it.

Look forward to my entire review once I finish the game (probably by the end of tomorrow / the weekend) … trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

And, yet again, a big thank you goes out to Nico from M80! Without you none of this so far would’ve been possible -- trust me, you won’t be disappointed by the review, either! But, honestly … who would ever be disappointed in my writing? XD

Ah, I’m a modest one, aren’t I? *drenched in sarcasm*

--Reaper

Blog-Exclusive Impression -- BK's "Sneak King"

Yes. I got it. And have played it on the 360 for the past 15 minutes.

The graphics are actually superb. The gameplay's pretty kickass, too. Hide, jump out of a haystack, deliver BK Joe's(copyrighted), rinse & repeat. It's been pretty cool so far -- I've even unlocked 2 of the 12 achievements.

For a game that's really just a walking/talking ad, it actually has some depth.

And value.

And playability.

Hell, who am I kidding? So far, "Sneak King" is definitely worth it's 3.99+tax at your local BK with the purchase of a Value Meal.

Oh, yeah.

It's happenin'.

--Reaper

Gears of War Beats Halo 2?

Wow. Not that I was hoping it wouldn't, but it's rather shocking. Well, not as much shocking as -- look, just listen to me, will ya?

According to GameSpot's article on it, the big man behind the stats of XBOX Live's most played games has released a new statement -- Halo 2 is no longer the most played game over XBL ... as they say, "the sounds of 'running riot' have been drowned out by the sound of chainsaws."

Then there goes off the people with the narrow mindset that nothing can beat Halo 2 no matter what ... look, give Gears of War a fighting chance. The staff there worked hard, most-of-all-so probably Cliff himself. It takes a lot to try to beat Halo 2 on the top of the charts over XBL, and I bet that wasn't GoW's intention at all during its creation. It just ... happened.

Regardless, the people who say that nothing will ever beat Halo 2 or Halo and that they will always be the best?

Open your eyes people-- it won't stay like that forever. Gears of War may've proved that already.

But, hey -- only time'll tell, right?

And, hate to cut in on the subject, but this just came across from my friend Charlie -- are they serious? As well as this?!? And this! xDD If they are ... oh, shoot! There's even unlockable achievements! And the game actually runs!

I'm pickin' this up tomorrow. No matter what. I'll come back with a report tomorrow. Or soon. I promise. Reaper promises. And you can't beat that, yo. xDD

--Reaper

Movies & Games (Updated Edition!)

Luckily, I've had the opportunity to run in with a guy by the name of Nico, courtesy of M80 Teams fame, to grant me a chance at reviewing Gears of War for them in return for a free copy of the game. Thanks, man! You rock! xD

Also, a few hours ago I got back from a showing at my local movie theatre for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorius Nations of Kazakhstan (quite a mouthful, eh?). It was actually a really funny movie and I highly recommend it. It's done excellent at the box offices so far and I hope it maintains its current rate.

Just finished some work, was checkin' up on Gaia / role-playing and such ... synced some more songs from my computer onto my cellphone. Y'know. The usual stuff.

Though today wasn't nearly as exciting as last night, *cough-cough* Jade knocking on my door at 10 o'clock in the freakin' night *cough-cough*, today was really a very good day. And for that? A new list of some games I'm lookin' forward to, so far all for the 360. 'Ere we go:

• Wardevil - XB360 (fighting robots across various terrains [from what I can gather]? Awesome!)
  

• Dark Sector - XB360 (the name rocks and so far does the footage.)

• Bullet Witch - XB360 (there's not much released on this one. It looks cool, but pretty quirky to this point.)

• Haze - XB360 (yet again, not much released on this, but the trailer looks pretty kickass.)

• Medal of Honor - Airborne - XB360 - (yet again, not much I've seen on this one except the trailer. Although it probably is, if the trailer wasn't pre-rendered and run real-time thus far, this game looks really kickass, too, so far.)

Of course, Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the 360, Call of Duty 3 for the 360, and Dead Rising for the 360 should be up there, as well but they've sorta already been released. Gotta keep the lists separated, y'know? Hey, Nico -- can ya help me with any of these above games when the time comes as well? ;-) Haha, no, really, I'm grateful for GoW -- take my past line as a crooked thanks, yet again, for this opportunity. You rock, dude. xD

Aye, and to end things off with the trailer for Reno 911! Miami [the movie] and a couple of clips from the TV series, such as this, this, this, and, of course, this.

Don't forget to check out the Cowboy Bebop rendition of Dog the Bounty Hunter, either.

Well, 1:42 AM and I'm signin' off, mates. Peace out. 8)

--"Reaper"

Friends Are Like Germs ...

... sometimes they show up at the most inopportune times. Tonight being one of those times.

I'm sick, so I go upstairs and decide to lay down a little earlier. I didn't feel anything bad coming down on me yesterday or so far today until later in the afternoon -- I suspect some strain of food poisoning. Anyhow, I'm sleeping and what happens? A series of rapid knocks on my door followed by booming voices, taps on my front window, and the voices being escorted around the perimeter of my entire humble home.

I think 'hmh, whoever it was must've gone away'. So I start to go back to sleep ... 11 minutes later, who's back again? The knocking-people. Sighing and rolling my eyes I realize I'm gonna have to confront the problem one way or another. I take the band out of my hair, put on shoes and a jacket and open the door to find-- ...

... --Jaeden and James. Standing there. Apparently they were fairly shocked by my groggy appearance. After a long introduction, they reveal they had been tapping all the nooks and crannies of my house as well as peering through my windows for the past almost half-an-hour-now and what did they want?

XBOX controllers. Some f**king XBOX controllers.

Well, I gave them to them. Jaeden wished me a goodbye (haha, you suck, man) and the duo left after borrowing what they came to receive ... of course, Jade was sporting my slick top hat he borrowed *cough* stole *cough* from me. I'm just sorta sad I think I scared James by the way everything went down ... but, hey -- he gave me a hug and left with Jaeden.

Well, the hug was kinda scary, but what have I come to expect from them? Exactly that.

Don't worry, though, guys -- I may've seemed angry, but it's cool. Hell, how would life be exciting if things didn't get jumbled up every now and then? Y'all are awesome -- that reminds me, we need to get recording again, too, don't we James/Jade/David/Trey/who else?

Mm, too tired now. Must level my undead mage its last few points and then fade back into the sleep.

'Night, all.

--Glenn

Gaming Discussion

Yes.

Just hell yes.

I've been waiting so long for some new games to finally catch my eye ... and it's finally happened.

I bought Dungeon Siege II, which I mentioned awhile back, and I said it was pretty good ... well, I haven't finished it yet and haven't picked it back up since that review. Needless to say, I guess it just wasn't that good ... after all?

Anyhow, 'some new games at the top o' the list. First off, we've got Gears of War for the XB360. Simply 'hell yes' will suffice, coming out this very upcoming Tuesday. Secondly, we've got Neverwinter Nights 2 for the PC. I'm really lookin' forward to buying that one, as well. Thirdly, we've got F.E.A.R. - Extraction Point for the PC (why not? I liked the previous title. =/) followed by Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the XB360, as well.

FYI, I'm currently downloading the FEAR-EP demo and it's at 43%, an estimated 8 minutes remaining. I find 15 minutes for 550 MB of raw data to be pretty fast compared to other people's around me.

Anyhum.

Have problems with my list?

Too bad.

Go **** a ****.

edit: The FEAR-EP demo was f*cking awesome. Way to end a demo, guys! xD Cliffhangers, FTW. But I can't tell or not ... is Alma ... /nude/?

--"Reaper"

Or So She Says ...

And now for the quote of the day.

Christian: So, dude, when're we going to see SAW III?
Me: It was just an idea. We'd have to find somebody who could take us.
Christian: Ohhh ...
-momentary silence-
Me: Hey, Charlie! Wanna take about 15 big boys to the movies this weekend?
Charlie: Sure! -laughing; sarcastic-

xD Oh, yes. I kick ass. I know, know.

--Reaper

Conversations Add +2 To My Agility!

Fox of Blood: Glenn!
Reaper: Aye? -just got done with a Scholo-raid in WoW-
Fox of Blood: >< ><
Reaper: What do you want from meh?
Fox of Blood: I am tried, and need someone to talk to, Chris of off playing wow, again, ;_;
Reaper: He's also over at Luke's house right now, last I heard from him.
Reaper: If you're tired, go to sleep.
Reaper: If you need someone to talk to, make a friend.
Reaper: If you want to be with Chris, get World of Warcraft.
Reaper: Case closed.
Fox of Blood: You mean, cant get wow because I am dirt poor and also becasue if I did the net would be shot over the whole house. ><
Reaper: If I'm mean, get over it.
Reaper: If you can't get WoW, run a fundraiser.
Reaper: If the 'net would be shot, get a better Internet.
Reaper: Case closed.
Fox of Blood: I cant get a better internet, I use wireless on my computer, not the main connection, and I cant get the main connection, me dad is that much of a prick
Reaper: If you can't get a better Internet, live with it.
Reaper: If you're on wireless, stop.
Reaper: If you think your dad's a prick-- ... well, I can't really solve that one.
Fox of Blood: ><
Reaper: ... any more questions? I'll still take them.
Fox of Blood: Why is God only a myth to some people?
Reaper: ... I'd like to save that discussion for another time.
Fox of Blood: Rofl, sorry had to put that one.
Reaper: Aye, 'betcha did.
Fox of Blood: XD

... followed by (from yesterday, but posting it today) a phone conversation I had with Christian ...

Me: Try F10.
Christian: It brought up a utility thing ...
Me: That's the BIOS Setup.
Christian: -sighs- -restarts computer- Alright. This time it brought up a utility thing, too.
Me: What button did you push?
Christian: F8.
Me: Alright, well try F10 this time.
Christian: -sighs- -restarts computer- Same thing.
Me: -laughs- Oh my God. How many buttons is BIOS mapped to on your computer?

--Reaper

Damn, You're Slow!

maKa vEli siNz: -Slams head on keyboard- F*cking.Bored.As.Sh*t.
Reaper: xD Let's play a game!
Reaper: Why don't we play WoW together?
-moment of silence-
Reaper: xD That pissed you off, didn't it?
maKa vEli siNz: I'm gonna f*ck you up next time I see you..
Reaper: xD
Reaper: 'Knew it.
maKa vEli siNz: Where the f*ck is everyone?! >.<;;;;;;;;;;
Reaper: Away.
Reaper: Duh.
maKa vEli siNz: .. They can go screw themselves. =/
Reaper: Jah.
Reaper: Chris is running ZG. I wonder how many times he's caused his group to wipe so far?
maKa vEli siNz: About 4, I'm guessing.
Reaper: 4 or 5, yeah.
maKa vEli siNz: Argh, I need Fairy here.. or Kayla. D<
Reaper: Aye?
maKa vEli siNz: Yus. Because they're fun. =/
Reaper: xD
maKa vEli siNz: F*ck it, I'm actually going into Barton Town to look for an RP.
Reaper: xD
Reaper: You're /really/ bored.
maKa vEli siNz: This is bull.
Reaper: Well, now would be a perfect time to sit there in a trance and brainstorm a way Kaze could get out of his deathly-state. xD
Reaper: Wait ... Fairy?
maKa vEli siNz: Wow, you're slow.
Reaper: xD
maKa vEli siNz: She is my Canadian friend. >>;
Reaper: Right.
maKa vEli siNz: A /cool/ Canadian.
Reaper: ... dude, I had this dream where Alex grew this mustace and berad and looked like /Jesus/. But, after further analyzation, he didn't have the hair for it an rather looked like an Amish dude. xD
maKa vEli siNz: Told me. >>;
Reaper: xD /Totally/ knew that.
Reaper: Larry's on!
Reaper: Talk to him!
Reaper: xD
maKa vEli siNz: Nu. >_>
Reaper: xDD If you're a beggar, you can't be a chooser.
Bounc3yBlob: lol wtf
Bounc3yBlob: at 12 in the morning
Bounc3yBlob: more people ar on than anybody else for AIM
maKa vEli siNz: xD
Reaper: xD
maKa vEli siNz: O.M.G.. bored.. as f*ck..

------------------------------------------

xD That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Oh, and, while you're at it, Nickelback? Watch out for Portugal. And never go back. Promise me.

xDD Peace out, guys.

--"Reaper"

Mac Vs. PC? My Opinion --

-- ... that's right, all. I'm gonna be takin' the 14 main reasons on their site to switch from a PC to a Mac and will / try to counterprove every single reason for those of you less informed. Ready? Let's do this.

#1: It Just Works -- They ask how long it's taken you to troubleshoot your PC ... well, if you don't f*ck up it won't require any. Furthermore, most of the troubleshooting that a general PC user encounters isn't as high on the list as one that a classier performer, such as a gamer or business type, would encounter -- therefore, they have more knowledge with the situation, still making the troubleshooting easy. If it is pretty hard? Just look it up online. There are plenty of people there to help you. Besides, I guess I have to hand it to them -- there's not much to troubleshoot because their programs are such utter crap that they can't get any worse.

#2: You Can Make Amazing Stuff -- Varying on your system, you can get the same amount of software that comes from the Mac that is just as accessible (if not moreso). It's called Windows Movie Maker and all of the other software you can buy / try for it. Hell, it even comes with Windows Media Encoder!

#3: Design That Turns Heads -- Right. I dunno how ancient most people's PC's are today, but mine looks pretty kickass and can be easily modded. They suggest that us PC-users hoards ours in corners because they're too unattractive -- in my view, (to the majority of us) Macintosh has just committed one dirty deed against us ... extreme lying.

#4: 114,00 Viruses? Not On A Mac. -- Right. They suggest that Mac's are better because of the lack of viruses and I have two responses to that. (1) If you have the proper security software it won't even matter! And, (2) doesn't that mean that the PC is more popular? I mean, hell, who would want to create a virus for a Mac and f*ck it up more than it already is, eh?

#5: Next Year's OS Today -- Oh, really? And just how do they know what next years's software is actually going to be, mm?

#6: The Latest Intel Chips -- They claim to have Macintoshes that utilize Intel software better than the systems they were originally designed for? I'd really like to see the results to that first-hand; otherwise that's beyond my belief.

#7: Instant Video Chats -- And? Is that supposed to mean that the Macintosh "users" are two lazy to download one client for the PC and set it up to initiate such?

#8: More Fun With Photos -- They talk about their programs for photo viewing as if they're godly! Obviously, the people who've created Mac's have never even viewed a PC, namely Windows, before. What a bunch of losers. They disgrace me.

#9: One-Click Websites -- This just makes me feel that Mac-users are very uneducated and that because Macintosh even offers this as an option makes me think that I'm gonna be seein' a lot more crappy websites out there on the Internet.

#10: Amazing Podcasts -- This seriously is just a money-making ploy.

#11: Rockstar Tunemaking -- If you don't have the actual materials for it, you shouldn't be doing it! On the other hand, if you want to make virtual beats (like they're suggesting), just take Rockstar's Beaterator for a spin!

#12: Hollywood-style Movies -- Windows Movie Maker. Free. Period. Just get some damn skill.

#13: No Hunting For Drivers -- 2nd-most retarded statement on this site.

#14: Awesome Out Of The Box -- 1st-most retarded statement uttered. Ever.

And there you have it -- Macintosh's lies-and-slander against the PC's. Don't take me into consideration ... we're really good people. Just lying bastards like these really grind my gears (haha, Family Guy reference FTW).

--"Reaper"

Emissions & Remissions

Aye, so I see the first (well, second in my books, but first released teaser xD) of the SoA went over well, so far. I'll type up the first page, sometime, that details the shocking invasion of the bazaar district sometime ... along with Sylaris's and Komali's poor gray dwarf friend, Orill. xDD

Oh, and I solo'ed my attunement to Molten Core in World of Warcraft yesterday. And, let me tell you, it was-- ... who am I kidding? It was easy as /hell/! I didn't even die /once/!! xD It just required a few potions (that weren't too expensive, either) ... and I'm so close to completing the Onyxia Key chain it's not even funny! D:

Anywho, there are a couple of other games I used to absolutely /love/ that I forgot to point out, as well. Theme Hospital and Pizza Tycoon. They were kickass-er games that, somehow, I failed to mention two-posts ago. Stupid, stupid, me ... ... ...

And then, I read through my /entire/ Fated Souls role-play on Gaia ... from the beginning ... all 53 pages, 15-posts-per-pages of it. It took a few hours, but I got some info out of it I would've totally forgotten otherwise if I hadn't've recapped. And, now, for a few really cool 'ooc's from back then I intercepted and will post here for your viewing pleasure.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"I try my best to serve the people. -salutes- xD" - Raftacon (Reaper)
“Oh, but now I've found a way to get around it, Jade. *points to last post before this one*
Serve the people, eh? Hmm.... *plots evil plot*” - Animagenic (Maricia)
“0.0; Evil plots are NOT my forte, to plan OR execute. xD Jade pretty much hit the nail right on the head. Or, as Jade corrected me: "I didn't the nail on the head, I got a sledgehammer and pummeled it. XD”” - Raftacon (me, again)

... followed by ...

“Ooc;; -looks up, chewing on a straw- Oh hell, it's Luke.” - D.B.A (Jade)

... as well as ...

“Awesome. My poll has 8 votes and there are 7 cast members. Score.” - Raftacon (guess who? xD)

---------------------------------

And now for some additional WoW funniness ... (red is Jade, blue is Reaper)

"'Allo friendly friend friend."
" ... alright, Jade, how much money do you need to borrow this time?"
"xD I'm just saying hi, mate!"
"xD I know, I know."
"But you know, like 200 gold would be nice."
":D"
"xD Welllll ..."
"Haha, kidding."
"Sent."
"o_O"
"Dude, you're .. Omg! ><;"
"Well, 25 instead of 200, but still helpful, right?"
"Yeah. xD"
"xDD"
"Runecloth FTW!"
"Aye."

----------------------------------------

Anddd ... end of the FS&WoW-ooc-recap. xD Instead, it's time for me to wrap this all up with a friendly goodbye.

Now get the f*ck out of my blog, pansy!

--"Reaper"

Excerpt From "Shards of Avalon"

This is a short excerpt from the currently revamped fantasy-fiction story I'm working on. Read it over and offer your comments. Hope you like. Enjoy.

"The animated undead's polearm let loose a metallic 'clang' that reverberated down the stairwell, its body collapsing to the floor, a small bullet lodged into its forehead. Komali backstepped, closing the door behind him and fastening the deadbolt. "Damn, these things are persistent," Komali almost said jokingly, taking care to reload a shot into his dwarven rifle.

Sylaris gazed out of the window, seemingly lost in his own world. "You do know what this means, don't you?" he inquired, his normal tone seemingly disappearing.

"No, ... what?" Komali replied to the question, the sound of pounding against the wooden door raising his arlam and causing him to aim down the sight of his rifle by reflex.

"It means that he must've already finished the ritual ... we obviously don't have as much time as we thought we did."

"And exactly how much time do we have left?" Komali asked nervously, inching his way back across and towards the door.

"None." Sylaris replied grimly, glancing over at the door and removing the greatsword holstered across his back. Merely seconds after Sylaris had prepared for an assault of sorts, and undead hand slowly crept its fingers over the windowsill behind him.

"Behind you!" Komali yelled, yet Sylaris had already sensed the movement to his back. Swirling around, he struck at the hand, severing its fingers. Peering out the window, he watched with satisfaction as the remainder of the undead went soaring down and into the district below.

Turning his attention towards the door, he rose his sword above his head with deathly force, motioning for Komali to slide the latch and pull the door open. Simply nodding,h e complied. As the door swung open upon its hinges, Sylaris lunged for the unarmed animation and swung, severing it diagonally from its torso towards the floor. Not pausing to wait for the body to fall, he continued his way down the stairwell.

Komali lowered his firearm and kept it to his side, maneuvering himself down behind Sylaris until he reached the end of the stairwell. Darting his eyes towards his left and right, he sighted down his firearm, yet read the room as all-clear. Giving the sign to Stlaris, he moved out and to his left to meet up with the bar counter.

Komali did the same, leaping the barrier and landing between the bar counter and the shelves of ale. Reaching to his left for a bottle of ale, he grabbed a mug fro under the counter and poured a shot of alcohol, handing it to Sylaris. "Why not?" Sylaris grinned, grabbing the mug and setting it on the counter. About to raise the mug to his lips, he heard the sound of creaking wood to his west.

Drawing his sword and ducking just in time that the dwarven mug soared over his head, crashing into the planks of the wooden wall behind him, shards of marble and glass showering the floor. "My, aren't you a strong one?" Sylaris asked, taking in his opponent.

"A dwarven animation?" Komali asked, quirking an eyebrow and raising his weapon, taking in his undead opponent much the same as Sylaris was currently in the process of. The short and stocky dwarf (like most of the race was, of course) was beginning to ramble his way towards them from across the bar-section of the inn, a wicked smile crossing his pale, gray face. His teeth rotted and his flesh rotting, one of his dark brown eyes slowly worked its way around and into the back of his head. "I've never seen one of them before." Komali muttered, temporarily lowering his weapon.

"Neither have I," replied Sylaris, matter-of-factly.

"Well, one option, then," Komali suggested, raising the firearm to eye-level, pulling back the hammer, closing his left eye, and aiming down the sights of the rifle. Zooming in towards the undead dwarf's head, Komali held his finger to the trigger.

'Hope you enjoy the Demonweb, scourge ..."

--"Reaper"

A Little Mismatch of Various Odds-'n-Ends

Yes, yes. My, hasn't my first day of our school's two-week break been a pretty interesting one? I thought I was getting sick late Sunday night, but I drank some tea, popped some pills (joking, of course), and went to sleep and was better this morning (huzzah!). And then what did I do? I finished a beat for Jade (you're welcome, man) ... I went onto XBOX Live ('cause, for some odd reason, I had the craving to) and played, like, 4 Skirmishes on Halo 2.

I checked Gaia off-and-on to see if anybody had posted. Sadly enough, there were none. But, alas, I have not given up hope. I just pray the pacing goes faster soon enough. Or ... *trails off* ... =/

Mm, but I have tried my crack at getting an old Windows 95 / MS-DOS 3.1 game running on my computer (again). It's name is Fragile Allegiance and it used to be one of my favorite games as a child. I didn't understand half the stuff that was going on besides exploding asteroids, horrible micromanagment on my part, and blowing sh*t up with missiles that exterminated planets at a time. Y'know? Fun.

Well, I got it working. I had to delete logo.exe and then set fragile.exe for the Windows 95 compatibility mode. The game works, generally. Aside from a couple of non-important glitches that could probably be ironed out sometime ... the sound skips and is /very/ choppy, but I can always just disable. If the game starts to feel like it's bogging down, you just hit the Windows key or Alt-Tab out and then Alt-Tab back in. And, bam! Back as new. The only other downfall is that everytime you try to rename a fleet or colony the game ... well, freezes. And you can't rename savegames (so get it right the first time, damn it! xD), but that's not too bad, is it?

So, FA got me thinking -- what other games did I used to like from my childhood. I didn't understand half of it, again, but it seemed pretty f**king cool -- Space: 1889. It was cool. It was an RPG. Hell, I guess I got hooked early, didn't I? It was just about as cool as the other 2 I used to play without really totally understanding: MegaTraveler 1 (with better info here), as well as Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday. I also wanted Neverhood from an early age, but I fulfilled that prophecy a few years ago and, clearly, wasn't disappointed.

So then I began to recall some of the sh*ttiest game choices I've ever made. First off, looking down my CD rack, I see Harbinger. Hell, it seemed like Diablo 2 in space. Could I've been more wrong? I don't think so. It seemed really unoriginal, boring, and uncreative. Not to be confused with Zax: The Alien Hunter. Z:TAH seemed to be a pretty good game, but it didn't really keep my interest for long. But was it better than Harbinger? Yes. Definitely.

Oh, and, now that I recall it, I've tried getting Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri & Alien Crossfire up-and-running again. Now, those games used to be kickass. Too bad I'm having trouble getting them running on XP, nowadays. I guess that's my next project over the next 11+ days besides ironing out the bugs in Fragile.

"So, Reaper," you might ask, "What have you playing recently?" Well, young readers, I've been playing the various GunGame multiplayer mods on CS:Source ("Shaedy" written all fancy, for you nonbelievers) and I picked up a copy of Dungeon Siege II from my local Best Buy (two towns away. =P) I believe that DSII is much better than its predecessor, despite what the reviewers might say.

What games might you be picking up now? you might ask, as well. Well, I think I'll wait for the new sh*t to come out ... The Witcher looks pretty cool. I've (obviously) been keeping my eye on those Halo 3 rumors, MGS4 info, and Gears of War release date. It's been pretty cool. A new dawn of gaming, so to speak.

Yeah, and I also picked up some new songs while listening to the radio. I'm not responsible for how you get them, but as long as you download them (*cough* LIMEWIRE *cough*) or buy the albums (loser! xD Kidding, kidding,) just pick these up, will ya?

• "Attitude" - by Alien Ant Farm
• "Another Perfect Day" - by American Hi-Fi
• "Do It Alone" - by Sugarcult
• "Alive and Kicking" - by Nonpoint
• "Paralyzed" - Rock Kills Kid
• "Burning Bright" - Shinedown
  

Have fun, kiddos.

--"Reaper"

P.S. -- Oh, right-- ... and, Luke? You wanted me to level you to 30? Yeah, I did that for you ... and parked your character in a special place, afterwards, ... without a hearthstone. xD Have fun navigating your way out, little man. You'll get no help from me. Peace.

P.S.S. -- And, a couple of funny quotes I heard over the past few days. Keep them to heart and enjoy.

• Guild leader's comment -- "There once was a monkey in Nantucket. He talked, but all he would say was 'f... it'." xD
• Bumper sticker (sarcasm) -- "Work harder! Millions on welfare depend on you!"
  

Walking Woes

While walking home with Luke about an hour ago, the following conversations occurred --

-crossing the street-
Me: Alright, stay to my left as we cross the first half and then switch to my right for the second half.
Luke: Why?
Me: So you get run over by speeding vehicles before I do.
Luke: Oh, come on!

And, secondly, ...

Luke: ... so what was that song you used for your very first Green Vs. Yellow trailer?
Me: Born With Nothing, Die With Everything by Papa Roach.
Luke: Oh, right, right ... good song, good song ....
Me: -singing- Born with nothing, ... die with Luke's p3n!s ...
-pause-
Luke: Well, that must be one helluva large casket.
-laughing-

Yeahhh ... let these moments not rot from your mind. Tuck them away. Oh-so-very-deep-away ...

Amen, brotha.

--"Reaper"

Funeral Processions Are /Not/ My Kinda Thing

Yeah, just last night (well, two nights ago-since-midnight) I went to my dad's friend's funeral. His wife and two kids were there, not much older than I am. It was very saddening to see their father just left behind. But he fought the cancer well and lived his life out to the fullest extent and he helped others obscenely.

Not much to say, I guess. I'm just sorta still in mourning.

R.I.P. - Gary Casper

--"Reaper"

Day to Celebrate - Fantasy and Reality

F*ckin' awesome. That's all I've gotta say.

F*ckin' awesome.

Papa Roach finally released their new album, Paramour Sessions, 4 days ago. I'm totally going out tomorrow and picking that one up. I'm so unbelievably happy it's not even funny.

Well, [on another note] a few funny things happened today via guildchat on WoW today between Jade and me. Let's have a look, shall we?

Jade: Luke says hello.. for some reason or another.
Reaper: Mm, he can go f*ck himself. >>;
Jade: Now that's the attitude I like. :D
-pause-
Jade: He wants you.
Jade: To talk to you, that is.
Jade: In the ass.
Reaper: Talk to me in the ass? Wow.
Jade: It's Luke, he's fat, he can pull it off.
Jade: The tumor gives him magical power.
Reaper: xDD
Jade: Fo'shizzle.
Reaper: Fo'shizzle.

After that short conversation we encountered the following "War of the Faces", so-to-speak. Let's watch, shall we?

Jade: TO WINTERSPRING, AWAAAY! O:
Reaper: ... quite intriguing.
Jade: <--- Severely mentally retarded.
Reaper: =O
Jade: O:
Reaper: o.o!
Jade: o.O;
Reaper: :D
Jade: O:
Reaper: o.o!
Jade: O:
Reaper: :D
Jade: O:
Reaper: o.o!
Jade: O:
Reaper: :D
Jade: O:
Reaper: o.o!
Jade: O:
Reaper: o.o?
Jade: O:
Reaper: -.-
Jade: O:
Reaper: -_-'
Jade: O:
Reaper: -_-;
Jade: O:
Reaper: I should totally shoot you now.
Jade: xD
Jade: O:
Reaper: xD
Jade: I need a gun, I hate the sounds bows make..
Reaper: xD
Jade: Time to kill.. and kill.. and kill.. >>;'
Reaper: Fo'shizzle?
-pause-
Jade: Fo'shizzle.
Reaper: xD

And then the ever-classic two lines of the day ...

Jade: F*ck! Another elite!
Jade: Stop attacking meeeeeee! D:

xD And with that note I will prepare by previewing a few of the Papa Roach songs from their new album. The anticipation is killing me.

'Night, all -- godspeed.

--"Reaper"

Cancer Kills. Seriously.

As of, roughly enough, 4:30 PM yesterday evening one of my father's best friends, as well as my own, by the name of Gary passed away. It is very saddening and hard to cope with right now. We're all in a state of shock it took him so fast.

I suppose this is for more of an update rather than the facts concerning it.

Sorry, guys. I'm just not in the frame of mind to tackle the facts. It's still too hard.

Wish him to rest in peace. The timeframe for the funeral procession is still unknown.

God be with us.

--"Reaper"

R&R - Rants and Rants -- Edition 3

Rap ... is it an art? Of course it is.

Though, lately, I've been torn. I obviously respect the genre, and I don't refer to any genre of music as trash, especially not rap. It's comprised of a venting of feelings and expressions. One of my friends suggests that it's trash, the other's in love with it.

So where do I stand? In the middle? I think a quote could handle this pretty well:

"That's not true at all, I feel like I am an intelligent person and I like the song. I don't neccesarily agree with all the lyrics, but I love the instrumentals and I respect the art of the artists/rappers involved. And you know what? I respect you even though I don't agree with you and even though I'm sure this little note will make you pissed off, I respect your opinion anyway."

--taken from the "Drop It Like It's Hot" video page on YouTube

Obviously, I don't believe most of these lyrics should try to be imitated. Hell, most of the stuff in here involves gangs, guns, women, or breaking the law. Does that mean I shouldn't listen to it? Does that mean I should feel prejudice against it? Of course not. I can listen to it without imitating it. How could anyone absolutely loathe an art like this? Whether you like it or not, this genre is just like any other genre and requires the same, if not more, work then any other genres in the music business.

To anyone who absolutely loves the genre, don't go overboard with it. It's a wonderful genre, I personally listen to it, and I overly respect it. Does that mean I condone what's said? Maybe not, but it would vary on the music. Don't be ignorant and denounce the genre based on the lyrics of one song. If you would actually sit down and listen to it, maybe you'd get a different outlook on things. If you can't respect the music then don't put it down, -- just shut the hell up about it and move on.

And that concludes our third edition of Rants and Rants. Hope you enjoyed.

--"Reaper"

First Attempt at GvY Recording = Failure

Yeah.

It happened. I went there.

I tried to get Chris to co-operate in getting on XBOX Live to at least experiment what we could do for various parts of the trailer. I send him an invite and make the server, naturally. I'm even talking to him over MSN about it. But how long does it take him to join something that should probably be something he would drop everything for, seeing as how we've been trying to get it off the ground for years and if I don't get these tests out of the way we won't be doing sh*t?

10 minutes. 10 f*cking minutes.

But that wasn't all. Like hell it wasn't.

As soon as he comes he hijacks a Warthog, then a Banshee, then goes to a sniper spot and tries to shoot out my tires. So, ... I kill him. He claims he was only shooting the tires and leaves the server.

Thanks a lot, Christian. Great team effort. Go team!

Where's the love for the team?

Nowhere.

Christian took it into the woods, molested it, and shot it dead. At least that's how the story went.

So Johnny Dumbf**k here thinks it even a better idea after I tell him I'll just film the stuff myself ... "Uh..sorry? 0.o" Yeah. Exactly. The reaction I was praying all my life for. Oh, wait, no it's not ... just lost as always.

Jesus Christ, people. Can we not just get something done or will I have to abandon all of you and find some internet guys with XBOX Live and give it a shot with them?

That's right.

I'll go there.

--"Reaper"

Reaper Vs. Passwords

It turns out that somebody didn't want us on the server that Christian let us come to in the first place. After a short while, somebody placed a password on the server. The first one wasn't so hard, and I guessed "chaos" first try and got in. But now, a week after discovering the first one, it has been changed again and, the server name being "Remnants of Chaos", I guessed "remnants" but to no avail.

I have no given in to it, though.

I'll keep you posted. Peace out.

--"Reaper"

The World's Lost Its Mind ...

Jesus, I haven't felt like this in awhile. My friends are awesome, even though I may beg to differ below, and the world is a wonderful place to be (well, sometimes) but its honestly and completely gone to hell. I hate to know what my future and, for that fact, how the future of my entire generation are going to survive, people f*cking up the environment and all.

The world's just going to hell. The last time I can imagine something of this magnitude would have to be back during The Great Depression ... ice caps melting, oil lines busting, Mideast Crises, North Korean menace, and just rampant violence and warfare everywhere. And the world isn't the only place people are going crazy.

My friends are, too, I'm afraid to say.

Jade's pretty awesome. Honestly. He may defend himself to the point of insulting others to his own expense, and he may pass off his facade to keep up his pride, but he's actually pretty weak. Not in a bad way, but just not as badass as he may try to pass off. One minute he may be extremely useful and helpful (like he usually is), though there're sometimes when he's just so annoying, be it insult or ... I don't think there's a word for it. He drives me (and others) so insane that we completely block / mute / ignore him.

Larry's been really helpful. Aside from the fact that we aren't going to the same school together ... we miss you Larry. =(

Chris's been ... well, his usual self. We may crack jokes over him as if he were just some sort of toy to us, but in the end (whether he gets pissed off or just passes over it like it were nothing) I don't think any of us mean any harm over it. I've actually begun to confront people (such as Jade and others) who've been passing derogatory comments about me my way. I won't put up with that sh*t anymore. I have no reason to. Even though Chris threw a little temper tantrum today and completely ignored his friends (Larry, Jade, Luke, and I) and his own girlfriend ... TWICE ... I assume there has to be some good reason behind it. I doubt it was just a retarded ploy for attention.

And now, fairly recently, he's been using an "I-get-the-last-word-before-we-move-on-to-the-next-subject" kind of ploy to get out of arguments that are in his favor. Christian, if you're actually reading this -- realize that that doesn't even work on anybody near you and won't be working on anybody in the future. Don't start the argument or back out of it, don't speak like your word's the constant truth and then delve off-subject. It's annoying, ignorant, and childish.

Chris's girlfriend, Lorin, is crazy. Psychotic. I dunno what she's had in her past, and she actually seems quite ... nice? Well, that is if you answer all her questions right. I dunno how Chris handles her. She's way too insane for me. She's crazy. Period. Stone-cold.f*cking.nuts. She'd probably handle that as a compliment, and Chris won't listen to reason when we warn him she's crazy. It's about 7 people versus his word. He must think he's Jesus, 'cause he's shooting our ideas down and claiming himself to be a savior. If he won't heed our word, I guess he'll just have to wake up next to a psycho someday and think "Damn, why didn't I listen to those guys?"

I owe a personal apology to two of the following people --

Luke -- I know we all make fun of you, and although you act like it doesn't tear you down, you usually glide over ALL comments thrown your way (much like Christian does over the jokes we throw his way) I know it's a bad thing to do and I do it anyway. I'm gonna try to stop acting like a total jackass to you and anybody else I know. 'Try's a very strong term, but I advise all of you guys who're doing what I do think twice about insulting him and try a new strategy much like I am. I mean it.

"Theheretic" AKA "Guntith" AKA "Rotithan" (WoW) -- I know I took your Searing Blade as that 20 gold payment you owed me, and Luke and I had a blast doing it, but in the end I feel awful bad about it ... I'll try to make it up somehow, trust me. I just ... work in mysterious ways. Yeah, that's it. Mysterious.

Well, back to the world -- Israel and Hezbollah *have* been back at it again ... launching rockets, marching troops ... can you believe they're killing many people, blowing up many buildings, and invading many towns ... over two kidnapped soldiers? People I know suggest we just draw the Hezbollah leaders out to some area and then, city or not, nuke the place. But where's the humanity in that? Yeah, of course we'd kill Israel's target (assuming the U.S. has to intervene), but is it worth the radioactive fallout flooding all the nearby towns?

Hah, you might think I'm "goth" or "emo" because of the attitude I have towards many things. Of course I'm not. I've never actually acted out or even contemplated suicide. I don't mutilate my body, cut myself, or anything of the sort. I like the color black, but I don't wear makeup and act "goth". Of course I don't. Maybe dark, but certainly not "goth". You people who make assumptions make wrong ones and need to consult them more than once.

Mm ... and now my dad's even been pestering me about stupid, various little things I've forgotten to do and such ... and it's really starting to piss me off.

The world's becoming insane and retarded ... locally and globally ... and it's really making me angry; I dunno how to vent it -- it's been awhile since I've seethed like this.

Scary.

--"Reaper"

Can You Feel It Coming In The Air Tonight?

Not only is 'In The Air Tonight' the title of today's / tonight's blog entry, but it's a kickass song made back in the late-80's by Phil Collins but has just recently been remade for the new movie Miami Vice featuring Colin Farrell as Detective Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Detective Tubbs by a group called Nonpoint.

Check out their video here and post your impressions in my comments. I think their remake did Phil Collins / Genesis justice. Good songs happen to be remade for a new generation and this happened to be one of them.

Keep up the good work, everyone-who-worked-on-it.

--"Reaper"

... For the Matinee Price!!

Haha! I'm leaving for Vegas this Monday, the 27th, at 5 AM, staying there the entire week. Expecting to see the Star Trek - Experience, the different casinos and shops up and down the strip, maybe even drive over to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon, maybe bump into Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, or (hopefully) maybe even Criss Angel.

Anywho.

Yeah, well, the title makes no sense. But, let me assure you with some quotes and jokes that struck my fancy --

"White man makes guns, no problem. Black rapper evens says guns, -- congressional hearing."

"We are all lucky to be in America ... even us black people. Now, the black people have a different view in the mirror ... America is like the uncle that paid for your college tuition ... but molested you."

Those were quoted from Chris Rock's performance a few nights ago on HBO-Comedy.

"So, my girlfriend said to me 'Jimmy, we've reached a crossroads in this relationship. Down one path are some troubleships that eventually lead to ultimate happiness. The other road is a dead end.' Naturally, I responded with 'Then it's not a crossroads ... it's a T-junction.'

-chorus of laughter-

Well, I'm glad you found it funny. She went f***ing mental."

"-points at a man in the audience- I read in a magazine that men go bald because they have too many male hormones in their system. My suggestion to you is to stop swallowing."

"My girlfriend used to angry because of the old nagging fact that I used to leave the toilet seat up. So I resolved it -- ... but there's no pleasing her. Now she's angry that the toilet seat is covered with piss."

Those were quoted from Jimmy Carr's performance just last night on HBO-Comedy, as well.

"See, the government has already profiled us black people ... they even let us on planes early, now, which is nice. See, they already know what we'll do -- we'll rob you, we'll shoot you, we'll jack you, and we'll cut you -- but we will not blow you up. You have to be on time to f*** with bombs."

That was quoted from Bill Belamy's performance just last night, as well, on HBO-Comedy.

Now, for some quotes in World of Warcraft that I happened to jot down or take a screenshot of in a moment's notice. =P (Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Me, Jade.)

"I got in a fight with a guy in BG. ><>>;"
"Guess not."
"All of my clothing is dying."
"xD"
"xD"
"I imagine that to be something Chris would say."
"But more like -- "
"WFT MY CLOTHS R DIING!"

A discussion on trying to make it through the cave that links Felwood to Winterspring at too low of a level to attempt it properly. (Jade, Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Me, Jade.)

" .. Stealth?"
"Oh."
"xD"
"xD I thought you actually meant mountain."
"Stealth+Vanish+ Blind+Evasion+Sprint"
"My combo -- Strip Naked+Defensive Stance+Blood Rage+Retaliation+Die+Die+Die."
"xD!"

And Jade and I miscellaneously bashing Christian. =P (Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Jade, Me, Jade.)

"I can still sell it for 15 silver to a vendor!! xD"
"Ooohh."
"I'd be /rich/, man!"
"And you could buy it back for 1g 69 silver."
"xD"
"xD Now /that/ sounds like something Christian would do and say, 'That was an /awesome/ deal!'"
"xD"

Jaeden getting pissed off that I'm not co-operating with him in the Wetlands (and offering pretty whack advice). =P (Me, Jade, Jade, Me, Me, Jade, Jade.)

"xD I wish /I/ had a mount."
"I miss mine. ><;"
"And I never even named it."
"xDD" "Call it Sparky."
" .."
"I hate you."

At a much lower level, Jade and I heading through Rageclaw's Den to finish a quest of mine ... an interesting conversation arises. (Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Me, Jade.)

"Why do you /always/ get to loot Rageclaw?!? xD"
"I'm black. xD"
"But I am, too! >>;"
"On the inside, maybe."
"And the outside, I just dyed it."
"It's because this character has boobies. o_O;;"
"I can't argue with that."
"xD!"

Another rendition of "Give Me A Name to Name My Gnome!". (Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Me, Jade, Me.)

"Smallspark!! xD"
" ... "
"Sparkresister!"
" ... "
"Thermaspark!"
"I think I'll kill you tonight."
"Sparky!"

And you can go here to see a small sample of what role-playing in the Caverns of Time was like. But, no, Blizzard -- you won't be able to figure out who we are so, no, you won't be able to bust us. I censored the names.

Take that!! xD

And, the funniest quote from Gaia in Kaiyan Akurian's profile --

Alex: you know samantha is sexy >_> ... Admit it
Jade: Good sir. Dare I ask, what the f*** are you smoking?

xD Well, I'm tired, finished, and ... well, tired. =P Peace out, peoples.

--"Reaper"

Did I Mention I Have a Semi-Retarded Brother?

Of course I don't. But, hey -- that attracted you here, no? Alrighty. First off ... for my birthday I basically got a nice Bass Guitar & Amplifier, along with an XBOX 360, Hitman - Blood Money, Burnout - Revenge, Perfect Dark Zero, & Full Auto. I probably posted half of that before but, y'know, I thought it would be cool to post it again.

Anyways ... now for something completely unrelated.





Yes, well ... Stewie's Sexy Party I found (at least on my part) to be f*cking hilarious (at least to those of you who watch Family Guy ... but, seriously -- ... who doesn't? xD) ... if you have an XBOX 360 and actually bother to read this, then look me up on XBOX Live ... the name's 'Shadow191'. I'm in the Underground zone with almost 400 for my Gamerscore (I believe).

And I enjoy long walks on the beach. =P

And, boy-oh-boy, I'd really appreciate any kind words or tips anybody could offer me on my upcoming video game that I'm working on ... and, hell, I may even open up a mailbag that I'll answer on here if enough people email me over it. I love to hear from people. If it's just a friendly 'hello', I'll send one right back ever-so-politely. If it's a question, I'll post it here. If it's well versed hate mail, I'll simply trash it. If it's not well versed, I'll post it up here for everyone to laugh at you over. So if I were you, I'd be careful what you wish for, because-- ...

... Santa Claus is coming to town. (but it's only June!!)

xD

--"Reaper" A.K.A. glennlego@yahoo.com

R&R - Rants and Rants -- Edition 2

Alright. Bottomline? I'm not prejudice. And I'm sick and tired of people saying I'm prejudice against black people. Common lines when a conversation goes bad? "Man, your ancestors were my ancestors' slaveholders!" And how would you f*cking know that? Did you rent a time machine and go back in time to watch a past version of me whip your ancestors across the back? I didn't think so. All I ask is you know what you're talking about before you start blabbing sh*t that you honestly have no clue whatsover about.

There were three different kinds of white folk back in the day. The slaveholders of the South, the slaveholders of the North, and the anti-slavery activists. How do know my family was for slavery? Mine could've been one of the people standing around in protest against it. Hell, my family's from Ohio (unfortunately ... I don't really like the place, personally) and during that period of time ... you guessed it, Ohio was with the Northern states.

And the whole discrimination thing where people believe my ancestors before, even then, were Nazis?!? Just because I'm white doesn't make instantly make me a f*cking Nazi, or even f*cking German. People who make the assumptions that I encourage racism, prejudice, and hatred couldn't be more wrong. I'm open-minded, and am equally for every race being treated the same. I don't even want to be associated with Nazis, and never said so. If I speak German to somebody and they reply back with, "Quit with the Nazi-speak!" me and my friends around me instantly have the assumption that they're ignorant and (possibly) retarded.

Now, before you contradict me and say "But, Reaper! I thought you said people who use 'retarded' in an insulting way are-- ..." But I'm not saying it in an insulting way. I don't say things that aren't true. If I believe they're retarded and so do my friends? That doesn't mean they belong in a Special Education class, it just means that they could've been dropped on their head as child or never been diagnosed with some sort of mental illness.

Either way, it's a win-win situation.

For me, at least.

--"Reaper"

R&R - Rants and Rants -- Edition 1

Welcome to the first session of R&R that I will attempt to incorporate in future posts ... this one will consist of my interpretation of the Catholic Church via The Da Vinci Code and Gay Pride. I'm not gay myself, but I have some friends who are, and I don't like the discrimination that modern day society is putting them through.

First off. Da Vinci. The Da Vinci Code, to be exact. Obviously, the movie is fiction. But most of the stuff is true / highly believable, despite what any of my Catholic friends say (Quote -- "It's pure blasphemy!"). Obviously the only reason they would be sticking up so strongly for their religion instead of letting the movie pass off as fiction is because some of the facts within the movie could possibly threaten to destroy the foundation of their churches and (*gasp*) even their entire religion? The world may never know, for Catholicism will continue on and Da Vinci box office tickets will continue to be sold.

I, personally, do believe that most of the movie is highly factual / loosely factual, based on the point of the story. Obviously Langdon and Neveu are not real life characters. Neither is Fache or the rest of the Interpol. But most of the story (Holy Grail being Mary Magdalene's womb ... Opus Dei ... the Priory of Sion ... et cetera) seems to make high sense. Hell, wouldn't you get pissed if your saviour (Jesus Christ) was beginning to have a different view, claiming that your immortal being of high holiness was being lowered to a mortal status, and even possibly carrying a bloodline? Yikes.

It's just a point of view. Stop trying to tell everyone the movie is fiction. People have brains so they can make up their minds for themselves. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I've had enough religious bullsh*t to last me eternity. I honestly have nothing against any religion ... no matter Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, even Paganism (witchcraft) ... I believe all are perfectly acceptable views. So stop trying to push your views (hence "convert") everyone else to your religion. If they happen to find ... let's say for the sake of argument, Buddhism a better religion than Christianity? That's perfectly fine. Stop criticizing them over it.

Amen.

And on to the so-called 'gay pride'. I happen to know a guy who is my mother's friend (or, for lack of a better term, 'co-worker') who is, lo-and-behold, gay. Is that a crime? No. And it pisses me off everytime somebody uses the term offensively. It doesn't offend me directly (seeing as how I am not gay) but offends me to the point that I think of him and it makes me want to strangle the person who said it. Wouldn't it make you want to hit the person if they were calling one of your friends retarded (in an offensive manner) and your friend was actually in Special Education? Boy, wouldn't you want to intervene.

But, most of the time, people stand idly by. They do nothing. All it takes for evil to occur is for good people to do absolutely nothing. (Thank you, Mrs. Rowley.)

And he's a good guy. So what he believes in Paganism? He sure as hell knows what incense to burn, what Bast statues to place where and why, and different 'potions' (though, I'm not going there) to brew to ward off certain illnesses / bad happenings. That makes him interesting. That's what makes all of us-- ... well, unique. Hell, I'm not a scientist and can't figure out whether you just develop a taste for the same sex or whether it's a chemical imbalance from birth. But is it wrong? No.

Some religions seem to think so, though. And I believe that, as well, is utter bullsh*t. People can do as they choose as long as they don't harm me, my friends, or my family. They should be able to pursue their own happiness, right? And if they can't, what has America --- and even the world --- come to?

--"Reaper"

Dedications to a New Year and a New Life

'Ehya, again, everyone. Yes, school graduation is finally tomorrow ... and my birthday's the day after that. How awesome, eh? I'm gonna be wearing a black suit jacket ... a white dress shirt ... black dress pants ... black dress shoes ... a red striped tie ... newly-fixed glasses ... and a clean & cut ... well, haircut (shocking to those of you who actually know me) ... yeah, this graduation's gonna be kickass.

xD

Well, I saw Jade post his dedications up on his Gaia journal yesterday, so it made me feel laggy and left-behind.

So, here I go.

*ahem*

Jaeden Braselton -- Yeah, man ... it's a been a rough & wild (though I can't say it hasn't been fun) ride all the way up the past 3 years. I remember the first few days we had just become friends that your hair was very, very long (ponytail to be exact) and, looking at it now, it could not really be much shorter unless you completely shaved your head. We've gone through some major changes, good and bad I suppose ... and you're definitely one of the best friends a guy could have-- ... but we'll get to continue our friendship next year, so what's with the long goodbyes, eh?

Quotes -- "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but you'll always be f*cking retarded."
"What did I do? Why is it always my fault!"

Predicted Quote of the Future -- "No, I did not murder and mutilate the hooker in my trunk, honest! ... how long will I be put away with this? At least let me keep my rap book! ... aw, man!! You're taking those, too? Damn it! ... that's not evidence! ... -- no, that blood's mine!"

Christian Thomas -- Mm ... only two years I've had to put up with you and your retarded antics, but, to tell you the truth, I've enjoyed every second of it. xD Even if I insulted you, even if we've pissed each other off beyond compare, I believe we've only done it because when you stop acting retarded things get boring ... and we don't know what each other's limits are, so we push it. It's always an accident, and we talk it out like big boys by the end, but you're also one of the best friends a guy could have. -nods- =P

Quotes -- "I completely owned a guy on XBOX Live for yelling 'n***er'.
"Nice comeback, now wipe it off your chin."

Predicted Quote of the Future -- "Wait, she was a guy?!? Aw, damn, I think I'm gonna be sick ... especially after all the things we ... OH MY GOD!"

Zheqi 'Larry' Tan - You've been a great friend I've had for a whopping 4 years. Yikes, that's been awhile. And, as expected, you've become successful just as predicted. Congratulations to your future endeavors, Larry. Sometime in the future you'll probably be able to get me a wonderful job somewhere if my plans don't turn out the way I'm hoping. So we'd better stay in touch ... and, no, it's not just to use you ... ... ... I think ... ... ... -ninja- xDD

Quotes -- "You're teh suxx0rz."
"For the win!!"

Predicted Quote of the Future -- "-- ... and there you have it -- the cure for cancer. Any questions?"

Aranya Lutz - Yes, yes ... cannot forget you ... although I'm not really leaving you and rather joining you once again ... oh, boy ... well, this is an awkward moment ... I don't really have anything to quote you because of the long absense in talking to each other ... and nothing from 3 years ago doesn't apply anymore. Well, I s'pose this was pointless. Sorry! ^^;;

Yes, I've suddenly grown lazy and may add some more later on. 'Love you all.

Peace out.

--"Reaper"

*thwak* It Wasn't Me!!

Kelly: God, he looks almost like my brother ... and it makes sense, because he can't keep a girlfriend for more than a day.
Sam: Hey, Glenn. 'Sounds exactly like you.
Glenn: I dunno, Sam, you tell me -- how many girlfriends have you had?
Sam: -runs over to hit me very hard-

And that's how most of the day went. Most of it. At least afterschool yesterday I was able to run over to EB and pick up Hitman 2: Silent Assassin for the PS2 and Hitman: Contracts for the XBOX, along with Robot Chicken: Season 1, the DVD Box Set from Target.

Oh, yeah. And they all pretty much kick total ass so far.

I already had Hitman: Codename 47 for the PC and I think that GameSpot should cut it a lil' slack -- that was awhile back, so the game wasn't quite up to par with modern day versions. The game had a very good premise and very good gameplay ... there were a few occasional glitches, but later patches ... well, patched (no pun intended) up the problems.

Robot Chicken, on the other hand, rocks completely. The show is awesome and can be seen on Cartoon Network's (channel 54, for me) [adult swim] block of programming later on into the night. Fated Souls, my Gaia role-play, is still moving along quite nicely ...

... aside from the odd fact that for my poll there only 7 cast members (including myself) ... but there are 8 votes. O.O;; Obviously, some people are poll whores even if the poll doesn't pertain to them whatsoever.

Ech, I'm back off to level more warrior in WoW to 18-and-beyond and play the next to levels Contracts.

Ola.

--"Reaper"