Top Ten Games of 2005

Here I am, back and ready to rock! This list has taken me a while, even though.... well, you'll see. Anyway, without further ado, the Top Ten Games of 2005 (same rules apply as in the other list, it has to be games that came out this year, and I have to own them):

10: Wario Ware: Touched! (Nintendo DS). If you have ever played a Wario Ware game, then you know how incredibly addicting they are. With the some of the most inane and silly micro games you will ever see, this game had me playing for hours just trying to perfect poking the kitty, when it popped up. Not only that, but its great for the perfectionist, because to fully complete the game you have to beat each and every micro game a certain number of times on a certain number of difficulty levels, but for those who have little to no time, just a regular quick game of Wario Ware can take less than 5 minutes. It's a great way to start off this list.

9: X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse. The only reason this is so low, is because I haven't played it much, and because I'm waiting for X-Box Live to play it multiplayer with Dan. However, seeing as it controls the same as the original Legends, plus more characters, mutant powers, and customization, this game completely blows the first one out of the water. This one is looking to make my January amazing.

8: Mario Kart DS: Wi-Fi Mario Kart?! The only problem with it, is my inability to find a close hot spot to play, otherwise this is quite possibly the best Mario Kart game yet! Not only does it have 16 new tracks, but features 4 tracks (apiece) from each of the previous incarnations of the game! Basically, if you like Mario Kart, I really suggest that you buy a DS and this game... seriously.

7: Guild Wars: An MMORPG for free?! Yes, and that is the main reason I love this game. That and the fact that it is tons of fun (especially when you have friends to play with). It is great fun getting to make your own guild (complete with cool name and cape), and then going off into the wild to make money and get treasures to make yourself all the better. Plus, since it's technically a neverending game, I can pick it up and put it down whenever I want (well, really its hard to put down, but I can quit whenever I want... I mean it!)

6: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow: Yes, the DS needed a great 2D side-scroller with tons of extra stuff to keep you coming back for more and more. That and the fact that it has incredible animations, and lots of cool baddies, that I like fighting over and over just to make sure I capture all the souls I can makes it the best DS game of this year, and paired with Mario Kart should have you questioning why in the world you don't already own a Nintendo DS... go get one, now!

AND NUMBERS 5-1 ARE ALL:

RESIDENT EVIL 4!
This is not only the greatest game of this year (I'll explain why I can put it as all 5 top spots in a minute), but this is quite possibly the greatest game ever, certainly the best game for this console cycle, and definitely right up there with Ocarina of Time as the best game for the past decade. Let me break it down into the top 5 games just to make it easier to understand.

5: Assignment Ada: Yeah, its pretty short, but dang is it hard. Plus it gives you a chance to see what was going on with Ada while Leon is running around the island getting Ashley. The main reason this is only number 5 is because of the stupid TMP gun that comes with Ada... I find it a pointless weapon.

4: Mercenaries: Wanna see how many Granados (not zombies, mind you) you can kill in a set amount of time? Here you go! Paired with the fact that you can pick between 4 characters, it makes it all the more fun and challenging, which brings us to...

3: Mercenaries (multiplayer): I can classify this differently because it is what Chris, Chuck, and I did for hours on end last may during finals, and I can say that it definitely ups the ante when you are playing Mercenaries competetively since you have to make sure that you not only stay alive but keep your kill combos up enough to stomp the other two.

2: Normal mode: Words can't describe how incredible this game plays. It feels like you are really in the game, and no other game has made me yell in fear or excitement as much as this. Everyone will remember their first time seeing an el Gigante, and their first time taking out Mr. Chainsaw. This game is so good not only because it is fun the first time through, but it is fun the second, third, fourth, and even fifth time through (and so far its really fun on the sixth time, but I'm not done yet, so I'll tell you more later), due to the awesome unlockable weapons..... mmmmmmm Chicago Typewriter.

1: Professional mode: Where normal mode made you pee your pants, Pro mode makes you poop. Nuff said? Not quite. At least twice as hard as normal mode, Pro mode actually makes you think about ammo and consider twice before you run into a room with shotgun ablazin'. I really wish there was more I could say to convince you to play this game, but I know that my words will fall short until everyone sits down and takes a chance with this piece of gold.

And there you have it. You think it's cheap... too bad! It's mine and I like it.

Godspeed.

Nate's Top 10 Albums of 2005

Yes, here it is. The moment you have all been fervently awaiting... when I reveal my picks for the Top Ten albums of this year. (warning: the opinions expressed in this blog, are solely Nate Baughman's and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either his friends or his family, for that reason, the comments section is open for you to respond and to make your own lists). The second disclaimer is that these are all CDs that I own or have listened to multiple times, and that is why you won't see DMB's new CD or Weezer's, because I've been too lazy to buy them and give them a good listen. Also, one of the Albums was technically released a while ago, but it was rereleased this year with extra songs and stuff, so I think it counts for this year. Anyway, enough hoopla, lets get this started!
10) "The Question" by Emery.
Although similar to their first album, this sophomore release by Emery keeps getting better the more I listen to it. Since it is such a recent purchase, I'm suprised that it made my list, but as I thought about it, I realized that I really do enjoy this album. The lyrics are much deeper (so I think) than their first album, and the music displays a greater range with the synth becoming a lot more vocal in certain songs. All in all, its a strong album, not quite spectacular, but definitely a keeper.
Stand out Song: "Listening to Freddie Mercury"

9) "Redemption Songs" by Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay can do no wrong in my mind. From the opening strings of their first album, they have had me hooked. Now, nearly ten years later, "Redemption Songs" offers Jars' take on old school hymns, and boy is it good. Since their last album, Jars of Clay has taken on a great bluegrass-y feel to their music that really shines on this album. I just love how you can still feel the age of each song, and yet it is like a fine wine being opened and poured into a brand new glass that makes it look newer, but it still keeps its old, rich flavour. Mmmm mmmm, good.
Stand out Song: "God Will Lift Up Your Head"

8) "Nothing is Sound" by Switchfoot
Go ahead, call Switchfoot sell-outs, I don't care. They still write some dang good music. Although this album doesn't stretch any higher than Switchfoot's previous releases, it is still a strong album with powerful lyrics and head-bopping guitar riffs. The main reason that this album didn't place higher on the countdown was because I have come to expect a lot from this band after the stellar "Learning to Breathe" album, and because they weren't able to rise above this album yet, I have to stick them here at 8.
Stand out Song(s): "Shadow Proves the Sunshine" and "Daisy"

7) "Anthems for the Imperfect" by Number One Gun
This album gets on my list, not because its incredibly deep or anything, but because its just so dang catchy. Katie and I put it in the CD player on a trip once and listened to it 3 times through before changing discs, its just that good. It's just one of those albums that you listen to and really like, but you can't ever express why you like it so much. Well, at least that's how I feel.
Stand out Song: "We Are"

6) "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Soundtrack
The first of two soundtracks to hit my list, the H2G2 soundtrack is filled with little orchestrated pieces that make your toes tap and your mouth turn into a smile. Not to mention the extra songs of "Zaphod Beeblebrox for President" and the lounge version of "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish," all I have to say is that if you loved the books or the movie, this is definitely a must buy album.
Stand out Song(s): "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish" and "Journey of the Sorcerer"

5) "Whatever and Ever, Amen" by Ben Folds Five (re-release with 7 extra songs)
Not only did buying this album introduce me to one of my new favorite artists of all time, but holy crap is it spectacular! Every song on this album is awesome - the lyrics are insightful and witty, and the music blends so well together that it will knock you off your feet. The only reason I didn't rate this album any higher was because I felt that I had to push it back because I discovered it 8 years too late. Warning: this album does have a few curse words, but I still love this album!
Stand out Song(s): (from original album) "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" and "Steven's Last Night in Town" (from extended album) "Theme from Dr. Pyser"

4) "Songs for Silverman" by Ben Folds
Ben's newest album is a return to the piano, drums, and bass set of his old days, and man is this album great. I must say that Ben Folds is probably one of the best songwriters out there today. The piano-driven rock genre is what Ben Folds does best, and this album is really no exception. Many of the reviewers of this album talked about how this is where Ben Folds really grew up and began writing adult songs, and I agree to a point. This album is definitely ages ahead of "Rockin' the Suburbs," but I think that he has always had his life-lessons songs and his comedic songs, and while this album may feature more of the life-lessons, Ben Folds has always been an incredible adult songwriter, and this album proves it to all the naysayers.
Stand out Song: (for me) Landed (for Katie) Gracie

3) "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" soundtrack
Two words: John Williams. I bought this album a couple of weeks before I saw the movie and it did nothing but excite me. The main theme of Star Wars is probably one of the most easily recognizable bits of music ever written, and its all because of Williams. Just by listening to this album, I get all the excitement and the rushes of watching the movie, just by imagining what is going on by the cues in the music. The "Battle of the Heroes" is probably my favorite piece of the entire prequel trilogy music, next to "Duel of the Fates." However, the truly best part of this album is the Finale and End Credits music, which wasn't played in the theaters (to my great disappointment). This song not only brings in the themes for Luke and Leia, but it ends with the Throne Room music from A New Hope, and listening to that whole song really brings tears to my eyes. It's that good.
Stand out Song: "A New Hope and End Credits"

2) "La Loop" by Riley Armstrong
Riley Armstrong is my favorite Canadian of all time. I love his folksy sound and the way he writes his songs. This album continues his vein of instant classics. All the songs on this album make Katie dance, and any album that can make her dance with every song must be good. For me, the faith questions/commentary that Riley introduces just hit me every time, always able to touch me wherever I am in my faith journey. And that's definitely saying something, considering how much I've been changing faith-wise over the past few years. This is definitely an incredible album that I have completely fallen for! Rock on, Riley!
Stand out Song: "Melting" (little p.s., you can listen to the entire album at www.rileyarmstrong.com)

1) "The Everglow" by Mae
You knew it would be here. I've been trying to talk up this album ever since its release and the first time I heard it riding back from Newnan with Ryan and its rise to the album of the spring break mission trip. This album is #1 not only because of the outstanding songs, but because it is one of the few albums out there that plays out completely as an album, telling a story (guided along by the pictures in the accompanying CD booklet) and flowing together so well, that it took me a while before I was really able to distinguish where one song ended and another began. All I have to say is that not only is this album the best of 2005, but it is one of my favorite albums of all time! If you like music, you need to listen to this... now!
Stand out Song: I really like "Anything" and "The Sun and the Moon," but the whole album is so good, I have to listen to the whole thing.

And there you have it. Do you agree? Tell me in the comments. Next week, I think it will be my favorite games of '05, followed by movies, but I haven't really decided yet,
Love and Peace!!

Long time

Well, Katie and I just got a new computer last Thursday! It is wonderful. Not only can I now work on more than one thing at a time without the computer crapping out on me, it also digitally records tv shows that I can later burn onto DVDs. Also, I can finally play Morrowind on my own computer!!!! Woohoo!!
Flag football season is over, and it went pretty well, I had to miss a lot of games due to work, but I was at least able to play about half of the season. Speaking of, work is still going pretty well, although I don't know how much longer I'll be there since I need to figure out what I really want to do with my life.
Let see, since the last time I wrote, we went up to NC to visit Dan and G, which was really nice, and then last weekend, we went to Katie's parents for a very relaxing weekend.
I dressed up as Leon S. Kennedy for halloween, but only 2 people recognized me... how sad.
I have fallen in love with Trigun and Naruto, two anime tv shows, one about cowboys and one about ninjas (two of the greatest things ever).
Okay, I'm just grasping at straws now, so I'll come back some other time with more to say.
Godspeed.

Dandy-Lion is back

That's right, BSU flag football has returned. We just had our third game today and our record is 2-1. Not bad at all, but we are getting better and will hopefully come out on top this season.
Work is staying pretty much the same, although I'm really glad to have fall break off this weekend, so Katie and I can head up to Dan and G's with my mom and dad. It should be really fun, and I'll hopefully get to play some X-Men Legends II.
If anyone out there has netflix, get the British version of The Office. That show is so dang funny! It makes Katie feel awkward because of how the people are so dumb, but dang is it good.
For those who care, Smash Bros. has been taken to a new level with our facebook group and our weekly (well, really almost daily lately) meetings.
Man, I don't have much to say.... I'll have to update later when I have a few more things.
Godspeed.

Facebook is the Devil

Yes, it has sucked me in.... and I blame it all on one Ryan "Raunchy" Snider. It is nice to look at the profiles for all those people from high school though. I like that aspect, and I like the fact that we have a Super Smash Bros: Melee group in which we can coordinate our schedules for the best nights of play.
Work has been going pretty well, I like serving ice cream and talking to nice people, but I really hate people who act like they know how to do my job better than I do and tell me that I didn't give them enough ice cream or other stupid things. Anyhoo, I got the new Switchfoot cd last week, and I must say that its pretty good. Not the greatest cd of the year (that still goes to The Everglow by Mae), but its still good. The first four songs and the last song are probably the best ones on the album.
The computer is finally fixed, so I'm back online ready to play Diablo with Dan and Kent at night. Katie is whining that now that I have the computer back she never gets my attention because of facebook and my websites and such, but I think she's just a silly girl and is sitting right behind me and I give her all of my attention any time she wants it.
I read the book "Fast Food Nation" a couple of weeks ago, and while it was really interesting, it really doesn't make you want to ever eat McDonalds again. Now, I'm back to the realms of Fantasy and reading "Eragon" and the sequel "Eldest," both of which are really good reads.
However, if you have the chance and can find it anywhere the must-read for everyone is Bone (preferably the one-volume edition if you don't want to buy 13 separate volumes). This graphic novel is some of the best story-telling of all time, detailing the story of the Bone cousins (Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone), as they have been run out of their hometown because of Phoney's inappropriate dealings and they find themselves in some mysterious valley, where they wind up getting caught up in a huge adventure to restore the kingdom and destroy the king of Locusts. Anyway, it is awesome, just ask Chuck.
I'm out for now, Godspeed.

Dreeeeeaam, Dream Dream Dream

So, over the past few months, there has been a recurring character in my dreams - a mall. This mall is normally a refuge that I run to after being chased by vampires or zombies or whatever the baddies are in the current dream. However, the mall is always dangerous and always completely dark outside of a few lights within some of the cooler stores. My brother is frequently there with me, as well as Katie and friends from here at school, and we normally go to the large arcade within, but there is always a sense of foreboding as if something is waiting to pop out at us.
Last night, I had ducked into the mall after narrowly escaping a group of nasty women vampires on the third floor at the airport. Luckily, Katie, Dan, G, Chris, Chris and I all were on our bikes and made it to the plane, which landed in Brazil right next to... the mall. I just don't understand, maybe it doesn't mean anything, but is just a landmark to allow my dreams to be a continuing story-arc.
Which brings me to some questions. Can dreams be a continuing story? Does the subconcious mind keep a sort of bookmark where you last work up? Is there a set storyline that alters slightly through daily encounters? Do the beginnings of dreams start to be realized while we are still awake?! AAAAHHHH!
Anyhoo, Bruster's is going well, I enjoy the people I work with, although I wish I had some more time for Nintendo. My computer is completely out of commission and hopefully will be fixed this week, or Katie and I might have to break down and buy a new one. Okay, I guess I don't have anything else to say. Hopefully I'll be back online soon!
Godspeed.

Backlash

So, I see my blog has started up a fight between two readers in the comments arena. I, for one, have always been against the former Chairman and am even the one who reduced his station to that of Janitor within our Monastic Order. I also am a "T-Stick" man through and through, and those (ahem, Chuck) who use the C-Stick have no place near me.
For the rest of you, school is starting back up next week, so I've got all my freshmen moved in, and I've been working hard up at Brusters to make some money to live off of for the rest of the year. LOST comes out on DVD next week, so if you missed watching it last year, you can pick up the DVD and catch up before the season premiere on Sept 21 (of which we will be having a party in the Student Center for those of you on campus.
Also, we have been witnessing a revival of Super Smash Bros. Melee within Boatwright dorm, and I hope it continues, due to the fact that this game is so good, it can never die. Also, that is where the "T-Stick" and "C-Stick" references come from (C-sticking is basically cheating almost as much as spamming or scraaahing).
I haven't updated recently due to the fact that a virus has crippled my computer and I am waiting to get it fixed, or just to break down and buy a new one (which Katie and I will do soon anyway). Well, I gotta get back to my room so that we can watch Constantine.
Godspeed.

Effiness

Yeah, so after a wonderful vacation time in Mobile and North Carolina, Katie and I have returned home to begin getting ready for the school year. I went in to Bruster's today and found out that they still want me, so I begin training next tuesday! Yippee, Income!!
On the downside of all this, our computer is really starting to annoy me to no end, and although I'm trying as hard as I can to do such a simple thing as just reformatting the dang thing, it even resists me there. I just want it to last one more year, and then Katie and I can afford to buy a new computer and I can be happy.
I've had some great times recently discussing the new Harry Potter book, it provides hours of speculation for even the most casual of HP readers. My mom should have it done within the next week or so, so I hope to hear from her soon, and Chuck is borrowing my copy to get done whilst he is in town. For those of you who doubt and say "Harry Potter is for children" or "Harry Potter is unintelligent, shallow, and boring" or even "Harry Potter is satanic." Pick up the books, I dare you to read them. If you don't like it, fine by me, just give them a try. They just get better as they go on, as the characters grow up, they become deeper and much more three dimensional as you have lived their adolescent lives with them and see how they grow from the challenges that they have faced and the turmoil in their world. As they become adults, you see how their reactions change as the world around them grows darker and they begin to see how it truly affects them. As for the evil of HP, it can no more be construed as evil than Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia. Its all fantasy and stories. You draw from each what you are expecting to get from it. If you go into a story thinking it is bad, more than likely, it will end up being a bad story to you. Anyhoo, I have to get to bed, tomorrow's an early mornin..... no wait, I don't have to wake up, mwahahaha.
Godspeed.

Doing Nothing

Yup, nothing has been happening recently. Katie and I are currently in North Carolina visiting Dan and G, after a few days in Mobile. Harry Potter 6 is out and awesome, but I don't want to discuss it here, for those of you who have not read it yet. If you need someone to talk to about it, just drop me a line.
I also saw War of the Worlds last week (and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the week before, but we won't go there). Anyway, WotW was pretty awesome and definitely needs to be seen on the big screen, the only qualm that I have with it is the same as everyone else... the end. Once you see it, you'll know.
Hmmmm, what else? Well, really nothing that I can think of. I've been trying to think of things to write about, but I haven't had anything really earth shaking yet. Hopefully I'll get back soon with a better blog for ya'll, but until then, keep cool, cuz its really hot outside.
Godspeed.

I'm Back

It's been so long, but that's only because nothing (and I really mean nothing) has been happening until about last week. Last week, I went and saw Land of the Dead with Chris, Dr. Slay, and Dr. Wilson and it was pretty dang good. It was nice to see a good zombie movie with other zombie lovers. Then, this weekend, Katie and I went to Jared's mom's place in Birmingham for the fourth, and it was really fun. Anywho, this week has been pretty relaxing as I wait for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to come into my life (less than a week now).
I also invested in a Nintendo DS this week, and I love it. For those who don't know, its a handheld gaming system with two-screens, the bottom being a touch screen. Its been really fun to play and makes it so that I can play nintendo while I watch tv at the same time! I also finally beat Resident Evil 4 on professional mode this week, which is quite an accomplishment I must say. Today, Katie, Chris M., and I are going up to Atlanta to see Cake (for free), and next week we get to see Weezer for free too.
I'll try to update more frequently next week, but I have to go to Wal-Mart now.
Godspeed.

Batman Begins is Fantastic

Wow.... Katie and I went with a couple of friends last night to see Batman, and it exceeded my already incredibly high expectations. Simply put, the movie is incredible. It takes the theme of fear and just devotes the entire movie to it. Whether its Bruce's fear of Bats, to his use of fear against the criminals, it is incredibly well done and had me very creeped out during large portions of the movie. Scarecrow is amazingly done by Cillian Murphy (who I already love from 28 Days Later), but I just wish I could have seen a bit more of him. I don't know what else to say, the pace is great, they spend plenty of time setting up the backstory of Bruce Wayne and make sure you understand his reasons for becoming Batman. It is great, the movie is long, but it feels great, practically the entire last hour of the movie is pure adrenaline and has you completely pumped when you leave the theater. Its kind of like the last hour of Episode III, only with better dialogue and a much creepier feel. Go see this movie, please. It's awesome!
Godspeed.

Harry Potter and Nintendo

Well, its officialy hype time for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 29 days until we find out what the cryptic title reveals. Some believe that the half-blood prince is not a person who is of half-blood, but in fact the ruler of half-bloods, which tends to lean towards the idea of someone like Dumbledore. On the other hand, if it is indeed a person who is a half-blood, it could refer to many people, including Hagrid as my personal favorite pick. Aside from this question, it has been revealed by J.K. Rowling that someone extremely close to Harry will die. After much forum cruising and deliberating on my own, I have decided that that person will be..... Severus Snape! I think that because throughout the entire series he has played the stooge to Harry and his friend's hatred, whereas it is slowly being revealed as to his true heroic nature (his probable infiltration of the Death Eaters, his need to prove himself to Dumbledore as a capable professor), anyways, I think it all leads to Snape coming out of his shell within this book and showing his true heroic side and probably die doing something to save Harry or Dumbledore, or possibly after revealing his status to Voldemort and standing up to the Dark Lord, with disastrous results. What do ya'll think? If you've read the books, tell me and we can all enjoy finding out the true answers on July 16th!!

As for Nintendo, I promised that I would write about this last time, and the time has finally come. Rise up, brothers and sisters! You may recognize that Sony and Microsoft have made gaming machines, but stand and recognize the true king of all gaming companies, Nintendo! To begin with, Nintendo has been in the game longer than both of these companies and still thrives. It holds the handheld market by the hand and continues to lead it to greater innovations and games (the PSP truly has nothing on the DS in my humble opinion). As for the next gen console wars, the Revolution is where its really going to be. Sure, it may be smaller and may not pack as much of a punch as the XBOX 360 and the PS3, but its been proven again and again that good graphics aren't the only thing that make games great. Plus, the fact that the Revolution will offer the ability to download and play games from EVERY SINGLE PREVIOUS NINTENDO SYSTEM is completely unbeatable. Heck, the controllers are also supposed to blow us out of the water and they haven't even been revealed yet (they don't want the ideas stolen like every other great innovation that Nintendo has had - the Rumble ability for instance). However, my main reason for remaining faithful to the Nintendo enterprise is simple - GOOD GAMES(yes, I know that I want an XBOX, but that's just for a few games that have slipped out of the big N's grasp). Sure, the PS2 and XBOX may have thousands and thousands of titles compared to the relatively small library of the GameCube, but the GameCube has much more quality over the quantity of games. I'll bet that if you took an average score of every game for each separate system and then compared the systems, Nintendo would definitely come out on top. The sheer amount of awesome 1st-Party games that Nintendo releases are all amazing titles (Metroid Primes, Smash Bros., Mario Sports titles, and so on), its just incredible the titles available on this system. Okay, I've spent enough time on this.... tell me what you think. Am I right or what?

As for real life, I'm still looking for a job, and I think I finally might have something that will actually come through for me, thanks to Alvin - Bruster's! I go in for an interview on Monday, and we'll find out more then. Also, Chris Wiley and I finally beat X-Men Legends this morning, so we are going to move on to Baldur's Gate (a personal favorite of me and Chuck) since he is able to come over and play most mornings while he is in summer class. The apartment is finally getting done and we have only a couple more things to do before its all ready! Yeah, I think its time for me to get on back to more Resident Evil 4 (I'm playing on professional mode and its harder than anything).
Godspeed.

Decent response, so I suppose I'll keep this up for Chris Wiley

Well, the wedding and the honeymoon have come to an end and I'm back here in our apartment looking for employment. The wedding was quite wonderful, although I find it kind of stressful to have a whole lot of people clamoring for your attention and taking hundreds of pictures..... argh. Yeah, but aside from that, it went over well, and I think people enjoyed the wedding and the reception.
After the wedding Katie and I went down to Mobile for mom's ordination. It was pretty fun just to hang out with my brother and his wife and it was really great to see Grady again (one of our friends from way way back in the Texas days). However, the hotel Katie and I stayed at got the funny idea to deactivate our keycard when we returned at about midnight after mom's ceremony thing and since the person who was supposed to be at the desk wasnt there, we were forced to go back to my parents' house and sleep on the pull-out couch - not very romantic I must say. Hotel aside, it was a good time.
The cabin for our honeymoon was really great and we got to catch up on all the movies that we had been wanting to see - Life Aquatic, I Heart Huckabees, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and so on. Also, I read Bruce Campbell's new book - Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way, and it is so good! Bruce Campbell can really write a great book as seen in his previous autobiography, but this little romp through fiction is just awesome, I loved it.
Now, Katie is off at work and the Career Center is empty today and since Katie has our car, I'm stuck here in the apartment. I tried to put up our curtains and some of the other things we bought, but just about everything we got was the wrong size! Woohoo! Now we have to make trips to return stuff and get things that fit our cramped spaces. Okay, I think I've said enough for now, stay tuned next time for a piece I've been planning for a while about the superiority of Nintendo.
Godspeed.

I'm Pissed

So, here I am trying to relax after finishing the entire Star Wars saga tonight (it's true, Episode III really enhances the entire series and makes it all the better), anyways, back to what happened. I decided that I would try and make up Katie and my wedding playlist on my mp3 player, and I had it all finished, like 45 awesome songs, when I accidentally put in in the wrong playlist. No big deal, says I, so I drag them to the real playlist, then I try to delete these songs off of this wrong playlist, when all of a sudden, it deletes them completely off of my mp3 player! NOW, I have to go and find which songs I had and then find each and every cd that they came off of and then reload them onto my player and then onto the playlist. The problem? Some of these songs I don't have on cd and are only on my computer back at school, other songs... I have deleted off there too, now I am completely pissed off. I hate stupid technology.
On another note, I'm glad to see that Mr. Wiley reads my blog, it would really be nice to see if others of you read this.... that means I would really like to see some comments, it's hard for me to know if there really is any point to writing these if no one really reads them. Therefore, I think I will take Mr. Wiley's example (in one of your previous posts, Chris) and say that if I do not get a certain number of comments/responses within 10 days, this blog just might end. There's no point in me writing if no one reads, so there you have it, this blog is in your hands, do with it what you will.
Godspeed.
"I'm drowning in my sleep."
- UnderOath

Done and Episode III

Well, it sure has been a while since I updated, but I had to go ahead and finish out my college career. Yes, thanks to Dr. Shirley and my A in Renaissance and Renascences, I was able to graduate Cum Laude! It's great being done, even if I don't quite have a job, I should soon, because if the library doesn't ever get back to me, I'm going to be spending some time up in the Career Center with Diana until I get a good job. Yeah, less than two weeks to the wedding, it's coming up really fast now!
The best thing about the past week was definitely the release of the final Star Wars movie! If you haven't seen it, it is pretty incredible! Finally, there is a prequel that captures the awesomeness of the original trilogy. Plus, there is just so much within that movie that ties everything together, it's so wonderful. Not only that, but it really toys with your emotions! You can't help but feel for Anakin and you just want him to make all the right decisions even though you know that he won't! I really can't talk much about my other favorite parts because it would definitely ruin the movie for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Just trust me and go see it as soon as you can! It really is a great movie, even if it wasn't a Star Wars movie, it stands alone as awesome!
Now that I'm at home, I get to spend some time rocking RE4 on the big screen! I love it! Speaking of, I think I'll get back to it, and maybe start up a farm on Harvest Moon.
Godspeed.
PS Check out the new Underoath cd, its fantastic!

The Wittiest Senior finished his final day of classes!

Yes, not only was I voted the Wittiest Senior by some online vote thing (in which I promptly put my name in every catergory), and I actually won! The best part? I skipped the stupid luncheon thing so that I could eat my quesadillas and watch Empire Strikes Back with Jared and Katie!! Woohoo!
So, today was pretty killer. I had a presentation, the in-class portion of my Intro to Christianity final, and a book review of The 12th Century Renaissance for my history class. Yeah, so now I'm completely done with classes forever!!! All I have to do is three take home finals (I've already completed my one for Christian Worship) and I'm done with my academic work here at LaGrange College. And for those of you who keep asking and don't know, no I am not going to seminary nor do I forsee it in my future (and yes I am Nostradamus). Anyhoo, we've got Star Wars a week from tonight (at midnight that is) and my wedding is coming all the quicker with only 24 days left! Wow. Now if only I could find that elusive first job.
By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I love Ben Folds. He is just amazing, and I really don't think I've heard a bad song by him yet (I haven't heard it yet, Chris). Yeah, so if I can just push through this weekend of finals and make it out on the otherside alive, I'll be good to go! Okay, I'm gonna try and get a bit of my Intro final out of the way. Peace.
Godspeed.

This is my last week of college!

Yup, as long as I keep on top of all these finals that are coming up on me, I will be done by this time next week! Yea! It's an exciting concept, but it also kind of sucks because now I have to find a stupid job. I just called all the places I applied and still nothing. I hate it.
So, on a positive note, this weekend was great. Chuck and I went and saw Kingdom of Heaven on friday and it was pretty good, much better than I expected. Then while we were down in Columbus, Katie and Noelle met us down there and I got some good shopping in, getting a few ties and a nice purple button-up shirt. Then on saturday, Katie and I went yard sale shopping with Jared, Ben, and Mary, and I got my Quesadilla maker!!! I was excited! It makes very delicious quesadillas too. Then, on saturday night, during the showing of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on ABC, I got to see the teaser trailers for Narnia AND for the new Harry Potter movie!! Woohoo. Cap it all off with Brewsters last night, then a great hang out on Jared's porch with Katie, Margie, Noelle, Chuck, and Jared made the weekend great. All of this combined with the fact that I actually got ahead of myself and finished my worship service and started on my final for that class means I'm doing great in the world of school (now if only I had the same luck in getting a job).
Since all my classes are cancelled today, I have plenty of time to work on my finals and I'm hoping to get at least one done by tonight, so that I might even be done with finals by this friday, which would mean an entire week of relaxing before graduation! Therefore, I must return to the grind so that I can get this stuff done as soon as I can.
Godspeed.

Call us geniuses, but only if you must

So, Chris Wiley and I are complete dorks. Not only did we have an argument about Ninja Turtles, but we invented a fifth turtle. Just as he placed it into his blog for posterity, I thought that ya'll might like to see it, it is quite hilarious. (My words are in blue, chris' are in red).
NateDawg403: so, what colour slap bracelet did you get?
wileycoyote1313: green, duh...only the greatest color in the world
NateDawg403: whateva, i got purple
wileycoyote1313: well...that is the color of donatello...so i cannot fault you
NateDawg403: eff donatello, Leonardo was the greatest
wileycoyote1313: ah, HELL NO! Bo Staff has the better reach and focuses on both non-lethal and lethal attacks making Donatello not only smarter but more humanitarian. Leo had to be extra careful with his freakin' swords because he couldn't just tap someone on the head...he'd split their skull. Brains over Barbarianism anyday!
NateDawg403: did you just say brains over barbarianism??????? the sword is the most delicate of all weapons available, only the most skilled can use one as effectively as a ninja, and because Leo was against killing people anyways (he was a hippie vegetarian) he was amazingly apt with his blades and never killed a single enemy
wileycoyote1313: yeah, that's what they want you to believe. But behind the scenes there was Titian the fifth turtle. Unfortunately during a training bout (infused by a little envy as Titian was the original leader), Leo cut straight through Titian's half-shell slaying his brother-in-arms on the spot. Splinter immediately commanded that Leo's swords be blunted, and fearing another bout of envy Splinter put Leo in charge to appease his ego. Damn you Leo! Titian did not deserve to die!!!
NateDawg403: that Titian story is overrated, everyone knows that he taunted Leo constantly and poisoned Leo's blades without his knowing and then pressed the blade into his own soft part of his shell and with his dying words blamed it on the poor innocent Leo
wileycoyote1313: THAT'S A LIE! TITIAN WAS A SAINT!!! Leo spread those lies to cover his ass. Unfortunately, Leo became too popular before the truth came out and now everyone believes his damn cover story. One day the truth will be revealed and Titian shall be avenged. Mark my words, Leonardo will die.
NateDawg403: TITIAN was an Adulterous bastard!!!!!!! he claimed to be in a loving relationship with donatello (the ethics of that will not be discussed here), but he consistently cheated on him with April, and therefore his word is impossible to trust, I just dont believe a word of what that traitorous turtle ever said! Leo was the one and only saint of the turtles, Donatello had his intellectualis and ego, everyone knows the habits of mikey and his "partying" and raph had the anger.... we wont even get into splinters problems
wileycoyote1313: HOW DARE YOU! It was Leonardo's constant biting remarks toward Titian and Donatello's relationship that lead Titian to feel the need to prove himself as a man...er...turtle. And it was Leo who suggested April to cheat on. Leo caused the rift between Titian and Donatello and constantly uses their "improper" relationship to exert control over poor Donnie. I have nothing more to say to you...I am too upset. Good day, my friend...if I can even call you that anymore!!!
For those of you still reading, I hope you got a chuckle out of this because it made me laugh all day long. I thank you, Chris for a great conversation! I'll put up another post this weekend discussing the amazing-ness of the new Star Wars soundtrack!
Godspeed

Hitchhiker's is out, and its dang good

As you can see, its been a great weekend. Friday afternoon, I went with Katie and Beth Randall to see Hitchhiker's and I was just delirious with joy afterwards. It does not follow the book, so those of you who have read it (i.e. all two of you) be warned, but also know that it was not meant to be the same, Douglas Adams believed that each incarnation of the story should be changed and therefore it is.
Anywho, the movie is terrific, its incredibly witty and it definitely has the feel of the books. The only thing I did not like was the audience I was with, because they didn't laugh when it was really hilarious, and it wound up being just Katie, Beth, and I laughing at some of the best parts. The Guide itself is just perfect and was probably my favorite character in the whole movie. Other than that the (spoilers, highlight to read) the romance between Arthur and Trillian seemed a little forced, and the recreation of the world was kind of cheap, although I did like the fact that Arthur chose to leave anyway. Aside from those small qualms, I loved the movie and I can't wait to see how they do the Restaurant at the End of the Universe!
Yesterday, I went to ATL with Chris, Katie, Andrew, and Debbie and saw Jump, Little Children which was an awesome show. Wow, I just cant think of too much to say, my mind is so Hitchhiker's central that I can't really get off of it. We've only got a week and a half left of classes then a week of finals and I'm done with my college career! Woohoo! Now, I just have to finish up on my job searching so thats I'm ready for the summer.
Okay, I have to do a little more homework for this week (notice I said this week, all I really ahve to do is prepare for my worship service and do some preliminary stuff for my finals!)
Godspeed!

Quick response to comments

Dear friend from Blue Lake, I know that a trilogy is three, that is what makes it funny. Its a joke... get it?
And Chris W., it seems that Chuck has been infected with Las Plagas, he has been acting sick recently, and I think we might have to "take care" of the situation, if you get my drift. Woohoo!! Comments!! They make my day!
Godspeed

Wow, no one has commented recently, that makes me sad

What happened to my regulars? I'm looking for some comments people!
Anywho, nothing much has happened since my last blog, but I just finished my fourth site visit paper for Christian Worship and I decided to reward myself before starting doing even more research for my paper on Suger (he was the Abbot of St. Denis from 1122 - 1151) and if any of you know anything about him, aside from what I just wrote, please be so kind as to inform me in a 12 - 15 page essay in which you discuss his Mysticism of Light and his administration of the monastery. But, after that paper, I'm really pretty much home free, with just finals and a worship project to do, I'll be a graduated man.
Speaking of which, in my search for jobs, I am applying at three places, EBGames, Bookland, and the library. If any of these really stands out to you, it would be nice to hear from you. I am just getting a quick job like this for now, since I will have RD responsibilities in the upcoming year, and I would like to take some time and try to get published a little bit to get my writing started and have a base to begin from when Katie becomes my sugar-mama and I write while she works! Yeah, so we are only 6 and a half weeks from the wedding!! woohoo!
On a more serious note, its time to educate you in the world of Douglas Adams in order that you can see "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" next friday and join me in the joy of one of the best books (and series - its a trilogy of 5 books - of books) ever written. You see, the story is about Arthur Dent and everything that happens to him after Earth is suddenly destroyed to create a hyperspace bypass through the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy. Anyway, the humor of the book is fast and outrageous. It will have you rolling on the ground in laughter at some points. I keep thinking of good words to describe how great this book is, but there really isn't a word that would do justice. I'm dead serious in saying that if you haven't read this classic (the radio drama - which was first - recently celebrated its 25th anniversary), it is a must read for everyone, its got depth, humor, science fiction, action, humor, and a manically depressed robot named Marvin. Also, if you like detective novels with a twist, Douglas Adams also wrote two books starring the great Dirk Gently. Entitled "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" and "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul," these books will again enrapture you into the genius of Douglas Adams. If you get through these and want some non-fiction, he's got "Last Chance to See," in which Douglas tells of his travels to see some of the most endangered species in the world one last time. Aside from these, there are the three books that are hard as crap to find and so I haven't gotten to read them yet (and would make awesome wedding gifts - hint hint), these are "The Meaning of Liff," "The Deeper Meaning of Liff," and "Starship Titanic" (which really isn't so rare, but I just haven't had the opportunity to buy it yet - and it isn't really technically by Douglas Adams). And for completions sake, I must mention "The Salmon of Doubt," which was compiled after his death and contains all of his uncompleted writings and some essays and newspaper articles.
Wow, that went longer than expected. If you wind up loving Douglas Adams, soon I will have to tell you about Piers Anthony's Xanth series and Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, which both have the same sense of humor and great stories. But for now, I must go to bed for the first time in like 4 weeks before 230 in the morning!
Godspeed
"I demand that I may, or may not, be Broomfondel"
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - see I told you it was great!

Sham Bam Bamina

Well, its a beautiful saturday afternoon, and here I am stuck in my room on duty! At least it gave me time to watch one of my favorite videos - Sockbaby! If you want to see some hilarious kung-fu action, I recommend you drive that mouse on over to www.sockbaby.com and watch the three episodes (it totals about 15-20 minutes), it will definitely change your life as it did mine. Anyway, yesterday I turned in a paper, took a test, and in exchange got a paper and a midterm back! I did really well on my history midterm, so it was a happy day.
By the way, I think I mentioned it before, but if I didn't, the new Mae cd ("The Everglow") is incredible and is a must listen! Oh, and in my previous upcoming events blog, I forgot to mention that the new Dave Matthews Band cd comes out in June, the new Riley Armstrong cd in May, the new Emery cd in like Aug, and I get to go to a Jump, Little Children concert in 2 weeks with Katie, Chris, AJ and Debbie! And in conjunction with those upcoming events, I pre-ordered my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yesterday!
On a side note, it is a very tempting notion for me to move out of the country to somewhere in Europe (like Sweden maybe). I just think they have some good things going for them with the manditory 5 weeks of vacation minimum, the great health care and education deals. I mean, sure its higher taxes, but I don't mind because basically everything is taken care of. I know this is getting political, so I think I'll just continue on... if it upsets you, too bad.
Our country has severe problems, especially considering that "one in every six American children still falls below the poverty line in America - and one in three children of color" (Jim Wallis' God's Politics). This is sad, considering we are the wealthiest nation in history, it makes me wonder why we don't use our power to help people who need it, especially when we are so worried about paying more taxes, I say go ahead and tax us richer people in order to establish a more efficient health care system and a greater help for those who are suffering. Crap, there is just a lot more to talk about, but I can't fit it in here because its already fully explained in Wallis' book, which needs to be read by everyone who considers themselves to vote for moral (and religious) reasons. Our current leading institution (or pretty much any leaders of this country) just is lacking in halping the poor, especially when they claim to be a Christian leader and that was pretty much Jesus' message. Anyway, I've ranted enough for now, I think I'm going to go shoot some zombies.
Godspeed

little side note

While talking to Linden this afternoon, I had quite a realization... the next few months are packed with incredible goodness. Let me lay it out for you.
3 weeks = Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie release (one of my favorite books of all time hitting the big screen, Heck yes!)
4 weeks = Classes end for my final semester of my final year of college
5 weeks = Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith release. Who is not excited about this movie? I mean come on, if you aren' t then you have severe problems that need to be discussed immediately.
7 weeks = MY WEDDING!! Yippee, I'm so ready for this, I can't wait, I mean there aren't really words that can express how excited I am for this!!
9 weeks = Batman Begins release. After the other four pieces of crap, this movie might actually get the Batman franchise into good hands and turn it around into something enjoyable.
ALSO that week = Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince release! We are nearing the end of the saga, and they just keep getting better. I can't wait to just sit down and rock this book!
Plus Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie will be released this year, and if each movie keeps getting better like they have been, this one should be awesome!
There are some more things, but I can't quite think of them now, so let me jump down to the final big thing of this year...
December = Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe release!! One of the best books ever written is getting the big screen treatment and everything released so far looks great!
So, there you have it a few reasons to make it all the way through this year! I finished one of my three papers last night, only 2 more to go! Woohoo!
Godspeed

Great week.... Interesting day

Well, the third annual BSU Spring Break Mystery Mission Trip went off without a hitch and was absolutely wonderful. We went up to Boone, North Carolina, where we helped out with the Operation Christmas Child stuff by opening boxes, emptying them of other boxes, then placing those boxes into more boxes, which were in turn opened and sorted through before they were placed into their final box! As you can clearly see, there were a lot of boxes involved in this week. Anywho, we stayed in an awesome cabin (its not skiing season, so it was pretty cheap) and inside this cabin was an original NES, complete with awesome games like the original TMNT, Tetris, Contra, and R.C. Pro Am!!! That was a definite plus. Plus, I was able to buy not only a new cd (although its not really a new cd, since it is 8 years old). It is Ben Folds Five's "Whatever and Ever Amen" album, and boy is is just dandy! I really like the way he rocks that piano! Well, the week was great and I could talk about it for a long time, but if you really want to hear about it, just send me an IM or a call, and I'd be happy to talk.
Things changed when we got home.... As we arrived, we got into the Interfaith Center, only to find that it had been ransacked and our piggies full of money (about $500) had been ripped out of their locked cabinet and torn apart. Not only that, but tonight, as I was sitting here about to start writing this blog, I got a call from Quincy, our campus minister, telling me that his office had also been broken into, so I got to meet for a second time with the police and re-explain what we had found in the Interfaith Center, and helped them to find whatever evidence we could. So, yeah, that was lots of fun.
On the plus side, I got to watch my taped episode of LOST, and it was amazing, I would tell you more, but it would definitely spoil some stuff for those of you who are trying to catch up. Also, Arrested Development was on tonight, and that always brings me some joy! On the negative side, I've got 2 papers due this week and another in the week after, so I get to spend plenty of lovely time here at my computer working.
Oh yeah! I beat Resident Evil 4 and am confident in saying that I would have gladly sold my firstborn child for this game, it is that dang good. Plus, Katie got me Mario Power Tennis for my birthday and now I have a new multiplayer game to play with the guys! Woohoo! Also, there is only 5 weeks left of school, and less than 3 weeks until Hitchhiker's hits the theaters!! Ok, I'd better get a bit more work done before bed.
Godspeed.
"Give me my money back, give me my money back... Noelle"
- Ben Folds Five (with a slight change)

Sin City is awesome

Yup, it sure is. After a rough week full of papers, and a midterm (but also deliciously filled with Resident Evil 4, but more on that later), I went with Ryan and Chris to see Sin City. First, we had to run by Circuit City and pick up the new Mae cd, which is so amazingly beautiful, I can't believe it. Anywho, as the movie started, I just knew it would rock, and it didn't dissappoint. The cinematography is spectacular, I mean, the previews look good, but the movie looks even better. Also, the stories are just pitch perfect, each one hits dead on with the grittiness of the city and each character is brilliantly played. Note, for those who now want to see this movie - be warned, there is lots of violence and a dab of nudity, but they all really fit within the story, and aren't exactly gratuitous, its just like the comic book. Anyway, after that awesome movie, Ryan and I went by Wal-Mart for the midnight release of all the new Star Wars toys, and I got an Obi-Wan Unleashed, and it looks super snazzy.
Then today, after finally getting more than 6 hours of sleep, Katie and I dropped our bikes off to get new back tires (the back ones were slashed by some buttmuncher), and then we spen the afternoon/evening hanging out with one of the coolest guys around - Jared. We went to eat at the Christian Chicken place (Jim Bob's), then we went to the art building and watched The Incredibles on the projector and surround sound. Man, do I love that movie, and the special features just make it even better!! Go see it now, if you haven't, or I will haunt you until you do.
Ok, now its time to devote to the most amazing game that I have played since Legend of Zelda: Windwaker (shut up naysayers, that Zelda game is awesome, and you only say it sucks because you haven't played it). Anyways, Resident Evil 4 opens up with greatness, and just keeps on getting better. Whether I'm freaking out as a man (or woman) runs towards me with a chainsaw, or whether I'm blasting the mess out of the "zombies" (although they aren't quite zombies, they are people infected with Las Plagas, so there Chris, go be your stupid pro-undead self, while I shoot them), this game is a complete blast! I have already logged over 12 hours into it, and I can't wait to find out what happens next. I also think that once I beat it, I'm just going to hop right back into it and play it over again, it is that good! So, if you have a GameCube (its coming out on ps2 later this year) go pick this game up, I love it! Well, I have to go set my clocks forward and play some Resident Evil!
Godspeed
PS, today is my birthday!

my first Movie Festival

Well, this past wednesday, I headed out to Auburn to visit Chris and go to this Student Film Festival that they were holding there. It was pretty cool to see (some of) the films, especially the one where the kid smacked a guy in the face with a snowball (end film) and the "horror" movie with the dead trapper who haunts random people. But, the best part of the night (aside from watching all the awesome Homestar Runner dvd stuff) was the free stuff that they gave us, including a shirt, frisbee, pen, pad, and candy! Woohoo! Aside from that, we had a really great time at BSU on Thursday, discussing the use of music in worship (go to www.christianitytoday.com and read the article on the 9.5 theses on worship), it was really good, especially since it didn't explode like I thought it might.
Also, I have been helping to conduct RA interviews with Dean Slay and Ms. Wilson (the RD of Henry) in order to make a wise decision about who to pick for my group next year. It will be pretty rough to make the final decision because I have friends going through the process, but I have to do it. Also, I found out this week that Jump, Little Children will be in ATL on April 30th, so I'm definitely headed out to that concert.
Clone Wars season 2/3 (depending on your opinion) started tonight, and boy does that freaking rock! If Episode 3 is anywhere as good as these cartoon shorts, we can have hope! Well, I've got to get back to playing Morrowind and thinking about the papers that I have to get started on for next week! Until then, I remain..... Nate
Godspeed

On the way home

Well, I am sitting at a computer desk in a hotel on my dad's laptop (woohoo for Wi-Fi access). For those of you who read and didn't know, my grandmother passed away on thursday and I have spent this weekend with my family going up to Ohio. It was a 16 hour drive all friday, followed by lots of activities throughout the weekend. The funeral itself was very beautiful and both of the pastors who officiated did a wonderful job, it was very emotional, but very good. It was a rough time, but it was good to be back with all of my family (whom I don't see very often at all).
I found out last week that I officially got the RD position for Boatwright hall next year (meaning that I will be the boss and Katie and I get free room and utilities for our first year of marriage). Also last week, the brand new Episode 3 Trailer previewed, and if you missed it, I truly advise that you head to www.starwars.com and check it out right now.
Ok, so right now we are watching Super Nanny, and do you realize how bad kids need to be spanked? I mean seriously, if your child is yelling at you, pop him/her in the bottom. Well, I've got to get to bed soon because we are heading out early tomorrow so I can get on back to school.
Godspeed.

Just so you know

The cover for the new Harry Potter book has been released and it looks super spiffy. Check it out at www.comingsoon.net or www.iharrypotter.net

Arrested Development

Well, I think I've raved enough about LOST, and if you haven't seen it, then I guess you will never be fulfilled and will remain an empty shell for the rest of your life, but if you need something that is as good as LOST and is funny, Arrested Development is for you. Not only does it come on after The Simpsons (which is still a great show after 16 years), but Arrested is consistently hilarious, with little quirks within each show to get me rolling. For instance, the youngest son, Buster has grown to hate his mother, Lucille, and come to love her friend Lucille 2, and just tonight against his mother's wishes, he ran into the ocean despite warnings of a "loose seal" (say it out loud to yourself) and had his hand bitten off. Anyways, if you can make the time (or have TiVo- mom and dad), watch this show!
As for life, everything is going well. Spent the past weekend relaxing and playing Legend of Zelda for GameCube, which I got back from Jeff finally. Oh, yesterday was awesome! Katie and I were on our way back from the library and who should be sitting on a front porch, but the one and only Andrew Johnson! He was visiting Jared (a new professor here at the school) and we wound up hanging out with them for the rest of the afternoon and even going over to Alvin's house and helping him with some yard work and he in turn gave us free Brewster's ice cream!! Woohoo! It was a super afternoon.
School is going well, I have my first test of the semester on Wed. in (wait for it) Intro to Christianity. It looks like it will be soooo hard (much sarcasm). I had a presentation in my History class on Fri, and I think it went well, but Dr. Shirley said he still had more questions to grill me with tomorrow, so hopefully I can hold up. Anywho, Chuck is on his way over to get his butt kicked in Kirby's Avalanche, so I'm out!
Godspeed.
"42"

Another week, another no dollars

Well, Chuck just walked into my room and reminded me that I have an abstract due tomorrow in history class, so boy am I excited. Anywho, this week just flew by, and I really have nothing much to say about it. I watched I, Robot and The Forgotten yesterday, but neither were really good. The new trailers for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came out today and holy crap I am so excited about that movie. Anywho, I've been playing some SNES all week, rocking the Final Fantasy 3 mainly (I want to save Earthbound for later in the semester). Also, I finally got Zelda back from Jeffe and I'm ready to delve back into that game. Anyways, I really have to get to work on this abstrace, so I'm putting on my Hitchhiker's Guide and getting to work!
Godspeed

Super Nintendo

Yea! Today, I finally got to put Katie's Super Nintendo in my room! So, for the past 2 hours, I've been playing Earthbound (quite possibly my favorite game of all time), Secret of Mana, and Kirby's Avalanche! Soon, I will be starting up the epic (but oh so incredible) Final Fantasy 3, which should last me at least through the rest of the semester. Now I've been cruising through half.com looking for some more classic games to use my time! Anywho, I have just made it through my second week of classes and all is well. I wrote my first ever prospectus for my history class, and that was great fun, and now I have to think up two more paper topics for my religion classes by monday, woohoo! Oh, I just learned that you no longer have to register to leave comments here on my blog, so please please please feel free to tell me what you think of my stuff, it helps my self esteem so much!
Speaking of, I have gained 5 pounds since this semester started and i began working out with Sean! This working out stuff isn't as bad as I thought it would be, although right now my legs hurt like crap (and it hurts to sit down to crap). But, its all in the process of getting swoll.
Since I have just received word (via AIM) that some people don't know what Earthbound is, so, let me explain. Earthbound is a classic RPG on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or SNES for short) in which you take over the role of the boy Ness and learn that you are the chosen one to save the world from the evil Giygas (I know its the typical storyline, but the gameplay more than makes up for that). Anyways, during your time in the game, you run into your friends who help you on your way Skye (AKA Paula) the girl from Twoson, Dan (AKA Jeff) the genius from Winters, and Poo the amazing from Dalaam. Anyways, these kids adventures all over the world are engrossing as the story introduces you to such people as Everdred the lovable thief in Twoson park, Master Belch the pile of goo who enslaved the people of Saturn Valley (one of the best places in the entire game), Apple Kid who creates such awesome inventions like Zombie Paper to trap the zombies in Threed, and of course the hit band the Runaway Five! There is just so much more to go on about, and just not enough space. I encourage you, if you have a Super Nintendo, to go and find this game and play it all the way through, it will probably change your life. If you don't have a SNES, and live near me, come on over and I'll introduce you!
Well, there you have it, when I get bored and am on duty, I can spend time talking about video games on my blog! So, I'm headed back to the tv now! LEAVE A COMMENT OR DIE! Much love!
Godspeed.

Working out

Well, I have been working out for a full week now, in order to get swoll like Sean! For valentine's day, Katie and I took our weekend and watched a couple of movies together and ate some wonderful meals, and last night I (with the help of some of the other guys) got into her room and left her some tulips and rose petals. She liked it alot. Now, I am on duty and I have to write a prospectus for my paper in Renaissance and Renascences. My paper is on Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, so if you know a lot about him, just email me and tell me everything to save some time. Anywho, Simpsons are on now, and I'm tired from working out, so I'm going to lay down.
Godspeed

back for my final semester

Well, classes have started up again today and this semester is not the slack-off semester that I dream it was. I had a great week off going to Katie's house and visiting her family then going to my brother's and playing tons of Nintendo and XBOX. However, it just didn't quite put me in the mood to come back here and do all this stupid "homework" stuff. Anywho, I'm taking some really interesting classes this semester. Let me give you the rundown:
Bible and Culture: Dr. Cook is going to teach us all about how the Bible is reflected throughout time in the different cultures and how the bible is interpreted in these cultures (we get to watch a bunch of Jesus movies at the end of the semester)
Intro to Christianity: Again, Dr. Cook, but this time he is going to teach me about Christianity and how it has changed over the centuries and stuff like that!
Renaissance and Renascences: Dr. Shirley is highly excited about this class in which we will learn and discuss whether the Dark Ages were truly dark and whether the Italian Renaissance was all its cracked up to be.
Christian Worship: Something close to my heart (although not in the musical way that most people think of) and Alvin is looking to do a great job with this class judging by our great reading materials.
Well, there you have it! I hope to be back online soon with more updates, I start working out with Sean tonight so I can be in shape and not wussy any more.
Oh yeah, last night I went to a concert with Showbread and Anberlin and it was freaking awesome, I got the mic during Dead by Dawn and Mouth Like a Magazine!!!! Woohoo!!! Anyways, I think I'm going to go play some nintendo while Katie is in class!
Godspeed!

Liger(Please rate my quiz)

Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

A Bonfire

Last night, Chuck, Ryan, Jesse, Derek, and I decided it would be really cool to go out by the lake and have a bonfire. It was freaking awesome! I made a torch out of a big stick and an old t-shirt, and that was like the complete highlight of my night! I've always wanted to have a torch! Then to top it all off, today I saw Linden Kiser as he brought his fiancee (Aimee) back from Virginny and I got to hear my most favorite song - Freedom Now (its a Linden original). Now, I'm back in my room freezing my butt off trying to write a paper before tomorrow morning (my heater is broken again).
Oh yeah, it totally froze yesterday and there was ice all over everything! It was really cool, even if we did lose power for about half the day. And today I finished my journey to the Dark Tower! 7 tomes, about 5000 pages, 6 months, and much tears. I loved those books! I also saw Fight Club for the first time on friday night. It was pretty good, I must say I really enjoyed it, but it was kind of too much for me, I'm not all for the terrorist approach that Tyler takes. Well, tomorrow I'm off on my winter vacation to Kate's house then to my bro's house! I'm super excited, because I can spend some time writing my story and more time playing nintendo! Woohoo!! Well, I'd better finish this paper, so I can pack!
Godspeed!
"A chainsaw can remove a limb or act as a replacement."
- Showbread

I'm getting lazy with this blog thing

It's already been two weeks since I last wrote in this?! Man, what has happened to me? I think I've just fallen into the routine of class, hang out all day, then come back to my room for nintendo, then bed, and I completely forget that I could be doing this. Anywho, nothing much is going on around here. I went home last weekend and Mom took Katie and I to a Mardi Gras parade (a chilluns one so that no one would be offended), but I just didnt feel the whole Mardi Gras vibe, there's just too much throwing of stuff at people. Also, last week, we went out and saw The Incredibles one more time, I'm thinking it might be my favorite movie of 'o4, its definitely in my top 5 along with Spidey 2, Napoleon Dynamite, Shaun of the Dead, and HP3. If you haven't seen any of those, do yourself a favor and see them. Napoleon is quite possibly one of the easiest to quote movies in a long time (since Dumb and Dumber, I think).
I finally had time to start working on my story again a few days ago, but I'm really stuck because I haven't written in so long and I don't quite know where to go with it. In the past 3 days, I've only written 3 sentences, its pretty sad.
Next week, I have off, so Katie and I are going to her parents for a couple of days, then we are going to head up to Dan and G's for the rest of the week, and to cap it all off, on the way back home I get to go to a Showbread and Anberlin concert!! Sweetness! I'm really excited to get that week off, even if it does mean that the following week school really starts and I have to slug through my final semester.
I'm working on finding a job around here for when I graduate, but its hard to find something that I think I will fit into. I want to do some sort of children's ministry at a church, or I might follow up on my idea of interning for Quincy (if I can still do that), either way its getting to crunch time, and I don't like it very much. Well, I gotta go to BSU leadership. Godspeed!

"What an arduous task, it proves such a feat to be only one of a kind,
Though the scenery slips through the spaces we meet,
Press forward and leave me behind."
- Showbread "So Selfish It's Funny"

Holy Crap, I haven't updated in forever

Yeah, so Chris got online tonight, and I realized that I haven't been on here in forever, muchos sorrios (thats spanish for much sorries), so I will sit here and watch my Futurama as I talk about my wonderful Jan term. The class is Classical American Film, and so far we have watched The Philadelphia Story, Casablanca, and Singin' in the Rain. Boy are these movies really really good. I never thought I would like them as much as I do, but I'm really intent on buying the latter two on DVD because they impressed me so much. Anyways, I am slowly being converted into being able to actually sit still during a black and white movie.
Aside from that, me and the guys have been having nightly Smash Bros. matches on the big screen downstairs, and they are all learning to fear the awesome power of Ganondorf!!! Also, I have been spending some time finally being able to watch the extra stuff on my Return of the King DVD, and boy is it great. The amount of work that went into these movies is incredible and it makes me want to go to New Zealand so bad (really I just want to go to Middle Earth, but since I can't do that, this will have to do). Also, I love playing with my mp3 player, I have been adding songs like crazy, but I try to save a bit of space to carry some files with me. Anywho, its getting to gaming time, so I've gotta go warm my thumbs up to kick some major butt.
Godspeed

Mission Accomplished, back to base Joe

Well, I'm back at school, and class has started up. I am taking Classical American Film for this Jan term. Its going to be an interesting class, but there is a lot of work involved (8 papers, 2 oral presentations, and a sequence analysis). Anywho, my last week of Christmas break was wonderful, I got to spend a lot of time with Katie! I got my mp3 player for Christmas, and I love it. I also got the Showbread cd (actually got 2 copies), and I can't tell you how great that cd is. Anywho, it is now 4 hours later and I just got finished watching The Philadelphia Story for class. It was a really good movie, I must say. For those of you missing out on Napoleon Dynamite, I have already watched it 4 times since Christmas, so if that is a good sign for you, go watch it now and if you need it, just give me a ring. Well, I'm on the phone with the hospital now trying to get this stupid insurance crap done, so I'll get back lata
Godspeed