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There, how's that for meeting halfway? I'll put the title of the game and "review" in the title.

Here's my latest review. I'll give you a hint: the game wasn't that great.

I've received my copy of Spider-Man 2, though, and it is a lot of fun. Brian and I played a game of football on Xbox Live the other night, and that was tons of fun, too.

More "news" later, dear friends.
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I've decided to title the review notifications with the name of the game I reviewed.  That way we won't have 400 different entries titled "Review."

So here's the latest one.  It's for a realistic racing game for the PC that I had a difficult time with.

As a special treat, here is a preview of upcoming reviews that I'm working on:

• Driv3r
• ESPN NFL 2K5
• Ground Control II

 
I hope to be getting the Spider-Man 2 game soon, as well. 

Now you're all excited and everything, I know.
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My van now has over 200,000 miles on it.  I noticed it last night because I took it to get its oil changed.  It happened some time in the last week, and I'm bummed that I missed the rollover.  That's one of those moments that you want to witness, because it will never happen again.  I put it in the same category as catching a baby's first steps and graduating from high school.  There's just something about watching all those zeroes flip over.

The van runs very well.  My dad has done all the work on it since I've had it, and he's kept it in good condition.  A new set of brakes here, a replacement windshield wiper motor there, things like that.

Sadly, though, it's about time to retire the van.  200,000 is like a sign that pops up and says "Almost done!  Get the next batter on deck!"  Since it runs, I can probably get a little money off it towards the next vehicle, but not much.  I've already been looking at new (to me) vehicles on eBay, but everything I like goes for way more than I want to spend.  And, yes, to answer your question, I'm looking at minivans - specifically a Pontiac Montana.  I just like how minivans drive like a car but have more room for hauling stuff. Plus, when I go through a drive-thru, I'm at the same level as the window and I love that.

Makes me wonder how many miles I've got on me.  Probably not as many as I think - I do a lot of sitting around, after all.  It's probably about time for me to get my oil changed.
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Well, the THorum is down. There was a problem with a "malicious script," and all of us THorumites are homeless for a time.  We wander about, blinking into the sun, wondering how everyone else is doing.  We keep in touch with some of them, but we don't have contact info for all of them - we didn't have to!  We met in the THorum!

There are other things to pass the time, I guess - lesser things, fainter things.  While it was briefly up this morning, someone spoke of all the reading they had caught up on.  Others becried their fate, left lonely on the shores of placelessness.  Still others never came back at all, apparently unaware it was even down.

I know it'll be back - I've been in talks with those who are working on it.  They say it could be a week.  It might be less, but it could be a week.  A week!  Who can manage!

Others have offered a temporary gathering spot - JClark has a forum already running; Brian said he'd whip one up - we may gather there, like old men gathered around a flaming oil drum, seeking temporary warmth. 

I find myself wondering what it will look like when we get back.  There had been so many changes already!  The wallpaper was recently taken down, and we all got used to it after a day or so.  We lost a member a while back - we occasionally talk about him, but we mostly moved on.  All the topics got reorganized, but we eventually found them again.  New people showed up, and we tried to patiently teach them the ways of the THorum - some learned more quickly than others.

But what will it be when we get back?  Already there's a rumor that post counts are lost.  Ponder that for a second: all post counts lost.  Imagine your number.  Now multiply it times three.  That was me.  That was the sum of my THorum existence.  Gone in a flash.  Now imagine all the new guns, the young bloods.  With a zero sum restart, they'll be after "Highest Count" like vultures on a downed wildebeest.

It won't matter, of course.  If everyone has the same exact count for three months straight, it won't matter, because the THorum will be back.  We'll be able to shed our ragtag wandering clothes and settle back into the Off-Topic Thread couch and grab some food from the Things I've Bought Recently fridge.

Sure, it'll be different.  But it'll be familiar, and that counts for a lot.

Hurry, O Mighty Warriors of Code and Transfer!  Hasten!  The masses await, ever watchful, ever so slightly fearful. 
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Well, I've gone and upset the cats.

I've been in the process of moving for the last two weeks, and I finally moved them over this past week.  They didn't like, not one bit.  They're like me: set in their ways and resistant to change.

Nevermind that the new place has more room for them to run around in, they're just not happy to be in a new place.  Granted, this apartment doesn't have the nice bay window that they can lounge around in, but they've really taken to the couch now, so they'll be fine.

When I let them loose, they spent the next several hours wandering from room to room in search of something - familiarity, I would guess.  Their eyes were wide and they seemed concerned.  Now, several days later, they seem to be adjusted to a certain extent.  Not necessarily at ease, but in the direction of "okay."  They've spent more time cuddled together, so maybe it was a good thing.  (Cue cheesy movie voiceover) "In the face of uncertainty, they held on to the only thing they knew: each other."

Of course, one room is basically just boxes, but it'll all be okay in a while.  Maybe I'll make sort of kitty castle with the boxes and I won't have to unpack them.
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It occurred to me that some of you might be wondering if I was still alive after meeting up with some "Internet people."

I reveal to you now that I am, and that the day and a half I spent in Joerules' trunk before finding a way to escape was a time of much-needed rest for me - aside from the bi-hourly beatings, of course.

No, really both Joe and Mark (the other Mark, not me) were great.  It was neat to put faces and voices to these people I've been interacting with online.  Joe brought his lady friend with him, and she was surprisingly gracious about meeting two people who could have been ... well, just about anything.  She was very nice, and if she was nervous, she hid it well.

We talked about our jobs and got to know each other, but probably 80% of our time was spent discussing our other friends on the THorum.

It was cool.  I hope to meet some of the other THorum members in the future and hit them up for cash, room and board, and free tickets to major sporting events.  I'll keep you posted!

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First of all, for those visiting from Theater Hopper because of Tom's blog, welcome.  I think he may have overstated the "excellent website" business, but I appreciate him linking me.  Here are a few entries you might enjoy reading:
 

• On birds
• On online friendships
• On error messages
• On superheroes

 
And as an explanation for the rest of you, Tom (the feller who draws TH) went on an extended weekend trip and asked anyone who was interested to submit a guest comic to him.  Well, I can't draw, but I collaborated with another fellow (Joerules) who can draw like nobody's business.  He's a regular in the THorum, too, in case you were wondering how we met up.  Here's a link to the comic we put together.
 
If you're not a regular reader of TH, it might not be so funny to you, so let me explain some of the in-jokes to you:
 

1. In the first panel, you can just barely see the Horsefight: 2049 poster.
2. In panels 2 and 3, the regular characters (Tom (blond hair), Jared (brown hair), and Cami (Tom's wife)) are wearing movie character costumes, something they do a lot in the strip.
3. In panel 2, Tom is representing the movie A Cinderella Story.  Jared is representing a robot from the movie I, Robot.  In the background you can see a White Castle which is a nod to the upcoming (and presumably awful) movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
4. In panel 3, Cami is representing the new Catwoman movie, but she's wearing the Catwoman outfit that Michelle Pfeiffer wore in Batman Returns.  That was at my request, since this new movie looks ridiculous and doesn't stick to the Catwoman story and everyone knows that Michelle Pfeiffer is the only real Catwoman (Julie Newmar fans are excused from thinking this).
5. Also in panel 3 is another homage to a regular happening in TH: Jared is getting injured.

So there you go.  Hopefully that clears up any questions you might have about it.
 
As it happens, I'm going to Indy tonight to meet two THorumites for supper, and one of them is Joerules - he has a brand-new niece that he's in town to see, so he's going to meet the two Indiana-based THorumites (the other one lives in Richmond) while he's here.
 
Thanks for coming by!


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As the title might suggest, I have a new review up over at DEN.
 
Here's a link to it for all you rabid review readers.
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This fellow graduates from college with all the top musical honors they have.

At graduation, he is approached by a man who invites him to join their conservatory - a music "think-tank" if you will.

The young man agrees and is soon at the conservatory.

As he is getting the tour, the guide says, "Now, be very quiet" as he opens a door. Behind the door is a tropical setting, with a three-toed sloth hanging from a branch in the middle of the room. The young man is very confused.

When the door is closed, the young man asks about the sloth and the guide says, "Well, this is going to sound crazy, but every time we compose a new piece of music, we run it by the sloth. If he likes it, we know it's going to be good. If he doesn't, we destroy it because we know it will be bad."

The young man thinks this is odd, but accepts it - what's he going to do about it, after all?

A few weeks go by, and things are going great. He's feeling creative and challenged and at the top of his musical game. He's learning things he never dreamed of before - and every composition gets run by the sloth. Some he liked, some he didn't.

One morning, the young man rushes in to the group - his hair is disheveled, his eyes are red -

"I've been up all night, but this is the greatest thing I've ever written!!"

He shows it to them - it's got 13 treble staffs and 14 bass staffs - lots and lots of staffs.

Immediately they react negatively - "No, I'm sorry." "No." "Uh uh."

"What???" he says. "This is genius! I'm taking it to the sloth!"

"NO!" they yell in unison. "Don't do it!"

"I'm doing it!" he says and heads off to the sloth's room.

They try to stop him, but they are too late - the young man runs into the room. A few seconds later, horrible screams are heard and the young man is never seen again.

The moral?

Too many clefs roil the sloth.

Labels: joke

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I've been lax on the posting lately, and I apologize. I will try to do better in the future.

And, yes, I realize this doesn't count as actual content. 0 comments

I can now say I'm a professional improv guy - I got paid for the last show! It wasn't much, but it was a funny feeling to earn money doing something I love to do.

Also, after practice tonight, driving home, I made an immediate left, and then was going to make another left, when I got to wondering where the stoplights were for my side of the street. Turns out I was driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

I have no further comment on that. 0 comments

The first one in a while. This one's for Soldiers: Heroes of World War II.

Comments are welcome - criticisms and otherwise ;) 0 comments

I was pretty determined to stay inside all weekend. Memorial Day weekend went pretty well for me when I did it (with the help of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), so I figured I'd do a repeat performance (minus the Star Wars game).

But my improv group had a performance tonight, so I thought I'd go watch them and support them. When I got there, they were thrilled to see me and said, "We need another player! Play!" After much internal debate, I decided to. It went pretty well, considering I wasn't really warmed up, and we played games I'd never heard of before.

I borrowed an extra shirt (they have official shirts, you know) from Steve, who is bigger and taller than me. I must have looked quite the sight... I'm supposed to be getting my official shirts (one red, one blue) very soon, so that'll help out.

Afterwards I returned the James Bond game I've been playing to Blockbuster, even though I was one level off from finishing it. Grrr. I just couldn't get it and it was frustrating me and it was due, so I figured I'd take it back rather than re-pay for it. Nertz. I suspect that, in the end, the villian(s) is/are killed and Bond gets the girl. I just have a sneaking suspicion.

Then I went to the grocery store because I was out of cereal and ice cream bars. I was almost eaten by an excited beagle as I got into my van, but the window of the car he was in held him in check - but only just barely.

So now I need to get back to this staying in all weekend thing. I've got two games I need to review, so that should help. I only wish one of them was the Spider-Man 2 game...

Have a happy and safe Independence Day! 0 comments