Bryan Adams Blocked My Manga!

Well, he IS the biggest celebrity sighting I've probably ever had...

But on the other hand, he WAS being paid to be there, signing his book...

But on the other hand...

No... there is no other hand...

BRYAN ADAMS BLOCKED MY MANGA!!

Pastel Typhoon and Me Stuff

I drove into work this morning, so I parked at the Convention Center parking lot. There was some convention of some food product vendors, who appeared to be coming in the opposite direction of me, wearing a lot of bright-colored clothing and were about 99.9% female. It was a frightening occurrence and my retina are still burning from the experience.

Last night I decided to go nuts and drive north on Central, picking up stuff that I want. First stop, Twin Cities Comics, where I picked up issues 1 and 2 of the new Angel series. Good stuff, it continues where the series finished, but has so far been fairly ambiguous about who lived through the final attack, who died, that kinda thing. It deals with Angel venturing Romania to convince the Gypsies that he's done enough good in the world where the "happiness clause" of his curse could be lifted.

Next stop, Rainbow, as I needed to restock my tortilla-and-shredded-cheese stock.

Gamestop was next, picked up Tomb Raider III for 2 dollars. Now I have the whole collection, I-III and Last Revelation, and plan on playing my way through the entire series in the next few months of boredom.

Finally, a stop at Target, who FINALLY has released their stock of Cybertron figures. I took advantage of the $25 dollar toys ($30 everywhere else) and got myself Scourge.

Normally I'm not a big fan of quadru- and bi-ped-based animals as Transformers. The designers tend to get lazy, awkward-looking, and unoriginal. "Hey, I have a great idea on how to transform this guy! Lets turn his front legs into his arms and his back legs into his legs! Then we make him switch heads! Brilliant!" This was basic formula in the Beast Wars era, and continued on into Energon with Ravage and Cruellock.

Scourge is no exception to this rule, but, unlike these other figures, it works. His alt mode is that of a very cool-looking dragon, complete with a feature that lights up the eyes and mouth and makes a screaming dragon noise. His Planet Key feature turns him into a Hydra, flipping two other heads out on either side of the main.

Robot mode, yes, front legs are arms, hind legs are legs. But there's enough alteration of the limbs, flipping out at the shoulders and pushing into the body at the waist, where it works well. Plus his tail is dealt with by turning into a big-ass battle axe. Like the other Cybertron figures, his Planet Key feature carries over into robot mode, flipping the two dragon heads out of his shoulders. The flipdown loin-cloth-looking thing is a neat addition, as well.

Overall, I REALLY like this figure. Still not my favorite as far as animal-based figs go (that one still goes to Energon Divebomb), and a pretty lame Planet Key feature. But I think I can safely say that this is my favorite figure of the Cybertron line so far. At least out of the ones I own. I'm sure he'll eventually be topped by Optimus or Megatron, but I'll deal with those when they come into my possession.

Oh, and I saw two Buddhist monks walking through the Target I was shopping at, too, which was odd.

Tonight and this weekend I don't know how much I'll be blogging. But I'll have at least two reviews to post when I get back (Wedding Crashers and the other Fiddler production). And I may or may not be banging my head against the table, depending on how things fall into place this weekend.

Of Raw Fish

I did a first yesterday: I had meself some sushi. Yes, Carla, I know I had sushi once when I was at your place in Duluth, but this is raw fish sushi I'm talking about. I think it was okay, I'm probably a little more in favor of raw fish rolls in the future than the simple raw fish on rice concept. But it was still an experience and it were good.

Probably gonna be a short blog today because, as much as raw fish intrigues the average reader, there's just not much to say about it except the obvious. So I will say these tiny bites instead:

- Read a great review of HBP online today. Very long, very deeply-invested, definitely written more smartly than mine was. There's some parts of it I agree with, and some parts to which I disagree. I also seem to be the only person in the world who is convinced that Snape's evil. Or let's put it this way: if Rowling makes him good in book seven, I will not like the decision, for the reasons that I mentioned last week.

EDIT: Oops, forgot to post the link to the review. Here ya go.

- I took a look at a few condo sites yesterday and the day before, and threw a few at my realtor to check out. Two of them are across Hwy 36 from Rosedale, which will mean park-and-ride, and another's in the same unit that I found the first unit that I really liked. Its' very small, but also costs less than my rent currently.

- I'm trying to decide if I wanna invest money in Transformers knockoffs. Big Lots has boxed sets of G1 Constructicons, Aerialbots, and Protectobots for 6 dollars apiece. On one hand they aren't technically Transformers, but on the other hand, to get a hold of actual G1's of these sets nowadays would cost 70-80 dollars, MINIMUM.

Well Prepared

After my bitch-fest yesterday about the weather, I came prepared today. 75 degrees, I'm in long sleeves. Geez, its July and I'm wearing long sleeves. On purpose. Without it being a costume or anything. I'm torn about whether I like this or not.

Well, last night was good, I had a sit-down-and-talk with my friend who I've been having issues with lately. Everything was laid on the table, and, although there's still going to be some work to be done, we're back on good terms again. So that rocks. ;)

Otherwise, today's a pretty slow posting day, as there's really nothing to report on this end. I wanted to point out to everyone, though, that I just added another link over on the sidebar to my now second-favorite webcomic (behind VG Cats), 8-Bit Theatre. It's a storyline that's been running for about 4 years, and is based in the universe of the original Final Fantasy, using sprites directly lifted from the original game as the visual medium. It takes units like Fighter, Black Mage, and Thief, and gives them all unique character traits. It also uses the occasional sprite from MegaMan and Strider, two more games I've always loved. Just VERY funny stuff.

Oh, and in other FF news, after making a stop at GameStop last night to get a cheap Tomb Raider game, I learned that Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is FINALLY going to be released in October. If anyone has never heard of this project, its a movie sequel to Final Fantasy VII, using the same techniques as Spirits Within, photo-realistic humans created using CGI. All of the original FFVII characters and some of the Summons will be appearing in the movie (including Aeris!), and it focuses on Sephiroth's clones. I will definitely be buying it when it comes out. I also wonder if they've cast any voice talent yet. Maybe bring some in from Kingdom Hearts?

Now if only they could do this with Final Fantasy VIII...

Dang Outdoor Adventures

Well, now I spose I can't get my Turkey Bacon Guacamole sub anymore. My Quiznos closed! I've been hauling these damn coupons for nothing!

Also, there's the old saying that Minnesotans are the only people in the country that wear shorts in 50 degree weather in March and put on a jacket in 60 degree weather in September. Today it has been proven. After a week and a half of 90+ degree weather, its currently 68 degrees in Minneapolis and I was FREEZING! Not that I'm complaining, I love this kind of weather, its just I wish I had had some warning so I could have worn long sleeves.

Back To It...

Well, now that the deep, emotional post, the post that I promised at the beginning of my blog that I would NEVER do, is out of the way, we can move on to some more interesting stuff.

First off, Lord of the Rings, the stage version. All that is known, beyond the casting mentioned in the article, is that its going to be one play based on three books. I'm assuming that it's just a play, and not a musical. But a musical would be highly amusing. Eowyn in pink fuzzy bikini and all.

Also, the next 80's-franchise-turned-live-action-CGI-movie: Voltron. Part of me clicks my heels, as I loved this cartoon as a kid, was a fan of these big honkin robots before I even heard of Transformers. But it also worries me, as I know that its already been done a dozen times before, in a little-known piece of crap known as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Hopefully they'll keep away from the realism of it all and set it in the deepest reaches of space, with the meld of sci-fi and Arthurian-style landscaping from the original series. If its set on Earth then its automatically big-pile-o-crap.

I just saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith last night. Fantastic movie. I've developed this love of Doug Liman, who, between this movie and Bourne Identity, has shown he just has this fantastic knack for creating great spy movies. The tech that he shows off, the action sequences which end up being both gritty and incredibly stylish at the same time... faaaaantastic.

Plus Brad Pitt kicks ass. There's basically three Brad Pitts, one that I can't stand, and two that are really fun to watch. The "oh, look, I'm so hot" Brad Pitt of Legends of the Fall, Meet Joe Black, and Interview with the Vampire I can live without. The "character" Brad Pitt of 12 Monkeys, Snatch, and Fight Club, I will go out of my way to see, the kind of character acting that actors like Johnny Depp and Gary Oldman have in spades. Then there's his third style, which kind of melds the two together, like in Ocean's Eleven, Spy Game, and Se7en. He has this type in Smith, where he's the charming type, but still has enough wit and grit behind the character where he doesn't come off as heart-throb.

So, yeah, great movie. And it did take my view of Angelina Jolie up a few notches, but she's still not in my top ten. Closeups of her and her cracked, split thick lips just don't work for me.

What else? Oh, um, Trampled By Turtles kicks ass.

Plus, after making about a dozen purchases on eBay I've FINALLY made my second sale, selling my hardcover copy of Order of the Phoenix for 7 bucks. I lost 8 bucks on the deal, but, eh, 7 bucks for a hardcover now that the softcover is on sale is always a good resale price.

Tonight I seek more condos. I've decided its time to start searching for places in the 1-bedroom, under 100-grand variety, so tonight begins that search.

An Apology

This is a writing to those who read this whom I consider friends.

I've recently had a fight with a close friend that has made me sit down and do a lot of thinking.

A lot of things have happened in my life in the last few years, especially in the past 12 months or so, that have been difficult to deal with. Getting into the specifics would prove to be either boring or annoying to the reader, so I'll just skip ahead by saying that the more crap that has been piled on me, the more bitter and cynical I've become.

I look back to who I was in high school, who I was in college, even who I was the first year or two after college, and I compare that to who I am now. And I don't like who I've become.

I just want everyone to know that I'm trying really hard to deal with everything that's coming my way, and making the best out of any situation. But its becoming harder and harder for me to deal with. So if I seem to anyone to be sullen, moody, or quiet, just know what I'm trying to be better.

And I understand that this probably seems very vague and confusing, but its difficult to really get into without naming names, naming situations, that kind of thing. To be honest, its not really any specific name or situation, but just the way I've treated others, and the way others have treated me, as more of an obligation than as a friend, over the course of the last few years. It's built up, and has started erupting lately.

But I am trying.

Whoda Thunk?

People I don't know are actually reading my blog. Whoda thunk?

For the guy who responded to my Lance Armstrong post, you're right, I should probably do my research a little more. As my Denny Green quote says on the top, America is great because everyone has an opinion, but America's also great because you don't have to listen to it. We may all feel what we want to feel.

And for the person who asked about my Harry Potter castings, Fenrir is the evil werewolf introduced in Half-Blood Prince, who turned Lupin into a werewolf and at the end turned Bill into a to-be-determined.

Oh, yeah, that should have had a spoiler warning. Oops.

The weekend was uneventful. Saw a production of Bye Bye Birdie at the outdoor theater I used to work with. It was good, and they're planning on doing Joseph next year, so I'm thinking I might go back and partake in that.

Sunday I participated in some Guerilla filmmaking. Which is, of course, climbing around in trees and throwing your poop at the camera.

And, okay, there's a rumor going around the net now that Thomas Hayden Church is going to play the Chameleon in the next Spider-Man movie. I suppose I can see the casting choice, but the question remains "The Chameleon?!?!" There are at least a dozen characters in the Spider-Man universe who are more recognizable to the general public than him. And with more original powers. He's a shapeshifter. Woo hoo.

Are we already to the point where we have to resort to a shapeshifter? Where's Sandman? Where's Hobgoblin? Where's Mysterio? Electro? Scorpion? Shocker? Hydro-Man? Venom? Carnage? Rhino? Kraven?

And it also looks like its back to watching Smallville again next season, as James Marsters is apparently joining the cast as Brainiac.

Reason #4921 To Get A Gamecube

Okay, maybe not THAT many, but still...

Okay, reason number 4 to get a Gamecube, beyond Metroid, Zelda, and Crystal Chronicles: there's a character in Super Smash Brothers from Fire Emblem named Marth!

Upon further review, there is also a biology professor at Boston College, a cellular and molecular professor at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a TV actor from the Honeymooners.

It's a Meat Party In My Mouth And Everyone's Invited!

Wow, yeah, Dawn's right, that DOES sound dirty...

Barbeque party last night at Carla's. It was a good time, I cooked up some Cub sausages that SAID they were hot... they weren't, really, I was disappointed. Plus I learned how to grill corn on the cob after a few failed attempts. Ah, well, still cost me less than one cob at the fair.

Plus we freaked some of her friends out with our Potter geekdom, so that was a good time.

For some weird reason I decided I wanted to beef up my music collection. I bought a cd at the Electric Fetus by a Duluth alt-bluegrass band called Trampled By Turtles. I'm picking it up tonight, so I'll post my thoughts about it in the next day or two.

I also won an auction on ebay yesterday for a cd by the punk-Irish-folk band Flogging Molly. I've always liked them when I hear their music on the radio, so I figured I'd give their cd a try.

I'm also bidding on the new William Shatner cd, Has Been, as well as the DVD set of Firefly in hopes that I'll be able to get it, watch it, and understand it in time for the movie, Serenity, which looks completely kick-ass and makes me feel bad for not watching the show when it was on the air.

BTW, don't go to www.serenity.com, as it is a website for incontinence. Ew. It's like there's a poop race in my pants and everyone's the winner.

In movie news, Matt Damon has received the blessing of Lance Armstrong to play him in a biopic. Lance Armstrong, great comeback story, unbelievable dominance in his game. But all the talk that's been out lately about him being the greatest athlete in America... I don't know.

I think my main doubt stems from the fact that he doesn't have a lot of competition in his field. If a lot of track stars, hockey players, those kinds of athletes, had decided to invest their time and energy into cycling instead of the other sports, then Lance wouldn't be as dominant as he has been. He's the top player in a sport that doesn't have a lot of great players. If more people growing up said "I want to bike for a living!" then we wouldn't be putting him on such a high pedistal. He'd be more along the lines of an Alonzo Mourning or TJ Ford. Great stories, but not as huge as he's become.

Now Comes Deep Thoughts

If I ever fall off the top of a building, I'm going to make myself go limp. That way people on the ground will think I'm a dummy and will try to catch me because, hey, free dummy!

Yeah, that's a Jack Handey-ism, but I couldn't help it after the title.

I got a second look at the condo I liked last night. I still like it, but I also recognize a lot of stuff that I wanna do to it. Half of the rooms look good, and half of them need some cosmetic work done. ie one of them is pink and the other one has some wallpaper that would be good to get rid of.

Right now I'm having, what's probably typical for most people in my situation, second thoughts. I know that its probably the best deal I'm going to get on the market right now, between location and price. I just need to get myself to talk to my loan officer and figure out what kind of financing I can get for the place, and if I'll be able to afford to live there right away.

Either that or I move in with the parents for a few months, build up some money, and start at square one.

Ugh... the real world, at least the real world without someone to split this stuff with, kinda sucks.

Artfully Avoiding the "Beam Me Up, God" Pun

James "Scotty" Doohan dies at the age of 65.

It's too bad he couldn't be around for a few more years. After seeing his picture, I realized he would have made a FANTASTIC Horace Slughorn. He has the physical features, the likability. And even though he was born in Vancouver you KNOW he plays a good Scot.

Does make ya wonder, though... I wonder how they're going to cast the next few Potters? There's not a lot of major characters introduced into any of them, so there's not a lot of new ones to add. And the way they're described they're very difficult to find famous actors and actresses to play them..

How's this sound?

Phoenix:

Delores Umbridge - Judi Dench with a lot of makeup
Firenze - a brief cameo by Jude Law
Bellatrix LeStrange - Anjelica Huston

Prince:

Slughorn - Jonathan Rhys-Davies, minus the beard. Or David Ogden Stiers.
Fenrir - Vinnie Jones or Jason Statham
Rufus Scrimgoer - He's tough. I'm thinking David Suchet, who plays Hercule Poirot for the BBC.

Sound good?

Spoiler Time!

No relation to Owl-Stretching Time.

For now.

BTW, sorry bout that really brief post earlier, I just needed to get it out for those who read my earlier post and discovered that Rowling can't decide what she's saying.

It's Wednesday, and I'm going at it. I warned y'all, if you haven't finished Half-Blood Prince by now, you're going to want to stop reading this post.





















Seriously
























Okay, they gone?

Alright, good.

In advance, I'd like to apologize for any misspellings or mis-quotes in this analysis. I read the entire book in less than 24 hours, and don't have it next to me to reference as I write this.

I loved HBP. Not my favorite of the series, which I still think goes to Goblet of Fire. This one had a really interesting plot and a hell of a lot of development, but Goblet's still the best because it 1) introduced a world outside of London, 2) introduced a LOT of new characters, all of whom were fun in their own way, 3) had the series biggest "what the fuck just happened" moment, and 4) started maturing the series to a degree that none of the others have accomplished.

But, yes, HBP, great book. And, like I said in my tally, I had one prediction right, three wrong, and one open to interpretation:

1) I was spot-on about Snape getting the Dark Arts position, with a new potions professor. Not too surprising, considering Potter wanted to be an Auror, at least at the beginning of the book. Where he stands right now, who knows?

2) Harry became Quidditch captain. Not a surprising thing, Rowling would obviously make him captain, especially now that we know that this would be his last year at Hogwarts. I still don't agree with it. If you want to pick a captain, a playcaller, you don't make the Seeker the captain. He spends all of his time away from the game, keeping his eyes away from his players. You select either a Chaser or a Keeper, because they can see the rest of the team and tell them what formations to take, that kind of thing. But, again, not a surprise that I was wrong.

3) Neville and Ginny didn't hook up. And thank god they didn't. But I'll get more into that later.

4) Dumbledore was not the Half-Blood Prince. I like how she did a play on words with the title, but not TOO surprised it wasn't him, as it was basically playing the odds.

5) This one I'm still open to interpretation on. I predicted that Dumbledore would die, but he wouldn't be the only one. No other MAJOR characters were killed, but between Bones dying and Bill Weasley getting mauled, I'll let you all decide if this one was right or wrong.

So, yeah, wow. Book seven can't come soon enough. The main reason I was concerned about spoilers in this one was that, unlike the endings of books four and five, the things that happened in HBP will come up in everyday conversation. Sure, Voldemort came back in book four, sure, Sirius died in book five. We knew V would be back eventually, and Sirius' death, beyond having an emotional impact on Harry, had no real bearing on the story.

Now, Dumbledore's dead. Snape is a Death Eater. Draco's alliegances may be in doubt. Bill might or might not be a werewolf. Relationships in question between Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Bill and Fleur, Neville and Luna, Tonks and Lupin. Hogwarts is on the verge of being closed. Closed or not, Harry, Hermione, and Ron won't be there next year, as they search for the remaining Horcruxes.

There is no way that people can talk about book seven without referring to what occurred in book six.

I've spoken to three people about the ending, and they all think that Snape's faking it. I don't buy it. I think Snape's shown his true colors by killing Dumbledore. First, he could have very easily faked the killing. With everything that was discussed in the book about unspoken spells, casting spells without saying the word, he could have easily spoken Avada Kadavara, and thought another spell that would make Dumbledore appear dead. Instead he not only used the spell, but used it to an effect that knocked Dumbledore off the tower. Basically if he didn't plan to kill D with the spell, then he wouldn't have made sure that the fall would kill him.

Also, the Unbreakable Oath spell. I've heard that if Snape didn't kill D, then the spell would have killed him. First off, we don't know what the Oath was for, if it was for helping Malfoy kill D or simply to help him get the Death Eaters into the school. And if it WAS to kill D, then he broke the vow by killing D himself instead of helping Malfoy do it.

And if he truly was a good guy, he would have allowed himself to die before killing D.

And now that D IS dead, and Hogwarts is gone, what good is Snape to the Order as a Death Eater? It's suddenly vastly more difficult to pass information to the Order, and now that Voldemort knows that Snape killed Dumbledore, with witnesses, he'll realize that Snape's connection to the Order has been compromised. Any move by Snape from now on, especially with members of the Order, will be scrutinized by V.

I think Snape's shown his true colors. However, I also think that Draco has suddenly become an unknown element. If anyone is going to turn to the side of the Order in book seven, or at least to assist them, it will be Draco.

I REALLY liked how Rowling handled his character throughout the book. I've never liked Draco in the previous novels simply because he was so two-dimensional. Hate hate hate, snob snob snob. But, thanks in part to Lucius being placed in Azkaban, Rowling showed a depth to the Malfoys I never thought possible. Between Narcissa's pleas to Snape in the second chapter, Draco's showing of true emotion to Myrtle in the bathroom, and his signs of doubt as he spoke with Dumbledore on the tower, I REALLY wonder where he's going to land, both within the Death Eaters and in the storyline in general.

The Malfoys have been nothing but a disappointment to Voldemort. Dobby and the diary in book two. The World Cup fiasco in book four. The prophecy in book five. With Draco not only failing in his mission in book six, but living to tell about it, this all has to be enough for Voldemort to level some harsh punishment on all three of them. It might be enough punishment for them to realize that they're with the wrong team.

Still, I've heard a few people suggest that Dumbledore's not dead. I believe that Dumbledore's murder is for real is because, even though Dumbledore is dead, he's not gone to the world. His power is gone, sure, but his mind lives on in the portrait in his office. From what we know about the headmaster portraits, they have the memory from their previous life, and can also dole out some sound advice every now and then. Dumbledore can still communicate ideas or thoughts to the others when needed. Who knows, he may even be able to talk through his Chocolate Frog Card.

So killing his body isn't THAT big of a deal. He's just become even more of an Obi-Wan than originally thought.

Hmmm... what else to say? Well, the horcrux thing is a very interesting idea. And just because Dumbledore says they are what he says they are doesn't mean that he's right. He was proven wrong often throughout the series. So they are still unknown for now. And the appearance of RAB (Regulus Black, most likely) might throw a wrench into everything.

I also think that this Horcrux thing could do something that hasn't been done in either of the other books, which is take the characters outside of England. We met foreign wizards in Goblet, but no one's ever left the isle yet. Romania was mentioned, but the horcrux locations could be anywhere in the world.

Bill being attacked by Fenrir (one of the coolest bad guys Rowling has ever introduced, btw) is another big questionmark to be answered. Like they said, there aren't any cases of people being bitten by werewolves in human form, so no one knows how this is going to affect him. It may only affect him as far as was shown in the end, where he just has an affinity for rare steak and peeing on trees. Maybe he'll be full-blood werewolf, in the werewolf cycle, but still maintain his human conscience, unlike Lupin. Maybe he'll be able to change at will, like an Animagi. Maybe his transformations will be more human-like, more of a Teen Wolf or Wolverine vision than Lupin's crouched monstrosity.

Time will tell, but it was good to see that Fleur isn't as self-centered and shallow as she was being played throughout the book.

Plus who knows what's gonna happen when Fleur's sister comes to the wedding, with her apparent infatuation towards Harry?

Which leads to another thought. HARRY AND GINNY! The relationship I'vewanted to see since book two actually happened, albeit briefly. And I don't think its over, either. It was a very comfortable relationship, they seemed to care for each other a lot, and was by far the truest, most genuine relationship in the series. Compare how Harry acted around her when they were together to how he acted WHENEVER he was around Cho, and you can see that he's finally ready for something.

I don't think its over. They didn't break up because of lack of feelings. In truth, they broke up because they cared for each other too much. Ginny didn't want it to end, Harry only ended it because he was trying to protect her. It's a Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson relationship, and we all know how that turned out.

Ummm, they got married. For those not up on Spider-Man lore.

And the major difference between the two relationships is that Harry can see a light at the end of the tunnel. He knows what has to be done in order for him to live a normal life with Ginny, and that's to find the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort. He accomplishes that and the world is his oyster. He fails at that... well, then it's good that he ended it when he did.

Hogwarts... I think it'll stay open. For one thing, there's too many other characters that have been introduced in the series to just have them fade off into the distance. There needs to be a place for Neville, Ginny, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Katie, and all the professors. Plus the trio has to come back at SOME point, there's no way that, after six years, Rowling's going to finish the story somewhere else.

The only way I can see it closing is if the trio become a sextet, with Ginny, Neville, and Luna, the group who stormed the Ministry, coming with them. But even then there will need to be some closure with Hogwarts the building, if not Hogwarts the school.

Finally, for those who have read my fanfic written before the release of this novel, just know that I still plan to send it into a fan site as a work of alternate fiction. The sequel I was originally planning for it will still occur, but will be written as a stand-alone continuation to book six. The story will remain essentially the same, but will add elements of HBP into it, like the horcruxes and Snape. I think it will come out to be a better story in the end.

CURSES!

Maybe we WILL have to wait...

I'm confused...

La La Lala La La...

It's a wonderful thing to wake up in a bed that's not covered in sweat. After nine days of 90+ degree heat, which was apparently the longest streak of 90's we've had since 1988, it was good to know that I could fall alseep with a sheet on the bed.

Unfortunately, its still gonna be in the upper 80's today. *sigh* What can I say, I'm yearning for September & October. I'll take a state where the high temp is 70 or 75 and the low is in the upper teens. There's my perfect world.

Otherwise, last night was a pretty slow night. I started playing Final Fantasy Tactics and am slowly realizing that it ain't no Shining Force. This game is complex beyond anything I normally play. Of course, probably hand it to someone who plays Warcraft or Diablo and its probably a walk in the park, but I guess I don't like to have TOO much control over a game.

In some brief, albeit horrific, movie news:

Drew Barrymore wants ET 2.

Johnny Depp cast to play Gypsy Rose Lee.

And yes, children, don't worry, there WILL be a Smurfs movie.

And... It's Done

Rowling has written the final chapter of the last book in the series, according to an interview published in Entertainment Weekly.

So maybe we won't have to wait two years this time. But, dammit, I want her to keep going!

My Very First Hit

On my Where's George? account. For those who don't know what the site is, its one of those dumb worthless sites that's a lot of fun. You take all your money, enter it into the system, mark it with the web address, and hope someone else down the line enters in the same bill.

I just got my first today, its only gone 8.6 miles since I entered it at the end of May. But, still, worthless fun!

In other news... ummm... well, I'm getting a second look at the Fridley condo on Wednesday. Plus I'm planning to do a drive-by on a townhouse in Hilltop tonight.

I've been doing some thinking about my next fanfic. Still haven't decided if its going to continue my original story or start with a new one. I'll be completely honest in saying that I feel more comfortable with the ideas I'm putting into it if its based off of post-HBP continuity. I just hope I don't get anyone bugging me to continue my first fic.

For those who care, I don't feel like reviewing the two Transformers I picked up a few days ago, but in case people like looking at the pics, here's the pictures for Scattorshot (robot, alt mode) and Hardtop (robot, alt mode).

Oh, and I came upon a really interesting quote from Steven Spielberg last night. Interesting as in flippin fantastic! Spielberg's been executive producer for the Transformers live action movie for a while now, but who knew that he was a fanboy?

Here's a quote, from Spielberg, on a video played at the San Diego Comic Con:

"I think that as long as there has been Transformers, I have been one of the biggest fans. And I am not talking about buying these toys for my children and watching them glow and enjoy themselves. I am talking about buying those toys for ME!"

"Years ago I always thought that there was a movie somewhere in this concept. This genious concept that Hasbro designed, engineered and distributed. And I am just really proud that, here we are in 2005, that were are now starting our first, but certainly not the last, Transformers movie!"

Yes, Spielberg is a Transformers Geek. Which makes me feel a LOT more comfortable about his movie than I have before.

Borrrrrrrrrring....

Don't you hate it when you had a weekend entirely planned out, and then the second day ends up having, um, nothing goin on? And everyone you call doesn't call back? And you didn't want to go anywhere, but also REALLY wanted to get out of the apartment?

That was my day today.

Potter was great. Potter was fantastic. Potter got done in less than 24 hours, with sleep included. Leaving me with an entire Sunday of nothing.

I DID beat Wild Arms, though, so that's good.

And yesterday during my break I picked up a few Transformers. But I don't feel like reviewing them right now (man, I'm getting lazy about that already).

Hmmmm... so what is there to say? Not much. I'm brainstorming ideas about the sequel to my story, and deciding whether I want to keep it in alternate continuity or re-write it into current continuity. Either of which would work in the end, its just how to get to the conclusion that matters.

You Have Three Days!

Okay, so I'm gonna keep this thing as spoiler-free as possible. Just getting off the phone with Carla for the last two hours has allowed me a little bit of reprieve. However, I give the non-read Potter world at large this warning: you have until Wednesday, then I'm goin off, spoilers and all!

So here's what I'll say:

Wow. Can't wait for book seven. Things happened in this that I wanted to happen, things happened that I thought would happen, while other things surprised me. Characters were developed and fleshed out to a degree that I would not have thought would happen. Elements were introduced that will give the next book in the series a scope I had previously thought Rowling wouldn't go to.

And my fanfic, which I may post here if my beta doesn't get done with it soon, is now officially "alternate reality" as there's NO WAY I could tweak it to fit in with the events of Half-Blood Prince.

I could, however, tweak the sequel I have planned and still make it work as a stand-alone. Time, energy, and brainpower will tell.

The final score, with the final breakdown occurring on Wednesday:

One right, three wrong, one open for debate.

Vague enough for ya? Spoiler-free reaction SUCKS!

And now, I sleep. Well, video games then sleep. I have to figure out what the hell I'm doing now that I'm done reading the book a day earlier than previously planned.

Break #2

Gonna blog and check my email, then make some Toys R Us runs and dinner.

The score so far:

One theory right, one theory wrong, two more theories in doubt, with one left to be decided.

Other spoiler-free thoughts as I near the half-way point of the book:

- It's good to see Malfoy get more of a backbone so far.

- It's also good to see that Rowling hasn't neglected any characters from the previous books, and has also brought back some old favorites.

- I'm sure my feelings aren't as strong as others I know, but I've had fan-fic on my mind so much lately that I often have to remind myself that this is actually in-canon work. When you read movie fic, tv fic, comic book fic, its easier because its a different medium. This is the written word.

- Piggy-backing on that last thought, a lot of what's happened so far feels like fan-fic. But not in a bad way.

- Piggy-backing off THAT, I certainly hope American parents know what the word "snog" means, or else we could be getting into some REALLY muddy waters.

Anyway, off I go to toys and burritos.

Fastest. Fiddler. Ever.

Well, I'm taking a quick lunch-and-internet break from Half-Blood Prince. I haven't read TOO much of it yet, I was REALLY tired this morning after getting home from picking up the book at 12:30 and reading till about 1:30, so I didn't wake up till after 10 this morning. I'm currently on chapter 6, which I know is a LONG way from where Carla's at right now, but, eh, I think I'll comfortably be halfway through the book by the time I grab dinner and toy shop later.

Speaking of Carla, good time last night. She showed up to Chipotle dressed as Tonks, complete with Weird Sisters t-shirt. I was hoping for pink, spikey hair, but she had shoulder-length purple, which is fine, too. She even talked me into dressing up after the play, I dressed as a wizard dressed as a Muggle. Highly ugly, I'll get a picture up for those who want to see later.

After getting her keys out of her car, we went to one of the two productions of Fiddler, the production in Mounds View.

Well, what can I say, it was fast. It felt like they were assigned to get out of the theatre at a certain time, and had been pushed HARD to do as much. Most of the songs, even the slow songs like Sabbath Prayer and Anatevka, were done more up-tempo than I know/like, and they plowed through a LOT of humor lines without waiting for the laugh to die down.

There were some pros and cons to the show, but, for the most part, our production was better. They had enough males to do a superior To Life, but the assignments that were given to the Russian Dancers were, overall, odd. The Russian Tenor never made another appearance as a soldier, leaving only two soldiers at the end of the show with the constable. And, after introducing Fyedka in the scene previous, he appeared as a bottle dancer. Very off-kilter, in my mind.

Oh, and the bottles were obviously attachedto the hat, as the bottle dancers were looking down a lot.

But, hey, they were men, so that was a good.

Also, they needlessly slapped a beard on Perchik for the bar scene, and he was NOT needed.

But, yeah, better bar scene. Slightly better Fyedka/Chava relationship. Unfortunately, none of their men had any aura about them. Their Motel was shorter than their Tzeitel, and their Perchik, played by Mike Bolton from Office Space, and was played with a lack of authority to the point where he'd have trouble organizing a bake sale, let alone a workers' rally. Fyedka was TALL, and I thought he'd work well, but even as a Russian soldier he was very twitchy and nervous, more of an outsider in the army than a presence that would cause Sasha to back down during their fun with Chava.

Basically they could have taken their Mendel (who I loved), made him Perchik. Made their Perchik their Motel, made their Motel their Mendel, and de-twitched their Fyedka, and it would have been great.

The daughters voices were all very good, but there was no variety to them. They were all natural soprano-sounding voices, which made for an oddly-unison sounding Matchmaker. Other productions that I've seen there's at least enough discrepancy between one voice and another where you can recognize who's singing when, and could pick each voice out during the end of the song.

Their Hodel was played much more giddily than I like, saying insults like "I hear the rabbi who praises himself has a congregation of one" more whistfully and flirtatiously than stinging and sarcastic.

Their Tevye was a tenor, and had this weird tendency to lift the last word of every sentence. His insistence on keeping an accent caused a LOT of problems with emotion.

But the dream worked well briefly. Their Fruma costume was very cool, black with a huge fright wig. When I direct this show one day, I'll take this productions' costume and lighting scheme, my high school's Fruma-on-wheels concept, and Cross' demon dancers.

So, yeah, I know I'm kinda biased, but our production was better. Now I'll go see the Minnetonka production in two weeks and complain about THAT one!

Anyway, I'm currently on chapter 6 of Potter, and I already know two things:

- One of my predictions is true so far.

- I'm gonna have to re-write my whole fucking story.

But otherwise its very good right now....

Definition of Hypocritical

I saw this yesterday, and forgot to mention it in the post.

I find it insanely amusing that Disney, the company who prides itself on wholesome family entertainment, wants to take advantage of the waning popularity of a redneck girl who's recently proved to the world, via home movies, that she's a nympho, another girl with more piercings than fingers, and a guy who will be forever connected to the phrase "wardrobe malfunction."

That's right, kids, its the hot new DVD, Mickey Mouse Club's Best of Britney, Justin, and Christina! Give money to Disney, and watch the show where it all started to go wrong! Dazzle in the prepubescence!

Oh, and I must add, after posting this blog originally, the customer reviews for this DVD are priceless.

AAAARRRGGGGHHH!!!

This is going to be shorter than originally intended, as my internet decided "HEY! Let's disconnect and make Bill lose all the stuff he was going to blog before he gets a chance to save it!"

What a past 24 hours. I find out that the condo I really want has been jacked up $5,000 and shrunk by 30 square feet. I buy a toy, Thundercracker, who I will NOT be rewriting my review for because he's not worth the trouble. And now this.

Faaaaaantastic.

But Half-Blood Prince comes out tomorrow at 12:01 am. Can't wait to get started on this bastahd. There's a good article on MSNBC from a Minneapolis writer who lists fairly well the unanswered questions and breaks down the theories.

The plan for me this weekend is go to Fiddler at Mounds View, pick up the book, read a chapter or two before bed (because I won't be able to NOT read some of it), then read tomorrow until 6 or 7. Then I'll go make some runs to TRU and dinner, and probably do the same sunday afternoon. But otherwise I'm locking myself in, closing the windows, and turning on the AC for the first time this summer.

So I suppose that leads up to my final prediction, which I guess also isn't the biggest, left-field shot in the world.

Dumbledore will die in Half-Blood Prince.

However, I don't think he'll be the only one to die.

It makes TOO much sense for Dumbledore to die. He MUST die. Harry and the gang have been leaning on him to get them out of trouble for the last 5 years, and in book seven they're going to have to do it on their own.

So Dumbledore will have to go the way of Obi-Wan, as he's pulled a Gandalf a little TOO often in this series. Mixed metaphors, I know, but you know what I mean. In Lord of the Rings, you knew that they were going to win because Gandalf was there. Star Wars you didn't know for sure, because the most powerful member bit the dust.

But its too easy, too predictable, for Dumbledore to die. Rowling needs to take out someone else to stir the pot. Who that will be is anyone's guess. Hagrid would make sense. Lucius Malfoy's death would pave the way for Draco to become a bigger threat in book seven. Possibly an attack on St Mungo's, taking out the Longbottom parents, would drive Neville off the cliff.

So I can't really guess who it would be. All I'm predicting is that someone else beyond Dumbledore will go.

And you probably won't hear from me again until Sunday night or Monday morning, so see y'all!

Downtown Weirdness

Today I viewed:

- A caravan of Pioneer vehicles, various vehicles painted up to advertise Pioneer equipment. At least a half-dozen vehicles in a line, ranging from a Taurus-like vehicle to a Hummer to a touring van. The light switched before the entire line could get though, so I wonder if the last tourbus driver's gonna be fired for breaking the chain.

- Two people walking down the street wearing giant eyeball costumes. No clue why they were dressed as they were, but I'm sure Kim would have hid in a corner.

Oh, and a few days a go I saw a young guy with a face full of tattoos. Tattoos. On his face. And he had a cute girl with him.

And I'M the single one... *sigh*

Wow, I Didn't Have A Title

I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble.

Hmmm... sounds apt...

That's the What Pre-1985 Video Game Character Are You? Quiz, btw. Its a fun one. I guess Mario was my top one, or I could have been a Gauntlet Adventurer. This one works better, though. Actually, I want everyone who reads my blog to try this one out, I wanna know what everyone else is, there's a dozen different characters.

Nothing too thrilling happening in my life right now, so I'm gonna use this blog to talk Movie Crap. As usual.

First off, you MAY have noticed an addition to my sidebar, I added a Blogroll for blogs from both friends and otherwise. One of the three I have there so far is the official movie blog for Transformers. The official website for the movie is now up, along with an official release date: July 4th, 2007.

This may not seem like a huge deal to some, but its a good sign. Right now there are only two movie announced for Summer 2007, Spider-Man 3 and Transformers. Plus its being released on the 4th. This means that Dreamworks is taking this movie VERY seriously, probably as the big tentpole movie for the 2007 season. The combination of release date, people involved, and the time that they're allowing themselves to produce it, it's a very good sign.

Also, Tom Arnold has been quoted about a sequel to True Lies. Not that Tom Arnold is exactly the most reliable source in the world, considering what he's done since then (not much), he says that he, James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eliza Dushku, and Bill Paxton all got together a few weeks ago and decided that they want to do the sequel, which would probably involve Dushku's character getting in on the "family business." It's all a matter of getting Ahnold on board.

If this happens, I'm in. True Lies is one of those movies that you forget that you like until you see it on TV and have to stop to watch it. Its a dumb action movie, but it DEFINITELY doesn't take itself seriously, and I've always enjoyed it.

Finally, two more days till Potter, so that leaves two more predictions. Since the big prediction is probably very anti-climactic, I'll put the BIG one out today, and leave the last one for tomorrow.

Drum Roll.

Dumbledore is the Half-Blood Prince.

Yeah, yeah, I know, big flipping whoop, its pretty much what everyone's thinking. But since it hasn't been released yet, well, we don't know for sure. It makes the most sense, though. The only thing we know about Dumbledore's history is that he has a brother. Being a half-blood would make a lot of sense, given his views of Muggles in general, especially in the face of pure-blood skepticism over the years. A man who's grown up as powerful as Dumbledore SHOULD seem like the type who'd look down on Muggles, but having a Muggle mother or father would seem to temper that a bit.

So, there ya go, my prediction. If its anyone else, I'll be happy, because I want to be knocked out of my shoes. Dumbledore being the Half-Blood Prince would be predictable and wouldn't shock me.

World's Least Surprising News

Pope Against Harry Potter. Billions reply "Noooo, really? I would have never thought!"

Oh, and I'm a Neutral Good Halfling Bard! What? A Halfling AND A Bard? Curses!

Not much to report today. I ended up paying a $19 library fee last night, then bought 28 cent candy bars at Toys R Us. After that it was just hanging out and watching the All-Star Game. Which the AL won, 5-7. Considering it was 7-0 at one point, the NL made a good showing in the late innings. No thanks (or full thanks) to Kenny Rogers for breaking the shutout. Ah, well, couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Tonight's going to be another slow night, with cleaning on the docket. For now. Eh, probably not. And I don't have much more to say, but don't be too surprised if I get a second post up this afternoon.

Today's Potter prediction: If Rowling has any sense of sports strategy, Harry will NOT be the Quidditch Captain in HBP. Potter's a Seeker, which is really the absolutely worst player to make a Captain, as the Seeker doesn't really have his eye on the game, can't coach players effectively, can't set up plays, etc. My call is Ron, with Alicia Spinnet as a second choice. Alicia because she's been on the team for a while, and Ron because he's a good student of the game, plus his final game in Phoenix got rid of those jitters.

Click to see my Star Wars Personality!!

So this is an interesting quiz, they actually go with a more realistic personality approach, comparing to 5 different characters as opposed to just 1.

So I'm Admiral Ackbar, Admiral Ozzel, Darth Vader, C-3PO, and a Wampa. Sweet...

Hmmm... not much to talk about today. I checked out 4 other places yesterday, 2 of them I came away from liking. But I've narrowed my choices down to two currently: one condo in Fridley and one townhouse in Brooklyn Park. So now I have to decide if I want to look somewhere else, or choose between these two. And I haveto break down the numbers vs. tax benefits, things like that. It can be tricky. I'll give a little more of a breakdown once I get more in-depth.

What else? Ummm, I just found out this morning that South Park is going to be syndicated this fall. I wonder how many episodes will NOT be aired for content.

And today's prediction for HBP: The hot new couple will be Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom, both of whom will play a much larger role after their involvement in the assault on the Ministry in Order of the Phoenix. Neville and Ginny went to the Winter Ball together in Goblet, and Neville seemed to be concerned with her a bit during the assault. Plus Ginny has been kinda going through guys a bit, so her current relationship with Dean or Seamus (I don't remember who it is) isn't guaranteed to last, especially since she's a much larger character than either of them.

A Geek's Orgy

RUMOR FLASH! Why not merge two of the biggest toylines out there? Hasbro owns the rights to Transformers and Star Wars. So the recent rumor posted makes a shitload of sense, and would also revitalize both toy franchises. GEEK OUT!!

NEWS FLASH! Two new MAJOR characters revealed for Cybertron: yesterday, Primus, the robot form of the Planet Cybertron, and today is revealed fan favorite, my personal favorite, and pretty much gone from the toyline since G1: SOUNDWAVE!!! SWEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!

Brett Boone & Consumer Holidays

Well, the Twins just made a trade, amazingly. With the way they've been playing thus far I thought they'd be trying to break down, not build up. So we have Brett Boone now at second base, a guy I've actually heard of and liked for a long time. Should be interested to see how he works in the clubhouse, he seems to be very personable.

Secondly, the new Shopping Season has begun. The Fourth of July is over, so Summer has officially ended for department stores. It is now Back To School season at the downtown Target. That lasts until the week after Labor Day, when the Halloween Season begins. After that:

Nov. 1: Christmas
Dec. 26: Valentine's Day
Feb. 15: Easter
Day after Easter: Summer
Around July 5: Back to School
Week after Labor Day: Halloween

Thus is the cycle of Shopping Seasons.

Long Weekend Revealed

My tragic Shakespearean flaw.

So, the weekend. Not that it turned out to be anything, you know, too groundbreaking, but since I've been building the damn thing up for the past week I might as well break it out.

Friday night was pretty uneventful. Had dinner with Jenn, checked out some condo buildings, dropped books at a closed library, and bought shampoo. Yippee.

Saturday I got together with my friend Kelly from Fiddler. It was a might-be-a-date-but-turned-out-to-not-be-a-date get together. Enough hyphens? Sweeeeet. It was fun, though, we hung out for about 10 hours, ate, played video games, talked a LOT. I asked her out on a real date, and she said sure, but also said that she prefers being friends with a guy first. Which I'm all for, but we shall see what happens, because my history kinda shows that when this happens someone tends to find someone else in the between-time.

And this is potentially the most personal thing I will EVER write on this blog, so I shall move on.

Sunday I WAS going to be helping my friend Aaron film his movie. I left my apartment at quarter to 12 so I could get there by 1 with a stop at TRU in Minnetonka in the middle. Then I get to his apartment and he says "you didnt' get my message? I called around noon, we're not doing it today."

So the rest of the weekend involved Wild Arms and a little bit of cleaning. Oh, and the scout figures are now out, so I picked up two of them, both with definite pros and cons.

First off is Ransack, one of the three figures I wanted to buy in my first run. But since the scouts weren't out in the first release two weeks ago then Sunday was the day. I like him, but compared to scout figures from Energon they're looking kinda flimsy so far.

His vehicle mode is a motorcycle. A nice-looking one, red, sleek. His weapon attaches to the back to form part of the bike, and is also involved in his Planet Key feature. Two laser barrels flip out of the back of the bike. Not the greatest feature in the world, but, then again, its a scout.

His robot mode is really nice for a 7-dollar fig, and even better when compared to previous motorcycles. Cycles are the toughest Transformers to make, Simply because there's not a lot to them. Past cycles have ranged from average (Energon Arcee, G1 Afterburner and Override) to downright crappy (Armada Sideways, Mini-Cons Highwire and Nightbeat, and Energon Highwire). Even the upcoming Cybertron cycle RoadStorm is looking questionable at best. So its nice to see Ransack have a more realistic-looking robot form, nothing too skinny and nothing too bulky. For some reason, though, he reminds me of the old GoBot CyKill, but I don't really know why. His Planet Key feature makes more sense in robot mode, holding the weapon that flips out the duel lasers.

So, yeah, overall I really like the figure. One thing I have noticed, though, between this one and the other figure I bought, is that the 7-dollar class feels a lot smaller and flimsier than their Energon counterparts. Ah, well, maybe there'll be some improvement down the line. The only other problem I had with this figure is that its Planet Key isn't fully painted. I thought it was just an issue with all the scouts, but it seems to be with Ransack exclusively.

The other figure I picked up is Overhaul, my first 'Bot from the Jungle Planet. Most of the figures that will be arriving from this planet will be animals, but Overhaul is the rare vehicle alt from this series.

His vehicle does make sense for the planet, though, an off-road SUV. Its nice, albeit kinda small. Also, he's the first Cybertron figure I've seen so far that has no Planet Key feature in vehicle mode, although the slot for the key is out in the open, causing some confusion.

I'm mixed on his robot mode. In theory he's a good figure, with an interesting transformation from vehicle to robot, reminiscent of the Alternator figures. And between his claws and face he has a Wolverine-like quality to him, giving him even more reason to be a part of the Jungle Planet.

However, the design has a LOT of flaws. The arms are in a bent position, allowing for little articulation. And the Planet Key feature, which causes a missile to shoot out of his chest, has a needlessly-long missile, which results in a long red thing sticking out of his back. Also, because the arms are bent, they get in the way of the chest, so the missile has issues firing.

So, yeah, decent figure, with a few problems. A good idea, poorly executed.

Random, non-toy thoughts: Hurricane Dennis is now history, so can newscasters please STOP with the "Dennis the Menace" headlines? It was cute, but after the first 5000 uses it got a little tiring.

Oh, and That Yellow Bastard, Nick Stahl, is in line to play Angel in X3, which is going to start filming this month. I think I can handle this choice, if for no other reason than Angel doesn't have any distinctive characteristics beyond "Billionaire Playboy".

And, finally, in honor of the upcoming release of Half-Blood Prince, I will be putting out one prediction for the upcoming novel every day until the release. We'll see what I get right, what I get wrong.

Today's prediction, based on the cover of the English Adult version of HBP: The new Defense against the Dark Arts professor will be Severus Snape, opening up for a new Potions teacher, which Harry will take in book six in order to become an Auror.

One Dream Shattered

My original plan was to see Fantastic Four tonight, but after seeing splat after splat on Rotten Tomatoes I decided "eh, I'll save that money for The Island or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Or, hell, I can get a TF scout figure with the $8 I woulda spent on this movie!"

Seriously, read those reviews. The overall rating of the movie was 21%. Compare that to Batman Begins at 83%, 73% for War of the Worlds. Heck, even Sith got an 82%, even though I think a lot of that were from reviews in comparison to Phantom and Clones.

Ah, well. At least I have Potter to look forward in 7 days. I keep forgetting that its ALMOST TIME.

Oh, speaking of Potter, I'm gonna try this quiz out, Which Potter Kid are you?:


Okay, two dreams shattered. Would it have killed them to ask me for my gender? Besides, I wanted to be Neville. Kinda. Crap. I would have even taken Ginny.

However, the Manga Hermione look is kinda cool. Here's the website where the quizmaster recieved the art. The artist, Ayne Greensleeves, falls into the "romantic manga" kind of style. Very cool to look at, especially since we're all so used to Mary GrandPre's somewhat-cartoonish work in the novels. This artist tends to pretty or cutie everyone up, even Lupin, Viktor, and Neville, but, again, some interesting ideas here. Even the ugly people in manga are purdy. I liked it so much, the link will be over on my sidebar in the next few minutes.

The weekend is almost upon me. Once again, I will get into more details about the weekend once it plays out, as to not make too big of an ass of myself in advance. I'll probably get into a detailed breakdown of the entire weekend on Sunday night. Right now the only thing I'll say is I'm going to the library tonight to deal with a shitload of overdue books. Nothing like doing shows to make you lose track of time. Luckily there's only a few that are a week old, the rest were just due yesterday or Tuesday.

Stupid Body, Stupid Head

Okay, I'd probably appreciate this more if I had read DreamWave's G1 series. Ah, well... Still fun... BTW, its the "which Megatron are you?" quiz.

So there's apparently a lot to talk about, and I'll touch on them all briefly.

First off, the London bombings from this morning. I can't say I'm too surprised that it happened, but I'm still kind of surprised about just how much everything seems to be happening in London in the last few days, between the G8, the Olympics, and now this. Obviously the attack was because of the G8, which is occurring in Scotland. As of this point, at almost 11 am on Thursday, there have been no "official" claims for responsibility, just a claim on a website from a group called Qaida Al Jihad, or something like that. It was a site that also claimed that Italy and Denmark are next, but the site has since been taken off of the internet. Whether this means that it was just a bs statement or what is left to be determined, as no group has contacted the British police force.

I probably have some more stuff to say, but right now my head's kinda foggy in general, so I'll wait till it gets a little clearer before I take another shot at it.

The reason my head's foggy is because my body woke me up at 3 am, telling me that something I ate earlier wasn't agreeing with me. Anything beyond that would be TMI, so I'll just say that afterwards my brain started whirling around about the condos that I saw earlier in the day, and my apartment, and things like that, and next thing I knew it was 6 am and I was still awake.

I was trying to decide how my layout in a new condo is going to be, especially in a 2-bedroom place. Right now I'm thinking 1) a living room with the couch and big tv, 2) a "geek room" with my computer, stereo, theater wall, and my toy collection, and 3) bedroom with bed, small tv and ps2. I know that, right now, I only use the living room in the morning. Most of my evenings that aren't spent at theatre or with friends is spent on the computer with some sort of background noise, either dvd or cd. And that I usually play some video games before bed.

With those in mind, I COULD set up the PS2 in the living room, the small TV and DVD player in the geek room, so I could play my DVD's while I'm on my computer.

Again, this is all just ramblings in my head so far. The only other thought is my mental debate about the Big Couch. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I don't use half of it very often, so its kinda a pain to keep the big bulky thing around, especially if my new living room is smaller than my current. Might sell it to a friend, in a garage sale, or via EBay, and pick a new one up at IKEA or something like that. Again, we'll see later.

But, of the three places I've seen so far, I like two of them, but they both have different pros and cons. One is spacious, neutral, with a washer and dryer in the room, but is also expensive and on the first floor, limiting safety and privacy. The other is hardwood, second floor, cheaper, with a gas stove, but is smaller, with a paint- and wallpaper-job that any little tweak of might affect its eventual resale value.

Anything else to say, eh, I don't know. Too tired right now. Again, have the potential to say a lot of stuff after this weekend, but right now its just same old same old.

The Hunt Begins

Well, one hunt has already begun, as you've seen in the last few postings. I'm a geek, what can I say?

The other, more mainstream, hunt begins tonight with me checking out the first two condos found by my realtors. Last night I drove by both of them just to get a feel for the neighborhoods in general, and, of the two, one has piqued my curiosity already.

This one is a few miles from my apartment, $115,000, 2-bedroom condo called Black Forest condos, or something like that. 818 square foot, with washers and dryers on each floor. Its also in a very nice neighborhood, which would seem to be good for resale value.

The other one is on 41st and Central, which isn't the nicest area. Its $140,000, 2-bedroom, 968 sq/ft, with washer and dryer in each room.

Both have assocation fees of about $220 a month, which seems about average.

So I'll let you all know how that goes tonight once I get a look at the inside. Plus I'll still be keeping my eyes open for lower-priced places elsewhere.

Otherwise, not much going on here. The only other big thing that happened last night I won't be getting into until it actually occurs on Saturday, to make sure I 1) don't get ahead of myself, 2) don't misread things, or 3) don't make an ass of myself.

So, yeah, Saturday or Sunday I'll mention it, promise.

Big Badda-Boom!

Did it work?

Good...

So that was a pretty full weekend. Took a day trip to Red Wing on Sunday, as plans with Jenn's friend either fell through or never happened, depending on your view of things. Good time, for the most part, Red Wing's one of those small towns that used to be a bigger deal. Old school downtown area, right on the river, that kind of thing.

Sunday I did 4 loads of laundry. At the time I thought I had washed everything I needed, but, of course, after I get home I see that there's still some stuff on the couch that I needed to wash. Ah, well, I should be good for a bit, its just a tad frustrating.

And while I was in Red Wing, I found a Transformer I've been looking for for a while. Hound is a Transformers Alternator, which is a separate line from the Cybertron line, composed of 20 dollar, model-realistic looking vehicles from real car manufacturers. Counting Hound, I have four from the set: One Dodge Viper, one Subaru Impreza, and one Ford Mustang. Other figures in the line include a Mazda RX-8, a Corvette, and I believe a Porsche. Hound is a Jeep Wrangler, and is by far the most faithful adaptation in the Alternator line. Faithful from the original G1 figure, I mean.

His vehicle mode is, yeah, a Jeep Wrangler. More of a simple vehicle than the others I own, its roofless, with four seats, an adjustable steering wheel, and opening side doors, hood, and tailgate. His robot mode, again, is extremely faithful to the Generation 1 version of the character. His transformation is by far the simplest of all of my Alternators, which tended to require some kind of breakage in order for it to work effectively, and its a very sleek figure. I was a little concerned that his gun would be useless kibble (parts that don't have a place in both modes, note the excess parts in the G1 picture as an example), as the previous figures all used the engines as guns, but then I discovered that the spare tire holds the gun in an almost holster-like fashion, a VERY cool feature. It also means that he's a leftie, which is neat as a fellow southpaw.

okay, review over. Sunday I ate at Marcello's for dinner, burned my mouth on their late pizza, and then we went to the St Louis Park fireworks display. A very cool display, I'll probably be going back there next year. The viewing area is only a hundred yards from the launch site, and the way the wind was blowing shot the fireworks right overhead. Plus it was earlyenough and lit up enough where we were able to see the smoke trails from the explosions, a very cool effect. And the smoke from the fireworks covered the area afterwards. It was a fun time.

And now we come back to reality. Today feels like a monday, which I suppose should be a good thing. But I'm still realizing that I have 4 days to get 5 days worth of stuff done. Which is, now that I think about it, nothing. Eh, saturday's only a few days away, and next weekend's looking like it's going to be a good time. But more on that in an upcoming blog.

Oh, and I find this rumor hilarious: Justin Timberlake as Harvey Dent in the next Batman. Quoting Cinescape.com: "An anonymous source stated, 'Justin would be a perfect choice. He is getting more and more into a film career alongside his music one.' " I would like to know who this anonymous source is so I can laugh in his/her face and/or smack him/her in the head. Yes, he's a perfect choice for an extremely dark character, a district attorney who becomes a stone-cold killer type. For a part that Tommy Lee Jones or Russell Crowe would be good for.

The perfect choice, that's classic. Go drink your Kool-Aid.

But darkhorizons.com has a unsubstantiated rumor of Sean Penn as the Joker. Also Paul Bettany, who played Charles in A Beautiful Mind and is in the upcoming DaVinci Code movie. Both would be interesting choices, but are, again, purely speculation at this point.

I don't think Penn would do it, anyway, he considers himself too serious of an actor to do a comic book movie. Besides, he has to have a sense of humor to play Joker, and, as his appearance at the Academy Awards proves, Spicoli has no sense of humor anymore.

I'm Weak!

Oh, and which LOTR character am I?
Theoden, apparently...

And, yes, I'm weak. But its not like I wouldn't have been spending it, anyway... Actually, I talked myself out of it on Thursday, only to buy it on Saturday.

I'm talking about another Transformer, of course. Not as cool as the two I bought the first day, but still not bad. Landmine is a 10 dollar figure, but that's kinda deceiving, and not in a good way. The problem I've always had with construction-based vehicles is that they always look smaller than they are, and Landmine is no exception. His vehicle mode is a bulldozer, and the scoop makes him look like he should be a scout figure. The same thing happened with Steamhammer in the Energon line, as I tend to look at the main body and not the entire figure.

The Planet Key mode is pretty interesting for this character, with the wheels flipping up and becoming rotating blades. There are small wheels built within the body that allow both tires to spin at the same time, which is kinda neat, and there are two small wheels on the bottom of the vehicle that allows it to move even while the back tires are up.

Robot mode makes up for the price. It's smaller than Hot Shot, the only other 10 dollar figure I have for size comparison, but its still a good looking figure. The only problem I have with it is the shovels, which make the arm articulation a lot more limited, plus it makes the figure take up a LOT more space on the shelf.

The Planet Key mode almost doesn't bear mentioning, with the rear wheels flipping up in back and having the blades come out. "Look out, Megatron, I'm gonna back into you!!" Probably not gonna be used here.

In other news, yesterday I had some fun. Minigolf and Coldstone with my friend Andi, then went to my friend James's (or something like that) band at an old bar in North St Paul. Today's gonna be full, with a trip to Red Wing, then probably hanging out downtown tonight.

*Glee*

Before Glee comes another test, the Which Pulp Fiction character are you test:

Your inner child screams for cartoons and sugary cereals, but your adult tastes love the buzz of quality mind altering substances. Sooner or later, you're going to have to grow up, at least a bit.

You know, somehow I'm not surprised that I ended up with this answer.

Now, Glee Glee Glee.

As some of you (three) well know, and the others, who knows?, I am a dork. And in my mind, at this point in my life, one dorkdom stands above all others. Above Potter, above movies, above comic books. And that dorkdom has been renewed as of about 8:30 last night.

Ladies and gentlemen, Transformers Cybertron is here.

Anyone who doesn't care about the toys or my opinions of the toys can probably stop reading for the rest of this entry. But just know that any time I'll get a new toy, it WILL be discussed on this blog.

For those unfamiliar with what I speak, ever since the original Transformers cartoon and toy line back in the mid-80's, the series has gone through a few stops, reboots, and continuations. First was G1, Generation One, the one that most people recognize as THE Transformers. Optimus Prime as a big red semi, Megatron as a gun, Soundwave as a tape recorder, that kind of thing.

Since then the series has gone through, by my count, six different "series", with three continuity reboots: G2 was a continuation of G1, then was rebooted into Beast Wars and Beast Machines, was rebooted again into Robots In Disguise, and rebooted this last time into Armada, which continued into Energon, and now Cybertron.

The basic storyline, as I've deciphered, not being able to watch the cartoon (it's on cable), deals with the Autobots (the good guys) trying to stop the Decepticons (the bad guys) from finding what are called Planet Keys, which unlock something on the planet Cybertron (their home planet), that'll either save or destroy their world, depending on who gets a hold of the keys first.

Each Planet Key is on a different "Planet", which have apparently been inhabited by exported Cybertronians, who in the course of years have adapted their planets to fit their needs and also adapted themselves to fit the planet.

The only reason I mention this is because when I talk about the new toys I get I'll probably be referring to their Planets, as each is distinctly different from the other. Speed Planet is like some huge ball of Hot Wheels track, and is inhabited by Transformers who all transform into various fast vehicles, cars and motorcycles. Jungle Planet has Transformers who turn into animals. And Earth has, for the most part, robots that turn into realistic-looking earth vehicles, such as ambulances, jet planes, and construction vehicles.

The Fourth planet I'm not sure of yet, as I've only seen the symbol for the planet, which kind of looks like a gear. It's either Cybertron itself or another, techno kind of planet. In any case, none of the first line of Transformers Cybertron has anyone from this fourth planet, so I'll figure it out when it gets there.

So after my family gathering last night (at a VERY good BBQ place called Caps, which I'll have to go back to at some point) I had about a half hour to make a drive to the Maplewood Toys R Us before it closed. I made it in time, and there were about ten different figures there. I know some people who like to get them all in one swoop, but I like to spread the wealth, so I picked up two figures, both of the Speed Planet.

First off is Crumplezone, a Voyageur class figure (meaning he costs 20 dollars, a mid-range sized figure). I was having some debate in the last week about whether to get him or the other Voyageur-class from the line, but figure this one's a good one for now.

I like him. If he's any indication of what the line's going to be like, I'm looking forward to it. His vehicle form is neat, a three-wheeled vehicle. Considering the robot form, coming up, is very big and sluggish, it's kind of surprising that he'd be able to transform into something this sleek. The Planet Key gimmick unlocks battle features for every figure (each figure comes with a Planet Key), and his feature has his turbo boosters flipping forward to become cannons.

His robot form is a nice change of pace. The huge forearms and stubby legs give him this "big dumb galoot" appearance, which is very different for the Transformers line, very unlike his vehicle alt-form. For any of you who have played old video games, he really reminds me of the original Mega Man villain Gutsman. But what really surprises me is how articulated the figure is, despite his hulkish appearance. The Planet Key feature does the same as in his vehicle mode, flipping the turbines up over his shoulders to play double rocket-launchers.

Overall, a very cool figure. The construction's a little shabby, with the turbines sticking up slightly when they're facing the back of the vehicle, but that's a minor quibble.

The other figure I picked up was a Deluxe-class ($10, second-smallest of the line) figure Hot Shot. This is one of a handful of characters that has been in both previous series of this continuity, but, although his character has been a major player in both, the toy counterparts for his Armada and Energon versions were, well, crappy.

So I was happy to see that they've finally fixed him. This new Hot Shot, even this early on in the collection, has the potential to be one of my favorite figures.

His vehicle mode is pretty basic. As with all previous Hot Shots, he's a car. Nothing too spectacular. Just very cool, sleek, and easy to show off. The Planet Key feature follows along that line. Nothing spectacular, just makes little "wings" on the side of the car. Plus, as you can see, his gun can be attached to the roof of the car.

Its the robot mode, however, where this figure excels. It finally gives the Hot Shot character a figure it deserves. Well-proportioned, great color scheme, and fantastic articulation and great poseability, this is probably going to be at the front of my shelf for years. Possibly the best 10-dollar figure I've ever seen. The Planet Key feature is pretty unnecessary, but the wings add to the look a little bit.

Overall, if these first two figures are any indication, this is going to be a very fun time to get these figures.