Recent Album Listenings

Judas Priest-Stained Class: 4/5
Judas Priest-Hell Bent for Leather/Killing Machine-3.25/5
Judas Priest-British Steel: 4/5
Judas Priest-Point of Entry: 2.75/5
Judas Priest-Defenders of the Faith: 3.5/5

Recent Film Viewings

Zombieland: 4.25/5
Tremors 2: Aftershocks-3.5/5
The Silence of the Lambs-4.5/5
The Big Lebowski-2/5
A Beautiful Mind-4.5/5

• 25Dec 09

  Just Another Quick Word In Light of the Holidays

  I'm sure everyone has already seen and heard this plenty, but what else can I say? I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and wish Happy Holidays to all as well. Though this has turned out to be the first Christmas lacking spirit for me, I do feel that this is something that I shouldn't try to get me down. Even with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, build-up and mesmerizing house displays (which is probably what I look forward to the most during the holidays), I'm glad I was at least able to see a couple great holiday films and am thankful to receive whatever I will in a few hours

  Getting older just sucks (and I only just turned 20 on the 7th), but not feeling any true holiday cheer until late tonight thanks to watching A Christmas Story and Home Alone (and hopefully It's a Wonderful Life later) is at least something that I'm glad I was able to get. Though seriously, I'm disappointed with the lack of Christmas spirit (not sure if it's just around my town); barely any Christmas movies seemed to be on the past week or so. And is it just me, or did this month just fly by?

  Anywho, just like to wish everyone happy holidays once again and hope for the same in the following years.

  • Posted Dec 25, 2009 12:59 am PT
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• 23Dec 09

  I'd Like to Dedicate This To One of My Managers

  Rather than waste time with a senseless rant, I've decided to try and vent (some of) my frustration towards one of my managers after a dispute on Sunday night by writing it down as a simple, free verse poem. If anyone who reads this REALLY wants to know the story, then I'll PM it to you (or, in the improbable scenario I get several comments asking for it, I'll just post it in a new blog):

  Sweat builds by the minute

  Pushed and scorned past my limit

  Walk, haul, crouch and clean

  Mindless obedience all that's seen

  Ask with courtesy, though you could

  Insult and derail is all your good

  Give respect, you say I will

  Refuse any back, that's the bill

  Order our labor, see the piles build

  Selfish and Remorseless, join the guild

  Come and tell me who's crying

  When your complaints are good as lying

  Heart and pleasance are null and void

  Kiss Hell's a**, that's how I'm employed

  Sign my name, surrender all rights

  And see your cruelty rise to new heights

  • Posted Dec 23, 2009 2:26 am PT
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• 20Dec 09

  Wait, Stuff Came Out This Year?

  I've never been one to keep up with even half of the releases for a year in either games, movies or music (the three things I hope/am aiming to review for a career before long), but I try to play, see and listen to whatever I can, whether old or new (though this past semester of college really ate up my hours, I'm happy to say, however, that I did a lot better than I thought I would). With this in-mind, I'm not going to get too in-depth with picking my favorite games, movies and albums for the year and anyone reading this should just note that this is merely for me to look back and casually analyze; my opinion is far from as legitimate or developed as some others you'll find on here. Also, at the bottom of my blog will be a list of releases this year that I managed to complete or, in the case of games, play close to enough for a sem-final verdict (along with an approximate score I'd give them):

  Most Surprisingly Good Movie

  Terminator Salvation (Going in, I thought it would be horrible, but despite being a pointless entry, the movie itself wasn't too bad and it has some nice throwbacks to previous installments, which I liked)

  Most Surprisingly Good Album

  Shadows Fall-"Retribution" (There was nothing really surprising in a good way for what I listened to this year, so this one was mostly a "which album had the most surprisingly good material, which Retribution got primarily for "A Public Execution," which I'd have to say has become my new favorite song by the band)

  Most Surprisingly Good Game

  Need for Speed: Shift (This one's essentially a given. The two previous NFS games were essentially trash but this one, despite being another incomplete entry, wasn't too bad and its potential was utilized far more than its predecessors...if after some toying around with the controls)

  Most Disappointing Album

  Amorphis-"Skyforger" (What I heard this year was almost entirely lackluster or simply underwhelming material, but this album gets the "award" for being such a huge step down from its predecessor, Silent Waters. Sure, the title track is excellent while "Sampo," "Silver Bride" and "Sky Is Mine" are solid tracks, but the rest is very forgettable and weak)

  Most Disappointing Movie

  The Soloist (The trailers indicated a near-excellent film for me, and the two lead actors only further strengthened my hopes. Unfortunately, the performances by the two leads was all the film really had going for it. As a whole, it was an incoherent and sometimes passionless watch)

  Most Disappointing Game

  F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (I didn't play much this year, and although I didn't beat the game, I got at least 6-7 hours in and part of why I stopped there was because the gameplay wasn't interesting. I remember the original F.E.A.R., it was intense, challenging, gripping and just an overall top-of-the-line shooter outside of its lackluster multiplayer. Project Origin, however, felt like just another FPS with some niceties but nothing to maintain my interest. A big part of what was lost in this game was the intense action)

  Favorite Game

  Forza Motorsport 3 (Yes, the online is very flawed and the game has a few glitches, but honestly, the overall package vastly outweighs these complaints. It's a tough call between Forza 3 and Modern Warfare 2 since both offer plenty of potential replay value but I see myself playing and enjoy Forza far more in the long run thanks to its Career mode and customization options)

  Favorite Movie

  Up (There were a lot of films I enjoyed this year, with Zombieland probably being the most straight-up fun along with The Hangover, but Up was the best all around film I've seen this year. Pixar only continue to solidify themselves as an excellent movies studio, despite a few films I'm less fond of-A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc. Just like Wall-E and Ratatouille before it, Up is another contender for Pixar's best)

  Favorite Album

  Eternal Tears of Sorrow-"Children of the Dark Waters" (Again, I didn't listen to much, let alone much good this year, and though Retribution had the only all-out amazing song I've heard this year, Children of the Dark Waters was a more well-rounded album despite being another step below the band's earlier material. The second "Angelheart, Ravenheart" part, "Sea of Whispers" and "Tears of Autumn Rain" were all great tracks on this album that contributed to it being probably my favorite overall album this year for what I've heard.)

  Games I Played This Year

  Guitar Hero: Metallica (83/100)

  Dirt 2 (78/100)

  Need for Speed: Shift (76/100)

  Forza Motorsport 3 (88/100)

  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (88/100)

  Killzone 2 (82/100)

  Brutal Legend (77/100)

  Guitar Hero 5 (74/100)

  Guitar Hero: Smash Hits (61/100)

  F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (76/100)

  *On a side note, I did rent Halo 3: ODST since I'm a fan of the series but only got a couple hours into it. The narrative was nice and the score was arguably better than Halo 3's, but I personally wasn't too keen about change of gameplay and pace. It was still interesting and fun, but I likely won't bother with the game again till it's bargain bin price.*

  Movies I Saw This Year

  Invictus (4/5)

  District 9 (4/5)

  Up (4.5/5)

  Star Trek (4.25/5)

  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (4/5)

  Gran Torino (4.25/5)

  The International (2.25/5)

  Watchmen (3.5/5)

  Fast & Furious (3/5)

  The Soloist (3.25/5)

  X-Men Origins: Wolverine (3/5)

  Terminator Salvation (3.5/5)

  The Hangover (4.25/5)

  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (3.75/5)

  Zombieland (4.25/5)

  *I do intend to see Avatar (and other films such as Public Enemies and Inglorious Basterds) sometime this week (hopefully in 3D). I would have seen it during a midnight showing but I haven't seen a film with one of my friends in a while and I'd like to see the film with at least one so that's why I'm holding off on seeing it for now.*

  Albums I Listened to This Year

  Amorphis-"Skyforger" (3/5)

  Heaven and Hell-"The Devil You Know" (3.5/5)

  Lamb of God-"Wrath" (3.5/5)

  Killswitch Engage-"Killswitch Engage (II)" (1.5/5)

  Eternal Tears of Sorrow-"Children of the Dark Waters" (3.5/5)

  Scar Symmetry-"Dark Matter Dimensions" (2.5/5)

  Judas Priest-"A Touch of Evil: Live" (3.5/5)

  Shadows Fall-"Retribution" (3.5/5)

  Slayer-"World Painted Blood" (2.5/5)

  Austrian Death Machine-"Double Brutal" (3/5)

  *Part of why I didn't bother with much this year in music is because I've been going through my library and focused listening to older albums to try and get an idea of what more bands I want to listen to*

  • Posted Dec 20, 2009 2:18 am PT
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