For Your Convenience, We are Putting You on Hold

Ever want to get help with your ipod and have to wait 15 plus minutes. Not anymore. Just dial 000 at the prompts and say "Operator". For T-Mobil, just say the word "Representative" at any time and it immediatly directs you to a person.

On NPR this week, Paul English was featured in one of their episodes of Morning Edition. Paul English is a blogger that has a page listing many major corporations and how to bypass their customer service pergatory.

In many ways this might be unfair to skip the deligently patient people waiting before you, but it is even more unfair to be putting your customer around in circles for 20 plus minutes. I know with my last tussle with Cingular I waited 20 minutes just to find out that I had to call a different Cingular number. They offered to forward me, but in the end they accidentally hung up on me.

I also want to mention that Paul English also has many other great articles on "great" customer service. Defineatly worth checking out and having it bookmarked for your next Customer Service Two-Step.

Do you like Madison and Funny things?

So I was looking on the internet for more information on the soon to be erected Barry Alveraz bronze statue, (By the way, that is practically the most dirty, erotic thing I ever typed.) when I came across this Blog site.

It is presitge brillance to the level of the Onion, the down home flavor of Madison, and the incepid hatred for posers, tools and jags alike that made me bookmark this quality blog. Not since the meandering rants of Goggins, have I read a home grown musing that amused me as much. Granted it is very Onion-esque, but there is nothing wrong with that. As long as they keep it real.

This blog writes about news and events of our fair Mad City in the style of the Onion. Luckily for this person the town is full of posers, tools and jags of all colors and styles so the well wont run dry on these new ideas.

I'm going to keep tabs on it. I think you should too.

Fine, you win!

Alright, I'm a big man, I can admit when I'm wrong. I like Itunes. It is a quality product.

I have gone several years denying the quality media program that is Itunes. I've installed it 5 times and uninstalled it 4 times. The most recent Itune installation was due to the ipod shuffle I was given. Now that I have the Ipod working (another post in itself) and have begun to utilize Itunes I'm very happy thus far with it.

Many of you at this point are saying, "duh". But all I'm saying, is you are right. I am wrong, I have seen the light and it comes from Cupertinon, CA.

Although Itunes is awesome, I don't belive it whips the llamas ass. But it gives a bruising.

Too Bad for T. O.

In a world that cares more about results then effort and appearance more then discipline, it amazes me what happened to Terrell Owens. And when it comes to the Imperial realm of the National Football Leauge, I honestly believed that Terrell would have to kill someone in the endzone, dance on his body and then drag the body to a press conference before someone would say more then "Thats T.O. for you. What a showboat."

To have the Eagles say, "your done" to All - Star Reciever Terrell Owens, for exteneded confrontations on and off the field is one step in getting things right with sports. We have always learned to dismiss ones actions off their field for their actions on the field. This could possibly send a message to players to not go shoot off their mouth in a microphone, or disrespect their coach on the practice field. I'm talking to you Mr. Sheffield.

Im sure when push comes to shove T.O. will get his way, and his money. But for now I know, somewhere, there is a battle worn veterans of the playing field who remember the glory days of football, when men were men and the game was not just a check, but everything. Sitting in his tattered recliner watching the local news because his pension needs to cover his medication and not cable tv and saying to the T.O. news, "Its about &%$@# time! Martha! Get me a beer." God bless america and God bless the NFL.

Aardman Studios

On October 10th the Aardman Studios storage warehouse burned to the ground. All of the original Wallace and Gromit puppets and Chicken Run figures and sets were destroyed.


"Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal."

-Nick Parks
creator of Wallace and Gromit

wait'll they get a load of this

For Batman fans out there (who like the first Burton Batman film), they are finally releasing a version on DVD that isn't first generation WB style disc. Pretty cool.

That movie looks delightful

This trailer is by far one of the funnier things I've seen in a long time.

A movie for all ages.

Submitted for your approval: "The Mighty Orc"

I believe that a good nic name should have four qualifications. 1. Social Ramifications, it can't be insulting to the person. 2. Physical Correct, this can also be ironic. A 300 pound man can be called "tiny". 3. Chant, you have to chant the name. 4. recognize by his peers. You can't name yourself something and others outside of your circle can't go giving out nic names.

DERRICK TURNBOW (P) MILWAUKEE BREWERS

All season, fans and experts have tried to name Derrick Turnbow, the Milwaukee Brewers closing pitcher. Darron Sutton leans to compare him to Napoleon Dynamite, due to his love of the cult movie. Where as Bob Uecker refers to him as the "Bowhunter". These are very good and stir a sense of accomplishment.

I submit for your approval.

Derrick Turnbow "The Mighty Orc!!!!!"

I put this on record that "The Mighty Orc" is not only a proper name, but the best nic name for Turnbow. Not only does it roll off the tongue well (Just saying "Napoleon" sounds nasally) it conjures up imagery of a vicious creature that strikes fear in the enemy.

Social Ramification:

Many consider this nic name an insult. People see an Orc as a common creature whose manners and actions are subhuman. This is why I put the word "Mighty" before the word, "Orc". This making him not only an orc (an already feared creature) but he is mightier then the average Orc. Make him superior to the creature whose manners and actions that are subhuman.

Physical:

Physically, he is not exactly the same as an Orc. Exhibit A.

Note, the eyes, ears and upper front teeth.

Compare to exhibit B:

Now granted the eye to nose ring is more of a Red Sox thing, but still acceptable for this example.

Now just too make sure people are aware, Example A is Turnbows team photo, and Example B is an run-of-the-mill Orc.

Crowd Chant:

Final test of a good nic name. Silently chant the name either in a long cheer or in an repetitious beat. Example:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOverrrrrrrrBAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

(I came up with that one too, however people cut off the "verbay" part, I approve.

Now try the beat test with Ueckers name:

BOW HUNTER BOW HUNTER BOW HUNTER

I'm out of breath already.

Now we test mine:

mighty ORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRC!!!!

though it has striking similarities to Lyles, it is still good.

Second test:

ORC ORC ORC ORC ORC ORC

Christ, I could do that all day, no sweat.

Peers:

Well, this last one is up to you. Tell me what you think. Or just start chanting it next time he saves another one for the crew.

Quote of the Moment

"I don’t advocate downloading songs illegally, but do it.
Then cut your hair, you hippy."

-Jason, writer for chrisdiclerico.com

Six Feet Under Finale

If there is anything that 6 Feet Under taught us is that life is short and the people around us give us the meaning of our life. Many, if not all, of the clients that came through Fischer and Sons were flat 2 dimensional characters whose deaths were often funny if not ironic. It wasn’t until the Fischer family interacted with the living did we begin to be emotionally tied into their actions.

Since the beginning I found the series to be interesting and well written. These characters were often morbid, socially unacceptable and most of all pretencious. I stuck around to watch the pieces of humanity to come out, often in emotion or moral lessons. On occasion I would be disappointed with cliché antics or worn visual aids for the slow minded viewer, but most of the time the cast and crew was aware of these clichés and redefined them to their own ways. That is what kept me watching and kept me plugging along until the end (a symbol of life in many ways).

The series finale was on HBO last night and as I watched I thought about all the episodes I saw in the past and the night I watched the first episode (kind of ironic). In the end the tear I shed was the tear of disappointment.

The first hour plus was very good and played out in the same quality that was held up through the entire series run. However the last montage was a ridiculous portrayal of everything that the series didn’t stand for. The series ends with a Claire starting her new life on her way to New York and we see a future montage of how each main character of SFU dies.

I felt almost no attachment to these people’s deaths, mostly because you were too preoccupied with their bad makeup and giggled at the drawn out deaths. You wondered, what twist will kill this family member. During the whole montage I kept thinking of the episode only two weeks prior, on the death of Nate, had more emotion and intrigue then any episode too date. On the other hadn the finales ending scene felt more like some cheap rip off written by the same group of writers that did the Very Brady Christmas. It seemed more of the actions of closure then the actual closure itself. Its sad that a show that had such a strong story line to end with something so flat and lifeless.

How about that HBO’s Rome!

Say What!?

I do not usually repost what others have posted, but on chrisdiclerico.com, a site a frequent often, posted a link to Gizoogle. A website that translates any website into Snoop Dogg ebonics. And again, I usually don't find it very funny, but out of boredom, I tried it out on my blog. It was mildly amusing until I got down to my Rock Bottom entry (which by the way, please go to the site and get the wings back)

This is what I wrote:

Dear Rock Bottom,

Why hasn't the Thursday night all you can eat Wings and Beer returned to the Milwaukee Location. I found this to be an wonderful experience and enjoyed going at least _______ a month. Is there a reason why you haven't continued this?

This is what Gizoogle wrote:

Dear Rock Bottom,

Why hasn't tha Thursday night all you can eat Wings n Beer returned ta tha Milwaukee Location . I thought i told ya, nigga I'm a soldier. I found this ta be an wonderful experience n enjoyed going at least _______ a miznonth . Ill slap tha taste out yo mouf. Is there a reason why you haven't continued this . Throw yo guns in the motherfuckin air.


Juvenile, but funny

The time wasn't right

The Marathon was more of a brisk walk in the history of cinema. I will try again, but right now between work and all, I just can't get a film a day in. But I will be triumphant again.

World's Finest Trailer

I watched the trailer for World's Finest (The Batman Superman movie I talked about earlier). All in all, not too impressed (because of Superman). But I recommend seeing it, and I still look forward to it. The Ifilm website is nice, but sometimes cumbersome to watch trailers on. However the Force.net site has many other very cool fan films and a little more user friendly.

Batman/Superman movie

The Batman franchise has been around for over 65 years now and has a long ever changing history. Monumental moments from the Golden Age of comics, to what many refer to as the Frank Miller Vision of Batman, the caped crusader has taken on many faces and many personas. Lewis Wilson, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Kevin Conroy, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale (Italics represent unapproved Batmen).

These mainstream version of Batman are all fairly well known, but few people know of "Batman: Dead End", by Sandy Corrola

Sandy Corrola is a special effect artist who got his tutilage from Stan Winston. Being a huge batman fan he created a short film entitled "Batman: Dead End". I've pretty much forced everyone I know to sit down and watch it, those who don't know what it is are usually surprised by the professionalism and the twist ending. At this point, I recommend you to go to the site. Another forwarning, do not look at the photo site, just watch the film, don't ruin the ending.

Note to Mr. Faber, the Sandy Corrola's website now has a high resolution version of his film, go there to view it.


Though I am not a fan of Superman as much as Batman, I'm very excited to know that Sandy Corrola is doing a Batman/Superman fan film. Yet again, I think Sandy Corrola did an excellent job at casting Superman, as he did with casting Clark Bartram for Batman. Compared to some of the early pictures I've seen of the "official" Superman movie, this Superman is far better.

As you know, I will be following this closely and keep everyone posted.

Now Seriously!

Ok, I posted this a couple of months ago and yet STILL, the infamous wings and beer has not returned to Rock Bottom. Come on people, united we stand!

Please go to the Rock Bottom site and send a comment.

Dear Rock Bottom,

Why hasn't the Thursday night all you can eat Wings and Beer returned to the Milwaukee Location. I found this to be an wonderful experience and enjoyed going at least _______ a month. Is there a reason why you haven't continued this.

If you don't do it for yourself, at least do it for me!

What Grinds My Gears

1. Overrated Actors and Directors (Michael Bay, Joel Shumacher, Nicole Kidman, Drew Barrymore, etc.)
2. Poor Film handling and presentation
3. Cell phone abuse
4. People who make U-turns at lit intersections
5. Drew Rosenhaus and any of his clients
6. People who drive in the emergency lane during traffic jams
7. Video game controllers chords wrapped around a controller
8. The sound of balloons and the sound of Styrofoam
9. Cubs fans
10. People who like really bad movies for the wrong reasons

A Long Time Ago....

No this isn't a photo from yet another Star Wars Episode.

These photos were shown to me a couple of years ago. They are actually photographs taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii in the early 1900s. And yes, they were shooting color images then.

He basically invented the three pass system of color photography before we were doing it a dozen years later. The plates were found, scanned digitally and restored. I think some of these photos are some of the most amazing photos out there. Check out the site to learn more and see the whole collection.

Quote of the Moment

"I think a lot of people would like to have Overbay.
But they're not going to get him."

- Mark Attanasio
Chairman and Principal Owner of the Milwaukee Brewers

The Eye in the Sky

Found this website in one of my many latenight web excursions.

Many people know that google maps now features satelite images. However, they are really really blury and don't get that close. In my search for quality satelite images, I found this site.

I was amazed at the quality and the accuracy of its search engine. Granted, there are those stupid company logos all over it, but still very amusing and cool (in a nerd way).

I recently found that they also have old satelite photos as well. Very cool to see how the neighborhood evolved and see historic locations come and go.

Miller Park Now

During Construction

All Star Game, an All Time Low. (but is there new life on a larger level?)

The ratings are in and the 2005 All Star Game has the lowest in Major League history to date for an All Star game. 8.1/14 is the lowest it has ever been, infact its down 8 percent from last year.

In other Major League News. Commissioner Bud Selig will not hault baseball for Olympics. He stated this at yesterdays All-Star festivities when asked if he would consider it to add favor to the Olympic committee. Earlier that day the Olympic Committee announced they would be dropping baseball from the Olympic Games in 2012 because of its scrutiny in steroid use the past few years.

Will the World Baseball Classic bring new life to the void the Olympics made?

I believe that it will catch Americas eyes and help fill out the year by giving its fans more of what they love, Baseball. Scheduled for the begining of March, this timing puts it on the heels of the biggest sporting event of the year and the finality of the most popular professional sport around, the NFL Super Bowl (yeah, Nascar is technically more popular but I don't consider it professional when a large percent of the sports requirement is money).

Say it ain't so Kurtz, say it ain't so

Scott Kurtz is officially out of the Daily Grind Iron Man Challenge! Whats this you ask? Is this like a Lance Armstrong kind of thing? The Daily Grind Iron Man Challenge is an Online comic artist competition. 20 dollars to sign up gets you in, you have to post every day a new comic everyday (except on Sunday you rest) Last man standing takes the pot. "100 men enter, 1 man leave" It truly is the Thunderdome of online comics.

I've followed this since its conception. Scott Kurts (writer of PVP Online) was a shoe in. He has posted daily since PVPs conception with only missing like two days. Thats almost 7 years of posting. He was practically the sure bet for winning and I followed it closely.

Now he has practically given up by having a guest artist on PVP while he goes to the San Diego Con and gets some time away (granted he might get to meet Jon Herder, that would be mad awesome!). At first I felt a sense of denial that he would just kind of give up like that, then the cold hard facts set in.

This, to me, is a few levels of importance below when the Packers loose the playoffs, but a few levels higher then when I find out I don't have anything in the fridge to eat. It hurts, but I will go on.

His guest artist is quite talented and well known, and I have already found a new online comic to follow through the competition. I won't give up on Mr. Kurtz and find him extremely talented and hilarious. And the more I think about it, I realise that this competition doesn't value the things I value most about competitions. This competition is not based on artistic ability, creativity or merit. But is based on who can upload a set of drawings every day. Granted its cool that anyone with a website and a computer can enter no matter the size or power of the entity behind you, but at the same time, a monkey could compete if you shocked him at the right times throughout the day.

Just a rant with a thought. Monkeys + Daily Grind Iron Man Challenge = Matt's loaded.

The fight goes on.

Review of War of the Worlds

Summer and Spielberg. These two things are synonymous.


War of the Worlds is based on the H.G. Wells classic science fiction tale about alien occupation and extermination of the human race. Steven Spielberg tells the story from the point of view of a broken family.

Tom Cruise plays the father of two kids who are visiting for the weekend. Within the first reel we quickly see how Tom Cruise is a divorced father of two who knows very little of his kids, “smarter-then-her-age” Dakota Fanning and “rebel-son” Justin Chatwin. With no real attachment between the main characters, except for their distant past. I don’t see any true character development on the horizon except for these distant characters to come closer as individuals and as a family. In less then 18 minutes I am not interested in these characters and have no expectations for them, maybe the aliens will occupy my time. Maybe.

The alien crafts, or Tripods, were planted on earth hundreds of thousands of years ago. With the human race at its apex, the aliens decide to put an end to our smugness. They slowly begin to emerge in random cities all over the world and begin taking out all civilization in that area. Tom Cruise is luckily enough to be living in one of those cities. The aliens emerge in front of Cruise while he looks for his car that his rebellious son stole.

The choreography that Steven Spielberg and Dennis Murren puts Tom Cruise through in the first Tripod attack is not only mesmerizing to see, but to fathom how they mixed physical and special effects is amazing. With the combination of cgi effects of aliens tearing through the city and the physical effects of people running and windows exploding, you see why Spielberg is the action movie master.

As the movie progresses we see the Tripods attacking in all types of situations. Land, air and sea. During all these blood lusted attacks the human race is slapped around and destroyed, except for this family of three. During the whole movie, Tom Cruises party comes within 10 feet or less with these creatures at every encounter, only to survive. They become the luckiest trio on earth.

With these alien attacks comes a hodge podge of mass human emotion. With scenes and sets remanescent of ground zero 9/11, are however splattered with a human reaction and selfishness that was absent from those tragic events. There is too much of a zombie feel to the human race whenever they are in masses. Which hinders the character development of the main characters.

As a craft this film is hands down one of the better ones I’ve seen this summer. The sound design and mix fills the theatre and it sets the mood of the film from beginning until the end. Janusz Kaminski pilots the camera for Spielberg once again in this film. Even though I found his cinematography to be lackluster from his previous films, the authorship of Spielbergs camera style was definitely more prominent in this film and was a warm welcome.

All in all, I found this movie to be disappointing. Despite the positive things (Action, well crafted and funny hijinx) this film falls short. Though I never got bored with the film in general, I did feel disappointed and upset with the cliché actions of the characters. Though this is a Spielberg film, it is not the movie to save summer as many thought it would be. Do I recommend it, yes. Did I like it, somewhat. Will it save the summer season, no.

Add a caption!

What was Victor Santos thinking in this picture?

More then Meets the Eyes

I was surfing imdb.com to find out that Spielberg is Executive Producing a live action version of the Transformers movie.

Its going to be directed by Michael Bay.

Those who know me, realized I just puked on my keyboard.

Opinion Poll #1

Post your response on the comments section!

Who is Batman's greatest villian and why?

Sausage Stats

I have added the Miller Park Sausage racing stats to the blog.

There is not up-to-the-minute updates on the web. I will do my best to keep it up to date, but any help I can get will help.

Now in the Fold

My friend B. Goggins started a blog after I directed him to mine and Nevilles. I think once he saw the pointant rants that we posted, he probably thought we were morons and wanted to show us up.

I guarantee you a good bitter point of view of a nieve world you never saw before, until you see them through the eyes of V-Gogo.

A Little Bit Country

I told a few friends about this commerical I saw on tv this morning. I finally found it on the web, I think its hilarious.

Review of Batman Begins

Batman Begins is the latest chapter in the chain of unattached Batman films. Batman Begins starts the franchise all over and takes you through the journey Bruce Wayne travels to wear the mantle of the guardian of Gotham, Batman.

Bruce Wayne (Bale) struggles with the loss of his parents and sets out to train himself to avenge his past. With mentoring from Herni Ducard (Neeson), we watch Bruce Wayne both harnesses his anger and his guilt and find that they are both laced to his fear. Once he has learned to overcome his fear, he can begin to spread fear to people who seeded his anger and guilt, the crime of Gotham. It’s a vicious circle, but that’s good drama.

Once he returns to Gotham, he quickly begins to look closely at the corruption that has plagued his fare city. After looking over the entire city, he finds that only a few people are good: Gordon (Oldman), Rachel (Holmes), and anyone his father worked with directly. Everyone else is evil except for a few small children and impoverished citizens. Gotham is very black and white, this makes Batman’s job very easy.

Once Batman has made his mark on Gotham and begins to bring down the thugs, the city questions the work of the vigilante. Bruce Wayne must keep up appearances to save both his identity and the good citizens of Gotham. However his struggle between finding his true self and avenging his past quickly shifts to avenging his past and rekindling his lost love with the reentry of Katie Holmes into his life (Rachel).

During this transition, the film changes gears into the familiar gear of summer blockbuster. With the corruption plaguing the city, Scarecrow (Murphy) uses mind altering drugs to drive the city to its knees. And the only way to stop this is with the cooperation of Batman, the above mentioned people who are good in the city, and a futuristic arsenal of stupendous proportions.

Though I find this movie to be good and enjoyable, I also find it to be cut from the same cloth as many other summer blockbuster action films. Though it has small intricacies that break away from the clichés of the summer blockbuster, the film in itself becomes almost predictable and obtuse. With the strength of the beginning and a proposed premise, it is slowly beaten down with flashy chase scenes, chaotic fight scenes and a two dimensional love story.

This film is one of the better action movies to come out this year so far, but to convince someone that this is anything more then a summer blockbuster would be hard to do. Good intentions, but poor execution.

Stay tuned for my rant on this film from the perspective of a Batman Fan!

Lets Start at the Begining

Very good article about the director of the upcoming batman film. Even though I heard he is a jag on the set, it's still a good article and I think he's a good director.

WARNING: I regret reading this article before seeing the latest film. Gives away a small part. Its the small parts that kill.

In Case You Forgot

Many people didn't understand the rage I voiced when New York Yankee's number 11 came up to the plate, heck just the idea that he was in Milwaukee drove me up the wall last night. For those who don't remember, or those who forgot entirely, or for even those who just didn't know.

"The Brewers brought out the hate in me. I was a crazy man. . . . I hated everything about the place. If the official scorer gave me an error, I didn't think was an error, I'd say, 'Ok, here's a real error,' and I'd throw the next ball into the stands on purpose."

Many would say that this quote was taken out of context, that there is no record of Mr. Sheffield ever throwing a major league ball into a major league stand, that he would "never do anything to hurt the team". None the less, Gary Sheffield has a history of speaking his opinion to the media on the negative feelings he has for a team and city just to get what he wants. Though I believe that ballplayers are neither role models or shouldn't be held to a higher standard, I just don't agree with anyone that would either do these things or threaten to do these things just to get what they want. There is not a 'happy average' or 'content with my surroundings percentage' next to his batting average on the back of his card. Him being happy with the team or where he will play next should bare nothing on his actions on the field at that moment.

He was a good ballplayer, and I will remember how I thought he was an awesome player for the Brewers. But I will also remember what he said in that interview and that will go with the memory as well.

Getto's Top 30

Great article for anyone looking for good restaurants in Milwaukee. Dennis Getto writes about his Top 30 again in last Fridays Milwaukee Journal.

He lists some really good places for food and some places I want to try soon.

Trailers

I'm personally not a proponent for watching trailers on the internet or tv. I find them to be a poor quality in both sound and picture. Even the websites dedicated to the movies host poor quality trailers and if they are any good you aren't able to download them and keep them if need be.

Seeing that I work in a theatre I enjoy standing in the back of a theatre and watching them on the big screen. About 10 years ago, that was the first and only way to see the full trailers, but in these modern times you can see full movie trailers even on your telephones, yet I remain a purest.

As earlier mentioned I am very excited for the Batman Begins movie (my brother remains skeptical but that is neither here nor there. If he wants to defend his ignorance, he should start a blog) I stopped by the DivX website to update my drivers when I saw that they host high quality trailers of many major releases coming and already out. I highly recommend going there for your pretheatre trailer viewing, instead of many of the crap sites out there.

http://www.divx.com/movies/trailers.php

And yes, I have downloaded both Batman Begins trailers.

Rock Bottom hits bottom

Many of you are aware of the fine establishment of Rock Bottom. However few of you are aware that Rock Bottom has all-you-can-eat chicken wings and all-you-can-drink beer on Thursday nights for 15 dollars. The reason I say "few", is because last Thursday was the last time they will offer this sweet deal of deliciousness.

I demanded an answer for this travesty when it finally sunk in (I was drinking a lot of Naughty Scot and was in denial). The guy at the door explained that management feels they are not earning money (understandable, seeing that the before mentioned sweet deal, is in fact a sweet deal) but the employee explained that Thursday nights is the busiest weekday night for Rock Bottom because of the sweet deal. I said I would write letters and he gave me his blessing and endorsement.

As a card carrying member of the Mug Club I find this very disappointing. I urge all of you who love both chicken wings and beer to tell Rock Bottom the way you feel. I advise sending in your protests to their website. Together we can make a difference.

Crimson Room

I was told about this Crimson Room at www.chrisdiclerico.com, and tried it out. Its a puzzle game where you have to get out of the room using what you find to help get you out. It was very fun but the only stupid part is at the end.

Good luck, the only hint I will tell you is that there are 13 items to find. I got them all, and my brother got up to 11 before homework called him away.

Fear ends... Justice prevails (god I hope so)

The more I see the latest Batman trailer (as discussed on the Chatanooga Choo Choo) the more I am excited for it. I don’t know what it is. From what I can tell the entire trailer is basically the first reel of the film and the last reel of the film. Batman will be heavy drama and backstory to the dark knight and that’s what has been missing from the last couple Batman films.

What I don’t think the trailer touches on at all is Gordon, which I believe will be a large part of the film. I hope the story is similar to the one of Frank Millers Year One for Gordon’s plot, but I’m open for anything with Gary Oldman as Lt. Gordon.

I’m very excited at seeing the inner turmoil of Batman’s early years and training, for the first time on film (you don’t see Batman for the first hour). The most important part of Batman is his struggle to find himself inside and outside of the cowl and I believe that will be touched on more intimately with Nolan behind the camera.

My only fears are that WB hasn’t realized that the silver screen is too small for two villains and that they don’t over do the love story, even though its Katie Holmes. I’m tired of Bruce Wayne showing his woman the cave and who he really is, that plot point is getting as stale as the bat cave air.

This Batman is truly a new beginning and I hope it revives the dying franchise of the caped crusader.

Nice

If you ever get a chance to go to a Brewers/Cubs game at Miller Park I highly recommend it. It makes it especially sweeter that during the bottom on the ninth, 2 outs, bases loaded and its tied the cubs throw a ball for the 3-2 pitch. Wow, I've never seen so many frustrated cubs fans in my life (except during post season, or when a piece of Wrigley falls on their heads).

Its a good feeling when the Brewers put away the cubs, despite with what Brewer Fans must go through to watch a home game with the Cubs. The cheers and boos at all the wrong times, and the now famous chant OOOOOver-rated (they think they are so cute). One Cubs fan even explained to a bunch of heckling Brewer fan kids that the only reason they are Brewer fans is cause they are poor. I don't get that one, nore do I want try and see what brought that on. I think it can only strenghthen my theory. Cubs fans are jerks.

We Are Not All Dilberts

On the right of this blog I posted a few of my favorite websites (except for that Neville kid's site). These websites are “web comics” and I feel by posting them on the side I can help these juggernauts of the underground internet comic scene get maybe one more viewer. It’s all I can do for the enjoyment they have given me. I go to these sites regularly and reference them daily. They are the green sheets of my 20 something years. I don’t only read and enjoy them, but relate to them on many levels. I advise everyone to search for their own online comic that speaks to them, they’ll find it if they look.

These sites all started with one or two people just drawing and writing. Not really a job that guidance councilors would recommend as stable income. However, 5 to 10 years of doing this consistently they have formed a fan base. Not only do fans read and appreciate their work, but companies are seeing their work. Penny Arcade started making a website that had comics and criticized the gaming industry. Now they publish comics for video game strategy guides, go to Microsoft to test games before they are released, host a yearly convention that draws thousands of fans and raise thousands of dollars for a kids charity they started.

Today I was thinking about an online cartoon I use to frequent often, Xombie. I don’t know what got me to remember this site I haven’t visited in almost a year, but I did. I searched for it again and went to it hoping that perhaps a new chapter would be posted. James Farr (creator and artist) made a 3 minute chapter every 6 months. Every 3 months he would post a letter thanking his fans for keeping him going and keeping their patience. I find out that the creator and solo artist of this online comic is now in pre-production for a feature film of Xombie.

Stuff like this is not only amazingly awesome, but an inspiration. The one common thing of all these sites is that they were guys who wanted to get their art work out because they had no other way or no one would pay to see their art. It didn’t happen instantly and it sure wasn’t praised at first or all the time. They worked for it, and it took years and self dedication. I tap my hats to all web comic and web animators out there. Many of you have full time jobs and families and like to spend a couple hours every night before bed or forgo their lunch hours just to get their art out there. I just wanted you to all know, that we are reading, enjoying and looking for the next piece of work.

What happened to Lucas Arts?

With everyone talking about Star Wars Ep III, I asked myself, “What happened to Lucas Arts?” Many will probably say that nothing happened to them, they are still a successful video game producer. However take a closer look. Lucas Arts use to create unique games that were not only interesting but games that made you think to solve problems. They not only created these unique situations but created unique characters with a sense of humor. Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Same and Max, Full Throttle, The Dig, Grim Fandango, the list goes on.

However, it seems that all the games that are coming out now are either first person, third person or the occasional strategy. To top it off 9 out of 10 of every game is centered on the Star Wars universe. Now granted, Lucas Arts was created by George Lucas, but how many games do we really need of light sabers and blasters. Granted, I love Star Wars as much as the next 20 something youth, but I don’t need a dozen different video game perspectives of Attack of the Clones.

What ever happened to Sam, Bernard or Manny. Sure I could just simply replay the games, but it’s not the same. These games are a dying breed, especially in the eyes of Lucas Arts. And I see this other places too. It’s either a first person shooter or an RPG or an amalgamation of both. I look at the gaming industry and I’m not seeing anything new, or innovative. I see better graphics and larger plot holes, not new games.

E! A! Sports! We own the Game!

As far as sports games go, for the past decade EA Sports has led the pack. Any gamer on any given day has quoted the now famous phrase that has opened their games back to the SNES days. “It’s in the Game”

The last year has brought on competition in the realm of video game football between EA Sports Madden and the ESPN 2K series. Though at face value these games were very similar the differences remain. ESPN offered more of a 'Sims' feel to your team with custom ability in non football areas, where as Madden was a very true Football sim. However the largest difference, ESPN was half the price from Madden’s.

Sales showed that EA Sports were starting to loose the position of top dog in the video game industry. And like most companies faced with the dilemma of coming up short of a superior product, they bought the rights to be the exclusive distributor of the NFL franchise and its players for video games.

Though I found this disturbing and kind of cheap, I did mark it up as a strategic maneuver. Granted for the next five years the name Madden and Video Game football will be synonymous, but how is that different from now. People don’t say, “Want to play some football?” It’s “Lets sneak in some Madden before I have to do something of value in the day.”

However this week, EA sports also purchased the gaming rights for College football. So now EA Sports has grown to spread their empire across to the collegiate level (by the way, college football is when they play for the game and not money, hoping to one day play for the money)

Though I’ve never been a fan of college football for several reasons, I find this maneuver by EA Sports to confuse and worry me. Granted EA puts out a quality product, but what will be the future of sports gaming. Will my FIFA franchise be safe? Will EA sports capitalize on non sports gaming franchises, such as Ford? Will EA Sports be the only ones allowed to feature a Ford car in their games? I don’t believe EA Sports in anyway will be the downfall of video game sports or spread its empire to grasp and choke the gaming industry, but I am intrigued on what will be next. EA Sports! It’s in the Exclusive Rights!

First for now

So I set up my first blog posting. Lets see where this goes.