Cornerstone

I'm still working. I think what might have to happen is that I'm going to abandon this blog. yeah, I know, sorry for all of you diligent readers. I don't know. I'm going to start writing stuff that's more in line with what I'd like to end up doing: video games journalism. That said, I'm going to be putting most of what I write on my blog over at Giant Bomb.

I may update this occasionally, I may not. I might just come by every now and then and throw up the link to my current Giant Bomb blog. Who knows? All I know is I need to get a move on before life passes me by. So anyway, here's a review a wrote (yes, at Giant Bomb) of Guitar Hero 5.

Untitled

Ahem. I am this close to redoing this whole damn enterprise. This blog needs a jumpstart, and it needs to happen now. No one reads it, but I have some ideas on how to change that. In some ways, a lot has happened in the past (almost) year since I last updated here, but in other ways, not much has happened. Take this blog as my renewed effort to get things happening.

Earthquake Weather

Hoo boy, it's been a long freaking time. Benj tagged me to do some post a few months ago and I obviously never did it, and actually I'm not going to do it now, either. Maybe next time, which should be sooner than 7 months from now (fingers crossed). I just finally realized I need to start writing more (or at all, truth be told) and even if no one reads this (because, let's face it, there's not been any reason to) it'll be good to get me writing, because I need too get away from this town. It's seriously sucking out my life force. I like the job I have right now (Bell Photography) but it's not really paying the bills, literally and figuratively. So that's my situation in a nutshell. Also, I guess we have a new prez-o-dent. Well, not quite yet, but soon enough.


Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos.

Get It Faster

Well, the job search continues. I can’t seem to find anything that interests me. Admittedly, my scope is pretty narrow, but I really don’t want to do any more construction. I know I can’t afford to be picky, but I just don’t to have some crappy temp job. The other thing is that I have this irrational side of me saying, “There’s no point in looking for something local, because you just want to leave anyway. As soon as you find something here, you’ll get something better elsewhere.” The problem is, I’ve been thinking that way for, oh, probably 6 months. I really need to move on with things in my life, but everything I try seems to just blow up in my face or shrivel up before it even starts. I hate mooching off my mom, mainly because I hat being a moocher, but also because she can scarce afford to have me being a leech still. We’re hard up for money as it is, and me just squandering my time isn’t helping. Dammit, now this blog is starting to turn into my frakking journal. Well, since nothing else ever happens to me, I guess that’s what you’re gonna get.

Actually, I did go to the Jimmy Eat World concert a few weeks back. That was pretty kick-ass. Some of these pictures aren’t that great, because I only had my phone, but all things considered, they actually turned out alright.

Don't push your love away

Battlestar did not disappoint. In fact, it ended on a cliffhanger. But after the monumental cliffhanger that ended season 3 (which also took a full year to resolve) a week isn't so bad. I'm almost giddy with excitement over what's going to happen.

I finally added some pictures to my Facebook profile. So if anyone's interested, go check 'em out.

And finally, in keeping with my little header at the top of the page, the titles to my posts rarely have anything to do with the post. Just a little heads up.

50,000 people used to live here

I seem to be caught in a schedule of only updating once every two weeks. Don't know what that's all about. So I got a call back from that interview I had and they just want me to do freelance work for them. What that basically means is that I'll do work for them from home, and just submit everything online. They said they have a lot of work to do, but I haven't heard a word from them since they called me about it two weeks ago. I also pretty much don't have a job here in IF anymore because my boss apparently doesn't care enough about his business to stay in touch with his employees. He never answers his phone when I call him and I can't leave messages either. So yeah, that sucks.



Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica starts on Friday night and I am SOOOOO stoked. If you haven't watched this show yet, you absolutely have to. It's easily the best TV show I've ever seen. The production values are as good as a big budget Hollywood movie and the writing, oh, the writing. It's absolutely amazing. The thing that most impresses me about it is the fact that it doesn't beat you over the head with the science fiction setting. It uses the setting to tell stories about the people. Which isn't to say that the setting isn't necessary, because it 100% is. But it largely serves as a vehicle through which the story is told. Anyway, I can't recommend it enough.

Stickshifts and Safety Belts

I actually don't know how to drive stick very well. I want to get a car that is stick so I can learn. I was going to last summer but then all sorts of crazy ish hit the fan, and, well, I didn't. I do, however, always wear my seatbelt. Safety first, kids. Anyway, I'm currently in Utah for a day or two because I have an interview in Provo this afternoon. I found something whilst searching on the intarwebz for employment. They responded in about 2 days, which I was pleasantly surprised at. The company is called Heritage Web Solutions. They do website hosting and design and such. They need a staff writer, and I can only assume (careful...) that I would be writing about their services. So it'll be interesting, but either way, I'm super stoked. I need to get away from Idaho Falls again, and no offense to everyone living there, hopefully for good. There's nothing for me there, career-wise. Anyway, I'll update this tonight after the interview.


UPDATE: To be honest, there's not much to update. I took some typing tests, then some writing tests. Those are what took the bulk of the time. After that, I had a somewhat rushed interview. The girl who interviewed me, besides probably being younger than me, talked really fast the whole time. She kind of just fired off questions and waited for me to respond so she could write down my responses, but didn't really follow up on any of them. I guess that's what happens when your interview is finishing up right at 5:00 and people want to go the hell home. So it was kind of hard to get a read on what she was thinking, but she may not even really have anything to do with the hiring. Who knows?


And just for good measure, some more pictures of my awesome little brother.

Summer Sales

Some friends of mine from college have been doing summer sales for pretty much the entire time I've known them. They've been trying to get me to go with them for years, but I've always had something come up at the last minute that prevented me from going. Well, this year, it looks like I'm actually going to end up going. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. It would be a LONG summer (April through September, possibly October) and I guess I'm still nervous about knocking doors again. That was one thing I hated on my mission. Knocking doors is not fun. BUT! Guess what I'm doing today? Going to Pocatello to knock doors. The excitement is starting to melt my face. Did I say excitement? I meant anxiety. I mean, I want to go, I'd be with friends, it would be a great experience, but there's still something that unsettles me.

A long time ago

I had a job. Then I didn't. For about 6 months. Now I kind of have one again. Hopefully that last sentence will lose the "kind of" in the next few days. It isn't what I really want, but it's good enough for now, which is pretty much as good as I can hope for around here. Idaho Falls (and pretty much all of southeast Idaho for that matter) is a terrible place to find a job as an editor; I've definitely been looking. So for now, I guess it's back to the daily grind.


This little gem of a video was brought to my attention by one Jeremy Parish, an editor at 1up. He gushes about the game in his blog post here. I echo all of his sentiments. This is the kind of thing that proves that video games are more than just mindless drivel. Anyone reading this who thinks that, we need to have a private conversation wherein I show you how very wrong you are. Sure, their primary purpose is to entertain, but the exact same can be said for movies, TV, and literature. But sometimes games can transcend their medium and become something more. I realize all that I'm saying right now is predicated on a 5-minute video I watched on an unreleased product, but bear with me. Games have so much power to draw people in and make them believe in what they're experiencing. Now, this game may not have much in the way of story, but the way you interact with the world is completely mind-blowing. I cannot wait to get my hands on this thing.


Now time for me to REALLY nerd out. I'm kind of a closet American Idol fan. Not TOO closet; it's not like I hide it. But tonight I was watching the first round of eliminations after everyone gets the chance to perform for real. This was also while I was in the middle of a heated Call of Duty 4 game with my buddies online. Yeah, it was a weird juxtaposition, for sure. But anyway, I was more worried about the results than I was about COD4, which was...interesting. I don't usually let things that aren't DIRECTLY related to my life draw me away from my games. Mainly, I was worried that my favorite girl this year would get voted off, because she didn't do great the other night. I openly acknowledge that most of the reason I like her is because she's absolutely gorgeous. But so what? She's a good singer, too, and I want to see what else she can do.


I realize this is the longest post ever, but one more thing. My brother James is on his mission in Mexico and he's the coolest kid ever.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:

Long time

So a friend just reminded me that I need to update this........And here it is. This is just a cursory update; more will follow very shortly. I've been meaning to make this into a professional sort of thing, and I've pretty much just been a lazy-ass for the last year. Oh, and when I say "professional", I use that term very loosely. I actually want to have this be a launching pad of sorts for my video game writing. I've been meaning to start it up here and at the site I frequent the most, 1up.com. Once the ball actually gets rolling, I'll probably start double posting. Here so my friends can see it (if they're actually interested in video games) and at 1up so that I can start getting some feedback and such from people over there. Lately I've been commenting a lot on the stories over there and at Kotaku. So that's the plan. Stay tuned for more in the near future. I hope.

Yeah, probably...

So it's been quite some time since my last "post." I either just haven't felt like it, or there was nothing to say. My life has pretty much been Dullsville, what with nothing to but lay the brick day in and day out. BUT things are about to change, I think. I just got a call this morning from a company in Salt Lake called Office Team that is interested in interviewing me. The position I applied for is Proofreader, but it could probably end up being something else. Anyway, the cool thing is that I applied for this job online LAST NIGHT and I got the phone call THIS MORNING. Wow. So my interview is on Friday at 2:00 in Salt Lake. I'm SUPER stoked. It looks like things are finally looking up for me.

Star Trek meets Monty Python

I'm in love...

With videogames. HAH! Had you there for a second, huh? No, I seem to emit some sort of unpleasant odor or aura or something else that scares the females away. NO! My one true love, who never leaves me and never lets me down (unless Mr. Lag interferes), is videogames. And right now Guitar Hero (1 & 2) is at the top of my list. Maybe because I played it for like four hours tonight, but HOT DAMN is that game fun. As a corollary to that, Elite Beat Agents is a killer game as well. It's rhythm-based like Guitar Hero, but stylus driven instead of guitar-controller-that-will-rock-your-face-off driven. Oh, and I guess Rainbow Six: Vegas is up there as well. I sure love me some terrorist killing. Word up.

Christmas and beyond

I got some KILLER slippers for Christmas.



Conor is a WWI Flying Ace.



You wish you were cool enough to hang with us.



I bet the girls responsible for this are cold. (Those are bras)



I'm probably higher than a kite.

Flaming Candy Canes and other Christmas Merriment

So, for years, our street has put up candy canes on the edge of everyone's yard to celebrate the "Christmas spirit." Lately, I've gotten really tired of doing it, but we haven't had a good reason to not do it. Well, this year we do. Unfortunately, I'd rather not get into the specifics, but suffice it to say that the camel's back has been broken. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to pile all of ours up, pour gasoline all over them, and torch the suckers on Christmas Eve for all the stupid people driving by to see. (They're only stupid because they drive 3 mph down our street at night, with their headlights off, not letting those of us who LIVE on the street get in OR out of our freaking driveways. That's all.) So we'll see if my plans come to fruition or not, but at the very least we lit one up tonight. So that was fun.





We also finally put our Christmas tree up. We actually bought it like a week ago and put it up, but we didn't start decorating it until today. In fact, it's still a little sparse, as far as ornaments go, but we'll probably wait until tomorrow to finish that. Once it's all decked out, I'll see how I feel about putting up a better picture of it.

Well, you see, the thing is...

This is from this past Halloween. I was a werewolf. (It looked a lot better in person.)

Also, I went to Boise last night for a concert, and I just happened to find some Mountain Dew Live Wire, which is the best pop in the world.

And finally, this is some stonework that we did a few months ago. I'll have more of this later.

Viva Piñata and Gears of War

This is freaking hilarious, even if you don't like video games. And it's completely family-friendly.



THIS is an amazing game. By the way, the game actually looks this good.

Halloween-ness

Here are the Jack-o-lanterns we carved this year. I have to say that we're pretty cool.


Here's mine



James's pump-a-kin



Conor's handiwork

Watch these videos

So OK Go is my new favorite band. These videos demonstrate why.

Not so much

So it's pretty much been three weeks since I've updated this. Maybe that's because...oh, who cares, there were lots of reasons. Probably. Anyway, a friend reminded me that I needed to update, so here I am, updating. Although she's basically the only one who reads this (at the moment) so maybe she wants something AMAZING from this blog post. Sorry, babe, probably not gonna happen. Um, so yeah, I guess I've not updated because NOTHING exciting happens to me, at all. Ever. In my life. I don't even play my Xbox that much anymore, which is odd, since I used to consider that my favorite pasttime, next to listening to music and sleeping (not at the same time...well, maybe). Maybe that's because I'm using in advance all the time I'll be devoting to Gears of War once it comes out in about a month. So...yeah.

While I'm in a talkative mood...I just finished a couple AMAZING books. Whoa. Maybe cool things DO happen to me. Vicariously. Nevermind. They're both by a new author named Brandon Sanderson. Elantris was a great, great book. One nice thing is that it was a complete story in just ONE VOLUME. So many fantasy writers think they have to write this huge, epic story that spans ten novels, each 700+ pages. That isn't to say that there's no room for a sequel, because there is. ANYWAY. The novel does use some genre cliches, but they're so well-drawn you don't really notice. Also, the magic system is pretty cool. It's not COMPLETELY original, but what really is these days? Very briefly, it consists of drawing symbols, called Aons, in the air--which leaves a visible trail--adding specific details for localization or specific effects, then touching the center of the symbol to activate the magic. Anyway, there's a lot more to it, so go read it. The other novel is Mistborn. I actually liked Mistborn more than Elantris. The magic system in this book is pretty clever and actually pretty original, too. Called Allomancy, the user ingests trace amounts of different metals in a liquid solution. He then proceeds to "burn" the different metals, each having a different result. For example, Burning tin enhances one's senses, while Burning pewter increases one's strength and speed. There are six other basic metals, with a few others that have interesting effects. Mistborn is a lot more fast-paced than Elantris, which I think is in part due to the quickness with which one can use Allomancy as opposed to Aons. At its roots, Mistborn's story is the same rebellion story told countless times in myriad other works, but the details that flesh out the story are what set it apart and make it especially entertaining.

Wow, that was a lot more than I planned on writing. But it was kind of therapeutic. So maybe next time I'll follow suit. Oh, and I'm going to get some pictures of my job. Maybe some of me actually working. But probably mostly of things I've done. I'm proud of the masonry I've put together. And before you make any jokes about my last name being Mason and the fact that my job is masonry, let me tell you that I've heard them all before. But thanks for trying. Until next time.