10:28AM - APPZ

I was talking with some people about IPhone applications that might actually be useful, and we discussed a possible portable MBTA guide. Perhaps with ability to give directions and Maps on the T, when you normally might not have internet. And if you do have internet, maybe grab updates from MBTA.com. I haven't checked it out yet, I wonder if they publish their updates in XML.

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Dark Knight tonight.

To prepare, I read two more volumes of JLA, The Long Halloween, and rewatched Gotham Knight.

My opinion on The Long Halloween is pretty much the same opinion I have on most Batman comics. Good ideas, bad writing/execution.

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So the Watchmen trailer looks pretty bad ass. I still never actually read through Watchmen.

I've only read a few things by Alan Moore, mostly because none of them made me interested enough to want to pursue more of his work.

He falls into the same boat as Frank Miller for me. I just don't "get" them.

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My current project at work ended today and the big boss gave me a "nice job chris"...

Made me feel pretty good.

Today isn't so bad.

9:57AM - IPHONE

Dear Christopher Defazio,

Thank you for applying to the iPhone Developer Program. To activate, simply click on the Activation code link below

If you need furthur assistance, please contact us.

iPhone Developer Program

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Sweet. Let's make APPZ.

10:01AM - hang over city

So last night was pretty crazy.

I showed up at Tommy Doyles around 6:30. The first person to join me was Matt, probably around 7:30. Ben and then Joey arrived shortly after that.

I had been drinking Buds and the Bartender was telling us stories about how Tennessee girls aren't angry and don't hate men like women in Boston. He is apparently moving there, he made it sound pretty enticing when he told us his rent there was $360/month.

We were on the middle level, which was apparently void of AC. I wouldn't say it was hot, but when you went up stairs into the Air Conditioned level and then back down to earth, you were hit by the heavy fist of reality. You could say it was uncomfortable, but we pained through it, because we pretty much took up the whole bar, and the bartenders were both cool guys and fun to talk to.

Luke was nowhere to be found, and we didn't even hear from him until like 9ish. He probably showed up around 9:45?

We all watched the Homerun derby. My boy Josh Hamilton let me down. Choke City. But it was exciting, and the pants or skirt debate that was up in the air for a good 20 minutes, was incredible.

At some point two young floridian girls joined us at the bar. I don't know why we didn't give them any kind of contact info. They were new to the city and apparently didn't know where any bars were and somehow ended up at Tommy Doyles. They were cool, and one of them married Ben Kahzakstan style. We could always use more friends to hit up bars with, we blew that one.

Anyway, it was great to see Luke last night, and have Joey out with us. All around awesome night.

And now I'm trying to work off my hangover.

10:12PM

Hung out with Joey this weekend. We were like two miles from Evan but the douche wouldn't even come hang out with us.

Whatever he missed some rockin' karaoke. I didn't sing, I always feel weird about that, which is strange since I've sung on a stage before. Eh, I should have just gotten over it and sung Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hell. I'll have to do it next time. I want to go again, the only problem is that it's quite expensive to rent a zipcar for the day, so I can't do it all that often.

I was kept amused during the night by the table of 20-something girls who decided tonight was, "Dress up like sluts and get so drunk from scorpion bowls that we pass out in the parking lot night."

I also picked up a few more JLA trades and Batman's The Long Halloween. JLA and the Gotham Knight dvd have put me on a Batman kick lately.

I finally finished Macross, so I can start on One Piece. I watched a few episodes, but the english voice acting made me want to vomit. Maybe I'll try it in Japanese. Although I have watched two Mecha Anime in a row, maybe I should stay with that theme, since it seems to be working well for me.

I started working on my mother's website. She is going to be selling her kittens and wants to be a semi-serious breeder. Because I have so little free time to work on it, I decided to just set up a wordpress blog. It took me about 2 hours to get the site up. At this point I just have to tweak the theme to make it look a little cleaner. She also needs to get a logo, I'll need to figure out if I can find some sort of freeware paint shop to use. I told her to just pay someone to make a logo, but who knows if she will.

11:00AM

Just finished the new Fables trade last night. It was so good, I'm actually temped to start buying fables comics.

This would be a total waste, since I don't want the comics, I want the trades, but I really need to consume the story.

In this volume the war with the Adversary is finally starting, and we get to see Flycatcher's redemption, with a little help from Lancelot. We also get to see the return of Shere Khan and Bluebeard, in all their violent and savage glory.

To say Fables is brilliant doesn't even do it justice. While it faltered in volume 7 with the arabian nights nonsense, it has been A+ since.

If only Jim Henson were still alive, I feel like he could make the most incredible adaptation of this comic.

10:21AM - more stuff I've been consuming

Macross: Super Dimension Fortress is REALLY old. I believe it aired around 1983, and as such I never watched it. It's one of the three stories Robotech used as source material, and one of my coworkers raved that I needed to see it.



The concept is pretty out there. It's not the straight laced Mech Combat that I assumed it would be.

Humanity is caught up in a war with an alien race, who look like giant humans. They are the size of buildings. They have no concept of "culture" and in fact fear it. Women are a thing to be ignored, because they are dangerous. There is no art, no music, there is only war.

Throughout the anime they are exposed to this culture, in the form of j-pop, making out with chicks, and people who aren't in the military. They are amazed by these things! And not only are they in a war with humanity, but they are in a culture war with themselves.

It works pretty well, but being an old anime, it suffers from using a lot of stock footage, probably to cut costs. There are also multiple episodes that flashback to old content, for no reason.

But the story itself is fantastic, and you grow to love the main character, and hate his main love interest. She's this douchey j-pop idol who is constantly upping the morale of the populace by singing such songs as "My boyfriend is a pilot" and "Oh I really miss the green earth" or something like that. It's cheesy as hell, but it's enjoyable that you actually get to watch her go from nobody to a pop idol, and even eventually to being totally played out and ignored.

If you can get past the old school animation, it's actually quite enjoyable. For all the people that jerk themselves off over Neon Genesis, there seem to be quite a few Mech based anime that are actually enjoyable. I'd label this as one of them.

If the series wasn't hundreds of dollars I'd probably buy it.

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I'm also reading more of Morrison's JLA. Mostly because it's the only version of Batman that I've read that wasn't totally full of itself and/or fucking stupid. This includes his current run on Batman.

The third volume, rock of ages, involves some crazy time traveling, lex luthor's hostile takeover of the JLA, darkseid destroying the universe, and green arrow and the flash trying to fix it all.

And of course, it doesn't even matter what time period or dimension you're in, Batman is still 10 steps ahead of everyone. Even darkseid.

Brilliant. I need to pick up more of this.

The only thing I don't like about it, is that it seems during this time period, DC was actively crossing over JLA with each heroes normal book.

So from issue to issue of JLA major events happen inbetween them, and I had no idea.

Like between 9 and 10, Wonder Woman dies. And all we get is, "it sucks wonder woman is dead, we could really use her".

And Superman doesn't look like superman anymore and apparently has new powers, and I have no idea how or why this happened.

At least in the old Marvel comics, they referenced past events and explained them to you. It makes reading this through difficult, without constantly going to wikipedia.

10:28AM

Since I'm still sick and don't have anything else to do, I decided to check out Escaflowne.

It's from the mid 90's and I never really bothered with it because it's kind of from a female perspective. I was worried it would be too shojo for my tastes.

It's actually not bad.

The fist episode is a bit much, but after the the main character is wisked away into another world, the action picks up and the story kicks into gear.

You constantly have to deal with the main character falling in love with every guy she meets, but it stays cute and doesn't get too annoying.

The giant mech combat stuff is pretty bad ass and the on going war seems to be interesting.

I'm 8 episodes in and glad I decided to pick it up.

1:50PM - NEED TO SEE THIS IMMEDIATELY

GIRLS REBEL FORCE OF COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS

Poor Aki’s having the worst first day ever at her new school. As if it’s not bad enough that she gets pushed into the swimming pool as a prank, there’s a new virus circulating among the student body and the doctor who comes to inoculate them against it is a raving madman. A raving madman who likes to experiment with viruses, no less, and one who pumps the entire school full of a virus of his own design that transforms them into bloodthirsty maniacs. Things would be looking grim indeed if not for the fact that pool water neutralizes the virus and Aki was actually kidnapped years earlier and trained as a secret assassin by the same mad doctor. It’s time for Aki to kick some ass but not before stripping down for some lesbian loving with her new found best friend.

In the world of trash film there is fun trash and trashy trash. Japan’s GP Museum Soft dominantly makes the first kind. Their films are typically very low budget, shot on the quick and spare no opportunity to flash a bit of skin or a gratuitous panty shot. With very few exceptions GP films very rarely travel outside Japan and there’s good reason for that. And so I had to raise an eyebrow when I saw that The Girls Rebel Force of Competitive Swimmers - a truly fantastic title for a film – had received a low cost, region free DVD release in Hong Kong.

No doubt about it, Rebel Force is very much a trash film and very much in keeping with GP’s regular mode of operations. It is shot on the cheap with a no name cast and low grade effects and features both nudity and panty shots within the first ten minutes of the running time. High brow this aint. That said, it’s also not hard to see why this horror pinku has built some notoriety for more than just the skin. The budget may be low and the fight sequences are laughably poor but the set pieces are often wildly inventive and the whole thing is charged with a lunatic sense of energy.

Never seen a juggling, fire breathing zombie out for blood while reciting math problems? This movie has that. A girl nursing the heroine back to health by feeding her soup via lesbian kisses? It’s got that, too. A villain that plays pied piper to fulfill his sexual desires? That’s in there. Throw in one of the most surprising – and effective – secret weapons I’ve come across in a while and you’ve got something truly memorable. Not a good film by any measure and sure to offend many The Girls Rebel Force of Competitive Swimmers lands squarely on the fun end of the trash spectrum

10:50PM - MATT DAMON, A TRUE BOSTON HERO!

12:02PM - Amazon.com mp3s

I've been using Amazon.com to buy a lot of music lately.

I've given up on cds. I prefer digital music. I don't need cover art and cases just take up space. It's also cheaper to buy cds of mp3s on Amazon. I have hundreds of cds and they just waste space.

Anyway, listening to a ton of Nerdcore lately has connected me back with hip hop in general. I grew up listening to rap in the early-mid 90s. I didn't listen to rock music until 8th/9th grade.

So I bought a few cds.

Murs - Murray's Law
Common - Finding Forever
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

And I plan on picking up the new RZA tomorrow. I'm loving this stuff.

Per Joe Spag's notification, I grabbed the new Clouds cd. I have their "legendary demo" and loved it, but the new cd is really different. The demo has a distinct sound/genre, where as the new cd seems to explore a larger range. I like it.

I've been sick since last wednesday and there is no sign of that ending. So all I've been doing is watching movies/tv.

I did get into a pretty cool anime series called Yugo The Negotiator. There were only 6 episodes on demand, but they covered a single arc or "negotiation" if you will.

Yugo is a hostage Negotiator, and all around bad ass. I went into it with low expectations but was pleasantly surprised to find myself totally consumed by the show. It's a lot like Deathnote in the way each episode builds into a greater drama.

I can't wait to see the next arc.

I also watched a ton of blu ray movies...

3:10 to Yuma, Both Ultimate Avengers movies, I Am Legend, and Cloverfield.

I loved 3:10 to Yuma. I bought it months ago and kept putting it off, but its fantastic. The Ultimate Avengers movies were OK, but I didn't like the whole alien bad guy thing, that both movies used. But it was worth it just for the special features, which are like an hour of guys talking about comic books. The nerd in me, was satisfied.

I Am Legend with the new ending is the movie I wanted it to be. I loved the movie in theaters, but thought the ending didn't work. The blu-ray offers viewing the movie either way, and with the alternate ending and some other footage, it just makes the movie better.

Cloverfield rules. I watched every special feature and even watched the movie with commentary, something I almost never do. This movie is a classic.

Oh yeh and it's been days since I beat Metal Gear, and I still think about it constantly. What an awesome game.

8:22PM - Ok... I was wrong.

In the span of 20 hours, I played Metal Gear Solid 4 for about 15 of them.

Actually I take that back, I played it for about 7 and watched about 8 hours of cut scenes.

But here's the thing.

It deserves the 10.

After playing a lot of GTA IV, it got boring. The story started to suck and all the missions ran together. I saturated myself into the awesome environment they created, but there was nothing keeping me there. It had things going for it, but ultimately it fell apart in it's story.

MGS4 had no such problem.

Despite not really playing all the other games, and at first being turned off by the long ass cut scenes, I found myself constantly playing through levels just to get to the next one. They were so good, I just wanted to see the next one.

This scene here is incredible. It's the first fight between Vamp and Raiden. Obviously this would look way better in HD, but I couldn't find an HD version online.



So my final verdict? Some of the cut scenes were too long, but the game was brilliant, and the way the story came together made it all worth it. I think this cracks my top 10 video game experiences.

12:00AM

What an amazing game.

I was having one of the worst days ever, and to come home and get to witness a game of that magnitude, was just simply incredible.

And when KG hugged Bill Russell, I almost cried.

10:06AM - Stop cooking eggs.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is both one of the best AND one of the worst games I've ever played.

That might seem like a contradiction, but it's really not. I feel tortured by this game, in a way I'm not sure I've ever felt while playing any game ever.

The gameplay is amazing.

I'm usually not a fan of games that involve shooting guns. I just think that we've done that genre to death and putting the camera over the shoulder instead of first person doesn't change the fact that the game is still just a shooter.

One of the first games I ever played was Wolfenstein 3D, that was in the early 90s, and here we are 15 years later and almost every big game that comes out is that game with better graphics and AI. It took some courage on my part, to even make the purchase of MGS4, especially since I just gave up on Mass Effect. But I did, mostly because I felt like owning a PS3 and not buying MGS4, would be like owning a wii and not playing Mario games. It's what everyone was supposedly "waiting for", and in the very least I wanted to understand why.

Now I've played Metal Gear Solid for PSX, but I never played two, and I played 3 for 15 minutes before deciding that it was fucking stupid. So my track record with Metal Gear is hit or miss. I never played through the originals on NES, so there is no nostalgia attached to the characters or story for me. I think I'm pretty much removed from all of that. I'm also not much of a sony fanboy, so if the game sucks, I'm just going to sell it back and move on with my life.

Why is it the worst?

Cut scenes.

And not because the cut scenes are bad, in fact, they are the best cut scenes I've ever seen in a game, but there are just too many of them. They totally derail the game to the point that I get angry when I know one is coming up. I purposely spend as much time as I can in a sector before moving on, because I know the minute I enter the next area, I'll be forced to watch a cut scene the length of a sitcom.

Everyone says they are needed because there's just so much story! But that's bullshit, when it's all said and done the plot is going to be a few paragraphs on wikipedia, and I'm going to have watched hours of cut scenes. The game developers were just too full of themselves, and when I find myself wishing for a loading screen between areas and not another cut scene, that's when you know there's something wrong.

Just let me play the game! The gameplay is awesome! I don't even like shooter type games and I'm enjoying the combination of sneaking and killing. You're basically not supposed to kill anyone, but I enjoy getting a silenced weapon and helping the Rebels win whatever battle they are currently engaged in.

So yeah, I'm going to force myself to sit through all these cut scenes of little girls cooking eggs, just so I can play 20 minutes of the game here and there, because that 20 minutes rules whenever I'm allowed to play it.

Maybe I'll keep a book with me to read during the cut scenes.

11:26AM - KIDS CAN'T HANDLE THE HULK

“There’s a point when Bruce Banner gives up on his quest for the cure and decide to kill himself. So he travels far North and reaches the Arctic Circle. You might have seen bits of it in some of the promos. The result was a very dark and strong scene, which Marvel, me and everyone else’s considered to be too hard to young audiences to take, so we’ve cut it. Having that said, when Bruce arrives at his destination he meets up with Captain America! At some point this week, we will make it available on the internet - but I cannot tell you where or when - and the material will definitely be on the DVD.”

- Louis Leterrier

All the stuff I've read about the Hulk, says they basically gutted the story to make it a mindless summer blockbuster movie. I'm not going to see it anyway, because Ang Lee's was good and it annoys me that we hate on it, because it's not a mindless summer blockbuster, but actually a character story.

The reason comics are so good, is because of the depth of story and character. Not because they fight bad guys and blow shit up. Ang Lee's movie had some flaws, but it went in a direction more comic book movies need to take.

9:54AM - Borders, you aren't so bad.

Since I decided to stop shopping at Best Buy, I've had to find other outlets for my cash.

Circuit City and their 10% discount card on video games provide a pretty solid outlet for that.

But Borders, surprisingly enough might take over for DVDs.

Their straight up prices for new dvds are expensive, but they collect foreign films and indie movies. Something Best Buy doesn't do.

I picked up Tae Guk Gi for $8.
Raise the Red Lantern (which I've never seen anywhere) $14.
The Proposition $14.

Their rewards program also gives kick ass coupons every week, where you can get stuff 30%-40% off.

I have a coupon for the Blade Runner 5-disc set on blu-ray for $19.99. I already have it on regular dvd, but that's pretty tempting.

11:16AM - oof

Cancel on moving to quincy center. Their prices all went up, and it looks like it would be $1500-1700.

That's retarded for a one bedroom.
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To fight back against the heat, I moved my mattress into my living room. I really need to pick up that second air conditioner from Evan. Right now I feel like I live in a studio, directly adjacent to a furnace.
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Ben and I discussed this, and I think it's a great idea.

If the Celtics win, I'm having a HE GOT GAME party.

9:52PM - LEGO YES

Just picked this up and played the first level. It rules.

I was a huge fan of the Lego Star Wars games. They are the perfect mix of puzzles and nostalgia.

8:52PM

I think I'm going to Taxpayer next week at TT The Bears. I haven't seen them since I saw them with Dear Leader, so I'm pretty excited about the show.

Anyone want to see this at Kendall sometime this week? Or tomorrow?



I also would be willing to see Son of Rambow.

9:39AM - This might be the best movie ever made.

I can't wait to see this.

3:50PM - Venture Brothers / Anime vs Manga

This show rules. I'm glad my coworkers forced me to get into it.

While I don't always laugh out loud while watching the show, I find myself cracking up when I talk with people about the episodes. Sometimes they are just so ridiculous that the humor doesn't even set in until way later when you really think about what you just saw.

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Over the years I've come to enjoy reading Manga more than I have watching Anime. I believe it is a superior method of delivery for story telling than Anime is. I can intake the story quicker(which is what I care about), I don't have to worry about filler, it's cheaper, and more eternal.

So I'm currently reading xxxHolic while watching Tsubasa. The events of these series transpire at the same time, and often involve each other. It is said that you don't need to read/watch both to enjoy one, but reading both gives you more information about the overall story.

xxxHolic follows a dismensional witch and a group of people in her service. She is a granter of wishes for a cost. This cost is determined by the gravity of the wish and the sacrifice that it requires of the person seeking it.

Tsubasa follows a young boy who is traveling throughout dimensions on a journey to reassemble the soul of his love.

I had purchased volume one of Tsubasa a long time ago, but never really got into it. After reading the first volume of xxxHolic and loving it, I immediately became interested in Tsubasa again.

But I'm torn between continuing with the Anime or going with the Manga.

I'm leaning towards the Manga, but once I finish Mushishi I'm not going to have anymore Anime to watch!