Read Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks

I received this as a gift for Christmas and was immensely thrilled.  I had the first two books by Max Brooks (Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z) and LOVED them.  Unfortunately I loaned them out and they were never returned.
I didn't know that this book was just a graphic novel style depiction of the recorded attacks listed in the Zombie Survival Guide, but I still really liked it.  The art was really good and the stories were true to the Zombie Survival Guide.  This is nothing really fancy, but it definitely has a slot on my shelf...now if I could just get my first two books back...

Read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I picked up the Kindle app for my iPod touch and a number of the free books that it had to offer as well.  I was a big fan of the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downy Jr so I gave "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" attention first.  It was fun, but not an easy read.  The older style of writing, coupled with a few formatting errors made it difficult to get caught up in the flow of the story, but once I got into it the logic behind Holmes was amazing and entertaining.  At times it felt more of a chore than a recreational read, but I've read far worse.

Review of Whiteout

Whiteout starring Kate Beckinsale is a movie about a US Marshal assigned to an Antarctic international research station.  As the movie opens the base is packing up for the six month "night" and most of the personnel are packing up to leave but when a pilot discovers a dead body on the ice Marshal Carrie (Beckinsale) must investigate before the sun sets for six months.

I enjoyed this movie, it wasn't too heavy on plot or scares, but it did have a really good twist that I didn't see coming.  

Review of Halo :Legends

I recently go to watch Halo Legends a collection of 7 short films taking place in the Halo universe.  This kinda reminds me of the Animatrix, a similar collection of movies but set in the Matrix movies.  The Halo movies are very different and have different themes and art styles (one even uses CG), but many of the movies use the familiar Halo score and music so they are all bound and flow together.  These were all available on the Halo Waypoint on Xbox Live on Saturdays but are all collected here.

I really enjoyed all the short stories and would love to see more.

Ghostbusters the game review

I've always been a fan of the Ghostbuster movies, it's something I grew up on.  When I heard that they were making a Ghostbuster video game I was more than skeptical (most movie games kinda suck) but then I found out that the designers got the original actors to do the voice overs!  Oh yes, Venkman, Winston, Egon, and Ray are back in their full pixel glory and it sounds the same.  They even got Janine!  Actors aside they story is great and it's presented as if it was a movie in the series, movie credits and all.  The player is cast as a rookie in the ghostbuster crew they the ghostbusters are using to test experimental equipment on, so that means beside your usual proton pack, you get slime blowers and shock blasters and more.  It's a fun , but short trip through a childhood favorite.

On a side note, Netflix just recently put the 2nd movie on their instant watch list and my youngest daughter LOVES it.  We've watched it a few times and it really got me in the mood to play this game.

Birthday Tattoo!!

So here it is!  My BIRTHDAY TATTOO!!!  It's the Bodhi Tree that Buddha achieved enlightenment under.  I had a great time at Voodoo Monkey Inc over on West 25th here in "sunny" Cleveland.  Doug did a great job and was fun to chat w/ for the 2 hours it took.

Here's the first item crossed off my list!!  WOOHOO!! This is the drawing that Doug went off of and the final result:

Saw Zombieland

It's no secret I LOVE zombie movies.  I'm also a big fan of what my wife calls "stupid humor" (think Super Troopers, The Hangover, etc) so I was very excited for this movie to come out on DVD (I don't get to see a lot of movies at the theatre...I don't think it's worth it to pay $20 to see a movie once).

I gotta say that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  I thought it was funny how the characters were named after places they were from or going and the way Columbus's Zombieland Survival Guide tips popped up in scene at appropriate times.  This was a very enjoyable hour and a half that kept a good pace and didn't lose my attention at all.

Castle Crashers Review

I purchased Castle Crashers an XBOX Live Arcade game shortly before the holidays.  I fell in love with it instantly.  It brought back so many memories from the old NES and SNES games like double dragon, Final Fight, TMNT, and River City Ransom.  It's a side scrolling arcade fighter (not like Street Fighter) with a great sense of humor.  The first time I fought the CATfish boss I was laughing so hard I nearly died (in game of course :) There are lots of stuff to find and collect, and you can hop online and play w/ up to 3 other people.

This was only 800 MS Points (about $10) and I think it's well worth the money.

Fallout 3 Review

I bought Fallout 3 on it's release back in 10/28/2008.  So why am I reviewing it now?  Well it's partly because I've never had a need to review a game, and partly because I keep picking it up and playing it.  Bethesda has added many hours of gameplay through Downloadable Content.  There is not much I can find at fault with this game, the scenery is beautiful and the story if well thought out and lengthy.  Also there are miles and miles of wasteland to explore with side quests to keep you busy for hours beyond the main quest line.  There are many head nods to pop culture icons (the main character's armor can look like Mad Max) and allusions to the first two games (which Bethesda had nothing to do with) that make the observant smile in between supermutant skirmishes and ghoul battles.

All in all a GREAT game and I can't wait till the new Fallout comes out in the fall.

Assassin's Creed 2 Review

Assassin's Creed 2 is the direct sequel to Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed (that met with mixed reviews).  I am very thoroughly impressed with this installment.  The graphics, story, and gameplay are amazing.  It's thrilling to climb up the side of a massive palazzo, run across town to find a target and jump off a roof and assassinate a Borgia courier.  There is a lot of things to see and collect (if you are the type that enjoys completing every aspect of a game) beyond the main story line.

The story line is one of family, betrayal, conspiracy, and hidden societies set against 1400's Italia.

A very good game, I don't see much replay value beyond the first time through, so I recommend this as a rental, especially if you have a no due date rental service as GameFly.

Batman Arkham Asylum Reviewed

One of my favorite games of 2009 was Batman Arkham Asylum. The story was written by a guy (his name escapes me) who used to write for the animated series. He came up with a brand new story, instead of trying to tie it into a movie which was a great move as the story is GREAT. Batman returns the Joker to Arkham only to have the Clown Prince take over the Asylum and the inmates become his personal gang, inculding the high profile ones like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.
They gameply was really good, a wonderful mix of puzzle and action I haven't had since Metroid Prime. Lots of exploring, collecting and stealth in this game.
The only thing that detracts from this game is it's length. It felt short. The story moved at a good pace, but it would have been nice to add a few more "bosses" or someother story twists.
A great game that is worth a look.

Progress on my mile time

I was pressed for time last night and instead of running a slower speed for 20 min I turned up the speed to compensate for the shorter time.  It ended up being my fastest mile since I've used this Nike+ sensor at just over 8min/mile. Here's the link.  I'm a lot closer than I thought and I might be able to get my 7:30 mile if all I was doing was a mile.

Get a Tattoo!

I made my appointment to get my tattoo on my birthday. I'm getting the Tree of Life on my left shoulder at Voodoo Monkey Inc. The tattooist, Doug, said it should take about 1.5 to 2 hours to finish. I'm excited and nervous. I've been wanting to get a tattoo for a couple years, and I finally found something that means a lot to me. I don't think the pain is gunna be a big deal, I just pulled off my dead fingernail because I got tired of it catching on stuff, but it's the unknown degree of it that makes me anxious.

I'll add pics of my shoulder on Monday when I get it done!!

Here it is!

A good friend of mine just made the jump into the blog world with a blog devoted to doing 30 things before her 30th birfthday. She and I are just about the same age (she's 2 months older I believe) and it got me thinking about what I would like to accomplish before I hit my 3 decade mark. I tried to think of things that would enrich me or I'd be glad I did. Also I figure that if I write them down I'll actually do it. I'm having a hard time coming up with 30, and I'll admit that I took some straight of my friend's list but I thbink I came up with some good ones too. So here's my list.

Read 30 books (the kindle iPod app is gunna be huge for this)
Review 30 games
See 30 movies
Go camping
Go deer hunting
Attend a trade show or seminar
Build something functional for our home (cabinet, bench, etc)
Draw a self portrait
Buy a motorcycle
Buy a gun
Run a 7:30 mile
Go rock climbing
Try out a martial art
Learn tea ceremony
Get a tattoo
Learn a craft (whittling?)
Shed all consumer debt
Try composting
Learn italian
Make a weekly blog feature
See a "show"
Join a police org (blue knights, FOP)
Meet a real buddhist monk
Shoot a M4 rifle
Learn shaolin workout
Try coffee
Get a massage
Give blood
Make own dried fruit snacks
Meditate in a park

Well, that's my list, I might edit it as I consider it more but I like most of the items on it.

Wish me luck :)