New Year - New Post

How I neglect this Blog. If it was a friend, it would have left me long ago. I'll have to try and be better about posting. Well, here we go:

There has been a lot of shakeup in the WWE as of late. Batista is injured and went out for surgery and now Kurt Angle has moved to SmackDown and is the World Champ. John Cena won the Elimination Chamber at New Year's Revolution only for Edge to cash in his Money in the Bank from WrestleMania 21 and win by beating a worn down Cena. Then, three weeks later at the Royal Rumble, we Cena gets the title back via an FU and a tap out. Rey Mysterio wins the Rumble starting at number 2 and is going to WrestleMania (maybe...watch for my No Way Out booking and WrestleMania preview for more on that).

With all the WWE has going for it (the rating have been pretty decent the past month or so) now Raw gets moved to THURSDAY this coming week for the dog show on USA. MY GOD, you would think that when they were coming back to USA they would have gotten out of having to move for the ruddy dog show. There has to be a 90 year old man at USA who loves the dog show and wont budge (maybe he should be budged out a window....I kid! I kid!) or the folks that run the dog show have dirt on a USA board member. It's still crappy to take Raw off for the dog show. I know where I'll be on Monday night...watching ANYTHING else, maybe even Spike TV...again, just kidding...

My birthday was a few weeks ago and Kathy got me a great gift. I am going to my first Arena Football game in March. It's the Chicago Rush vs. the Colorado Crush (the AFL champs). Win or lose, it's going to be a fun time :) I also got a mini Arena football and a sweet Rush shirt. Thanks again, Kath, if you read this.

That leads into my newest game; EA Arena Football. For a first crack at an Arena Football game, EA didn't do a bad job at all. If you've never watched Arena ball, you might want to rent it first, but if you like Arena ball, you'll love it. The options are not as deep; there is only quick play, online play, and a really basic season mode; but all the teams are there and the rosters are accurate for this season. They also support downloadable content, so there should be roster updates for online play and maybe some other tasty features (downloadable expansion teams?).
Next week, Star Wars - Empire at War comes out for the PC. It's a RTS (Real Time Strategy) made by a new studio called Petroglyph that is comprised of people from Westwood Studios (the Command & Conquer series). The premise is that you control everything from what you build, to where you deploy, to what strategy you use. They also removed some of the more tedious parts of RTS, like resource gathering and let you focus more on the combat. I'll post a bit on it here after I get it on the 15th.

I hope to keep up more on this blog...I know I say that all the time, but I mean it this time.

Take care.

Back From The Dead...Again

At least I am consistent in my inconsistency to update this blog. I do for a month or so, then disappear for a few, then come back, etc, etc, etc. I hope that this time (yes THIS time) to stick with it more.

I saw Star Wars on opening weekend and all I have to say is if you ever liked Star Wars or ever saw a Star Wars film, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. It's good for even the casual Star Wars fan. This film sparks a whole new set of Star Wars debates and answers some questions that fans never thought would be answered:

1. Why is the Emperor all disfigured?
2. Why do the Jedi fight like they're in the Matrix in the prequels but Luke and Vader duel like old men?
3. What did happen to Luke and Leia's mother (Padme)?
4. Why is Yoda seem to have a hard time moving in Empire Strikes Back but kicked the hell out of Count Dooku in AOTC?
5. What happened to Darth Vader that he is confined to his suit and chamber?

This and more is answered in Revenge of the Sith...an interesting title that friends of mine know I called long before they announced it. The original title of Return of the Jedi was Revenge of the Jedi, but Lucas changed it late in production since revenge is not a Jedi trait. There is actually a teaser out there for the film with the name Revenge of the Jedi. It's hard to find, but cool to watch.

Also tonight starts the draft lottery in the WWE. For those not into the storyline, each week for the whole month of June, each show will get one random pick off the others with the last week offering two picks to each show. NO ONE is immune. I will try and post my picks for each week. For this week:

Raw gets Kurt Angle - It'll sting Booker when he can't get his hands on Kurt anymore since he is on Raw. I would expect to see Booker POSSIBLE come to Raw at the end of the month either via a trade or the last pick on the last week.

SmackDown gets Tajiri or Christy Hemme - If it's Tajiri, it'll add more to the Cruiserweight division, which has been hurting. With a new Diva Search starting, unless they are going to do the obvious old winner vs new winner storyline, Christy has done all she can on Raw and moving her to SmackDown would allow her to feud with one of the most consistent non-wrestling Divas - Dawn Marie. I call it here, in 10-15 years, Dawn Marie's will be spoken of in the same light as Sheri Martel. Just you watch...

Well, since I'm at work, I should get back to work...enjoy Raw or whatever else you do on Monday Night.

Star Wars Bashing

Most people who know me know I'm a rather rabid Star Wars fan. While I know I'm not as big a fan as the folks who go to all the conventions and such, I do feel I can stand up as a life long fan. Over the past few years, there has been a TON of flak about the Star Wars prequels. A lot of folks are taking pot shots at the movies.

I go on record right now in saying neither of the new movies are better than the original three. I like Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Are they good, sci-fi / fantasy movies? Yes. Are they right in line with the type of movies Lucas set out to make? Yes. Are they as good (or better) than Episodes IV-VI? No. While Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are great films, they still rank at the bottom of my favorite SW films. Why is this? Is it the acting, the effects, the story? No, not at all. I didn't see a problem with the acting. This is sci-fi, people, not Shakespearian theatre. You want deep acting; go see Cold Mountain or something else down the hall. The effects are EXCELLENT. Giving someone with an imagination like George Lucas CG is like giving a kid the weekend in a candy store. Are there some parts that looked "odd"? Yes. Did some things get WAY too much focus? Yes. Does this detract from the fact that we are getting to see what we NEVER thought we would see; the story of how a sweet boy who "knows nothing of greed" turns into the most evil being in the galaxy? Not at all.

That leads me to the story. I have been rather happy with how things have moved in the new films. I'm ready to see how Palpatine is going to turn the clones from the Republic's army to his own personal force. I'm ready to see the huge space battle that's in the teaser (harkening back to ROTJ). Lastly, I am READY to see Anakin and Obi-Wan have their duel. This duel has been the thing of myth. How was Anakin hurt to have to wear the Vader armor? With how good both of them have gotten with the lightsaber duels, this proves to be something special. Also, if you watch close at the end of the trailer...Palpatine has a lightsaber. My one hope; The Emperor vs. Yoda :)

Vader and the Emperor keep telling us that we underestimate the power of the Dark Side. Well, it's time to show us. It's time to pull back the nay sayers and the strays. Revenge of the Sith needs to be dark. It needs to be evil. It needs to bleed the Dark Side; and it MUST BE PG-13. To heck with the little kiddies. This film should seep from the seams with evil. Give us what we want. Give in...

Now that I have sealed my "nerd-dom" forever, I have to get back to work.