Top Ten List of the Week

Top Ten Upcoming Games

There are a whole lot of promising video games that are getting ready to come out, and it's time to count down the top ten best looking ones:

10. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Light Saber Duels - 11/08 - I am really not sure what this one is all about, but it has "Light Saber Duels" in the title and it's on the Wii, so that's promising.

9. MLB Power Pros 2008 - Wii - 7/28/08 - Powero Pros 2007 was really fun on the Wii, but lacked a lot of depth in the "Wiimote" mode. Apparently they have fixed a lot of issues for 2008, so this one is supposed to be good.

8. Ghostbusters: The Video Game - Multi Platform - 10/08 - This game was rumored for so long that I have to put it on the list. The in-game footage looks pretty slick to me.

7. Fable 2 - Xbox 360 - 10/08 - The sequel to Fable (natch), this is supposedly the game that Fable was supposed to be...with primitive guns!

6. Fallout 3 - Xbox 360 - 10/08 - To be honest, I have never played a fall out game, but the trailer makes me want to be a better man.

5. Left 4Dead - Xbox 360 - 11/08 - Co-op zombie-bustin' fun, I am always down for new zombie franchises, and Left for Dead looks very promising. It's from Valve, and the multiplayer sounds to be Counterstrike-ishly innovative.

4. Street Fighter IV - Mult Platform - TBA 2009 - That's right, it's a new entry in the Street Fighter saga. What took so long? Who knows, but this game should be sweet.

3. Call of Duty 5: World at War - Multi Platform - 11/08 - With Call of Duty 4 being so awesome, part five has to be on the list. This time, we are going back to the big WWII in World at War.

2. Resident Evil 5 - Xbox 360 - TBA 2009 - It's Resident Evil and the NAACP already wants to boycott it. Why? Because black people are portrayed as zombies, I guess. In parts one, two, and three all the zombies are white people, but I never complained. Anyway, the game looks phenomenal.

1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Multi Platform - 9/16/08 - I plan to buy this game on three different platforms, I am that excited about it. This looks cream your jeans good. I can't wait to try this puppy out on the Wii!

You can check all these out at IGN.com.

- Jordamn
Sulphur Springs, TX

Clip of the Week

Adam West/Burt Ward Screen Test!

Check it, you fanboys!



- Jordan M.
Sulphur Springs, TX

Joe Con 2008

Yoooo Jooooeee!

Well, fair reader, you may be wondering just how big of a geek your humble author is. I'll tell you. Yesterday I went to Joe Con '08. That's right, it's a GI Joe convention. And I loved it.

(click on the pics below to see them EVENNNN BIGGGERRR!)



Joe Con has been around for ten years, and, as an avid reader of YoJoe.com, I had always looked at the pictures of it and marvelled, never knowing exactly what the hell it was. This past weekend, for the first time ever, Joe Con came to Dallas (well, Frisco, if you want to get technical). It was super exciting.


Basically, Joe Con is a flea market. You pay ten bucks and they let you in the door to buy stuff. All of these vendors have booths set up, chock full of Joe gear (and, often, other random toys). And you can bet your ass I did my fair share of frivelous spending. They had most of the figures and vehicles that I hand when I was a kid, and all the ones that I always wanted when I was kid. My haul ended up looking like this: a complete H.A.V.O.C., a bare bones Rattler, a re-release two pack of Ripper and Torch, the 25th Anniversary GI Joe Battle Pack, the official convention tee shirt, and these figures (loose and incomplete): Ripper, Wild Bill, Alpine, and Blowtorch.



In what was probably the coolest part of the convention, they did have on display both fan-made custom Joes and an assortment of new Joes from Hasbro that will be out later this year. For my money, the fan customs were the best part of the whole convention. These nerdy (and I use that term lovingly) created Joes to look like Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, or just off the wall weird stuff. Some created entire diorama's with their creations. Over to the left of this text is a picture of a custom made Nemesis Enforcer, that I found particularly captivating.

Over to the right, we have the grand prize diorama of The Arashikage dining. I talked with the guy who made this, and he seemed very passionate
about his work. I'll tell ya, that sounds really geeky, but it's pretty darn cool. I'm not really sure what you win if you get first place, but that blue ribbon is a first place ribbon. CLICK HERE to see another of creation from the same guy.

Of course, one of the main points of the entire convention was to promote the upcoming Gi Joe movie (Summer - 2009). While I cannot vouch for the movie, I will say that Snake Eyes (Ray Park) looks absolutely, positively badass. The cast is certain an odd bunch, with, what would seem like a lot of miscastings. Brendan Frasier as Gung Ho, Marlon Wayons as Ripcord, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the kid from Third Rock) as COBRA COMMANDER!!! But, what good is it going to do to complain?

At one point, I had heard they had Larry Hama on board to at least develop the story. If that doesn't mean much to you, let me just say that Hama is godlike amongst Joe fanboys. Sadly though, I don't see his name anywhere on the IMDb page, so I guess it was either a rumor or "they" didn't like his story.

The film is directed by Stephen Sommers, director or such classics as The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and Van Helsing. Yeah. Anyway, that kind of gives a hint at how they want to play it. I'm sure it will be played fairly straight, but with a few nice in-jokes and a couple of winks at the camera. That's not bad at all...but Stephen Sommers? Really? Is this the best we could do? Eghhh.

Anyway, Joe Con was a fun experience, and hopefully it'll be back in Texas next year.


- Jordan M.
Sulphur Springs, TX

PS. BTW go watch WALL-E, you'll be gladjoodid.

Top Ten List of the Week

Top Ten Band Names

These may not all be bands that I like, but they all have one thing in common: kick ass names. These are names that really stick in your head and make you say "yeahhhhh...", know what I mean. 'Course you do. Here they come:

10. Meat Puppets
9. The Dandy Warhols
8. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
7. A Tribe Called Quest
6. Gnarls Barkley
5. The Dead Kennedys
4. Eagles of Death Metal
3. The Velvet Underground
2. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
1. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead


And, for my own amusement, some runners-up:
Boy Hits Car, The Band, Texas is the Reason, Circa Survive, Something for Kate, Cocteau Twins , God Lives Underwater, Grateful Dead, Nerf Herder, Joy Divison

Well, looking at the list, I probably could have just gone with "top ten longest band names" and it would have been about the same list...eh, what the hell.

- Jordan M.
Sulphur Springs, TX

Baseball Prediction Time

MIDSEASON BASEBALL TALK


Ah, gentle reader, let me tell you of my travels. My trusty sidekick, Steve, and I have just recently returned from our trip to the mecca of everything baseball, Chitown, USA. Wrigleyville was something of a religious experience for me, reaffirming the fact that baseball is still alive and well in the conciousness of America...and it also reaffirmed that everyone from the southside is a knucklehead.

Anyway, the All Star break is almost upon us (by the way, I advise you to go to www.texasrangers.com and vote 25 times -- with The Rangers in the "favorite team" slot -- to score yourself some free tix to some games in August) and it's time for me to make some bold predictions, using conjecture based on one half of the season, and my expectations for the next half. It's been a pretty wild season, but, as a certain J.P. Newman and I have figured out, we have said that for about the past five seasons of Major League Baseball.

SILVER SLUGGERS:

AL Designated Hitter: Milton Bradley (if he gets enough ABs as DH)
AL Catcher: Joe Mauer
AL First Base: Kevin Youkillis
AL Second Base: Ian Kinsler
AL Short Stop: Michael Young
AL Third Base: Alex Rodriguez
AL Outfield: Ichiro
AL Outfield: Josh Hamilton
AL Outfield: Jermaine Dye

NL Pitcher: Carlos Zambrano
NL Catcher: Brian McCann
NL First Base: Lance Berkman
NL Second Base: Chase Utley
NL Short Stop: Hanley Ramirez
NL Third Base: Chipper Jones
NL Outfield: Nate McLouth
NL Outfield: Ryan Braun
NL Outfield: Matt Holliday

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
AL: David Murphy
NL: Geovany Soto

MVP:
AL: Josh Hamilton
NL: Lance Berkman

CY YOUNG:
AL: Cliff Lee
NL: Edinson Volquez



I may get a chance to list off Gold Glovers later on, but for now...

...Jordan M.
Sulphur Springs, TX

Pool Scene

Clip of the Week

Texas Rangers Slip N Slide




Those Rangers like to have themselves some fun!

Two Entries, Two Places, Same idiot.

"I guess one thing is certain. Things do change. Time in an inconsistent consistency that I carry as an unbearable load on my shoulders. How does one plan for certain uncertainty? How does one change what will change itself? My mind cannot reason the need for myself in "ministry", or reason the need for life at all. As I look at the past 23 years of mistakes and accomplishments could they have not been switched and could I have not severely failed at what I accomplished and and accomplish what I failed and still be the same person who I am? Can you change who you are with the things you have and have not done? I think not. Self cannot be defined merely by what you do or don't, but who you are truly are as a whole. My misses or my hits, they are indifferent now to the character which was given to me at birth. Indifference. Such a wonderful word to describe what one does not become but one understands then accepts. I am indifferent to that which has become indifferent to me. Life." Sept 3, 2005

"What is it about a cool cafe that makes me feel smart? As if the book and cup of coffee or tea gives out that aura of satisfaction that I do not possess anywhere else. Perhaps I look like an intellectual poser hoping to have a deep conversation with another poser about god, or man's purpose, or another topic related to and held by the intellectuals only. "Look at me and my copy of 'Confessions'. I am deep and sophisticated and incredibly well read." I don't even own a copy of 'Confessions', but rather I remove the dust cover of my Purpose Driven Life book to seem more "real". What a joke! What an incredible joke image makes of us. Let me suck in my stomach and keep my eyes slightly shut to resemble in deep thought. What an attraction I must be for someone who can read minds. I would follow myself around gasping for air and clutching my sides for the deep bellowing laughter I would cause. I wish I knew the thoughts of everyone. What a wonderful event is probably taking place inside the minds of those around me now.

Someone just walked in and I sucked in my gut. It is completely involuntary reaction now. I wonder if I was to awake tomorrow with abs and a chiseled torso if I would innately suck in my belly without thought. Probably."- Nov 18, 2004

=w=

Weezer is in my top five favorite bands. Not top five favorite bands of the nineties, or top five bands to listen to in the summertime or something. They are in my top five bands ever. It is for this reason, and the fact that they have a new record coming out, The Red Album (see photo - left), that I am dedicating this post to the weezingest band around.

First thing's first. We need to talk about the new record. I don't know anything about it, other than the fact that that cover art is supposedly the real deal. I really kind of hope it is, cause that's awesome. I have heard the new single, Pork and Beans (go here to listen), and it is less than impressive, it's kind of like another Beverly Hills. A track listing has been released, and it looks like this:

01 "Troublemaker"
02 "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)"
03 "Pork and Beans"
04 Heart Songs"
05 "Everybody Get Dangerous"
06 "Dreamin'"
07 "Thought I Knew"
08 "Cold Dark World"
09 "Automatic"
10 "The Angel and the One"

Bonus tracks for the Deluxe Edition:

11 "Miss Sweeney"
12 "Pig"
13 "The Spider"
14 "King"

Apparently the record is set for release (still on Geffen) on 6/24/08. I'll be picking it up.



Now it is time to get down to business. This is my list of all time, top ten Weezer songs. I hope you can dig it:

10. Jamie
9. O Girlfriend
8. Tired of Sex
7. Slob
6. Freak Me Out
5. Why Bother?
4. Undone: The Sweater Song
3. In the Garage
2. The Good Life
1. Say it Ain't So




Weezer - Buddy Holly


Weezer - Undone: The Sweater Song


Weezer - Say it Ain't So


Weezer - El Scorcho


Weezer - The Good Life


Weezer - Island in the Sun


Weezer - Photograph


Weezer - Dope Nose


Weezer - Hash Pipe


Weezer - Keep Fishin'


Weezer - Beverly Hills


Weezer - Perfect Situation


Weezer - We Are All on Drugs


Deftones - Say it Ain't So Cover


Weezer - Cover of Big Me by the Foo Fighters

- Jordan M.
Sulphur Springs, TX

Perhaps I should say something...

In the past I carried a small journal with me. In fact, often I carried blank journals, and simply desired to write in them. Today, I picked up a small moleskin journal and placed it in my back pocket. It has been blank for a three weeks, since I found it at the bottom of my console in my car while searching desperately for a square. Coming home from shopping I was pulling keys and such out of my pockets and placing them on my night stand, and realized that I had again pulled out the empty journal and set it on my night stand. It is odd that I carry it. It was odd that I carried close to 15 journals. I know that it is close to 15 because I am looking at over half of them in front of me right this moment. Some leather, some nicely bound, and yet some are simply classgear composition books. Perhaps I should open them, and relive them with somebody. And nobody is better than you.

Journal- Black faded Classgear Composition book. Water damaged, and held together with a dried out rubberband. It broke when I took it off.

First Entry: "Ideas"

-An idea is the complex thought the mind dances with for a moment, be it long or short. The dance with "what could be" is the satisfying feeling of adventure left untouched, unscathed by the reality which is life. Ideas contain both images of creativity and imagination. Nothing short of mental inventions which far exceed the actual inventions of man-made constructions. Perhaps and idea is so grand it could not be one's abilities. Perhaps and idea is grand that its production or completion would cause such a change in the world its impossibility and absurdity cause its very nonexistence. But these ideas or not those ideas. These ideas are collections of "brain farts". The "fart" is such a misunderstood glorious creation of the body that is misviewed as vile. The miracles that occur in each person's body which produce the brief explosion are completely forgotten. Such as with the "brain fart" The miracles of the brain working in a way to create thought are completely discarded when these ideas are spoken. Here are some more ideas.

Logan