SSX Blur

So I finally got SSX blur for the wii today. The game looks very slick, has upbeat music, and a decent tutorial. So far I've played it for a couple hours, doing the tutorial, doing normal races and half-pipe and everything is good.

Well, I guess I should dive right in to how the controls feel since this is the most disputed aspect about the game. They are phenomenal. I admit that it took me maybe 10 minutes into the tutorial to finally get the hang of it but once I did, it was a beautiful thing. Using the joystick as a slight turn and the tilt of the nunchuck as a larger turn (carving) is the most natural of things. All you really need to do to get good at these controls is to actually do the tutorial. Simple as that.

The uber tricks are uber awesome as well as uber easy as soon as you know what it wants you to do. You really just have to draw the shapes slowly at about a foot diameter. Making sure that the top of the wii remote and the nunchuck are facing up with respect to your shape is essential. Keeping this in mind, some ubertricks are more easily done on their side, which you can do by tilting the controllers to their sides.

I can't stress enough that you take your time with making the shapes. Use a full second to do an uber trick an you're good to go. In the half pipe I managed to do a dozen uber tricks in a row, showing just how easy it is to pull one off.

The easiest uber trick for me is the heart shape since it is uniform motion by both hands and a familiar enough shape that you can draw it without making mistakes. The double zig-zag is also easy, along with the single one (which I do on its side to reflect a half of the double zig-zag).

The courses are well thought out (although supposedly some are recycled from previous games, which I haven't played) and feel really good to carve down.

If you were sitting on the fence about getting this game because of the controls, wait no longer. Run out right now and get this game. Seriously, all it takes is half an hour to an hour to perfect the basic mechanics of the game.

The only negative point I can find so far is that there is the very rare occurrence of a drop in framerate momentarily. This only happened about 3 times during the two hours of play and only for about half a second each time.

9/10

This might really deserve an 8.5 but I gave it a 9 because it makes you feel so good about yourself with the groove-tastic music and "good Job!" positive comments even if you place last in a race. :P

300

Well, this movie turned out exactly like I knew it would. This includes the actual movie and events with regard to seeing the movie. I'm happy to say it turned out for the better.

Like reviewers had said, yes there wasn't much storyline, but this movie doesn't need any of that shit. It has beautiful scenery, with magnificent fight scenes. One interesting thing I saw about the movie was the nearly excessive amounts of nudity and sexuality, with it not quite seeming out of place either. This is a movie about ancient Greece remember, a time famous for such things. The oracles at Delphi were awesome, pretty much being drugged up, writhing, hot young women. That is actually a pretty close representation of what they actually were, at least the drugged up part.

Xerces was freakin' huge in this movie. He stood a good few feet over Leonidas, the Spartan king. Besides some liberties taken by the movie, since this is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel rather than the actual event, this movie was pretty true to the real story (Of course not including the second betrayal in the movie or some of the mutants Xerces used).

I can safely say that was a good $11.50 spent.

I am also glad that I had been wary of trying to see the movie with my usual "friends" as I later tried to, it seemed they again had not made room for me in the car. So, in going with Shaheer, Greg, Nigel, and Matt, I preemptively blocked being fucked over. Excellent indeed. In doing so, I am not pissed at them, rather I am pleased with myself for the foresight in knowing history would repeat itself and in doing so, prevent it.

Now, this does prove to be a strange spot now though. It seems I am officially not one of the main friends in the slightest. When it is one car, which it usually is nowadays, it is always going to be Joe(for obvious reasons), Breen, James, Andrew, and BJ. Oh well I suppose. Since it's Joe's car, he's good friends with Andrew, Breen is good friends with James, and BJ is...well I don't know how HE is always over me, perhaps because they all have BLK 3 spare together or because they have actual classes together... Meh. This Friday was a proof of concept of me being able to have fun and not rely on the most unreliable.

I do realize that it is a tough situation when there are only 5 seats in a car, but to some that would warrant at least trying to find a fix of some sort. To these people I guess not. I guess I just need to continue to find other people to do things with :/

Procrastination 2

It is the weekend and I have a few things to do. Not too bad so I think I'll be playing some videogames. Maybe even finish MM.


Due Tuesday:

-Ros & Guil Presentation
-UN reading
-Physics Group IV work


Due Wednesday:

-Biology Anatomy Quiz/Lab
-Chemistry M.C. Test
-Social Contemporary World Test


Due Friday:

-Physics Group IV Project


Due soon:

-English 9 charts (April 15)

Videogames

There are many good games on the horizon. The GDC has been happening lately and new videos of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for DS and Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii have been released. They are indeed awesome and I can't wait to play them later this year.

Lately, I have revisited Majora's Mask for the N64 and can safely say that it is pure awesome, although somewhat of a huge time suck. I've played maybe 25 hours already on this revisit and haven't accomplished to much. This is because of a design choice which makes the game both brilliant and annoying at the same time. The game world resets after 3 days in-game, or about 54 minutes (about double that with time-slow). That means that dungeons and quests and everything is reset.

This resetting is perfect for me because I get to explore and do things and dungeons over again without having to start a new file. For this same reason I occasionally feel very lost because I don't know what I need to do next or what I haven't ever done yet.

I managed to snag 3 bottles in MM, for a total of 4 overall out of 6. The other 2 are a pain in the ass to get (1 requires an hour and a half and the other to beat an entire temple before even starting).

I plan to beat all 4 of the temples again before I go to the final area and beat the game. I also want to get all the masks so I can have the fierce deity's mask. I have lots of work ahead of me but every minute of it will be fun, except for the water temple, which pisses me off in every single 3d zelda ever. At least it isn't as bad as the one in OoT.

I also plan to get SSX Blur very soon since it is already out and I really want to play it.

I WILL find time do all of this, somehow. :)

Back in Business

I decided to revert all of my old posts to drafts just so that I could have a clean fresh start here but not lose everything either.

Man. The more things change, the more they stay the same. As time progresses, everything seems to stand still, stagnant and immobile.

I've been sleep-deprived for the entirety of this week though so that may be what's talking right now.
I just REALLY REALLY feel like I've made no progress in anything at all, I've perhaps even taken a step backwards :(

Wednesday

Yesterday I was so busy that I didn't even have time to make a post. I actually temporarily abandoned my usual practice of not doing any work. I did math, a bio lab, chem lab, and even learned about Mao Tse Tung.

Tests

Frick. I just got home after taking my physics test and can safely say I got good and thoroughly raped. The test was 25 questions long, about half of which Dr. Zheng never talk to us about the concepts. This would mean that he would

Coca Cola

Coke sure is tasty. To me, nothing beats a nice good and cold coke. It tastes even better from a bottle or Coke glass. That isn't all though. Coke is so versatile that it is also great when at room temperature (unlike Pepsi, which is death at room temp). Coke Zero is also a big plus, since it tastes nearly exactly like Coke but without any calories. Coke goes with anything from breakfast to that midnight snack. It even helps keep you awake for finally doing that homework you've been procrastinating on. Pepsi is alright but coke has more of a bite to it and comes in a red or black can (classic and zero), which are much cooler than a blue one.

Uphill Battle

No matter what, I am always screwed and can never get ahead in the game. Today I finally received my results for my social midterm but boy do I sure wish I hadn't. For some reason, I always forget to provide sufficient evidence for each idea I present in my social essays, which in turn destroys my mark. I got 76%. The class average was 80%. My essay was almost the lowest marked one. Needless to say, fuck that. My CUMULATIVE mark dropped from 92 to 89 with that stupid test. Today, I had my cold war test and got 96% on it. That barely increased my mark 1%, to be 90. It sucks ass in my position. If I do well, my mark isn't affected but if I screw up just once, my mark is raped. Sure, you might think 3% isn't much but since the marking is cumulative, each new assignment I do will have less and less impact on my mark. This means that even if I do really well thus far on, my mark may and probably will be unchanged.

I also got my chem test back today and I got a 93%. Thankfully, my mark did not change from the 97% but I have to be careful next time...Need to get more than 2 hours of sleep the day of an exam.

Today was the biggest waste of time. We did absolutely nothing important in world history, I wasted my spare on kicking myself on my social mark, I didn't get far at all on my math unit assignment (plus our teacher said we all failed our portfolio assignment), did nothing in chemistry, nothing in physics, and did well on a social test that did shitall for my forever dropping social mark.

Her

It isn't love because love is really a strong word. But seeing and talking to her is one of the highlights of my day. She is kind, has a sense of humour, and wonderful to talk to. The hopeless part of it is that we have nearly completely different sets of people that we hang out with (besides Shaheer because of FC Imperial). It is also far too late in the game to try to become a part of their group, which may have even been formed since junior high/elementary school. It is one of those pointless infatuations, where it would be difficult to get to know her better out of school and would be pointless to tell her until I actually did get to know her better elsewhere. *sigh* The worst of it is that I do not have my driver's license yet (because of my fucking procrastination [have had learner's for 3.5 years now] and not having a car is a major minus for a boyfriend... yes, just in case you were wondering what I was talking about).
Anyways, I still cannot get over the way she makes me feel she's near me and how I feel sad when she sits elsewhere (because of a cold air vent by her desk).


|)1|\|4



*I really do wonder if anyone is reading this or will ever read this. And if so, what is the reader thinking? Does it matter? These emotions are after all quite standard, with the internet everywhere cluttered with similar sentiments. But this is of course different for me because they're my feelings.

If you're reading this, leave a message to let me know. Maybe even give me some advice. If you are Dina, well now you know I guess.

SSX Blur

An upcoming wii game of interest to me is SSX Blur. I haven't gotten a snowboarding game since 1080 Snowboarding for the n64 and I figure I should get another one, especially considering this one looks pretty good.



*the video is silent

Random Thought

It's Valentine's Day tomorrow. That's about it. A Wednesday. lol

Sunday

Today wasn't so bad. I had a soccer game at 11am and we tied. I did well in the first half but my asthma medicine crapped on out me, causing me to be short of breath and feel dizzy because of it. Afterwards, I came home and watched movies with my older brother while we had a fire in the fireplace. We watched Jackass 2, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, MIB, and most of Ocean's Eleven until the last 15 minutes. Jackass 2 turned out to be really funny and enjoyable, except for the whole horse pleasure-juice drinking bit, which was wholly rancid and nearly vomit-inducing. The second movie we saw wasn't too bad and had Luke Wilson in it, which is interesting because the end of Jackass 2 had a random bit with him in it. In addition, Blue Streak was also on after that and we watched a few minutes of that...Luke Wilson is everywhere.

My parents also came home from Palm Springs. They brought back fancy flavoured licorice and a couple shirts for my brother and I. I also got this cool dragon decoration thingie and my brother got a triple-flamed lighter.

We also cooked hot dogs in the fireplace. Tasty but too hot because all the heat is reflected toward you.

Now for some thoughts, possibly philosophical but probably not. Independence is a strange thing. When my parents left, I instantly felt independent and better because of it. Knowing that I was responsible to myself and I alone was there (besides my brother if a decidedly urgent situation arose), I felt more like I had control of things. But this was merely perception as not much had really changed from when my parents left. I still went to school and came home. Nothing really changed in my routine, besides the lack of family at home. The only real thing that changed was the lack of human interaction, which was thankfully lessened by my brother's presence today. Now that they are back, the weird feeling is gone and all that remains is a full day of work ahead of me tomorrow. Fun fun for me.

Disappointing

Even though I knew today would suck I remained slightly hopeful that something might happen. But alas, nothing happened today with my friends, as far as I know at least. Today was boring and pointless. Somehow I slept in 'till 2pm. A likely reason would be the lack of sleep I had this week. Also, I woke up aching somewhat. I guess that shovelling took more out of me than I thought. I should really work out again. I watched Lucky # Slevin, only to be disappointed by the slick yet self-congratulatory attitude of the movie. There was also some random anime called Tenjho Tenge on television that I watched a couple episodes of. It didn't seem like much special. It had the standard obligatory buxom females, men with exaggerated muscles and 8-packs, and terrible dubbing. These episodes also had absolutely nothing happening in them, always just referring to a recent event at a bowling alley or something-rather. A waste of time to be sure but it isn't like I had anything better to do besides my homework. Speaking of which, I should actually do some tomorrow so I can use Monday to prepare for my oral.

World Lit. Papers Handed In

I feel somewhat relieved that I've now handed in my papers, except I will now be anxious for the results forever. Here's links to my papers:

Paper 1

Paper 2

(The formatting may have not translated well to browser.)

Fridays suck

Before you go saying "But Brian, Fridays rock", hear me out. It is certainly the beginning of the weekend but that means every teacher will give you extra work to do over the weekend in addition to the tests the next week and the large projects already due. Also, most of my friends either work on Friday or only want to do something when it is a large group, which would be impossible with many working. This leaves me here alone, typing... I get to do things like shovel the snow and maybe start/procrastinate on homework. I also have the opportunity to catch up on various shows, such as Lost, Naruto, and Bleach, but I would obviously rather be doing something with someone. Maybe I'll work out tonight. That'll make me feel better, maybe.

At least Shaheer and I usually go to the mall after school to pick up food and that provides for some out-of-school interaction. Pathetic? Maybe. All I can hope for on a Friday? Yes. I just pray to God that tomorrow we all do something or I may just go insane...or be merely slightly depressed.

It's Friday

It's finally Friday again. Hopefully today will prove to be an easy one at school. I also hope that I can do something this weekend like play hockey or see a movie with my friends. I also have a soccer game on Sunday to look forward to (my second last one this season). It is a long weekend but that fact is negated because I have two physics labs to do and a huge English oral to prepare for the my next day of school.

Speaking of that oral, I am scared shitless about it. Right up until the English midterm this year, I had gotten solid marks in English for my essays and commentaries. But, my midterm was a different story. The midterm was a simple commentary on an easy to do poem. I did terribly, getting a 70, in fact dropping my overall average for all classes. This was due to a combination of lack of sleep, my mind being completely drained from writing a world literature paper the night before (which also screwed me up because of the contrasting purposes of the two papers), and me having no time to prepare for or remember how to write a commentary.

The oral is a commentary, which I just proved that I can fail at, but spoken and within a set time, more pressure, and without being able to stop the tape. Again, fun fun.

Buses

I just got to school and I have to say, I loathe my bus routes. It's the biggest waste of time. The only way for me to get to school in the morning is to take one bus that is two blocks from my house to another stop about only 1km down the line. Then I wait there for half an hour, until my bus comes and takes me to the terminal. Then the bus driver waits at the terminal and then continues to my stop, where the walk is still a couple blocks. Overall it is an hour trip for maybe 25 minutes of actual bus riding. Also, consider that it takes 10 minutes to get to school by car. Fun fun.

Cool Idea

I just finished watching My Name is Earl and Randy was drinking beer and milk at the same time through two separate straws. I have got to try this. Now, just to find a couple straws...

This blog will remain a secret

I love the fact that this blog of mine will remain just my own. I will not share it with my friends as it is not really for them. I guess its primary use is as a diary. And before you (probably nobody else reading this but me :P) say a diary is a "girlie" or something, I retract that word and replace it with "journal". That is more what it is I suppose. I am not trying to pose some eternal questions to myself or go through my emotions (as a diary would) but rather just document my life as it occurs.

Concentration

Today was an eventful day. My parents just left for Palm Springs for four days and I get the house to myself (and my brother). I had a chemistry exam that I forgot about but it seemed to be okay. I also had an indoor exhibition soccer game and did well. This brings me to the point of my title. I have to consciously take part in any physical activity I take part in (ie. anything from sports to pool). Otherwise, I am wildly inconsistent in my performance, often going from really crappy to superb back to crappy again in minutes. Today, I made the effort to tell myself to just do what I do in practises. Just trap the ball, carry it a bit, and either pass it or shoot it. And it worked! I made quite a few excellent passes and even made the winning goal, with my left foot no less.

Now I look forward to an evening of television and homework. Nothing big in the way of homework but many good shows on tonight. For example, The Office, My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, Scrubs, and some other shows are on tonight. These are the only good comedies on television right now, since Arrested Development has been cancelled and both The Simpsons and Family Guy have stopped being funny (in The Simpsons' defence, they were funny for a very long time but I think it's time to move on).

Other shows I enjoy include Heroes, 24, Prison Break, and Boston Legal. I also watch Lost but I did not see the season opener yet or the last episode of Boston Legal because of homework. I'll probably watch them this weekend.

Tip: Up late and want to watch a good show? Craig Ferguson is excellent, as is the Colbert Report. The Daily Show is also something decent to watch while waiting for the Colbert Report.

Thoughts about the wii and other things

I am overall quite happy with my Wii (that I've had since launch) but have not had the chance to play it much of late. School work and exams have bogged me down, as well as a slightly decreasing interest in it. Sure, I love Twilight Princess, but I finished that last year (logged a goodly 70 hours). I also loved Raving Rabbids but once you have completed the short one player mode, it is mostly a multiplayer game, which brings me to my first concern. I have not been able to find any more controllers other than the two I got on launch day. I sure wish I could find some.

I also own Elebits for the Wii, but it is not as addictive as I would like. Sure the gameplay is fun and fresh, but after an hour or two I have had enough of it for the day. For something that cost 60 CDN, I hope I get more use out of it in the future than I have so far.

There is a fine balance in finding time to do things. As I mentioned before, most of those things right now is schoolwork. Hopefully once I have my English oral, huge chem lab, 2 physics labs, huge physics lab, and huge social project done, I will have more time to play the wii. As it stands, there is nothing new on it that I am willing to play instead of completing my homework on time. (Zelda was a different story).

I'm also concerned about how uch time I have put into working out since summer, which is zero. Sure, I play soccer twice a week, but the season will stop in 3 weeks and I will have no way to stay healthy. I must work out again. I feel sorry for the workout machine, being neglected since summer. I have formed my resolve to work out once some of this schoolwork cools down. (I'm shooting for the 16th of February).

Procrastination

This will be a recurring topic of mine since I do it so well and so frequently. In fact, I am doing it right now. I Have an English assignment, Social assignment, and a Chemistry test to study for. Heck, I even created this blog partially as a means to procrastinate even further. I sure do love procrastinating, it involves all of the stress of doing the work but not actually getting anything done!

Today

I accomplished plenty today. I managed to complete my two World Literature papers for my Grade 12 IB English class. These papers have been looming since November but thanks to having no school yesterday, I managed to find time to complete them. The first paper is a comparison of "A Doll's House" and "Medea" (I know I should be using underlines for these titles but I don't want to bother figuring out how to do that right now). The aspect of these works that I am comparing is honour and how Jason and Torvald pursue it. My second paper is supposed to be a creative paper. I chose to do it on "The Metamorphosis" since it is an excellent story and being creative on its own, allows for an easy transition to a creative paper. I discuss the possibility of Gregor's room itself being a character, providing its own insight into the story and having a special relationship with Gregor.

But enough of that...

I received my report card today.

My average dropped 1% but I'm fine with that since my chemistry and physics mark both increased.

Math 96 (was 98)
English 94 (was 99)
Chemistry 97 (was 95)
Social 92 (was 95)
Physics 96 (was 93)
Bio 94 (was 94)

World History 92 (was 90)
World Literature -

Core course average: 95 (was 96)

Yes, I do indeed seem to be a nerd. Oh well, I don't put too much effort into my studies so that's fine with me.

My first blog

When I first heard about blogs a few years back I was rather doubtful of the merits of such an endeavour, but have realized of late that it is an exceedingly easy method of organizing my thoughts. I admit that I interest in creating a blog was rekindled by my friend BJ when I saw his, but I have also been reading them for quite some time on my own anyway. (Information blogs such as engadget.com. gonintendo, kotaku).

Welcome to the mind of Brian.