Remembering 2008

Like Harrison, I'm afraid that I'm often too busy or tired to update this blog. Unlike Boots, that is not a good enough reason for me to quit; Bizarro World is going to remain intact despite erratic updates. Anyway, 2008 is coming to a close, and many magazines like dedicating issues to remembering important events from the previous year. Henceforth I will share with you things that happened in 2008 that I thought were important, and things that I've learned.
Let it be known that 2008 was the year...
-Bizarro World started: Yes, the first year of this blog is drawing to a close. I started it the day finals were finished, after many of my friends had started blogs in the wake of Mr. Maffey creating a blog for his English Honors class.
-I discovered surrealism: Interesting to note that a post from earlier this year was entitled "No Boots, I've Never Seen the Painting 'Son of Man' Before" (because Boots had been bugging me about it all day). The statement was quite true; at that point, I had never seen the aforementioned painting, or any other painting by Renee Magritte. However, this year we studied impressionism and surrealism in French class, which led me to look up Magritte's paintings online, which led me to develop a fanatic love for them, which led to me putting one of Magritte's painitngs as the header pic on this blog.
-I read many new comics: I got caught up on Bill Willingham's Fables series and read three-fourths of Grant Morrison's epic Seven Soldiers, both of which I highly recommend. I also started Preacher and 100 Bullets; while I enjoy both of those, they are both genre comics (western and urban noir, respectively), and you have to be able to stomach excessive swearing and gratuitous violence. I'll talk about them in depth another time.
-Batman became cool: Before 2008, it was impossible to have someone make a Two-Face reference in Chemistry class and have everyone else not only get it, but laugh (this happened in my class, though I wasn't the one that made the reference). "The Dark Knight" was one of the most successful films of recent years, and almost everyone at my school loved it. References are made to that film almost daily

Things I Learned in 2008:
-Satire is not always funny: Although Voltaire's masterpiece Candide, a satire of almost everything, is one of the funniest things I've ever read, satire does not always have to be funny. Exhibit A: George Orwell's Animal Farm, a satire of the Russian Revolution that is downright scary. Not scary in the vein of Saw, but haunting.

2008 in comics:
-Marvel's Secret Invasion, which saw a Marvel Universe overcome by invading Skrull shapeshifters, came and went. It was nothing short of disappointing; the replaced heroes were discovered to be a-okay, and the Skrulls never really posed a threat. The lead-up to Secret Invasion was far more intriguing than the actual miniseries. On the bright side, the "Dark Reign" storyline, involving Norman Osborn's takeover of SHIELD, came from it, and promises to be interesting.
-DC's Final Crisis began, and is now halfway finished. Although I had my doubts on my first readthrough, a few subsequent rereads of the first four issues have made me a devoted fan of the series, which is truly living up to Grant Morrison's claim to be the "Lord of the Rings" for the DCU. I hope it ends well.

That's all for now!

Some Thoughts

Last weekend, I went to see "Quantum of Solace", the new James Bond movie that serves as a sequel to "Casino Royale". It was pretty short; an hour and a half I think, but nevertheless weighs in as the shortest Bond movie yet. Also, it's even shorter compared to "Casino Royale", which if I remember correctly was actually pretty long. It was okay; the action scenes were good, but the plot was kind of hard to understand. Also, in this movie Bond really seems like an British version of Jason Bourne without the memory loss. Because of the hard-to-understand plot, which as far as I can tell involves a huge company's attempt to control the water supply in third-world countries in South America while Bond deals with the emotional aftereffects of lover Vesper Lynd's suicide, I didn't like it as much as "Casino Royale". I've heard that "Quantum" is only the second part of a trilogy, which makes sense since the movie has no real ending. Also, having not seen "Casino Royale" for awhile, I had forgotten some of the loose plot threads that were resolved in this movie.
Also, a new "Watchmen" trailer has surfaced. I heard that it was supposed to debut before "Quantum of Solace", but I didn't see it and was forced to search for it online. It's currently on the superblog right now, but it may appear on this blog as well to protect it from overeager deleters. It's really amazing; however, unlike the first trailer, this one shows evidence of subtle differences between the movie and comic. The main one is that the movie seems to imply the existence of a team of superheroes called the Watchmen that has disbanded by the time of the movie, consisting of Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan, the Comedian, Rorschach, and Ozymandias. Let's hope that the movie is still just as awesome as the comic, just with good special effects (have you SEEN the trailer scene where Dr. Manhattan levitates the giant watch out of the ground on Mars?). For those of you who have never read the Watchmen comic (I pity you), I'll probably put up a comprehensive review soon, with the material fresh in my mind after what I think is my third re-read of the comic.

I Needed a Break

After a grueling week last week, I finally got to just chill this weekend, hanging out with my friends on Halloween and my dad on Saturday and Sunday. Although I had to do my Euro essay, it wasn't that bad and was probably the easiest of the Euro essays so far. Today wasn't that bad either; all I have to worry about is studyin for my Chemistry test tomorrow. I really needed this break.

In other news, there's no Heroes episode tonight, presumably because of the election. That makes me sad, but life will go on.

Following that, the election's tomorrow! I'm excited to see who wins, and hope that it will be Senator Barack Obama. Obama will probably will win, due to common sense (which unfortunately is not that common, according to Voltaire), historical trends, and the mess that is the economy.

I'm still working on a story blog, so watch for updates.

Get Ready for a Long One

I haven't posted in quite a few weeks now; that's partly due to increasing amounts of homework and just downright laziness. However, I intend to remedy my laziness now, with what may be one of the longest posts I've ever written.

First of all, the new season of Heroes continues to be awesome. At first, I thought that it was moving along a little too fast for me, but the crazy amounts of new characters, powers, plotlines, and awesome character developments have won me over. I definitely like the focus on moral ambiguity this season: we're seeing Claire, Peter, and even Hiro do increasingly villainous things for reasons they think is correct, while Sylar, who now has competition for Heroes' premier supervillain, has shown a slightly heroic side. I can't wait for the rest of the season!

Secondly, I've been slacking off a little in AP Euro, and intend to remedy that. After once again having to do the majority of my essay the night before it was due, I'm going to try harder in the future. That could be bad news for Bizarro World.

Speaking of AP Euro, two things have happened during my research: Cardinal Richelieu, one of the most powerful people in France during the Thirty Years' War, has taken Niccolo Machiavelli's place as my favorite person. Ever. I mean it; this guy was the man! Also, I realized that you know you've made it big if an adjective is created using your name, no matter how matter how unnatural it sounds. For example: Machiavellian, Dickensian, Socratic, Platonic (notice how Aristotle is excluded from this group. My guess is that's because he was wrong about EVERYTHING! I mean, the Scientific Revolution was basically just people proving him wrong).

Since everyone else has had some sort of spinoff blog at one point or another (MKB once had a music review blog, and Boots has his webcomics and the late list-o-five), I'm thinking of possibly making another blog. It'll probably be a comics blog or a blog where I do my own stories. If it is a comics blog, I will try my best to make it accessible while at the same time making it nerdy enough. Look out for those in the future...

Does Anybody Know How the Story Really Goes?

Oh my God, it's October already. School is well underway, although I was lucky enough to have a little break this week. After having two different essays due last week, this week I barely had any Euro homework, and my English homeowork was fairly easy. Also, "Heroes" is three episodes intot the third season, and it's awesome! Much faster than last season, and I don't know if that's good or bad. What I do know to be good, however, is the array of villains with awesome powers and finally getting answers to some questions I've had for awhile (For instance, we finally found out Angela Petrelli's power in the second episode). I can't wait for the rest of the season.

On another note, I'm almost done reading Brisingr, the third book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance cycle, and while it's good, it doesn't strike me as overly necessary. I think Paolini could've easily made the series three books as he originally planned. I don't think I wait another three years for the conclusion.

My First All-Nighter!

Yesterday sets the record for the latest I've stayed up doing homework: I was up till 2:30 doing my Euro paper, which I hadn't started and only done the most minimal of research for. Needless to say, today at school I was little more than a walking zombie. Today I look to continue this trend by writing an essay about fairy tale references in Great Expectations, which I still have to finish.

And of course, there was the three-hour, two-episode premeire of "Heroes" on Monday, and it was AWESOME!! It definitely lived up to my expectations, and I can't wait to see some superpower fights later in the season. There were only two things I didn't like: Nathan Petrelli's whole deeply religious mood after recovering from gunshot wounds seems abrupt and inconsistent with his character; also, the Niki-look alike, Tracy Strauss, wears creepy amounts of make-up and, although she has an awesome power, she seems like an excuse for Ali Larter to stay on the show. Still, I can't wait for the rest of Season 3!

Prepare for Obamafication

Geez, do I have a lot to talk about today. First and foremost, ONLY SIX MORE DAYS UNTIL HEROES SEASON 3 PREMIERE!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell that I'm excited? I posted another preview vid at the bottom (probably the last before the premeire) and here's a promo pic of Matt Parkman to go along with HRG and Peter.

Second of all, if anyone was wondering why I left early yesterday and doesn't already know, it was 'cause I had a ridiculously high blood glucose reading. But no worries, I'm all better now.

Third, while I was at home yesterday I walked over to Borders to get my blood sugar down (yes, that's right, I was at Borders while you were wasting away in AP Euro or LTTV or what-have-you), and I saw some pretty awesome books. One was called "72 Things Younger than John McCain", including penicillin, duct tape, Israel, and Scrabble. It was pretty funny. Between that and the "George W. Bush Countdown Till He's Out of Office Postcards" was a book called "Obamafying the English Language", which basically took existing words and made them a portmanteau with Obama's name to give it a new, Barack-related definition. Among my personal favorites were "Obombre" (a Spanish-speaking Obama supporter) and "Obamrade" (someone who follows the teachings of both Obama and Karl Marx).

Until next time!

Wake Me Up When September Ends

So, two weeks in and AP Euro is already starting to overwhelm me with work. I had an essay due on Wednesday, I have to defend some points I made in that essay on Tuesday, and I have a test on Monday that includes forty multiple choice q's and, you guessed it, another essay.

However, even in this darkness, there is some light. I got an awesome new Season 3 Heroes pic for my header. I can't wait until the three-hour season premiere in sixteen days!

Also, my Geo hw has been pretty easy so far, and the Brave New World movie trailer I'm making in English is pretty awesome.

I got Mario Kart Wii for my birthday, and it's awesome! Although I expected the Wii Wheel to be cumbersome, it's easy to use and a lot of fun!

Sweet 16!!

Today is my sixteenth birthday!! I am no longer fifteen years old, and a few years ago I would've been able to get my Driver's License soon! However, laws have changed, and I now have to wait at least nine months after getting my learner's permit to get my license, which means that the earliest time I could get my license would be February.
The first two days of school have been okay. My teachers seem nice enough (I especially like my Journalistic Writing teacher, Mr. Scales), although since I had such stellar teachers last year I'm afraid that this year won't compare. Mr. Schaefer is nice, but his class will be as nothing compared to my Algebra class last year with Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Wesley is pretty cool but I still like Maffey better, and while Mr. Cronfel was a little weird at times, Ms. Drogos (AP Euro teacher) downright scares me.
Also, I like eighth lunch because I have a lot of friends in it, but I caught myself singing "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog in French today ("I'm goin hungry...").
Also, I am already knee-deep in AP Euro homework, and I am positive that it will be very hard. Luckily, my teacher said that we won't have any homework over Winter or Spring Breaks, which is pretty awesome.
In addition, I got a White Ninja birthday card from Boots, and it was a mixture of random and funny.

Good News!

I finally finished summer reading, with only two days to go!! w00t!!
Other than that, I don't really have anything else to say, other than the fact that my birthday is in three days (ugh, it's a school day), and I'm half-excited, half-depressed to be starting school again. At least I have lunch with a lot of people this year, unlike last year.

Off to GenCon Tomorrow!

Yes, the title of this post pretty much says it all. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for GenCon, an annual gaming convention that takes place in Indianapolis that I go to every year. I always have tons of fun, but I will be gone until Monday, at the earliest.
More random Geek news! In my incessant wanderings on Wikipedia, I discovered a few tracks for Guitar Hero World Tour, the upcoming Guitar Hero that looks like a Rock Band rip-off with better songs. Drums and vocals will be included this time, as will the ability to create your own songs! Versions will come out for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii! It comes out in October, and I can't wait. Here are some songs that will be in the game (not all of them; the game is said to contain at least 85 tracks!):

"Are You Gonna Go My Way"-Lenny Kravitz
"Beat It"-Michael Jackson
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"-Smashing Pumpkins
"B.Y.O.B."-System of a Down
"Crazy Train"-Ozzy Osbourne (it's about time!)
"Dammit"-Blink 182
"Everlong"-Foo Fighters
"Eye of the Tiger"-Survivor
"Feel the Pain"-Dinosaur Jr.
"Hollywood Nights"-Bob Seger
"Hot for Teacher"-Van Halen
"Hotel California"-The Eagles
"In the End"-Linkin Park
"The Joker"-Steve Miller Band
"Lazy Eye"-Silversun Pickups
"Light my Fire"-The Doors
"Love Me Two Times"-The Doors
"Low"-Flo Rida feat. T-Pain (wtf??????)
"Misery Business"-Paramore
"Mr. Crowley"-Ozzy Osbourne (I love this song)
"Never Too Late"-The Answer
"Obstacle 1"-Interpol
"One-Armed Scissor"-At the Drive-In
"Purple Haze"-Jimi Hendrix
"Rebel Yell"-Billy Idol
"Santeria"-Sublime
"Stillborn"-Black Label Society
"Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast"-Airbourne
"Trapped Under Ice"-Metallica
"Weapon of Choice"-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
"What I've Done"-Linkin Park
"The Wind Cries Mary"-Jimi Hendrix

Sounds awesome!

It's Been A While...

...since I've posted, I know. It's just that I was in Camp Mack for a week, and then went with my family on vacation in Michigan this past week, shortly after returning from Mack. Although both trips were tons of fun (in Mack, I got a chance to go tubing, and in Michigan, I swam in the Great Lake while being battered with seven-foot tall waves), they have prevented me from blogging all that much. As if that weren't enough, I'm leaving Thursday morning for GenCon Indianapolis, which is where I'll be until next Sunday.
However, I did take the opportunity during Michigan to read a lot of Brave New World; I now only have 60 pages left, although I still have to do that crazy essay and letter. It's an interesting, thought-provoking book, although a little weird.
Some interesting nerd news:
Guillermo del Toro, director of the Hellboy movies and Pan's Labryinth, is taking the directorial reigns of the Lord of the Rings film franchise, and will be directing two movies set in the Tolkienverse: a movie adaptation of The Hobbit, set for release in 2011, and an unnamed movie that will center on events that occur in between The Hobbit and LOTR. Sounds awesome!

Are You Happy Now, Dad?

So (and yes I know I begin every single post with the word 'So'), over the weekend, I went with my dad and sister to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It's located just a few blocks a way from my dad's house, so we ordered our food (my sister ordered a cheeseburger; I'm still trying to figure that one out) and walked over there. We were in for some surprises.
First of all, what I thought was an order of three tacos turned out to be only one taco. It was really good, but only held me over for like four minutes. However, my dad had ordered a burrito, and asked me to help him eat it. We opened the container, expecting a burrito, but instead found ourselves looking at Godzilla. This burrito was HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, it was at least as big as Matt Tapia's head, not to mention the fact that it was drenched in guacomole and sour cream, so there was no way you could eat with your hands. Luckily, my dad and I were equipped with Oxygen Destroyers in the form of empty stomachs (since I had only eaten one taco and my dad eats like one meal a day), so without further ado, my dad and I dug into King Kong. However, it turns out that even the combined empty stomachs of my dad and I were not enough to finish off The Incredible Hulk, so we found ourselves throwing away the rest of it. I will never forget that burrito as long as I live.
There, Dad, I posted about it. Eat it (oh wait you can't eat anything because we're both still digesting that stupid burrito).

A Hero Is Only As Good As His Villain

So, I have found two more previews of Season Three of Heroes, which, in case you hadn't noticed, I am eagerly awaiting. Apparently, the Company has been hunting Villains for a long time and locking them up in containment cells similar to Peter Petrelli and Adam Monroe. However, something has set them loose, either an enraged Sylar or someone else entirely. Whatever happens, expect these uber-powerful villains to be extremely pissed at being locked up for so long...oh yeah, and one of them appears to be pyrokinetic (or radioactive?).

It's Not So Much "Failing" As It Is "Not Passing"

So, if you couldn't tell from this post's title, I didn't pass my final Behind-the-Wheel session in Driver's Ed. The good news is that I passed the classroom portion, so all I have to do is come back in, like, September, and redo the BtW sessions after school two-three times a week.
Yesterday, I went with my family to the Taste of Chicago, as we do every year on July 3rd, to see the fireworks and eat calamari rings. It was fun, as always.
That's about all I have to say, other than:
HAPPY 232nd BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because I'm Jesus

OK, Chris, aka the King of all Cosmos, just showed me this site where a guy with glasses shortens classic movies into five seconds. Here is the funniest one by far:
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/5-second-movies/37-5-second-movies/121-chronicles-of-naria
Watch it, and feel free to watch others (especially Temple of Doom). Take that, Claire and all you non-believers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Chris says: "Watch Nostalgia Critic! Especially 'Batman and Robin'! It will blow your mind!"

"Heroes" Season Three Trailer!! (Not kidding)

I found a preview of season three of "Heroes", titled "Villains", on the Internet!!!!!!!! Unfortunately, it's pretty bad camera and sound quality, but it's the only version, and that's to be expected considering it's a leak. It was shown at the Jules Verne Film Festival, held in France (I think).
From the trailer, it looks like after getting his powers back, Sylar will be hunting the members of the Company in revenge. It also seems like, true to the season's title, there will be a plethora of villains. Noah Bennet's line that "These people are very dangerous. It's like twelve Sylars running loose" suggests that not only will there be at least twelve villains running around, but they will all be at Sylar's level of power and insanity. My theory: since the trailer shows lights flickering and things getting broken, I think that in attacking the Company, Sylar will end up releasing villains that were held in the Company's custody, similar to Peter and Adam last season.
I can't wait!
EDIT: There's actually two parts to the teaser. I posted both of them.

Driver's Ed: Day 5

So, I managed to get through the first week of Driver's Ed without seriously maiming anyone, although I couldn't make it without puking on the first day. Anyway, I did behind-the-wheel for the second time today, and did much better since Wednesday, since I had practiced at home for a few days. So far, so good.
Also, I was finally able to buy songs on iTunes for the first time in a while, and bought stuff like "Pork and Beans" by Weezer, another Vampire Weekend song, and "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay, among other things.
I'm looking forward to Relay for Life tonight, although there have been reports of possible thunderstorms.

Driver's Ed: Day 4

Yesterday was not only my first time behind the wheel in Driver's Ed, but also my first time driving. Needless to say, I kinda sucked. But last night I practiced driving in a cemetary for an hour with my dad, and I plan to spend another such hour practicing with my mom tonight.
Because of that, I'm afraid I probably won't be able to come, Boots.
So far, so good, although I need much more practice...
I'm really bored again as well.

I'm Not Dead Yet

Yesterday was my first day of Driver's Ed, and I puked about halfway through. I was thus sent home before we could to the behind-the-wheel portion, but luckily I was not dumped from the class. I came in today, and was able to sit through the class.
Anyway...I'm really bored.

So...

I finally got my permit. I tried to go yesterday, but apparently my doctor didn't fill out the medical forms completely, so they rejected me. I had to return to the doctor's office, get her to fill out the form, and then come in today at 8:00 to get my permit. And in order to get there at eight, I woke up at six-thirty. What?! Six-thirty on the second day of summer! Sacrilege! I know, but it was necessary.
And yes, Chris and Mike, morning posts are extremely fun. I'm enjoying posting this while y'all are asleep.
On a final note, I finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman (who also wrote Sandman, the greatest comic ever), and it was awesome. I highly recommend it. Now, I'm reading Good Omens, a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett that makes fun of the Christian Apocalypse. It's one of the funniest things I've ever read.
Holub out!

What Time Is It?

At long last, final exams are over and I am a sophomore! Summer is here, baby (as if you couldn't tell by the 90 degree weather)! I celebrated this by going to the pool for the first time yesterday. I messed around for a little, did my BSA swim test for Camp Mack, and then participated in what is quite possibly the most intense game of water polo ever played. Today, I'm gonna go get my permit (hopefully), and next week I start Driver's Ed.

Finals Are Here!

Only two days left of final exams, and then freshman year is over! Wow, that went by quick.

Today I would've had three exams, but I exempted my French exam, so I only had English, an in-class essay, and World History, a pretty easy yet long multiple choice test. If you guys need help studyin for World History, watch the newest video at the bottom.

Also, Final Crisis #1 is out! I won't say who, but one of the JLA's Big Seven is dead! Unfortunately, Comics Galore is now closed, which leaves me without a local comic shop. I'm either gonna have to find another one or order all my books online like Boots.

Happy 4-Day Weekend!

I have finally been able to restore my iPod after it was out of comission for a month! Yeah!

Yesterday, I saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" for the second time after watching "Temple of Doom" and "The Last Crusade" with my friends. It was pretty good; I liked the chase scenes and the swordfight in the jungle, but the ending was a little too weird for me. If you want more in-depth reviews and analysis, go to the superblog.

Also, I have just created a facebook account.

EDIT: I added the "Keepr of the Reaper" at the bottom, in case it's deleted off the superblog.

Kids, This Is Why You Don't Sleep Through World History

I just added a video at the bottom of the blog from something a few nights ago, where Chris Matthews tears a radio host named Kevin James apart for defending Bush's recent comments about appeasement. For those of you who don't know, Bush recently attacked Barack Obama by relating Obama's promise of talking to, and trying to reason with, terrorist groups to the 'appeasement' policies of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain shortly before World War II.
Trust me, just watch it. One of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

No, Boots, I Have Never Seen the Painting "Son of Man" Before

Well, I had an interesting weekend. On Friday, my dad bought Guitar Hero III for the Wii, and it's awesome! I can now compare it to Rock Band, since I own both games. I would give Guitar Hero 3 a slight edge, simply because you only need to play it by yourself to have fun, whereas Rock Band is most fun when you have a full band playing. However, both games are awesome, and I highly recommend both of them.
On Saturday night, I saw "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" with some friends. It was pretty good. I have read the book before, but it was so long ago that I didn't really remember anything (except Reepicheep).
Today, we had the in-class essay in English, and it was pretty easy. I predicted the prompt about a week ago (it was really obvious) and finished in half an hour. However, now I'm kind of worried since I finished it so early. Oh, well.
Also, I just added the webcomic "FreakAngels" to the sidebar. I really enjoy it; it's like an actual comic, and is written by Warren Ellis, a transhumanist comic book writer. I highly recommend it; it's not 'gag-of-the-week' like Bored and Evil or Achewood, but instead has an interesting and complex story.

Join the War Effort

Today, I learned that my classes for next year have a scheduling conflict that will prevent me from taking Web Development next year. Oh, well.
Needless to say, Bizarro World stands allied with the Last Alliance of Nerds and Blogs in the forthcoming Blog Wars. I have added links to the various affiliations, including the Blog Wars Negotiation Blog.
Hmmm...I meant to say something remotely interesting in this post, but that venture appears to have failed. I'm kinda tired anyway. Later.
And don't forget to support the Last Alliance!

Yes, Mike, I Still Update My Blog (Ha Ha)

This post has two purposes: one, to prove to Mike that I still post on this blog, even in the wake of the genesis of the super blog; and two, to kind of sum up what I'm doing.
My poetry project is almost done; I've just gotta wrap up the bibliography and redo some responses, which were done incorrectly. The emulation was easier than I thought. Thankfully, this will all be said and done soon.
Also, since most of my friends didn't stay until the end of the credits in "Iron Man", I might see it again this weekend. Sweet!
Also, I mentioned this on the superblog, but I'm stealing Mike's whole "put songs that're stuck in my head in the labels" thing.

The Love Song of C.M.Holub

This poetry project is really annoying.
I feel like T.S. Eliot's character J. Alfred Prufrock, trapped in a constant state of procastination. I have completed three reader responses for the poetry project, and one paraphrase (I'll have to redo the paraphrase, though, cause I think I did it wrong).
I'm really fearing the emulation the most, because in order to write like T.S. Eliot (my poet), I would have to quote Dante constantly (in the original Italian, no less), and make thousands of references to books about the King Arthur legends that no one has ever heard of before. UGH.
Anyway, I saw "Iron Man" over the weekend, and may see it again next weekend. For the in-depth reviews of that movie, check out the super blog.
Also, I thought I heard Maffey say in class today that the satire article is due on Friday, the same day as the poetry project! Does anyone know if that's true? 'Cause if so, that would really suck...

It is Implied That I Am Drinking This Wine (L Is Dead)

WE FINALLY GOT OUR ODYSSEY PROJECTS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got a higher grade than I expected (I expected a B, and got an A-) so I'm happy.

As a result, since Maffey has already graded my other blog, I will no longer call myself L.

Also, the super nerd blog is up and running:

http://thelastallianceofnerdsandblogs.blogspot.com/

Check it out, if you dare.

LOCKDOWN!!

So, today in school we went through what is called a 'soft lockdown', in which we are not permitted to leave our class. As a result, we were trapped in our first hour classes for about three hours. Luckily for me, I was in the Discovery Center with my English class, and Maffey just let us goof around on the computers the whole time. Looking back, I really should've worked more on my poetry project...Oh well.
Also, I need the e-mail addresses of everyone I talked to about the super blog.

Tonight, He Comes

ODYSSEY PROJECTS BACK BY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maffey said it himself. If you don't believe me, read the comments in the latest post on his blog.

Also, it seems that Maffey has been grading my Odyssey Project for about a week. I saw it with a bookmark in it on Wednesday of last week, and MKB said he was grading it when she came in this morning. That it means it's either really good and he's savoring it, really bad and he despises grading it, or he's just taking a long time to grade it.

It seems like everybody's on board with the blog, except the displaced Nelson.

Also, while I was watching "American Idol" last week (hell yes I watch "American Idol") I saw a preview of Will Smith's new superhero movie, "Hancock". It looks awesome! It's about an alcoholic superhero gifted with the powers of superstrength and supersonic flight; over the course of the movie, he goes through rehab and becomes a real hero. The special effects are sweet, and the movie in general looks awesome! There's another superhero movie to see over the summer.

3-Day Weekend!

It's a three-day weekend! Awesome! I don't even care that the band kids are having fun in Disney World without me right now (especially since the bus trip there and back again takes like, a whole day). I don't even have that much homework. Now back to blogging.

I just recently came up with an idea for a new blog. Authors would be me, Boots, Pods, Andy, and anyone else who's nerdy enough; it would be the Ultimate Nerd Blog! It would be sweet! We need to start it!

Just as a taste of what would be on this new blog, I'll talk about the sequel to The Gunslinger Born, the comic adaptation of Stephen King's awesome Dark Tower series: The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home. From what I've seen, this miniseries will pick up right where The Gunslinger Born left off: Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain are eluding John Farson's posse of rebels. However, there is a twist: Roland is suddenly drawn into the todash realm by Maerlyn's Grapefruit, the magical sphere they're carrying with them. This series will be five issues instead of seven, and will probably be more interesting than the first one, since it doesn't directly follow any book plotlines.

We need to make that blog, guys!

Na na na na na na...Pope Man!

As you all probably know, Pope Benedict XVI is currently visiting America. He visited Washington, D.C., and I believe he'll be coming to Chicago soon (if he hasn't already). However, this isn't the ridiculous part. The weird part is that people are acting like he's some sort of rock star. American Idol Kelly Clarkson opened for him ('opened for him?' What is this, a rock concert?), and he's said that he's trying to reach out to young people. Something tells me that not many 'young people' will want to listen to an old German guy, who looks like he could drop dead at any second, preach about the Catholic Church. Also, people were selling T-shirts and buttons of him! WTF? Where can I buy a black "Pope Benedict XVI: Tour of the Americas 2008" T-shirt? Something tells me that said T-shirt exists somewhere.

Also, I just wrote a sonnet in trochaic and iambic pantameter about how I couldn't think of anything to write for my sonnet. Looks like writer's block actually helped me out this time.

Webcomics Galore!

Besides "Bored and Evil", I've found a bunch of other good webcomics worth reading. Most are funny, although some have more of a semblance of a plot than others. I've just added them to my blog on the sidebar titled "Webcomics I'm Reading". Here's the breakdown:
"Bored and Evil"-I've already talked about this one a lot. It's about a geek who moves into a monster-infested appartment, and the hilarity that ensues.
"Achewood"-Funny webcomic with demented, anthropmorphic stuffed animals. Hilarious gag-a-day antics (no real recurring plotlines).
"Dresden Codak"-A good, pretty funny sci-fi webcomic. Be prepared to do some research to find out all the political and quantam physics references. To make reading this webcomic easier, I've added a link to Wikipedia in my "Wondering Where I Get My Crazy Ideas?" sidebar.
"Scary Go Round"-Another funny, somewhat sci-fi webcomic. Unlike the other webcomics, this one revolves around long plotlines.
These are all good and I recommend you check out all of them.

The Guy Kind Of Jumped On My Machete

So, we are now in the midst of the poetry unit, and it's starting to get harder. We have a sonnet due next Tuesday, and that will probably be pretty difficult. I also have T.S. Eliot as my poet, and his poems like "The Waste Land" are filled with so many references that it's hard to keep track of them and their importance. This is worsened by the fact that I have never read the books/plays he's referencing.

I just read that Robert Downey Jr., who is playing the lead character in next month's "Iron Man" movie, will have a cameo as Tony Stark in Ed Norton's "The Incredible Hulk" movie (out later this summer; it's independent from Ang Lee and Eric Bana's movie a couple years ago). It's also rumored that Samuel Jackson will play the role of Nick Fury in both movies (it will probably be a small role). This has been done to build unity between the two franchises, and Marvel Studios has said that this may lead to a future "Avengers" movie with Downey as Iron Man, Norton as Hulk, and other characters. "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau has even expressed interest in directing it! THAT'S AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, the movie is a couple years off at the most, to allow characters like Thor, Ant-Man, and Captain America to be introduced in their own movies. Still, that sounds sweet.

Here are some of my favortie "Bored and Evil" comics as well.

Don't Eat My Fishsticks (I Got Them From Jesus)

About a month ago, I posted about the upcoming video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which will be released on just about ever console you can imagine. I now have more information about that game! The Wii version of the game will feature a two-player Duel mode, which early reviewers have said is a multiplayer mode to match Brawl. Here is the complete roster:
(note, the Secret Apprentice, Maris Brood, and Rahm Kota were original characters created for this game)

-Secret Apprentice

Versions: Bounty Hunter Disguise, Corellian Flight Suit, Father's Robes, Light Training Gear, Training Gear, Raxus Prime Survival Gear, Sith Robes, Jungle Combat Gear, Industrail Explorer Outfit

-Ultimate Good*

-Qui-Gon Jinn

-Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode III)

-Anakin Skywalker (Episode III)

-Darth Vader

-Luke Skywalker

Versions: Episode IV, Episode VI

-Mace Windu

-Ultimate Evil*

-Shaak Ti

-Darth Maul

-Count Dooku

-Asajj Ventress

-Master Rahm Kota

-Aayla Secura

-Mara Jade

-Darth Phobus

-Maris Brood

The only two characters I have absolutely no clue about are the characters called 'Ultimate Good' and 'Ultimate Evil'. Ultimate Good looks to be dressed in white Jedi robes, while the Ultimate Evil is wearing a mask similar to that of a Stormtrooper. Maybe they, too, are characters from the game's single-player mode.

This roster looks awesome; the only downside is that you can't play as Yoda or The Emperor, who would probably be the most fun to play :(

I'll post again tomorrow about the Wii version's controls.

In other Star Wars news, Yoda and Darth Vader will both appear as playable characters in the next-gen weapon fighting game Soul Calibur IV. (although not together; Yoda is only in the Xbox 360 version, while D Viddy is only in the Play Station 3 version). Yoda will be a smaller, quicker character, while Vader will be a stronger, heavier character. Both characters will use the Force to augment their fighting style.

I Can't Believe I Sold My Soul For Low Rent

I just read Boots' latest post where he talks about some awesome webcomics. I decided to check out the one called "Bored and Evil". It's hilarious! It's basically about a comic geek (like me, except older) who moves into an apartment with a werewolf, the creature from the Black Lagoon, Jason from "Friday the 13th", and a tentacle that lives in the sink. I highly recommend that you check it out. Here's the link:

www.boredandevil.com/

And I know it's kind of late, but...

http://movies.ign.com/dor/articles/863515/legend-of-zelda-movie-trailer/videos/legendofzelda_filmtrailer_040108.html

Word-I'd Rather Be Drawing Monster Trucks

I should start this post by proclaiming that I HAVE NO HOMEWORK TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Now that I'm done rubbing in our face, I'll move on.

Today in Orchestra, we found a box of "Slang Flashcards". These flashcards seemed meant to teach old white people modern slang, such as "bling" and "dawg", as well as some I've never heard before, such as "po-po". These flashcards were double-sided: one side would have a slang word, while the other side had a dictionary-like definition of the word, a sentence of dialogue using the word, and a picture to go along with the sentence. The title of this post was accompanied by a picture of a little boy and girl drawing basic geometric shapes such as squares and triangles, with the boy seeming a little annoyed by this task. Needless to say, these cards were hilarious. I wish I could remember more examples, but they were funnier if you actually saw them. I have included a pic of another one with this post.

Peace.

You Must Be The New Coffee Machine

I was disappointed at both the lack of April Fools Day pranks today, and at my own inability to come up with some witty gag to write in this post about the holiday today. Personally, I think we should get April Fools off. And we should get tomorrow off for International Childrens Book Day. And we should get April 5th off for National Read-a-Roadmap Day. And next Monday off for Ponce de Leon Day (Hey, I think if a guy searched for the Fountain of Youth, we should get a day off in memory of him). And of course, we should get April 16th off for National Eggs Benedict Day.

No, I am not making these up.

Moving on, it looks like English fourth quarter will not be as carefree as I had originally hoped, since we seem to have a Poetry Project of some sort (which Maffey was vague about, as usual) and probably some essays about our independent book. However, we didn't have any English homeowork today for the first time in a few months, and our in-class assignment was really fun. This post's title comes up a line me, Boots, and Samy included in our amazing poem. We took it from a recent Dilbert comic, which I have included in this post (as a side note, I have a link to Scott Adams' blog here for those of you who haven't noticed. It's pretty funny)

I'm interested to see how many Google/Wikipedia searches it takes you guys to either understand or confirm the references I made in this post.

Finally!

After months of waiting, I finally got my hands on both a Nintendo Wii and a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl! It's awesome, and really fun to be able to play Brawl endlessly without having to worry about a looming Odyssey Project.

Since both the Brawl and Odyssey Project countdowns are complete, I have been forced to make a new countdown. I have thus made a countdown counting down to the DC Comics event Final Crisis, the conclusion to the 'Crisis' trilogy that began with Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. My countdown also shares the name of a DC weekly called "Countdown to Final Crisis", which will (suprise, suprise) lead directly into Final Crisis. The pic included with this post, which depicts one of the 52 Monitors, is the cover of issue #26 of this series. The pic at the bottom of my blog is a teaser for Final Crisis as well.

Enjoy your Spring Break, everyone!

It's The End of the Odyssey Project As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

This is my official post-Odyssey Project post.

It is done! It is over! It's handed in, and whatever my final grade will be is out of my hands now! THANK GOD! This is is the hugest sigh of relief I've taken in a LONG time. This good feeling is only helped by the fact that it is really nice outside, and we have an Odyssey project-free spring break, with nothing to do but play Brawl and pick out which book we're reading for fourth quarter. Speaking of which, what are you guys considering reading? Just from a quick glance at the list and some Wikipedia searches based on the titles, I'm looking at Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon and Chimera by John Barth.

The Odyssey Project wasn't actually that bad for me. I know some people stayed up to 4 a.m. making interactives and turning their project into a gigantic tome, but I finished around 10:00, having started as soon as I got home, and after doing my other homework, went to bed around 11:00 (which has been usual throughout the project). How late did you guys stay up?

I'll give you three guesses as to what video game this pic is from.

The Final Lap!

Odyssey Project is due in TWO DAYS!! I'm actually pretty confident in my progress; I'm not as far as some people whose names rhyme with Bill Dods, but I think I'll be able to finish it by Thursday. If nothing else, I'll build a time machine to stop time until I finish the project, and then restart time again. Becasue building this machine will definitely be less work than finishing the project.

Some people even took a day off today to work on it. I'm not resorting to that option, simply because I neither need the day off nor can I afford to miss another full day of school. The Odyssey Project isn't the only thing I'm doing at school. (Although it would probably be much easier if it was. I feel sorry for all you Honors Algebra kiddies).

Here's another Final Fantasy Versus XIII pic as well, simply because all these words seem lonely without a cool pic.

I'll get back to my project now.

O Free Time, Where Art Thou?

With only one hour left to go on the English movie poll, it looks like the winner will be "O Brother Where Art Thou?" With 11 votes on this poll, this is the largest turnout for a poll I've ever had on this blog. Either people who never vote on my polls voted because they could actually understand this poll, or some people voted more than once (I'm looking at you, Boots).

In other news, I FINISHED MY LAST LETTER! Now I only have to put the project together and edit some really crappy interactives. However, I am happy to have accomplished this milestone.

Some people have inquired as to the origin of the new pic on my blog header, that replaced the previous "Birth by Sleep" pic. The new pic is from the trailer for the upcoming PlayStation 3 game "Final Fantasy Versus XIII", which will be a part of the trio of games with "Final Fantasy XIII" in the name (I don't think they will feature the same characters, but I believe they will all take place in the same world). No, I don't have a PS3, but the pic is cool and I am a fan of Final Fantasy. (I've actually played some games in the series, instead of pretending to be obsessed with it without actually playing any of the games). Here's another pic from the game as well. Enjoy this small glimmer of light in the overwhelming darkness that is the Odysssey Project.

Odyssey Bonfire

Originally, Pods had an idea for an Odyssey Project bonfire after we're done. Since everybody will have put a lot of time and effort into the project, burning it immediately afterward doesn't seem like a viable option. However, we could always have a bonfire where we burn the Odyssey itself, the source of all our misery.
These are the thoughts that help me sleep at night.

The Way I See It...

...there are a few options for me and Boots to sneak into "Watchmen" next year. I've come up with about a dozen plans, but these are the three that will probably be most effective:

1. We climb onto the roof of the movie theater with the aid of grappling hooks, find out which theater it's being shown in, remove one of the roof tiles, and slowly lower ourselves into the theater. We'll do this before anyone else gets into the theater, when they're playing stupid music trivia and Coke ads, so we won't be noticed.

2. We fake being of age using beards similar in design to Maffey's Stormont costume. Part of this plan may involve creating a fantastic band called the "Soggy Bottom Boys."

3. We hire one of our friends to distract the cashiers with a showtune while we sneak in, unnoticed. (Let's hope Osama Bin Laden doesn't know showtunes).

At least one of them is bound to work, as long as the cashiers don't read my blog. This won't be a problem, since no one reads my blog anyway.

The attached pic is the new "Watchmen" movie poster designed by Dave Gibbons, the legendary artist who created the comic alongside Alan Moore, the greatest comic book writer of all time. You can check out Boots' blog for more pics from the movie. The poster depicts the murder of the Comedian that kickstarts the story.

With only six days left, it seems like I'll be spending this weekend working on the Odyssey Project instead of less important things like eating and sleeping.

On To The Important Things

Now that I'm done ranting at "Ishmael" (if that is your real name) and not posting on my other blog, I think I can move on and start posting my usual nonsense.

Julius Caesar beat Napoleon Bonaparte 4-2 in the match of military dictators, and Adolf Hitler didn't even land a punch. A new poll is up, comparing the two awesome movies we watched in English this quarter. Vote on it, or I'll summon an army of demonic pancakes, track you down, and...well, inflict whatever grueling punishment that an army of demonic pancakes commanded by an unathletic, uncoordinated nerd can inflict.

Check out this pic; it's a teaser image of Rorschach from the upcoming "Watchmen" film (which me and Boots will probably skip school to see next year) based on the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel. If you haven't read what is probably the greatest comic book ever made, go to Borders or your local library and check it out. Or else I'll call upon my demonic pancake army again.

When I Say...

...don't comment on my other blog, I really do mean (and this may seem like a shocker to some of you out there who HAVE posted on my other blog) DON'T COMMENT ON IT. (Especially when you post a stupid comment and use a fake name to hide who you are). Now, let the meaning of that statement sink in before continuing.
I have been told (numerous times) that the blog is kind of confusing and doesn't really fit any themes. That is true. It's probably my worst interactive. (Although I have tried to make the recent posts relate to the homecoming theme, as L gets lost and now needs to find his way home from the Underworld and Circe's island) I also may have misinterpreted the theme of homecoming. Does it mean his journey, or just arriving at home? Clarification needed. I'll probably have to edit the blog to make it fit the theme (or take it off entirely and come up with a new interactive that makes sense).
However, the fact that I have a confusing interactive blog that sucks doesn't mean you should ignore what I said, especially if you are aware of my request to not post. For instance, if you know the blog is supposed to be about homecoming, then you probably read my post about NOT COMMENTING ON IT, "Ishmael" (if that is your real name). If you want to post a comment relating to my other blog, please post it here.
Sorry if I seem like a loser right now, but the fact that the Odyssey project is due in a week has got me all nervous and doing something like this to piss me off doesn't help.

Did you know...

There's a Wikipedia article about Wikipedia? It's actually quite frightening. Here's the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

It's quite something to see Wikipedia talk about itself in its usual boring voice.

Return of the Nerd

After a weekend-long hiatus in Wisconsin that caused me to miss the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I have returned to posting (and Illinois)! Over the weekend, I was on a Boy Scout outing (my first weekend outing in a long time) learning how to ride horses and get the Horsemanship merit badge. It was a lot of fun, especially since I was with other freshmen like Harrison, Alex, and David instead of whiny little fifth-graders (they usually went away after I threatened to fry their face on the heater).
The best part was Saturday night, when me, Harrison, and Joe went sledding. Not only was it the first time I've gone sledding all winter, but it wasn't sledding on crappy snow and hills that we're forced to do around here. The snow was perfect and the hills were awesome. It was a lot of fun, and (dare I say it) worth missing Brawl's release (although I do regret that a little bit).
Speaking of Brawl, I got the chance to play it yesterday, and it was awesome! I'll talk more about it once I buy it (which should hopefully be this weekend). Fingers crossed, people.

Kingdom Hearts Update

As Pods said, while we're in the middle of the time-consuming Odyssey project, it's nice to relax and think about simpler things: like the next entry in the Kingdom Hearts series!

In case none of you recognized the pic at the top of my blog (with the words 'Bizarro World' and 'Goodbye' written on it), I am a huge fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. The game ingeniously combines Disney characters/worlds with Final Fantasy characters/concepts, and throws in some original stuff to boot. Anyone who beat Kingdom Hearts II (particularly those who unlocked the secret ending) are probably waiting anxiously for the next entry in the series. Before Kingdom Hearts III finally hits the PS3, there will be three games for handheld systems that will give more depth to the series (similar to the GameBoy Advance game Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories). They are:

-Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

-Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

-Kingdom Hearts: Coded

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep- This game will be released for the PSP, and will focus on the three characters seen in the KHII secret ending and the KHII Final Mix+ secret ending. Since you probably need to see the Final Mix ending to understand what I am about to say, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISLUMfkk8rY

They are named Terra (the guy with brown hair who used to be my avatar and is in this pic), Ven (looks like Roxas from KH2, unconscious in the above pic) and Aqua (the girl with blue hair). The game will have three parallel storylines; you play as one of the three in their own storyline. The villain will be another new character named Master Xehanort (the bald guy from the Final Mix ending, for those of you that saw that). Fro some reason, he's wearing the same clothes as Ansem from the first game. Hmmm...

The game takes place about 10 years before the first Kingdom Hearts, so the enemies will not be Heartless, but 'new' enemies that we did not see in any of the previous Kingdom Hearts games. In addition to the three main Keyblade wielders, characters such as King Mickey and Maleficient will also appear; since this is a prequel, it may give an explanation for Maleficient's rise to power. While you will visit areas familiar to KH fans, you will also visit new worlds, such as the Forest from Sleeping Beauty. This looks to be an exciting game, and will probably tie in a lot with the upcoming KH3. There was a new trailer behind closed doors at Jump Feista 2008. Since it was private, we probably won't see footage anytime soon, but here is the summary of the trailer:

http://kh2.co.uk/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1198392379

Make of that what you will. Soon I'll post another update about the other exciting game, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.

Brawl: 5 days left!!!

Ultimate Ninja 3!!!

After Super Smash Bros. Brawl finally arrives in the United States (six days left!!), the next game that I will be saving up for will be Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, a game I have been waiting for for about two years. This game is, as the title clearly states, the third game in the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, and will feature a huge roster of over 40 playable characters. Even though haters of Naruto (I'm looking at you, Pods) really don't give a crap about this game, I, being the diehard Naruto fan that I am, am looking forward to this game almost as much as I am to Brawl ('almost' being the key word). For other fans of Naruto who are eagerly awaiting this fighting game, here is the complete roster:

Naruto Uzumaki (Normal, One-Tailed Kyuubi, Taijutsu Jumpsuit)

Sasuke Uchiha (Normal, Curse Mark State 2)

Sakura Haruno

Kakashi Hatake (Normal, ANBU)

Ino Yamanaka

Shikamaru Nara

Choji Akimichi (Normal, Butterfly)

Asuma Sarutobi

Kiba Inuzuka

Hinata Hyuga

Shino Aburame

Kurenai Yuhi

Rock Lee (Normal, Drunken Fist)

Neji Hyuga

Tenten

Might Guy

Zabuza Momochi

Haku

Konohamaru

Anko Mitarashi

Gaara of the Desert (Normal, Half-Shukaku)

Kankuro

Temari

Jiraiya

Orochimaru

Tsunade

Shizune

Kabuto Yakushi

Itachi Uchiha

Kisame Hoshigaki

First Hokage

Second Hokage

Third Hokage

Fourth Hokage

Hanabi Hyuga
Jirobo (Normal, Curse Mark State 2)

Kidomaru (Normal, Curse Mark State 2)

Tayuya (Normal, Curse Mark State 2)

Sakon/Ukon (Normal, Curse Mark State 2)

Kimimaro Kaguya (Normal, Curse Mark State 2)

As well as many stages and game modes. Although not quite as enticing as Brawl, this game will probably take up a lot of my time as well. First, however, I'll need to get the money for it (I'm saving up for Brawl). The pic below is the full character selection screen.

Boots-If you had cared to read my last post, you would've known that not only is a blog called 'odyssey project interactive' my odyssey project interactive, but I also don't want any comments.

SSB Brawl- Less than 6 days!

Edit: Just like how Harrison temporarily changed his blogger name to 'Odysseus', I have changed mine to L. Fair warning.

My Master Plan...Unveiled!!

Taking inspiration from Harrison and Andy without totally copying their idea, my next Odyssey interactive is a blog. Before I explain the blog, I should probably explain the overall theme of my Odyssey Project.
My project will be a confidential dossier compiled by L, a member of an organization called Primatech Paper. It is being delivered to his superior, M, with the explicit purpose of proving the existence of the Greek gods. L has intercepted and undercovered various letters written by the gods themselves, a brochure about Nestor's city of Pylos, and a PowerPoint presentation made by the Furies, all of which are included in this top-secret Dossier. In order to prove whether Odysseus' journey was real or not, L went on a journey through Greece, retracing Odysseus' steps in an attempt to find monsters such as Scylla and Polyphemus and locations such as Ogygia and Circe's island. My new blog, titled "My Journey", is L's journals during his adventure. The theme will be homecoming.
As you can see, pretty different from an 'Odysseus blog.'
Similar to how Harrison changed his blogger name to Odysseus, my avatar and 'about me' have also changed to reflect the character of L. I'll change it back after the project is due. Or will I?
Feel free to read my new blog, but don't post on it until after the project is due. Thanks.
Edit: Here's the link: http://odysseyprojectinteractive.blogspot.com

It's ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, after taking my iPod to the Apple Store, it's back up and running again. Apparently, it was so low on battery that my computer didn't even recognize it as an iPod. That's strange because I had it plugged into my docking station all night; I need to check that thing out...
Anyway, the results of my Greek hero poll were:

1. Heracles-3 votes
2. Odysseus-2 votes
3. Achilles/Perseus-1 vote each

That's probably the closest poll I've ever had; every contestant got at least one vote. My new poll stems from a conversation me, Andy, and Harrison had while walking home one day.
Also, Pods brought up on my previous 'Star Wars' post that there will soon be a live-action Star Wars series set during the Rise of the Empire era (in my opinion, the best Star Wars era). It sounds cool, but I don't have any other info.

Mon iPod, il est mort

In case none of you speak French (damn you, Latin students and your GenCon trip) or don't know basic French words, the title translates to basically say that my iPod is dead as a doornail. Yesterday morning at the bus stop, it wouldn't turn on. Since then, it hasn't returned to life, and now my iTunes program on my computer doesn't even recognize it. So, I'll either have to exchange it, or have the Geek Squad (or whatever they call themselves) at the Apple Store fix it. Go figure.

New Clone Wars Series! (And 'Force Unleashed' trailer!)

It looks like Lucasfilm is making a new CGI series based on the Clone Wars. Here's a link:

http://www.starwars.com/

Hopefully, this will allow us to see more from characters like General Grievous or Asajj Ventress, and hopefully tide me over until the release of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed." Speaking of which, here's the official site for "The Force Unleashed," including the awesome trailer:

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/#

Both of them look awesome!

The Nietzsche Family Circus

I know Boots already posted this, but you have got to check this website out! It pairs a random Family Circus comic with a random Nietzsche quote. It's hilarious!

http://www.losanjealous.com/nfc

For instance, the image to the left was paired with the quote:

"Once Spirit was God, then it became man, and now it is even becoming a mob."

News

I have so much to say that this post will be divided into sections.

Poll: The Civil War poll is over. Three people voted to support Captain America (oh yeah) while two decided to take no side (thanks, X-Men). Going back to my old poll theme of Greek mythology, the new poll is about Greek heroes. So far it's split down the middle.

Obama vs. Clinton: Obama is now on an 11-caucus winning streak. That's awesome! At this point, it seems that if Hillary doesn't win both Texas and Ohio, she will be forced to concede the race. Talk about an upset!

Dragon Ball Z movie: In my first post about the DBZ movie, I speculated that the eye in the movie poster might be Vegeta or Raditz. However, Boots pointed out to me that the eye is probably that of Shenron, the magical dragon that appears when the Dragon Balls are gathered.

Renaming Bizarro Maffey: It has been brought to my attention that I made a mistake in naming Bizarro Maffey "Yeffem." His real name is "Yeffam."

Death Note posers: I was into Death Note way before anyone you know, so I'm not the one copying. Also, L is one of my favorite characters of all time.

Dark Knight Trailer?????

By now, you've probably figured out that I'm hyped about the upcoming "Dark Knight" movie. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThYPfULdomg

Now, I guarantee you'll never be able to watch the regular "Dark Knight" trailer the same way again! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! "I'm so diabolical! They don't call me 'Florence' for nothing!!!"*
Now, if you want to see the real (and awesome) trailer, here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaIR9dAZRR0&feature=related

*-That's a line from Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged! for those of you that have a life.

Anywhere Is Possible

So, I went to see the new movie "Jumper" on Friday. It was about a kid named David Rice who learns he is a 'Jumper', or a person with the ability to teleport. He's also hunted by an organization called Paladins, who want nothing more to kill all jumpers. By the end, he has to team-up (well, kind of) with a Jumper named Griffin to save his girlfriend from the Paladins, who will use his loved ones to get at him.

To summarize: it was good, but shallow. It was a fun movie, but it didn't exactly 'wow' me with greatness. The plot moved uncomfortably fast at times, relationships between characters didn't always make sense, some plot threads were left either unresolved by the end, and sometimes the resolutions to certain plot points left me going 'huh'? Also, the motives behind the Paladin organization's desire to hunt the Jumpers is pretty unclear.

However, on the good end, the fight scenes were very well done, and were pretty awesome to watch. You managed to forget some of the unclear plot points when you saw Griffin shoot a flamethrower into a wormhole, teleport a bus from Tokyo to the middle of the desert in an attempt to kill a Paladin, or the amazing chase scene between David and Griffin, when they chased each other halfway around the world, wrestling for control of a detonator.

So, I recommend seeing this movie, because the action scenes, the concept of the movie, and the special effects were pretty cool. Just don't expect anything outstanding.

More on DBZ!

Okay, my friend Mike just showed me the DBZ article on IMDB. Here's the synopsis for the movie, copy-and-pasted directly from IMDB:

"[Based on] The King Piccolo Saga [Dragonball], also known as the Piccolo Daimaoh Saga (Demon Lord Piccolo Saga) is the penultimate saga from the anime Dragonball. It occurs after the Tien Shinhan Saga and precedes the Piccolo Junior Saga. It includes the battles between Goku and King Piccolo's sons, Goku's first encounter with the Samurai warrior, Yajirobe, Goku's quest to find the Holy Water, his final battle with young King Piccolo, and the birth of Piccolo Junior. Appearances also made by Yamcha and Bulma but regretably not Pu'ar or Oolong, nor even Krillin. Ox King and his Daughter Chi Chi are speculated."

So, if IMDB is right, the movie will be about Dragon ball, not DBZ, although if the poster is any indication, the movie will still be called "Dragon Ball Z."

P.S- Chris says "Falco Paaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnch!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Bizarro Maffey

Yesterday in first period English, it seems like a Bizarro Maffey was teaching instead of the normal Mr. Maffey. His reaction to our in-class talking was not extremely out of place, as I had far stricter teachers, but it was weird for Mr. Maffey, who is usually indifferent or not really strict. As such, I am officially naming giving this 'Bizarro Maffey' a name: Yeffem.

The questions that are probably running through your head right now are:

1.Why didn't you write about this yesterday?

2. Why are you even writing about this?

3. How far are you on the first Odyssey interactive?

I will answer them to the best of my ability.

1. I didn't write about this Bizarro sighting yesterday because I was overloaded with Algebra II Accel homework, where I had 100 problems that were much harder than expected (no exaggeration here, it really was 100 problems, even though I probably only did 3/4's of that). I know you A2 Honors kids are like, "100 problems? Big deal! We do those for an in-class warm-up!" But this amount of problems was unexpected, so it prevented me from posting yesterday.

2. I am writing about Yeffem because my blog is called 'Bizarro World,' after all, and I will post Bizarro sightings when I see them. If you find any Bizarro sightings in your life, feel free to post them here.

3. I have not yet started on my Odyssey interactive, but I have multiple ideas for it. Just as I thought: the interactives would be the worst part.

As a side note, I'm going to see "Jumper" tonight, so expect a review of that movie sometime this weekend.

Writer's Strike Ends!!

My Greek goddess poll is over. If you haven't read the poll, which will remain up until my next poll ends, the results were:

1. Athena-4 votes

2. Aphrodite-2 votes

3. Hera/Artemis- 0 votes

My new poll is an extremely nerdy one, and one you will most likely only get if you read the recent (and excellent) Marvel comic series, Civil War. To fill in all the non-believers, the Superhuman Registration Act is a law that requires superheroes to reveal their secret identities to the government and become paid, trained government operatives. A group of heroes, led by Iron Man, supported the act and launched the Fifty State Initiative, which would give each of the fifty states their own government-sponsored superteam. Another group of heroes, led by Captain America, go underground and fight against the act, believing that the act violates personal freedoms, and that if they go along with the act, American politicians will start telling them "who the bad guys are." So vote on the poll!

In other news, the writer's strike that has kept many shows, such as "Heroes", from returning after their winter break and has led to the birth of many horrible shows such as "American Gladiators", "Moment of Truth", and "Lipstick Jungle", has finally ended!

Why is Everyone Sick??

I've noticed that lately, almost everyone I know has come down with some sort of sickness. I puked on Friday, Boots has been gone two days, Harrison said he was sick after the ski trip, Grant was really sick at MUN conference, my sister is laying down right now because she doesn't feel good, etc. The list goes on and on. So, the question before us now is the cause of this sudden outbreak. The only possible explanation is that everyone is infected with microscopic, extraterrestial parasites that are slowly eating away at our life force, and decreasing the surplus human population so that Earth is vulnerable to invasion.

P.S- The attached pic is supposedly of James Marsters as Piccolo in the upcoming Dragon Ball Z movie that I talked about extensively in my last post.

Dragon Ball Z Movie!!

DISCLAIMER: Boots had this post, and this pic, before me. Go read the Nerd Word if you haven't already.

A Dragon Ball Z movie is finally coming out! I've been hearing rumors since, like, third grade, but it's never come to anything...until now! This is the official movie poster, stolen off of the Nerd Word.

Now, the question is what this movie's going to be about. Is it going to be about Dragon Ball, when Goku's a kid, or Dragon Ball Z, when he's an adult?

And who's eye is that? It looks to me a lot like a scouter, although there's definitely an eyebrow, so it can't be Frieza or one of his minions. My guess? Vegeta or Raditz.

From that, I can assume that the movie will cover the Saiyan Saga, although it will probably go into the Frieza/Planet Namek saga since there wasn't a big emphasis on finding the Dragon Balls during the Saiyan Saga.

The next question is how they're going to portray the alien characters like Piccolo or Frieza. Will they use computer animation or hokey costumes? I hope they use CGI, and that seems to be the only realistic option. Costumes don't cut it anymore.

Finally, how would they portray the high-speed fighting and energy attacks that the series is all about?

My hopes for this movie are extremely high, but only time will tell to see if it delivers...

Get Ready for the Brawl!

By now, you can probably tell that I'm waiting anxiously for the American release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, whether it's my countdown widget, the thing in my "Sucks" column, or the fact that I'm 'waiting' for it.

For some reason, it's already come out in Japan, two months ahead of the North American release date. That really sucks. Not just because a bunch of Japanese kids and American kids with Japanese imports can play it two months ahead of me, but also because now the entire character roster is spoiled for me, including hidden characters. Although, that doesn't really suck that much, since the roster is awesome!

BEWARE, HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! DON'T KEEP READING IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE SUPRISE!

here it is:

Mario

Link

Pikachu

Kirby

Samus (and Zero Suit version)

Fox

Zelda/Shiek

Yoshi

Princess Peach

Bowser

Meta Knight

King Dedede

Ice Climbers

Wario

Pit

Solid Snake

Sonic the Hedgehog

Captain Olimar

Pokemon Trainer

Donkey Kong

Diddy Kong

Lucas

Ness

Ike

Marth

Jigglypuff

Luigi

Captain Falcon

Ganondorf

Lucario

Mr. Game and Watch

R.O.B.

Toon Link (Wind Waker)

Falco

Wolf

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS GAME! Why must it be another month?!!