What I'm thinking of doing is getting another Points Card and downloading this and World of Goo, which really has my attention.

That even happened to me once! Scared me, too! After all the trouble I went through to get it uploaded.

But then it worked again so all is well.

Just got back from class.

They #####in' LOVED it. Teacher did, too.

"I'm going to get fired," she says. That's how much she loved it.

ALEC AND FRIENDS MAKE A PORNO.

Big thanks to John for helping me get this uploaded to Youtube 30 minutes before it was due in class.

That's in the deleted scenes.

But you have to buy the Super Special Awesome Edition.

[/me venting my anger at how they didn't include that deleted Hulk scene with Captain America frozen in the ice on the standard DVD]

The part with the fishes eating the ants was so sad.

I very much prefer Winamp to iTunes in every way, but I use iTunes because I have an iPod and that's the only reason why.

And I DO like iPods.

Best ad ever.

From the first trailer a while back, I could tell it wasn't going to be a true Banjo game and was disappointed. But by now I'm over that and I'm okay with what we have now.

That is pretty awesome trivia.

Huh. That is cool. And unexpected.

Today started off with a marching band performance and ended with a home-made porno.

So, today we had the "Season in Review" concert for marching band, which is basically a huge performance where we go to Miller Auditorium and play all the music and stand cheers and half-time show stuff from the entire marching band season. Big deal. We did great.

There was a sweet part where the drumline was lifted up through a hole in the stage while a fog machine was running and there were crazy lights and we played our badass cadence. Definitely a fun moment.

My parents were up for the show and took me out to dinner, along with a couple friends. Good free meal.

They also brought up the missing Rock Band instruments, so now we actually had a drumset, a microphone, and a second guitar. Which meant we played Rock Band 2 for most of the night.

Then we started movie night. Watched The Incredible Hulk, since we watched Iron Man last night during the all-nighter.

During the movie, I stopped procrastinating for a certain project I had to do: I started writing the script for my porno parody.

You see, we had to write a How-To Guide in my English class. I wrote "How To Make a Porno." After doing this, our teacher informed us that we then needed to create an example of whatever we wrote about.

Which meant I had to make a porno.

So I talked to my teacher and fortunately she gave me the go-ahead.

Flash-forward a couple weeks and the project is due tomorrow, yet I still haven't started.

I got really into writing the script, and shortened it to about a page.

Then I found some great 70's porn music.

Then I whipped out the camera, paused the movie, and told everyone in the room that they had to participate in the filming of my porno or else I wouldn't let them watch the rest of the movie.

In the end, a few people ended up not getting parts anyway so they got lucky... or UNlucky depending on how you look at it.

I tell you, this was PURE GOLD.

I'm now officially a porno director and a pornstar.

I'm uploading the video to YouTube now and I'll post it for all of you guys later. It's taking forever to upload.

I personally did.

And Fruit Loops is Cereal.

From what I hear, if you go in expecting a true Banjo-Kazooie 3, you're going to hate it.

It's more of a spin-off game than anything else, whether or not they want to admit it. Some similar aspects of gameplay, yeah, but don't expect much to be the same.

I'm just surprised that I actually ENJOY the new gameplay.

And yeah, the text fix just made my day. Now I have absolutely no qualms with the game.

I haven't slept in two days and I'm still not tired.

My minor "unofficial insomnia" has kicked back in and I haven't been getting much sleep lately. So the other night, I just stayed up all night.

And then today, we had to get up at 4:00AM for marching band to get on a bus to Ford Field where our football team was playing against Illinois (they won!). So I pulled another all-nighter with all my friends. Watched Iron Man and played Rock Band 2.

I'm still not tired and I'm getting worried.

Also been watching a lot of Doctor Who.

That grabs my attention.

That really is a great show, and I haven't watched much of it but I don't mind because I know one day I'm going to snap and watch them all online or something. I saw a list of the contests for this season and I just remember laughing from that alone.

I've given babies AIDS, and I've given dumpsters AIDS, but only twice in my life have I ever given babies AND dumpsters AIDS simultaneously!

I don't like her family, at least.

Oh, I forgot to point out that there was a small Shaun of the Dead reference or a near-exact joke in the first part of the Season/Series 2 finale.

In Shaun of the Dead, during the bit at the end where they're flipping through channels, and they show that talk show Trisha or whatever and she has a guest on the show who's still married to her zombie husband. Like "You go to bed with it?"

They used that EXACT same bit in different context with a ghost. Same talk show, everything.

I'm leaning more towards a Shaun homage since Simon Pegg is a huge fan of the show, had a guest appearance, and narrates Doctor Who Confidential.

---

Ah, speaking of Simon Pegg and Doctor Who...

Last night, I showed a couple of my friends Spaced, and they got so into it that we watched six episodes in a row.

Now, today, just started another episode of Doctor Who and I find Jessica Hynes in a guest role! ##### yeah! I didn't know she landed a role. First Pegg, now her. That is very cool and now I'm excited for the rest of the episode.

I write like Douglas Adams but I'm pretty sure it's BECAUSE of him.

And yeah, $75, that's what they told me. Wouldn't have gotten it.

My laptop is almost never off. And I really SHOULD turn it off because I've already killed one battery to the point where it wouldn't last for more than an hour without being plugged in. I've gotten it replaced, but it's just going to happen at this rate.

If I had known how good it was and how much I was gonna' love it BEFORE I bought it, I might've waited for that.

But by obscene, I mean it was somewhere between $50 and $70 or something, when I could buy the regular one for $20.

Yeah, Mike, trust me on this. And don't worry about not having played the others. The two N64 ones are the only ones that count anyway, so you've only missed out on one. And the gameplay has changed QUITE a bit so it doesn't even matter, aside from all the cameos and homages that I've seen in Banjo Land, and that just seems to be a place where they're trying to fit all of that sort of stuff in at once.

But yeah, just with the limited parts they gave me in the demo, I've already created a ton of crazy machines. I like how you can use the propellors to fly or to go steer underwater.

I'm about to start the demo again so I can make a fun one I just thought of where it's Banjo on a pillar with one wheel. Or at least try to make unicycle or something and see how that works.

Also to try the glitch.

As for the text, I've gotten used to it. At first it will drive you #####ing insane, it almost caused me to not want to bother buying the game. But you DO get used to it if you fix the contrast a bit.

Started the demo again and realized that it didn't save and that I had to start over. Which was fine because it was just as fun as the first time, and I understood things a bit better.

I found a way to make the text more reasonable: mess with the contrast. It helps.

I beat the demo, and now I can't wait for the game.

So, Vinch, what's the glitch to get out of the barriers in Showdown Town?

Is that the one that costs an obscene amount of money?

I forgot about that. When I was searching for Watchmen, all the bookstores I went to that knew what I was talking about (and were sold out) told me to wait until November when this new "super version" came out. I said "Thanks, but no thanks" and ordered Watchmen online.

What's so good about it?

I just found out that BK3 is only going to be $40.

This just keeps getting better.

But "monstrously" is and you could've easily used that.

Anyway, yeah, it looks huge and limitless in a way that I actually LIKE.

It's different from the originals, but they really just made it flat-out freeform fun.

When you unlock the first world and go in, you're going to flip out if you've played the old games.

It's called BanjoLand and it's a conglomerate of all the most memorable worlds from the first games all crammed together into one level. Like, Gobi's Pyramid and the Snowman's Scarf and Clanker himself! And the music is a fantastic medley of all the main themes from those games all rolled into one in a sort of mechanical factory style.

My face lit up and I smiled uncontrollably when I heard the Freezeezy Peaks music start playing AS I first caught a glimpse of the Snowman's giant scarf.

The game looks like it's pretty huge and there's a ton to do. And with all the customization and pure fun you could have by just spending time doing nothing in particular, it looks like it's going to be amazing.

I mean, while I was playing the demo, I couldn't find any real limitations or boundaries, and even though I saw a red barrier wall that seemed to be blocking off some other areas, I never even had the urge to go over there because of how much other stuff there was to do.

Okay, so I found out that game demos on XBLA are available to Silver Members a week after they go up, which meant I was able to download the demos for Mirror's Edge and Banjo-Kazooie 3.

Since both games are coming out at the same time, and I only have enough money for one, the choice is very clear.

Banjo-Kazooie 3 by FAAAAAAAAAR.

Mirror's Edge is fun and its a novel concept and since I played it first, I thought it was so good that I'd probably like it better than BK3, but I'll be damned if the BK3 demo wasn't the most fun I've had playing a videogame in YEARS.

I mean, the Mirror's Edge demo was short and sweet, fun to play but very empty and not too gripping.

BK3's demo is HUUUUUGE and it's intimidatingly large, but oddly for me, I LOVE that it's huge. So much to do, the graphics are beautifully cartoony, and the controls are spot-on.

I LOVE the vehichle mechanics, Mike would eat this game alive. SO much customization possible, even in the demo I've had some crazy fun. It's very easy to tell that when you collect a lot of parts, you'll be able to build some insanely crazy vehicles. And it doesn't take as long as you'd think, either.

My only problem... is actually a HUGE one. You can hardly read any of the text on my screen. Which is a big problem for a Banjo-Kazooie game what with all the funny dialogue, especially this one with all these parts and menus.

It's a real strain on the eyes, and since sometimes the text just flows along without letting you wait to read it, I've missed quite a bit on instructions. The important stuff seems to let you wait until you press "A", so I'm fine.

It just sucks that I need to buy a #####ing HDTV or some ##### to play this game the right way. I tolerated small text with Dead Rising because it wasn't too important.

But... god.

It's like, I finally get a godsend of a game and they screw me over with small text that I can't even read.

I use WinAmp for VIDEO stuff, and iTunes for music, but only because I have an iPod and it makes that whole dealio easier.

Yeah, I tried downloading the demo (and the Banjo-Kazooie one) yesterday off XBLA but it wouldn't let me download them yet because they're "currently only available for download by XBLA Gold Members. Check back later for Silver Members."

So, I'll try again tomorrow or something. I'm really excited for BOTH of them and they come out on the same day, so I have to pick one. So the demos are important.

4 episodes in (5 counting the Christmas special) and I haven't had any problems. I surprisingly find myself liking Martha, when I thought I'd hate her for some reason.

Haha, love it. The last panel is the best part.

WE NEED TRON PAUL.

Oh, and I liked South Park's take on the election.

Oh, that reminds me. I have tracked down a copy of V for Vendetta (the comic) and will be reading it shortly when a friend is done.

Just finished watching Season 2 of Doctor Who.

That finale was even better than the first season.

I mean, wow. I had tears welling up in my eyes. VERY powerful performances.

...wow.

Watching Doctor Who really unleashes my inner-child. It's like, if this was broadcast in the US when I was kid, I would've been obsessed. I would've been so into it and so attached.

It's so fantastical and imaginative without being nerdy, and it's always JUST on the fringe of being cheesy, but somehow managing to be infinitely charming instead.

And the Doctor... what an amazing character. He's up there in the ranks of my favorite fictional characters of all-time. The expressions... his persona. It's so mystifying. Both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant are amazing actors in their own rights.

...anyway, onwards to Season 3.

Remember, remember.

That is a way awesome mask.

: ASR   5 November 2008, 12:45:23

The funniest part is that Don't Panic wasn't even a book title.

I'm pretty sure one of Douglas Adams' biographies is entitled just that.

It is. I own it. Written by Neil Gaiman. And I own another of his biographies, "Hitchhiker" by M.J. Simpson. I have a sad obsession.
I meant that it didn't fall into our little game of books WRITTEN by Douglas Adams, but yeah. Whatever.

Haha, I was listening to Techn9ne for the first time in about a month the other day. I think my favorites of his are Jellysickle and 'Bout to Bubble.
I have Abe's radio to thank for getting me into him.

Haha, that's actually pretty funny.

The funniest part is that Don't Panic wasn't even a book title.

If we really want to figure it out, we could always stop by Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

I had this theory that everyone involved on Saturday Night Live voted for McCain because they want to keep capitalizing on Palin.

Ah, yes. And a bit about The Meaning of Liff.

We have it playing on the TV in my room, and there's a lot of people in here being loud enough for me to be sure that Obama has won.

It even said "Obama Elected President" on the TV with a fancy little graphic above the scrolling bar things on the bottom with all the percentages and stats.

We'll just sit back and chat during The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

See you later, at the Restaraunt at the End of the Universe.

I don't accept Facebook friend requests from HARP PLAYERS.