Doug's Life as a Journalism Student

My girly post of the year

2006-01-11T02:48:00.000-04:00

Not that I think it's a bad thing, since this is about a romantic drama, and not one of those tear jerker chick flicks that I've never seen. Anyways, last night after work I finally got around to watching Pride & Prejudice (which I downloaded), and quickly had my face kicked in with awesomeness. Not since Sense & Sensibility have I seen a romantic drama this awesome. Heck, I'd say it's better than S&S since it's not as slow (as far as I can remember). An amazing love story that drew me in from the start with it's great acting, writing, beautiful landscapes and music (classical piano OWNS me!). I heartily recommend it to everyone I know, even though I know none of my guy friends will care and the girls (the few I know) will want to see it regardless. The second it comes out I expect everyone to watch it whether they have to buy it, rent it or borrow the copy I'll be buying. Oh, and a few more thoughts about the movie.

1. Kiera Knightley finally proves that she can act. None of that boring acting from Pirates of the Caribbean.

2. An amazing love story that had me all giddy by the time it was over. Granted it was 3:30 in the morning so that might have had something to do with the giddiness. Anyways, all the twists and turns had me frozen in my seat and I even laid in bed for awhile afterwords thinking about the story, characters and the events that took place.

3. Judi Dench is the ugliest and meanest old woman actress ever, but she does a good job at it.

(note: My love for this should counter my hate for the Star Wars prequels)

Doug's look back at the best stuff of 2005

2006-01-02T12:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I figured I've planned on doing this post for the last month or so, so here it is. Nobody is even reading my blog or commenting that I know of (I'm guessing because they've been busy with family and friends over the holidays) so I'll continue to take a break from blogging until things pick up again. I just wanted to get this done before we got too far into the new year. And speaking of the new year, I might also start work on a "look ahead at my most anticipated stuff of 2006" post. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this post.

My favorite movies of the year: (Note that I haven't seen a few yet. Like Capote, Broken Flowers, etc. Also I'm rating stuff based on entertainment, not content and stuff, so some of these might have content that offends certain people)

1. Cinderella Man
2. The Aviator
3. Serenity
4. King Kong
5. The Machinist
6. Batman Begins
7. Hotel Rwanda
8. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
9. Walk the Line
10.The Life Aquatic

honorable mention: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, March of the Penguins, Million Dollar Baby, Red Eye, Kung Fu Hustle, Ray

My favorite Animated films of the year:

1. Wallace & Gromit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Probably my fav movie of the year period)
2. Howl's Moving Castle
3. The Corpse Bride

honorable mention: Grave of the Fireflies, Porco Rosso (These didn't come out last year so I couldn't include them)

Most disappointing movies of the year:

1. War of the Worlds
2. Star Wars Episode III
3. The Island

My favorite books of the year:

1. Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
2. Every Man, God's Man
3. Knife of Dreams (Book 11 of the Wheel of Time)
4. A Voice in the Wind (I think that's the name)
5. I forget what it was, but I know I read it and enjoyed it

My favorite games of the year:

1. God of War
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
4. Guitar Hero
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
6. Psychonauts
7. Mario Kart DS
8. Shadow of the Colossus
9. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
10.Sonic Rush

honorable mention: Radiant Silvergun and Valkyrie Profile (neither came out in 2005)

My favorite artists/cds of the year:

Matthew Good and Sloan's greatest hit albums
Radiohead's OK Computer and The Bends albums
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

My review scores for every movie I saw in 2005 (only including movies that were released in theatre or on DVD)

Serenity - 9
My Date with Drew - 7
King Kong - 8
Shaun of the Dead - 7
Primer - 7
The Final Cut - 5
National Treasure - 5
House of Flying Daggers - 7
The Life Aquatic - 8
In Good Company - 7
The Chronicles of Narnia - 8
Cinderella Man - 9
March of the Penguins - 8
Walk the Line - 8
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 7
Wallace & Gromit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit - 10
The Corpse Bride - 8
Million Dollar Baby - 7 (the ending takes away from its score)
Batman Begins - 8
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 7
Fantastic Four - 6
The Island - 6 (first half - 9/10, second half - 5/10)
Red Eye - 7
Star Wars Episode III - 6
War of the Worlds - 5
Madagascar - 3
Howl's Moving Castle - 9
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - 6
The Longest Yard - 6
Kung Fu Hustle - 7
The Aviator - 9
The Machinist - 8
Ray - 7
Hotel Rwanda - 8
Fun With Dick & Jane - 6

Still waiting to see the following 2005 movies: Everything is Illuminated, Broken Flowers, Elizabethtown, Pride & Prejudice, Good Night and Good Luck, Capote, The Constant Gardener, Syriana, Oldboy, Pride, An Unfinished Life, The White Countess, Cache (Hidden)

Merry Christmas everyone!

2005-12-24T22:29:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm sure Christmas will be over by the time anyone checks my blog, but anyways. It's been a pretty hectic week. Not because of Christmas coming up, but because it was my first week working at Day & Ross. So far it seems ok. I like the people I've been working with (even though so far I'm only really talking to three people (Todd and Patti who are my supervisors, and Jill who is in charge of keeping me working and fixing my mistakes). I also only had to work until 11 this week, so next week it'll be different with me working until whenever it is that they let me leave (1:30 maybe?). But anyways, I'll talk about work more after I settle in more.

Today I got my new computer, which Jonathan built for me. He gets mad props for doing such a great job. It's frickin awesome, which you should be able to tell from the pics below. Very nice job man. Now I just need a faster internet connection and I'll be downloading like a madman.

Taking a break?

2005-12-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

It seems that things have slowed down on everyone's blogs. I'm guessing everyone is busy during Christmas, so I might as well take a break from blogging too unless things pick up again. In the meantime I'm gonna start work on my end of the year post. Oh, and I need to go to Fredericton sometime in the next week or so, so if anyone would like to go with me to help me finish my Christmas shopping, just let me know. I hate driving to Freddy by myself.

Guess who is now employed?

2005-12-14T00:13:00.000-04:00

That's right, I got the job at Day & Ross. Now instead of having no life and being broke, I'll have no life and have money. I guess it's an improvement. As long as I don't get absorbed in buying and getting stuff. I'll probably keep selling games after I beat them so that I don't get caught up in collecting again. But yeah, I start Monday night and work Monday thru Friday from 5:15 pm to 1:30 am (with a couple hours overtime during busy months). There's a three month probation period starting out, so I guess I'll just have to take it as it goes. I'm a little disappointed that I won't be able to help out with youth anymore, but I'll just have to leave it in God's hands. If he wants me helping out with youth then he'll work things out. And it sounds like I can still go to youth once a month since I get one day off each month. And it also looks as though I'll be staying home by myself for Christmas after all. LOL Funny how things work out. But I have a job again for the first time in over a year so it's all good.

Guitar Hero is here!

2005-12-12T18:27:00.000-04:00

OK, I finally got Guitar Hero friday morning, and it has been owning me (and my fingers) with awesomeness. So far I still suck. It's a lot harder than you would think. I can usually only play five or six songs before my fingers get tired and sore, but I'm sure if I keep it up for at least an hour a day I'll get used to it and will get better. So far my favorite songs to play are David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, Boston's More Than a Feeling, Queen's Killer Queen and Frankenstein by The Edgar Winter Group. I'd also probably enjoy Ozzy Ozborne's Bark at the Moon if it wasn't frickin impossible to play. Anyways, so far it's one of my favorite games of the year (right up there with God of War and Resident Evil 4) and I can't wait to take it to youth and play with Josh and Josiah. As long as I keep constant supervision on the controller. Oh, and here are a couple of pics of me rocking out last night. Take note of my cat Kitten having a small cameo in the first pic. I think I see Pepper's tail coming from under the couch too. And yes, we are still in the process of putting up our tree.

Tomorrow night our youth group is taking the teens rollerskating in Houlton. I look forward to the ride more than anything, since my mom considers rollerskating one of those things that might hurt my back and just sitting there is pretty boring aside from watching the limbo. This time I'm tempted to just say "screw it, I'm having fun" and grabbing a pair of skates (if they have any that fit my massive feet). Is it wise to put having fun over safety? Probably not, but I hate sitting there while everyone is having fun. Knowing the way I am I'll chicken out at the last second and just do the usual thing, we'll see. For now, I'm gonna go read until Arrested Development comes on at 9. Please let Dave Thomas (Super Dave Osbourne) still be on the show!

I suck

2005-12-11T19:37:00.000-04:00

I know I promised a massive update, but I've been in a weird mood today feeling awkward and slightly depressed which kinda is the opposite of what I was planning on posting about, so I don't really think it's a good time to post about the stuff that was on my mind. Don't worry though, I got Guitar Hero last week, so after I spend some more time with that and get some pics of myself rocking out I'll make another post. Oh, and today someone was passing notes to me in church for the first time since I was like 15, which was just weird and slightly annoying. Although she was just being nice asking about my job interview so no hard feelings there. Just kinda weirded me out. In the meantime I'll continue to feed my weird mood by contemplating how maybe I'll be better off in Adam and Greg's bomb shelter where I don't have to worry about feeling awkward around people.

2005-12-08T12:15:00.000-04:00

I've had a lot of different thoughts going through my head over the last day or so, and since I can't share those thoughts with friends on msn for a few days, I decided to come to the library to post about them. First of all, I had a second job interview at Day & Ross last night. It seems likely that they'll hire me, but I'm still not sure how much I want to work nights. It would be Monday to Friday from 5:15 to 1:30 am with a few hours overtime during busy seasons, so needless to say my social life will come to a hault if I take the job. That would mean no more chatting on msn in evenings (when most of you are online) and even worse, no more helping with youth. The idea of having to work Tuesday nights really saddens me, because I've come to love working with the teens and I enjoy hanging out with J-Ro and Jess afterwords. But I guess that's the price you pay when you want to earn money. It's a cycle. Either you have money and no free time, or lots of free time and no money. Anyways, I guess it won't hurt to try the job since there's a three month probation period before they hire you for good. I'll continue to pray about it and if anyone else wants to pray for me, that would be greatly appreciated. Who knows, maybe I'll get a job offer from McCain's or somewhere else.

I also started reading a book that Jess lent me last night (I forget the name already, yeah my memory is THAT bad) and was surprised that the first chapter was actually pretty violent and depressing. Still good though, and the end of the chapter was really good and made me think. It reminded me that God provides no matter what situation you're in. Needless to say I can't wait to read more. I also watched the first half of Gandhi last night. I figured I'd be bored out of my mind, but it's actually very interesting and seeing how Gandhi lived really made me think about my life as a Christian. He never stepped back from his opponents even when they struck him in violence. He fought back with words and tried to make peace with everyone. Truly an amazing man. Anyways, between the book and the movie I had a lot on my mind.

Also, I see Narnia is hitting theatres this weekend. Is anyone planning on going to see it in the next week or two? Because I'd be glad to have people to go with besides just myself. Heck, maybe I can even convince J-Ro to go if other people are going. Please, let me know if you want to go either by commenting here (I'll check my blog again tomorrow) or calling me. My phone number is 375-6219 for those who don't know.

Finally, I've become completely obsessed with Radiohead (A British band that Coldplay ripped off). What really shocks me is how I hated them when I was a teen, but now I can't get over their sound. In fact, I just took out one of their albums from the library. I suggest that any of you who like Coldplay check out Radiohead's OK Computer and The Bends albums. Especially these songs: Fake Plastic Trees, High & Dry, Just, Street Spirit (Fade Out), Paranoid Android, Karma Police and No Surprises.

That is all for now. Hopefully I'll be back on msn in a few days.

My computer has bit the dust.

2005-12-06T13:11:00.000-04:00

Well, the fan on my computer is finally dead, so I just thought I'd let everyone know that until I get a new fan installed or a new computer I probably won't be posting very often (only when I go to the library) and will likely not be on msn at all. Without the fan running my computer just freezes up after about 15 minutes. So that's that I guess. I'll catch up with everyone whenever I can.

lyrics of the week.

2005-12-03T22:08:00.000-04:00

Stand Inside Your Love - The Smashing Pumpkins

You and me
Meant to be
Immutable
Impossible
It's destiny
Pure lunacy
Incalculable
Insufferable
But for the last time
You're everything that I want and ask for
You're all that I'd dreamed
Who wouldn't be the one you love
Who wouldn't stand inside your love
Protected and the lover of
A pure soul and beautiful you
Don't understand
Don't feel me now
I will breathe
For the both of us
Travel the world
Traverse the skies
Your home is here
Within my heart
And for the first time
I feel as though I am reborn
In my mind
Recast as child and mystic sage
Who wouldn't be the one you love
Who wouldn't stand inside your love
And for the first time
I'm telling you how much I need and bleed for
Your every move and waking sound
In my time
I'll wrap my wire around your heart and your mind
You're mine forever now
Who wouldn't be the one you love and live for
Who wouldn't stand inside your love and die for
Who wouldn't be the one you love

An interesting experience.

2005-12-02T14:54:00.000-04:00

First of all I'll just say that I'm having a ton of connection problems, so if anyone wonders why I'm not on msn much or fail to update my blog, that's why. Stupid Aernet...anyways, on to my post. Yesterday I had the first job interview that I've had in over a year, and it went alright I guess. My dad has been bugging me to take a resume into Day & Ross for quite awhile now, so I finally took one in the other day. My parents wanted me to give it to whoever was in charge of hiring, but that person was out so I just handed it to the person at the front desk. I didn't really expect to get a call back merely an hour later (heck, I didn't expect to be called back at all), but call back they did. What was really odd was the guy asked me what day and time would be good for me. I was rather confused by this and it took me a minute to respond. So yesterday morning I went to my interview. After waiting at the front desk for a few minutes the guy in charge of hiring came and took me through the kahsi'r (sorry, Pepper jumped on the keyboard. I'll leave that in for effect) building. It was rather interesting walking through the building, despite the fact that I've been in it before when my dad was painting the offices. Once we got to his office he asked me what position I was applying for and then had me fill out this sheet of paper. It had a bunch of different qualities and I had to check the ones that I thought others would think would be important in me. It was kinda weird at first, and I had to fill out the same thing twice. I guess they use it to see if you check the same qualities. Anyways, after that he had me do a typing test to see what my wpm is. I was really stupid and didn't practice or anything beforehand, but maybe it was better that way. I thought I did pretty poorly since I'm not used to typing as fast and accurately as possible for five minutes straight, but I managed to average 58 wpm with 97% accuracy. Way better than I expected and the guy seemed impressed when he told me how I did. Next he took me to a cubicle and I had to do a series of tests. The first involved a series of two numbers in a column and I had to check whether they were the same or different. I did pretty good, but didn't manage to finish them all in the four minute time limit. Next I had a piece of paper with a series of numbers in different patterns and I had to figure out the pattern and write the next two numbers in order. Pretty easy at first but there were a couple that stumped me and I only got half way through before time ran out. And finally I had a test with a bunch of math and word problems and had to write the answers. I only got half way through this one too, but hopefully getting answers right makes up for not finishing. That was pretty much all there was to my interview. He told me to call another guy tonight to see what my outcome was on the tests, so I'll just have to wait to see what this guy has to say. I still don't know if I want the job that badly. It could mean no more helping out at youth and I wouldn't be able to chat on msn with my friends (since most of them are online at night), but at least I'd finally have an income. And I also won't be able to go to Ontario if I start work, but I guess I won't worry until I see if I got the job. Anyways, I'll stop rambling now. I have to try to get ahold of J-Ro so I can drag him to J-Hop's birthday party. Oh, I also cancelled my preorder of Guitar Hero because frickin EB was ticking me off by constantly changing the date that they're getting it in. I ordered it online which means I'll have to pay $40+ more, but at least I'll have it by the end of next week. And yes, I realize I crammed everything into a single paragraph, but I'm lazy today and don't feel like paying attention to proper writing.

2005-12-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

Alright, this isn't much of a post, but there's something I need help with so I figured I'd see if any of my commenters can help. I want to get pics from my digital camera developed, but how do I do that? Do I take the memory card to the Superstore? Or email the pics to them? Or what? I have no idea and I'm getting way too many pics on my computer. Any help would be appreciated.

A change of mind

2005-11-30T13:52:00.000-04:00

After giving it some thought (and talking about it with Jess on msn) I've decided that I SHOULD go to Ontario with my family. Everyone's right, I should be with family during Christmas, not sitting at home by myself for a week (although I'm sure I would've spent a little time with my sister, Jonathan, Josh and my grandparents). I'll have time to hang out with friends at some point during the holidays, and chances are everyone would be too busy with family to do anything that week anyways. The other reason I decided I should go is my grandma told my mom "I wish I could see Douglas one more time". How can I stay home after hearing that? So I'll put aside my dislike of the 16 hour drive and go with my family to Fergus for a week. By going to Ontario I also get to celebrate Christmas twice, so it's not like I had any reason to complain in the first place. I can even update my blog at the library in Fergus so everyone knows what's new. Oh, and Adam, you'll have to let me know when you and Luiza will be home, so that we can plan to go see King Kong and maybe do other stuff.

Robert Jordan finally writes another good book.

2005-11-28T19:08:00.000-04:00

Out of complete boredom this weekend I went out and bought the newest Wheel of Time book. At first it was the same old slow stuff with me trying desperately to remember who these hundreds of characters are. But surprisingly it started getting good. There's actually action again and even more surprising is that plot lines that have been going on for three books or more are FINALLY getting conclusions. About frickin time Jordan! I'm sure those who have given up on the series won't bother, but for me I'm glad that the story is finally moving after it went to crap in the last three or four books. I'm also loving the little romance going on with Mat and the daughter of the Nine Moons. It's taken so long to get going that it's nice finally seeing where it's going. And it's humerous as well. Anyways, this book is helping me get over my boredom so I'm (bloody) happy. Only two more years until this series comes to a deserved end. 12 books and 11,000+ pages? Insanity!

Feeling a little stressed out.

2005-11-25T21:27:00.000-04:00

It's been a crazy last few days, mixed with boredom and insanity. The mixture of stress over trying to sell the 360 and boredom of sitting at home doing nothing two days straight has taken it's toll. After spending the entire day sitting in front of the computer I had to get out, even though I didn't have anyone to do things with. So I went to the Superstore and bought the new Wheel of Time book (book 11. What's this? 14,000 pages read so far?) and then I went to Movie Gallery and chatted with Darrek and Paul for a bit before renting This Is Spinal Tap. Sure, it wasn't really an exciting trip, and it involved me spending money, but at least it got me out of the house for a bit. Isn't it sad how I must spend money in order to be entertained? Isn't there some way to keep myself preoccupied that doesn't involve spending money? I'd hang out with friends if I had any in the area, but everyone has moved away and the only places to make new friends are at bars or other churchs. But maybe having more friends wouldn't make a huge difference. Having a bunch of friends probably wouldn't mean I'd actually have something to do. Chances are they'd be too busy to hang out more than once a week, so I'd still be bored to death on weekends. Anyways, I'm just stressed out and feeling kinda depressed, so I'll just leave it at that. Anyone have any thoughts?

2005-11-23T09:06:00.000-04:00

Updated Thursday morning. Added some thoughts on yesterdays events. Just so those who have already read this post know.

Just a few things I thought I'd share.

1. Hugo (the guy threatening to sue me) is a jerk. After his long nasty email I sent him a nice apology(which he didn't deserve) and sent the parcel with tons of insurance and nicely packaged and sent him another nice email telling him it's on its way and then he emails me back saying "thank YOU!" sarcastically. Jerk.

2. I'm not dating anybody, so those of you saying I should date *insert name here* can give up now. please k thanks. I've decided that it's much easier and less stressful just being single the rest of my life. Don't have to get all nervous at the idea of asking somebody out and potentially ruin a friendship or something.

3. J-Ro seemed kinda moody last night. And for a guy wanting a massage he wasn't being very nice to the person he was asking. Calling Jess a fat fish and other things. He didn't deserve that hug and when I told him that after we left he said that it's because he's so charming to girls. He needs a rude awakening or something.

4. But thanks to him I now know how to choose my blog layout, so I was finally able to get rid of that boring bland one I had. I wasn't about to choose pink (Jess and Josh both have that color anyways) so I chose my favorite color.

5. But it got rid of all my links, so I have to do that all over again. *shakes fist at blogger*

6. I think I'm going to Freddy today to see Harry Potter again. Hopefully EB will get Guitar Hero in today. If not I'm going to Bum Rush the employees (Final Fantasy VI reference for those who are thinking odd things).

7. I feel like kicking myself in the nuts for not buying a 360. They're fetching $2000+ on ebay now. $1500 profit is nothing to scoff at.

8. Jody is coming home tonight. Too bad I probably won't see him until the weekend or at church. Here's hoping he has time to hang out.

9. I'm sure J-Ro will bug him if he's busy or not, so maybe I can just make sure I'm around J-Ro all weekend. Probably not.

10. I'll likely update tonight if I get Guitar Hero.
_____________________________________________________________

11. And I wasn't able to get one. Screw you EB! And I didn't bum rush the employees, which is probably a good thing.

12. Ohh Emm Gee! I frickin got a 360 yesterday. Time to hit up Ebay and see what I can get. Mad props to Heidi for the heads up on Superstore selling them. The gamer in me is saying to open it up and start playing, but the grim reality is I need money badly and can't afford to keep the 360 for myself. Unfortunately the value seems to have dropped to $1100. Still nothing to scoff at I guess.

13. Yesterday was crazy. After the 360 experience I went to Freddy, bought a couple of games to put in the auction, hung out with Greg and his siblings, and went and saw Harry Potter with Hooper and Whitey. Fun stuff.

14. The drive home was pretty exhausting though. Luckily the roads weren't TOO bad.

15. It was worth it when I got to Woodstock though. Nothing beats driving through Woodstock at 12 in the morning with snow falling everywhere and all the pretty decorations lit up. Really felt like Christmas.

16. And then when I got out of town and on my road I started cursing winter again. I hate bad roads and my road was covered in snow and slippery.

17. Knowing Jody was probably home was really exciting, even though I might not see him until Sunday morning.

leetspeak for you n00bs.

2005-11-21T17:38:00.000-04:00

Commonly used words

QFT - Quoted for truth
FTW - For the win
1337 - leet or elite
haxX0r - hacker
phear or ph33r - fear
tekniq - technique
teh - the
t00l - tool
n00b - newbie
pwn - own
pwn3d - owned
j00 - you
suxX0rz - sucks
ruxXorz - rocks
fuXx0rz - the f bomb
w00t - woot

OMG, WTF, BBQSauce and/or Burnsauce are quite often used together.

Always include 1 and "one" in place of exclamation marks

the is always misspelled "teh"

certain numbers are used in place of letters.

A = 4
E = 3
I = 1
S = 5
T = 7

Here's an extreme example:

1 ruXx0rz l1k3 4 1337 h4xX0r5 4nd OMFGWTFBBQSauce n00b ch33k 0u7 /\/\y w3b 51t3 l1k3 n0W!!1one I 4M t3h 1337 haxX0rz u n00b!one1 j00 have been pwn3d1

which translates to something like what you see below.

I rock like an elite hacker and newbie check out my web site like now. I am the elite hacker you newbie. You have been owned.

Looks like I might get sued.

2005-11-20T19:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I probably won't, but I just got threatened by an ebayer. I find it all very humerous, because all that happened was I sent the guy the wrong amount for shipping and emailed him back immediately saying it's $4 more than what I originally said. I made a mistake, so I wasn't going to get upset if he didn't want to pay the difference, but I didn't really expect him to get angry and threaten to sue. I guess if people can sue McDonalds for making them fat than they can sue somebody for asking them to pay an additional $4. Anyways, I sent back a nice email appologizing for my mistake and saying that I'd send the game system as soon as possible tomorrow morning. Here's hoping he gets it in a timely manner so that I can forget about this idiot. And I'm totally expecting negative feedback for this, so I look forward to screwing up his "perfect rating" that he told me not to mess up. Ebay is crazy. I might forget about it after this.

Miyazaki appreciation post

2005-11-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

Because it's been awhile since I've pushed his films at people and everyone needs to give them a chance at least once. Sure, you can pass it off as "anime", but you're missing out on something that most Disney movies can't even surpass. These aren't merely "cartoons". They are real movies that use the animation medium to create worlds and characters that can't even be created by visual effects. These movies are moving just like dramas can be, have characters that you can relate to, and are just happy and make you feel good (well, maybe not Grave of the Fireflies). So if you enjoy movies, then please give these a chance. Rent them, or borrow them (I own all of his films), or heck, watch them with me. I'm always up to watching them again. OK, I'll shut up now and just leave you with summaries of each one.

EDIT: I should point out that I didn't write these summaries. They're taken from rottentomatoes.com. I was too lazy to write up my own summaries.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - 1984 - My score: 8/10

An epic, environmentally conscious film, takes viewers on a voyage through time and space to the magical and dreamlike Valley of the Wind, where good battles evil for the future of the human race. Faced with almost certain destruction of her planet's natural resources, the warrior Princess Nausicaa must rally her people against an evil queen's brutal army to bring a new life to her homeland.

Castle in the Sky - 1986 - My score: 9/10

A rousing adventure that follows an orphan named Sheeta as she eludes the clutches of a secret agent named Muska while trying to discern her family's history. After her first escape from Muska, Sheeta meets up with a young boy named Pazu, whose father, a photographer, was disgraced after he took a picture of the legendary flying island of Laputa and had it dismissed as a hoax. When the two realize that a family heirloom Sheeta carries allows them to levitate, the two begin a search for the lost island, trailed by Muska, who is also searching for Laputa.

My Neighbor Totoro - 1988 - My score: 10/10

A slower-paced, stunningly realistic portrayal of life in the countryside. When their mother is hospitalized because of an unspecified illness, two young sisters spend a summer in the Japanese countryside with their father. The children's strange new environment turns out to be a natural wonderland filled with exotic real-life creatures and a trio of furry, woodland sprites who can only be seen by children. The film evokes both the terrors and wonders that children can experience unbeknownst to adults--a feeling the young Miyazaki knew only too well after his mother was hospitalized because of spinal tuberculosis. With homages to Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins.

Grave of the Fireflies - 1988 - My score: 9/10

In post-World War II Japan, a janitor finds a deathly ill boy lying beside a metal candy container. The janitor unwittingly tosses the possession into the night, beginning a most unusual tale of survival set amid the atrocities of war. Brother and sister Seita and Setsuko, ages 14 and 4, flee their disheveled home and deceased parents to make their bid for a new life. Before American troops begin to occupy their country, the children resort to dwelling in an abandoned bomb shelter in the countryside. Though these siblings later get a sense of safety, they realize necessities such as food and water will not be easy to come by.

Kiki's Delivery Service - 1989 - My score: 8/10

Set in a time when airships still ruled the skies and World War II never happened, Kiki's Delivery Service is a coming-of-age tale that explores the difficulties of being a young witch. On her thirteenth birthday, budding witch Kiki is in a hurry to leave her family and establish her independence. With only her talking pet cat as a companion, Kiki is attracted to the bright lights of a beautiful port city, but finds that making friends is not easy. Using her skill at riding a broom to start an express delivery service, Kiki quickly discovers that she cannot take her unique abilities for granted.

Porco Rosso - 1992 - My score: 9/10

A period, fantasy film about an Italian, ace WWI pilot who undergoes a transformation to become Porco Rosso, part man, part pig, after witnessing the deaths of other pilots in his last air battle. Under this spell, Porco Rosso survives by taking odd jobs, and finds himself in one comic situation after another as he romances women, rescues the innocent, and looks for a way out of the porcine spell.

Princess Mononoke - 1997 - My score: 9/10

A beautifully realized tale of civilization versus nature, Princess Mononoke is a true epic. While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the warrior Ashitaka is cursed with a rapidly spreading scar that threatens to end his life. Seeking a cure and a reason for the animal-god's attack, he journeys into the sacred depths of the Great Forest Spirit's realm. On the edge of this once serene forest, however, the Tatara clan have begun to destroy the surrounding land to produce iron. In retaliation, San, the adopted daughter of the wolf-god Moro, has begun raiding the Tatara fortress to stop their encroachment. Soon Ashitaka is caught in the middle and must stop the war between the humans and the forest dwellers before they destroy each other.

Spirited Away - 2001 - My score: 10/10

Spirited Away is the tale of Chihiro, a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home in an unfamiliar town. The curiosity of Chihiro's mother and father leads the reluctant child into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Soon her parents are greedily feasting on various delights from an enticing food stand and are literally turned into pigs. The frightened and bewildered girl then encounters a young man named Haku, who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical realm. Finding employment in a bathhouse for spirits and other odd characters Chihiro attempts to figure out how she can free her parents from the clutches of the resort's owner, a powerful witch named Yubaba. In the process, she makes some very eccentric friends.

Howl's Moving Castle - 2004 - My score: 9/10

Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome-but-mysterious wizard named Howl, and is subsequently turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Wicked Witch of the Waste. Embarking on an incredible odyssey to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle where she becomes acquainted with Markl, Howl's apprentice, and a hot-headed fire demon named Calcifer. Sophie's love and support comes to have a major impact on Howl, who flies in the face of orders from the palace to become a pawn of war and instead risks his life to help bring peace to the kingdom.

J-Ro, Becky and Darrek suck!

2005-11-17T18:06:00.000-04:00

Update your stinking blogs! I need stuff to comment on! And I know J-Ro doesn't read my blog. He told me himself that the only blog he reads is Becky's. Who wants to help me beat him up? Anyone? Oh, and Darrek doesn't suck quite as much as the other two, since he DOES update every once in awhile and he's fairly new to this, so I'll give him a break.

Atlantic Cinemas actually getting good movies?

2005-11-15T14:26:00.000-04:00

Yes, two posts in one day. I wanted to get both of these posts out of the way. Anyways. Atlantic Cinemas (Woodstock's crappy theatre) is finally getting some good movies this upcoming weekend. The last good movie I saw there was Wallace & Gromit, so it's nice that they have gotten another movie that I actually want to see. That movie is Walk the Line. I don't really have any interest in Johnny Cash whatsoever, but I'm a sucker for a drama with good acting, and word is the performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are spectacular so it sounds like something I'd like. Is anyone interested in going with me to see this? If so then just let me know. I'll probably go see it on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, since I'll be busy in the evenings this weekend (youth stuff going on). They're also getting Harry Potter, but I think I'm going to Freddy to see that with Hooper sometime next week. Another movie that I wouldn't mind seeing is Pride & Prejudice, but unless I find someone to go with I'll probably just wait for it to come out on video. I'm not sure I'd go to a romantic drama on my own and the likeliness of them getting it at the local theatre is pretty slim.

My speech on Cassie Bernall.

2005-11-15T13:39:00.000-04:00

I was telling Krystal about this on msn, and I think she said something about being interested in seeing it (my bad memory mixed with being tired doesn't go well), so I'm posting this speech that I did back in College. Maybe other people will find it interesting as well.

April 20, 1999 – a day that forever changed a great number of lives in Littleton, Colorado. The day that Cassie Bernall was brutally killed in the shootings at Columbine High School. This is the true story of a 17 year old teenager who had just recently turned from walking a similar path as that of her killers.

The following is what happened to Cassie that day as pieced together by her family and friends.
Cassie had a difficult time getting out of bed that morning having stayed up late the night before working on her homework. Her cat’s litter box needed cleaning and breakfast was late but she still managed to leave for school at approximately 7:30 a.m., having quickly mumbled I love you to her mother.

It was about 11:15 when she walked into the high school library, with her backpack on her shoulder to work on her homework assignment. She had been there maybe five minutes when a teacher came running into the room, yelling that there were kids with guns in the hall. A lot of students thought it was a senior prank but then shots were heard coming from down the hall. Then a student came in and dropped to the floor with blood all over his shoulder. Everyone hid under the tables as fast as possible. The teacher frantically called 911. Then the two killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, came into the library, shooting and shouting things like, and I quote, “We’ve been waiting to do this our whole lives.”, and cheering after each shot.

The outstanding witness to Cassie’s last moments was a teenager named Josh who did not see but heard Cassie’s confrontation with the killers. And I quote, “I couldn’t see anything when those guys came up to Cassie, but I could recognize her voice. I could hear everything like it was right next to me. One of them asked her if she believed in God. She paused, like she didn’t know what she was going to answer, and then she said yes. She must have been scared, but her voice did not sound shaky. It was strong. Then they asked her why, though they didn’t give her a chance to respond. They just blew her away.”

One of the first officials on the scene the next day was an investigator from the Jefferson County sheriff’s department. He recalls seeing Cassie immediately upon entering the library. She was lying under a table close to another girl. Cassie had been shot in the head at very close range, the muzzle had apparently been touching her skin. She had been killed instantly.
Thirteen people perished in the shootings at Columbine High before their young killers turned their guns on themselves.

Cassie Bernall was born only six miles from where she was laid to rest 17 years later. A daddy’s girl in every way, she was a happy, active child growing up; part of a close knit family with her adored father, mother and younger brother. But somewhere along the way Cassie changed and when she turned 15 all that her parents knew was that she seemed distant. Then by chance her mother, Misty Bernall, found letters written to Cassie by her best friend that shocked Misty to the core of her heart. Unspeakable sex talk, but even more horrifying, death threats to teachers with occultic drawings and symbols. Perhaps the most shocking of all were grisly illustrations depicting Cassie’s parents being brutally murdered. Faced with these facts, Cassie’s parents had no choice but to contact the sheriff’s department and their pastor and in doing so started a chain of events that proved overwhelmingly difficult for them.

This was the start of Cassie’s escape from a rage that was slowly consuming her and from the influence of the people who she had surrounded herself with. During this time of approximately 3 months Cassie screamed, cut her wrists and fought all who tried to help her. Cassie’s parents had placed her in a private Christian school and in the spring of 1997 a new friend from the school invited Cassie to a youth retreat. Cassie returned home from this event a changed girl.
The spiritual awakening which Cassie experienced there gave her hope, and her about-face was startling. She developed a quiet, caring attitude, not pushing her faith on anyone; developing many new friendships with her constant smile. Her parents allowed her to transfer to Columbine High School in September 1997.

To understand the girl Cassie was on the day of her death, we can look to what her friends had to say about her. One young friend said, and I quote, “With some friends, you have to hide things or else you’d be scared of ruining your reputation. Cassie was so real, so honest about her struggles. We could talk about stuff that bothered us, and we didn’t have to look good for each other.”

Cassie spent a lot of time reading a certain book during the last two months of her life. Seeking Peace – It was a book that her youth group was studying. Cassie’s parents found great comfort in noting the numerous passages of this book that she had highlighted. One passage of particular interest to Cassie was of Martin Luther King. And I quote, “No man is free if he fears death, but the minute that you conquer the fear of death, at that moment you are free…I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

On that fateful day in April, 1999, there were other acts of courage. This story of Cassie Bernall is just one. A young girl who, as a result of a personal battle with self-hate and anger, was ready to say “yes” to her killers.

J-Ro is a girl, It's fun being a Settler, and He-Man is unintentionally funny.

2005-11-12T12:31:00.000-04:00

It's a good thing J-Ro doesn't read my blog. haha. I just thought I'd share some of the stuff that happened yesterday. Yesterday I was bored (what a surprise) so I called J-Ro to see what he was doing. He wanted to go out to see Becky, so I figured what the heck, might as well give him a ride since it'd also give me something to do. First we went to his place so he could put some songs on his i-Pod, and then we went to KFC so he could get some snackage. We would've seen if Jess wanted to go to Becky's with us, but I knew she had gone away for the weekend. Oh well, maybe we can do it again the next time Becky's home.

Anyways, after KFC we went out to Becky's. When we got there I watched them eat KFC (flaming death!) and Becky forced me to eat a fry. Even though I was already full! I also made a small negative comment towards the Star Wars prequels, and she punched me. She's so violent. Then we played some Goldeneye and Mario Kart 64. Considering all I've heard about how good Becky is at Goldeneye, she never really killed me in points. In fact, when J-Ro joined in and we played three player I believe she came in last in points. Unless she was really rusty, I think Joe could've smoked her, regardless of what J-Ro says. Next we played some Mario Kart 64. A game that never gets old. After a few races of that I got He-Man out (yeah, my little brothers' birthday present. They don't mind though. hehe) and J-Ro and Becky got to see just how funny the show is. I can't get that awesome 80s theme song out of my head! LOL!

After watching a few episodes of He-Man, J-Ro started complaining about how he needed a massage (does he always ask girls to do that? He just likes the attention I think). Becky gave him a massage for awhile and it then turned into a "tickle J-Ro" competition, with Becky, her little sister and I ambushing J-Ro for like 30 minutes. It's funny how he squeals like a little girl (or maybe a japanese schoolgirl? lol). After that got old we played a game (called Settlers) with Becky's dad. It seemed to be a great game, but by the time I was starting to figure out how to play everyone else had overwhelmed me and the game was over. I could see myself getting into it though. Maybe I'll pick it up for my dad's birthday. After the game ended J-Ro and I said our farewells and since it was late and I hadn't had supper, I decided to go to Subway. There I had a footlong sub (whole wheat, Jess!! No flaming death for me*fails to mention eating donuts at Tim's the night before*). It's been way too long since I had a sub. Those salads were getting old, although they're still good.

After eating I took J-Ro home and that's about all that happened that is interesting. It was a fun day for sure. Hopefully next time some other people will be around. The rest of the weekend will probably be uneventful and boring (like always!), so I'll take a break from posting until something interesting takes place (maybe my doctor appointment in SJ on Monday). Oh, and on a final note, Becky is surprisingly violent. She punched me in the shoulder, punched my hands, and gave me a nipple twister.

The beginning of the end for Arrested Develpment?

2005-11-10T22:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I just heard the news that Fox has put Arrested Development on hold for the month of November and cut back the amount of episodes for the season from 22 to 13. This isn't looking too good. Hopefully if they cancel the show then they'll at least release the third season on DVD. Here is the official story from CBC. Oh, and Krystal, I don't know if I can watch Prison Break now that it's taking AD's place. Maybe I'll get over it though.

Fox is pulling critically acclaimed comedy Arrested Development from its schedule, effective immediately.

Two episodes of Arrested Development aired this week, after a month-long pause, but the run won't be resumed until after the all-important ratings period in November.

The network has cut back on the number of shows it ordered from producers at Imagine, asking for just 13 segments, instead of 22 according to a report in Variety.

This could be a harbinger of worse to come for the comedy, which got a reprieve from cancellation this season because of an outcry by fans.

Arrested Development has won several awards, including an Emmy as best comedy in 2004 and a Golden Globe for Jason Bateman, but has drawn just six million viewers this season.

Batemen plays a dutiful son trying to hold the family real estate firm and his dysfunctional family together after his father is jailed.

Another Fox comedy, Kitchen Confidential, about a talented chef, (played by Bradley Cooper), trying to make it in the restaurant game, has also been put on hold.

It was scheduled to return to Fox on Monday, Nov. 14. Now Fox will air repeats of Prison Break.

Random story from my past.

2005-11-08T22:36:00.000-04:00

I just remembered this story the other day and figured it might be interesting for those who I've never told (I've never told anyone actually). Anyways, it was like four years ago (I think I had just finished college) and I was helping my dad paint this fancy house. Unfortunately we had to do all the work while the people were living in the house, which I hate since they watch you as you paint but never mind that since it's not important to the story, lol. Anyways, the family ended up being penticostals, and they had a daughter a year older than me. That's already bad news to me, because my dad loves to poke fun and joke about me possibly dating any girl he thinks would be good for me. Well, that in itself would've been annoying to put up with for the three weeks we were there, but it ended up being much worse. The girl's mother ended up being one of those parents who tries to hook up her daughter with any guy she deems worthy of being a good match. It ended up being the worst three weeks of my life. Well, maybe that's taking it a little far, but seriously, every day this woman would say something to me like "My daughter really needs a boyfriend, you're single aren't you?" or "You're a really nice guy, think you'll be looking for a girlfriend any time soon? Oh wait, Lindsay's single!" with the girl standing right in the room listening. After the first few days I just got tired of being embarrassed so I went into the basement and took my time working down there (don't tell my father that I wasn't working hard!). I ended up working down there by myself almost the entire month it took to finish the job, and frankly I enjoyed it that way. The daughter of the couple was pretty obviously annoyed by her parents trying to hook her up and the entire thing made me very uncomfortable. By the time we finished I felt like cheering as we pulled out of their driveway for the last time. Wait, I did cheer! haha. I'll never forget that time. My father asked if I was disappointed that I'd never see Lindsay again, and I proudly stated "Are you kidding? I'm GLAD that I'll never see her again. I'm a rebel!" Ah, I love irritating my parents. I think it was that experience that made me decide that I never want to date or get married. Just to bug my parents and go against everything that other people strive for. Now I'm not completely against the idea of a girlfriend or wife though.

Arrested Development returns!

2005-11-07T17:29:00.000-04:00

After a break of over a month due to baseball playoffs, Arrested Development returns tonight with back to back episodes! It's felt like it's been ages since I last saw a new episode, so to say I'm excited is an understatement. I was so excited that I read the episode plot summary, which I've posted below. Just read it and tell me that this show isn't brilliant. So funny and well thought out.

In the "Notapusy" episode, Rita (guest star Charlize Theron) calls Michael a word that he thinks means "weak or cowardly" when – in the British sense – it actually means "sweet or gentle." In an effort to prove to Rita he's not one of these, Michael tries to convince George-Michael to join him in some manly activities, but George-Michael is too busy prepping girlfriend Ann for an "Inner-beauty Pageant" at the Church and State Fair. So Michael and his recently-discovered nephew Steve Holt enter a triathlon, only to discover Gob is the one who stumbles at the finish line. Meanwhile, George Sr. tries to get some good P.R. by volunteering to speak at a "Scared Straight" meeting, but ends up giving advice about his prison days to the wrong group. Scott Baio returns as Bluth family attorney Bob Loblaw and Dave Thomas as Trevor.

Something else that happened today is I went out and bought Hillsong United's "Look to You" album. After listening to it in Brett's van on the way home from Booster I decided it's time I bought a Christian album. The only Christian CD I currently own is a Switchfoot one, and it's a burned one that J-Ro made me. I figure it's time for me to spend some time listening to Godly music instead of spending all my time listening to secular stuff. I might also pick up some worship albums sometime, since that's what I enjoy more than the typical contemporary stuff.

2005-11-06T12:25:00.000-04:00

Just some stuff that's on my mind. I'll get back to the less serious stuff during the week (most likely after I start rocking out with Guitar Hero!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that anyone who believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

That's a verse that I haven't really put much thought into lately. I guess it's typical since it's something that I've had memorized since I was a little kid. It's easy to overlook the true meaning of things when they're burned into your mind. But Pastor Dale's sermon this morning really made me think about the cost that was paid for us so that we could live despite the fact that we have all lived sinful lives. I guess I'm still excited from the entire weekend and I know I'm a wreck physically right now too (I STILL feel like I need some sleep). The rest of the service was really good too. And very emotional. They had a really well done slideshow of WW2 pics, and the worship was amazing. I'm not really a very emotional person, but I was struggling holding back tears during a few of the songs. I just feel that I need to be more thankful for God for what he has done in my life, especially over the last four months or so. I can only imagine what he'll continue to do with me as I work with the youth group and get to know the new friends I have gotten to know. This is definitely a reason to get excited and go "AWT AWT!!"

Back from Booster

2005-11-05T23:25:00.000-04:00

And I should probably wait until tomorrow since I feel like absolute crap (horrible cold that has moved into my lungs, a severe lack of sleep) but hey, I'm too tired to care right now and I can just edit anything that's too stupid. Anyways, here's some thoughts on the weekend.

Seeing Fitz was awesome! His hugs have replaced AJ's for the amount of awesomeness. And I get to rub it in Jody's face the next time I see him. hehe.

Hanging out with everyone from my group was amazingly fun and I had a blast. Brett, Jess, Joel, Josh, Amanda, and Teshia, you all rock!

The speaker was really good, and some of the stuff he spoke about at the opening rally really went along with what we're studying on Wednesday night at Prayer Meeting. About how we were created perfect in God's own image, but lost that with sin. I can't wait to get into it further on Wednesday night.

Awesome worship, of course. And the plays and skits that the Bethany students put on were awesome.

The Three Season Ant concert rocked! And the moshers were absolutely nuts. I've never seen a crazier mosh pit. People were getting dropped on their heads and it didn't stop during the entire concert.

I got less than 4 hours of sleep thanks to the losers in the room below ours. They were up the entire night wrestling and the floor kept shaking. They'd wake me up and I'd lay there (rather uncomfortable on the floor thanks to my skinniness) for an hour at a time listening to them shout in pain.

I'm pretty certain I have pneumonia or lung infection now. Not very fun, but I'm sure it's only the beginning with winter coming. I'll get over it three weeks from now, and then get it again a few weeks later. Rinse and repeat. Yay for my crappy immune system.

I went for the longest outdoor walk that I've gone on in months(maybe years?). Seriously, I haven't hiked in the woods in ages and it was obvious I was out of shape and sick, since I hardly said a word and just stared at my feet trying not to trip over roots and sniffing and gasping for air. I'm sure any of the other four people there who I was with can say that's true. But it was probably good.

Jess said a bad word. Twice. She can no longer bug me about quoting lyrics with cuss words. Well, she CAN, but it doesn't mean as much anymore. Maybe she's taking her obsession with pirates a little too far? Pirates curse just as bad as drunken sailors right? It's late and my brain isn't working properly.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'll probably add some later. Oh, and Arrested Development is back Monday night for an hour! Finally! Everyone make sure to catch it on Global and Fox at 9:00 Atlantic! That's an order! And laugh dang it! LAUGH!!!!

Guess the movie quotes.

2005-11-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

Just a random little contest. Try to guess which movie each quote is from. You'll see a list of all the movies/shows below. I figured otherwise Hooper or Adam might get all the answers right. And there isn't a prize or anything, except for the bragging rights.

1. I've made a huge mistake

2. Shop smart, shop s-mart

3. I'm French! Why do you think I have this outragous accent you silly king!

4. Remember the time I had to squeeze out a fart, and it came out a poo?

5. Lightspeed is too slow, we'll have to go straight to ludicrous speed!

6. Rosebud

7. GOSH!!!

8. I am a golden god!

9. Phil, hey Phil, Phil? Phil Connors! I thought that was you!

10. I saved Latin. What did you ever do?

And here are the movies/shows that the quotes are from.

Almost Famous
Groundhog Day
Freaks & Geeks
Arrested Development
Rushmore
Spaceballs
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Napoleon Dynamite
Citizen Kane
Army of Darkness

Doug's top 20 animated films (part 2)

2005-11-03T14:56:00.000-04:00

I don't really have much to post about until I'm back from Booster (I promise I'll have a big post detailing the goings on of the weekend when I get back), so I'll post the final 10 movies of my top 20 animated films list. Which reminds me, I haven't even started my other list, but anyways. I'm getting behind on everything lately. I'm two chapters behind on the book that they're going through for Neil's book club, I'm a chapter behind on the book for Pastor Dale's mens group, and I need to finish up Shadow of the Colossus before I get Guitar Hero next week. Bah, I'm never gonna get caught up now. Oh well, here is the rest of my list. And I guess it's kinda backwards, so you might want to start reading from the bottom and go up to #1.

1. - Spirited Away - This shouldn't be a surprise. Pretty much everyone I know has heard me rave about the movie. I'll leave it at that, since it's best not to describe the movie for people who haven't seen it.

2. - The Lion King - Same here. Everyone has seen it and knows why it's this high on the list. I still fight back tears during the stampede and betrayal scene. Pathetic I know.

3. - Beauty and the Beast - I'm sure everyone has seen this movie. One of Disney's best films (only Lion King tops it imo). The soundtrack rocks even on it's own.

4. - My Neighbor Totoro - It took me awhile to grow to love this movie, but it's now one of my favs. Kinda childish, but incredibly well done. This is the way all children's movies should be. No villain, no fight scenes, no evil adults, no scary monsters, no horrible events destroying the world. It's also something that adults can enjoy.

5. - The Incredibles - My favorite movie of 2004, and Pixar's best film as far as I'm concerned. The action is amazing and the writing is perfect. An amazing nod to old school comics and superheroes.

6. - Wallace & Gromit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit - My favorite movie of 2005 so far. Absolutely brilliant humor and writing. Funny, sad, moving, it brings out all my emotions.

7. - Castle in the Sky - The animation has aged (this was made in 1984 after all), but the story, characters, and music is still amazing.

8. - Toy Story 2 - Better than the original in my opinion. It just has funnier jokes and homages.

9. - Porco Rosso - Another European style Miyazaki film, filled with tons of flying sequences, action scenes, and characters that you can love.

10. - The Land Before Time - The only good movie in the series. Why? Because this one was a collaberation between Don Bluth, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The James Horner score rocks too.

Honorable mention:

Metropolis
The Nightmare Before Christmas
A Bug's Life
Cinderella
Fox and the Hound
Pinocchio
The Little Mermaid
Shrek
Shrek 2
Akira
Bambi
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
The Cat Returns
101 Dalmations

Guitar Hero is insert typical words of praise here

2005-11-02T18:15:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know. I haven't even played the game yet. But I've been reading various reviews and the game sounds frickin amazing. When phrases like "game of the year" and scores like 9 and 10 are being thrown around, it's only a matter of time before I cave and blow $80-$150 on the newest videogame($80 for the guitar bundle, another $50 if I want a second guitar). I can't wait to try two player with Jody, Josh, J-Ro and whoever else is interested. Maybe it'll even get me interested in learning guitar.

And I'm also pretty excited about Booster (only two more days!!!). I don't really know what else to say besides that I'm excited about the whole weekend coming up. It's been awesome all the last three years that I went. Although the time that I forgot my sleeping bag and ended up curled up in a ball on a love chair all night kinda sucked. Worst night ever. I suppose I should take my camera with me as well. Tammy would probably like some pictures of the weekend for whatever she's doing with the other youth pics. I just don't want to be the annoying guy taking pictures all the time, and I'm still not really good at judging when a good time to take a picture is. I'm too nervous about snapping a shot of someone who doesn't want to be in a picture. Anyways, I'd better take off and get something to eat before going to church.

What a boring halloween.

2005-10-31T23:39:00.000-04:00

Well, just had what was the most boring halloween ever, for multiple reasons. I basically just sat around the entire evening with nothing to do. I dressed up and made my own costume (not much really, peep the pics below) but unfortunately I never really got to show anyone besides my family(maybe that's a good thing considering what the shirt says). Why? Because not one trick or treater stopped by the house. Not a single one! I guess the little punks are too good to get free candy from my house. *shakes fist in anger* Oh well, I guess it wasn't too bad of a night. I chatted with Fitz, Adam and Mike for a little bit, played the Dragon Quest VIII demo for awhile and watched an episode of AD with my parents (how much longer they'll watch it and ignore the suggestive content is anyone's guess). And now I'm gonna go get some tea because I feel my cold threatening to go into my lungs again.

Five reasons why I can't get into online gaming

2005-10-31T12:24:00.000-04:00

1. - Combination of 2. and 3. - Quite often I'd try to play with new people, only to have major lag issues which cause my teammates to start verbally abusing me. One prime example was when I tried to play Halo 2 but started lagging so bad that the frame rate felt like it was going 2 fps. What followed was comments like this from other players. "Get the f*** out of here with your stupid f***ing lag you stupid g** d*** newbie" That was probably the biggest turnoff for me with online gaming. Anyways, maybe if I move into town sometime next year and get an xbox 360 then I'll give it another try.

2. - All the little preteen jerks who seem to thrive online. - Every time I tried to play a game without my online forum buddies, I'd have to put up with 8-16 year olds backstabbing teammates and being annoying with their leetspeak. Here's a perfect example. What sounds like an 8 year old kid shoots me. Doug - I'm on your own team you idiot. Kid - OMFG I just pwn3d j00. You are the suxx0rz.

3. Lag - My crappy internet connection probably doesn't help much, but I hated getting into a game with my friends and getting booted out of a game. Why can't I get broadband outside of town?

4. Not really interested in the most popular online game genres - MMORPGs and First Person Shooters don't do much for me.

5. High cost - Especially since I don't have an income. The $10 a month cost is bad enough without startup fees.

Doug's top 20 animated films (part 1)

2005-10-29T13:53:00.000-03:00

Well, I finally did some work on my movie list. I figured I'd do something easy for now since I have a ton of work to do before I'm done my top 100 regular movie list, so I started with an animated film list. I'll post it in two parts, first with #11-20, and in a few days with #1-10 and honorable mentions. With this done I can now get to work on my top 100 list. So much work, so little time to do it in. And Shadow of the Colossus came in the mail yesterday, so that won't help.

11. - Howl's Moving Castle - Most people find this to be generic anime, but I love the story, characters and action scenes. The romance is very well done.

12. - Toy Story - Don't need to say much about this. I do like the sequel a little better though.

13. - Grave of the Fireflies - The most depressing animated film you'll ever see. This is the Schindler's List of animation. Which means that it's incredibly moving and is something that will stay with you long after seeing it.

14. - Monsters Inc. - What is there to say about Pixar movies? They're all amazing. I love this one for the variety of monsters, story, and all the cuteness!

15. - The Corpse Bride - Amazing animation, a great story involving death, betrayal and romance, and the usual good Danny Elfman songs. Better overall than Nightmare Before Christmas, although the songs aren't quite as good.

16. - Kiki's Delivery Service - One of Miyazaki's most lighthearted and kid friendly films. Gotta love the European style music and landscapes.

17. - Princess Mononoke - Very japanese and weird, but still great none-the-less. Like every Miyazaki film it has wonderful visuals, characters and music.

18. - Aladdin - The weakest of Disney's "big four" movies of the early 90s. Still great for it's songs, characters and pop culture gags.

19. - Finding Nemo - A visual masterpiece. Typical Pixar film. Good story, characters, and something people of all ages can enjoy.

20. - The Iron Giant - A fun and under-rated film by Brad Bird (the guy who made The Incredibles). Surprisingly moving and funny.

What are some good songs/artists?

2005-10-27T18:04:00.000-03:00

I'm trying to listen to new songs and artists that I've never given a chance before, so I thought I'd ask everyone to suggest some songs for me to download. Once I get a new computer I'll probably start burning some CDs with my favorite songs. Right now I'm focusing on Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and various video game songs, but I need help since I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to various artists and what songs are good. So any suggestions are helpful. Just make sure to leave out anything that's rap, country, metal, or techno, since I don't have much love for those genres.

2005-10-25T14:49:00.000-03:00

This song probably has the most meaningful lyrics of any punk song I've ever heard. While most punk songs seem to be filled with bad meanings, this one actually seems to have a decent message and while it doesn't have an answer to the questions it raises, it's still nice seeing a punk song that isn't promoting drugs or ranting about girlfriends. I should probably start working on my movie list after posting this. Anyways, here are the lyrics, and the song title is The Kids Aren't Alright by The Offspring.

When we were young the future was so bright
the whole neighborhood was so alive
and every kid on the whole damn street
was gonna make it big and not be beat.

now the neighborhood's cracked and torn
the kids are grown up but their lives are worn
how can one little street
spoil so many lives

Chances blown
nothing's free
longing for
what used to be
still it's hard
hard to see
fragile lives,
shattered dreams

Jennie had a chance, well she really did
Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids
Mark still lives at home cause he's got no job
Just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot

Jay commited suicide
Brandon OD'd and died
What the hell is going on?
The cruellest dream, reality

Chances blown
nothing's free
longing for
what used to be
still it's hard
hard to see
fragile lives,
shattered dreams

random dull weekend post

2005-10-23T12:42:00.000-03:00

There really isn't much to talk about right now. I'm just bored and figured I'd share some random things from my weekend. My family went out to eat and they never tell me when they're going to do that, so I'm stuck at home by myself watching Kitten chase a toy around the kitchen. I'll probably warm up some leftover spaghetti or something. This weekend has been pretty uneventful, but I did get a lot done yesterday. I cleaned my room, did most of my laundry, played DDR for awhile for some exercise, finally watched a movie I borrowed from J-Ro's dad (Magnificant Seven), and sold a few games on ebay. Nothing to get excited about, but I did feel good about getting my room and clothes done. Something that I don't get done very often.

Today I'm not feeling all that great. I ate two pieces of strawberry/rhubarb (sp?) pie last night, and I guess I'm paying the price. Maybe I pushed it by eating two pieces. Especially since it had white flour crust. Church was ok, and I really enjoyed the discussion we had in Neil's sunday school class. And this afternoon will likely be pretty uneventful as well. I think I'll play through all my games to see what I want to sell. Last night I played Resident Evil for a few minutes, and couldn't help but feel that games have lost a lot of appeal to me. This must be the path that my life is taking right now. A really weird transition period. I don't know how many games I'm gonna get rid of, or if I'll keep buying new ones. I'm just gonna take it as it comes. I was gonna go out to the falls today with my dad to take some pictures, but it's raining so that probably won't happen now (I told him we should've gone yesterday!). Tonight I'll probably go to church (they're having baked potatoes! Yummy!) and sit in Pastor Dale's class. I don't really feel like I get a lot out of that class, but I don't know what other class to go to and it's better than sitting at home.

And that's probably all that's going on this weekend. Tuesday J-Ro has a soccer game and I think I'll go watch. That way he can go with me to youth straight from the game. Although I don't know what I'll do for supper. And there's a song that I've been listening to a lot lately and will probably post the lyrics on my blog sometime. Not today since I've already said enough. Maybe in a few days if anyone's interested. And I guess that's all for now.

Is this a good idea?

2005-10-21T23:40:00.000-03:00

Today I got the idea of making a top 100 movies list (or maybe just top 50). I recently did a crazy amount of work on a gaming top 100 list, which was enough work in itself, so I decided maybe I'd see if there is any interest first. Will any of you commenters find it interesting to read my thoughts on my favorite movies? I'd probably do a weekly installment of 10 films at a time or something until I got to the top. Here, I'll give an example by posting the top 10 games from the list I did over the summer. Anyways, tell me what you think and I'll decide if it's worth the effort. I suck at writing and it's a lot of work for me. Oh, and my movie descriptions would probably be a lot shorter. lol. :)

10. - Metal Gear Solid - 1998 - Playstation

I think Metal Gear Solid has the best story of any game. I know others won’t agree with me, but that’s how I feel. The voice acting is incredible, the plot twists sent shivers down my spine, the music is great, the characters are well developed and the gameplay is still amazing. MGS is one of the all time greats.

9. - Final Fantasy IX - 2000 - Playstation

For some odd reason, I skipped FF9 when it was first released. I didn't play through it until last year. After experiencing the game I have come to the conclusion that it is the best Final Fantasy since FFVI. It has an endearing cast, a great story, excellent visuals (for the time), and the usual great score that you can expect from Nobuo Uematsu. The best thing though, is the return to the old school setting. From the crystals, to the airships, and the return of the black mage, everything is a throwback to the older games in the series.

8. - Panzer Dragoon Saga - 1998 - Saturn

One of the most amazing RPGs created, Panzer Dragoon Saga was unfortunately made in very low quantities, leaving most people doomed to paying insane Ebay prices. For those who were able to find a copy, they got to experience a world unlike any other. Instead of being stuck on a path like the other games in the series, PDS takes away the on-rails gameplay of the previous games and it lets you explore the 3D environments. This really makes the game more immersive (if you can imagine that) than the other games in the series. It really is hard to explain how brilliant this game is. The battle system is perhaps the greatest ever designed. Every boss and enemy has a weak spot that you are able to exploit. Hopefully Sega will bring out a sequel, so that more people will be able to experience the wonderful world that was revealed in this game.

7. - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - 1997 - Playstation

The best game in the series, Symphony of the Night is an incredibly deep platformer that borrows heavily from Super Metroid. What it lacks in story and voice acting (which is absolutely horrid) it makes up for in its detailed 2D visuals, haunting score, huge bosses, and excellent level design. The best feature (which I'm sure most people know of by now), is that the game doubles in length if you meet a certain requirement. This gives the game great replay value.

6. - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 1998 - Nintendo 64

Zelda: OoT is probably the most well made game that I’ve experienced. While the graphics have aged slightly since its release, every other aspect is near perfect. The gameplay successfully took LttP and made an amazing 3D world. The dungeons are brilliantly designed, the music is amazing (as usual), and the battles are intense. There isn’t a thing that I dislike about this game. I’ll continue to replay this classic throughout my life.

5. - Radiant Silvergun - 1998 - Saturn

Probably the most well known import of all time, Radiant Silvergun is a game that most people will never have the chance to play thanks to its outragious price. Having spent the required amount of cash on it, I've concluded that it is not only the best shmup ever made, but also one of the best games period. The graphics are still incredibly good for being seven years old, the control is perfect, the weapons system is probably one of the best ever created, and the overall gameplay is perfect. I insist that anyone who is even remotely interested in shmups try to get a chance to play it.

4. - Super Mario Bros. 3 (All-Stars Version) - 1993 - Super NES

Super Mario Bros. 3 is my second favorite game in the series. I chose Mario World over this, but that doesn't mean that I like it any less. I love the level designs (although some levels are rather short) and the addictive gameplay. Throw in the multiple suits that give you different abilities and you have a masterpiece. Oddly enough, I never beat the game until a few years ago. I guess it's because I never owned an NES and I just never got around to playing through the game.

3. - Super Mario World - 1991 - Super NES

I really don't need to give an explanation for this game. I'm sure every one of you reading this knows exactly why it's on the list. As for its place when compared with the rest of the series, I'd say it slightly edges out Mario 3 as far as gameplay and fun factor. I still play this game at least once a year and it never gets old. There are basically no flaws whatsoever. The controls are as can be expected in a Mario game, the graphics are colorful and detailed, and the secrets are plentiful. It has everything that a Mario game needs.

2. - Super Metroid - 1994 - Super NES

I missed playing this until a couple of years ago. I must say I really missed out on a wonderful game. It's truly one of the greatest pieces of software I've ever had the pleasure of playing. The level design is perfect, the boss fights are as intense and strategic as any in the Zelda games, and the music and graphics make for an atmospheric experience. No matter how many times I play through this game, it never gets old. It's a masterpiece that deserves to be played by any who haven't experienced it.

1. - Final Fantasy III - 1994 - Super NES

This is my favorite game of all time. Final Fantasy III truly is an amazing experience. It has an amazing story and well developed characters (each with their own abilities). There are so many memorable moments, that it's hard to name only a few. But my favorite scenes are undoubtedly Kefka poisoning Doma Castle's water, Celes attempting to commit suicide after Cid's death, the wonderful ending, and the amazing Opera scene. The game also has the best soundtrack in the series, well balanced boss battles, and a ton of side quests. I also like the way that the game is linear for the first half of the game and from there the game lets you do things in any order that you like. In any case, anyone who has not experienced this game needs to give it a try.

Don't be surprised if I disappear.

2005-10-19T12:49:00.000-03:00

Because my computer is slowly dying on me. This morning it kept on freezing up on me for no apparent reason, but then I realized the fan had quit (again) and that the computer was so hot I could hardly touch it. I'm sure the weird smell coming from it wasn't a good sign either. So I shut it off and after letting it cool down I used a can of air on it. The fan's going again now, but it's hard to say how long that will last. So if I suddenly disappear from MSN and my blog isn't updated for a long time then you can probably assume that the computer died for good. Maybe I should stop buying games and movies for the rest of the fall and start saving for a new computer. Heck, maybe I could put it in my room and not have to get off msn at midnight. I might as well ask what everyone thinks is a good computer to get next. I know as much about the different brands of computers as I did about digital cameras.

The start of a long winter?

2005-10-16T22:07:00.000-03:00

Well, my cold finally seems to have gotten the better of me and is (seemingly) moving into my lungs. This usually means I get bronchitus or a lung infection and stay home for long periods of time so that I don't upset people who don't want to be around me while I'm sick. For now I'm only coughing occasionally and my lungs feel tight, but it's only a matter of time before I start coughing up lovely green gook and sounding like a machine when breathing. I can't wait *end sarcasm*. I guess I'll just have to keep popping vitamins down me and taking that oil crap that burns my mouth. Hopefully I can still fight this.

On a brighter note, I went to see W&G again, this time with Josh and Joel. It was just as good the second time and I'm glad that they enjoyed it. Church was also very good this morning, despite me having the usual stomach problems. Lots of great music and an excellent message from Neil. And I didn't completely screw up the powerpoint this week. Always a good thing. I've also discovered that I can have videos of my favorite Arrested Development scenes by using my digital camera. So if anyone is interested in seeing some hilarious scenes I'll likely push it on you anyways. Must create new fans to keep the show alive. I might as well get to work finding my favorite scenes until I find someone to talk with on msn. The few people I talk to on a daily basis are rarely online anymore.

Anyone want to see Wallace & Gromit?

2005-10-15T00:30:00.000-03:00

This is rather short notice so I don't expect any replies, but J-Ro is being annoying again and I want to see the movie again before it leaves. When I called him tonight he was totally clueless about his plans for the weekend, so I'm just gonna have to call him tomorrow at lunch. Chances of him being home and not with his "hartland homies" are pretty slim though. So is there anyone out there at all who wants to catch the movie with me? Dang it, I don't want to be stuck at home all weekend as usual. The movie is awesome, really. Funny. Sad. Charming. Brilliant. Moving. All those things. You WANT to see this movie.

EDIT - It looks like I might be going to see the movie with Dan tonight. If he's able to go I'll try calling some other people and see if they're able to go. If not, maybe tomorrow afternoon or next weekend...

Wes Anderson movies rock.

2005-10-12T18:30:00.000-03:00

Seriously. The four films that he's made so far are all spectacularily awesome in their own dry and comedic way. I encourage everyone to watch his films. Just be ready for some REALLY dry dialogue and a small amount of R rated content. I'll summarize my thoughts on all four films for those who aren't familiar with them.

Bottle Rocket - His first film. It doesn't have the spectacular cast of his later films but it still has the brilliant writing and characters. Most surprisingly, Owen Wilson is actually a decent actor here (he also co-wrote three of these movies). I still have to laugh at the scene at the end where the heist goes all wrong. Overall I rate this 8/10.

Rushmore - My favorite of Anderson's films. The writing, cast, soundtrack, pacing, story, and everything else is amazing. It's also one of Bill Murray's best films. Really, he's hilarious. I also have to mention the brilliant musical montages. One of the things that I love about Anderson's films. You'd have to see them to understand. Overall - 9/10. I was tempted to give it a 10.

The Royal Tenenbaums - I tried watching this with J-Ro and Jody and they were bored to tears, which is a shame. I guess it really is an aquired taste. Personally I think this film is almost as good as Rushmore. It has a brilliant ensamble cast, and has the same quirky dry humor as the previous films. The story here is also very moving and you find yourself relating with the characters by the end (as twisted as they are). Overall - 9/10

The Life Aquatic - Probably my least favorite of the four movies, but I still find it very enjoyable and it has the same trademarks as the previous three films. Most notably the ensamble cast, dry humor, and crazy attention to detail. I also find it to be rather slow and hard to get into. But it still manages to score around an 8/10.

So yeah, I have to give mad props to these films. Even though I know they are an aquired taste. Or maybe J-Ro and Jody just don't appreciate good movies. I guess I hated these types of movies when I was younger as well.

Got Castlevania: DoS!

2005-10-08T10:48:00.000-03:00

Doug am in 2D heaven! I'll likely be playing it non-stop until it's beaten 100%. Oh my goodness, the animation! The amazingly detailed 2D sprites! The tough bosses! The mesmorizing 2D trail that follows Soma! The incredible soundtrack! *head explodes*

Anyways, I had a fun time last night with Josh. I picked him up after school and he watched Arrested Development on my portable DVD player (well, my dad's portable DVD player, but he doesn't use it much) until we got to Freddy. There I made a beeline for EB and got one of the last copies of the game. Then we headed to Wal-Mart and talked with Greg for a few minutes. I cracked some annoying jokes about him slacking and then we headed back to EB to meet up with Hooper so he could get his copy of the game. After that Josh and I grabbed some supper and went to see Corpse Bride

Corpse Bride was awesomeness squared. Josh said it kinda creeped him out. I guess I knew what to expect from the movie because of Nightmare Before Christmas. Personally I thought Nightmare is way creepier. The skeletons jumping into song and dance at random times didn't throw me off at all. Overall, I'd say the animation rocked, the songs rocked, and the story (something girls would love, since it's a love story) was pretty awesome as well. Better overall than Nightmare in my opinion, although they are completely different films. You girls who said it looked creepy (you know who you are) should give the movie a chance when it hits DVD. Heck, I almost was moved to tears near the end. Almost.

Today I'm back to the usual day of babysitting, but I got Castlevania to keep me busy. Lots of castle rooms to explore, zombies to kill and medusa heads to curse at. I guess I should be happy that my weekends are dull and boring and use the time to rest and be lazy.

Oh, and I also had a nice chat with Pastor Brett yesterday. We went to Subway and I had a nice salad. Chatted about everything from Atari games to plans for Booster weekend (which is going to rock btw). Anyways, I'm going back to Castlevania. ^_^

Some more pics.

2005-10-06T16:30:00.000-03:00

Adam requested some more pics, so here they are. I still need to get out to the Jennings Falls to take some pics there, and I'm still messing around with the camera's features. I'm definitely enjoying this. Otherwise not much is new. I decided to go to a men's group tonight since I'm not going to Fredericton (stupid game delay). I already went through the book (Every Man, God's man) and loved it, and I figured it'd be fun to go through as a group. Not sure what my dad will think of me being away three nights in a row for church related things, but I guess he'll have to deal with it. I'm 24 after all. I hope everyone enjoys the pics I'm taking. More pics as I get better ones.

What a bittersweet day.

2005-10-05T17:23:00.000-03:00

I was all psyched about Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow coming out today, only to be disappointed when I found out that it was delayed until Friday in Canada. Adding insult to the injury, I also found out that I probably won't be able to go to Fredericton this week, since Gemma and J-Ro can't go and Josh Hopkins isn't sure if he'll be able to or not. If anyone else wants to go, let me know! My mother told me that she doesn't want me going this week unless I go with friends, since I'm going again next week for a doctor appointment.

Anyways, one good thing DID happen today. I found out that Final freaking Fantasy VI is coming out for Game Boy Advance. It's arguably the greatest game ever made so I can't frickin wait! Portable FF6? Yeah, I'm all over that. Not much else happening lately besides Youth, which went pretty well last night and I can't wait for games night and some free pizza event next week, should be fun. That's all for this post I guess. Yay for bittersweet days. o_O

Finally got myself a digital camera. Woot!

2005-10-03T15:52:00.000-03:00

Well, I finally got myself a digital camera today. I went into the dreaded Radio Shack (I will NOT call it The Source) and got a Canon Powershot A510. It was recommended on that site that Jonathan mentioned and it was one of the cheapest Canon's I could find, so I figured it'd be good. I've already taken like 30 pics so far today and I think I may have found myself a new hobby. Now I just need to get some decent rechargable batteries and a larger memory card. Anyways, here are a few pics I took. I wish I could post more than a few at a time. And I'll try not to always have my camera with me taking pictures of everyone. I know that could get annoying.

And is it just me or has everyone else besides Jess, Jonathan and myself stopped posting comments and updating their blogs? If these people (Darrek, Becky, Gemma, Fitz) don't start getting back into it I'm gonna say that they suck just like J-Ro and Jody.

A few movie reviews

2005-10-01T23:12:00.000-03:00

I have nothing interesting to talk about until Monday (something big is taking place, more on that in a few days) so I'm just gonna post my review scores for most of the movies that I've seen. Well, the movies I remember seeing off the top of my head. If anyone disagrees with my scores, then they can slap on a diaper and go cry to their momma, because it's my own opinion. This'll be part 1, because I'm tired and it's too long.

Braveheart - 9
Spartacus - 7
Glory - 7
The Mission - 8
Saving Private Ryan - 10
Schindler's List - 10
From Here to Eternity - 7
The Bridge on the River Kwai - 8
Fargo - 8
Pulp Fiction - 7
The Godfather - 8
The Godfather Part 2 - 6
The French Connection - 9
Heat - 9
To Kill a Mockingbird - 9
Rocky - 9
On the Waterfront - 10
Howard's End - 7
Citizen Kane - 7
The Shawshank Redemption - 10
Quiz Show - 7
Chariots of Fire - 7
In the Bedroom - 7
The Insider - 8
Sling Blade - 8
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? - 7
Driving Miss Daisy - 7
Chocolat - 8
The Green Mile - 9
North By Northwest - 8
The Bourne Identity - 7
The Bourne Supremacy - 7
Titanic - 7
Lawrence of Arabia - 8
Ben-Hur - 8
The Wizard of Oz - 8
The Sound of Music - 8
Mary Poppins - 9
Moulin Rouge - 8
Singin' in the Rain - 9
White Christmas - 8
Raiders of the Lost Ark - 10
The Princess Bride - 6
Iron Monkey - 7
The African Queen - 7
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - 6
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 9
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - 10
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - 10
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - 10
Amelie - 8
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 9
Hotel Rwanda - 8
The Pianist - 9
Spirited Away - 10
Million Dollar Baby - 7
The Incredibles - 10
Kill Bill Vol. 1 - 5
Kill Bill vol. 2 - 7
Donnie Darko - 7
Finding Nemo - 8
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 9
House of Flying Daggers - 7
Hero - 9
Batman Begins - 9
Finding Neverland - 8
Mystic River - 8
Big Fish - 8
Edward Scissorhands - 8
The Silence of the Lambs - 9
The Matrix - 8
Se7en - 9
Leon: The Professional - 10
Life is Beautiful - 7
Ronin - 8
Princess Mononoke - 8
Akira - 8
Forrest Gump - 8
Terminator 2 - 10
The Sixth Sense - 9
Unforgiven - 9
Run Lola Run - 8
Toy Story - 9
Toy Story 2 - 9
Groundhog Day - 9
Porco Rosso - 9
Twelve Monkeys - 7
Amadeus - 9
The Shining - 8
2001: A Space Odyssey - 7
Aliens - 9
Blade Runner - 9
Grave of the Fireflies - 9
My Neighbor Totoro - 9
Back to the Future - 8
Back to the Future 2 - 7
Nausicaa - 8
Castle in the Sky - 9
Rain Man - 8
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - 9
Chinatown - 10
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - 10
The Sting - 7
Alien - 8
Jaws - 10

Random thoughts...again.

2005-09-29T23:48:00.000-03:00

Today I was thinking about movies. Yeah, that's kinda vague, but I'll explain it. I was thinking about how weird it is that when I was young, I absolutely hated certain movies or thought they were boring, or just didn't care, but now some of those same movies are among my favorites and I actually LIKE the boring drama type movies that I hated as a kid. It's just weird when I look back on watching stuff like The Good the Bad and the Ugly, To Kill a Mockingbird, and maybe even Anne of Green Gables (I HATED it as a kid, but I haven't watched it since so chances are I'd actually enjoy it now) and I now realize how big of an influence they had on me. Anyways, just something that popped into my head.

Tonight I went over to Houlton with Gemma and Jess. It was fun for sure and it was infinitely better than sitting around home doing nothing. We ate supper and then went over to Marden's and Wal-Mart. I was feeling kinda awkward and out of it while I was following them through the women's clothing section, but that's probably because I've never shopped with girls before and I have a tendency to get confused easily to begin with. No big deal I guess, I went and looked around by myself and found a few cool things. A toy for Pepper (which he hasn't seen yet because he's outside, stupid cat), some little picture album for when I get a digicam, and the Rushmore soundtrack (I recall the music being really good and it was only $7). Not too bad. Definitely better than anything I've found in Saan. So yeah, I had a lot of fun even if we didn't get to watch the movie we had planned on seeing. And just for the record, you two aren't that bad at all and I have no problem hanging out with the two of you. I just have a tendency to be unenthusiastic about things, so that's probably something I should work at. Anyways, that's all for tonight.

Miyamoto: "Get that s#*% away from me."

2005-09-28T16:21:00.000-03:00

I know I've already told most of my friends about this, but I found a pic and it's just too funny. The look on Miyamoto's face is just priceless. What kind of idiot asks the creator of Nintendo's most popular characters and games to sign a Sony game machine? LOL

And while I'm at it, here are some more humerous Miyamoto pics. The guy is obviously on drugs, just look at him. Besides, he was influenced by his garden to make a game about Aliens and little weeds that come alive.

Miyamoto - "bring it on you punks!"
Either he's raising the roof or he was caught sneaking into Sony HQ.

Miyamoto and Iwata - "We're taking over the world!!! Bwahahaha!!!"

2005-09-27T21:06:00.000-03:00

Well, I just got home from youth and I really have no idea what to think of small groups. I struggled last year, but I got through it alright just by reading from the sheets that Neil gave me. This year I share a group with another leader, and I find it really hard. First I was with Rocky in his group, and I just found it hard to know what to say and how to be a leader when he's taking charge. Not that I dislike not being the one talking. I just felt useless and like I wasn't needed. There were also only 3 to 6 teens in the group, so I decided maybe I should switch to a bigger group. I did so tonight after talking it over a little with Brett and Glen.

Glen's group has more people in it so it wasn't quite as bad, but I still don't feel like I'm a decent leader. I have the feeling that I'm not really needed and I don't know how I would be able to cope on my own. I just can't imagine myself coming up with all the things that I've heard Glen and Rocky come up with. I'd be alright asking questions, but otherwise I don't think I could get through it. I know I shouldn't feel down about this. I'm much better with hanging out with the teens the rest of the night and I'm going to make an effort to get together with them through the week for lunch and stuff. I guess I'll talk this over with Glen on Sunday and tell him the way I feel. See if he has any advice and I can also keep doing what I've been doing and just add some comments to what he's saying. And if anyone else has advice I'd love to hear it.

Grand Theft Auto is over-rated

2005-09-26T16:33:00.000-03:00

I couldn't really think of anything worthwhile to post about today, so I decided just to ramble on about my thoughts on a series of games. This probably won't be long anyways. I'm feeling kinda meh and don't really feel much like thinking up stuff to type. Anyways.

Of all the highly rated and overly popular game franchises, the Grand Theft Auto series is the one I hate the most. Other games I can at least see why people like them and I can usually agree that while I don't like the games myself, I do think that they are good games. Not so with Grand Theft Auto. Not only do I dislike the content (I just don't see what's appealing about cursing, blood, violence, and sexual content), but I also think the games themselves are boring and a waste of time. Sure, I never really got into the missions (I only finished around 6 in GTA3, and only played the last two games for 30 minutes each) but I feel that I gave the game enough of a chance to hook me, and it didn't. I have to admit that the first time I played GTA3 I was immediately impressed by the amount of freedom the game gives, but after only an hour I had gotten tired of driving around, running over pedestrians, shooting up cops and beating old people to death. Sorry, but these games don't interest me and as far as I'm concerned, they are average at best.

Also, I don't really want to get into the "hot coffee" debate (for those who don't know, they found a hidden sex mini-game in the latest game causing it to be re-rated and pulled from most stores' shelves) but I was reading something that really annoyed me so I'll take a moment to share my thoughts on it. Apparently a few parents and grandparents feel that they can sue the makers of the game because they "didn't know that the game had graphic sex scenes" when they bought the game. This is the stupidest excuse I have ever heard of people trying to get money out of a lawsuit. Seriously, what part of Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Blood and Gore, and Use of Drugs did they not understand when they bought the game? Considering it says right on the box that those things are in the game should people be allowed to say they didn't know that they were exposing their kids to bad content? Ugh, parents are so stupid these days. If I ever have kids I'll not only check ratings when buying games, but also monitor what they play. *end rant*

Too tired to think of a title.

2005-09-24T23:16:00.000-03:00

Well, I've had a pretty busy week for once. Especially in the last three days or so. The first few days of the week I was kept happy with the season premiers of Arrested Development and Lost, both of which were frickin' awesome. And of course there was youth and church on Tuesday and Wednesday, so that was fun. Thursday night I hung out with Gemma and Jess. We were going to watch a movie, but I don't think we were too involved in it, so we shut it off and watched a few episodes of Arrested Development instead. Not sure how much they enjoyed it, especially with me talking about it non-stop. Probably getting annoying to some people for sure. But I had fun hanging out with them and was glad to get out at all. Friday afternoon I hung out with J-Ro for a few hours at his house. Somehow I think he just wanted me to be there so he could have a ride and play Burnout Revenge. He got to play it longer during the rental period than I did. After awhile Jess called, so after I grabbed some supper we went to her place. J-Ro was being a moocher like usual, getting free meals and services, but at least he's thankful. I have to admit that he knows how to charm people. After he finished mooching we went to Movie Gallery and visited Darrek and got a couple of movies. We watched some movie called A Lot like Love (I think that was the title). It was strictly average and I didn't care for it much, but I enjoyed hanging out so I had no reason to complain. I think we're still going to watch the other movie sometime so I have higher hopes for that. Today I spent a couple of hours making sausage chili for tomorrow's church potluck. This is the third or fourth time I've made it, but I still had some help from my mom. What would I do without her? After supper I went to the youth event at the Hopkins', which was fun of course. So that's what my last few days have been like. I have no idea whats' going on tomorrow. There's church and the potluck, and I think I'm going to my sister's to watch Aliens, but otherwise who knows. I'll have to find out if/when we're watching that other movie I guess.

About a Boy named Doug

2005-09-23T12:47:00.000-03:00

This week I've been thinking about how I'm just like Will from About a Boy. No, I'm not a jerk like he was (at least I don't think I am), I just feel that each days activities are like units of time. Just like how Will described his days. For example, the other day I woke up at 10, had a nice warm shower, had breakfast, read a chapter of the book that I'm reading, played Burnout for an hour, had lunch, went outside with Pepper and played with him for 30 minutes, went for a walk, went to the library, played three rounds of Dance Dance Revolution, had supper, went to church, watched Lost, chatted on msn, did my devotions, and went to bed. A very full day I'd say. And each day I do the same things, only with a few other activities thrown in and all in different orders. Yup, it feels like I'm living in the movie. Maybe this doesn't make any sense or I seem like an idiot, I don't really care. Just my thoughts on my life right now. Oh, and if anyone has any ideas for other things I can do, feel free to let me know. I need variety and I'm willing to hang out and do things. (I know the title is cheesy, but I suck at thinking up cool titles)

Okami. Another example for games being art.

2005-09-21T14:18:00.000-03:00

After watching some videos of Okami, I've been blown away by how amazing the visuals are. Of all the games I've ever seen, this one is probably the most artistic and beautiful. Take a look at these beautiful screen shots. It's not quite like seeing it in motion, but it still looks like a drawing come to life on a TV screen. Definitely can't wait for this one when it hits the PS2 next year.

Dance Dance Revolution has killed me.

2005-09-20T21:30:00.000-03:00

Well, at least it has tired me out so much that just sitting down feels tiring. It all started when Josh and Joel convinced me to bring DDR to youth tonight. I didn't have to play it. I know that I've been out of shape all summer and therefore very rusty at it, but I couldn't pass up a chance to beat Josh and Joel (which I did). After only five matches I could hardly stand up with my knees wobbling all over the place. I even see that I have huge bags under my eyes. Craziness. Maybe I should stay away from DDR until I'm in better shape.

weekly weekend post

2005-09-18T22:10:00.000-03:00

Well, it's time for my weekend wrap-up post. Not really much to talk about this week. About the only things that happened were the Three Season Ant concert on Friday night (which was awesome, btw), and I went to my sister's house to watch Alien, which really isn't as scary as it used to be. Otherwise I just sat around the house being bored and depressed (nice combo eh?). I really wish there were more young adults at my church. Aside from married couples I mean. Nothing against married couples, but they tend to stick to other married couples and are too busy to hang out, so yeah, I would love it if some more single young adults came to the church. Or even if I met non-Christian people my age. I'm just getting tired of not having things to do, especially with J-Ro off with his friends all the time.

I've also been thinking about how I don't want to get married or date if I can help it. Screw all the people who push questions about dating and whether I'm gonna get married. I don't plan on going into this stuff unless I meet the right girl and everything goes smoothly. I just find it all so intimidating and scary. This is actually something that I decided a long time ago. I haven't cared about finding a girlfriend since I was a teen. But anyways, enough about that.

Finally, I'd just like to say that I am officially desensitized to scary movies. Seriously, as far as I can tell nothing makes me jump anymore. Blame it on the Silent Hill games for scaring the crap out of me so bad that nothing else compares. After going through hellish environments in the dark with nothing but a flashlight and a knife to fend off little demon kids there isn't ANYTHING that can scare me. Well, not in a movie or game. People can startle me rather easily in real life.

Random poll.

2005-09-17T12:56:00.000-03:00

Just a little something until the weekends over and I do the usual weekend post. Josh and Joel have been bugging me about how I need to grow my hair out and start a goatee. No way will I consider growing a goatee no matter what people say (I had one last year and didn't care for it), but I might consider growing my hair longer simply because I've never done it. So what does everyone think? Should I let my hair grow, grow a goatee, or am I fine the way I am?

What the heck?

2005-09-16T11:35:00.000-03:00

Well, Nintendo finally unveiled their new controller at the Tokyo Game Show last night, and frankly, I have no idea what to think of it. I've come to the conclusion that I won't make fun of it until I try it for myself. Personally, I don't like the idea of using motions to control my games and I have to wonder if my arms will get tired from holding the two controllers in the air all the time. The only genre that I could really see it working for is the FPS genre. Being able to move with the stick and look around and shoot with the remote should be a lot better than using two sticks. I'll likely buy a Revolution simply for the ability to download classic games, but for now I'm skeptical that this controller will work. Anyone want to share their thoughts on this? Does it really look as simple as Nintendo thinks it is? Is this something that will convince non-gamers to pick up the controller and try a game?

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow hype post.

2005-09-15T11:12:00.000-03:00

My recent posts have all been on the more personal and serious side, so it's time to get back to games for once. My most anticipated game of the year is hitting stores in 19 days so I'm gonna put up some pretty pics for myself to drool at until it comes out. Ah, 2D hand drawn visuals will never get old! Why must people demand 3D games? Do these screens not look absolutely beautiful and amazing? Am I the only one who appreciates these visuals? Seeing it in motion is even more amazing. Anyways, I'll leave it at that for now.

The start of another year.

2005-09-13T21:01:00.000-03:00

At youth that is. I just got home from the opening night of the year and it went pretty good. I think a lot of the teens didn't know how to act with a new youth pastor there, but I'm sure that things will settle down after a week or two. They just need to get to know Brett (and the new youth leaders) and things will be crazier than ever. The youth band did pretty well for their first time. They probably would've done better if Steve had been on guitar, but they did alright anyways. Small groups should really be interesting this year since I'm helping Rocky with the grade 8 and 9 boys. I acknowledge the fact that I suck at leading groups so it should be a lot better having Rocky to help me. From what I saw tonight it looks like he's the type of person to take charge and lead the group, so I'll just let him do his thing and help out where I can. For tonight all we did was play games, so that was fun. So overall it went really good and I can't wait for things to pick up. I also got a ticket for the Three Season Ant concert. I missed out on the last concert they had in the area, so I figured I'd try to go this time. I'm gonna have to ask J-Ro if he's going. And speaking of J-Ro, he's gonna have to get his priorities straightened out. His absence tonight saddened me. It's just not the same :(. Anyways, I guess that's all I have to say for now.

Update: added links to Gemma and Becky's blogs. Because I'm too lazy to click on links in other people's blogs.

Time for a new hobby.

2005-09-11T15:44:00.000-03:00

Well, it's another boring Sunday afternoon with nothing to do, so I guess I might as well make another blog entry. If only J-Ro wasn't off kissing Jole's feet (or whatever he's up to). I've been doing some thinking the past few days and I think I'm going to look into getting a digital camera and try taking some pictures of various things. For some reason the idea of putting pics of my cats and maybe of stuff outside on my blog seems quite appealing. Experimenting never hurts I guess. I've never had any interest in taking pictures in the past mainly because I always thought of it involving taking pictures of people, and I never liked the idea of upsetting people by taking their picture. Also, I was always too lazy to figure out how to make my camera work and go through the hastle of getting the pictures developed and the cost of all that. Too much hastle for a lazy person like myself. Anyways, I guess I'll ask Jody or Gemma where they got their cameras and maybe to show me how to work the things. And I'll probably have to sell off some more games so that I can afford a cheap camera, but I'll wait and think about it some more first. Anyone else have any ideas/thoughts on this?

Another exciting time babysitting the Hopkins boys.

2005-09-10T19:52:00.000-03:00

Well, I just got home from my latest babysitting adventure at the Hopkins' house and thought I'd share my weekend story. Although it might be kinda boring. It started Friday morning when I got a phone call from Charles. He was planning a last second weekend anniversary trip and had decided to call to see if I could watch Josh and Joel. I'm sure they don't REALLY need to be babysat. If anything my job is probably to make sure that the house doesn't get burned down or something. Anyways, nothing much happened after I got there until the time we went to bed. We had some supper (they cooked me some spaghetti, which I probably shouldn't have eaten since it had wheat) and then we watched Arrested Development (natch) until we went to bed at 11:30.

I had a crazy amount of dreams through the night that woke me up three or four times. They were all pretty insane, but I can only remember one of them. It involved a phone call from Charles and he told me that they were in the badlands. What was even funnier is it was a State, which it is most definitely not. He then told me that they were on their way to Texas and I was trying to figure out in my dream how they could have driven to Texas in one night. I found the whole thing rather humerous while thinking about it during the day and was tempted to ask them how the Badlands were when they got home, but I forgot.

When we woke up this morning we ate breakfast and squeezed in another episode of Arrested Development (so predictible). Then we took off for M.E.S. Music since the guys were supposed to play sometime and they needed to help set up. After I dropped them off I took off to get something to eat, since I can't eat hotdogs and pop. First I tried Subway and after standing in line for 5 minutes I noticed the sign saying that their debit machine was down. I figured I'd just have to go to Dairy Queen and get a salad there but when I got there the store was still closed (something that took me a couple of minutes of sitting in the drive thru to realize). So I gave up on lunch for the time and went to pick up J-Ro. After I dropped him off at the event I went back to Subway with money from the bank and finally (!) got my salad.

Not much else happened during the day. I hung out with everyone at M.E.S. Music and listened to the bands. The youth band was good, but only played three songs, and I would've liked Dean's band better if they had played 70s and 80s rock. Most of what they played was too close to being country for my taste, although they were definitely very good. Then we went back to Josh and Joel's and watched a lot more Arrested Development. J-Ro joined us for awhile but he still doesn't seem to appreciate the hilarity and awesomeness of the show. When Charles and Karen got home I took off and made my way back home (to my glorious computer).

Star Trek sucks.

2005-09-08T23:54:00.000-03:00

I'm sure that I'm just begging for hate mail and flames, but I really don't give a crap. My father is watching Wrath of Kahn tonight, and I just thought I'd state how much I really hate Star Trek. Now, I love other sci-fi. Star Wars, Blade Runner, etc is all amazing. But I just don't see what's so great about Star Trek. I don't find the characters appealing, they always get into the same bad situations, holodecks are retarded, and the space battles are completely boring because all it ever shows is ships shooting each other and everyone on the deck falling down. So yeah, I hate Star Trek and I don't care what people say. I'm sticking to that opinion.

And on a completely random and unrelated note, I absolutely love hot showers. Don't know where that came from, I just thought I'd say that. Although I'll probably regret my hot showers once I get skin cancer or something.

What's up with Saan?

2005-09-07T16:17:00.000-03:00

I just went in there today to see what DVDs they had (Jody mentioned something about them having a large amount of new DVDs) and was shocked by how many good movies they had at cheap prices. I wasn't expecting to see stuff like Sideways and Shaun of the Dead for $10-$15 new. Before you'd be lucky to find one or two decent previously viewed movies. I'm guessing that they restocked when they went through all the trouble they had earlier this year. In any case, I picked up A Beautiful Mind and Notting Hill (for my mom) and will probably go back sometime for About a Boy and a few other films. I was also kinda ticked off when I saw that they had Schindler's List for $15 new. I paid $30 for it last spring and it ended up being full screen! Dang it, I should've waited!

Oh, and now that I have A Beautiful Mind on DVD, I have no use for the VHS tape. If anyone wants it, let me know. Yup, another freebie that J-Ro will probably get.

My rant of the week.

2005-09-07T16:08:00.000-03:00

Dear person responsible for keeping Blade Runner's SE DVD off shelves:

You are a jerk. I've been waiting three years for a good Special Edition of Blade Runner and it's thanks to you that Ridley Scott can't put it out on shelves. I was reading earlier this week that Ridley has even cut a new version of the movie and had planned on including the theatrical version on the DVD with the new version. This makes the long wait even worse, since Blade Runner happens to be one of my favorite movies. Its perfect mix of film noir and sci-fi is something that no other film shares. Now stop being a jerk and let them release this DVD so that I can spend my money. Thanks.

A tribute to my childhood

2005-09-05T17:41:00.000-03:00

I'll let the pics speak for themselves. It's in two parts because stupid blogger wouldn't let me post more than 5 pics at a time.

A tribute to my childhood. cont.

2005-09-05T16:44:00.000-03:00

Random thoughts.

2005-09-03T16:33:00.000-03:00

A lot of things on my mind lately, so I'll just dump them here.

1. I'm kinda depressed after watching the news all day yesterday and seeing what's going on in New Orleans. I'm losing even more respect for the Bush Administration. I'm also disgusted with "Christians" saying how this is vengeance from God for homosexuality and other sins that had taken over the city. Idiots...

2. The Constant Gardener is yet another critically acclaimed movie that looks really good but has a bunch of sexual content and nudity. I'd like to thank directors for putting garbage in their movies. I just love how you get me all excited about your upcoming movies only to have me find out that I can't watch it due to content. *end sarcasm*

3. It looks like I'm definitely selling my car. My father has it sitting at the bottom of the driveway with a "for sale" sign in it, so if it sells I'm gonna have to share the truck and van with my parents. Should be interesting.

4. I already told a couple of people, but I'm switching doctors. McLaughlin doesn't know crap about my condition and is taking forever setting up tests, so I'm switching back to my old doctor, Dr. Goodine. She promised that she would do her best to get things done to help me, so I guess it's worth a try.

5. In anticipation for the new Castlevania game coming out, I've dug out my copy of Symphony of the Night. It's amazing how addictive this game is even after playing through it 10+ times. I'd even say it gets better with age.

6. I'm disgusted with myself for buying Nintendogs. After playing it for 30 minutes I came to the conclusion that I hate it. I should've known better than to try something that has no purpose or goal. Looks like I'll just have to trade it in and lose $20.

My thoughts on the Star Wars movies

2005-09-02T10:23:00.000-03:00

Nothing interesting has happened this week, so I figured I'd make a post about my thoughts on each of the Star Wars films. I'll go in order of release, rather than start with the prequels.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - Still a great movie that hasn't aged too badly. The first half of the movie is a little on the slow side, but I still love the characters, story and music. I could do without the crap that Lucas put into the Special Edition, but I can put up with it. And the death star battle will always rock my socks off. Final Score - 9/10

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - By far the best in the series. Empire will NEVER get old. The Hoth battle frickin' rocks, the asteroid chase is one of my favorite moments from any movie, and the Cloud City scenes give me chills! I even enjoy the Dagobah training scenes. I also thought this one had the best moments between Han and Leia. I love all the snappy remarks they give each other. I will love this movie till the day I die. Final Score - 10/10

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - My least favorite of the original trilogy, Jedi has too much of George Lucas' goofy side in it for me to truly love. I find that the Tattoine stuff is a little slow and the Ewoks are just too goofy for me to like. The only things that I still love are the speeder bike chase, battle over the sarlac (sp?) pit, the battle of Endor, and the chase through the Death Star. Final Score - 8/10

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - A steaming pile of crap. The only thing keeping me from giving this a lower score is the awesome duel between the two jedi and Darth Maul, and even that is ruined by other scenes cutting in. I suppose it's not too bad at the first before they go to the planet as well, but that's not saying much since it's only about 10 minutes. Jar Jar sucks, Jake Lloyd sucks, the writing sucks, and pretty much everything else sucks too. Final Score - 3/10

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Not quite as bad as TPM, but still far from being good. While I enjoyed most of the action scenes (the factory scene sucked though), the rest of the movie was horrible. Most notable was the horrible dialogue between Anakin and Padme. "I hate sand"? What kind of crap is that? This movie confirms that George Lucas is over-rated and can't write a script worth crap. Final Score - 5/10

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - I've only seen this once and the experience was ruined by the sound being warbled for the first 40 minutes, so I can't make a good judgement on the movie yet. I did like it better than the two previous films(which isn't saying a lot), but I still thought the dialogue was horrible and I hated the reasons for Anakin's turn to the dark side. I also hated what they did to the usual awesome James Earl Jones. Screaming "NO" was beyond cheesy. However, I loved all the fight and action scenes and Ewan McGregor WAS a younger Alec Guinness. Temperary Score - 7/10

Doug's fall movie schedule

2005-08-30T23:04:00.000-03:00

I just finished making my list of movies that I plan to see this fall. I thought I'd put them here to maybe stur up some interest in these movies with the few people who read my blog. I'll probably be stuck going to see them on my own, but I might ask some of my friends if they want to go, and if anyone is interested in these movies, then by all means, let me know if you'd like to go. Not sure if any of this makes sense, but anyways, here are the movies I'm looking forward to seeing. I'll probably stop posting for the rest of the week unless something really dramatic takes place. Oh, and I should also say that I might change my mind on some of these depending on content and reviews.

An Unfinished Life - September 8 - Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, and Jennifer Lopez - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/an_unfinished_life.html

Lord of War - September 16 - Nicolas Cage - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/lord_of_war/

Proof - September 16 - Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaul, Anthony Hopkins - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/proof.html

Everything Is Illuminated - September 16(limited release) - Elijah Wood - Trailer:
http://wip.warnerbros.com/everythingisilluminated/

The Corpse Bride - September 23 - Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/corpse_bride/

Flight Plan - September 23 - Jodie Foster - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/flightplan/trailer_3/

Oliver Twist - September 30 - Ben Kingsley - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/oliver_twist/

Elizabethtown - October 14 - Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/elizabethtown/

Jarhead - November 4 - Jake Gyllenhaul, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/jarhead/

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - November 18 - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harry_potter/thegobletoffire/

Pride and Prejudice - November 18 - Kiera Knightley - http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/pride_and_prejudice.html

Aeon Flux - December 2 - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/aeon_flux/

Chronicles of Narnia - December 9 - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/thechroniclesofnarnia/

Memoirs of a Geisha - December 9 - http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/geisha/

King Kong - December 14 - Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody - Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/king_kong/

Time for another freebie.

2005-08-29T17:36:00.000-03:00

I found something else that I have no need for so I figured I'd give that away as well. It's The Iron Giant on VHS. It's a great film, but I now have it on DVD so I have no reason to keep the old crappy tape (VHS sucks!). Anyone who wants it can just let me know and it's theirs.

I promised that I would update and share my experiences from the flea market so I guess I'll do that now. There really isn't much to say about that since I pretty much just went down, set up a table, and sat there for three hours. If it hadn't been for another game obsessed vendor I wouldn't have sold hardly a thing. He ended up buying most of the games I had with me and I took in about $300 from him alone. Not as good as I was hoping, but still not bad in the end. I guess I'll put the rest of my stuff up on ebay and hope it sells. Anyways, I'm now down to 140 some games in my collection. That's approximately 70 of my games gone from my collection.

I got a new puppy!

2005-08-28T21:42:00.000-03:00

OK, I'm still not sure what to think of this whole ordeal, but I guess I'll just explain it all. Nintendo has made a new "game" called Nintendogs where all you do is raise and train a puppy. All you do is pet and play with the puppy, teach it tricks, walk it, and enter it in various tournaments. The "game" is something that I haven't been interested in ever since it was first announced, and even after it got "perfect" scores from Japanese magazines and went on to sell 40 million copies (crazy Japanese!), I still thought the whole thing was stupid. Well, after seeing all my online friends down in the U.S. buying the game, I decided to pick it up myself. After all, if Rob (who has been against the game from the start like myself) can get into the game and have a good time than surely I should be able to like it.

Well, after buying it and spending some time with it I'm unsure what I should think. I had no idea that it would require speaking out loud into the mic to the puppy on such a regular basis. This is definitely not a game that I can play anywhere in public without either looking incredibly stupid, or really gay. I showed it to and told a few friends and the general response was "are you retarded?" Making it even more clear that I probably won't be able to take it out of the house. I guess I shouldn't have bought into the idea that people would think it'd be cool and cute. At least not in a craphole like Woodstock where you have to either be into hick activities or drinking beer every weekend. I might still show it to a few friends. Maybe I'll have better luck showing it off to girls without getting crazy glares and looks.

Anyways, here are some pics of the game. I would do some pics of my new puppy Shadow (named after a video game character of course) but I don't have a digital camera. He's a yellow lab, and so far I've taught him to sit, lie down, play dead, and sneeze on command. I'm slowly getting used to feeding, walking, and training him and have yet to enter him in any competitions (I need to win some cash!). Depending on the responses I get to this post I may keep updating on Shadow's progress. So what does everyone think? Am I ruining what little manliness I formerly displayed? Or is this thing awesome and cute? Let me know. Just don't start calling me gay.

Oh, and for the record I'm not too worried what other people think (at least I'm telling myself that I'm not). Hey, it got rave reviews and is from Nintendo! There are some people out there who respect that.

List time!

2005-08-27T19:23:00.000-03:00

Well, I got bored today so I went and made a list. Something I do all the time whenever I'm bored. I don't really know why making lists of things is so enjoyable, but if it keeps me from getting bored than I guess it's alright. Today's list is a list of all my favorite actors (and actresses) and the movies that I loved them in. I'm going by performances, so just because I list a movie doesn't mean I enjoyed or recommend the movie itself. It just means their performance in that movie was frickin' awesome and blew me away. Anyways, here's the list. Whether people find it interesting or not is another thing.

Actors:

Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Al Pacino - Heat, The Godfather, The Insider
Alec Guinness - Bridge on the River Kwai, Star Wars
Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
Ben Kingsley - Schindler's List
Ben Stiller - The Royal Tenenbaums, Meet the Parents
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation, Rushmore, Groundhog Day, The Life Aquatic
Billy Bob Thornton - Sling Blade, The Man Who Wasn't There, A Simple Plan
Bruce Campbell - Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Bubba Ho Tep
Christian Bale - The Machinist
Christopher Walken - Pulp Fiction
Clint Eastwood - The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Unforgiven
Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda
Donald O' Connor - Singin' in the Rain
Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
Elijah Wood - Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ewan McGregor - Big Fish, Moulin Rouge!
F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus
Freddy Highmore - Finding Neverland
Gene Hackman - The Royal Tenenbaums, Unforgiven, The French Connection
Gene Kelly - Singin' in the Rain
Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird
Harrison Ford - Blade Runner, Witness
Hugh Grant - About a Boy, Sense and Sensibility
Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen
Jack Nicholson - Batman, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, About Schmidt, Chinatown
Jamie Foxx - Collateral, Ray
Jean Reno - Leon: The Professional, Ronin
Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show
Jimmy Stewart - Vertigo, It's a Wonderful Life, Rear Window
John Travolta - Pulp Fiction
Johnny Depp - Edward Scissorhands, Finding Neverland, Pirates of the Caribbean
Kevin Bacon - Mystic River
Kevin Costner - Dances With Wolves
Leonardo Di Caprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Aviator
Liam Neeson - Schindler's List
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront, The Godfather
Morgan Freeman - Unforgiven, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Million Dollar Baby, Glory, Driving Miss Daisy
Paul Giamatti - American Splendor
Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove
Ralph Fiennes - Schindler's List, Quiz Show
Robert De Niro - Heat, Ronin, The Godfather Part 2
Robert Redford - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Roberto Benigni - Life is Beautiful
Russell Crowe - The Insider, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind
Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable
Sean Aston - Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Steve Buscemi - Fargo, Big Fish, Ghost World
Sylvester Stallone - Rocky
Tim Robbins - The Shawshank Redemption, Mystic River, Arlington Road
Tom Cruise - Rain Man, Minority Report, The Last Samurai, Collateral
Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, Road to Perdition, Sleepless in Seattle
Toshiro Mifune - Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Yojimbo, The Hidden Fortress

Actresses

Bryce Dallas Howard - The Village
Cate Blanchett - The Aviator, The Life Aquatic
Emma Thompson - Sense and Sensibility
Eva Marie Saint - On the Waterfront
Frances McDormand - Fargo, Almost Famous
Gwyneth Paltrow - The Royal Tenenbaums
Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby
Ingrid Bergman - Casablanca
Jennifer Connelly - A Beautiful Mind
Joan Fontane - Rebecca
Jodie Foster - Silence of the Lambs
Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music
Kate Hudson - Almost Famous
Kate Winslet - Finding Neverland, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sense and Sensibility
Keisha Castle Hughes - Whale Rider
Natalie Portman - Heat, The Professional
Scarlett Johansson - Lost in Translation
Sigourney Weaver - Alien, Aliens

I must be crazy.

2005-08-26T17:29:00.000-03:00

If anyone ever told me that I would someday sell off most of my games, I would've told them they were crazy. I would never sell my precious games! Well, after giving it much thought over the last week or two, I've decided that I am going to do just that. Oh, I'm going to keep a lot of them. No way would I part with Final Fantasy III or Castlevania: SotN, but I feel that I might have too many games to have a reasonable time to play through them all every so often. Also, I feel that I put a little too much time and energy into games when I could try to focus on other things. Not that games are a bad thing. I could just do better going to church on Wednesday nights again, or spending more time doing devotions or hanging out with friends. So I've made the decision and I'm going to look into going to the flea market in Fredericton and setting up a table with approximately 100 of my games. Here's hoping that this decision doesn't destroy me later on.

*EDIT* Just reached the person in charge of the flea market and I reserved a table for Sunday morning. Looks like this is a go. I'll probably post on Monday morning and say how it went.

Fun times at Caton's Island.

2005-08-24T20:34:00.000-03:00

Well, awhile ago I got home from a very long trip to Caton's Island with Neil. I guess I'll share the day's events here on my blog even if people aren't too interested. That's what blogs are about, right? Well, it started with me getting up at six' o'clock. I'm not exactly used to getting up early, since I'm used to sleeping in till at least 10 am, so I wasn't exactly too thrilled when the alarm started to ring. But I got up and made it to Neil's by 6:30. We had a great time chatting on the drive and reached the island at 9:00. Neil then did his seminar (one of two reasons for the trip) and the kids seemed to listen and enjoy it well enough. After the seminar we mainly just hung out around the dining hall and got to chat with a few of the kids from our church. Fitz showed up eventually and I rasied the roof for him. Great fun as always. We then stayed for lunch and Katie and some other woman who knew Neil chatted with us over an hour or so. Well, mostly chatted with Neil I guess. I didn't really have much to say. After lunch we headed back to the car and made our way to Beulah.

When we reached Beulah Neil dropped me off at the cottage and left for some important meeting. I won't comment too much on what I did since it was pretty boring. Mostly just laid around since I was so tired. After an hour or so Neil showed up again and we headed back home. When we reached Fredericton we went to the Regent Mall and I speed walked (as always) around the mall to see if I could sell some games and get the Arrested Development DVD set within 30 minutes time. No dice however, since I had forgotten that Electronics Boutique doesn't give cash for used games and I was otherwise broke. It didn't matter to much anyways since all the stores at the mall had sold out of the DVD. So I headed back to where I was to meet Neil and called Greg while waiting. He reminded me that I had a credit card with which I could purchase DVDs (stupid me!), so when Neil got back he took me to the Fredericton Mall, and after some more vigorous walking I managed to find a copy of the DVD and purchased it. Now I can force feed AD down people's throats until they appreciate it as much as I do! OK, I'm just kidding (or am I?!). After this triumphant moment we headed home and there's really nothing else to add. Overall a fun day and worth getting up early just to see Fitz, chat with Neil and get my DVD. Hope you enjoyed this (probably) boring account.

Also of note, I've finally figured out how to do links, so I've put up some links to my collections, the forums I frequent, and to my friends blogs. If anyone feels that they are missed in my links, then let me know and I'll add your blog to the list of links. I was too lazy to think of any more. Oh, and feel free to give me suggestions and comments on my own blog. Thanks.

To all spammers:

2005-08-23T09:59:00.000-03:00

Please get the heck out of my blog. Unless you have something relevant to say regarding one of my posts or to a comment made about one of my posts, then just go away. I'm not interested in the crap that you're offering, so please leave. k. thnx.

Just had a great weekend/Elizabethtown is only PG13!!

2005-08-22T09:41:00.000-03:00

Well, I just had one of the funnest weekends that I've had all summer. It started with watched four episodes of Arrested Development with my family on Friday night, then on Saturday my parents took off for Sussex, so I had the entire day to myself. I went to Jody's at 1:30 and we went to see Red Eye, which was entertaining enough, and had a good ending despite what Jody says. Then Jody and I went back to his house and we ended up watching About a Boy with Jess, who had just gotten home a few minutes after us. I'm not sure how much they enjoyed it, but I still liked the film as much as I did the first time I saw it. I ended off the day by going home and cleaning up and chatting on msn(as usual).

Sunday morning I went to church, then I went to Pizza Hut with J-Ro, Jody, Jess, Gemma, Derrek, and Becky. The salad I had was the only thing I saw on the menu that was flour-less, and it was pretty good. I still can't believe it was only my second time eating at the Woodstock Pizza Hut. After lunch everyone went to see Red Eye. I wasn't too excited about seeing the same movie twice in two days, but after thinking about it I decided that I'd be better off staying with everyone in case I couldn't find them afterwords, and I ended up having fun goofing off before the movie and making fun of the crappy sound quality. Next we just hanged out at Jody's for awhile before church, and after church we hanged out again at J-Ro's, where we ended up watching Shaun of the Dead. Not really my kind of movie, but it was entertaining I suppose. And that just about sums up my weekend. So like I said, it was a lot of fun, and I'm glad that I got to spend a lot of it with Jody before he leaves town this week. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me and taking my mind off the crap that's going on in my life right now.

Now for the second part of my post title (Yeah, I know this is a huge post). A few days ago I was looking through upcoming movies that I'll be going to see, and was surprised to find out that Elizabethtown was only getting a PG-13. I was totally expecting an R, since the director (Cameron Crowe) has always gotten R ratings on his films. I must say that I'm happy his new film is toned down and I hope it still isn't loaded with cursing or anything. The trailers for the film look amazing and I can't wait to see it if it comes to Woodstock (it'd better!). Now hopefully I'll be able to convince someone to go with me. I'll probably be stuck going on my own to all these fall movies.

Anyone want a free Our Lady Peace cd?

2005-08-19T16:38:00.000-03:00

I was just sorting through my small collection of cds, and discovered that I have two copies of Our Lady Peace's Clumsy album. I really have no need for two copies, so I think I'll give it away to the first person to comment and say they'd like it. As long as you live in the Woodstock/Hartland area (I might consider Fredericton too) and I know who you are then I'll give it to you whenever possible. The CD has some scratches on it, but should work fine. It's free, so who's going to complain?

Arrested Development owns my face with its awesomeness.

2005-08-19T10:21:00.000-03:00

Since I recently finished watching all the episodes of Lost, I figured I'd move on to another show that got lots of critical acclaim. I saw a few episodes from the last season, but Global was skipping episodes and its really a show that you have to watch on a regular basis in order to understand the goings on of the characters. So far I've watched the first two episodes from the first season, and wow! I've been blown away. This is definitely the funniest show that I've ever seen in my life. I can't remember laughing this much. The characters are all so well acted and you don't have any idea what crazy things they're going to do next. That's what makes the show so good. Amazing writing, and an excellent cast. Finally, I'll give a little warning to everyone who knows me. This show is the new thing that I'm going to be shamelessly promoting. So if you haven't seen it before, get ready for me to insist on you watching it. Especially after I get the DVD sets.

Something else that I've been thinking about lately is how I feel that this summer has been a real transition period for me. I seem to be losing a lot of interest in my favorite hobby (games) and I feel a need to change some things in my life. First, I feel that I need to stop being so obsessed with games (I'm definitely doing better in that area already). I never thought the day would come when I would say this, but I'm seriously thinking about selling some of my rare and treasured games. Being broke helped me come to this conclusion, but I also feel that the games take me away from time better spent doing devotions or spending time with friends. Not that I'm going to quit games altogether. I'm just going to try to spend more time doing other things. Which brings me to the second thing that I'm trying to change in my life. I feel that I need to make more friends and develop interests that are easier to discuss with them. Since Jody and Mike are both leaving very soon I could very possibly have nobody to do things with for the fall, so I'm going to really make an effort to put away my shyness and try talking to new people more often. It'll be hard, but I'm going to do my best. Anyways, I guess that's enough talk for now. Anyone who's reading this can feel free to comment.

What happened to Our Lady Peace?

2005-08-18T09:58:00.000-03:00

I just downloaded their new single and I think it sucks. Now I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I thought their last album was a big step back. It just felt so mainstream compared to their first three albums. Listening to Gravity I couldn't help but notice it sounded more like music from artists like Nickelback or Creed. I guess the biggest problem is I don't like their new guitarist. Their first two albums were so great because they had a unique sound that makes them different from other bands. Quite similar to why I love The Smashing Pumpkins. Oh well, I'll just have to keep listening to Naveed and Clumsy and pretend that their new albums don't exist.

I can't wait for youth to get started!

2005-08-17T16:21:00.000-03:00

Well, I was talking with Pastor Brett this morning and it seems that they're having a meeting about youth next week. I'm really excited about youth starting again this fall and I can't wait to see all the teens again. It should also be interesting to see which youth leaders stay on to help, since we've already lost Simon and Jody(and I doubt Neil will be helping either). Hopefully Glen, Jenn,and Pam are still around this year.

I do have one big concern though. I just don't know if I'll be able to keep helping out each week if my health doesn't improve (it's been gradually getting worse over the summer). The doctors don't seem to know what's going on so the only thing I can do is pray that I'll either get over whatever is ailing me. I really don't want to give up going to youth because it's been a great privelage over the last two years and I feel that I want to keep helping out with the teens. There are just so many who are struggling and I feel that helping them also helps me to grow spiritually. And then I'm sure Nick (aka: Doug's shadow) would stop coming if I wasn't at youth each week. Anyways, I'll just have to go to the meeting, talk things over with Brett and see how I do physically in the next few weeks.

J-Ro and Jody officially suck.

2005-08-16T23:08:00.000-03:00

Seriously. I start up a blog and soon afterwords you guys tell me that blogs are gay and I also find out that you're both losing interest in them (quitting for good in Jody's case). I expect both of you to get back into it so that I will feel inspired to get into my own blog.

Anyways, I just watched Canadian Idol and was surprised to see that Casey actually did a good job for a change. Not that she sucked or anything before. She just didn't wow me. If she keeps singing like she did tonight then I won't complain if she wins it all. Although I'll admit that I'm disappointed to see Daryll gone.

About myself and why I'm blogging.

2005-08-16T09:51:00.000-03:00

Greetings everyone! I've been so bored over the summer that I finally gave in and decided to start a blog. I've always thought they were rather lame (nothing against everyone else doing it, just didn't appeal to me) but since I've lost interest in games lately I decided it might keep me from getting bored.

For my first post I'm just going to post some random crap about myself and my tastes. If nobody cares then I'll probably just stop everything, so this is pretty much a test to see how much interest there is. If people seem interested I'll try to keep it up.

Name: Doug Dickinson
Also known as: Dougie, Douglas, keenad, the world leader
Born in: Woodstock, New Brunswick
Favorite hobbies: Video Games, Movies
Favorite food: Baked Potatoes
Favorite meal: Turkey Dinner (Turkey, Potatoes, Carrots, and Dressing all covered in gravy)
Favorite color: Light Blue
Favorite car: Honda Prelude (a sports car that isn't insanely expensive)

Became a Christain: When I was 5, but it didn't really mean much to me until I was in my late teens.

Favorite movie genres: Drama, Spaghetti Western, Thriller, Mystery, Film Noir, Samurai, Action, Romance, Animated, and the occasional sci-fi and comedy.

Favorite music genres: Classical, Movie/Game orchestrated scores, Grunge Rock.

Favorite game genres: Role Playing, Adventure, Action, 2D Platformer

Underrated food: Spinach. It's not that bad.

Favorite pet: Gamer. Never had a cat who would play in the snow with me or come running to me whenever called. Gamer was the only one who ever did stuff like that.

Pet Peeves: Having to shave every day, artsy films always having crap in them, my lack of self discipline, people getting into arguments instead of trying to work things out, the rush of good games coming out in the fall.

I desperately need: more friends in Woodstock who are closer to my age (21-26). Especially with Jody and Mike leaving in the next few weeks.

Favorite quote: "No man is free if he fears death, but the minute you conquer the fear of death, at that moment you are free...I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." - Martin Luther King

Most hated quote: "You don't watch the Simpsons?!" - Nearly everyone I know

Thing I can't get over: The fact that I can't remember the last time I bought something that wasn't related to games, movies, or music.

Humerous memory: Raising the roof in the middle of a flock of geese and then being chased by them all. It was scary at the time!

Grew up on: watching He-Man

Sad but true: Took me four years of playing Castlevania: SotN to realize that Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards.

Favorite actors: Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, Johnny Depp

Favorite actresses: Scarlett Johansson, Emma Thompson, Jodie Foster

Favorite movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Monty Python, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, Casablanca, Almost Famous, Spirited Away, Rushmore, Groundhog Day, On the Waterfront, Singing in the Rain

Favorite TV shows: Lost, Seinfeld, Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, I hope Darrek reads this so I can tell him that Survivor sucks.

Favorite books: Harry Potter series, The Wheel of Time series, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, She Said Yes, The Zion Chronicles/Covenant series (series of Christian books based on fiction and fact with lots of intense WW2 drama and romance)

Favorite Albums: Our Lady Peace - Clumsy, Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill, Sloan - Greatest Hits, Matthew Good Band - Underdogs, The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream, Chantal Kreviazuk - Under These Rocks and Stones, Savage Garden - Self Titled album.

Favorite Soundtracks: The Lion King, Gladiator, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Schindler's List, The Empire Strikes Back, The Cider House Rules, Final Fantasy VI, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, any score from a Miyazaki film.

Favorite composers: Mozart, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Rachel Portman, James Horner, Joe Haisashi, Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu.

Favorite Games: Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Radiant Silvergun, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Dragon Force, Final Fantasy IX, Metal Gear Solid, Sonic 2.

It took me forever to type all this crap out. I'm losing interest already.