Set Your Phasers On... BluRay?

Some geek out there found a way to combine his love of the BluRay-firing PS3 with his love of Star Trek. Watch the video on this blog page to see how easy it is to field-strip a PS3 and a toy Phaser (vintage 2260s). Pretty. Someone finally found a use for a PS3. Even the Borg didn't have a blue eye laser, all they had were the red ones. Does this mean the Borg found BluRay to be inferior? Hmmmm. And speaking of weird Star Trek mixes, Winona Ryder has been cast as Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson (is this Dick Grayson's great grand daughter?).

It's Friday once again, and after staying late at work, I rushed to my comicbook shop to try to get n a sealed, draft game of Lorwyn, Magic's newest expansion. Sadly, like last week, no one showed up on this rainy, crappy evening. I chatted with the owner and bought some Iron Man comics, boosters of the new 10th Edition Magic Core Set, another pack of Halo figures. Visiting old friend EmpTas this weekend, maybe we can playtest said Halo game. We had a discussion about the Warhammer 40K RPG, since he hadn't heard of it. So for any doubters here's the homepage of the 40K RPG do out in 2008. Also in the near future is the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons guides, which I will be picking up for old times sake. I don't have time to play D&D, but I just love the book design.

Another RPG of the time I used to play was the West End Game's Star Wars RPG. At the time of the late 80's to early 90's it was so important to the Star Wars landscape of storytelling, the expansions sets themselves became the background material for many early Expanded Universe authors, like Timothy Zahn. Since then Wizards Of The Coast (WOTC) has developed their own and a new tech/resource manual for Starships is due out in December. I'm a sucker for books about Starships. WOTC is also releasing a new campaign only available online, called Dawn Of Defieance. Their idea is to give out 10 different adventures for players that create a larger story, set between Episode III and Star Wars, and to progress your characters from Level 1 to 20. I think the resources that the internet brings to paper & dice RPGs is impressive, and I just wish in my youth we had such connections available. And, once again, with a new Star Wars video game on the horizon, figures for the collectible game are being developed, with a release date of November 16 for the Force Unleashed.

Now that I've finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2 I'm cast adrift in the plot. I have no idea when the next one comes out. All I have is the pending rescue of Judith from the Combine. I've come too far in this world not to be caught in the drama of the characters. Even Alyx's pet robot Dog is a great character (see picture above). He reminds me of Bumblebee. The only recourse until the next Episode is the RTS in development. Already a couple boards are available for download, but I'll wait for a console version. I've never been a fan of Real Time Strategy, being a Turn-Based fan from my Final Fantasy days. Starcraft has been the closest PC game to get me interested, but one day I'll take a gander and learn why they are so popular. Hopefully that game will be the Half-Life RTS. BTW, i just couldn't stay away from Halo 3 and I've been itching to beat Legendary. I encountered my Chokepoint pretty early on the 2nd level and it took me an hour (and much swearing) to clear it. I like the fact the AI adapts to strategies, so you need to be on your toes. 2 levels down 7 more to go. Ugh. Still working on Ace Combat 6. See you next broadcast.

WARNING! Difficulty Level May Block Game Play

The Chokepoint. Almost every game I've played has one. It can be at the beginning, like Driver, or at the end, like Metroid Prime. Heck, Viewtiful Joe is one long chokepoint. If a game lacks one I feel cheated. The game was too easy. But when I encounter one, I curse the game's creator to the 12 trials of Hercules (or at least great bodily harm). How dare he/she put me through this crap, I'm just trying to have fun here. The severity of the chokepoint is directly proportional to the amount yelling I do. I try to control myself, but somehow I firmly believe that my anger, my brief journey to the Dark Side, gives me strength to persevere. That, and what prize is on the other side. For, truly, the chokepoint is an obstacle to a greater goal; getting the next super-weapon, saving another princess, collecting a star/coin/triforce/bunny, finishing the game. And by chokepoint (CP), I mean an area or puzzle that just defies difficulty. Suddenly every Nazi on the planet knows you're hiding in that forest and shoot every square pixel of your body, exposed or not. I've seen some puzzles that require a Nobel Prize in physics, not to mention a new kind of calculus, to solve. I then ask myself, when I've calmed down with a beer, is this game worth it? I may blow the next hour trying desperately to memorize every move (ie Dragon's Lair) for a better suit of armor or a guardian fairy. Most of the time you have to beat the CP to continue, so if the game has been fun, most likely I'll continue, but if not, I'll loose interest immediately. Thanks to Achievements and Gamescore, if I get through a CP I'll get more points.

I am not unique in this, and I'm also a hypocrite. I need CPs but I hate them, because I feel cheated without them. They are like the green veggies of video gaming. However, a game needs to balance this. If passing through a CP gets me more of the same, I'm just grinding my enjoyment to a bloody, hatefilled, pulp. Another thing to consider is if there is a save point nearby or did you have to play a marathon before the CP, therefore negating all sorts of play time if you fail. This probably goes for everyone who plays, is this game worth the crap I'm about to go through. Half-Life 2 is definately that game, as are Halo, Call Of Duty, Medal Of Honor (usually) and Gears Of War. Where I have had trouble is with Fighting Games. Once you face the "Boss" in Dead Or Alive I can say I completed it. But there are all sorts of Achievements that require me to defeat the "Boss" with everyone multiple times. That's a CP I have to face 30 times. Not worth it. Fighting games are a different style of play, and I tend to prefer to play against real people, anyway. Chokepoints, you can't live with them, but you can usually shoot the hell out of everything in sight and move on to the next one. I hate Chokepoints. Apparently I'm a virtual masochist.

Digging around on the Internetwebs today I came across some interesting tidbits. Since I've been analyzing the issues of the PS3, I was interested to read about the console sales figures in September. Everyone else is selling almost 4 to 5 times as many units as the PS3 is able to sell. The Nintendo DS totally outsold PS3, not to mention PS2 and the PSP.

I miss Judgment Day on G4TV, and Tommy Tallarico's critical wit as he steered us clear of trivial nonsense and showed us a truer path to gaming goodness. He's no longer on TV but I found the next best thing. Yahtzee/Zero Punctuation game reviews by web video at this site, where he reviews MOH Airborne. He seems to hate everything, and half the time I can't really argue with him. Bloody brilliant.

Halo 3 and I are breaking up for a while, have gained everything I can out of her multiplayer experience. I've gone about as far as I can with her, and I see no reason to waste more time trying to gain rank and not Gamescore. I'm a Gamescore Whore after all and I can't be tied down to one game for too long. Wow, that got weird for a second. Anyway, someone else began to have the similar problems with online play and wrote this article on suicide bombers in Halo. I have a life, too, really.

The SR-71 Blackbird is the proof of concept that engineers are the coolest geeks on the planet, and not just because my grandpa used to work with them. The reason this aircraft's top speed is classified is that it was never found. Everytime the Russians flew something faster, we just stepped on the peddle a little harder. The design was ahead of its time and now its been retired. So, once again the name has surfaced, this time controlled by Voodoo. The Voodoo Blackbird is quite possibly the most advanced gaming computer built to date. And it plays the latest Graphic-Crunching, Physics-Bending, Frame-Frate hogging game, Crysis, with ease. And, of course, being the gamer I am, I want Crysis, but I basically have to buy a $5,500 Voodoo Blackbird console for a $50 game. Or wait five years and home computers will be just as good, with Windows Vista XP 2K10 Pro or some such and 5 TB RAID harddrives to match 60 GB of MagnoNeuroRAM. If you pre-order Crysis before next week, at a Gamestop, you can get a nifty toy tank thing that reminds me of the APC from Aliens. See you next broadcast.

By Grabthar's Warhammer 40K... By The Sons of Warcraft...

Today is payday, and it being a Friday, the day is never complete without a shopping trip. I received an Email coupon for Barnes & Noble and headed over there at lunch. Of late, I realise I know nothing of the World Of Warcraft (WOW) other than the RTS PC gaming origin and the CCG starter I bought (and still haven't openned). In the sci-fi section I found an Atlas to Warcraft and a comic (produced by Tokyopop). Maybe this mild immersion into the field will prepare me for the day I eventually go online.

After work I headed to my local comic nirvana, Clockwork Comics, and hoped to get in a sealed, draft game of the Magic set, Lorwyn. Several new game mechanics have been introduced in the many years since I played regularly, so I tapped (pardon the pun) the owners mind for all the hidden meaning behind Plainswalkers, Haste, Flash, Tribal, Bushido, Changeling, Clashing, Hideaway, Vigilance, Champion, and Evoke. I miss the Star Wars CCG. I eagerly absorbed the new knowledge, but, alas, no one showed to play. So the owner introduced me to Warhammer 40K. I've heard of it, I've even seen people play, but up close and personal with the rules and figures and sets and dice (not to mention the substantial dollar value) the game is quite daunting. It appears to be an analogue (ie not a video game) offshoot of Warcraft. A turn-based strategy game with intricate pieces (from soldier to vehicle to mech to factory) to be layed out on a board that would make most HO model train enthusiasts jealous. You roll special dice and have special measurement markers for a blast radius or a flame thrower. No grids are used just a model battle field (scale 1:65) and measuring tape. It sounds clunky but after seeing a little bit of it I came to the conclusion it allows for much more freedom than some of the more restrictive "grid games", like the HeroClix series, Mage Knight, or even Star Wars. A new set called "Apocalypse" was just released with some of the largest vehicles seen yet, as well as expanded play for even larger armies. If I undertood this more I would have had an orgasm. As it is, Warhammer represents a geek passion I'm not familiar with. I should also note that collectors put great care towards the painting of the figures (which are silver but come with paint). An RPG is planned for 2008 and I'm interested to see if the two (2) games can be played side to side.

While I was waiting for a game of Magic that never happened I finally found the Star Wars constructible strategy game (as opposed to the Star Wars Starship collectible miniatures game), and much like the "Pirate Ship" game, half the fun is building a Star Wars ship. In my one pack I managed the rare Tantive IV and the common Droid Tri-Fighter (2 of 'em) and an ARC fighter. The printing on the punch-out sheets is excellent but having large fingers is a disadvantage here. These pieces will break if they don't go together perfectly. I'll have to see the game in action though to give it my full praise or not. When you leave me in a comicbook store long enough I start buying comics. Today was no exception so I bought the latest Superman, Batman, Superman & Batman together, Flash, Justice League, Green Lantern, and Spawn issues. A new Star Trek comic is being made called Year Four so I snatched that up, and Frank Miller is even doing an All Star Batman & Robin I had to grab. Tonight I will forgo the 360 for the large bounty of comics I acquired. Today I came across this site which details the current state of Comicbook Movies. I'm looking forward to the Green Lantern movie, featuring Hal Jordon. I've been waiting for this since high-school. When the Grayson preview hit the internet I was psyched when I saw GL, and now we're getting a movie.

On a side note; as I write this Stargate Atlantis is on. The store owner recommended this program tonight, so I'm giving it a try. Two (2) things have jumped out at me, so far. The character Dr. Keller is played by Jewel Staite, Kaylee from Firefly. It's good to see this actress still running around in Sci-Fi. The other thing I noticed is the name of the episode: Tabula Rasa. The phrase can be interpreted as "blank slate." This happens to be the name of a new PC game, produced by the gaming guru/development giant Richard "Lord British" Garriott, that comes out today. A strange coincidence. While perusing gametrailers.com I came across this little video showing off the promise of Sony's PlayStation Eye Of Sauron. This just goes to show I'm a sucker for a preview with Epic Music. If Ishtar were redone with the music from LOTR I would totally go see it.

That's it for now, hopeful next time I broadcast I will have defeated Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (HL2-E2). HL2-E3 better come out soon, unless of course it sucks right now, then Valve should take all the time they need. I'll need a breather after this season's rush of games. I'll hold off on GH3 until I see EmpTass play it like Slash.

Crouching Human, Hidden Geek

Not since Betamax and VHS have we had to suffer through a format war. If you are a gamer, this makes picking between Xbox 360 and PS3 that much harder. (Let's not even mention the Wii which can't even play DVDs.) Not only are trying to pick a system with better games you are trying to predict the future. If HD-DVD wins MicroSoft can call all the gaming shots and rule from the Death Star they plan to build from the desicated shells of PS3s, and profits from Xboxes. If BluRay can manage to win, backed by Disney and Steven Spielberg, Sony finally gets the glory they lost with Betamax. And, nothing happens to MicroSoft because the Xbox 360 still runs on DVDs, but the add-on HD player just becomes useless, except for the massive library of HD-DVDs people will buy anyway. Luckily I am not a Disney fan and all the movies I like will be on HD-DVD.

Things like the Remastered Star Trek TOS. November 20th, TOS season 1 will go on sale. Aaannnndddd, at the Virgin MegaStore in Times Square, the first 400 people to buy said 10-disc HD-DVD spectacular, for $217.99, will get a free Tribble and a poster. Okay that's not the story. The best part is the first 120 (of the original 400) get a free Toshiba HD-DVD valued at $299. (You also still get a Tribble and a Poster.) I don't see BlueRay doing any such thing. If BluRay fails does this mean the end of PlayStation line? Or will a PS4 still be in the works? Would there even be a point for another Xbox? Maybe as a "worst case scenario" for Sony they could team up with SEGA and have a joint console release, a SEGA reGenesis Station. Just a thought.

With the three (3) consoles out (four if you still count the PS2) to choose from each have the own benefits and defects. An astute writer has 27 ideas game companies could do to improve themselves and help the gaming comunity in general. The writer paints an ominous picture of gaming that is overkill in my book, but many good points are raised. I keep coming back to issues with the PS3. The PS2 was released before the Xbox and the Xbox turned out to be a technical marvel for gaming. This time around the PS3 came after the Xbox 360, and it is the technical wonder. You wouldn't recognize it, though, due to the lack of games. In Sony's defense, the PS2 took a little time to come into its own because developers didn't understand the architecture at first. The same thing is happening, now. MicroSoft built an easy system to program for (on DVD's 8.5 GB no less) and the PS3 seems practically inscrutible to all but Sony themselves, but only because it is so advanced developers haven't figured it out yet. Sony could meet them part way and help train them, then some one can come up with a game worthy of BluRay's 50 GB. That would be a game, like Grand Theft Auto IV should be. They have started a new advertising campaign, so maybe they are on their slow turn around, like the Titanic trying to avoid an iceberg.

I went to my local comicbook store, something everyone should do at least once a week. Indulge yourself, with a superhero comic or some cards. The current issues of Iron Man and Submariner as well as a one-shot X-Men title called "Messiah Complex" and a Marvel Mythos title for the Fantastic Four. The Marvel Mythos is interesting, as they take the origin stories of their Superhero titles and give them what looks like an airbrushed overhaul in the retelling. Very nice. I also picked up some Magic cards to see where we are today with series; a pack of Ninth Edition Core (white border), pack of Saviors Of Kamigawa (got a foil), and a starter of the newest series Lorwyn (sounds like a lost land of Middle Earth).

When ever you go to a comicbook store be sure to talk to the proprietor, they tend to be fountains of hidden wisdom, or at least "knows a friend" who "knows a friend" to get you the exact comicbook you need. The pearl of wisdom I gleaned today was, "if you're writing a blog, you're a geek." No doubt a facet of a larger truth. Issue 7 of Geek Monthly (yes, there is a magazine) has an interview with Masi Oka (Hiro of Heroes). In it he says, "A geek is someone who is passionate about something. It can be about anything. It can be about musicals. It can be about computers. It can be about our show. And you can be passionate about more than one thing. I would rather be passionate about something than apathetic about everything. To be Geek is to be human." My passion leads me to share with others the true nature of what makes a geek a geek. I wish to expand on Masi Oka's description to say that geeks are passionate in one or two or more areas of expertise, but that geeks also have some peripheral or tangential knowledge of things outside their realm. You may be obsessed with Musicals, but odds are you also know the names of the people who wrote and acted in the best broadway musicals, as well as a working grasp of Movie Musicals (and those that populate them), books about musicals (and histories of people involved), TV musicals, play an instrument, have a mathematical background, and (if a fan of video games) play musical games, or a music mixing program on a computer. Hypothetical of course.

This one goes out to EmpTass. The PSP will be getting the new Star Wars Force Unleashed game, too, with extra gameplay the console version doesn't have. Sweet. That's all I got tonight, except I heard there is a plan for a Castle Wolfenstein movie. Keep your wireless charged and standby for my next broadcast.

"Alien vs. Predator" or "Fans vs. Brothers Strause"

Alien vs. Predator has no doubt left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. I applaud (more a golf clap) their attempted continuity between the two (2) franchises, but I thought this was already accomplished in Predator 2 when a shot of the Pred's trophy case included a Xenomorph head. It was nice to see the A's and P's at work again, too bad they didn't do anything entertaining. I still blame this in large part to the PG-13 rating, just to make it appeal to an age group that wasn't alive yet to see any of the prequels, save Resurrection, in theaters. I still hold out hope for another good A or P movie again, so AvP-R looks like my next chance. Since it's rated R that solved one of my issues, and the previews show a number of Predator weapons used to gory effect. I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt for the time being. The above picture comes from IGN's website. Hopeful I will not incur the wrath of the Predalien for borrowing their image.

Speaking of Sci-Fi movies, a surprise entry to theaters November 12. Battlestar Galactica Razor will be seen two (2) weeks before its debut on Sci-Fi channel in select cities FOR FREE, thanks to MicroSoft. I can't remember where I read it, but it's true, if anything is to be believed on the web. And the following day, November 13, is when "The Menagerie" debuts in theaters. And on the Sci-Fi TV front more news of Star Wars On TV. The gist is this: 100 45 minute episodes (about 4 years) with a possible expansion to 400 & Boba Fett will be present. A previous rumor mill produced these gems: The series will happen between Eps III and Star Wars (I refuse to call it Episode IV); Pod Racing is back; Thall Joban (a character from Droids) will be highlighted as a Pod Racer; Rebs & Imps and the war before Luke & Leia get involved; Expanded Universe (EU) tie-ins; Bib Fortuna & Oola; Death Star Plans; the series tone should be like the Holy Trilogy and showing neither good, nor bad guys but people caught up in events. Family Guy's succesful Blue Harvest/Star Wars episode was so popular that a plan is in motion for an Empire Strikes Back episode. For those that missed the FG episode it will be on DVD by December or something. My sources are vague, and I don't really remember.

Remember when a couple Canadian Doctors quit the practice and made a game company, in 1995, that eventually spawned one of the greatest Star Wars RPGs? If you said BioWare, and their wunderkindt Knights Of The Old Republic (KOTOR), then your geek memory is fully functional. Well, recently MicroSoft (boo) sold BioWare off and they were absorbed by the forces of Sauron known as EA. BioWare (prior to the sale) has joined forces with LucasArts for a new MMO. Who cares, right? We're talking BioWare here, people. I don't think they've made a bad game yet: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR, Jade Empire. Rumor has it that the new MMORPG will be a KOTOR setting. The original KOTOR was so good it even spawned a comic by Dark Horse.

Tomorrow is supposed to start a writers strike, as if TV can't get bad enough. When things do get bad enough just watch Halo Landfall and imagine what the cancelled movie would look like with Peter Jackson at the helm. Once you stop drooling over the pretty weapons, look at the European Wii crossbow thingy. I want. I don't Even have a Wii and I want it. While watching CSI last night, one of the episodes with the lovely and talented Lady Heather, a reference was made to a fictitious website called ladyheather.com. I, of course, immediately checked it out and it took me straight to the CSI site on CBS. Way to go CBS for finding a way to count all the CSI fans who are perverts. I'm not a pervert, I was just curious, is all, yeah, see, yeah.

Sony keeps trying to come up with new ways to sell PS3s and a new game this month tries a daring experiment. Eye Of Judgment (in conjunction with Hasbro & WOTC) is a CCG and a Video Game, with its own included EyeToy to scan cards you have and play out a game with the 5 or 6 other people in the world who bought it. It sounds interesting in theory and I do like crossover concepts, but this thing sounds complicated. I've read some gameplay reviews and such and there seems to be a decent amount of strategy involved, but there's a lot of prep work to play this game. Booster packs are supposed to be sold separately for the CCG side of Eye Of Judgment and I may collect those as soon as I figure out who sells them. I'm really not knocking this game it just sounds ambitious and crazy. I miss playing CCGs and every once in a while I buy a pack of Magic cards to get that new card smell on me again. For those that still follow the Pokemon CCG a new set is due out soon called "Secret Wonders". I remember playing this when the game first came out and it was a little confusing, but seemed okay, nothing like the rich potential of the Star Wars CCG. A couple years back, I tried Yu-Gi-Oh, but I was not impressed and it just made me flashback to good card games I've played. I have tried Yu-Gi-Oh in several flavors (US TV and manga) and the only version I liked was the manga. It was dark, and Yugi messed with people. He got beat up at school every day and would then play a game with them to enact a sort of revenge. One dude he poured Vodka on and lit him on fire. Great stuff. I want to see that episode.

Some days I'm no good at gaming and tonight was my night. The brilliant puzzle-shooter Portal vexes me with its advanced puzzle mode. After swearing at my lack of brain power I gave up gaming in lieu of a six part Mars program narrated by Captain Kirk. Excellent show. Before I go to bed tonight I'm going to try one mission of Ace Combat 6. This franchise was meant for anyone who watched Top Gun and thought, I could do that. The "Need For Speed" of my generation was not "The Fast And The Furious", it was "Top Gun", and we needed only one, not three movies to drive home the kind of speed I need. Lets see, a Grumman F-14 or a Mitsubushi Eclipse. And don't tell me I also have Stealth 'cause I barely call that a movie. Guitar Hero III just came out and I need to bite the bullet and get it. I have nothing against the series, yet I'm reticent to drop $100 on a game I might not like. Parappa The Rapper, Space Channel 5, and Frequency all used the controller, and I wonder if I have the skill to use a fake guitar to play real music. If I can't face my Guitar Hero fear than I might as well get Naruto, which is actually getting good reviews, a surprise for a Manga-turned-Anime series. Once again, I've seen the show and read the Manga and I prefer the Manga over the watered down American version. And if I had an up-to-date PC tower (I write this on a laptop) I would definately get Crysis. It's one of those games that begs for a top end machine. Nothing like spending $5,000 to play a game. That's dedication. Maybe I'll risk a demo download.

And lastly I came across the most un-useless invention of our modern lives. For all the none of us that have an iPhone (the "i" is pronounced "Jesus") because we are too afraid to scratch, mar, or dirty the hypnotyzing beauty of the screen; that and the $10,000 price tag. Well never fear, some people with too much latex in their possession, have invented iPhone Fingers. I'm sure this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. That's all for now. I'm going to absorb some gaming knowledge from G4. See you next broadcast.

My Blog 1.0

This morning is the first day ever I will Blog. Please bear with me as it is two in the morning and this first time (heh heh) is as much a test for me as for anyone trying to follow my train of thought.

The purpose for this near-daily internet journal is to define, as best I can, what it is to be a geek. I choose the term "geek" over "nerd" because I feel the latter tends to have more negative connotations. "Nerd" to me still feels like a high-school/college taunt that doesn't help define who you are when all the "Nerds" get together. "Geek", to me, is a more preferable term because geeks tend to focus on non-human interactions (ie Internet surfing or playing Xbox) but not to the point of being social outcasts. Geeks are very useful to have around for the MacGyver quality of the know-it-all and can-do-it-all attitude even if they have a hard time with the social interaction part. Anyway, I like the term "Geek" so I'm sticking with it. I am a geek and so can you with this guide.

The part of this definition of "geek" I'm interested in is the knowledge base (hence the site name). What do you have to know to be a geek? Anyone can be social inept, but it's a lot harder to fail at social etiquette and have a vast data-base of cult movies, pop culture, and computer code on top of a scientific background that would shame Alex Trebec. As I wrote a friend of mine this week, geeks have a responsibility to know a lot of real world tech and pop culture trivia, "field strip" a PC and actually know what "PC load letter" means, and can argue Kirk vs. Picard with conviction.

Part of this Blog will be about my day-to-day adventures being a geek as I review a movie, play a game, or whatever occurs to me. The other part of these postings will be about different things that geeks have to know to be called geeks. There is an immense amount of knowledge you need to have to be a geek, and I intend to break these areas of expertise down into different parts, so even a non-geek can get an idea what makes someone like me tick. Usually a geek has a core focus or two or three that they are masters of (and will share everything at a moments notice), but still has a peripheral knowledge of other areas that have a nominal connection to his/her interests. (An Anime fan may only watch Japanese stuff but at least have heard of Animaniacs, Exo-Squad, Power Puff Girls, and Samurai Jack.) Maybe I'll take the Jeff Foxworthy approach (You know you're a geek if...) or I might delve into the esoterics of Star Wars and The Matrix. Pop Culture knowledge is important, usually with a sci-fi/fantasy/horror bent, and I want to discuss what makes a particular movie, TV show, video game, book, magazine, website, graphic novel, anime, manga, technology, or person important to the cause. Yes, I may even discuss Star Trek at length and, for those that might not stomach heavy comparisons of The Enterpise circa 2265 vs. The Enterprise circa 2270, I will warn ahead of time this Blog contains Star Trek.

My current video game obsession is the Xbox 360. I have a goal to obtain a Gamerscore (GS) of at least 15,000 by years end. Saturday was a good day as I racked up a total of 560 points across three (3) games. The majority of them came from Gun which I wish was a larger game, but has a compelling story that drew me in enough to want to see the game to conclusion. A sequal fully designed for the next-gen systems would be nice, as well as a movie. I have also been playing Half-Life 2 on The Orange Box. For those that don't know, The Orange Box contains five (5) games, the first three (3) being Half-Life 2, HL2 Episode 1, and HL2 Episode 2. I just finished HL2 and have moved on to Episode 1. This series is incredible and I'm ecstatic to see it on a console as I am not a PC gamer. Sorry, I will probably not be reviewing PC games, but I will talk about the history of PC gaming when the topic is relevant. I even played a little Sonic The Hedgehog, available from XBLA. I used to be a master of this "back in the day" but I suck at it now. Decent set of achievements, makes me wonder how I played anything without a GS. BTW, I don't own a PS3 and I might not get for a while, but I love the new Ratchet & Clank commercial and I'm beginning to desire BluRay. Maybe in 2k8 I'll relent.

WARNING, Star Trek. As a huge fan of Star Trek, you can rely on me to drop most things, except maybe Half-Life 2, and watch an episode I've seen a thousand times. However, the "peoples" responsible for making new Trek on a weekly basis aren't making new weekly Trek, but for the 40th Anniversary of TOS they are making Remastered Episodes with cleaned up film and new, I repeat "New", special effects. I initially balked at the idea until I saw "Balance Of Terror", and even the sound was fantastic. The whole thing is done in 5.1. It's like watching a new episode every week. So, I watched "Galileo Seven." An all-time favorite, but now with special effects you get an even better look at what the hell was going on in space. It was good before, but now you see the "quasar" and the planet Spock and crew are lost on and, the best part, Spock's plasma-burn, thrust-maneuver which is awe inspiring. I actually felt more for the crew when you can see FX in HD. This episode still shows the "hand" closing the door and I love the crewman who gets stabbed with a giant spear. The Red Shirts of the episode weren't stupid and stayed behind to let everyone else die. Of note: after the crash landing one crewman is bleeding out the nose and obviously hurt, but Bones ignores the crewman to help the only female crew they brought, and she's perfectly fine. Way to go Bones.

I will attempt to post things every couple days or so. Once I figure out how to put links in the text these musings will become more exciting. See you next broadcast.