Tuesday, May 30, 2006

A Missing Hope

Some footage was cut from Star Wars: A New Hope before it was released in final form, as is the case with every movie. But this particular piece has an exchange between Luke and his friend Biggs, with whom he interacts briefly at the end of the movie before he dies at the hand of a TIE fighter pilot. It's a famous scene, and though many a Star Wars nerd like myself has heard of it, few (if any) have seen it until now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k30lA5Sca6U

Monday, May 29, 2006

Memorial Weekend

This weekend was cool because...

-I went fishing and got a bunch of crappie and sunfish

-I re-learned how to, um...make them edible...with a big kitchen knife

-Tremblay's Candy Store, with about two-hundred varieties of candy

-Lots of Mountain Dew

-Paddleboating = really fun

-Spending time in the company of good people = awesome

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Papa Lasagna

Ok, so many awesome things went down tonight...

-A sweet trip to Papa Murphy's yielded a nice three-pound lasagne, cheesy bread, and a large pepperoni pizza. Triple-yum, says I.

-I saw Toy Story, which I haven't seen in, like, way too long. I remember when the PS2 came out and Sony was saying it would be able to handle Toy Story-like graphics. Well, we all know how wrong that was. But somewhere along the line, the 360 and (soon, anyway) PS3 picked up the baton. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have finally achieved Toy Story-like graphics. Oh, and that movie is still just as awesome as it was long ago. Pixar rules!

-This morning I started watching* Trans-Formers The Movie. This is one of the coolest movies I have ever seen, for many reasons. It has a wicked awesome storyline, one of the best soundtracks ever, exo-suits, a host of guest stars including Leonard Nimor, Judd Nelson, and (oh you betcha) Orson Welles. Oh, and Unicron has to be one of the most breathtaking characters ever conceived. Ever.

-I had a super awesome burrito for lunch. mmmm...

With this many good things in one day, I shudder to think of how many good things can happen the rest of the week!

*usually I watch movies in ten- or fifteen-minute increments while eating breakfast. viva la vhs tape!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

E3 Coolness

Each year about this time it's sort of like a three-day Christmas for video game fans. Yay for E3! This year, we got...

- A great press conference from Nintendo
- Lots of info on the Wii
- To see the Wii controller in action (and it's awesome!)
- Info on a new Mario game, the new Metroid game, and a bunch of other stuff for the Wii
- To see Reggie kick butt and take names once again
- No J!
- Too much Peter Moore!
- More earpiece-mic things than you can handle
- Just a bit teary-eyed for the best game nobody will ever play
- Lots of charts and graphs from Sony
- To hear Kaz Hirai try to tell us that UMD movies are not dead. Bwa ha ha!
- A $600 console from Sony
- A five-hour line to play the Wii
- A good show, mates. A mighty good show.

The next year is going to be amazing for video games. Keep an eye on those wallets, folks. :)

Monday, May 08, 2006

eBay

There's something cool about listing an item on eBay.

There's something even cooler when it sells for what you were hoping to get. ;)

Sunday, May 07, 2006

New Square2

I just got the latest episode online, and I highly suggest you check it out. :) I'm still not satisfied with the quality of my vocals, but I don't think there's any good way to fix that until I get a mic and mixer. For now, though, my Logitech 350 is working well and I just need to stop being all nit-picky. To get the show, go to square2.org or search in iTunes for "Square2".

New Super Mario Bros.

9.5'd!

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Garage Sailing

I got word of a massive neighborhood-wide garage sale today, so I went down with a friend to see what I could find. I think I got there too late, though, because at about a dozen separate houses the only things left were baby clothes and old VHS tapes. I did see an air compressor for $50, but I don't really need one (nor do I have a good place to store one). I also found a stationary circular saw for about $75, but it was kind of like the air compressor in both practicality and storage. I was really looking for a vacuum cleaner or bookcase, but found nothing.

...until I was on my way home and my friend called to tell me of a $7 vacuum at a sale I had missed. Score! I went by to check it out, and it wasn't the newest of vacuums, but it was definitely cheap and came with a few extra bags too. Shyeah! So now I am the proud owner of a Coleman vacuum--yeah, I didn't know they made vacuums either. Weird, eh? For sure. Weird, but extremely cool nonetheless.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

You Stop at U-Stop

Almost ten years ago the youth group I was in sold these discount card things for a fund raiser. Each card was $10, and got the bearer small discounts at local retailers. It was mostly standard fare--things like a dollar off a pizza, or a free side of fries at Runza...you know, little things like that. But the hidden gem on each card was a totally free 32-ounce soda at a local gas station called U-Stop.

Each card had a four-digit number and could be used once per day for the free soda. I'm guessing the people at U-Stop figured people would stop in for a soda and get gas or some snacks too.

My friends and I soon realized that because we were each in possession of many cards, which we were supposed to be selling, we could go to U-Stop several times each day and fill up on as much soda as our little hearts desired. Any time we had a hankerin' for some Dr Pepper or Coke we just busted out the cards and headed down to the gas station for a free fill-up on sugary goodness.

The owners of U-Stop had the last laugh, though, because for years after the cards expired we kept on going to the gas station for soda. We would often buy other things too, since we had to spend money to get the sodas, and after we all started driving it became the only place for gas as well. In fact, I went to U-Stop for a soda clear until I graduated from college, and so did most of my friends.

I still go, in fact, though not to U-Stop since I no longer live in Lincoln. There's a gas station just down the road from my house, and about once a week or so I head on down for a 32-ounce cup full of Mountain Dew, Sprite, or some other form of liquid sugar and/or caffeine. And tonight it was a soda and a bag of candy. They even have a cool little deal too: every seventh soda is free. Aw yeah!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Applebee's

There's nothing quite so yummy as a good set of buffalo wings, and tonight at Applebee's my roommate and I decided to rustle up a side order of 'em as we waited for our dinner. They took a while to get there, which was kind of a bummer, but when the manager brought them out he said they were free because of the wait. Score! So I guess there's something even more yummy than a good set of buffalo wings: a good set of *free* buffalo wings.

It's been raining a lot lately, but I'm really glad. Last summer I actually listened to these long "Thunderstorm" sound effects tracks while going to sleep because I missed hearing the rain. Plus, the wipers on the Corolla are really good. :)