XBOX Live offline today for overhaul.

Kind of awesome. Makes me happy. XBOX Live is being updated today. Hopefully we'll see Netflix integrated. Neat.

Miss Platinum - Chefa

Neat! Imagine if Rhianna was a Zaftig Romanian woman transplanted in Berlin. I kind of love like totally love Miss Platnum. Her album Chefa is only $9.99 on itunes and well worth the price.

NEW! NOW! CHAT! WOW!

Many thanks to BCIII for telling me about www.digsby.com. There is now a chat window widget thingamabobbie doodad jiggery-pokery Spacely Sprocket over there on the right. No, your other right.

So now when you take a look at HYR please drop a line - just click the box and type. It's a pretty neat program actually. It allows you to basically put all of your chat/IM/social networks into one...uh...thing. Widget? Cockamamie folderoll?

Long and short drop me or anyone else who is on the site a line. The future is now - more or less.

ATTN: Current or former members of Roller Derby Leagues or people who know people who know...

I am writing an ethnography/subculture paper for my English 131 class and have decided on writing about Roller Derby Leagues. In particular I am interested in how the Roller Derby revival fits into third wave/post feminism. I've been intrigued by the resurgence of crafting, baking, DIY, and the evolution of the Riot Grrrl school of thought. I'm also interested in how stereotypes play out true/bullshit and some other topics.

So if you or any one you know is a current or former member of a Roller Derby league please -avec sugar on top - contact/put them in contact with me. I really appreciate the help and look forward to hearing from you or someone else.

I also have a questionnaire to fill out for documentation purposes. If you're interested I can send that to you. If there are any questions/issues/problems with me being ignorant - in regards to the questionnaire - tell me and I will fix them.

If you have any questions or need clarification please let me know.

p.s. I am under a deadline of next Friday so a prompt response would be neat-o.

Thanks,

Joshua

LEGO Batman (XBOX360)

We picked up LEGO Batman yesterday - Game Stop was out of Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise.  I was a bit hesitant about purchasing another LEGO series new since LEGO games are so short on game play.  That may be because I'll play the wheels off these games apart in a weekend.

LEGO Batman is the first Batman game I've played that is actually worth playing.  Granted I'm only three levels into the game but it's a good time.  If you've played any of the LEGO series then you know what you're getting into.  The mechanics are pretty much the same though the camera angle issues have been fixed - the platforming aspect is much smoother.  Batman can throw around the Batarang - neat.  Driving seems like it's going to be a bigger part of LEGO Batman than other LEGO games.  Fortunately the driving mechanic has been tightened up as well.

What I am looking forward to is playing levels as Batman villains.  Apparently the game is a 50/50 split between Batman and Villain levels.  I wanna be Two Face - he's my favorite Batman villain.  Well him and Harley Quinn.

I'll have a more complete review after this weekend.

I <3 OCP.

And people wonder why our generation is so cynical.

"It's fine in moderation." or You have got to be kidding me Part II

After looking at the Corn Refiners Association "Sweet Surprise" FAQ I am less of the opinion that these people are completely evil. That is a knee-jerk reaction to the ads I have seen on Food Network.

Part of my anger stems from the fact that these commercials have a thick patina of smug all over them. I appreciate the subtle humor of the two women at the kid's party. The snotty white lady tells the black lady that the red drink is something that the white lady would never give her kids. I do like the black lady basically telling the white lady to basically, "jog on". Then I wondered, "How come the black lady is giving her kids red drink? Why isn't the white lady pouring red drink down her children's throats?" But I digress...

The tone of these two commericals also just plain pisses me off. The condescending pro-high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) characters reminds me of a guidance counsellor or bible pusher, "Oh, you poor uninformed soul. You aren't able to make an informed choice in your life. Let's soft talk over your head until you are compliant." And remember kids, "It's fine in moderation." Bunch of dicks.

In one way these fuckers are right. We are uninformed. Most people jump on whatever band wagon that allows them to blame and point fingers at anyone except themselves. It's not the fact you're a shitty parent, it's the video games, and the ipods, and the HFCS.

I'm going to start looking into HFCS a lot more. Personally I believe that eating naturally is the way to go - buy local, grow what you can, cook your own food when you can, be aware of what you put in your mouth and your body. In practice it's a lot more difficult than that but I'm trying.

p.s. I've already written a pretty unhappy email to Food Network about having these commercials on their station. You might want to think about doing that yourself.

You have got to be kidding me Pt1.

Why I believe that this is my jam, dog.

I am currently in the liberry without headphones so I cannot verify the awesomenessticity of the band God of Shamisen. I will find out ASAP. Oh yes.

Nijiya Sushi (936) 569-2636 - Nacogdoches

If someone had told me that there was good sushi in Nacogdoches I wouldn't have believed them. I would have been wrong. If someone had told me that the worst example of yakitori was to be found in Nacogdoches I would have believed them. I would have been right.

Nijiya is the new incarnation of Sushi-ya - a long standing favorite with sushi fans in Nac. I never went the Sushi-ya so I have no opinion. It's a pretty nice little restaurant that has a pleasant date vibe. Unfortunately that means you have to watch people swap spit after a tipple of sake.

As far as the sushi goes it's not very adventurous but I expect that if you were a regular or just sat at the bar and told the chef to make whatever he wanted you could get a good meal. This isn't sushi as high art but solid sushi. The octopus salad was a salad of baby octopi and this made me happy. The waitress did warn me before I got the dish - not necessary but nice.

The downsides are:

We went right after Ike and that was probably the worst time to go.

The place was busy and sorely understaffed. The waitresses were very pleasant but had that shell shocked look of being lost in the tall grass for too long. It took about two hours for us to receive two of our appetizers - the yakitori and baked tofu. We didn't cause a stink because the waitress was very nice about it - though it would have been nice to have been comped the apps. The yakitori was probably one of the worst things I have eaten in quite some time - since the chicken sandwich from Sonic incident at least. Cold, slimy, and genuinely depressing - yes I felt sad after I ate the yakitori.

Dear Nijiya, Please don't dump so much seaweed in your miso. I love seaweed but not in my miso. The seaweed starts to have the texture of a band-aid. If fewer people order miso invest in a better brand of miso. Hell I can bring some of the paste I have at home if you want.

In all a disappointing - overpriced - experience that doesn't give me much confidence or desire to return. As far as sushi quality goes I would say it would rank with Maru in Austin. Besides the octopus salad I won't be touching anything else on the menu.

Death Race (2008) dir. Paul W. S. Anderson

We went to see this on Sunday night because the power was out and it was either Death Race or The Women. Now if The Women was an explosion filled Anderson extravaganza then maybe just maybe I'd want to see it.

Death Race kicked ass. No ifs, ands, or buts. There were explosions and guns and cars and explosions and flamethrowers and fire and chicks and BOOM-BOOM and people getting mushed by cars and and...dude it rocked. We had a grand old time. This is one of those movies - i.e. Black Dog - that you just don't care if it sucks. It's not My Dinner with Andre for fuck christssakes. You know, if Death Proof had been more like Death Race then maybe it would have kicked ass.

I think this might be my new favorite Paul W.S. Anderson movie. I dunno though, I really like Event Horizon...oh yeah and Mortal Kombat.

If you're gonna be a dick like Marc Savlov then don't even bother seeing Death Race.

p.s. This may seem obvious but I don't suggest taking babies or young children to Death Race. Especially if your troglodyte crotch spawn is going to kick the back of our seats though out the entire movie.

Hurricane Ike or how we ain't dead.

Everything was basically shut down for a few days and we are currently without power at home - apparently there is a backorder on transformers - but all in all we are not dead. The weather has cooled down a bit so we can get rest and thank god the windows have screens on them so we don't have to worry about the idiot cats falling out.

Other than that nothing too exciting. In a fit of genius I brought a powerstrip with us to campus so we could recharge the necessary devices. Of course I left my phone charger at home but I will take care of that tomorrow. Not like I call anyone anyway.

Impressions of Too Human (2008)

I'm about six hours into Too Human and I can't tell if I like this game enough to keep playing or I should just do reading for Western Civ.

I like the concept of the game - a cybernetic Norse mythology dark future. Frankly I think that's pretty neat. The main character is some bald, grizzled, tragic hero guy...wait.

• Side note/mini rant: While I am a huge fan of grizzled, bald, tragic heroes in film, literature, and games even I am getting a little tired of the stereotype. How about some character development here folks? Do we need another Mass Effect/Gears of War/Splinter Cell/old Bruce Willis protagonist? I am certainly not saying let's return to the shit shovelling country boy who saves the universe genre or the anime little girl with a big gun but let's try to mix it up a little bit. Maybe we need Shane Black to start writing video games.

Too Human has a decent story, the graphics are kind of awesome, the combat is action-y and I get killed fairly often since I suck. The RPG aspects are fairly sweet - there's a lot of equipment/rune/blah blah blah that appeals to me. One thing I have to commend this game for is the equipment screens/menus are slick and easy to navigate.

Another awesome awesomeness Too Human has is the ability to change the spoken language and add subtitles. German is totally dope even if I don't know what they are saying. The downside is the subtitles aren't in every scene for all dialogue. Great idea and I wished that more games had this option. J-RPG's would be much better if they had the original voice actors.

The downside to Too Human is that I am already getting bored. I run into one area, fight a bunch of enemies, gather loot, optimize (aka shuffle) equipment, run into another area...this is the problem with linear RPGs.

I will give it some more play and reserve final judgement but for now I'm gonna give it a thumbs up. I don't think it's worth a $60 price tag but it's definitely worth checking out.

p.s. James you will love this game.

I'm poppin' smoke man!

Had to take today off to finally get my bum tooth taken care of. I was going to go for a root cavity but I said fuck it and went with an extraction. It really wasn't so bad except now it feels like I got kicked in the jaw by a mule. The dentist was really good and didn't lecture about my poor dental care. The whole process went well - surprisingly enough. The tooth didn't shatter or anything horrible. I was going to keep it until I saw how digusting and rotten it was. Sorry there aren't any pictures of it.

I am laying low for a few days. Drop me a line if you feel so inclined and if you don't then that's fine too. Jerk.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed XBOX360 Demo

The demo for the highly anticipated Star Wars: Force Unleashed is available for download on XBOX360 and PS3. I downloaded it a week or two ago and played through and I give it a meh.

Maybe it's the fact that I don't really give a shit about the Star Wars francise any more - except for the Battlefront and Knights of the Old Republic series - but the demo really wasn't that impressive. It looked amazing and it was a lot of fun using the Force to clobber foes in spectacular ways but it didn't really capture my attention. Maybe I didn't give the game enough play to develop the finesse needed enjoy the subtleties of using the Force. For me the game is a button masher. Most certainly not worth the full game price of admission.

Warhammer: Battle March

I didn't even know this game was coming out since my issues of White Dwarf have been late. cough*nerd*cough. I was in Hastings looking around for something else to rent and saw Warhammer: Battle March. Since I'm a Games Workshop slut I had to rent it.

It's actually pretty damn awesome - sort of like Warhammer without the comic shop aroma and rolling of dice. There are a shit ton of button combinations in order to control the troops but once you get the hang of everything it's pretty intuitive.

The graphics are great - being able to zoom to an eye level with troops is a nice change of pace and the character animations look sharp.

I haven't put a lot of time into the game and if it was a Warhammer 40k I'd buy it in a heartbeat. If I see it used or find out some of you fine folks are Warhammer fans I'll pick it up. At the very least if you're into strategy games and/or manageable RTS for the console I whole-heartedly recommend taking a look.

I can see...everything...

In a fit of keeping up with the Jacobsons and the glee of government cheddar we have entered the Twenty First Century and purchased a plasma TV. After two days - and added expense - I have upgraded the XBOX360 to HDMI - I like using the Pigs in Space announcer voice when I say HDMI. Let me tell ya, I don't know how I managed to not make this leap sooner. Oh yeah, I was spending money on beer all the time.

After a good amount of internet research I decided to go with the Vizio brand. I used to hear a lot of horror stories about screen burn with plasma TVs but in this day and age it's not such a problem plus I'm not going to leave a game paused for more than hour.

Watching movies and gaming has taken on new dimensions of fun. Playing GTA IV in HD is a completely new experience. I still have to complete the "Complete the Story in less than thirty hours" achievement so now I really have an excuse to play through the story again. I forgot to post about the over all story but I will do that later.

I will post a review of the TV in a few weeks once we put in through its paces. Also have a few other reviews to post but what with homework and learnatorium goodness I actually have things to do.

"I am the very model of a Modern Major General!"

I've finished my first week of education at the learnatorium that is SFASU and was on my first break from school. I'm not exactly sure why we get Labor Day off but then again I believe that I have worked every Labor Day for over a decade.

For a quick run down of my first week at the learnatorium:

• History is my major. The two classes I am taking are pretty good. My Western Civ class is a blast. I plan to take every class Professor Malpass offers - including a Summer Class about Vikings.
• In the fifteen-ish years since I have taken a Math class I have not improved in the least.
• I like to sit in the library taking lots of notes about lots of stuff. Primarily the history of the slave trade.
• I have adopted the phrase, "You know what's interesting?" Apparently I've said it so much that Amanda has turned into a joke.
• The Reformation kicked ass.
• I am old and cranky.
• I am at high risk for turning into a know it all. I will do my best not to say, "Actually..."
• Moxie likes to help me study and take notes primarily by sitting on whatever I am reading and/or chewing on my pen.

More news to follow. Hope all of you are well.

A new addition to the Hooligan Youth Reviews family.

Please welcome Moxie. I don't know what possessed us to get another cat but it's too late now. We picked her up from the local shelter. She's about four months old and is pretty lively - a.k.a. bites the living hell out of us. Our other cat George is not particularly pleased but then again George is never particularly pleased. She will now be taking her meals under the bed.

Yay, new kitty!

Happy "Holy Shit, it's Joe Piscopo!" Day

That's right folks I decided to revive "Holy Shit, it's Joe Piscopo!" Day.

Looks like things are still going well for him over on his website. Cheers to ya Joe.

Redland Drive-In Theater

Finally got some pictures of the Redland Drive-In Theater on US-59 between Nacodoches & Lufkin. For reason a shut down drive-in makes me sad. If I had a shit ton of money I'd buy them up, reopen them, and restore them.

The first time we drove by this place I nearly crapped my pants. I have to confirm with Mr. Joe R Lansdale but I think this might be place Drive-In was based on.

Sunday Drivers Part II.

We headed back to town and with the aid of our GPS - a.k.a me with a paper map - we headed down 2259 through Woden to 226 to Etoile. This area was not as picturesque as the area around Lake Nacogdoches. I wouldn't even say that it had rustic charm.

Sam Rayburn Reservoir, at least north end of it where the Angelina River flows in, was kind of...

We should have taken a picture of the massive pile of trash below the "No Dumping" sign.

Again, no grills. We headed back to Nacogdoches and stopped by one of the parks in town. There was a grill but it was hanging off the post at a sixty-six degree angle. After this we went home. We're gonna buy a hibachi and go to Lake Nacogdoches this week so expect more pictures of Joshua acting like a normal person.

Sunday drivers or "What a loovly day for a ride in da coontry." Part 1.

We planned to go to a lake on Saturday but were warned off by the weather reports of "Turn Around. Don't Drown.". I don't know if you folks are familiar with TADD but here in Texas you don't mess around with that especially when your transport vehicle is a Honda Fit.

On Sunday the weather reports were not as menacing so we packed up the cooler with food and gathered up our shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed out to Lake Nacogdoches. After drifting west on 21 and taking a left on picturesque FM 255 we eventually found the West Park at the lake. It's really quite nice and the next time we go there we will have pictures. The weather was pleasant in the upper 80s with some cloud cover so my translucent skin would burst into flame. Nice little picnic area on the water. Wait, where are the grills? Hmmm. I wish I had a picture of post that a grill was formerly attached to.

Well we hopped back in the car and drove around a bit more and eventually stopped at Yakofritz Landing for lunch. The food there is good. Amanda got the catfish dinner and I got my stand by BBQ Beef sandwich. The catfish was better than I've had in quite some time and the BBQ sandwich was damn tasty. They actually mixed in the onions with the meat. The meat was chopped but had some kick ass chunks of texture in it. The sauce was just a hint sweeter than I would normally go for but it was still damn tasty.

After some deilberation we decide to drive out to Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

Further Librarian humor.

Librarian humor.

Highjacked this from the librarything blog. Makes me laugh and think,

"Conan. What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies. To drive them before you. To hear the laminations of their women."

Haha...sigh. I'm a dork.

Too Human (demo) - Silicon Knights 08/19/2008

Too Human is the upcoming RPG/brawler Norse cyber-deity game from Silicon Knights. I downloaded the demo and it's pretty fun. I'll definitely check it out once some reviews come in but I don't know if I'm going to run out and pick it up. Too Human seems like a game that will be worth playing more for style and story than gameplay and replayability. Just my initial impressions.

Arte y pico Award. w00t!

Muchos gracias to Chris over at Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches for an "Arte y pico" award. I would like to thank Dr. Venkman, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Rickles, and Lone Star.



Wanna particiate?

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you copnsider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contrubuites to the blogger community, no matter of language.


2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.


3. Each award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog thathas given her or him the ward itself.


4. Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y pico"blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.


5. To show these rules.

My award winners are - in no particular order:

• demonbaby, http://www.demonbaby.com/blog/


• Blonde Zombies, http://blondezombies.blogspot.com/ (NSFW)


• M. Christian, http://frequentlyfelt.blogspot.com/ (NSFW)


• Soviet Posters, http://sovietposter.blogspot.com/
  
• Mike, http://satellite-eclectica.blogspot.com/

Anders Loves Maria by Rene Engström

Anders Loves Maria is an excellent webcomic that works because of Rene Engström's good old fashioned Swede-styled mono no aware. It's a grown-up comic that's NSFW but not hentai. Anders Loves Maria is one of those webcomics that is a joy to read even though it's pretty depressing. The art work is sharp and definitely stands out from the slew of comics I read.

I wholeheartedly enjoy this comic - check it out.

Braid (2008) Number None Inc.

Once upon a time there was a game for the NES called Castle Quest. It was one of those NES Classics that hated you as much as you hated it. This was an unmerciful bastard of a game that I think I once got half way close to winning.

Braid is cut from the same cloth - a puzzle/platformer that at times makes you want to punch yourself, your television, the dog, the cat, and spike your controller though the floor. Unlike Castle Quest the designers of Braid actually made the game some what forgiving, fun, and fascinating. The puzzles start easy enough but eventually reach a point where you want to pull out your eyes. The puzzles are based on time manipulation but each world has a different style of time manipulation that doesn't carry over to other worlds - which would have made life easier. The ability to rewind time makes life a little easier and less frustrating. If Braid had lives - a la Castle Quest, Super Mario Brothers - then I probably would have spontaneously combusted.

It's a gorgeous game with great music and puzzles that made me pretty happy. Some of the puzzles actually surprised me with their cleverness. Number None Inc isn't going to make a bajillion dollars off this game. I imagine that most people aren't willing to put forth the brain power, patience, and masocism required to complete Braid. At the very least download the demo. If Braid is an example of things to come from Number None Inc then they are going to put forward so great games.

Gustatory Reflex & Oral Chemesthesis is Da'Bomb! (aka new hot sauces I like)

Gustatory Reflex & Oral Chemesthesis are the fancy terms for sweating, snotting, and coughing fire. I found new hot sauces and here's the rundown.

El Yucateco is a damn fine brand. I picked up a bottle of Kutbil-Ik which - according to their website - is Mayan for "crushed chile". Rated at 11,600 Scoville this stuff is...well...my direct quote was, "It's like a volcano shit in my mouth." It's awesome stuff and I love the flavor but I don't know if I could just put this on everything I ate. Kutbil-Ik is something to: use very sparingly, use for some kind of Shaolin chile pepper eating, or for punishing children. On the other end of the spectrum I picked up the Chipotle style. It's much milder ranking in at 3,400 Scoville. It is very tasty and far superior to any other chipotle sauce I've found. This is going to be a staple hot sauce. If you can find it I strongly suggest picking it up. I haven't picked up the Green Habanero but have tried it a couple of times at restaurants around town. It comes in at 9,000 Scoville. Not so good on its own - it's too bright but could be tasty mixed in rice or guacamole. The green is not one I'll be picking up though.

San Luis Hot Sauce "Really Hot" is good. About the same caliber as Valentina Hot Sauce. It's a solid every day use hot sauce. I've been partial to putting it on breakfast - not Strawberry Rice Kripsies...yet - eggs, sandwiches, egg sandwiches, etc., etc. It's not particularly hot but it's not a slouch either. At an eighty-nine cent price tag for a 17 oz. bottle there's no reason not to have a bottle kicking around. Only one problem - opening the bottle is a pain in the ass. The cap doesn't screw off so you have to punch a hole in the cap and fish out the plastic or leave the chunks of plastic in the bottle.

You can pick these up at your local Mexican supermarket, bakery, taqueria, or if you're not smack dab in the middle of whitey-town your regular supermarket.

The Spice must flow.

Working on the Spice Mix this weekend. Thanks to Amanda for taking pictures and taste testing.

Dear Rangers,

thank you for continuing to beat the Yankees and keeping losses to close games. Now stop losing to the White Sox.

xoxo,

Joshua

Getting my learnatorium sea legs: Part I

I've already found a computer I like in the library. I plan to start lurking in the stacks pretty frequently. The fiction section is pretty solid though I forgot the joys of wandering around a library picking books up at random. I found the complete run of Life Magazine and spent a good hour leafing through 1969. The only problem is a lot of the photos would lend themselves very well to photomontage so it makes it a little hard not to just requisition the book for my own nefarious uses.

My goal today is to find the cookbook/food writing/food culture section and see what there is to see. With any luck I can find something interesting about East Texas/Louisiana cuisine. This is part of an idea I have kicking around in my head - Major in Texas History and focus on food. If there's one thing you can say about Texas Culinary History it has a lot of interesting influences: White, Mexican, Indian, and it'd be interesting to see what kind of influences SE Asian immigrants have had in the last couple of decades.

My library is now 95% catalogued!

I picked up a CueCat barcode scanner and beefed up my account at librarything.com. Maybe it's my low level OCD and hoarding tendencies but I kind of love cataloging, organizing, and alphabetizing my stuff. A friend once told me, "Hey, you're coveting your own stuff."

The CueCat scanner is very easy to use. If you can manage to plug in a USB cable then you can use a CueCat. It does take a little finesse to get the barcode to read properly but once you get the hang of it there's no problem. One drawback is that there's no information registering beep.

There's a pair of widgets over on the right if you'd like to browse my library. A bunch of other HYR contributors have accounts as well:

• BC3
• blipvurt
• demimode77
• iguanasomethinsweet

Check it out, join the fun.

Re:sonance DJs get a write up...

over at welovedc.com. This is Mike and his buddy. They are spinning around the DC area and i recommend going out to see them. I haven't gone to one of their gigs - what with living in TX -but I know the quality of the music they listen to. Get your asses out to see them. They also slum around on the myspace: http://www.myspace.com/resonance429

p.s. There's also a link to a mixtape of selected cuts. Available only for this week. Pretty solid shoegazer-y stuff and remixes.

Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008) dir. P.J.Pesce

We watched this so you wouldn't have to.

I don't know what possessed me to download this but I did.

Lost Boys: The Tribe had one big strike against it from the get go - the Lost Boys name attached to it. People don't seem to realize that The Lost Boys wasn't that good to start with. Granted it has its moments but all in all? If you don't believe me then you haven't tried to watch it recently.

The Tribe is pretty bad but not really any worse than any other cheezy late late night cable movie with Corey Feldman in it. It's pretty gory, has a bunch of nudity, a couple moments that were funny, and a large amount of dialogue directly ripped from the first movie. There is also another gauzy "love making" scene done to Cry Little Sister. A crappy cover of Cry Little Sister.

There's ultimately no point in seeing The Tribe. Really. It's not even that much fun to make smart ass remarks about. This is much cooler:

"OUCH! GOD DAMN IT!"

Very simply put, knives do not mix with thumbs.

Doomsday (2008) dir Neil Marshall

I love Neil Marshall movies. Hell, he makes movies I want to watch. Dogsoldiers - best werewolf movie ever made. The Descent - best hot chicks spelunking movie ever made. Doomsday - best love note to early Carpenter, Cameron, and all around awesome made in a long long time.

Doomsday is not high art wanking. Bjork does not roll around in congealed vaseline yelping for an hour before people look sullen while telling us war is bad. Doomsday is shit bowing up, bodies exploding like garbage bags full of chum dropped from four stories up, and pure insanity. This is one of those movies I enjoy because everyone on screen seems to be having such a blast. It's gory, shit explodes, bunnies get blasted to shit by automated gun sentries, everyone hates Scotland, politicians are evil, Bob Hoskins is Bob Hoskins, multiple decapitations, Neil Marshall reserves a special death for Sean Pertwee, there's a completely apeshit floorshow, Rhona Mitra is slammin' hot, a steam locomotive, and a bus that has "Out of Fucking Service" graffitied over it's destination box. Doomsday rocked. Oh and put a lot of Beavis emphasis on rocked.

A major problem with Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

Near the last third of the game there are some major lag issues simply because there's so much going on. I would suggest saving fairly often because of these lags. I would also suggest patience. Your console isn't frozen - one way to test this is to pop open the dashboard. If that pops up there's just game lag. If it doesn't well then I hoped you saved because you're gonna have to reboot.

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (XBOX 360)

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is a fun game. I never really played the PC versions until I needed something to play while waiting for the newest version to be released. Some reviews said that the console version lacked the depth and complexity of the PC games. That's definitely true but I found the PC to be complex to the point of tedium - much like a Romance of the Three Kingdoms game.

So I tore through SMCR. At the beginner levels you can basically just whup and whomp on the enemy to your heart's content. "King" difficulty is tough and frustrating but doable. Unlocking the "Deity" level Achievement points is a borderline nightmare. Most of the time you are holding on by your fingertips and the moment you have a lead the other leaders gun for you. You must remain 100% focused on your goal, make careful decisions, and be very lucky. Very, very lucky.

I managed to bag the Economic Achievement with the Incas - barely. They start the game with enough money to rush production of a warrior which gives you a five turn edge for exploration of the map. If you can grab enough villages you can make the 100 gold to get the Settlers bonus. The villages I got had Caravans which I promptly sold - doing this allows you to get 30 gold without handing anything over to enemy leaders. I also noticed that not running into enemies for as long as possible made life a little easier. The sooner you meet them the sooner they start making demands. After that I focused on scientific advancement and building everything I could to make money - Markets, Trading Posts, and Banks. I made no effort to build wonders. I kept one city cranking out defensive troops and slowly built "speed bumps" at key points - i.e. borders between nations. Eventually everything worked out. It was still a freaking nightmare. Near the end I was cranking out defensive troops as fast as possible just to keep my cities from falling in order to buy time to build the World Bank.

The other Deity acheivements were much, much easier. I started with the Germans in the hopes of a Domination victory. I was extremely lucky from the start. I managed to find an ideal location to put Berlin. I quickly built an army and smashed the Japanese who were very close to my starting point. My section of the map only had two access points so I was able to set up a defensive perimiter early on. I put all my effort into cranking out troops and working toward unlocking military scientific advances. I was at war for almost the entire game - Arabs to the North, Indians to the South - but managed to hold them off fairly easily. At the defensive strong point my troops gained a lot of experience which helped me later in the game.

Note: DO NOT leave attacking troops undefended! Watch where you are placing your troops - location is vital. Hills are your friend unless controlled by the enemy. DO NOT take the bait! I noticed that the computer would dangle a weak army in front of my positions. If I sallied forth with a unit that didn't have a high enough movement to return to safety they would be stranded and summarily picked off. REMEMBER to bring occupying forces along with your blitz. Nothing worse than conquering a city only to have it snatched away because you didn't have units there to defend it.

I strongly suggest using Spies - who gain a bonus from being in the same area as a Great General. I had one city cranking out Spies as soon as I could get them. Form one cell to defeat any opposing spies in an enemy city - the rest of your spies keep single units. When you finally mobilize your forces focus your effort into one unstoppable sledgehammer use the spies to decimate the city. I stole every Famous Person I could, then tore down defenses and then battered the living hell out of the opposition. Hint: Bring more troops than you think you need. For taking one city I suggest nine core troops choices plus whatever else you can get your hands on. Three sets of: Defense, Attack, Blitz - i.e. Archers, Legion, Horsemen. Plus a good number of spies and at least two defensive occupying troops. It's a lot but you want to win don't you?

Domination was a breeze compared to the Economic victory. Now for the cheezy part. This probably isn't 100% Kosher but it's a good cheat. When I got to a point where I knew I had the game in the bag - three out of four enemies defeated - I saved. Then I just achieved each victory and reloaded from that save point to achieve the next one. A cheat? Yes. However after nearly tearing out my eyes in frustration for days trying to win the Economic victory - Amanda & George ran and hid from my ranting - I felt I deserved the break. Plus it was fun to just pulverize the enemy. I mean just grind them into dust. I think I continuously bombed London for most of the 20th Century just out of spite.

Oh - just to let you know - nuking an enemy capitol does not count toward a Domination victory you still need to move troops in to occupy it. It's also a good idea to move all troops away from the city you are going to cook unless you just don't care.

I only have one achievement left to acquire but damned if I'm even going to try - win the game before 1000 AD. Screw that, I'm gonna play more Battlefield: Bad Company.

Two tastes greats that taste great together? Darren Aronofsky & Robocop?

I was kind of pissed when I heard "they" were going to remake/re-boot Robocop. Then I kind of forgot about it. Then I read that Darren Aronofsky is directing. That could be pretty cool actually. Much better than if Wes Anderson tried to remake it.

Max Payne - Debut trailer.

I have to admit that I am really excited about this movie. We all know I man-love mark Wahlberg.

Olde Towne General Store

Olde Towne General Store

205 E. Main St

Nacogdoches, TX

75961

936-560-3210

This is a kick ass lunch joint on the north side of the square. That's the long and short of it. There's no point in going to some fast food place when you go to a place like this. I'd to try their soups but they are usually out by the time we get there.

Mike's Barbeque House

Mike's Barbeque House

1622 South St

Nacogdoches, TX 75964
(936) 560-1676‎

We ate here for the first time today and I have to say, "Really, is this so hard?" I mean that this place is damn good. It's kind of surprising and disappointing when you go into a Barbeque joint and everything is just not that good. Mike's is good across the board though they were out of pork and I didn't get ribs or dessert.

The brisket was nice and tender without gnarly globs of fat. The sausage was damn tasty - next time I go I'm gonna get their sausage po boy. The turkey was solid but I kind of wish that I had gotten ribs instead. The sides we got were all good. The beans had a good smoky/sweet flavor with chunks of brisket in it. The rice was dirty. Cole slaw was minced without too much vinegar or mayo. The potato salad didn't have eggs in it and had the consistency of mashed potatoes - which was pretty damn awesome. There were also pickled tomatoes. Even though I ate at Mike's this afternoon I'd eat there right now.

I have to say that I was most impressed with the sauce. I can honestly say that I wouldn't change anything about the sauce. It was perfect BBQ sauce. Little sweet, touch more vinegar than most places, little bit of heat, touch of salt, just right. If they had it bottled I would have bought some.

All in all a great experience. Mike's is the place other BBQ joints in town have to measure up to.

Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979

This book looks like it could be pretty cool. According to amazon.com it hasn't been released yet but I might just try to weasel a copy from the publisher. It doesn't look like something that's going to be high demand though. It could be completely unreadable but I get the feeling that it's pretty interesting. Then again I love scores.

Site Updates & Assorted Mumbo Jumbo.

I think that I have everything in general order. For now. Hopefully. Possibly.



Blogposts are still the same. Commenting is still the same. Most the links, feeds, and fun stuff on the right has been streamlined. I am constantly adding feeds and if there's anything you would like to see added - or removed - please let me know.



If anyone has anything to contribute please do so. If you're not a contributor but would like to be one please let me know. Everything - reviews, links, feeds, insane rambling, food, movies, gaming, naked pictures of Hitler sunbathing - are all going on this page.



Any questions, comments, or ideas are welcome.

National Lampoon Presents: The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (2008)

Don't bother. It's not even remotely as good as Six-String Samurai. Beach Party etc etc is like one of those independent movies you have to watch because someone you know was in it with a budget.

I'm not sure how National Lampoon got involved as distributor. The DVD cover has pretty much nothing to do with the movie. Actually I'm sitting here looking at the cover of the DVD and it looks like it could be pretty cool. It's not.

What I have done on my Summer Vacation.

I realize that it's been weeks since the 4th of July but here are some pictures, etc, etc, etc. For some reason I am having trouble getting the pictures to line up with text and all that shit so here are the pictures. Amanda took most of them.

Here I am having fun like a normal person. This is normal right?

Perhaps this is why every one was so chum-y?

Aren't my nails pretty? I got them did for vacation.

Further proof we were at the beach.

FEEDING.
"WOO! VACATION! WOO!" - direct quote

No. That is not me fishing. Why would you ask that?

Picturesque. It was actually very pleasant.

And then there were fireworks.

We went to the Goliad State Park on the way home. This is the mission. Here is some video:

This is the top of the Fannin Memorial. It's near Goliad. This was a WPA project and this is a great example of the craftsmanship.

Brideshead Revisited...the movie?

Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited is one of my favorite books - Top 100. I am a fan of the BBC miniseries with Jeremy Irons. I really don't know if I could possibly enjoy the movie. There's simply too much going on in the book. Bah I say. Bah.

Battlefield: Bad Company

Whatever your feelings are about EA Games they do make some polished quality games.
Battlefield: Bad Company is no exception. I've really been enjoying the online mode even though there aren't too many options for missions - i.e. Deathmatch, Conquest, etc. - but this doesn't bother me too much because more often than not I end up playing Team Deathmatch anyway.

How does B:BC compare with Call of Duty 4 and Rainbow Six Vegas 2? As far as story goes B:BC has the most enjoyable storyline. It's more along the lines of Kelly's Heroes than a Tom Clancy potboiler or other modern military mumbo "evil dictator has a nuke" jumbo. It's fun and I found myself laughing more often than I do during comedies. One of favorite lines so far has been,

Sweetwater: But that place is heavily guarded.
Haggard: Well we're heavily armed!

B:BC doesn't take its self too seriously and that allowed me to have fun even at a higher difficulty level. Playing isn't punishment or profanity inducing - okay it induces profanity but it's more along the lines of, "FUCK YEAH!" than "FUCK YOU!" Part of the fun is that things blow up real good. I've developed the habit of blasting holes in walls instead of using doors. Hey, it works. I've also learned the joy of ferreting out snipers by reducing cover to bits with a well placed mortar attack.

Game control is standard FPS controls. There's not much in the way of a cover system a la RS: Vegas but you don't really need one. COD4 needed that because the game was punishing.

I'm not saying B:BC is the end all be all for FPS but for a summer diversion it definitely fits the bill. Whatever problems I could have with B:BC can be remedied by playing the other FPS out there.

Fallout 3 - 10/07/08

From the makers of Elder Scrolls: Obilvion a post apocalyptic RPG. OMG doesn't even become to cover it. Fallout 3 this Fall. Boo-yah.

Minute Maid Cherry Limeade is not made of people.

Minute Maid Cherry Limeade is crack. While I haven't begun to steal TVs, mug old ladies, or sell myself for a carton I am not ruling out the possibility.

I picked up two cartons from Kroger's this afternoon. They were on sale 10 cartons for $10 but Amanda would only let me get two. Earlier I was cutting the stuff with iced tea but now I've moved to the straight stuff.

You have to keep in mind that I am still relatively new to sobriety and limeade(s). Previously lime was something you put in something clear, refreshing, and alcoholic or on food. The one real bitch about sobriety - besides me - is the fact that I am always thirsty. Water gets pretty boring pretty fast. Iced tea is good if strong enough. Iced coffee...well I get a little jittery after the second pot of coffee. There's just something about limeade and Cherry Limeade in particular that just hits the spot. Kind of like Pink Grapefruit, kind of like Limeade, kind of like crack. All magic.

When there's no more room in Hell...

wear the dead as jewelry!

I saw this ad on the side of imdb and had to click on it. My morbid curiousity would not be ignored.

Yes folks. LifeGem creates gems out of your loved one's bones! LifeGem is made of people! Pets too - if that's your preference.

Maybe I am just overly sensitive but this is pretty creepy. Not as creepy as wearing a lady suit and slow dancing to "I Only Have Eyes For You" but still. This is morbid, weird, and just vaguely ghoulish. They range in price from only $3500 to a mere $20,000. At least turning people into meat pies yields an affordable - and tasty -product.

Momento Mori are one thing but turning people into bling? This is one gem that is truly outrageous.

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Batman: Gotham Knight could have been a "Can't wait to see the new Batman movie! Need Bat-fix!" but it most certainly wasn't. I downloaded it because I was bored and it's usually a safe bet that some thing animated from the DC Universe will be pretty solid.

B: GK is made up six different shorts by six different animation crews. Amanda quipped that it's kind of like a Batman Animatrix. She's not wrong. Several of the animators worked on that as well. It also has some similar themes, etc., etc. I think The Animatrix kicked ass and B: GK does as well. It always makes me happy to watch worthwhile and self contained animation/anime.

I'm going to pick this up if I see it for a reasonable price and would watch it more than once.

The Barbecue House "Oldest Restaurant in Nacogdoches since 1959"

I figure since we live here now I had better do some restaurant reviews/impressions/whatever. First out of the gate is The Barbecue House. The sign says "BBQ House" so I don't know what the hell that is about.

Maybe it was because we went on an off day but I can't say that I was impressed. The beans were great but maybe it's just me - when I want BBQ I want brisket, sausage, turkey, chicken, and pork. Sure some slaw and some beans or some potato salad so I just don't have a massive pile of meat to feed on.

The brisket was okay, kind of dry, standard brisket. The sausage was pretty unimpressive. The turkey and chicken were good and the sides were pretty damn good. The slaw was a little mayonaisse-y but was a'ight.

They do have sandwiches that may be good. I don't know if they are any good and if I'll be back to try them.

About the sauce. There's much debate about sauce in BBQ: Sauce? No Sauce? Sweet? Vinegar? Thick? Thin? Slathered? Dry? Spicy? Smoky? The Barbecue House has pretty weak sauce. It's sort watery and doesn't have any particular goodness to it. It strikes me as a fairly generic flavor. Combined with average - at best - meat you have a real meh experience.

Fortuately there are still several BBQ joints in town to check out.

The Eye (2008) dir. David Moreau

The Eye was one of those movies that I downloaded - legally - because it was a horror movie to watch. I've often wondered why horror fans will watch crap. I think it's because most of the time there's no choice. We just want to watch a horror movie.

The Eye is not terrible. In fact it's actually perfectly reasonable - for a Lion's Gate movie. It's got some scares and it's directed/cinematographed pretty well and Jessica Alba is Jessica Alba.

The only real problems with the movie are with the story and characters. That is if you're paying any attention at all. Parker Posey shows up as Jessica Alba's sister. Whenever Posey shows up in "regular" movies I always have a moment of confusion. I want to yell, "the Christopher Guest movie is that way!"

The Eye isn't really worth watching unless you really need a movie to watch. Jessica Alba looks normal without make-up (but still is awesome) and she pretty much carries the whole movie.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) dir. Guillermo Del Toro

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is awesome when Del Toro is allowed to go apeshit and do what Del Toro & crew do best - dark fantasy the likes of which Terry Gilliam only dreamed of. The rest of the movie is pretty stupid and funny. I don't mean funny I laughed. You'll either enjoy this or you won't.

I love Del Toro. To me this is just one movie closer to At the Mountains of Madness.

Okay folks - time for feedback.

Since I have some time on my hands I figure it's time for an overhaul of the site. So if you guys would please tell me what you like, what you don't, suggestions for design, ease of use, etc., etc., etc. then that would be dope. I promise to no longer use the term "dope". I reserve the right to use "fresh".

I would also like to know wether or not you guys would like one giant post page or seperate pages for different posts i.e. food/blog/movies.

HYR also has a few new links and gewgaws on the side bars. You can review the site on blogged.com. I also have a handy dandy subscribe button over there on the right - see? there it is! That way you can RSS HYR and get all the FYI you can shake a BFG at.

The banners for the webcomics look like smashed ass. I know. I am working on that...after I drink this cup of coffee and smoke another cigarette.

Thanks for the help. Hope to hear from you.

By the by I am working through emails and assorted correspondance - at a lazy snail's pace - but I hope you are all well and not dwelling in the Hell of the Upsidedown Sinners.

WTF movie news.

Saw today these interesting pieces:

1. Tarantino is actually going to make Inglorious Bastards after all. Part of me is excited but most of me is waiting for Tarantino & the Weinsteins to turn it into a three part movie. P.S. I'm still waiting for a single volume Kill Bill you pricks.
2. Someone still thinks they are going to make any money making an Elfquest movie.
3. A remake of Hellraiser. Huh. Y'know if it was done right it could work. Personally I'm a Hellraiser II fan - I enjoy Hellraiser as well. Now if they decide to remake Hellraiser with hillbillies and shitkickers then I would be very happy. "We'll tear y'all's souls apart! Woo!"

This sums it up pretty neatly.

Thanks to Zach for sending me this article: "Area Man Makes It Through Day"

Editorial about GTA IV.

Junot Diaz has written an excellent editorial for the WSJ about GTA IV.

Funny Games (2008) dir. Michael Haneke

Funny Games (2008) is a movie you are either going to love or hate.

Personally I fucking hated this movie. I was so pissed off after watching it that it took me the rest of evening to not be pissed off. The original might be better but it will take a miracle for me to watch it.

I'm not even particularly sure why I hated this movie so much. It should have been a movie I enjoyed: a taut psychological thriller, a twisted home invasion, a turn of the camera on the viewer, holding up a mirror to show the audience that it's as blood thirsty and psychotic as the home invaders, dark humour, and a scathing denouncement of the fantasy life that the idle wealthy live. Perhaps Haneke's Funny Games (1998) hit these marks but his adaptation for the American Art House market failed miserably. For every moment that worked there were several that didn't. (2008) begins well enough and the pace works. There's an early moment of Watts in her Pottery Barn weekend country house kitchen, preparing dinner, chatting on the phone that is very well done. The sense of dread, of impending doom is excellent and there is no jump scare to spoil it. In fact I was enjoying the movie up until the home invasion really kicks in. Then it becomes a smug, smirking, self conscious, pretentious, and predictable let down.

Part of my anger was directed at everyone in the movie. The bad guys were a leering pair of Patrick Bateman knock offs. The family were useless upper class twats. They waste time trying to use their cell phone. The list of aggravations goes on.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this movie if it had come out in the days of Man Bites Dog. One critic called Funny Games (2008), "Funny Games is an art house Hostel -- it mistakes self-consciousness for intelligence." Personally I think David Edelstein's review makes the most sense to me.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is exactly what you'd expect from the LEGO Series of games. Good nostalgic fun through an "E for Everyone" filter. If you have played any of the LEGO Star Wars then you'll know what I mean: goofy humor, fun level design, great secret characters, and revisiting classics in a way that breathes fresh air into them. Also Original means "A game based on the movies that didn't suck."

I enjoyed LEGO Indiana Jones more than I enjoyed the Star Wars installments but that's because I was always more of an Indiana Jones fan. The game revolves around the first three movies and visits familiar sites, characters, and John Williams' cues. The game play is pretty straight forward though there were a few points where I got stuck and had to say bad words. There are a lot of achievements to be had with the 360 version - I just don't know if care enough to chase down the rest of them. I am missing one last secret character but at this point there's not much point besides completion's sake.

There are a few downsides - minor complaints really.

1. This is a complaint against all the LEGO series - your camera angles for platforming at times suck. Trying to jump onto a ledge that seems to be spot on but falling to your death - repeatedly - is annoying as shit. Granted this is a much more forgiving platformer/puzzle game than games in the past but still being hindered by the camera is getting to be unforgivable in this day and age.
2. Unless you are a recreational gamer/are going to play this with your kids on game night/play twenty games at once or have a life don't buy this game for full price. This one is a weekend rental.
3. Vehicle control is a nightmare or if not a nightmare then a pain in the ass. It's not intuitive and there were many times I ended up spinning around in circles or zooming off a Spielberg cliff.

I have to say that this is a fun game and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a lot of style in the details. The character animations are pretty clever and varied. Henry Jones Sr. keeps hold of his hat when he runs and after putting down heavy items rubs his back - you practically hear the "oof". There are plenty of moments that I found myself quoting the movie - usually the next line in a scene. I once said, "This is intolerable!" after failing a jump. Free Play is a lot of fun after finishing a level. If I had kids I'd totally play this with them.

James Bond and The Modicum of Respite

Thanks to Mike for sending this along. Woo! Daniel Craig! Woo!

"Well turn it up man!"

Nacogdoches: We Got Trees Part 3

It's our second official day here in Nacogdoches and we are getting settled in. Have been doing the recon/shopping/oh crap we need a screwdriver routine. Made a rather disconcerting foray into the Uber-Walmart down the road. I don't know what my problem is but I get rather confused and over-stimulated in big box stores. All the lights and colors and mind numbing array of products have a "deer in headlights" effect on me. All I wanted was a cat crap tray and a Master Lock and ended up wandering lost through aisles of items I couldn't possibly justify using but wanted them any way. Guns! Ammunition! Fishing gear! Frisbees! Tennis rackets! Jumbo coolers I could stash hunks of drifters in! 600 varieties of "Institutional" sized pickles! Oh and the locks are in the back fucking corner of the store. So after choosing a lock I found myself in the toy aisles and there it was for $10.88:






Yeah baby. While assembling the set I realized that I should have been playing with LEGOs for the last ten years. There have been some serious advances in the LEGO field. Seriously. The next kit I want to pick up is this one:

* * *

Just a quick plug for All My Sons Movers. These guys were awesome. We hired them to help us move and they just rocked. I've used movers before and they were hired goons. All My Sons made things ridiculously easy and if it weren't for the fact that wires got crossed and we couldn't get in to the apartment it would have gone smooth as silk. Yeah, if you need movers these are the guys to go with.

Here are a few of the tricks we discovered during this move:

1. All that paper lying around - the stack of over due bills and threats from debt collectors? - shred it and use it as packing material. None of our stuff that we packed this way broke.


2. A la #1 phone books. You're never gonna recycle them. Don't bullshit yourself. Use it to wrap glasses and mugs and assorted trivets. It works.


3. Don't throw out all the empty six-pack cardboard carriers. Use them for all that crap in your kitchen that is a major pain the ass to pack but won't throw out: bottles of hot sauce, spices, oils, vinegar, dried goods, condiments, jars of chile paste, and other assorted non perishable items. Load the six-packs up and put them in the box. I used flattened Lone Star boxes to layer and add additional packing.


4. Don't drink so much that you can use beer packaging as packing material for an entire kitchen.


5. Anti-depressants.


6. Do your laundry before you pack.


7. Pack a suitcase with a couple of days worth of clothes. Having a couple changes of clean dry clothes makes a world of difference.


8. Play "We're going to Russia" and pack toilet paper.

I hope these tips are helpful.

* * *

Not too much else to currently report. I'm a bit behind on my gaming but have begun to rig up everything. Next step is setting up speakers and all that goodness.

Nacogdoches - We got trees. Part 2.

Well folks we are here. It went 80% smoothly. There were a few moments of blind panic - like when we arrived expecting the landlord to have left the key - but all in all everything is a'ight. We'll be back in Austin this weekend and then pretty regular after that. Have some pictures of before and after the move. Here ya go:

Yeah, not much rhyme or reason but you get the gist. More news to follow. I think I need to take another nap.

Harman Kardon HKTS 14 6-Piece Loudspeaker System

I finally gave these speakers some legs and I'm impressed.  The other night put them through their paces.  Granted, I'll never be able to play them that loud ever again but woo.  The old Polks are amazing speakers and I'd love to keep them for the garage/workshop/dancehall but they never had the clarity these had.  If you're in the market for a boxed set of new speakers for a reasonable price I wholeheartedly recommend these.

Still getting used to Safari

If the layout or the fonts look a bit off then you'll just have to be patient.  I'm trying to get used to Safari and also trying to monkey a bit with the HTML.  A buddy of mine - cheers to you Mark - taught himself CSS and I think I'm gonna stick my toe in during my break.

If you have any suggestions - a la layout/colour/font I'd appreciate them.

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a is the Unofficial state fish of Hawaii.  The only reason that I know this is because of Sarah.  Whenever she says this we giggle uncontrollably.  In any case it's an interesting piece of trivia. 

The packing and moving prep is going according to plan.  We are now up to nearly thirty boxes of books.  I'm not sure why we're so surprised.  In car today Amanda asked if we wanted to stop by Half Price Books.  I said that we don't need any more books.  She replied, "Well we never need more books."

On one hand it's kind of daunting looking at all the crap we have to pack but realistically we don't have that much.  No fridge, no washer/dryer, no major appliances or accessories, and really not that much kitchen stuff.  I only had four boxes of CDs and three boxes of VHS.  You know, VHS, kind of like a cassette that has movies on it.

Whatever.  Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

Hooligan Youth Reviews is moving away. It is your fault, like when Mommy left Daddy.

We are moving from Austin, TX to Nacogdoches, TX on June 17th.

Fortunately we are not being run out of town by people with pitchforks and torches. Amanda and I are going to school in the Fall and will probably be living in a Kenmore box burning our collection of sci-fi for warmth by Winter.

Hooligan Youth Reviews will be on hiatus for a while. I am taking some time off from pretty much everything except sleeping, cooking, and gaming. With any luck I'll be able to catch up on my movie reviews and play some games that aren't GTA IV but I can't promise anything.

Drop us a line or give a call or send an email if you want.

Hope you are all well and we will be in touch ASAP.

Awesome article in The Onion.

The Onion has a very amusing article about GTA IV. Here is the link. Yes.