Arg.

Does this throw up a red flag to anybody else?

• The Dark Knight - I've been excited about this one for a while. My initial reservations were based on Heath Ledger as the Joker, but after people like Christopher Nolan and Michael Caine giving him the "Thumbs up" during filming, not to mention the trailers, my fears have been put to rest. This movie looks awesome.
• Iron Man - I never really was a fan of Iron Man in the comics, but this movie looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Robert Downy, Jr. was a really good choice to play Tony Stark[0]. It looks a little campy at times, but it's a comic book movie, it's supposed to be. Leave the dark brooding to Batman, it's a better fit there. Every trailer I see for this movie keeps getting better and better though.
• The Forbidden Kingdom - Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the same movie??? Sign me up.
• Leatherheads - This movie looks like it's going to be a lot of fun as well. Ever since The Office I've been a fan of John Krasinski and it'll be interesting to see how he does alongside George Clooney.

There's probably more, but that's just off the top of my head.

[0] Of what I know about the character and his history.

"Enforced fairness has a way of feeling unfair to those who excel. If you're playing to have fun with your friends, these are all opportunities for joy. If you play videogames to express your dominion over others, they are impediments to your regime."

I think the second one fits me. But that's just me. =)

Here's the story for those of you interested. Bridget and I went out to dinner that night, I had suggested that we go downtown to eat. Bridget was acting under the impression that we were going to see a movie. However, we had some time until the movie started, so I suggested that we take a walk around downtown. After walking for a short while, we stopped here and I started to talk to Bridget. I got down on one knee[0] and asked her to marry me, and she said "yes."

She was very much surprised and didn't even know that I had been ring shopping at all. We're both very excited about this and the start of this new phase of our lives together.

More details forthcoming when they become known.

Here are some pictures from that night and couple close-ups of the ring.

[0] I got big points for getting down on one knee in the snow. Not really sure why, but I'm not going to argue. =)

This is the answer that I've given:

Aliens

What's yours?

As usual, we was cracking jokes and making a fool of himself. It's a really fun show to go see. It's kinda emo-y, but he doesn't take it too serious and it's just a good time. I'm glad I went and was able to show Bridget a really fun musician just like somebody showed to me.

And as a cool side note, I was watching Scrubs on TV the other day, and I heard the Matt Nathanson song "I saw" playing in the episode. It was pretty cool, actually.

This show needs to come back. Of all my shows that I would love to see again on TV, this one probably has the greatest chance of actually happening.

I remember her when she was a puppy. She was small and adorable. She had these huge paws. We had put a bow on her for Christmas one year, and I remember a picture of her attempting to chew on the bow and ribbon, despite the bow being about the size of her head. I used to take her on runs. I would strap on my rollerblades and just let her run wild. She would drag me when I couldn't keep up. While thankfully, we never needed her to protect us, I know that she would have done so without a moment's pause. Sam didn't like any serious horseplay going on in her house, and I remember she'd nip my ankles when my brothers and I would wrestle. She didn't like it, and she let us know. Samantha was a great dog and a great pet.

I take comfort in the fact that she did not suffer. She hardly had any medical problems throughout her life. Even a week before she died, she was outside playing in the snow. I am glad that she enjoyed a full and healthy life and that I got to have her for a pet.

It hasn't really hit me completely that Sam isn't around anymore. I am not sure if it will until I go home and she isn't there to greet and welcome me back to my house. It's just going to feel weird walking into the house and she won't be there.

I decided a while back though that I was going to spend a fair amount of time out there, so that I could see friends that I haven't seen for over a year. I lived out in CA for 3 years and I missed people. I didn't get to see everybody while I was out there, and I'm sad about that, but I guess I'll just have to make another trip out there. I stayed for 10 days (leaving on Thursday and staying until the following Sunday). It was an excellent trip and I really liked spending time with all my friends and hitting the slopes a bit too. Indiana definitely needs to import some mountains so I can at least get part of the CA experience here in the Midwest.

[0] It's pretty much annual, we didn't have one last year though.

I realize that you can't comment on this post, so if you have any questions, concerns, comments, criticisms or critiques please direct them to my email address, which is firstname.lastname@gmail.com[0]

I do have more extended posts coming, I've been slacking.

[0] It's not _actually_ that, but replace those with my first name and last name and you should be set.

8 out of 10. If you haven't seen it, you should definitely rent it when it comes out.

Take some time to reflect on the past year, things you've learned, things you wish you've learned and things you plan on learning next year.

My best wishes for all of you.

-Michael

First impressions. The controllers work very well. Any controller issues seem to be related to how the games were designed as opposed to the mechanical/electrical workings of the Wii-mote.

I got the chance to play Wii Sports and Red Steel. Wii Sports (Tennis and Bowling specifically) is a lot of fun. Mojo and I stayed up until 6am playing Tennis. Doubles tennis against the computer is awesome. It was a ton of fun. I can only imagine how 2v2 matches would go. Bowling is also a ton of fun. We didn't play that one as much, as most of our time was spent playing Tennis.

Red Steel left a lot to be desired. The controller works fine, which is what I was initially worried about. They (Ubisoft) just didn't do a good job at implementing how the controller interacted with the game. After an hour or so of play, my arms were getting tired from having to constantly hold my arms out. I was really hoping for good things from Red Steel and it failed to deliver.

I do see a ton of potential with this system though. I expect lots of coolness in the future. It's still my belief that they need a Jedi Lightsabre game where you can duel other people, even over the internet. That would be _awesome_.