Much to write of

Okay, so I have several random thoughts that are in no way interrelated.


First off, I watched the Dollhouse series finale today.
Dollhouse has been a show that's had a very mixed quality level.  Its early episodes were rather formulaic and morally off-putting, but a select few extremely well-done and intensely gripping episodes from the first season really showed that the show had potential.  Season 2 was better than the first, and the last several episodes were very good.
The problem was that the show was abruptly cancelled toward the end of the third season, requiring the show to wrap up its story in only a few episodes.  Fortunately, it managed to do that somewhat decently, but there was definitely a "rushed" feeling, as there were many plot twists that came very very quickly.  Despite the shaky quality and believability of Dollhouse, by the end of the final episode, I felt sad to see it go.  I feel like I'm having to say goodbye to a beloved friend that I only just met.


And now for something rather deep...
Today I was thinking about the storytelling cliche where a main character (male or female) is constantly looked over and ignored by the object of his/her affection.  I started thinking (as I often do) about how many times that's happened to me personally.  But then I realized something:
That's probably how Jesus feels.
He literally died for us, and so often we can barely give him the time of day.  He loves us more than we can ever know, and yet we choose to focus our affections elsewhere. (like on pretty girls who ignore us)
So yeah, I don't have any right to complain about not being noticed when I'm just as guilty of ignorance.


In a completely unrelated story, a female friend of mine is apparently getting married.
In the past, she and I would talk about our relationship issues (or lack thereof), and we supported and trusted each other like brother and sister.
And yet, she didn't tell me that she got engaged.  Facebook did.  Two months ago.
Heck, she hasn't spoken to me since before Facebook told me that she was engaged.
Five minutes ago, Facebook informed me (through a public wall post to one of her friends) that her wedding is in early March.
Ergh. This is all highly frustrating. -_-


Lastly, there has been a serious lack of comments on Teen Justice lately, which is weird considering that I think it's gotten a lot better lately.
(hint, hint, readers)

New Plan!

So I've been thinking about a few things.

1: I'm very interested in screenwriting, and would like to be a professional screenwriter.

2: Living in California sounds nice.

So! I've decided that I'm going to finish out my Bachelors' degree at UTA, then, for my Masters' degree, transfer over to a school with a good screenwriting program, possibly in California.

Thoughts?

Gaming

So I've been playing a LOT of games lately, now that I finally own a PS3.
Here are my thoughts thus far:

Batman: Arkham Asylum
GREAT game.  It totally makes you feel like Batman, with great predatory stealth action, awesome fist-fighting action, and extremely fun detective work and exploration.  What's even better is that it takes inspiration from the best parts of the Batman animated series, comics, and movies, creating a kind of combined mythos that's a lot of fun to play through.
This is one game that I'll keep forever.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune:
Awesome cinematic storyline, great adventure-style combat, and fun platforming puzzles.  My only gripe is that the combat gets very very repetitive, and can be frustrating at times.  Then again, it might just be because I'm using a terrible old TV that makes details hard to see.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2:
CRAP.

X-Men Origins: Woverine:
This may be the bloodiest, most visceral game I've ever played.  It's just guilty fun.  There's not a whole lot besides endless combat, but hey, that's not so bad.

God of War:
Ehh.  It's supposed to be one of the best action games ever made, but I can't tell. I can't stand the fact that you basically play as a bad guy the whole time.  It's just not my thing.

Prince of Persia:
Lots of fun, though its limitations start to become readily visible after the first couple hours.  Repetitiveness is an issue as well.

Modern Warfare 2:
Great.  Just great.  Waaaaaaay more fun than it has any right to be.

Camaro Count / Lantern Rings

So I have a hobby.
Whenever I go out somewhere, I count how many 2010 Camaros I see.

Yesterday, I went out to the bookstore, and saw this amazing one:

Yellow with black stripes. Totally going for the Bumblebee look, though the yellow isn't anywhere close to the right color. (They don't sell the car in Bumblebee yellow. =( )

And, no less than 500 feet from that car, I saw another Camaro! (this time in red!)

I saw another Bumblebee Camaro on the street later, but I couldn't snag a picture of it, so here's another picture of the first one.

Sooooo pretty.....


On a totally different note...

Have you ever heard of Green Lantern?  The superhero?
Lemme give you a quick crash-course in Green Lantern lore...

These are the Guardians.  They're dwarf-sized alien beings with almost unlimited power.  They're nearly immortal, having lived for thousands of years, and have appointed themselves the Guardians of the Universe.
The Guardians created the Green Lantern Corps, a kind of "Space Police."

There's 1-4 Green Lanterns for every one of the 3600 sectors of space (so nearly every Lantern is a different type of alien), but they all have the same powers.

A Green Lantern's power comes from his or her Power Ring, a super-advanced (yet tiny) piece of technology that's directly fueled by its wielder's willpower. With the ring, a Lantern can fly, breathe in space, and create any sort of "energy construct" that he/she imagines.



Pretty cool stuff, huh?

So lately, in the Green Lantern comics, there's been this new storyline: Blackest Night.  The basic gist of it is that there are more Lantern Corps than just the GLC, each powered by a different type of emotion.

Red Lantern Corps - Rage

Agent Orange - Greed

Sinestro Corps - Fear

Green Lantern Corps - Willpower

Blue Lantern Corps - Hope

Indigo Tribe - Compassion

Star Sapphires - Love

And they're all at war.

It's really cool, because each of the corps' powers work completely differently.  For instance, Blue Lanterns don't have the ability to use their rings to fire lasers, but they can do things that directly relate to the concept of hope, such as revive a dying sun or soothe a heart filled with rage.  Also, the presence of a Blue Lantern negates the powers of Yellow and Red Lanterns, because Fear and Rage cannot stand in the presence of Hope.  However, a Blue Lantern has no power if there is no Green Lantern nearby, because Hope has no power without the Will to carry it through.  A Blue Lantern's ring supercharges a Green Lantern's ring, however, so when a Blue and Green Lantern team up, they're very, very powerful.
Does that make sense?  Okay.

It's a lot of fun, because comics fans are choosing sides, and showing it by wearing all sorts of apparel emblazoned with their Corps' color and symbol.

All this to say that when I went by my local comic book shop today, they had Lantern rings.
I bought one.

=D

I also grabbed blue and yellow ones.

YAY. :D

Return

So I've been gone awhile.  Here's what happened.


I left for Green Bay, Wisconsin, on December 21st.  At that time, my MacBook's battery was already functioning at only 1/4 of its original capacity, after only a year.  As if that weren't enough, it kept randomly shutting off for no reason when it wasn't plugged in.  My charger cable was also a little in-and-out, sometimes requiring a little wiggling to get it to work.

When I got to Green Bay and plugged in my charger, it wouldn't work at all.  So I only had about a half-hour of battery power left before I was left computerless for the next week. (well, actually longer)

When I got back to Texas, I immediately made an appointment at the Apple Store to get my MacBook battery and cable fixed/replaced/whatever.  But my first appointment (for last Tuesday) was cancelled because of the snowy weather (people in Texas freak out at that stuff), so it got pushed back to FRIDAY.  Ergh.

So that's why I've not been blogging.  It's not that I didn't want to, or that I didn't have the time.  I just didn't have the [battery] power to do so.

In the meantime, I did get some pretty cool Christmas gifts.

All in all, I received:

A 250GB PlayStation 3

I totally was not expecting this one.  Well, okay, I kinda was, but still.  It's awesome.  SOOOOO much better than the Xbox 360.  It's not even funny.  It's just that good.


Batman: Arkham Asylum (the greatest game EVER)

Lots and lots of fun.  I'm proud to say that it was my first PlayStation 3 game.

The Chronicles of Narnia (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound)

I'd never actually bought all the Narnia books until now.  I was waiting for the perfect edition to come along, I think.  Now I've found it, and it's awesome. :D


$55 in iTunes gift cards

I think there was more that I forgot.  Oh well.


This was what my Christmas looked like:

The front porch:

The front entryway:

Dining room:

The view out the living room window, over the balcony and out over the frozen bay:

Odin, the most awesome white fluffy tiger/dog ever.

My cousins' cat, who didn't mind sitting in my lap as long as I pet her:

A turtle.

My cousin, Sierra

My cousin Celine (older sister of Sierra)

Sierra got an unholy amount of belts for Christmas.

This little adorable imp is Rhiannon, the youngest of my cousins.

The Wisconsin sunset, on the way back to the airport.

Seriously, the Wisconsin airport is one of the quietest places on Earth.

And that's it.  I think.

Oh, and apparently Kendra, Elisabeth, and Bree are the only ones that read my blog without having to remind them when I post.  Hmmmm.....

Before I forget, Teen Justice is starting up again.  I've got some great ideas, and they'll be up very very soon. Look for them. :)

Lastly, if anyone does happen to randomly read this blog who is (A) my friend (real-life or internet-based) and (B) not my friend on Facebook, go here and send me a request.