Neglect!

Blog neglect? Me? Never.

Apparently if you don't sign into facebook for a few months, you get one of these:

Who the hell is taking all these pictures of me?

Best White Elephant present ever, from one Jason:

I call him Fishy.

Worst mistake I've made in my life:

Ugh...

Best $1.99 I've ever spent:

I'm from the streets.

My new breakfast staple:

Andouille chicken sausage, turkey bacon, bell pepper, onion, eggs. Mix.

Ta-da!

CGI + Comic Books = Win!

Despite the recent success of live action comic book movies, there are always limitations and budgetary concerns when creating one of these summer blockbusters. Sets, costumes, talent, effects (practical and computer generated) all have to be taken into account. What if you could remove some of those variables? It's been speculated before the in the past that the "next" superhero movie could be all CG and when you really think about it, comic book characters and universes are ripe for such an imagination. These films are generally special effects laden globe spanning wonders with wild costumes and elaborate sets -- why not keep everything virtual?

With Marvel Comics' recent acquisition by Disney, the possibility of a Pixar produced movie set in the Marvel universe is a real possibility. What could it look like? The best place to get an idea is video game cut scenes. While Marvel: Ultimate Alliance had some pretty neat ones, the following opening cinematic for the upcoming DC Universe Online MMORPG sets the bar a little higher, and shows us what is be possible.

Voice acting a little shoddy, but you get the idea. This was done on a limited video game budget (by the amazing Blur studios) -- imagine if it got thrown any sum of major motion picture money.

Screenshots

Good:


Bad:

Speaking of Football...

Looks like I've played a bit of Madden. Just thought I'd throw up a screenshot documenting my current 11 game winning streak, even if it should be at 15 -- I dropped a game against the Vikings on a last second heave up to their tight end, Visanthe Shiancoe that I misjudged with Jordan Babineaux. Damn that Brett Favre, did it again...


The generous pale double (triple?) chin, of course, belongs to John Madden himself.

Madde-wha?

Holy sweet mercy, how could this have happened? It is currently 4:03PM on Saturday afternoon and somehow, I completely missed Madden-olidy. For the first time in three years I did not have Madden on my TV surrounded by a group of friends on release day. Not only that, I'm one day behind. I wouldn't have had any time to play it yesterday (with a rousing 13-10 baseball victory in which I was a hit away from the cycle, followed up by a post-game celebration at an Irish bar), but I didn't even have the opportunity to take a day off work for it. This shall not stand, and it almost pains me to write this message when I could be running out to my car and zipping away to Best Buy to pick up a copy of the game. Updates pending.

Going Digital

Some of you may have spotted this little tidbit to the right under the Blog Archives, but I've put up a picture of my Xbox Live gamercard. With the new Xbox Live Update (dubbed the "NXE", or New Xbox Experience) Microsoft now makes all online members create a digital avatar to represent themselves. Close enough to the real thing, eh? Maybe I'll accessorize him more later.

Or if you want to see the real me, I dug up a folder containing videos that my former roommate Thomas recorded at one of my baseball games. Out of two games, I got one hit on video so I've thrown that up for your viewing pleasure. I added some nifty presentation elements to spice it up, but I still think the best part is Thomas' first rate commentary.

Pretty exciting, huh? Thanks to Thomas' videos, I was able to discover mechanics problems with my swing that I probably wouldn't otherwise have been able to (namely, bringing the back foot up).

1:6 Guessing Game

Inspired by the 1:6 scale figure heads a few posts back, I thought I'd investigate this world of miniturization further and pick out some of the better ones. To make it more fun and interactive, I've designed a game. Presenting: Guess the Toy Head! Answers below.

A	B	C
D	E	F

Remember, each of these heads is a little smaller than a ping pong ball. Imagine the expertise, steady hands, critical eyes, and patience needed to be able to make these. While some of the above are "better" than others, I think each manages to effectively capture the likeness of their reference.

Answers:
(ɹǝʞoɾ sɐ) ɹǝƃpǝl ɥʇɐǝɥ ˙ɟ
ǝʌǝǝɹ ɹǝɥdoʇsıɹɥɔ ˙ǝ
ǝsınɹɔ ɯoʇ ˙p
pɹoɟ uosıɹɹɐɥ ˙ɔ
sʞuɐɥ ɯoʇ ˙q
ɹǝƃƃǝuǝzɹɐʍɥɔs plouɹɐ ˙ɐ

Madden Perfection

I just played an online Madden '09 game that went so well, I feel like I have to document it -- I just blew someone out 35-8 with a nearly perfect offensive performance. It felt great to see the Seahawks finally completely dominating someone, even if it was in the virtual world.

And of course, stats!

Score: Seahawks 35 - Steelers 8. Yep, against the Steelers -- even sweeter.
Time of Possession: SEA 14:74 - PIT 5:35.

Passing
M. Hasselbeck: 158.3 QB Rating (perfect), throwing 304 yds on 22/22 completions, 4 TDs, 13.8 yds/pass -- long of 41
The best part -- I think I only called one pass play twice. My opponent had no idea what was coming.

Rushing
M. Morris: 35 yds on 12 carries. Acceptable.
T. Ducket: 7 yds on 3 carries, fumble at PIT 1 yd line. Terrible.
L. Weaver: 1 yd on 1 carry. 2nd and inches run, I'll take it.

Receiving
J. Carlson: 50 yds on 5 catches, long of 15 yds
N. Burleson: 51 yds on 4 cth, lg 17
D. Branch: 90 yds on 4 cth, lg 41 (a screen pass on a perfectly read strong safety blitz), 2 TD
B. Engram: 68 yds on 3 cth, lg 39, 2 TD
L. Payne: 18 yds on 2 cth, lg 9
M. Morris: 11 yds on 2 cth, lg 9
W. Heller: 7 yds on 1 cth
L. Weaver: 9 yds on 1 cth
Yep, I hit 8 different receivers.

Defense
D. Grant: 1 user controlled interception
M. Trufant: 1 interception
D. Tapp: 2 sack
P. Kerney: 1 sack
1 safety after R. Plackemeier 58 yd punt to the 1 yd line.

Special Teams
R. Plackemeier: 58 yd punt to PIT 1 yd line
1 safety on a blocked punt off PIT 1 yd line (after Ducket fumble)

I should quit right now as I don't think I'll ever top this... but nah, that game is just too damn addicting.

Comi-Con Brings Us Goodies!

In the spirit of the San Diego Comi-Con currently going on:

You didn't think it was all over... did you?

Put the nerd gathering party on the calendar! You could say, we'll be forming an alliance... an ultimate alliance! It's not gonna be released until next year, but excelsior!

And that's not all...

Yep, that's Batman vs Scorpion, interlocked in... MORTAL KOMBAT!
*cue theme song*

Source: IGN

And since we're talking about Comi-Con...

I could use one of those in my living room.

Wow, looking at this post... *NERD ALERT*! Anyone want to play Dungeons and Dragons with me? Nah, just kidding, I don't play D&D... yet.