Heaven's Cloud

[quote name='PiroMunkie' date='04 September 2010 - 01:52 AM' timestamp='1283579558' post='700225'] [color="#006400"][font="Arial"]I Even if you look at a game like Castlevania, though, which shares a lot of similarities with Metroid (and god help us if they ever remake Kid Icarus), when they took it out of a side-scroller into a 3D environment they put it in the third person. Metroid is a lot more about solving the puzzles and finding secrets than it is just a straight shoot-'em-up, which is why I was just so ... uncomfortable(?) playing Prime, and was so relieved to see Other M in third-person. Watching videos of Other M, has me pretty excited to play it.[/font][/color] [/quote] [color=indigo]I had mixed feelings about Metroid: Prime. In some ways I really liked the series, in some I didn't. I was excited to see Metroid move a third-person type game as well, however, I got to play a little of the game yesterday and I really didn't dig it all that much. I'll even go a step further and say that the X-Play review (link posted earlier) was pretty dead on concerning game play. I wish they would have tried to mimic more of a Devil May Cry or God of War type of game play. [/color]

[color=indigo]If you have ever spent the late summer or early fall on the East Coast of the US (particularly the south-eastern coast of the East Coast), then you know what time of the year it is: Hurricane season. With Tropical Storm Hermine now entering the mix Iâ??m reminded of the few years I spent in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and the hurricanes I weathered. Poor college students my roommates and I were far too broke to seek shelter inland when hurricanes battered the coast, so we often rode out the storms in a boarded up apartment. Sane people would worry about their safety and well-being, but not us (it truly is a wonderful thing being 19-21 and invincible). We dubbed these often two-to-three day hiatuses from college (in one case eight days due to category four hurricane that blew through) hurricane holidays. Weâ??d load up ice chests with beer and liquor and fill our cabinets with rice crispy treats and potato chips and ride out the storm in a drunken stupor with friends and girlfriends. While my memories of terrible storms tend to be nostalgic and somewhat fond (except for the time that a storm blew in two of our boarded up apartment windowsâ?¦that sucked) Iâ??m sure many of have weathered some bad storms and have some interesting stories to tell. So, what are your experiences weathering bad storms? [/color]

[Color=indigo]A couple days back Apple announced a refreshed version of Apple TV. If you arenâ??t familiar with Apple TV, it is basically receiver that allows the user to pump web-based content directly to their television without have to hook up a computer. Nothing too revolutional, but the new refreshed Apple TV is a huge improvement on the previous generation. First off, the refreshed version is a palm-sized, unobtrusive box that wonâ??t clutter a media center or tv stand. Second, the latest version provides Netflix support, which is necessary these days. Third, the new â??Air Playâ? feature will allow you to stream iTunes content from any computer in your home onto Apple TV. Finally, it only costs $99. However, it isnâ??t all sunshine and lollipops in Apple TV land. The television and movie rental aspect of Apple TV is kind of a rip. Rentals are expensive and the viewing window is ridiculously narrow ($0.99 for a television show that you have access to for 48 hours and $4.99 for a movie rental that you can access for 24 hours). Apple TV is also still stuck in 720p, which isnâ??t a huge deal, but it is still kind of disappointing. It also seems to skirt compatibility with one of the most popular content services on the net, Hulu. Overall, I think this is a nifty little device. I doubt I will pick one up (the PS3 and 360 both already have similar capabilities) but it wouldnâ??t be a bad alternative for someone that doesnâ??t have a next gen console and wants to get some added content on their flat screen.[/color]

[color=indigo]The other night I was flipping through channels when I came across the movie [b]In Bruges[/b]. It was just starting so I decided to give it a watch. As soon as the camera panned to the protagonists, played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, I remembered that I had planned on seeing this when it was released in theaters. For the next two hours I watched the film, enjoying every minute of it and feeling somewhat sorry that I had not seen it earlier. After all, it is hard to discuss an older movie with friends, especially older movies that a lot of people havenâ??t seen. Iâ??ll try and convince a few people to seek out the film but the chances that more than one or two of my friends actually looks for the movie is slim to none. Anyway, my question for you guys is what movies (that have become near and dear to your heart) did you stumble upon well after their theatrical release?[/color]

[color=indigo][i]Wow, my previous post had some crazy punctuation and fragmentation going on, I guess that is what I get for trying to coherently walk and type on my Blackberry at the same time [/i][/color] [quote name='James' date='02 September 2010 - 08:40 PM' timestamp='1283474416' post='700178'] [font=palatino linotype] I don't think it automatically follows that people always think critically. Rather, I think you have to be trained on some level to do it - children, especially, should be taught to challenge assertions and to evaluate evidence. But - coming back to my creationism point - this is quite obviously not happening on a vast enough level.[/font] [/quote] [color=indigo]I agree with you...to a point. We should seek the truth, but most of the responsibility still needs to be in the hands of the press. For example, lets say that a bomb goes off and four Muslims are reported as being responsible for the bombing. Now a week later one of the bombers family members steps forward stating that the men had been Muslims but became atheists a decade earlier. Obviously during that one week relationships between the Muslim community and whoever was targeted by the bomb would be strained and a conflict could arise. After all, there is a recent pattern of Muslims attacking targets with bombs. However, another conflict is also created in the media when fox news gets a hold of it and one of their "news anchors" (as opposed to editorial anchors) and simply says something like "Muslims bomb something [i]again[/i]". The "again" raises the hackles of an overly sensitive lefty anchor and they report a true story that there are more terrorists related to employees of Fox than any other news network. Fox answers with another true story that states that MSNBC has a shareholder with terrorist connections. All of this back and forth is news, but it is horribly pointless news that only is put out to polarize the viewing base. Now, you could say "well the viewer has some responsibility in interpreting what they are watching/reading/hearing". And you are right. But, lets also say that the average person turns on a news show (even a fairly reputable one) and they find a personality likable so they watch it for ten minutes while ironing in the morning. They do this every day and more and more they are sliding further to the left or right because the show they are watching puts out a two minute news clip about some screw up or hypocrisy on one side of the aisle or the other. [/color]

[quote name='Lady Shy' date='02 September 2010 - 11:21 PM' timestamp='1283484072' post='700183'] Eh? Underappreciated? Way too many people thought both/either of the films were oh-so-awesome. Just as an example of the general opinion: they both score 7+/10 over at imdb and the set scores 80%+ at Rotten Tomatoes. Wherever you got the idea that they're underappreciated is a mystery to me. Completely aside from the fact that any appreciation given to most of either films is overappreciation in itself. [/quote] [color=indigo]I don't know why you find it a mystery, it doesn't take Scooby and the gang to recognize that ticket sales and DVD sales for both films were a bust. Okay, a few dozen critics enjoyed the films. Critics enjoy lots of things that are under appreciated by the masses. Most critics relish loving things that most people despise, like silent films about gay cowboys eating pudding. If you didn't dig them that is cool, maybe B movies and throw backs aren't your thing. However, Harvey Wienstien and Tarentino have both stated that the movie was a flop. If everyone that sees a movie enjoys it that is great. But if only a handful of people see it, it is hard to say that the masses appreciate the film.[/color]

[quote name='The Tentacle' date='02 September 2010 - 05:59 PM' timestamp='1283464798' post='700170'] With [b]Machette[/b] coming out I'm feeling myself getting left behind by all the flicks I wanted to watch.  The latest installment of the [b]Resident Evil[/b] series is also coming out and I have yet to see the [b]Expendables [/b]so it's going to be a hassle to find time to watch it.  But, judging from the trailers, Machette will probably be worth the effort. [/quote] [color=indigo]I feel your pain. I wanted to go see Scott Pilgrim last weekend but, due to abysmal local ticket sales for the movie, it has been taken out of all the nearby theaters. Besides, [b]Machete[/b] has to be worthwhile for Danny Trejo alone (he is a MexiCan!).[/color]

[quote name='Kei' date='01 September 2010 - 07:42 PM' timestamp='1283384574' post='700131'] [font="Tahoma"][color="#000080"]As someone that wants to be part of the American media, I find myself severely disappointed with the state of their current (seemingly non-existent) ethics standard. Be it FOX News (though, to be frank, I find anything they try to market as news laughable), MSNBC (who can be just as bad sometimes), CNN (who I am dramatically losing faith in, ever since the Potomac River incident) or any other cable news outlet, no matter where I turn, I'm seeing biased, shoddy reporting. No one seems to want to go in-depth and really get to the heart of the matter anymore. It's more about trying to point the other political party out as the source of the terrible news that's being reported these days. [/color][/font] [/quote] [color=indigo]I agree entirely. The weird thing is that if you go back just ten years it is amazing how different the reporting was. When the cable news networks were young they really focused more on news than on editorial content. While they often had a very slight bias (for example, NPR has always had a slight bias towards the left, but it was, and is, very slight) they definitely weren't nearly as polarizing. [quote name='James' date='02 September 2010 - 07:37 AM' timestamp='1283427425' post='700145'] [font=palatino linotype] My point is that it's not so much about being manipulative - it's about commercial competition and entertainment. Fox News, as my example, is not a news channel. It's an entertainment/variety channel. It is dominated by so-called "magazine" shows, which themselves are [i]not[/i] news programs. [/font] [/quote] [color=indigo]I don't disagree that it is about commercial competition and ratings to some extent, but that just enforces my opinion that the polarization of these news networks (you can say that they are entertainment channels but they are all "news" networks, it is in their title and each channel has at least 6 hours worth of what they coin to be news shows, not editorial content). I'd also argue that there is no proof that there is a correlation between intelligence and the belief in creationism (I wish there was, but I couldn't find anything truly supporting that claim). I could make an opposing point simply by stating that Americans have to be more intelligent than other folks from developed nations because American's working for foreign companies average a much larger salary than any other group of workers working for foreign countries. We obviously aren't any more intelligent than people from any other country on average, but I can easily provide an argument to the contrary,[/color]

[color=indigo]I donâ??t like to plan my weekends in advance but I am pretty sure that a portion of it will be spent in a dark theater munching on some butter laced popcorn because [b]Machete[/b] hits theaters on the 3rd. Letâ??s take a brief jaunt back in time to 2007. Richard Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino released [b]Grindhouse[/b], a ridiculously underappreciated double feature of B-movie inspired horror films. As much as I enjoyed [b]Death Proof[/b] and [b]Planet Terror[/b], the part of the double feature was the fake trailers. And the best fake trailer, by far, was [b]Machete[/b]. Obviously Richard Rodriguez (who is even more of a Danny Trejo fan then I am because he wisely casts him in all of his movies) realized that he had the premise for a movie that could be epic in its awesomeness because that fake trailer has been realized. Now I am expecting a few things from [b]Machete[/b]. I am hoping for a moderate level of cheesiness. I actually think this is where Rodriguez excels, all of the Mariachi films had a level of cheesiness that really elevated the films. Iâ??m also expecting some weird dialogue, especially during conversations. While Rodriguez isnâ??t as strong as Tarentino in this regard he is really good at making unusual phrases seem commonplace. Finally, I expect over the top explosionsâ?¦just because I like them.[/color]

[color=indigo]On Monday, two days after Glenn Beck either hijacked or inadvertently used (depending on your political sway) the anniversary and setting of Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic march to gather like minded individuals around the Lincoln Memorial, writer Beau Friedlander, via the Huffington Post, offered $100,000 for sex tapes that would help to ruin Glenn Becks reputation. Later that day, after intense scrutiny from media outlets on both the right an the left, The Huffington Post removed the article and made Friedlander write an [url="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beau-friedlander/an-apology-to-glenn-beck_b_699504.html"]apology[/url]. Now, the reason I bring this up is not because I want to discuss Glenn Beck and how icky I find him (though he is pretty harmless, kind of an awe shucks type of douche), or how out of line Beau Friedlander was. No, I want to use it as a platform to hear (read) your opinions on the American news media, and how it now really manipulates citizens to take a side (right or left) by polarizing reactions to stupid articles like the one posted to Huffington Post. So, what do you think about the news media in the US? Has it finally jumped the shark? Have all of our time honored media outlets been turned into manipulation machines that care more about swaying your vote and your buck than reporting fact? What media outlets do you trust? And, of course, a question for all of you Europeans, Aussies and Canadians. As the power and availability of the news media has grown in your countries are you experiencing the same phenomena at home?[/color]

[quote name='Delta' date='30 August 2010 - 08:02 PM' timestamp='1283212920' post='700046'] [COLOR=#35425e]Maybe you can turn this rut you're in into a project! Film yourself as film student with a pad in hand, looking for inspiration. And everytime you look down to your pad to write, something really exciting happens behind you (marching band passes by, marriage proposal, a Trojan invasion). Let us know how your project works out yeah? Tell us about it after.[/COLOR] [/quote] [color=indigo]I had a similar thought. I was thinking that he should write it in a time elapse manner, just slam the eight hours spent not coming up with ideas into a three minute span.[/color]

[color=indigo]When you stated that your mom's laptop was also having problems a light went off. I remember reading a blog on CNET or Tech Crunch where a blogger was having a similar problem. It turned out that there is a problem with some Cisco/Linksys routers. You may want to look into it if, once you clear all of your browser cookies, it continues to happen. It makes some sense if both computers are affected.[/color]

[quote name='Shinmaru' date='26 August 2010 - 05:42 PM' timestamp='1282858932' post='699898'] Yeah, it has been confirmed that Kon died of pancreatic cancer. He left behind some [url="http://www.makikoitoh.com/journal/satoshi-kons-last-words"]final words[/url] that were translated recently ... let's just say it was pretty dusty in my room while I read them. Kon left the world in an incredibly dignified way, with his head held high. [/quote] [color=indigo]From the letter it at least looks like he was able to properly say goodbye to many of his friends and loved ones. He had a lot of talent that didn't go to waste, his films are some of the most interesting anime that have been created.[/color]

[quote name='Allamorph' date='25 August 2010 - 10:07 AM' timestamp='1282745265' post='699827'] [center][img]http://cheezfailbooking.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/funny-facebook-armed-forces.png[/img] [left] [FONT=Calibri]This is why you should never get off on feeling superior: someone who happens to be [i]your[/i] superior will probably find out and remind you just how much you're [i]not[/i].[/FONT] [/left][/center] [/quote] [color=indigo]For the win. Doesn't it read kind of like the he wants the dinosaurs to rape and eat these people and their families, but does he want the dinosaurs to torture and murder them as well? I'm sure you could get a dinosaur to rape something, but I don't know if they are going to water-board anyone...that is tough to do without opposable thumbs. [/color]

[quote name='Beretta' date='24 August 2010 - 06:43 AM' timestamp='1282646626' post='699790'] My thing with the DC movies is that they're expecting you to already know who these characters are. They don't give any background, and that's a bad thing if you don't follow the comics. Crisis and I believe it was Public Enemies had that effect on me, but I still enjoyed those movies though. Now I want to see Under the Red Hood. [/quote] [color=indigo][b]Under the Red Hood[/b] was really good. I rented it tonight (RedBox you are so irresistible sometimes!) and I was happy that I wasted time watching it as opposed to doing the work that I desperately needed to get done. No Mark Hammil though, which is always disappointing...he is the best Joker.[/color]

[quote name='Shy' date='24 August 2010 - 07:54 PM' timestamp='1282694059' post='699808'] This movie was incredible and it gets my highest rating yet: [b]FIVE OUT OF FIVE SIDEWAYS FIST BUMPS![/B] In all serious, this is exactly what I want from a night at the movies. The action scenes were really fun [spoiler]especially when they killed all of those foreigners with their guns.[/spoiler] Dolph was probably my favorite, but I feel like everyone got a moment to shine. Arnie's cameo alone is so campy and gratuitous that it's worth the price of admission. - Shy [/quote] [color=indigo]You should get the "best use of spoiler tags when none were needed" award at the next OB awards. Ah, ironing is delicious. I actually saw this a second time, and I caught the long preview for [b]Machete[/b], which I am now almost as excited for as I was with [b]The Expendables[/b]![/color]

[quote name='Beretta' date='24 August 2010 - 11:36 PM' timestamp='1282707367' post='699817'] This. Seriously, reading those spoilers really had me wishing the guy was real so I could just punch him in the face. [/quote] [color=indigo]I agree. But that is why I think I love him. I don't remember ever really having an inkling to watch an anime of this genre but now I feel compelled just so I can see this jackass act like a leftover from the Jersey Shore. [/color]

[quote name='Sandy' date='25 August 2010 - 03:55 PM' timestamp='1282766142' post='699836'] But you're right, this sort of a checklist is a clever idea to avoid those pesky threads that are repeated every year, because heaven forbid that OB would ever have more than one new thread per day (looking at the Recently Added Topics list). XP [/quote] [color=indigo]I've never really had a problem with repeated thread topics. Actually, I kind of like them, just because you can see how members have grown and changed over time. I think a great example of this was Queen Asuka (sorry, being an old fogey I may be using an archaic reference). If you look at her posts when she had first began posting and compared them to her opinions on the same subject matter a few years later she would have seemed like a different person. Anyway, I like the idea of the thread for fun, but I'm waaaayy too long winded to fill that out [/color]

[quote name='Beretta' date='24 August 2010 - 06:10 AM' timestamp='1282644659' post='699789'] I'm hearing a lot of mixed opinions about FFXIII. [/quote] [color=indigo]Once you get through the first three chapters (you get introduced to the battle system slowly through the first three chapters) it is easily the best Final Fantasy game released. The plot is strong, the cut scenes are brilliant, the characters develop well over the game, the battle system is phenomenal, and the game stays challenging by pacing your ability to power up. If you enjoy FF games then there would be no reason why you wouldn't enjoy FFXIII.[/color]

[quote name='CaNz' date='23 August 2010 - 06:34 AM' timestamp='1282559648' post='699758'] since we are doing comedies too... i would like to throw [b]home movies [/b]into the mix that show had the best subtle humor around, and they did it without being vulgar, lots of violence, or extravagant characters. (many of them are crazy, but they all have a realistic nature) [/quote] [color=indigo][b]Home Movies[/b] was great. I also liked the similarly voice [b]Lucy, Daughter of the Devil[/b], but I was obviously in the minority on that one. I actually watched [b]Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths[/b] tonight. I enjoyed it, though I don't know why Warner Brothers felt the need to farm out new voice actors for characters. Maybe they just couldn't get the original cast. When I think of Batman, I think of Kevin Conroy, so it is weird when someone else does his voice.[/color]

[quote name='James' date='23 August 2010 - 09:53 PM' timestamp='1282614790' post='699777'] [font="Palatino Linotype"]The more information is released about this game, the less it seems like a regular Metal Gear Solid. I did read an article recently which basically said that this game is being aimed at a much wider audience - including people who aren't informed about MGS's convoluted story and complex gameplay. I don't see this as a bad thing, although no doubt some enthusiasts will consider this to be a dumbing down of the franchise. My feeling is that, so far, it's a breath of fresh air. Konami also confirmed that there will be less cut scenes in MGS: Rising! Thank god for that. I'm already more interested, on that basis alone. [/font] [/quote] [color=indigo]I agree about the breath of fresh air part. The last Metal Gear game rocked, but, I did try to get a few friends interested in it to no avail. I think that with games like Halo and Modern Warfare gamers aren't used to waiting around when they have a potential kick ass combat sequence waiting for them. Being actively sneaky could be very appealing.[/color]

[color=indigo]Again, I have a hard time justifying that any anime I have seen as being "under=rated" but I did think of two more that seem to fly under most peoples radar. I really enjoyed [b]Vandread[/b], which, if you aren't familiar with, is a story about a galaxy where men and women are segregated. It is sort of a mech-light type anime but it does shine in one crucial area: character development. While it isn't an unusual premise, stories concerning the lack of understanding between the two sexes is as old as they come, [b]Vandread[/b] does a great job of pronouncing the how men and women often struggle to understand each other, and why this lack of understanding occurs. Another series I dug was [b]Noir[/b]. Again, not an original premise, but it was still an enjoyable series. [/color]