Movies 7/20/2015

What do cows do for fun? They go to the moovies! Ha ha ha. We're talking about movies today.

It's late and I don't feel like writing much, so we're going to keep this brief, a'ight? My favorite movies are 80s movies. Back to the Future. The Empire Strikes Back. The Terminator. RoboCop. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jurassic Park. Okay, that one's from 93, but I wanted to list it anyway. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And you know Hollywood loves 80s movies because they're all getting reboots and sequels. Just leave 'em alone! They're good where they are! It wouldn't be so bad if they just wanted to update the concepts and filmmaking styles, so long as they had the focus on making a good movie that didn't fall into self-parody or anything. If you have a good story to tell that respects the original, sure, go for it. If not, and it's all about the money, back off!

Okay, like I said, nice and short. The last movie I watched was Nightcrawler. I'll review that next Monday if y'all want me to. Alright! BYE.

Stories 7/19/2015

Storytime! Let's get to it!

I don't mean to brag, but I was a great trumpeteer in elementary and middle school. I'm just gonna put it out there. I had a knack for the instrument. I was naturally talented. God gifted me like that. However, natural ability has its downsides. Sure, I was good, but I wasn't always interested in the music we had to play. Aaaand when you're not particularly interested in something, you may be prone to making...unwise decisions.

I was in seventh grade. It was the class period before lunch. It was time...for BAND! I was tired that day. I knew the music. I walked into class, past the teacher, (who liked me as a player, but probably not as a student) and to the closet room where our instruments were kept. It was a small, dark room. The cubbies that held the instrument cases were almost big enough to fit in... The bigger ones at the end certainly were. Screw it, I thought. I'm tired. I know the music. Mr Brewer knows I know the music. They don't need me today. So I hopped in a big compartment meant for a tuba or something and nestled up, fetus-style. And I slept. I felt good. It was one of those half-asleep naps where yeah, you're asleep, but you can still hear what's going on around you, maybe even think about it a little. The percussion kids and the other two trumpeters in the class could see into the closet, but they didn't tell on me. I napped. It felt good. And a few minutes before the end of class, I popped outta there and groggily took my seat. Mr Brewer did a double take.
"Nik Stout, where were you?!"
"I was in the..band closet."
He was dumbfounded and flabbergasted. I had resigned to the possibility that I could very well get in trouble for skipping class (but, you know, I was there, so was I really skipping?) but Brewer was so surprised and so done with me that he just shook his head and pretended the whole thing never happened.

And that's the story of the time I fell asleep in the band closet.

Okey-dokey. Tomorrow is Monday, which means I'm talkin' movies (or TV). Alright. BYE.

Gaming 7/18/2015

Alright then! Today's Saturday, so it's time to talk about gaming. Let's get to it then, shall we?

Over the years, I have owned eight video game consoles. I had a purple GameBoy Color in kindergarten or first grade (I can't remember which). That was given to me by a kid a year older than me. Our sisters played soccer together and he let me play Jurassic Park on his GameBoy, and then let me have it. Ronnie, you're a champ. I was no good at Jurassic Park for the OG GameBoy. I didn't know what I was supposed to do or how to really play it, so when I took it to school one day and the teacher took it away, I wasn't too broken up about it.

Next up: the GBA. Yes, my sister and I had a silver GameBoy Advance SP. For years, the only two games we had were Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. We would take turns playing in the car to and from church. We did chores and earned an allowance, but by the time birthdays rolled around, I would have nothing to buy her, so I'd gift her there GameBoy. Then two and a half weeks later it'd be my birthday and she'd gift it right back. This unspoken agreement gave me possession of the GBA SP for 98% of the year, but we shared it so much, who officially owned it was of little consequence. But one year, one fateful year, I gave her the GameBoy and on my birthday...she didn't give it back. This was an awkward moment for me. I didn't know if I felt betrayed, or nonplused, or angry, or sad, but I didn't really like that she hadn't honored our unspoken agreement. I got over it and eventually I bought it from her to secure it as mine, all mine!

Next up is the PlayStation 2.  Our family had one. We'd play SSX and SSX Tricky (snowboarding games) after dinner from time to time. We'd do races or trick competitions and we had a jolly good time! We'd also play Splashdown, which was essentially SSX, but not as good and with jetskis instead of snowboards. My dad had a few other games. He had Gran Turismo 4, which I never played. I played NBA Street with my friend Kyle. One day, (now was it third or fourth grade? I don't remember...) I stayed home from school, because sick, and played SSX. Months later, I was looking around the house and discovered that I hadn't been playing SSX that day at all...I WAS PLAYING SSX 3!!! Ha ha, yes! There was a third one! And oh, this one was miiiiiles better than the first two, which were already pretty great. Oh, how excited was I! I had some other PS2 games over the years. Mostly LEGO Star Wars and the like. Eventually our PS2 broke and Mother and Father graced us with the PS2 Slim. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Then in middle school, I got a Nintendo DS Lite for my birthday. Not too much to say here. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but eventually the L and R buttons konked out on me. I traded it in to GameStop or Play 'n' Trade for what I could and bought myself...

...a Nintendo DSi! Yeah, the DS Lite was breaking down and some of my friends from Boy Scouts had the DSi and recommended it, so I bought one. Again, not too much to say here. I didn't give it to my sister. I didn't discover that we already owned sequels to great games. Eventually the L and R buttons started to give me trouble again (really, Nintendo?), and I don't play it much anymore because of that. I'd like to replace it with the New Nintendo 3DS one of these days.

Back in '06, my dad earned himself a promotion (one that lead to another promotion earlier this year. Good on ya, Dad!). At the same time, Sony released the PS3. To celebrate, my mom bought him a PS3, which cost $600. I only remember that because she had to pay in cash so that my dad couldn't see the transaction online and thus ruin the surprise. Anyway, my dad had a PS3, but he didn't play it much. Neither did I. We played Madden NFL 10 or Virtua Tennis 3, but the PS3 was his and expensive, so I stuck to Star Wars Battlefront (and SWBFII) on PS2. Eventually, he'd let me play it. I played MotorStorm after school for a bit. One day I was in GameStop and I saw a little game called Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. I don't know what happened next, but I suddenly owned the game and was playing it. I loved it! It was a little bit of Tomb Raider, a little bit of Indiana Jones... I went back and bought the sequel. It was even better! I soon discovered that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves had an online multiplayer mode, so I tried it out. I bought myself a Bluetooth headset so I could talk to my teammates and I met a guy called marineshadow. I played with him and one day he says, "Hey BoqRottom, let's go play with my other friends." I was up for it, but hesitant, and that's when I met two more friends. And then a few more. And just a few more. We had a core group of about eight players and a few more who didn't show up as often. Over time, our group changed. New people came, old ones left, yadda yadda yadda. Now we're down to five of us, and though we're smaller in size, we have better relationships with each other. It's a good time. Last November, Dad's PS3 (which was essentially mine at this point) died. I had a dilemma: should I buy a replacement PS3, or a PS4? None of friends had a PS4, but neither did I. And it was Black Friday! But if I bought a PS4, I couldn't play with my friends anymore... I bought a PS3 Slim. It has several advantages over the launch model PS3: more memory, smaller size, quieter fans, less heat production... I like it!

My dad bought the family a Wii. He flies all over the place for his job, and he gets to use those frequent flyer miles to snag sweet swag. Like a Wii. So we have one. Initially, we played the Wii Sports game that came with it, and Wii Fit, you know, to stay fit. It doesn't get much use these days. The twins love it, but after a bout of uncooperative gameplay and fussiness, my folks have locked! them! out! No more games till they're eight!

Lastly, I bought an NES last summer. I woke up one fine Saturday morning (not unlike today!) and my mom tells me that she and the boys had already gone yard saling and that some guy was selling an old Nintendo for sale. I thought it'd be neat. Maybe I'd score a GameCube or N64. I got to the guy's house and he had an NES. With three controllers. And the Zapper. And about twenty games. For $50, was it? What a steal! You can't get just the NES for that price on eBay! It came with Tetris, Donkey Kong, Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3, Top Gun, The Little Mermaid, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and more. There were a couple duplicates and a few games I never even bothered to try out (Track and Field II), but all in all, a great deal. Of fun! I let my sister take it with her to college in the fall and then gave it to her for Christmas.

Alright! That was long! Maybe even...too long. Okay, then! Tomorrow's Sunday, which means it'll be storytime. Aww, you want me to tell you a story? A sweet wittle story? WELL, TOO BAD! IT'S NOT SUNDAY YET! Alrighty then. BYE.

Suggested Topics 7/17/2015

Well, no Qs were asked yesterday, so no As could be given...
Also, there were no suggested topics, so I'll have to come up with my own.

Today I'm talking about...sofas. Why not?
Okay, so sofas are things you'd normally find in your living room or basement. They're meant for sitting on, but from time to time, ya fall asleep on 'em. And let me tell you this: I find sleeping on the couch far more enjoyable than sleeping on a bed. I am not one to lie flat on my back in bed. This isn't 2008. I'm not a plank. I like to sleep on my side with my head propped up. At the same time, I don't want to prop my head up with a bajillion pillows or fold a couple over. It's either too much or too unreliable. The arm of a sofa works beautifully. I can rest my head on that and sink into the back of the couch. Plus, the cushions typically slope downward from front to back, so it's easy to rest in the same position all night long...

HEY! Here's a little history. The Romans used to use sofas as the all-purpose furniture piece. They'd sleep on 'em. They'd pull up a table to eat or do work. So there you go. Friends, countrymen, lend me your...butts. 'Cause I want you to sit on a couch.

Alright! That'll do it for today. Tomorrow I talk gaming. See ya then. BYE.

Q&A 7/16/2015

First Post!
You probably don't know me, so there should be a million questions that could be asked. So ask away! Questions could include:

• What's your name?
• Why start a blog?
• What kind of sandwiches do you like?
• How old are you?
• If you could have any pet, what would it be?

These are just some really basic questions, though so gimme something you want to know!
EDIT: Don't forget to leave a topic for tomorrow's post. See the schedule on the home page for more o' them sweet, sweet deets...