The Truth as Told by Paul

Holiday Gift Guide for the Man, Boy, or Nerd... aka My Wish List

2009-12-08T18:00:00.005-06:00

Movies:

Star Trek Special Edition

Terminator Salvation
Angels and Demons

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

District 9

Holiday Gift Guide for the Man, Boy, or Nerd

2009-12-08T17:56:00.002-06:00

Electronics

Portable Hard Drive

Xbox 360 Charge Stand

PS3 Charge Stand

Holiday Gift Guide for the Man, Boy, or Nerd

2009-12-08T17:27:00.005-06:00

Video Games

Super Mario Bros. Wii

Nintendo Wii

Back to the roots of Mario with a Wii twist. This game is a must play for players young and old.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition

PS3, Xbox 360

This has game of the year written all over it. Any gamer deserves this game, and you have to play it. Plus Night Vision Goggles... nuff said.

Modern Warfare 2 Collectors Strategy Guide

Hard cover includes multiple pages of artwork from the game. Beat the game before you buy it, then conquer.

Assassin's Creed II Master Assassin's Edition

Xbox 360, PS3

The first game was a little repetitive but still amazing. This game promises all the grea tof the first and none of the bad. Plus Da Vinci makes an appearance.

Assassin's Creed II Collectors Edition Guide

Hard cover and full of extras.

Borderlands

PS3

This game is completely different with its inventive and innovative campaign multiplayer and over 200,000 weapons and combinations should be sweet.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

The final saga for Ratchet and his magnetic partner Clank. Even if this game was gonna suck I would buy it, but even game informer gave it a 9.25

The Blue Angels

2009-08-30T21:32:00.004-05:00

The Blue Angels performed at the Air Show. They were great of course. There isn't really much to say about them. There skill speaks for itself.This is Fat Albert. It is the support plane for the Blue Angels. Carries all of their extra equipment and such.It is a Hercules class or whatever. It is a propeller plane, but it has JATO or Jet Assisted Take Off, for situation in which there is a short runway it starts going with the propeller and then BAM, sets off these rockets and it just leapsinto the air.

Golden Knights and Virtual Army Experience

2009-08-30T21:16:00.002-05:00

These guys were really cool, it was great seeing them screaming towards the ground at 120 MPH
They would stagger themselves at different heights once their chutes opened so they could land in succession

These two had a baton and they split this far apart and then flew back together to hand it off.

Inside this tent is two humvees and an actual Black Hawk Helicopter each mounted with M4 Sub machine guns in fron of 180 degree viewing screens. Pretty much the sweetest video game I have ever played.

Ashley was all about it.

We were in the Black Hawk providing Air Support for the ground convoy

Air Show '09 B2 Fly-over

2009-08-30T20:10:00.003-05:00

Highlight of the show for me.

Defenders of Freedom Air Show 2009

2009-08-30T19:52:00.004-05:00

Ashley and I went to the Air Show this weekend. She had a pretty good time. She didn't appreciate all the walking around, but it was still a pretty great time.

Heritage Flight

F-15 F-16 and P-51

F-15

Ashley couldn't believe how loud they could be

This was pretty much how moving the piano went

2009-03-07T20:17:00.001-06:00

Today, I started my morning by helping Alycia get a piano from a member in the ward. So I put on my grungy clothes and my "you can't fix stupid" shirt, and we head over to meet Greg and some other guys at the place.

She tells me on the way that it is at the Bishop's house.... Awesome I look like a homeless guy and swearing is a requirement when moving, everyone knows this. So basically Im seeing my melchezidek priesthood chances dirft away.

Anyway we get to the house and there are about 6 steps leading up into the front door. Awesome great what could be better. We go into the house and in the front room where there is a piano that if I wanted to, I could throw on my back and carry out myself. Sweet this may be easier than I thought.

No No I go to the back of the house and there is an Upright grand Piano. The top of it is chin level with me and it weighs about as much as Gregs Ford Focus. So we realize there are less steps out the back (only two) so we decide to go that way. It takes about 20 minutes to go 30 feet to the back door and the doctor in the group of us decided to build a ramp out of wood paneling and 2x4's.

Yeah that didnt go so well. The Bishop's daughter walked down it and it almost crumbled under her feet. So we torched that idea and decided jsut to muscle it. Long story short, we got it all moved, our arms are sore but Alycia has an upright grand piano that will never ever move out of its current spot.

And here come the Movies

2009-01-29T22:31:00.005-06:00

Let me know which ones you guys are excited about.

Ok so February starts off with 2 Chick Flicks in a row:

He’s Just Not That Into You February 6th
(Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore)

Confessions of a Shopaholic February 16th
(Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy)

Both should be entertaining and seem to be pretty comical.

Now for one that I have been keeping my eye on.

Watchmen March 6th
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earl Casey)
This should be pretty good, kind of out there, but the same director as 300

So I remember this next one from when I was a kid and they are remaking it. It looks pretty good.
Race to Witch Mountain March 13th
(Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Carla Gugino)
This one looks funny and entertaining even for a kids movie. The previews already have me laughing.
Monsters vs. Aliens March 27th
(Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen)

And now one for Taylor, Savannah, and Sierra
Hannah Montana: The Movie April 10th
(Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment, Billy Ray Cyrus)

Then starts the summer midnight movie madness. One of the best seasons of the year.
A couple Sci-fi movies for the nerds in the family… ah who am I kiddin’ Im the only one.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine May 1st
(Hugh Jackman, Live Schriber, Ryan Reynolds)
Gambit is gonna be in this one, that should be pretty sweet.

Star Trek May 8th
(Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, John Cho)
This looks better with each preview

Now one I think Dad has been waiting for
Angels and Demons May 15th
(Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor)

Terminator: Salvation May 22nd
(Christian Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Worthington)
I’m excited they are finally doing one that is set completely in the future.

This one looks pretty funny, the preview was short but it had some good laughs.
Up May 29th
(Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer)

Then if this one is even half as good as the first, it will be a smash hit.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen June 24th
(Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson)

I’m not sure about this one but these two actors in the same movie could prove great.
Public Enemies July 1st
(Johnny Depp, Christian Bale)

Finally after a 7 month delay
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince July 17th
(Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman)

And now for anyone who claims to be a guy, this is gonna be a crazy awesome movie, even if it sucks.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra August 7th
(Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Christopher Eccleston)

B2 Boys

2009-01-08T22:07:00.004-06:00

Ok so this was probably the coolest thing that I have ever done, and I would think my brothers feel the same way. Getting the opportunity to not only see, but get up close and personal with one of the most closely guarded pieces of technology that the United States has ever produced.

We took pictures but this is all that came out.

I must admit I was even impressed with the stealth cloaking technology.

Just playing

You know the feeling you get when you walk into a room with a really powerful person that just commands respect from their sheer essence.

This was kind of like that except it made you want to pee from seeing it.

Major Cochran was an awesome tour guide and there is no way we can thank him enough, he answered most of our questions. All of the ones he was allowed to at least.

We got to go into the cockpit and sit behind the stick. We learned that it is a little cramped in there especially if you have to be in there for 24 hours straight. We obviously weren't allowed to bring cameras into the cock pit or simulator, but those images are going to be burned in our minds forever.

We flew the simulator and we learned that Jason and Jon will in all likelihood kill us if we ever try to land the plane. Shawn and I are screwed if we ever try to refuel mid-air. Dad.... well Dad almost flew us into an F-16 and then we just couldn't figure out where the heck we were.

This is probably one of the coolest pictures we got.

Bruce Lee better watch out.

2008-11-16T10:47:00.005-06:00

We were excited to be there. After each kid went me and Alycia woould sit and judge them like American Idol. Alycia would be Paula, "I loved it, absoluetly, hiccup, you were amazing I wish I could take you home with me."

I would be the more honest Simon, "Pathetic, who told you you were ready? I cant believe I just wasted 14 minutes of my frickin life that I cant get back."

It helped to calm Alycia's nerves.

Gabe was really on form and Owned it. Whatever they asked him to do, He was focused and nailed it.Alycia pretty much looked like she was going to throw up and pee the whole time. She does not handle these things well.I just am waiting for the day he can do a roundhouse kink like Chuck Norris.

This is Gabe realizing it was probably a bad idea to have his mom come.

Gabe did really well on his forms start to finish, really solid.

Gabe didn't even have to do his bow staff forms, but they told him too and he did it perfectly.

To cap it all off, he earned his red belt. Alycia was about to cry, and vomit. She couldn't decide.

The Whaley House

2008-11-01T14:41:00.004-05:00

The Whaley House is a Haunted house where the Whaley family once lived and a number of horrible things happened their. Anyway, it is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of the family. So we went on the tour of the house. It is pretty cool. Here are some pictures of the inside.

The F-22 Raptor

2008-08-19T11:02:00.005-05:00

Now Jason is probably the most ingenious one of us siblings. He can pretty much make anything happen that he puts his mind to. From organizing a Jamboree, to getting on military ships, to almost killing Dad on a mountain, the guy can do just about anything. So when I am able to say that I have doen something he hasn't (yet) I am going to scream it to the world.

I TOUCHED A RAPTOR!!!!

After being to the Air Show and seeing the arsenal that our country has to defend itself. Not to mention meeting some of the men and women who have made it their responsibility to let us sleep easy at night. These are not people I would ever want to cross blades with. This is the type of stuff that makes America beautiful.

The Air Show

2008-08-19T10:38:00.005-05:00

At the Air Show they had this exhibitor called the Virtual Army Experience. We stood in line for 2 hours (Greg and I) and then when we got in, after we gave all our information so that we can be unsuccessfully recruited for the next year, they gave us a mission briefing. Greg, me and about 12 others were on an aid mission to escort supplies through a hostile village.

This thing was frickin awesome, You go into this huge dome tent and they have 3 Hummers set up with 7 gun posts on each, and a life size Black Hawk Helicopter with 4 gun mounts.

each one has 180 screen in front of it and you go through on a mission through this hostile town. This was a crazy awesome experience, and i completely owned, the guys in the helicopter got pissed cause i didnt leave them anyone to kill.

C-17 doing fly-bys

A-10

B-1B Lancer

F/A-18E Super Hornet This beast was loud

The ThunderbirdsThey flew by belly to belly

The end of the hike, Our Accomodations

2008-08-09T15:43:00.007-05:00

Jason And Jon had cool head lamps so i made my own

I had 10 seconds ot hit the button then run to the group, with a pack on.

WE were impressed that Dad made it down the mountain so we let him sit in the car while we packed. ( honestly I dont think there was a choice. After your dad threatens a Park Ranger, you don't really mess with him)
This was our 5 star accomodations
Jason and Jon's Beds (Stable and Sturdy, definetely built for comfort)

I would hate to take a black light to this thing.

Pizza and Milkshakes, good stuff

This is Junior Park Ranger Jon as you can see (Respect the Badge) Too bad no one would sit next to him on the bus whie he wore it. I even think he scared a little girl

Half Dome (totally did not climb it)

For some reason, when I am around, Jon likes to beat on me. It's not like I instigate it.

Jon told me to get in the Bear Box

So like a genius I did

Jason didn't trust the bed so much

Yeah sure I will share the bed with Dad

I think this was their subtle way of saying, Don't leave crap in your car.

Yosemite

2008-08-09T14:28:00.006-05:00

This was the lake we stayed at.

Jon was having issues with his shorts

Our Campsite

American Gladiators

Jon was showing off better moves than i was

GQ Jonny

This is when we stopped for lunch on the way up.

I made it a lot better than i thought i would

making spaghetti, it actually tasted good

Dont laugh at the bandana, it actually helped

This was dad before the hike, he was still happy

We were still happy, the hike hadn't started yet

Jason crossing the log

The Dark Knight

2008-07-19T23:40:00.003-05:00

Rated PG-13

First off, let me just say that I have thoroughly managed to upset my nephews. I planned on taking them to the Saturday morning showing of this movie, but I have to cancel that because this movie is really not meant for kids. I would say you should be at least ten before seeing this movie, at the very least.
I am really at a loss for words with this movie; my heart was racing the entire time. It was absolutely incredible. It did not feel like you were watching a comic book Superhero movie at all. They made it feel real. I don’t really think there was anything that far fetched in it whatsoever. The action sequences were portrayed with near perfect execution. It was extremely dramatic and made you care about the characters. There was multiple cheer for the good guy moments.
Christian Bale pulls off the Batman/Bruce Wayne inner struggle with dramatic and lighthearted appeal. You can see his inner struggle with the desire for a Gotham City that no longer needs Batman. He has successfully pushed the crime bosses of the city into a state of fear and just the knowledge of his presence has been keeping them at bay. They have even started meeting during the day out of fear of what lies in the shadows. Gotham is pulling out of its rut from the time of Batman Begins.
Along comes the Joker (Heath Ledger, I will get into that later) with his desire for utter mayhem. He doesn’t care how it happens but anarchy is his goal. He is smart and he is ruthless; his desire for corruption is what keeps him going. He feels that any one can be pushed beyond the limit if you know where to hit them. Harvey Dent is a District Attorney who is not afraid to stand up against the crime lords, and is seen by Bruce Wayne as the hope he has of a normal person taking over so Batman is not needed.
Through an incredible series of events, the story unfolds into a masterfully portrayed action adventure drama. I went with incredibly high hopes of a good time and was not in any way let down. My advice to you is to see it twice, there is just too much awesomeness and it must be taken in again.
Now as for the late Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker, breathtaking and just an amazing sight to see. There has been Oscar buzz about this role and some say it is only because he has passed away. After seeing this portrayal of a scarred and deranged killer, on a quest for total anarchy, I have no doubt that he should be awarded the Oscar. He made you afraid of him, laugh at him, feel sorry for him, and then hate him. Hands down the best villain since Hannibal Lector.
So basically, I wouldn’t recommend taking the kids to it, but still an amazing movie and one that will be talked about for a long time. Iron Man was phenomenal, this surpasses it. The best movie of the summer and it will be hard, near impossible, to beat.
5 out of 5 on the awesomeness scale.

P.S. New Terminator movie coming out in 2009, with Christian Bale as John Connor. Tell me that doesn’t sound frickin’ awesome.

4th of July

2008-07-06T20:53:00.007-05:00

My Arsenal
Ka-Boom
Birthday Girl
Trish and Ging
Maddie was kind of Pissed
This was at the start and the street is pretty black still
The one on the left hit a car, the one on the right, nailed someones house

Ginger, Alycia, and Tonia
Mom and Pop
Some of the food
Tori and Me
Ashley

Maddie and Trish
The Pinata carnage

Timmy didn't stay clean
So he decided to Hulk Out

Bag of Death

2008-07-06T20:53:00.001-05:00

This is the 4th of July Bag of Death. The video is not so great because i fall over half way through while running for my life

Hancock

2008-07-01T22:33:00.004-05:00

Rated PG-13

Thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie is not really what it seems from the previews. I won’t give away the plot or anything so don’t worry about spoilers. It’s not what you expect in the fact that there is quite a bit more language that originally let on and it’s a bit rough. The movie is incredible with its visual effects, nothing groundbreaking or new, but that doesn’t seem like what the film is trying to do. It utilizes the technology of today in an extremely good way.
Now just because there is language, that doesn’t make it bad, on the contrary, the language actually helps add to the creation of Hancock’s character. It was just kind of shocking when you hear it at first. Not really recommended it to the younger crowds under 8. That’s just me though, I’m not your kid’s parent, you are. The language is used in a way that makes you laugh at the placement and timing of it, and basically because Will Smith can deliver it perfectly.
Smith delivers an amazing performance for a role that he hasn’t really done. I’m thinking back and I don’t really think superhero has been in his credentials. Hancock is a super powered being who is struggling to remember who he is and where he comes from. Through all this he makes you laugh, gasp, laugh some more, cry and in the case of my Dad, stomp your feet and belly laugh. His role will blow you away.
Jason Bateman plays a struggling PR guy with no one to represent, and he delivers extremely well. He is married to Charlize Theron in the film and she has some deeper roles in the plot which are confusing, but not all together complicating. Both roles are delivered well with subtleties that are there if you catch them.
The film doesn’t get complicated which is really good. Some parts keep you guessing but that’s about it. they made a simple movie that entertains. They didn’t get into any kind of deeper political issues or plots within plots within plots. It works and I think this one is definitely a must see, maybe twice. 4.5 out of 5 on the awesomeness scale.

Wall e

2008-06-28T23:15:00.002-05:00

So the story takes place about 700 years from now on planet Earth which has been completely abandoned. Apparently large corporations have made it so we became a world of buying things without having anywhere to put it afterwards. The world basically became a trash dump. Wall e was created as basically a smart trash compactor. Hundreds of him were created at the beginning but only one remains. The Wall e.
People left earth on a gigantic spaceship to roam the universe until the Wall e’s got it all cleaned up. 700 years later the world is still a mess and the one Wall e has managed to create gigantic building size towers out of garbage. With a cockroach that follows him around all day and stealing spare parts from the other model Wall e’s, he survives and gets curious about little objects he finds.
Soon he gets a visit from Eve, a girl robot (I guess) who was sent to check for plant life on the planet. She finds Wall e and he falls in love. She finds plants and her prime directive takes over and she takes back off to the ship and Wall e follows.
I wont give away the rest of the story, but it is pretty cute and the little robot manages to entertain for the full movie, along with help from some of his friends he meets along the way. All in all it’s a cute movie that keeps your attention and makes you want a robot to find love. Some of the parts though tend to get into the “I’m trying to influence people’s opinions about the world and the way they should be living.
The short movie before the movie is pretty good too. I give the movie a 4 out of 5 on the awesomeness scale

Battlestar Galactica

2008-06-21T18:11:00.002-05:00

Mid Season Finale

The best show on TV by far. They just keep getting better and better, and you know what the best part is. They know when to end a good thing so that it doesn’t start to suck. This is the final year for BSG and we are halfway through it. They just concluded the mid season finale and what a fracking awesome one it was. Let’s recap a little shall we. The goal of this part of the season is all about finding earth and revealing the final five cylons. Four of the five are known, but there is still one out there that has everyone guessing.
The cylons themselves are starting to divide and to choose sides. Half of the 9 known have decided to ally themselves with the humans and search for earth peacefully. They do this by giving the humans the Resurrection Hub, and the ability to destroy it. With this gone, the cylons can no longer redownload; essentially, they are mortal and have something to lose now. So, with this in mind, the cylons that are hiding among the fleet (Colonel Tigh, Lieutenant Anders, Chief Tyrol, and Presidential aid Tory) decide to come forward and reveal themselves.
They are given amnesty by the interim President Lee Adama, as a show of peace, and they discover that the ship that Starbuck flew in on is the key, the map to finding earth. In it is the heading and coordinates to the exact location. In probably the coolest line ever by Admiral Adama, he says to Lee and Laura, “You two gonna keep flapping your lips, or are we gonna go find Earth”. Lee recommends a recon be sent and the Admiral replies, “Frack it, this is the end of the line”.
He gives Laura the honor of taking command of the jump and the ships appear over a blue planet with exact matching constellations. The fleet erupts in cheers and hugs and just general awesomeness. Groups of raptors take the main contingent of humans, and the cylons down to the planet. When the camera pans around, there are the remains of human civilization. Bridges destroyed, halves of buildings, it looks as if the thirteenth tribe has long been gone from this planet.
The next twelve episodes are going to focus on colonizing Earth and revealing the 12th and final cylon. It should be amazing and I am frackin excited to see how they end it

The Incredible Hulk

2008-06-14T20:54:00.005-05:00

HULK SMASH!!!! Very well done and awesome. The movie doesn’t bore you with the whole, “how did he get like this” crap. They use the opening credits to shortly explain and show what happened to Bruce Banner to make him this green giant. After that, it takes you directly to Edward Norton living in hiding and on the run in Brazil. Edward Norton pulls off an amazing portrayal of Bruce Banner and his inner struggle with the green monster. He has successfully thwarted The US Army and William Hurt’s character for 5 months. This is until a drop of his blood accidently gets spilled and winds up in a bottle of Brazilian soda.
With a cameo from Mister Stan Lee himself drinking it, and receiving slight gamma poisoning, this leads the General to track down where Banner is hiding. In an extremely well done and exciting chase scene, Banner and a few military special ops commandos, tear across rooftops while Banner periodically stops to try and calm his heart rate. They corner him in the bottling plant and he loses control. They tease you with this encounter, showing shadows and glimpses of the Hulking Monster that we want to see kick some tail.
The encounter ends and Banner wakes up in the middle of the jungle wearing only a pair of torn jeans. He makes his way back to America to seek out Betty, his love that he had to leave to protect. One of the soldiers is intrigued by the Hulk and wants another shot at him. He becomes a super soldier, infused with a small does of the same stuff as Banner. This turns into my favorite scene from the movie, The Hulk versus the military, soldiers, tanks, choppers, and Bolsky, the super soldier. Crazy awesome with the effects and the fighting.
Everything leads to a climactic battle with Bolsky craving the serum to much which turns him into the much too talkative Abomination. The battle between these two goliaths is epic and extremely well done. The graphics and the some of the sequences are pure eye candy. They make you want to root for the green guy. Very well done and a must see for fans and non fans alike.
At the end of the movie there is also a special appearance of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. (Iron Man) which hints to a future movie that could perhaps be ….. Justice League, Freakin’ Awesome.Overall 4 out of 5 on the awesomeness scale

Dinner with the siblings

2008-06-05T00:44:00.006-05:00

Brady is working for the bills yo. He aint cheap either, those are $20's. His parents seem to think he is awesome and special and i guess worht those bills. I aint seen nothing special. He just drools a lot. Just playing, cool kid.

Apparently he is using the 20's to buy some dinner. Kid can put it away.

He doesn't even know me. he is going to get stolen by a stranger. Way to go Jonny, teach him to love everyone. You know what this kids safe word is gonna be when he goes to school. "Hey kid, want some candy", Way to be super dad brother.

They look cute now, but Brady can run and Emily will just cute you to death.

So i got to be the lucky one to sit next to Emily and she liked me food more than i did apparently.

GQ Jonny

See Jason is an awesome brother. We will see how awesome he is after this hike. He could be responsible for killing dad. Jason could be the dad killer. We will see how that goes.

Disneyland

2008-06-05T00:11:00.005-05:00

Tori and Jaclyn decided that they would argue on the way up to Disneyland. It was pretty funny cause they just decided to yell louder and louder at each other. Neither made sense, so it made the time fly.

Still arguing. Yeah it went on for a bit.

On Big Thunder Mountain. It didn't derail and we didn't die (which i think is a good thing)

The Magic Kingdom, still the happiest place on earth.

The graduate, Im not sure if Mickey ever graduated anything, but Jaclyn did.

Both 2008 graduates, High School and College.

Tori and Jaclyn on the Matterhorn, There was some screaming involed and I think a Yeti

Matterhorn Mountain

Lex and Me

What a shocker, Tori found time at Disneyland, the happiest frickin' place on earth, to read a book. It was in line for Splash Mountain, she didn't want to go. She said we would get soaked. Well we did get soaked, but that is beside the point.

Flume: an amusement park ride in which passengers are carried in a boatlike or loglike conveyance through a narrow, water-filled chute or over a water slide.

That is just an awesome word.

Space Mountain, she didn't wine about this ride

So here is the situation, The evil emporer Zurg and his group of evil machines have stolen all of the galaxies batteries. This is a bad situation. We must help the little green aliens get the batteries back and stick to his evil emporerness. I owned at this game. Sweet ride

Goofy, just wanted a break and I think he was a little ticked that he wasn't allowed to ride the rockets.

Hanging with the Bloomfields

2008-06-04T23:50:00.004-05:00

Yeah Tori will probably be pissed I put this on but i couldn't help it. She was snoring too. Whatever she got the couch, I had the floor i will post all the embarrassing pictures i want to.
Lara, I was able to snap the picture before she was. She's like the little sister i never had. (sorry Tori) Just kidding but she is pretty cool. Ok so funny story, She asked if I wanted to play Guitar Hero. I was like ok lets play. She said are you sure? I said yeah. She jumped off the couch and said. "I am gonna pwn you." (no i didn't spell that wrong) Yeah and she actually did. Kid kicked my butt
This was like the 5th shot, we had to get it just right apparently
Yeah this kid didn't even remember that he ratted me out for jumping off the roof into the pool. Revenge buddy, I know where you sleep.
Blake and his girlfriend, They apparently had a great prom together. She is really nice and she wasn't scared away by Jason, Jon, and I so she is a keeper.

Jon pretty much got slammed on Mario Kart. He tried though. A for effort

The Incredible Hulk

2008-06-03T13:47:00.001-05:00

Theatrical Release Date: 06/13/08

This one looks pretty good. I mean you can’t do much worse than the last disaster that they called The Hulk. I won’t get into that because it will just cause tears. They look like they will make it well and portray this superhero with awesomeness. I’m not really all that convinced about Edward Norton yet. He just doesn’t scream “superhero”. Of course Robert Downey Jr. didn’t either but he ended up being frickin’ awesome in Iron Man.
They finally have a bad guy suitable enough for the Hulk. Abomination looks like he will give them a run for their money and provide plenty of action and entertainment. I will be at the midnight for this one I think. This movie and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening come out the same day so that will be a tough one.

The Strangers

2008-06-03T13:30:00.005-05:00

Yeah so um… got my heart going, and made me a little scared of the dark. It was done really well. If you are interested in a movie that will give you the creeps but not gross you out, this is the movie for you. It does have the typical, “you idiot don’t go in that room” moments, but surprisingly not to many. Its premise is a couple go out to his family home almost in the middle of nowhere. They are not in a happy mood seen as she just said no to his marriage proposal. Anyway, they are having an awkward night when someone beats on the door and asks if “Tamara” is home. You can’t see her face but her voice is enough to freak you out. Then throughout the rest of the movie, these three strangers, start to taunt and terrorize the couple by beating on the doors and windows, smashing up their car and only means of escape, and destroying any means of communication.
This goes on for pretty much the whole movie until the end when they finally decide to attack. I won’t ruin it, but it is pretty good and messes with your head.
For all those LDS members out their, (you know who you are) they represent us in the movie too. Pretty poorly though. Two young boys maybe 14 or 15 are walking up the road with white shirts, black slacks, backpacks, and bikes. They are the ones who stumble on the scene of the previous night. They are holding Christian Living pamphlets which initially led me to believe, “hey, maybe they aren’t Mormon.” Nope wrong in the credits, it has them listed as Mormon boy #1 and Mormon boy #2. Oh well doesn’t make them look like idiots.Anyway, the movie is good if you are in for a scare, but I would recommend sleeping with the blinds closed and don’t buy a house out in the middle of nowhere. 3.5 of 5 on the awesomeness scale.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-06-03T13:21:00.004-05:00

Ok, this movie didn’t blow me away, but I really didn’t expect it to. I am not a huge fan of George Lucas but I am of Steven Spielberg. I feel like Lucas relies too much on what his ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) has done in the past to make his movies. To me it doesn’t seem like they have expanded much of their technology or CGI work since their Star Wars days. They still rely hugely on models, which are obvious in the movie. They hide their special effects with bright light in your eyes or other things to distract you. Whereas somehow when Spielberg did Transformers there was nothing hidden, the special effects were in your face and flawless.
The actors did pretty well. They didn’t hide Harrison Ford’s age and they didn’t need to. He pulled it off and sold it. Even his reaction with the woman from the first movie, they were able to bring her back successfully and make that relationship work. Shia Lebeouf, I don’t really know what to say about him. I really like him in all his other movies; he is funny and talented but for some reason this part didn’t go so well. 50’s greaser is not in his range I guess.
So the Indiana Jones movies have always had events in them that are far fetched and hold a yeah right feel to them. But they were always able to make you believe it could happen. In Temple of Doom, they made me believe a man could rip out another man’s heart just by saying “Kalima”; I even tried it a few times on Jon. This one though, the climactic end scene does make you believe, but it’s the little stuff like climbing into a lead lined fridge to survive a nuclear blast and then being thrown about 8 miles in that same fridge and just rolling out of it, that makes you think, What the snap were these guys smoking when they thought that up.
As for the overall storyline, in my opinion, blah and way too far fetched. The other movies pushed the limits and made it believable, this one doesn’t even know where the limits are and then takes you to la la land. It is adventurous; it has its humorous moments, and it does keep you interested, but not enough for me to say this was a great movie. I am kind of disappointed in the fact that I have to spend another 8 bucks to take my nephew to it, waste of time though. I will give it a 3 out of 5 on the Awesomeness scale because of Ford and that they tried.

Prince Caspian

2008-05-20T12:03:00.003-05:00

This movie kept you entertained. It wasn’t edge of your seat, what’s gonna happen next, type of action but I think it was better than the first. To me in the first one the action/ fighting sequences were more defensive and didn’t really entertain. In this one you see Peter and Edmund more and more running up to a person kicking them in the chest and then punching them in the head. It was crazy cool like that.
Susan even stood out more with her Bow and Arrow skills, actually using them is a good thing. Lucy was more on the cute and funny side of the movie being the only one that could see Aslan for a while and setting off to find him. The special effects are phenomenal and the only flaw I would say would be with the centaurs. When they walk or run, it doesn’t seem to flow or look right like it did in the first.
The actor who plays Prince Caspian does really well and he provides humor and a sense of daring. Peter seems to be in conflict with this during the whole of the movie. The two best characters by far would have to be Reepicheep and the Dwarf. Their subtle humor carries you through the dramatic parts where there isn’t much of anything flashy. All in all a great movie and perfect for the family. 4 out of 5 on the awesomeness scale

Burn Notice

2008-05-14T13:21:00.002-05:00

Season 1
DVD Release 06/17/08

Like MacGyver was for Jason’s generation, Burn Notice is for mine. This show is great, it was the cleverness of MacGyver but he is actually willing to use a gun and kill people. The main character, Michael Westen, is a highly trained spy who gets “burned” for no apparent reason. He is now stuck in Miami with people trying to kill him, pulling off odd jobs for money, and trying to figure out why he was burned in the first place. It’s clever its funny it’s sexy it’s awesome. I recommend buying it. I just got hooked and have been watching the first season and I can’t wait for the next season

Tom Clancy's HAWX

2008-05-14T12:14:00.001-05:00

Tom Clancy’s HAWX
Video Game Releases Fall 2008

The opening quote on this preview is “Yea though I fly through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for I am 30,000 feet and climbing”. That really doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you look at it as come and get me death I dare ya. This though is definitely a sweet looking game. Tom Clancy’s last masterpiece that I absolutely loved was the Ghost Recon Games. Beyond great. If you look closely at this one, he incorporates the same characters into the game play. The men on the ground are the same characters in the GRAW story and they blend well in this one.
I’m recommending this for Jon, I think you will like it. If you want though, I will buy it and play it and then tell you if you should be all over it. Just watch the preview though. It looks frickin amazing.

Halo Wars

2008-05-14T11:17:00.001-05:00

Halo Wars
Video Game Release Date 10/01/08

OHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHH!!! The first Real Time Strategy Halo Game, this is going to take on the Command and Conquer type game play and finally make it so that instead of controlling just one character (Master Chief) you get to control an entire UNSC Army. The game takes place before the three Halo games and shows the initial battle between the UNSC and Covenant forces. Before we became allies, we blew the hell out of each other. In the Halo games, Master Chief is the last surviving Spartan Soldier. In this game, you have an entire legion of Spartan soldiers. I can only imagine what damage can be done with this kind of ability.
Of course, because Chief is the last surviving Spartan, that leads me to believe that all the Spartans in this game get annihilated. Oh well that should be fun to watch at least. The game is releasing sooner than I thought it would and that excites me. While this won’t be one that I sit in line for, it will definitely be one I will grab the day it comes out. Lookin forward to it.

Hancock

2008-05-14T10:30:00.001-05:00

Hancock
Release Date 07/07/08

This movie looks hilarious. Will Smith rarely fails to deliver in his roles. Even if it’s a crappy role, he makes the best of it. As a reluctant superhero he doesn’t really give a crap but he helps anyway. Taylor and I saw this preview when we went to see National Treasure 2 and she hasn’t shut up about it since. So she and I will most likely be at the midnight movie. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. The Special effects just from the preview look pretty great and it looks like it is filled with humor and action.

Mario Kart Wii

2008-05-02T13:49:00.004-05:00

This game surprised me. I figured that the controls would be a little sluggish and therefore annoying, but it responded pretty well. You put the Wii remote in the steering wheel and drive it like you are in a car. You turn left you turn right and you usually win. It seems that Nintendo delivered what they promised with this one. The graphics are great for a Mario Kart game, not on the scale of an FPS style but its Mario Kart, so who expects it to be like Halo.

The downside to the game for me is playing online. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to play with people from around the world, but the computer is pretty much designed to give the last player, as long as they are human, a blue shell or lighting. This makes it so the race is all about getting blown up if you are in first. It’s pretty constant and it gets old after a while. You now play by being in second and then zooming into first at the end.

Adding the motorcycles to the vehicle list though is awesome. By tilting the wheel back you pop wheelies, and it just makes for a change of pace and is a lot of fun to play. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5 on the awesomeness scale.

Iron Man Review

2008-05-02T11:59:00.010-05:00

Orgasmic!!!! This movie did not disappoint. From start to finish you are thrown into and enthralled in subtle humor, action and suspense. The story line was brilliant and only mildly predictable. The bad guys are ruthless and the special effects phenomenal. Robert Downey Junior is able to pull off the super hero persona without having to have a huge vice. Most super heroes are plagued by love, drinking, fear, or guilt, blah blah blah. Bottom line for Stark in this movie is that he has been providing the world with its weapons and they have been getting to the wrong people. Time to fix it.

He has the ability and so he does it. Bam, simple as that. No whining, no complaining and no compromising. Kick ass and take names that’s it. Gwyneth Paltrow is able to pull of the assistant with perfection and makes things funny without sounding corny. Terrence Howard to me was the only real disappointment, he wasn’t a very strong character and when he spoke it seemed like more whining than anything.

Probably my most awesomely favortie part of the movie was when he was bulding the mark 1 suit in the cave. The old cartoon Iron man used the have the opening credits where Stark was standing next to anvil with a hammer, the theme music was going and he was just slamming the hammer down to the beat of the Iron Man song. Frickin awesome!! So when they had a scene in the cave where for like 30 seconds they just show him pounding the shape into the mask, I was stoked.

Special effects were amazing, the first time he gets suited up in the Iron Man suit 2.0, you want to stand up and cheer him on. They didn’t just put him in a suit and leave it with no explanation as to how it works. You go through the building of it and the actual science behind it. Granted that kind of technology doesn’t exist, but who is to say it won’t someday. It seems that a lot of super hero movies are turning more towards explaining how they can be what they are without expecting you to just believe that Oh Iron Man can fly, or Batman is able to glide through the air because we said so. Directors are providing reasons and back grounds that may not be possible but make sense to the story.

Lots of super hero movies never tend to make the bad guy get his butt kicked the whole movie and only win because of a fluke, not saying this doesn’t happen here, but I don’t think there is any point where Iron Man truly gets defeated. He is seriously just a Bad Mamma Jamma in this movie. Its believable, it’s awesome, it’s entertaining, and I’m going to see it again.

4.90 on the awesomeness scale

PS for further movies, they showed previews for The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, and The Incredible Hulk. Let me just say it’s going to be an awesome summer.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-04-30T14:31:00.001-05:00

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
05/22/08
Ok I am looking forward to this movie and think that it will be good. Nothing too great but good nonetheless. Steven Spielberg, awesome gotta love his movies. George Lucas, not so much. Lucas has the tendency to make things flashy to hide the fact that there is no story. It is supposed to pick up like the last one and have the same type of feel.
Adding Shia Lebouf to the cast is genius. He is incredibly funny and quick on his feet, and has worked with Spielberg before. (Transformers) Harrison Ford of course returns and hopefully like Rambo doesn’t just fall over from a heart attack.
Im not terribly excited about it but it looks decent so I will be there. I will let you know how it turns out.

The Dark Knight

2008-04-30T14:30:00.001-05:00

The Dark Knight
07/18/08
This movie looks scary and I am lovin it. The previous Batman movie did what none of the other Batman movies had done before it, it made sense. Granted there is a guy dressed like a bat fighting crime, hey that could happen. At least they explain where he got everything and he isn’t just flying around with no explanation.
Anyway, this movie looks to show the same dark and evil side of Gotham without turning it into a comical joke, basically no black lights. Good, finally a series that deals with the basics, good versus evil. Evil can get crazy as this hopefully shows, but good kicks evils butt. They have made some improvements to the looks of the bat suit and it looks like they added a new vehicle. Always have to go bigger and better,
I am really looking forward to this movie and hope it doesn’t disappoint. MIDNIGHT MOVIE MANIA BABY!!!!!!!

Lost Update

2008-04-25T12:59:00.005-05:00

Ok so far in the season we are all thoroughly confused and the show is driving me nuts. First of all, will someone just kill Locke already? He is getting on my nerves and he just needs to die. Second, its one thing to present a question in the story and not have it answered for a few episodes, but when the question is blatantly asked and then ignored, that just sucks. Locke looked Ben straight in the face and asked about the smoke monster, and it was just ignored.
On a more hey things are getting done note, they are just killing people left and right. Ben’s daughter got whacked, it was one of those Ben thinks he is in control moments and then the world gets ripped out from under him. “I don’t love her, she’s not my daughter”, ok Boom, dead. It was a gripping moment.
On a grand scheme of things level we kind of get a glimpse into what this whole thing is about. It’s a chess game between Ben and Penelope’s father. He had the island and Ben took it from him. Apparently they had rules in this game, they left each other’s family alone, the rules were broken with the killing of Ben’s daughter. Ben had pretty much done everything with his mind. Now it seems he is ready to play dirty. This should get good and as long as they keep the action and back off with the mind crap they will do well.

Battlestar Galactica

2008-04-23T00:59:00.009-05:00

Battlestar Galactica
Friday nights on Sci Fi

Ok so a recap and catch up of the goings on on Battlestar Galactica. Last season ended with Starbuck returning after she appeared to have blown up in her ship. She shows up after 2 months but apparently only thinks she has been gone for 6 hours. Her ship has the same tail numbers, but appears to be brand new, off the factory floor brand new. No information in the computer either. She shows up with pictures of Earth and says that she knows how to get there. Of course she gets thrown in the brig. Hey, it’s what I would do. Adama doesn’t know whether or not he can trust her so he decides to give her her own ship and a volunteer crew and lets her set off in her own direction.
The 4 new cylons that were revealed in the finale are trying to figure out how to live in the fleet in secret and trying to continue to blend in. The president’s

aid is feeling freer with her new found self and has started to flirt with Chief Tirrrel. Calle (Tirrel’s wife) has gotten suspicious and finds out they are cylons. She is confronted by the aid in a launch tube with her baby and gets tricked into giving up the baby and then she is launched out the tube into space.
The Cylon fleet is having their own set of issues. Three of the models have waged a battle on the other set of three and each control half of the fleet. One side has control of the centurions (soldier cylons) and the other has control of the raiders (the ships). At the end of last weeks show the cylons went into full on war against each other and half the fleet was destroyed.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2008-04-23T00:39:00.001-05:00

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Release Date: 05/16/08

The second movie from C.S. Lewis’ novels. The first was well done and they didn’t disappoint with the special effects and action. This one looks like it will follow suit and shouldn’t disappoint. From the preview it looks as though it gets down to the basics of what a great story is. The battle between good and Evil. Who will triumph who will be defeated? Of course good always wins, but it’s nice to watch the journey. I read the books of The Chronicles and this one was pretty good. It was a while ago though so that is probably a good thing seen as the movies never seem to follow the books to well. That should help with the expectations of the story. A must see, hopefully they have a midnight showing.

New Games Coming Soon

2008-04-23T00:01:00.012-05:00

Wii Fit
Release Date 05/21/08

Alright this looks freakin awesome. There are those out there who seem skeptical about the awesomeness of this product. Nintendo is finding ways to incorporate the whole body into the game play. It started by getting your arms and shoulders into the game and now it is getting you off the couch and on your feet. The Wii Balance Board is going to incorporate your whole body. Whether you are standing on the board forward and skiing, rotating it sideways and snowboarding, or placing your hands on the board and doing push-ups. The Wii board is coming up with more and more creative ways of getting you into the game. What Nintendo has lacked on graphics they have made up for in innovation and creative game play. The board looks like it will be phenomenal if it lives up to the reactive abilities that the Wii remote has demonstrated. Definitely a must buy, if you plan on getting it though, make sure you pre-order it if you want any chance of getting it.

Mario Kart Wii

Release Date 04/27/08

Nintendo has been able to release a Mario Kart game for each of their systems starting with the SNES. Each one has built on the last with creative game play, excellent graphics, and different controls. With this Wii game you receive the Wii Wheel. A literal steering wheel that you put the Wii Remote in and it reacts like a normal steering wheel. With this you are able to tip it back to do wheelies and tip it forward to do jumps and with certain buttons it’s easier to drift and skid. The success of the game will depend on the ability for the wheel to respond to the drivers movements quickly and correctly. Otherwise the player will just end up frustrated. With the Wii Remote, boxing is great if you take slow methodical punches. If you try any faster the controller sensors couldn’t keep up. This is one I will be saving my money for and hope that it doesn’t disappoint.

DVDs to look for

2008-04-22T16:51:00.006-05:00

Clover Field
DVD Release Date 04/22/08
It was pretty awesome. When you first start watching it you get kind of pissed off and feel like you are going to throw up. After a while though you get over it and actually enjoy the movie. None of the good parts are during the throw up phase so no big deal. I took Dad to see this and he even liked it. Dad liking a movie is a pretty big thing, so just for that you should see it. Yeah it’s a great monster movie, plenty of humor, lots of action, a bunch of little creepy monsters and one freakin huge one. It doesn’t disappoint on special effects and it keeps you wrapped up in it all the way to the end. Definitely a must buy, or at the very least rent. 4 of 5 on the awesomeness scale

National Treasure: Book of Secrets
DVD Release Date 05/20/08
A well put together movie with its share of flaws but generally a good movie to watch. Feels like they kind of threw the story together in order to capitalize off the first one. It’s clever but not that clever. It will keep the kids entertained and it has its chare of history and when Nicholas cage acts drunk in Buckingham Palace, you pretty much want to pee yourself. Good Stuff. 3 of 5 on the awesomeness scale

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
DVD Release Date 04/15/08
This movie picked up right after the last one left off. The spin on this one is that the new Alien has come from a predator. So you have the sweet looking dread locks of the predator mixed with the all around nastiness of the Alien. The movie is really dark, everything takes place at night and it’s hard to see a lot of the action. I’ve always been a fan of predator ever since Arnold, but this one seems lacking on the awesomeness scale. The predator still has his usual goals in mind, kill any kind of threat, control the outbreak of aliens, and maintain honor. Like any other predator movie though, the predator dies. Always seems to happen. Oh well. I will buy it cause I am nerd but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone that aren’t specific fans of the series. 2 of 5 on the awesomeness scale

Rambo
DVD Release Date 05/27/08This movie is a must see just for the plain fact that Stallone is like 80 and he can still pull off being a bad mama jamma. It’s a pretty bloody movie and pretty hardcore when it comes to the violence. They spare no expense on the language or on the amount of dead bodies they can pile up. Don’t see it if you are wanting to see a great movie, see it if you want to place bets on whether or not Stallone lives, the bad guys kill him, or if he falls over dead from a heart attack. I liked it cause it was just a senseless good time of bad guys dying and Stallone messing people up. 2.5 of 5 on the awesomeness scale

Movies to watch for

2008-04-22T15:43:00.001-05:00

IRON MAN

Holy Mother of Sweet Awesomness this movie has got me all kinds of excited. This is the first real big movie to set of the 2008 summer. It looks like it promises phenomenal special effects, whitty subtle humor (my favorite), and extreme action. Don't get me wrong though I have been fooled on this front before. WE all remember Spiderman 3, first movie of the summer last year, and what a waste of $8.50 that was. Piece of crap ... ANGER. Anyway, I will be at the midnight screening of this one, always the best way to watch it. I will repost with a review once i have seen it. Hope it doesnt suck.