Fixing broken things

So my X-Box is dead in the water. For real, this time. I think.

Last week, I played it for a little while one morning and everything was fine. Walked the dogs, had some lunch, fired it up to work on some new Forge maps for Halo 3 and ...

RED RING OF DEATH!

I unplugged everything, let it rest for a while, and tried twenty minutes or so later. Still got the ring. An hour later, still got the ring.

Finally, I tried it once again for the night - just in case - and it worked.

The next morning, pretty much the same thing. It worked, then I turned it off, and then it didn't work anymore for a few hours. Then it did.

Anyway, it finally pretty much stopped working altogether, so I put in a work order via Microsoft.com, and now I have to pack it up and ship it off to an exotic locale (Mesquite, TX!) for them to work their magic.

Tomorrow I send the machine out, and then wait probably three weeks to get it back. I'm sending them a black 360 Elite unit, so I better get the same back in return ... Urgh. Wish me luck.

As a result, I'm already lonely and starting to miss two of my best friends here in New Jersey - Nico Bellic and Master Chief. It's gonna be a long three weeks.

On the plus side, this should, in theory, help focus my energies towards finding a new job and going to the gym (both of which I do actively, but admittedly not as enthusiastically as I ought to). One less distraction is a good thing.

(Though come to think of it, I haven't played God of War in a while on my PS2 ... hmmm.)

The other major reconstruction project about to begin is in my mouth. Nicole and I decided that we're ready to get braces to straighten our teeth. Nicole had them many, many years ago, but there's still a lingering issue she'd like to take care of.

I've never had braces, but anyone who's ever met me knows about my imperfections (of which there are many, but I refer specifically to my choppers this time around). One thing I've always been very self-conscious about is my smile. I think it's pretty horrible. My teeth are actually very healthy, and I take care of them well (though I could be more consistent with my flossing), but I have "overcrowding" on the bottom row around one of my center teeth. Up top, I have gaps between my front six teeth (the cuspids, and the central and lateral incisors). In addition, my upper central incisors are elongated compared to the rest of the teeth (resulting in a bit of an overbite), and they bend somewhat inward, to the inside of my mouth (which, according to my orthodontist, causes the crowding on the bottom).

Do a Google image search on "teeth crowding", and you'll see some VERY hardcore examples of what I'm talking about. Sort of. Happily, my personal situation is nowhere near as severe as the examples in the first page of those photos.

By the sounds of things, I'm going to get the regular, old-school type metal braces and not the clear, modern ones. For my situation, the orthodontist feels they're a better bet. I don't care one way or another, as long as they work. They can put in neon green wires as far as I'm concerned. Unlike an awkward teen in high school, I really don't care how they're going to look on me.

The two parts of the deal I'm not so fond of are the cost (of course) and the length of time this is going to take. I've been told to expect the braces to come off in 12 to 18 months. I get my dental molds and pre-installation work done on Wednesday, and assume I'll actually get the actual appliance in early September.

So, if all goes to plan, in September '09 or possibly as late as March '10, I'll be hit in the face with a baseball and end up having to wear dentures anyway. Go figure.

---

I still owe a post about a whole bunch of movies I've seen this summer, but here's a quick note about "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". Nicole loved the first one (and saw the second one, and walked out of "The Scorpion King"), and I love the Mummy-themed rollercoaster at Universal Studios, so we figured we'd go check it out last weekend. There were other movies we'd have rather seen, but since it wasn't likely to remain in our local theater too much longer, it was now (then?) or never.

I should mention that I've seen the first one in bits and pieces (but not all in one sitting), and hadn't seen any of the other related films at all. But Nicole wanted to go, so we did ...

... and I hate to admit, despite remaining awake for very large portions of the film, I really couldn't tell you anything that happened. I just don't remember, one week later.

There were a bunch of chases, and some snow, but otherwise it was just a big blur of nothingness to me. Utterly forgettable in every way, shape and form. The acting was bland, I didn't care about any of the interpersonal relationships (such as they were), I didn't think it was funny despite repeated attempts to play scenes for comedy, and the plot was threadbare at best. Some of the effects looked nice, but that's not enough to get a movie by anymore.

The worst thing a movie can do, I think, is not to make you hate it. It's to make you not even care. The fact that I'm even writing this is a miracle, because it doesn't deserve to take even more time from my life than actually watching the film.

Don't bother with it, is what I'm trying to say.

Go play GTA IV instead - the story, the action, and the acting are all much better.

It's advice I wish I could take myself, but I can't ... not for another three weeks.

Grr.

My proudest Halo 3 moment (and yes, I'm a giant loser)

Before the game started, my three randomly selected teammates quit our Team Slayer match. Rather than conceding defeat, I figured I'd at least make an effort in what was likely to be a four-on-one bloodbath.

Below is a link to video of the entire game. If you're patient enough to let the whole thing load, more power to you. If not, skip to about the 11:40 mark.

If you're not patient enough (and I wouldn't blame you, believe me), you should be able to figure out what happened based on the title of this entry.

Also, please note the repeatedly poor attempts by my opponents to tea-bag my dead body. Kids, don't be douchebags.

Enjoy the nerd-dom!

Linkage

A couple of things I bookmarked for whatever reason the past couple of days.

• The Black Oven - "Immaculate confections succumbed to northern darkness."

This looks like a blog in its early stages; delicious death-metal flavored pastries via our Nordic overlords. Seriously.

• Dethklok Busts - via GameArtisans.org

I wish I knew how to do this stuff. I don't know what I'd do with that kind of knowledge, of course, but still ... bragging rights count for something, right?

• Grand Theft Auto 4 / New York City comparison shots

I haven't picked up the game (yet), but this is pretty impressive even if you're not a gamer. Liberty City landmarks vs. their real-life inspirations. Cool stuff.

• Manny Being Manny

You've seen this, right? Under the video display, click on "Ramirez's amazing catch - Watch" for a larger display.


This is why Manny's worth every single penny he's paid. Watch the fan in the stands after the catch. Awesome. Wait for the replay, too, for a better view.

• RetroSabotage

Classic video games, not quite the way you remember them. Give them time, especially the Pac Man ones, for the twist. What if the ghost realizes he's a ghost, for instance? Can you play Tetris on two boards at the same time? What if you try to CONTAIN a breakout instead of tearing down the walls?

I asked William H. Macy a question

Edit: The movie name was "The Deal", not "The Plan".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just for the record, I realize the photos below might not match up with the specific text that they're supposed to. The formatting I used when composing this blog seems to get messy, photo-wise, given that the borders/margins are different in the editor than here on sonicplague.com or the blogspot site. Gotta work on that.

I still owe what will be another longish entry about the New York Film Critics movie series we've been attending for the past seven Wednesdays, but in the short term, a quick note about last night's events.

The film shown was "The Deal", starring William Macy and the carved remains of what used to be Meg Ryan. It's an indie, though a pretty big budget one, by the looks of it. Long story short, Macy's a suicidal filmmaker who sweet talks his way into making a $100 million film starring LL Cool J, an action hero who has recently turned to Judaism. Sure, why not.

Anyway, I'll give details of the actual film later on (it's probably not worth seeing). The special guest for the evening, though, was Mr. Macy himself, which was very exciting. He's a real deal movie star, and I've always appreciated his work, even if he himself is better than the majority of the movies he's in.

After the film, Peter Travers (the Rolling Stone film critic) opened the Q&A up to the audience and I was the first to raise my hand for a question. Thus, I was the first to get the microphone. I stood up and said (this is almost verbatim, because - believe me - I rehearsed it in my head several times before asking it aloud):

"First of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Macy for being here with us tonight."

(Appropriate audience applause. To this point, I'm KILLING!)

"Your performance in 'Fargo' is one of my personal all-time favorites, but what I really appreciate about your work is that you tend to take unusual roles, or roles that might be as obvious as others. That's why I got excited to see, when I looked on IMDB.com, and I hope this is true, that you're attached to appear in 'House of Re-Animator'. Is this true, and, if so, how did you get involved with it?"

That's right. Mr. Big-Shot movie star comes to New Jersey and what's he hit with in the very first question - his wife, a star of "Desperate Housewives"? His Academy Award nomination? The movie we just saw?

Nope. A question about a film that's not even being shot yet. The fourth sequel in a series based on an H.P. Lovecraft story about zombified re-animated corpses.

I think I threw him off a little bit. If you knew the audience at this film series - mostly older (Nicole and I are probably 20-30 years younger than 90% of the attendees), mostly affluent - you'd know that the question was even funnier, because NOBODY there knows what the "Re-Animator" is. And if they saw it, they'd be horrified.

Mr. Macy laughed and started talking a bit about his long-time friendship with director Stuart Gordon, who asked him if he'd be interested in playing the President of the United States (who dies and is brought back to life).

Peter Travers stepped in and sort of re-directed the question to something about David Mamet, trying to bring the audience back into things, but Mr. Macy was a trooper and told a couple of anecdotes, and then pretty much just re-iterated, to conclude my question, that he was doing it because he was friends with the director.

It wasn't a great answer, but then again, it wasn't exactly a great question, either.

But how often do you get to ask an Oscar nominee a question about being in a zombie movie?

I kick ass.

And so does William H. Macy, a genuinely cool guy.

Nerd heaven

The first night we spent as residents of New Jersey, we accidentally stumbled upon the Chiller Theater Toy, Model, and Film Expo, documented earlier in this blog.

The May convention is approaching, and the first bunch of guests has been announced. Needless to say, I'm going to have to open up the wallet a bit, I think.

Among the attendees will be:

Mickey Dolenz (of the Monkees)
Daniel Baldwin (of Homicide: Life on the Street)
Armin Shimerman (of Deep Space 9 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk)
Richard Kiel ("Jaws" from the James Bond movies. I met him once in Vegas - such a kind and wonderful man!)
Alan Ruck (Cameron from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off")
Nora Greenwald (aka WWF Superstar Molly Holly)
Christy Hemme and Gail Kim (TNA Knockouts)

and one guy I've always wanted to meet but hadn't had the opportunity:

MICK FOLEY!

The crazy thing is, there are more names to be announced. Needless to say, this is very exciting for goofballs like me.

BANG BANG!

Powered by ScribeFire.