Kanye Kanye Kanye

You know, upon first listening to the song Love Lockdown off of Kanye West's new CD "808s and Heartbreak" I was kind of wary about his new CD. But after giving my full attention to this CD, I must say that is was well worth the listen, and even more so the purchase.

If I haven't said it before I'm a huge Kanye fan, but even being so, this new approach that Kanye is taking in his muscial career had me a bit puzzeled. This CD, according to Kanye, and the album itself, is about Heartbreak, of course, with the recent break up of him and his fiancee Alexis Phifer.

West has stated that he doesnt't care about album sales or critiques, but it's just an album straight from his soul.

With West's intricate use of the 808 drum machine (after which the album is also aptly titled) and the Auto-Tune pitch corrector technology.

West's has personally stated that he loves the machine and uses it on every song on "808s and Heartbreak". West sings a lot on the album, and uses this device, which most people will know from songs by T-Pain, to correct his pitch and give his voice an electronic sound.

So far critiques of the album are either very good or very bad. The Washington Post said that the album is an "information age masterpiece. While on the other hand The New York Times said that West "can't sing, and this is how the album will be ultimately remembered."

I beg to differ, Kanye West can sing on this album, if only from the use of the Auto-Tuner. Almost every song on this album attracts me in some way but particularly the songs Heartless, Amazing (ft. Young Jeezy), See you in my nightmares, and Coldest Winter.

This album, which I think everyone should listen to at least once, is filled with emotion, and even though some people may say that Kanye is emo, I don't see anything wrong with that.

At the very least, Kanye West is going to do exactly what he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, and fortunately for all of us, that always seems to work out for the best.

(The image above was acquired from Kanye West's blog, and the video below was acquired from Yahoo's Launch.)

VG4: Gears of War 2

Xbox 360 exclusive series Gears of War returned to the scene on Nov. 7 with the release of new game Gears of War 2. Continuing the story six months after the events of the first original.

The story still follows Delta Squad members Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago on their mission to win the war against the subterranean monsters known as the Horde.

The only plot details I really is that the locusts are now sinking major cities on this games planet, known as Sera. So instead of waiting on the locusts to wipe them all out from underneath, Delta Squad and the rest of humanity are taking the fight underground, into the locusts hive.

That's about all I know of the story, I haven't been able to play through much of it, but what I have played through is awe inspiring.

The games graphics are amazing, using the Unreal engine to its advantages to show massive lifelike explosions in the distance or gruesome duel with your chainsaw mounted machine gun that ends in a bloody body explosion.

The games multiplayer is also fantastic (even though I suck at it). The game features 5 v 5 games with different types such as a standard slayer event called warzone, and a great twist on capture the flag where either team has to subdue a rather feisty civilian in the middle of the map and carry him back to the base.

Whether you are playing the game first hand or just someone who like good stories, Gears of War 2 is for you. I seriously believe I could watch someone playing the game and receive just as much enjoyment out of it as I do from playing it.

That does it for this VG entry, stay tuned for my next and possible final entry: Left 4 Dead.

Below is a trailer for Gears of War 2, now keep in mind that these are actual in-game graphics, impressive isn't it? (Acquired from Youtube.com)

VG3: Tom Clancy's Endwar

Tom Clancy has a long history of tactical military video games. Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon being the mainstream video games that most people know about. 

With the release of EndWar, the Tom Clancy video games break into new tactics as they venture into the world of real-time tactics.

Unlike a real-time strategy game, a tactics game is one in which a commander is in control of a real-time battlefield and has to control the simulation of the battle that is going on in the game.

EndWar features voice commands to control the troops, and this feature has been highly praised by reviewers. 

Most of the problems with the game stem from a very "Uninspiring single player campaign," as review website IGN puts it. 

The games massively multiplayer online mode, Theatre of War, however, has received positive reactions. 

I for one, will most likely rent this game to try it out, and I propose that you do the same. For me, Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead are on the horizon, so I have to save money for those, and for next time, stay tuned for VG4: Gears of War 2.

VG2: Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet has been talked about for sometime. It is, as my friend put it, "the Mario for Playstation ," and I guess I really can't argue with him. 

Little Big Planet is a puzzle platformer for Playstation 3, and for those of you who don't know what a platformer is, allow me to explain really quickly. A platformer is a game that is characterized by a character jumping to and from suspended and/or moving platforms from one side of a level to another in order to complete the game (Mario maybe?). 

The one thing I noticed about this game are the unbelievable graphics and physics engine. The little sand bag character that you use during the game flops around like he is really being hit, and it looks so funny and cool. The game is typical of a platformer in that it scrolls from side to side. This game is not fully 3d because it only allows you to go from side to side and to three different "depth" levels within the game (Front, middle, and back).

The big thing about this game, considering the story mode can be completed in less than 10 hours, are the world creation options. Little Big Planet allows each and every player to customize their own unique levels, using all sorts of tools and lighting effects to achieve whatever look they would like.

The games creation system is very realistic and physics based. The game features objects that move, and to make a car or some other type of object, the physics have to be perfect, or the object will not act like you want it too.

Creating the levels is not the end though. After creation the levels can be uploaded over Sony's online service and shared with all the other people in the world who own Little Big Planet.

Little Big Planet was recalled before its initial release due to a song that was featured in the game that contained lines from the Qur'an.

Little Big Planet has received very positive reviews from critics and will most likely not be the only game in this series.

Stay tuned, for the next game in the VG series, Tom Clancy's Endwar.

Below is a video review obtained from http://www.gamespot.com.

Christian Metal: Oxymoronic?

Just like the seasons, my music tastes tend to go in cycles. During the spring and the fall I like to jam out to a little classic rock via Led Zeppelin, and during the summer I like to jam to a little Kanye West and some hip-hop, but it is during the winter months I love to listen to metal.

Recently released album, Dreamer, by Christian Metalcore band Haste the Day has got my attention for this winter, and the gettin' is good. Most people don't look at Christianity and immediately think Metallica or the ironically named metal group Lamb of God, but a majority of bands are breaking into this genre of "Christian Metal."

Haste the Day, Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying are just a few of the many bands in this genre. These bands are reaching out to a niche of people that was previously left untapped by the metal market, and kudos to them.

But back to just the metal aspect. Dreamer, by Haste the Day, is a good album, I'm not going to say it is the pinnacle of metal or anything, but it has been keeping my attention for the past week, (It was released a week ago). My favorite track from this album is "Invoke Reform."

So now that I am back in the groove of metal, I had to find more albums, and in my search I did find an excellent metal album that I recommend everyone should check out, and just a disclaimer, this is not a Christian album.

All That Remains' Overcome was released over a month ago, so I know I'm pretty late getting to it, but better late than ever. This album has a great mesh of heavy and light metal that I crave. Being a former piano player, I was taught that the differences between sound volumes in a song allow people to tell the really good parts from the ones that are just leading up to those parts, and this album features that heavily.

The album has great guitar solos and melodic rhythms that have other commuters on the highway wondering why my head is jerking in such a weird manner. The best track on this album, to me, is "A Song for the Hopeless," and is worth a download for any yearning metal fan out there.

VG1: Fallout 3

The last major game released by Bethesda Softworks was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and that game, released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, went on to win several game of the year awards in 2004.

Four years later Bethesda is being talked about again as their highly anticipated action role-playing game Fallout 3 will hit shelves on the 28th. Its preview at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, as most people know it, garnered several awards that mostly consisted of "Best of Show". The game took home both Gamespot and IGN's "Best Of" awards.

Fallout 3 takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States in the year 2277. Your character will be assembled from the ground up through the use of several different in game mechanics (ie. as a child you will receive a "You're Special Book" that will let you determine your skill set). After creating your character, you are put into the story of the game.

The story goes as follows: Your (characters) father, voiced by Liam Neeson, wanders out of Vault 101, which is a nuclear fallout shelter that serves Washington D.C., into the vass wasteland that was previously the US. Your job as this character, is to find your father, and meet several different organizations and other interesting characters throughout the course of the game.

This game, which will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, is the first game in the Fallout game in the series NOT to be released exclusively for a PC. I am not going to say check this one out or anything like that, because any game I talk about in this list is worth checking out and from this point on, will just be implied! Make sure you check out the feature video I included below (acquired from YouTube).

(Next up....... PS3 exclusive, Little Big Planet)

Fall Video Game Lineup Special

Continuing on with the "Year of the Video Game" theme, I will be releasing a feature about an upcoming or recently released video game every other day for the next two weeks or so, (Other features will be included, but this is one you can count on). No video game will be featured today, because I need time to gather information, but starting tomorrow, with Fallout 3, the features will keep-a-flowing. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading this as much as I will enjoy doing the information, so be ready tomorrow, when the first feature hits.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Movie

Recently Spider-Man film director Sam Raimi has expressed interest in transforming the World of Warcraft video game into a big screen production. Sam Raimi, who is signed on to simultaneously direct the 4th and 5th Spider-Man movies, was quoted with the following.

"In the world of video games, it's usually more of an environment or a scenario, not character-based ... but they certainly could [be better]. There's 'World of Warcraft' -- what an awesome video game! It has such great, adventurous characters in it and such fantastic landscapes and rules. ... You could make a brilliant 'World of Warcraft' movie -- as fine as any of the best superhero movies -- if you had the right writers and directors."

Nothing has been confirmed about the movie, this is all just hype coming from the quote of Sam Raimi. So for those of you who think a WoW movie is on the horizon,

Year of the Video Game

Recently my blog focus has been primarily on video games, but unfortunately, or fortunately I should be saying, this week is no different.

12:01 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2008, marked the release of a long awaited title for nerds like me, Fable II. This action role-playing game places you in the foots of a character I have come to know as Sparrow, and in this game you control everything he does.

Fable II gives you the ability to make life decisions, be they good or evil, and on my first play through of this game, I am going to be the evil person, and will give one example of a "life changing decision". After clearing the road of Thag the Bandit, you receive a key to free two people who have been taken captive by Thag. You have the decision to either fight off another bandit and free the slaves, or hand over the key to the bandit and take your first steps towards evildom.

I'm sure in the coming week this game will take up much of my time, and for any of you XBox 360( sorry PS3 owners) this is one you should pick up.

Shocktober, The End

I just completed Dead Space, and man was it a game. It only took about 12 hours to complete, so renting it may be the better option for some people. Great story, great combat, great "atmosphere". It's just a good game. So if you own a PS3 or Xbox 360, playing this game is a must!

Shocktober, The Beginning.

I am not a fan of the survival/horror genre, I'm a scardie pants. So call it a miracle or something that I have been so intrigued by latest survival/horror game, Dead Space.

Dead Space places you in the shoes of Isaac, a engineer for a futuristic society that is a sent on mission to discover what happened to the non-communicative, "planet cracking" space ship, the Ishimura. Whooo, that was a mouthful. Now, a little backstory.

In this futuristic society, earth has exhausted all of its resources, so it has turned to the stars by cracking apart planets and harvesting the non-renewable resources waiting inside. Well, on this routine mission, all communications are stopped with the most successful of these planet cracking space ships. So there you go, you've got the back story.

Now, for the story itself. Apparently, there is an alien race buried deep within the earth that is using some kind of "marker" to alter peoples minds and make them go crazy and kill each other. Then they take over their dead bodies, and are turned into what Isaac knows as, the Necromorphs. The Necromorphs are the primary antagonist throughout the game.

Well, this game is good at being scary. Isaac is on a dark powered down ship in the middle of space with horribly mutated dead bodies waiting around every corner, fun fun. And that isn't sarcasm, this game is loaded with fun. Isaac isn't a soldier, so he doesn't use guns, instead he uses engineering equipment to plow his way through any unlucky necromorph, but that isn't as easy as it sounds.

The Necromorphs are impervious to shots in the head and torso, so you've got to use what Electronic Arts (the developer of the game) are calling "strategic dismemberment". So you have to shoot off these aliens appendages, limb by limb, until they lay at your feet in a bloody heap.

I have played through the first three chapters of the game, and the story is great, I'm not going to give away in a big spoilers, but I will update in Shocktober: The End, after I finish this game. The game is available on PS3 and Xbox 360 and is rated M for mature, please also note, this game might make you soil yourself. Depends are handy. AND MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE TRAILER I HAVE POSTED BELOW!

Scary Movie...

Cloverfield was the last scary movie that I went to the theater, and ironically, it was shot in the same manner as the scary movie I saw this weekend, Quarantine. In this "camera is a part of the action" thriller, an unidentified disease is plaguing an apartment complex in Los Angeles. The movie starts out as a news team consisting of a reporter and cameraman shadow two firefighters at the local firestation.

Eventually the alarm goes off in the firestation, and not wanting to miss the action, the news team follows. After arriving at the apartment complex late at night to find the tenants downstairs worried about a woman upstairs who let out a blood curdling scream, the horror soon ensues.

There are some really cool effects in the movie, one of my favorite being the cameraman beating one of the "infected" victims to death with the camera, you are able to repeatedly see the camera smash against their face, and it's oh so cool.

This movie is definitely worth going to see, and it will shock your pants off. If you have $8 to spare, and want to be scared, go and see this one.

DiCaprio is Back

Leonardo DiCaprio has not been seen on screen in two years, the last film he starred in was masterpiece "The Departed." On Friday this long drought will end as new film, Body of Lies, places DiCaprio in the lead role.

DiCaprio plays Roger Ferris, a CIA operative who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan (Rotten Tomatoes, 2008). While working in Jordan, Ferris comes into contact with CIA head of Jordanian intelligence Ed Hoffman, a man whom Ferris must gain the trust of to continue his expedition in Jordan.

This, along with "Appaloosa," are some of the movies I've been waiting on for the fall film season. If DiCaprio's last film is (The Departed) is any indication of how this and his future work will be, then I expect that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the acting community. Not just a guest star on Growing Pains, but a top-notch actor.

If you look at some of his more recent films- The Departed, Blood Diamond, the Aviator, Gangs of New York- it's easy to say that DiCaprio already is top-notch, and at his young age, will continue to be.
(Image obtained from The New Yorker website)

Politics Schmolotics

If you haven't watched an episode of Saturday Night Live this semester, then you may want to check out NBC's website so that you can get a little update. If you haven't seen SNL alum's Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin, then you are missing some comedy gold. Her highly satirized version of Palin is so hilarious because she uses actual quotes of Palin, and shows the American public how odd the things are that Palin says in debates, interviews, etc.

The most recent skit (image above), was a parody of the Vice Presidential debate, and Fey nailed all of Palin's little quirks, mannerisms, and pronunciation perfectly. The first line by Fey, "Can I call you Joe? Because I've practiced a couple of zingers where I call you Joe," sets the tone for the rest of the skit.

Instead of answering the questions directly in the skit, she avoided them similarly to the way Palin would, but more outright. The moderator would ask for her rebuttal, by saying, "Would you like to respond?" and Palin would respond by saying, "No Thanks."

I'm sure that every episode this season will feature some skit about Palin, and if McCain is elected, I'm sure that she will be parodied for years to come.....almost makes me wish I was republican.

Paper Trail is worth the paper.

In today's age of illegally downloaded music, iTunes, and even Wal-Mart's single track purchasing service, there really isn't much use for buying albums. Gone are the days of the 12" and 7" vinyl albums, having been replaced by compact disc and MP3's. In today's commercial society, people don't listen to albums, they listen to singles, and download those singles accordingly.

Maybe the artist notice this trend as well. Even though artist still produce full albums, there are those few set tracks that they really worked hard on so that they will get radio play, and maybe end up selling a half-ass album based on the popularity of that single song.

This week I have listened to an album and in doing so, was fascinated to find out that this one is actually worth purchasing.

T.I.'s Paper Trail is a major step up from his previous works, it is probably exponentially better than either T.I. vs T.I.P and King, and is quite a bit better than his previous "best" album, Urban Legend.

Featuring guest such as Rihanna, Ludacris, Usher, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Jay Z, T.I. has really put together quite an album. Don't think that T.I. has overused guest stars though, because the majority of his songs, he is performing alone.

The popular hit single "Whatever You Like" is one of the catchiest on the CD, I know that it is commercial and that it is branded just to be popular, but that is what makes the song good, if a song sounds good, and it makes you want to dance, it must be good.

My favorite song, and probably the best on the CD, is the song directly after "Whatever You Like." The song "No Matter What" has a very good sound to it and also has great lyrics. One of my favorite lines from the song is "You let the blogsites and the magazines tell it" and I'm telling it like it is.

The last three songs of the album, one of them featuring John Legend, are at a slowed down tempo, and all feature piano (which I love). It is a good end to an even better album, and this one folks, is worth your time and your money.

I need my Live!

I never knew how much I played games over Xbox Live until Microsoft shut it down today to apply some critical updates. This update is coming to us a precursor to the major update which will be the all new "Xbox Live Experience". Later this fall, Xbox Live will feature a new Wiiesque dashboard and will also be linking up with Netflix to bring movies on demand from, if your a subscriber, your queued playlist. I don't watch movies as much as I should, but I'm sure this handy little update will get me watching.

With even more similarities to the Wii, the new Xbox Live Experience will also allow you to create a personal avatar and sport him around your dashboard and on the net. So I can't wait for 12:01 am (Pacific Standard Unfortunately) when i'll get to play some more Halo 3......(Wow, has it really been a year? That's money well spent)

Iron is an important part of your diet....

So get plenty of Iron! Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. is going to be released on DVD tomorrow, and oh I can not wait, this little blog here is really just about the release of the DVD, not much else, I just thought it was something everyone should know about, because it was one of the most fantastic movies of the summer!

808's and Heartbreak

Kanye West new album, 808's and Heartbreak is set for a November release, and I can't freakin' wait. Kanye is by far my favorite rap artist and always seems to put out high quality stuff, and the first single from the album, Love Lockdown, is awesome, so it gives me high hopes for the rest of the album. The song is availbere HERE, for free listen, on Kanye West Blog.

Also, if you missed the Speedy Thieves last night at the Brickhouse, you missed a hell of a show, so stay tuned for other dates, and make sure that next time, you make plans to go out and see them!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat.....

Well, the rumors about Johnny Depp playing the riddler in the next Batman movie may have been debunked, but other exciting news has just been confirmed. Johnny Depp is teaming back up with Tim Burton to portray The Mad Hatter in a live-action/CGI version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This movie will be Burton's and Depp's first film together since Sweeney Todd, and I'm sure will be full of Burton's unique brand of ummmm..... uniqueness?

Other news includes that he has also teamed back up with Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer to play Tonto in an upcoming movie based on the novel, The Lone Ranger. So these aren't rumors folks these are confirmed true. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is set for a 2010 release, and no release date has yet been revealed for The Long Ranger.

Clay Aiken Gay?!

This may come as a shocker to some of you, but in an upcoming interview with People Magazine, Clay Aiken "officially" comes out as a homosexual. Now I know that this my test some people's faith on their Clay Aiken fanship, but at least give the man some credit for only taking FIVE YEARS of media skepticism to come out. But, according to links of the magazine, Aiken, featured on the cover of People with his newborn son (?), is very sincere with his "coming out" and says that he doesn't want to be a bad role model to his child by being a liar. The entire interview with Aiken will be featured in the first October issue of People Magazine.

Opening Pandora's Box

Maybe I'm just slow, or late on the scene, but this website that I found out about a long time ago, and am just now listening to, Pandora, is one of the best I've seen. It's an interactive radio station that lets you type in artist and listen to songs related to the musical artist that you've chosen. You can't choose which songs you want to listen to because of licensing reasons, but you can give thumbs up or thumbs down on the songs they are playing, and your customized radio station will attempt to find something else you'd like to listen to. If you register with the website you can even save all your radio stations that way they'll be there the next time you get on. So if you are wanting to discover new music or artist in a very interactive way, check out http://www.pandora.com for a very entertaining experience!

Speedy Thieves LIVE!!

If you missed the Speedy Thieves first show on August 26th, then you most likely DON'T need to miss their performance this Thursday night (25th), which they will be performing at the Brickhouse on Main Street.

The Speedy Thieves lineup includes Rob Parke, Brian Nobles, Jack Turner, and John Little, and their sophomore performance is likely to be even better than the first. The only thing I could see wrong the first time around is that they seemed a little bit out of whack at the beginning of their set, but they fell into a groove after that.

In other entertainment news, Run Fatboy Run is going to be released on DVD on Tuesday, and I suggest you check it out, because it has Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) in it. I also got a chance to listen to Nelly's new CD Brass Knuckles this week, and it just did not do anything for me, it sounds just like all the other rap garbage that's being turned out week by week, and just doesn't stand out from anything.

If you didn't already know, DJ AM and Blink 182's former drummer Travis Parker are in critical condition after suffering injuries from a plane crash that occured friday night. Four others died in the plane crash and Barker and AM are being treated for burns in the largest burn center in the US.
Well, that's all for now, but stay tuned for next time as I critique Metallica's new CD, Death Magnetic!

The Doctor is In

Tonight is the premiere of the 5th season of House M.D., one of my all time favorite shows. The show ended last season with one of the main character's death, and this season begins right where that left off. Also tonight, the second episode of Fringe airs, (can't wait for that either).
Today was also a semi-big release for other media, LucasArts released its brand new Star Wars action title, The Force Unleashed, and rapper Nelly's CD, Brass Knuckles was also released. I'll have a short review of that CD, and maybe even the Star Wars game later this week, Catch ya later!

Righteous Crap

Well, I must say, I was way more excited about new movie Righteous Kill than I am about most movies, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino back together for another crime drama, should be an easy hit, right? Well, not really, the movie kind of left me empty, there was never any real drama to speak of, and, although the acting was good, it was wasted on parts that are played over and over again. Not only that, but the plot twist, (of course, its a crime drama), can be figured out within the first 10 minutes of the movie.

The acting of the movie was performed pretty well, but it did have veteran actors De Niro and Pacino in it, but surprisingly, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson did a pretty good job in his supporting roll. So if you're going to go see a movie this weekend, I'm sure your money would be better spent on Burn After Reading, the new Coen Brothers Film, directors of last years smash hit, No Country fo Old Men.

Famous Author Thanks Me

After being published in the school paper, my article about horror author Scott Sigler immediately received a comment online, from none other than Scott Sigler himself. Scott Sigler thanked me for doing the story, and told me if I ever decided to do something again, to e-mail him! Being astonished, I did a little research to find out if it was really him, and lo and behold, I chatted with him for a few minutes on Facebook!

Scott Sigler's novel, Infection, was one of the best novels I've ever read, and I think that I'm becoming what in Sigler's fanbase is known as a junkie (a big fan of Scott Sigler and his work). There's more information on Sigler and his work on http://www.scottsigler.com, and also in my story in the ASU Herald!

Johnny Depp set to play... The Riddler?

Straight from the "rumor mill" ladies and gentlemen. According to Yahoo! Entertainment, rumors are circulating (just rumors of course), that Johnny Depp will be signing on to play none other than The Riddler in the future sequel to recent Batman flick The Dark Knight. Johnny Depp is in my top 5 actors/actresses, hands down, but the thing that surprised me was that another one of my favorite actors, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Mission Impossible 3, Capote), is also being rumored to play Batman's next nemesis as The Penguin. Other rumored villains for the next flick include Maggie Gyllenhall, who played Bruce Wayne's love interest, making a return, to play..... wait for it..... Catwoman...

Afterthoughts: Fringe

After the debut episode of Fringe, I must say, I'm hooked on another television show. It has only been about 4 years (since the beginning of House M.D.) that a show has captivated me so. John Noble does a fantastic job as Dr. Walter Bishop, and Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek), also has a superb performance in this episode.

The show begins with a revolutionary new air line that has the capabilities to land on its own flying across the Atlantic Ocean. When a horrible storm seems to scare one of the passengers to death, he injects himself with what looks to be insulin. Soon after this all of the skin starts melting off of all the passengers, then cutscene.

Soon agent Olivia Dunham (the main character, played by Anna Torv, whom also does a great job), arrives on the scene where this "autopiloted" airplane has landed, and as she explores the fuselage, she discovers that there is nothing left but bones in the seats and pus on the floor, and there is my very brief synopsis of the first 20 minutes, and that's all you're getting from me!

The encore of the season premiere will play Sunday night at 7 pm!! Set your Tivo your DVR, whatever you have, or just be there! And just watch it, and come back and leave comments on what you think!

This show will captivate you! At least I hope it will...because it sure did me....I Feel....All Fringy.

Lost all over again.

Tomorrow night a television show I am very interested in premieres on Fox at 7 pm central time. Fringe, produced by JJ Abrams (creator of Felicity, Alias, and Lost), is a sci-fi drama that, according to Abrams, will have an overarching mythology all its own. Modeled after Lost's own mythology, I'm sure that eventually Fringe will have its own fan sites, fan fiction, and varying opinions on the happenings in this odd world.

I expect more of the same from Fringe, there isn't really that much information out about the show, I only knew of one of the actors, John Noble, and the only reason I knew him was because he played Denethor (the King of Gondor), in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Other shows premiering this week include, 90210, a remake of classic teen cult drama, Beverly Hills: 90210, Don't Forget the Lyrics!, and sketch comedy shows Mad TV, and Saturday Night Live. Michael Phelps, multi-gold medal Olympian, will host this first episode of SNL's season, and Lil' Wayne will be the musical guest.

Stay tuned later this week for a preview of Righteous Kill, a new movie starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, and also a little video gaming news. I finally got to play around with Viva Pinata:Trouble in Paradise, and will also give new PC game Spore a test drive.

"Ultra Beatdown" This

Well, for this blog, I thought I'd deal with a little music news. The past few weeks have seen a pretty high profile album release lineup. For this blog, I'll be talking about The Game's Album, L.A.X., Young Jeezy's The Recession, Slipknot's All Hope is Gone, and Dragonforce's Ultra Beatdown.

The first album I'll talk about is Ultra Beatdown, which is the 4th album released by Dragonforce. Most people will know Dragonforce from their song, Through the Fire and the Flames, which was a bonus song featured on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Dragonforce's previous album, Inhuman Rampage, was released over 2 years ago, and after my first listen through, I was thoroughly impressed by the fast guitar solo's, the over the top vocals, and the unbelievably fast time signatures. After listening to Dragonforce's new Album I must say....that I am highly unimpressed, and it isn't because they don't do the unbelievably fast solos or ridiculously fast drum rhythms, it's because every song sounds, and I mean this, exactly the same. So for all of those Dragonforce fans out there, I'm sorry, but this album just isn't for anyone other than you.

Now, in listening to my second metal album, All Hope is Gone by Slipknot, I must say that these guys are definitely on their stuff. Slipknot stays away from what happens to most metal bands, repetition (*cough* Dragonforce *cough), and delivers a solid mix of some slower rhythm based metal songs as in their song, Dead Memories, and they also jam out on tracks such as Psychosocial. So this one, is definitely worth your time.

Now to rap, and my first featured artist, Young Jeezy. First off, let me start by saying, that I am not a Young Jeezy fan, at all, so I may have been a little biased when I listened to this album, but I think this album just genuinely blows. The only high quality song on the album is Put On, and I believe that is only because it features Kanye West. So I say you should just check out a few of these tracks on Ruckus before you buy it.

Now, as in with the metal, for every sucky album, there's a quality one, and you'll find that quality album in L.A.X. by The Game. He keeps true to his roots by still using old Cali beats and rapping about his life and times as a GANGSTA GANGSTA. It's almost like listening to an audiobook with beats in the background. So this one is definitely worth your time and money, so you may want to check it out.

Well, that about wraps up this days blog, sorry it was so long, but I want to give you the best description I can, so I shortened it up as much as possible for you, the reader. And thanks for reading and stay tuned for some movie news on the next blog!

I Sure Hope Candy Comes Out of That.....

Today is a historic day people, it really is, well, for me it is. Today marks the release of Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, the sequel to one of my favorite games, Viva Pinata, which was released in 2006. Viva Pinata was a game that placed you as a rookie gardener that had just been given a desolate piece of land that was once a beautiful garden. It is your job to turn this garden beautiful again, and during the process, you will attract the animals of this world, Pinatas, into your garden, thus increasing the value of your garden, and the progress you make in the game. The better your garden, the better pinata you get.

Even though it appears very childish, Viva Pinata is a game that requires constant attention and experimentation in order to achieve everything (I still haven't achieved everything).

I expect more of the same in Trouble From Paradise, but I also expect many more Pinata, and many more adventures to embark upon. So if you're an Xbox 360 owner, and you're looking for a game that is priced at a value ($39.99), then you might want to check this one out. Don't let the childish appearance or the low price fool you, this game is sure to be worth every penny, but if you'd like to wait and see what I personally think of the game, then I'll put a small snippet in my next blog over how the game really is. Until next time, Good out.

To Be....or...Maybe?

Never thought I'd see the day that I, yes ladies and gentlemen, Johnathan Derek Good, would have a blog about entertainment (or anything for that matter). So I'll start out my first blog by telling you a little bit about what it will consist of. This blog will contain news and information about the entertainment industry, mostly movies and video games, but there will be some music, TV, and book info and news thrown in here every once in a while. The only thing I can think of to talk about today is the wide release of Hamlet 2 (busy day in "The Biz" apparently).

In this movie, Steve Coogan plays a failing drama teacher that decides to put on a risque "sequel" to Shakespeare's Hamlet in order to save his high school's drama department. The movie has, so far, received mixed reviews, but I will go see it nonetheless simply to hear its title song, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus."

Well, that's all for me today, so stay tuned for more post throughout the week, and thanks for reading!