Rough Draft

Comments Feed

I've added a Comments Feed to the site. Mainly just so I could subscribe to it, but it's there if anyone else wants to as well. Thanks to Forty Something for the template.

Worms 3D

After our seemingly weekly dinner at BJ's, Andrew, Ricci, and I went back to Ricci's and end up playing with Garageband on Ricci's new iMac for a while. We took turns each laying a track and made a couple interesting songs. Then we played some Worms 3D on the Gamecube. I hadn't played any Worms game, since maybe 10 years ago when my brother and I played the demo of one on our dad's computer all the time. It was a fun game, though I did pretty poorly and ended up damaging my team as much as the other's. I enjoyed the sheep weapon, which basically involved sending an exploding sheep charging into your opponent. There was also the Super Sheep special weapon which was a sheep with a cape that you could fly and crash spectacularly into your enemies.

Eagles vs Lions

The Eagles solidly defeated the Detriot Lions 30-13. The Eagles came in expecting to win, but they didn't treat the Lions lightly. It's so weird seeing an Eagles offense completing 20+ yard passes almost every series and using the shotgun formation. Once again, the defense played a solid game and put lots of pressure on Joey Harrington, the Lions QB. The amusing play for the game was when the Eagles long snapper, Bartrum as put in as a tight end and caught a touchdown pass. Then after the catch, he got down like he was going to snap the ball, and another Eagles player came up behind him and Bartrum snapped the ball about 20 yards down the field. They got penalized 15 yards on the kickoff for taunting (apparently only due to the second player being a part of it), but it was still amusing. Next week, the Eagles play the Bears in Chicago. Chicago has lost to both Minnesota and the Lions this season, so the Eagles should definitely come out on top, and hopefully have another terrific offensive performance.

Virus: Dangerous Enemy

I was looking at stuff on ebay last weekend and came across an auction for a Dr. Mario NES cartridge (black case and instruction book included) for $10. The auction was scheduled to end in 15 minutes and there were no bids, so I went ahead and bought it. I have to say, I was definitely wondering if I'd actually get it to work, given that I've had problems getting some of my own games to work anymore. However, it came in the mail yesterday, and it worked on just my second try. So beware viruses, you don't stand a chance, and neither does anyone wishing to challenge me to a two player game! And hearing that music again made me realize just how many long hours were spent playing that game last semester.

Album Reviews

Mike reviews several albums which I too have picked up recently. I thought I'd comment on his thoughts and mention a few other albums that have been getting heavy play by me lately.

Midtown - Forget What You Know
Definitely a good album as a whole, and Give it Up (which is also on the Spider-man 2 soundtrack) and Is it Me? Is it True? are really catchy. I haven't really given it a lot of listens since I've had it, so I can't echo Mike's album of the year praises. I'm definitely going to have to spend some more time with this album though.

Straylight Run - Self Titled
Straylight rocks. Period. There is not a song they've done that I haven't loved. I've heard the two sampler CDs which combined contain about half the tracks from the full length, and I have to say I can't wait for this album to come out.

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
I saw them live when they opened for Finch and enjoyed their set. This is the first time I've heard their recorded songs though, and it's a good album. The music itself is darker and a nice change from standard rock/pop punk. Helena and I'm Not Okay (I Promise) are the top tracks.

Green Day - American Idiot
Like Mike, Dookie was one of my first "punk" albums. Hard to believe that was 10 years ago. I still listen to Dookie fairly often, though I haven't really kept up with Green Day's releases since then. Nonetheless, I picked up American Idiot, and it is a spectacular album. Mike puts it best, "a giant punk-rock opera". I too am still trying to figure out the entire story of the album, but that's what makes albums like this so fun. Are We the Waiting was the track that immediately grabbed me the first time I heard it.

Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be
Not too much to say about this one. It's a good collection of songs, and overall better than their debut album, Tell All Your Friends. Set Phasers to Stun and New American Classic are my favorite two songs.

Say Anything - Is a Real Boy
This is a really fun, wacky album to listen to. From the spoken word intro "and the record begins with a song of rebellion" to the final song Admit It! the album is filled with amusing lyrics. Admit It is a hilarious take on the whole "emo" scene, which Jeff has blogged about. You can read all the lyrics here, but the lead singer has such a good voice it's something completely different to listen to.

Jimmy Eat World - Futures
This album isn't actually out until October 19th, but I've had a chance to hear an advance copy of it, and it is my favorite new album. I will definitely be purchasing it when it comes out. I've rated 9 out of the 12 tracks 4 or 5 stars. The album starts off loud with the title track and ends with the slower and mellow Night Drive and 23. All three of which I've rated 5 stars. In between is a collection of very solid, catchy rock songs. This is a must own album.

Firefly

I've just started watching Firefly on DVD from NetFlix and have been enjoying it. I have to say the captain, Mal, is a total badass. That's not to say he's heartless, but in both episodes I've watched he has killed someone in a way that says "don't fuck with me".

Firefly has actually reminded me a lot of Cowboy Bebop. Aside from the fact that both series take their name from crew's main spacecraft, they both take place in a future where we've colonized other planets, yet still live a relatively low tech life. Both shows follow the stories of a rouge crew, that will take whatever "job" they can to get by. I'm sure I'll be able to draw a lot more comparisons after I've actually watched the rest of Firefly.

LiveJournal

I have a Livejournal account. Username is jaronmars. I don't plan to actually post anything there, but Mike wanted me to be able to read his "Friends Only" posts, so I signed up for a free account. So anyone else that cares to share their secret thoughts with me can friend me up. ^_^

Eagles vs Vikings

Huzzah, another win for the Eagles. This week a 27-16 victory over the Vikings. The Owens vs Moss matchup certainly did not turn out as big as the media made it out to be. Each did have a touchdown, though Owens' should have been ruled an incomplete pass. I was really happy with how well the Eagles' defense played. They kept the running game contained and had constant pressure on Culpepper. Unfortunately the Eagles didn't have many sacks because a 263 pound quick and nimble quarterback is a bitch to bring down. The Eagles' corners covered the receivers well though, so when Culpepper was rushed the best he could do was dump the ball for a short gain. The most entertaining play of the game was in the first half when McNabb passed to Freddie Mitchell who was behind the line of scrimmage. It was an option play for Mitchell, but he was swarmed pretty quickly and the receivers were covered, so he ended up passing to McNabb! Sadly, McNabb was not an eligible receiver, though if he had taken the snap from the shotgun position he would have been.

Next up for the Eagles are the rather surprising 2-0 Lions. Granted their wins have been against the Bears and Texans. Nonetheless, Andy Reid is smart enough not to the Eagles underestimate the Lions and I fully expect an Eagles victory.

Hey Cutie, Here's Your Death Cab

While searching on Ticketmaster for tickets to the Taking Back Sunday show next month, I discovered Death Cab for Cutie will be in San Francisco on November 6th. Talked to Nick and he ordered tickets for us. Woot! I missed Death Cab when they were in Cleveland last spring, so I'm excited to actually get to see them. Ben Gibbard is the man when it comes to writing lyrics. Also, the video for Such Great Heights by The Postal Service (Ben's other band) is good stuff. Love in a microprocessor fabrication plant, you betcha!

Eagles vs Giants

Yesterday marked the start of the 2004 NFL season and from what I saw in the highlights and stats the Eagles played a tremendous game in their 31-17 victory over the Giants. Clearly their offense was in much better gear than opening day last year when they were shut out by the Bucs.

Obviously, the big story was Terrell Owens and his 3 touchdown receptions. This is perhaps especially impressive given that Eagles' receivers only had 5 touchdown catches all last season (there were about a dozen touchdown catches by running backs though). Owens is as well known for his on-field outbursts as he is for his ability to play the game. When I first heard the Eagles had signed him, I wasn't exactly elated and feared his attitude was going to hurt the Eagles more than his play making abilities would help. But I know Andy Reid isn't going to put up with any shit and it's also clear Owens wants to be in Philly. Will he be able to get the Eagles into the Super Bowl this year? Only time will tell, but I'm starting to believe he is going to be a great help to McNabb and the Eagles.

Living in the Bay Area, it's probably going to be pretty hard to catch the Eagles' games as San Francisco and Oakland games will obviously get preference on the cable stations. Next week though, the Eagles play the Vikings on Monday night. McNabb and Owens vs Culpepper and Moss, should be a fun game to watch.