Things I Won't Miss, Screw You 2005

Korey's Blog Goes AWOL

Really dude, what the fuck? You haven't posted since August.

Musical Failings

Cold's Newest CD - Jesus Christ, it's amazing how generic some bands can turn when a member or two leaves. One of my most hyped albums of the year, sold within a week.

Averi Breaks Up - Good Job Mr. Lead Singer guy. I hate to tell you this, but you will never hold a candle to what you were able to do with Averi.

Blue October Delays - Release the CD already, because I fucking need it!!!!!

Flickerstick Concert at Click's in Tyler - Some of the worst sound quality I have ever heard. I love Flickerstick, but Josh and I left halfway through because it was a distorted nightmare.

30 Seconds To Mars - The CD starts off amazingly. But after about 5 songs, it just settles into a crappy filler routine that continues until you run out of tracks.

Copy Protection - Thanks Sony, way to not only imbed shit onto people's computers without knowing, but thanks for making it a god damn hassle to even get MP3s from the CDs I just paid FIFTEEN GOD DAMN DOLLARS FOR! Also, hahaha, Korey got Rootkit'd.

Batman's Publicity

Cmon America, he's a fucking super hero, who'se only power is he has a lot of money. Oh...wait....nevermind that's what I expect you to like America, carry on. He could at least have kick ass magic bracers that block bullets or something.

Family Guy's Return To TV

It really is a shell of what it once was. Every Episode has the same jokes, and it's just stale and old now. We wanted you to come back so you could make me laugh like nothing else can, but instead you deliver something I don't even watch anymore. American Dad on the other hand, has grown into it's own show, and the premise I once made fun of for ripping off Family Guy, is now a superior show.

Halle Berry

Just fucking die already. You ruin everything you touch.

Random Things I Loved About 2005

Cheap Ass Gamer

I can't begin to say how much I love this website. A couple posts down I detailed the money I had saved over the last few months and that alone should say it. The thing that stands out the most though, is that aside from the great bargains, there is a very helpful community that goes along with it. I would have never have known or taken a chance on the Blue Gender box set without CAG, but since I did, I ofund a series i absolutely love. Strat guides, games, dvds, all for a fraction of their normal price. Thanks CAG.

Stand Out New Music

It's much harder to rank music than games, so I will just list some of my highlights for the year.

Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Vol. 1
Our Lady Peace - Healthy in Paranoid Times
Dredg - Catch Without Arms
Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
Anberlin - Blueprints for the Black Market
Alkaline Trio - Crimson
Terminal - How The Lonely Keep
Flickerstick - Tarantula
Abandoned Pools - Armed To The Teeth
Acceptance - Phantoms
Averi - Drawn To Revolving Doors
Copeland - In Motion
Mae - The Everglow
Idlewild - Warnings Promises
The Juliana Theory - Deadbeat Sweatheartbeat
Longwave - There's a Fire
Spitalfield - Stop Doing Bad Things

It's hard for me to narrow down my favorites from those because they are all fantastic.

Trip To Oregon

Two Weeks out of the comfort zone. Mae Concert in Eugene. Melty Faced Bum Bitches! Got to stay with Korey for another 2 weeks, and got to see parts of Oregon I hadn't before. Then he came back for a couple weeks, and we sat around and gave each other hand jobs.

Plus, driving 36 hours straight across the country on the way home between two people = huge balls.

Really it's hard to elaborate, it's just something that when experienced(the road trip, not the handjobs), it impacts more than I can describe.

Gaming's Best And Worst

Top 5 games of the year:

1 - Resident Evil 4
2 - Xenosaga Episode 2
3 - Shadow of Colossus
4 - Dragon Quest 8
5 - Altelier Iris

Resident Evil 4 got the top honor because it's just that damn good in every way.

The only reason Xeno 2 didn't get the top spot, was because I view it more as the second part of one game.

Shadow of Colossus is absolutely art, and is a game everyone should play at least once.

Dragon Quest, while not as stand out in my mind, consumed over 100 hours of my time, and the fact that I saw everything but one thing the game had to offer, says more than my own delusions.

Atelier Iris had a great storyline, but the real draw was the alchemic game spanning side story. The side story in most ways was much better than the main story for me, but overall it was well done any way you look at it.

Top Disappointments :

Soul Calibur 3 - It was perfect in every way but the most important one. Fun Factor. Starting a game and getting beaten 14 times in a row on my 4th battle is not something I enjoy. Needless to say this was sold, and it left an impression that makes me question if I will buy future installments or not.

Final Fantasy 4 Advance - How can you re-release a ten year old game and fuck it up? I didn't think it was possible, but the game lag, the new view point when air traveling, and the changes o the story to allow characters to be playable again all hurt the overall package. I couldn't have imagined a game I play through every year would ever have disappointed me.

Nintendo Wifi - It started off with such anticipation, but as the day got closer, the sad reality started to take shape. No Mario Kart Battle Mode over wifi. Only slightly more than half the tracks, and no ghost data trading all but killed this version of MK for me.

Animal Crossing lost features that seemed like no brainers also. No mail over wifi, and no way to connect randomly and trade villagers, and items took a lot of the wind from my sails when I popped this game in the first time.

MK and AC both seemed rushed in their lack of wifi options and I hope Nintendo takes it's time with future wifi games.

Mario Baseball - I already ranted on the fuck ups in a gaming blog post, go read that.

So The Year Is Almost Over......

As every new year fades into history, I reflect on just how strange the last 365 days were. Life never fails to surprise you, and lets hope next year will finally be the year Green Day dies in a plane crash.....

Boredom Lists to Follow.

Tis' The Season To Be Frugal

Almost six months ago I joined Cheap Ass Gamer. Since then my efficiency with electronics purchases has gone through the roof. Here's a list of my badass deals this Holiday Season:

Legend
Saved compared to Walmart.com
Saved Compared to Amazon
Saved According to Bradygames

Yesterday, TRU's un-advertised clearance:

Psychonauts for PS2 - $9.98 Saved $35.84
Romance of the 3 Kingdoms X for PS2 - $9.98 Saved $39.84
Golden Sun Lost Age for GBA - $9.98 Saved $20.01
Tekken 5 for PS2 - $9.98 Saved $29.84
Digital Devil Saga for PS2 - $9.98 Saved $44.84
Metal Slug 4/5 for PS2 - $9.98 Saved $29.84

From the Brady Games End of Year Blowout Sale Online Only:

Kingdom Hearts Guide - $5.25 Saved $9.74
Shadow Hearts Covenant Guide - $5.25 Saved $9.74
Tales of Symphonia Guide - $5.60 Saved $10.39
Final Fantasy 7 Guide - $5.25 Saved $9.74
Baten Kaitos Guide - $5.25 Saved $9.74
Xenosaga Episode 2 - $5.95 Saved $11.04
Final Fantasy Chronicles - $5.25 Saved $9.74
Shipping and Handling - Free

Final Fantasy IV Advance in Store at Circuit City - $24.95 Saved $5.00
Dragon Quest 8, two copies, one in store, one online from circuit city - $39.99 Saved $10.00

DeepDiscountDVD Online Sale:

Ultimate Matrix Collection - $31.19 Saved $21.79
Blue Gender Complete Series Set - $28.79 Saved $22.19

Tower Records Online DVD Sale:

Titan AE Special Edition DVD - $3.99 Saved $5.99
5th Element Ultimate Edition - $9.99 Saved $14.97

Futurama Volume 1 for $14.99 at Overstock.com Saved $24.99

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles from TRU online for $9.99, and Free Shipping. Saved $20.00

Also 2 different buy 2 get 1 free sales at TRU earlier in the year:

Super monkey Ball 1, and 2, and Sonic Mega Collection. Saved $19.99
Soul Calibur 3, Shadow of Colossus, and Mario Party 6 Saved $49.99

Total Amount Saved off of MSRP based on the list price at Amazon.com and Walmart.com and Bradygames :

$465.25