I Likes Me A Good Deal

So, I went shopping for a few things last Friday. Normally, I would not go to any store on Black Friday, just because it is so crazy out there, but I needed a six foot RCA cable. So, I went to Target to get the cable. While I was there, I looked at DVDs and some other things like I always do when at Target.

Before I go on, just know that I am a DVD whore. I see a DVD I want, I buy it. Well, as long as it's not too pricey. Fopr example, I wanted to get season one of the new Dr. Who series, but it was, like, $80. Too much for my taste. But a new movie release for $15 or $16, I'mm all over it. As another example, I saw all of the Charmed TV series seasons for $20 each (usually $40) at Best Buy and I grabbed them.

Wel, on Black Friday, I saw seasons 1-3 of Smallville for $15 each (normally $40). DVD whore as I am, I grabbed them. I love finding things for cheap.

A Higher Power?

It kinda makes you wonder if there is a God and if he is a Buckeye. Not only did OSU prevail over the Wolverines this Saturday by a score of 42-39, but the Ohio Lotto pick four numbers for Saturday night were 4-2-3-9. Not shit. It makes you wonder if The Big Guy is up there and if her is wearing scarlet and gray. What a weird coincidence.

De Ja Vu

I received three envelopes from NetFlix on Thursday. I opened the first envelope and saw an advertisement for the new Denzel Washington movie called DeJa Vu, a movie about group of people that figured how to go back in time.

I received three envelopes from NetFlix on Thursday. I opened the second envelope and saw an advertisement for the new Denzel Washington movie called DeJa Vu, a movie about a group of people that figured how to go back in time.

I received three envelopes from NetFlix on Thursday. I opened the third envelope and saw an advertisement for the new Denzel Washington movie called DeJa Vu, a movie about a group of people that figured out how to go back in time.

I don't really get the premise of the movie. I have seen a few commercials and to be honest, the film looks a little dumb to me. Didn't Jean Claude VanDamme do a movie like this called Time Cop? I didn't go see that and I doubt I will see DeJa Vu. I mean come on. If time travel were EVER possible, don't you think that we'd have people from the future coming back in time already? Or is it like Star Trek and they have a Temporal Prime Directive that forbids time travelers to change the past? Otherwise, why wouldn't someone come back to stop 9/11 or the Kennedy assasination? Heck, if I could go back in time, I'd probably change some things in my life too. There's also a TV show that deals with DeJa Vu. I think it is called Day Break. It involves a man that lives the same day over and over until he makes things right. Hello. Ground Hog Day anyone? I guess I just don't get the whole point of making these shows and movies that have been done already in one form or another. I seem to recall another show called Seven Days where they are able to go back in time, but only seven days in the past.

I guess if you really think about it, there aren't really any original stories out there anymore. Most movies and shows are recycled ideas from other movies, plays, and TV show. I think the last movie that I saw that really blew me away because of it's original idea was The Matrix. What really gets me isn't that some movies and shows rip off ideas from other meduims, it's that some movies and shows are exact copies of old shows and movies. Take the latest version of The Omen. It was done almost exactly the same as the original version. What's the point? Same thing with that Adam Sandler movie about the prison football team (The Longest Yard?). It was a remake (and a bad one at that, from what I hear) of a 70's movie of the same name. It's just silly. Why can't people come up with new ideas anymore. I guess it is hipocritcal of me since my favorite TV show it Battlestar Galactica, which is a remake. The difference is, the definately improved on the original. Better acting, better stories, and better effects.

Fiesta Bowl Bound

Wow. What a game! 42-39 was the final of this incredibly year's OSU vs UM game. ESPN.com has a pretty cool write up and some good video clips. I have to admit, I was nervous going into this game. My nervousness was well grounded. I had some pains in my stomach as the Wolverines scored easily on their first possession. OSU rallied and scored the next 21 points of the game. That made me relax a bit. I was worried going into the game because UM's defense is (statistically speaking) the best the the Buckeyes had to face this year. They only allowed the opposing offenses an average of 29 yards running the ball. That is crazy! Of course, that stat was destroyed by the Ohio State offense who put up 187 yards on the ground, including two 50+ yard runs for touchdowns. Troy Smith threw the ball for 316 yards, and Ohio State ran up 42 points. Really, this game was never as close as the scoreboard made it look. 10 of Michigan's 39 points were off of OSU mistakes: an interception and a fumble. Even with these errors, there was never a moment in the game (well, except for when UM scored the first TD) that I thought OSU was going to lose. Take away the 10 points from OSU mistakes, and the score would have been OSU 42 UM 29.

Since I haven't had a chance to watch the local news, I don't know if campus blew itself up after the game or not. One of the embarassing things about being an Ohio State fan is that everyone thinks we are all obnoxios pyromaniacs looking for a reason to light transh and couches on fire. As I was sitting beside my couch fire in the back yard, I was wondering, 'Why?'. Just kidding. It was way too cold for a couch fire in the back yard last night. Seriously though, a few crazy students have really put a bad face on the proud group of OSU students, alumni, and fans. Not all of us are crazed pyros. And really, look at other cities in the country. Didn't Detroit have the same problem a few years back when the Pistons won the NBA title? Well, all I know is, Ohio State and it's Alumni are trying very hard to change the behavior and image of the OSU students and fans. I just hope that it worked.

The question now goes to who will play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl? The #3, #4, and #5 teams all won this week and all of them have only one loss. Come to think of it, the #2 team has one loss as well. Let's take a look:

#2 Michigan
#3 USC
#4 Florida
#5 Notre Dame

Michigan has already lost to Ohio State. Yes, it was a close game, but do they deserve a remach? If you watch the clips on ESPN.com (follow the 2nd link on this post) you can see UM running back Hart saying that he thinks UM beats OSU in a rematch. Honestly, I think UM is the second best team in the nation and deserves to play in the title game, but if OSU already beat them, why should they get a second chance?

USC plays Notre Dame next Saturday. That will knock off one of these two contenders. If USC wins, it will probably put them in the Fiesta Bowl vs. OSU. However, if Notre Dame wins, how can you tell Michigan that the Irish get to go to Tempe when Michigan STOMPED the Irish earlier in the season?

Florida should be the team that will go to the Fiesta Bowl if Notre Dame beats USC and Florida wins the rest of their games. They had a rough schedule and, with only one loss, would deserve the nod if they only lose one game.

The bottom line is that the BCS sucks when there is one unbeaten team and several one loss teams when it comes down to selecting the national title game. In my opinion, the best bet is to take the top four teams and have a little play off. That was, there is a clear champion and no one can whine about being left out of the picture.

The Game

Saturday, November 18th at 3:30 PM is probably going to be the biggest OSU vs M*ch*g*n game in the history of the rivalry. Yes, there have been big games. Countless encounters have decided either the Big Ten title or a which team would be able to play for the National title. Back in my college days, I remember a few heart breaking losses by the Buckeyes in The Game that cost them trips to the Rose Bowl and their National title hopes. It was very hurtful to me. However, there has never been an OSU vs. scUM game when both teams were ranked #1 and #2. Also, this is the first time that the winner of The Game is definately going to play for the National title. Yes, there have been games that OSU has spoiled scUM's title hopes and vice versa, but this is the first time that the winner of The Game, no matter which team, is going to play for the title. It's a pretty big deal. It's even possible, if not probable, that both teams may play for the National title no matter who wins this Saturday. The BCS is so screwy that way. I would just rather OSU stomp on scUM this Saturday so that their spot in the Fiesta Bowl is a lock.

To kick off the weekend, I am taking tomorrow off so that I can participate in HyperFriday. HyperFriday is an OSU Alumni Band tradition where buses take former band members (hence the word 'alumni') around the city to play school songs at various pep rallies. There is lots of free food and drink envolved. It is the first time I am participating in an Alumni Band event. I've wanted to do HyperFriday in the past, but have never had the vacation time available. I am also taking Saturday off so that I can watch all of the pre-game hype. I'm not planning on going anywhere to watch the game, since everywhere is going to be a mad house. Campus is going to be CRAZY. I just hope that the students don't act all stupid like they have in the past.

In honor of OSU vs scUM week, here is one of my favorite M*ch*g*n jokes:

Q: How many M*ch*g*n freshmen does it take to to screw in a light bulb?

A: None. That is a sophomore course at scUM.

What to Post?....

OK, I mostly want to write about Gears of War, a new Xbox 360 game I bought, but I just want to say realy quike that OSU kicked the crap out of Northwestern, 54-10. Now, both OSU and scUM are 11-0 going into the big game this Saturday. The teams are ranked 1 and 2 for the first time ever. WOW! Exciting!!!

OK, Gears of War. As you may know, I am a fan of the first person shooter games. Halo and Halo two are the best I've played, but I have played many other games of this type. Doom 3 was really good, Half Life was pretty good on the PC, along with Quake 3 and UnReal I've played a few stinkers as well. I can't really remember them because they weren't memorable. I mentioned that the Halo games have been my favorites. Pretend that you are playing Halo (if you've ever played it before) and are pinned behind a big rock by a couple Hunters. Don't you wish that you could pop around the corner, shoot a few rounds, and duck back? The one thing that irritated me about Halo, is that you can't really use cover too well. Gears of War changes that. If you see a tree, you can hide behind it a shoot around the edge. A low baricade? Duck behind it and shoot above it or around it. The creater of the game had a 'Why I Made This Game' intro and he said that he played paint ball and wanted to simulate the experience in a video game. Crouch and run from cover to cover, peer around doors, shoot above and around cover. Gears of War is actually a third person game. You see your character from above, but the game still plays like a first person shooter. It's really cool. The graphics and action are actually better that Halo and Halo 2. However, there are a few things that I don't like so much about Gears of War. First, you have a squad of commandos helping you out. The problem is, in a fire fight, it is hard to tell friend from foe. They all look the same from a distance. I guess that is how it is in real life, but it makes it hard not to shoot your own guys. Second, to take cover, you hit the A button. Seems easy, right? The only problem is, if there are multiple places where you can take cover near by, you don't always go to the one you think you are going to. Or, if you are next to a spot where you can take cover, like a tree, you may end up diving infront of the tree instead of behind the tree. I guess it is something that I am getting better at handling as I play along, but it is an irritant. I guess another thing that bothers me is that, in order to throw a grenade, you have to have grenades be your equipt weapon. You can't run around with a gun and throw grenades with your other hand, like in Halo. It make throwing a grenade a harrowing experience. Still, all in all, this has been a great game. I won't put it above Halo, but it is way better that all of the other shooters I have played. Lots of action, great graphics, good story line, and it causes my adrenaline to get going. If you have a 360 and like shooters, get Gears of War.

Democrat Man, the Fixer-Upper

So, I voted Tuesday. I usually don't get political on my blog or in my personal life, but I did want to comment on this year's vote and the outcome. I basically voted for anyone with a D next to their name. The Republicans have been in control of Ohio for about 16 years and it seems like the state has been steadily going down hill in those years. I felt that it was time for a change. Jobs are flooding out of Ohio. School costs and taxes are going through the roof. Not to mention the taxes that have been sky rocketing through the years. As far as the people that were not specified as Democrat or Republican, I voted for whichever name I liked or thought funny. Probably not the best strategy, but that's what I did. As far as the issues, I voted to raise the minimum wage (which passed), voted to allow the slot machines (which did not pass. I didn't care either way), I voted 'no' to allow smoking in bars and bowling alleys (which was shot down. YEAH!), and voted yes to ban smoking in public places (which passed. YEAH!) The other issues did not really matter much to me. So, the vote went pretty goo in my book. We have more Democrats in office, so hopfully there will be some positive changes. Probably not, but what can we really do?

I am a fixer-upper because, on Tuesday, my disposal died. I changed the disposal in my old house, so I wasn't too concerned with taking the project on myself. Really, the only hard part of the task is getting the old disposal out of the sink. They are usually in so long that they rust a bit or get stuck some other way. That is what happened in this case. What I needed to do was use a hack saw to cut off the bottom part and then use a wrench to bend the top part so it would come out of the sink. Putting in the new one was relatively easy. On top of the disposal, our dishwasher died. I was going to replace it myself, but I couldn't get it out from under the counter. So, I left it and paid extra to have a plumber remove it and install the new one. We should have it in a day or so. It figures, we had a home warranty and it expired a month ago. Otherwise, all this crap would have been free.

Two Dissapointing Games

This weekend was a little painful for me, football-wise.

Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes barely pulled out a win against Illinois. I guess it wasn't "barely". OSU controlled the game until the last four minutes of the fourth quarter. The first half started OK and Ohio State was up 17 to zero at half time. The second half, the Illinois defense stepped up and the OSU offense got cold. Troy Smith and the crew couldn't move the ball. Illinois' offense started working and took advantage of some OSU turn-overs. The last few minutes of the game got scary sine OSU had to punt the ball away again. Illinois tried to block it, but failed and the punt went to thier 3 yard line with 4 seconds left in the game. I guess it was exciting, but nerve wracking as well.

Sunday, I watched Cleveland play San Diego. It was a really good game, except that Cleveland endedup losing it. It was SO frustrating since Cleveland basically controlled the game offensively and defensively, but they couldn't get the ball into the endzone until it was too late. When your field goal kicker gets six field goals, there is a problem. The Browns finally did score a touchdown, but only after the game was out of reach. Really, they should have won, but San Diego got a TD after Frye fumbled the ball into the endzone and the Chargers recovered for a score. Well, it was still a good game and Cleveland prooved that they can play with the 'good' teams.

Go Bucks! and BSG comments.

Wow. Can you believe that I haven't commented on the OSU vs. Minnesota game last weekend? Probably for two reasons. One, I haven't really had alot of time and two, the game was a real bore. 44-0. I guess it wasn't that boring. When your team scores 44 points, it is always fun to watch. It's even more fun when the defense totally shuts down the other team. However, it is much more exciting seeing a game that is at least a little close. Basically, everything that was supposed to happen, happened. Troy Smith played well, Antonio Pittman played well, Ginn and Gonzalez played well, and the defense played well. Today, the Buckeyed go to Illinois. This is another game that OSU is 'supposed' to win. Illinois is not having a great year this year. They do have a freshman quarrterback that is supposed to be pretty good, but I don't think that the OSU defense will give him much time to work.

So, what does everyone think about the last few BSG episodes? I liked last week's episode with the jury getting rid of all of the calaborators. Glad they didn't kill Gaeda though. He just tried to make the best of a bad situation. Last night's episode was interesting. I'm not too sure where they are going with Baltar. He is becoming much more dislikable. I knew he was a self serving coward, but they are now hinting that he may be a cylon. I don't think that he is, only because there aren't more of him on the Base Star that he is on. Why would the Cylons keep it a secret from Baltar if he were a Cylon. There is nothing to gain from it (other than plot twists). I'm glad that Apollo is back in shape and back in a Viper. Fat Apollo was very dislikable. Last night's episode was interesting to me. A lot of character development. I am a little suprised that Tigh seems to be leaving the ship or even the show. I guess killing your wife can cause some bitterness. We all knew that Starbuck would get over her loss of Kasey and stay on the Galactica. I still can't believe that she thought Kasey, a two year old, was her daughter when she was on New Caprica only a year ago. Anyway, I am going off topic. What really interests me is the Cylon killing bio-weapon that was discovered. Does anyone think that it was left there by the 13th Colony (Earth) just in case the Cylons try to track them down? It would make sense. We Earthlings likes our bio-weapons. Now, in the old BSG, Earth was discovered by the Galactica and it was a 1980's Earth. Not mych help in a was against the Cylons when 90% of the populace is walking around with boom-boxes on their shoulders and wearing parachute pants. The bio-weapon makes me wonder exactly how the writers of the new BSG will depict Earth. Well, I guess we will have to wait and see. Oh, and did anyone other than me notice the nekked Sharron/Boomer excercising on the Base Star. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...Boomer.

Prey....Pretty Kick Ass

I think that I mentioned that I bought a game called Prey for my Xbox 360. Well, it was a frst person shooter game and it was pretty damn good. You play a Cherokee that wants his girlfriend to move off of the reservation for bigger and better things. She wants to stay. Well, in the middle of the fight, aliens attack and transport you (Tommie), his girlfriend, and Tommie's grandfather up to the mother ship. Sounds pretty weird, I know. I actually put the game away for a while because it started out a little slow. Basically, you need to find gramps, your lady, and get off of the ship. This game is similar to most shooters, in that, you run around shooting things while navigating the maze-like ship. What makes this game unique is that there are anti-gravity ramps that you need to walk on and other things that make the whole room turn and flip. It is pretty disorienting at times. You also need to figure out puzzles in order to get though the ship. You get all sorts of cool weapons. Another thing that is unique is that when you die, you enter the spirit world (you're a Cherokee, remember.) and you need to shoot these wraiths to give yourself life again. It was strange at first, but all in all, I really enjoyed playing the game. I stayed up until 1:00 last night to beat it. The game, sick-os. If you have a 360 and like shooting games, give Prey a try. It's not Halo good, but it is good.