Favorite Gay Nerdy-Type Persons

So...I can't think of anything really interesting to post today.  So instead I'm going to post pictures of my favorite out celebrities that have some sort of nerdy-type cred/following.

5.  Jim Parsons

photo credit- Maxim Magazine.

HE FINALLY CAME OUT! And yes, I do enjoy The Big Bang Theory.  Diss my nerd cred all you want, but I can enjoy both Community and The Big Bang Theory.  But yeah.  I've always found myself attracted to Sheldon.

4.  Zachary Quinto

I...don't know where this one came from.  Google Image.  But Sylar was really the only reason I watched Heroes for as long as I did.  I didn't make it through the 3rd season, but I stuck with it for much longer than I should've, all because of him.  (Yes, he came out, too!)

3.  John Barrowman

There are other/hotter pictures of him out there, but I just love Ianto so much that I needed to include one of them both.  But yeah.  Captain Jack Harkness.  Yes please.

 2.  Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka

My favorite celebrity couple.  Just...they're adorable, and I love them.  I want their lives.

 1.  Sean Maher

Ugh.  Simon Tam.  Yes please.  Forever and always.  I only wish that Google Images had had a better variety of his shirtless scene from Firefly.  Because...just...yes.

Did I leave off your favorite?  Let me know!

Marvel Movie Marathon

So, I assume that whoever reading this is a living person.  Which means that you've heard of The Avengers.  Whether or not you knew that it came out on May 4th is up for debate (but by the power of Thor, I hope you knew that.)  What you probably didn't know was that in select Regal theaters across the country on May 3rd, a Marvel Movie Marathon was hosted.

The theater closest to me was offering Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor 3D, and Captain America 3D, before the midnight premiere of The Avengers 3D.  Plus a free small popcorn, and 20 additional Regal Crown Club points.  For $35.  An excellent deal, I thought.  And was proven correct.  (Other theaters showed The Incredible Hulk between the Iron Man movies, I've heard.)  It started at 2:15, so I went and bought my ticket at 11:30, went to Chick-fil-a for lunch, and walked around Wal-Mart until I got bored by 1:15.  So I went to the theater early to get a good seat, spent an extra $2 to upgrade my small popcorn to a refillable large tub and used my mom's refillable soda cup, and was the 6th person in the theater.  So we sat there for 50 minutes, and more and more people filed in, the excitement brewing as my geek boner rose and rose.

Now, the theater I was at is the Pinnacle 18 at Turkey Creek, which has stadium seating and very comfortable seats.  It's divided into two levels, the lower level being the undesirable level where you have to crank your head up the whole time, while the upper level is more eye-level, and the front row of the second level has a nice railing in front of it where patrons can rest their feet during and before the movie.  The front row of the second level is obviously prime seating, where most of the early arrivals got there early to sit.  And that's where I was.  Until about 10 minutes before Iron Man started, when there was a fairly sizable amount of people there.  Maybe...60-100 people in a 200 seat theater.  The theater manager came in and told us that there was a slight snafu, and that we'd have to go to the theater next door for the first two movies (the 2D ones) before returning to our present theater for the final 3 movies.  And she smiled and said "but it's a bigger theater, so that's good, right?"  Fuck you, lady.  I got there 60 minutes early to secure a good seat for myself, one where I had a leg rest, and empty seats on either side of me.  It was an ideal setting.  Until the bitch made me move.  And some jackasses that had shown up 5 minutes ago, and had to sit in non-ideal seats all collectively decided to run to the new theater and claim all the good seats.  The people in the current good seats all collectively thought "Fuck you!" and dashed to the new theater and tried to claim good seats, as well.  I believe that we all got seats on the good row, but my seat in the original theater was closer to center, and I was pissed.  Which was a VERY unfortunate way to start the Movie Marathon of Awesome.  I ended up sitting next to a pair of geeks who actually knew what they were talking about, more so than I did at least, so that was alright.

Then the Movie Marathon of Awesome began!  Iron Man was awesome, as always.  But can we just take a moment and talk about Robert Downey, Jr.'s eyes?  Oh my god.  They're like pools of beauty.  I mean, he's just a sexy man in general, but his EYES!  I could barely deal with it.  I'm just glad that my inner geek repressed my external gay in that environment, because I probably would've freaked out the guys around me.  I'm always surprised by how charming Gwyneth Paltrow is.  I mean, I'm not one of the legions of people who hate her, but I don't feel strongly towards her.  I just forget that she can be charming.  She was kind of a bump on a log during the Iron Man/Iron Monger battle, but ...I guess that couldn't have been helped?  But yeah.  RDJ's eyes.  Wonderful.  Everything else, same as always.  Wonderful all around.

Iron Man 2...had a hardware issue.  We watched about 30-45 minutes of it, before it quit.  We were pissed, until they offered us free 3D tickets and unlimited soda refills until 8.  Then they moved us back into the first theater for Thor 3D, and the same douchey dash for the front row happened, but I still got a seat on the front row.  With the same guys that I had sat next to for the two Iron Man movies, coincidentally, so that was cool.

Thor 3D was alright.  I don't hate the movie (that special place in my heart is reserved for X-Men:  The Last Stand), but it's not one that I love, either.  Thor is not a hero that I'm very familiar with, so it was nice to get to know him and his mythology a little more.  I love Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings (when she's not in that pile of shit 2 Broke Girls, at least) so having them as supporting characters was a plus.  I thought that the Earth vs. Asgard dichotomy was interesting, although I could've gotten to know Lady Sif (who was Jessie from Kyle XY, and will always be in my heart) and the Warriors Three a little better (especially the blonde one with the doofy mustache, mmmmm...).  Plus...Shirtless Chris Hemsworth.  Nothing wrong with that scene, except that he put his shirt back on.  I wish that Hawkeye had had a bigger part in the movie, and I thought they missed a HUGE opportunity to introduce Luke Cage.  The huge black guy that fought Thor when he was breaking into the SHIELD facility to grab Mjolnir.  You know how easy it would've been to just say "Luke Cage is down!  Clint, take your shot!" and BAM!  Yet another Avenger introduced.  It wouldn't necessarily fit in with Luke's comic book character, but you know what?  Who cares.  It would've been awesome.
My other big issue with Thor was that I didn't feel like he learned anything.  I felt like the "massive character growth" that made him worthy of harnessing the power of Thor wasn't true growth.  It felt cheap to me.  And I didn't like the fact that Mjolnir flew to him.  If it flew to anyone worthy of commanding the power of Thor, then theoretically, it should never have landed, as there ARE worthy people on Earth, if the comics have proven anything.  Also, as much as I love Natalie Portman, I wanted Thor and Lady Sif to hook up (like they do sometimes in the comics...).  But that might go along with my desire to get to know the Asgardians better.  I hope they spend more time in Asgard in Thor 2, and manage to bring back all four of Thor's allies.

Captain America 3D presents a problem.  It was an excellent film, I loved Chris Evans both skinny and hunky (but obviously the hunky was awesome, even if the shirtlessness was brief).  Hugo Weaving is a god among actors, and I've loved him in everything I've ever seen him in.  The problem is, we spend the whole movie getting attached to Sharon Carter and Bucky and ...the ...captain whose name I've forgotten, only for Cap to spring 70 years in the future.  If Cap 2 happens like the comics, then Carter had a daughter who looks and acts just like her, and is Cap's age, so Cap falls madly in love with her.  And Bucky will be back as Winter Soldier, the Big Bad of Cap 2.  Hopefully.  It was a good movie, don't get me wrong.  I just went into it knowing that I was going to get attached to a bunch of characters that couldn't show up in any sort of sequel, and it made me sad, because I liked most of them.

And then we get to the Main Event of the Marathon.  THE AVENGERS.  WAS AWESOME.  Joss Whedon is one of my favorite creative-types (director, screenwriter, showrunner, what have you), and I love comic books, and have at the very least enjoyed all of the "prequel" movies.  None of the Avengers featured in this movie are my favorite Avengers, but I don't despise any of them.  I don't looooove any of the actors (except the EXCELLENT Cobie Smulders!) but again, I don't hate any of them.  In fact, I'm pretty warm towards Scarlett.  She's been in a few things that I like, and she's very pretty and actually a good actress, not just a pair of tits and a nice ass.  And I've already spoken about (or at least alluded to) how attractive I find Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Robert Downey, Jr.  But Jeremy Renner blew them all out of the water.  I'm a huge ass fan, and there's a scene where Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye are walking, and the camera is behind them, and my eyes immediately went to Hawkeye's ass and never left.  In that one moment, he became my favorite (I also have a thing for archers...), and I need to rewatch the movie so I can fall in love with Hawkeye all over again (luckily, I have that free 3D ticket...).

But seriously.  The Avengers.  Go see it.  Love it.  Thank me later.  Or don't.  It's up to you.  But you should really go see it.

I'm Still Alive, I Promise!

So...It's been like 3 months...not much has changed, either, sad to say.

Update in gaming- Last month, I finished yet another play-through of the Dragon Age series, this time as a female Dwarven Rogue in Dragon Age:  Origins, and all DLC that is associated with it, and a male Mage in Dragon Age 2.  It was not a terrible play-through, but I've done it a couple of times, so nothing really noteworthy happened.  I had intended to romance Leliana in Dragon Age, but I ended up romancing Alistair, and then I intended and succeeded in romancing Anders in Dragon Age II.  Woo...

Then I decided that it was past time to finally learn to like the Mass Effect series, especially since Mass Effect 3 had just come out.  I own Mass Effect 1 and 2 already, so I decided to power through them and try my hardest to like them.  Unfortunately, I am a dumbass, and I couldn't find Mass Effect 1.  So I decided to suck it up and play Mass Effect 2.  Which was the best decision of all time. 

I am terrible at shooters, and prefer using Magic-based characters in RPGs, so I tried to stick to a character class that was like the Mage.  The Adept.  And it was AWESOME.  Adepts use powers in addition to weapons, AND you can arc the powers so that they go over barriers and shiz.  Which was especially awesome because the reason that I suck at shooters is because I have terrible aim and unsteady hands.  So I played through Mass Effect 2 and some of the DLC, and got addicted.  After beating it, I finally found Mass Effect 1 and was...let down.  I liked the companions more (because they were more specialized and more similar to the classes that are available to Shepard), but HATED the gameplay.  You can't arc the powers, and the Mako was an invention from Hell.  It's just...the worst.  And they put some Mako action in EVERY SINGLE LEVEL.  It is just awful.  But I powered through it, and was rewarded with transferring my character and decisions to Mass Effect 2, and having my own decisions transferred over to Mass Effect 2 GREATLY increased my love of the game.  And then I bought Mass Effect 3, and transferred my Mass Effect 1 and 2 character into Mass Effect 3, and LOVED it!  Except that I accidentally romanced the wrong character.

Funny story 'bout that.  See, in Dragon Age:  Origins and 2, and in Mass Effect 1 and 2, you can romance multiple characters at a time.  At some point, if you've progressed enough with more than one character, the two characters that you've been romancing will confront you and make you choose one.  Based on previous interactions, I assumed that the same thing would happen in Mass Effect 3, and I feel that it was a fair assumption.  So I had my male Shepard romance the two male romance options, and got super excited to watch the two dudes fight over my dude.  Unfortunately...they took out the love-triangle option, and I was unaware, so I romanced the dude that I didn't want to end up with (as the dude that I did want to end up with was unavailable, and I felt like flirting) and ...ended up with him.  Which wasn't awful, but it was not the desired outcome.  I was then presented with the option of starting the whole character over again (Mass Effect 1, 2, and then finally romancing the correct person in 3) or just playing 3 again and fixing my mistake.  And...I chose the wrong option, restarting the character.  I thought about playing a different class or going Renegade this time instead of Paragon, and...I just HATE THE MAKO too much to play it again so soon.

Not...that any of you really care.

In other news, I'm in the chorus of a production of Verdi's Othello.  And...that's fine.  And...oh yeah, Things I'm Reading!

I've finished the Song of Ice and Fire series (as has been published by now, at least), and really enjoyed it.  Now I'm trrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg to get through the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but GOOD LORD I am having a hard time doing this.  I'm used to Jordan's and Martin's style of super flowery prose, and over descriptiveness, but Tolkien's prose is just ...too much.  I don't know why, but I am having the hardest time getting through it.  It probably doesn't help that I think Gandalf is an asshole (a post for another time) and it took Tolkien took 337 pages to introduce his best character, Strider/Aragorn.

But...there's not a whole lot else going on right now, I guess.  I'll go more in depth about my newly passionate love for Mass Effect later, and I'll probably post why I think Gandalf is an asshole and not worthy of everyone's praise eventually, too.  So...stay tuned for those, if you want.

I Watch Far Too Much TV...

For those of you who don't know, I live at home right now.  And...my parents are on vacation in Australia.  So, I'm home alone a lot.  And watch a lot of TV anyways, so their being gone has only allowed me to watch SO.  MUCH.  MORE.

The shows I usually watch have all come back, and I've caught up on all of them.  In like...a day.  So there have been some new shows that I've been watching.  My mom really enjoys Revenge, so I watched the latest episode when I had to record it for her, and then caught up as much as I could on it with OnDemand, which was only a few more episodes.

Revenge is a pretty rich kid drama, much along the lines of (I assume) Gossip Girl, 90210, The O.C., etc.  And I've never watched any of those, so I assume that they're super trashy.  And so is Revenge.  But it HIGHLY appeals to my gay sensibilities.  Mostly, super campy and uber-dramatic.  And there's some gay/bi dudes, so it's pretty cool that way, too.  It is in no way a "good" show, but it is definitely entertaining.

I also started watching/got caught up with SyFy's Being Human on NetFlix.  I had watched a few episodes earlier in the year, actually ON SyFy (go figure!) and I had watched the first episode of the British series on NetFlix, so I knew what I was getting into, but it still seemed like a really interesting concept that I wanted to watch more of.  And it is an interesting concept.  I think...that they focused more on the drama of the show, and it kind of brought the enjoyment level down quite a bit.  If the producers would embrace the SyFy camp factor of a bunch of their other shows (like Eureka or Warehouse 13), and used a bit more of the comedy skills of the actors, I think the show would be EXCELLENT.  My favorite scenes of the first season were when the three roommates are just sitting around cracking jokes on each other.  If the show had more of that, and less ...vampire gangs fighting for control of Boston, I think the show would be really way much better.

I'm also (presently, at this very moment) watching Merlin.  I had started to watch it last year, and couldn't get over the Smallville feel of it, but I'd heard lots of good things about it, so I decided to give it another shot.  It has grown on me some (but it probably helps that I'm playing PSP while watching.  Yay ADD!)  What's really helping is the hoyay between Merlin and Arthur.  (Hoyay stands for Homoeroticism!  Yay!  It refers to when audience members infer homoerotic subtext in interactions with two not gay characters written by writers who are intending nothing of the sort).  But really, guys.  If this were HBO or Showtime, Merlin and Arthur would be GETTING IT ON.  They've almost died for each more times in the first season than Pete and Myka have in the entirety of Warehouse 13.  And not in the heroic sense.  In the "please don't kill the person I love" kind of sense.  It's touching.  Like Sam and Frodo.

So...yeah.  That's what I've been doing.  Anyone have any suggestions for what I watch next?

Trip Through Time

So my first experience with an XBox comes from my little brother.  My family has always been a Nintendo family, we got a Super Nintendo when I was ...6, I think, and then got a Nintendo 64 when that came out, and a Gamecube when that came out, and my mother even camped out at a Wal-Mart to get us a Wii (even though none of us asked for, or even wanted, one).  Sometime during high school, we also got a Playstation 2, and a Sega Dreamcast, albeit a while after the Dreamcast stopped being popular.  I went off to college, and when I came back for Christmas Break, my youngest brother had gotten himself an XBox, and a few games to go with it.  One of those games was Star Wars:  Knights of the Old Republic.

I don't know if I've shared my love for Star Wars yet.  In fact, I'm almost positive I have not, but that is a post for another time.  I DO know that I've shared my love for RPGs, though, so the joining of an RPG and Star Wars was like crack for my little nerd heart.  I devoured that game like a voracious old man who just discovered Viagra and hookers devours well...Viagra and hookers.  However, Christmas Break came to an end and, since it was my brother's XBox, I had to bid adieu to it until summer break.  But glory be! when that came around, he had obtained Star Wars:  Knights of the Old Republic II:  The Sith Lords.  And if I devoured the first game like Viagra and hookers, I devoured this one like a nursing home located in between a pharmacy and a strip club.  It was an unhealthy obsession.  I think I played through KOTOR2 about ...3 times over the summer, playing as different characters, using different romances, and making different choices every time.  Much like I did with Dragon Age:  Origins (see my old blog post: http://adayinthelifeofanerdygay.blogspot.com/2011/07/day-three.html ).  Unfortunately, it was my brother's XBox, and he did not really appreciate me using it so often.

I went back to school, and came back home for Fall Break.  I noticed that the XBox was free, found the KOTOR2 box, put the disc in, and booted it up.  Only to find that the game wouldn't play.  Baffled, I pulled the disc out and wiped it on my shirt, thinking that maybe the disc was just dusty.  Still no luck.  Confused and a little angry that my addiction was so close and yet so far, I pulled out the disc again, and glanced at the back.  And was HORRIFIED.  My brothers had scratched up the back of the disc so that I couldn't play it anymore.  I couldn't be TOO mad, as it was not my disc, nor my XBox, but I was PISSED.  And have been looking for the game ever since (it was not a new game when Dan got it).  Now, I didn't look very hard until October 2010, when my friend Chad sold me his 360, but I did look.  And this weekend, I FOUND TWO OF THEM!  Now, I am a cheapskate, so I got the cheaper of the two ($23 vs. $35), and booted it up!  Minus an occasional sound-glitch, it works just fine!

I started a game as a Jedi Consular (the mage), but I'm not really feeling it.  In the Dragon Age series, I usually play the Rogue, so I'm thinking that I'm going to restart as a Jedi Sentinel, because I like skills, and they're somewhat useful.  But playing this game after playing Dragon Age:  Origins is ...unsettling.  It's not just the graphical difference (with KOTOR being an XBox game, and Dragon Age being a 360 game), but I just see lots of improvements that KOTOR could make, if they were still making KOTOR games.  Not that The Old Republic MMORPG bullshit.  Just a few simple tweaks.  Getting rid of used dialogue options would be a big help.  Being better able to customize my character's looks would be nice, too.  Among many other things.  Things that, if Bioware were to make a new KOTOR game, they would fix on their own, based off of what Dragon Age and Mass Effect have done.  IT WOULD BE AWESOME.

I'm...really tired...so...I feel like this post was a bit more ADD than my other posts (which, to be fair, are all pretty ADD).  I apologize for that.  Also, it occurred to me about halfway through this post that all of my posts have been more Nerd-based and less Gay-based, so...maybe I'll do a more gay-oriented post next time.  I make no promises.

Also, what older games have you played lately?  Or do you only play newer games?

Christmas Surprises

Yeah, yeah, Christmas was like two weeks ago.  I'm lazy, get off my back.  I'm going to talk about the games that I got for Christmas, and I needed a decent chance to play them all before I wrote about them.

Everyone have a good Christmas?  I sure hope so, because I did!  Some dress shirts, a few sweater vests, 8 Disney movies (Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Up, Wall-E, The Incredibles, Toy Story 3, Sister Act, and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe!), and 3 video games.

Game 1:  A present from my youngest brother- Final Fantasy IV:  The Complete Collection for PSP.  Final Fantasy IV is probably my favorite RPG of all time.  I first played it on an SNES emulator that we had on our computer, but it was called Final Fantasy II at the time.  I later figured out that it was actually IV, and then it came out with Chrono Trigger as a bundle game for the Playstation.  Then they released it on the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy IV Advance.  Then again on the DS, but with 3D graphics this time!  And finally on the PSP as Complete Collection.  FF4:  TCC is actually 3 games in one, the Advance version of IV with updated graphics, the sequel to IV that was released in different chapters, called The After Years, AND a short little interlude between the two.
     Now...the problem with the fact that this is one of my favorite games is that I've played it a lot.  So...I know how to beat it, strategy-wise.  Also...occasionally, when I know a side quest is available from a certain point on, I will undertake that side quest ASAP.  Unfortunately, the side quests typically require me to be a few levels stronger than I typically would be in a normal RPG.  But since I know this game so well, I tend to speed through the main storyline, so I tend to be a few levels (just one or two, nothing major) weaker than I should be.  So...I'm stuck at a part where I can continue the main storyline and lose a character for a good bit, and then only have 4 characters when I go on these side quests, or I can struggle through the arduous process of leveling, which isn't usually a problem...when I have no other games to play.  However, I have the two after-game adventures that I've never played before, PLUS a few other games that I got for, or around, Christmas.  So I'm having a hard time staying focused on beating this game.

Game 2:  A present given to me by my younger brother, but really from my parents- Batman:  Arkham City for the XBox 360.  Now...I love me some Batman.  I love comic books, and superheroes, and video games, so this seems like a game right up my alley, right?  WRONG.  Now...I do enjoy this game, I'm just bad at it.  I like superhero games with teams that are more RPG-like.  For instance, the X-Men Legends games, the Marvel:  Ultimate Alliance games, and Justice League Heroes.  Games where I control one hero, and the computer controls 1-3 other heroes and we join forces to kick ass.  Those are superhero games that I like and am good at.  Action games where I have open world maps and open-end quests, and combos to learn are games that I do not excel at.  But...I own this game, and Arkham Asylum, and I asked for both of them.  Even if I never get good at them, they are games that I am proud to own.  Plus, I downloaded Catwoman, Nightwing, and Robin for Arkham City, so eventually...I need to be able to play as them.  Even if I die a lot.  But eventually (I keep telling myself that) I will play them, and be good at them, and will fall in love with them.  For now, they are that person across the food court that is wearing awesome clothes and talking to awesome looking people that I am totally in love with, but will never have the courage to talk to.

Game 3 (and 4):  A present ACTUALLY from my younger brother- Tales of Symphonia:  Dawn of a New World for Wii.  This is a game that I am actually really enjoying.  I'd never heard of the Tales series of games, or if I had, I had never paid attention to them, but I'm really enjoyed myself while playing this.  And then it dawned on me that this is a sequel to a Gamecube game, and (like many Wii sequels to Gamecube games, slash- The Fire Emblem games) there is a transfer option, so that the Wii game is ...made better/easier/whatever by things you did in the Gamecube game.  So I returned X-Men:  Destiny (which is a TERRIBLE game that I will review in a moment) and one of my dad's birthday presents (that he already had!) to McKay's and FOUND THE GAMECUBE GAME!  So I've been playing through that, and am really enjoying it.  I keep feeling like I'm at the end of the game, but thanks to my occasional glances at strategy guides and the fact that there is a second disc, I know I'm not.  But if you like Final Fantasy games, Super Smash Bros, and/or the Fire Emblem series (for some reason, Tales of Symphonia just feels like a non-strategy Fire Emblem game to me, I don't know why) then you will really enjoy these games!

Game 5:  Something I got for myself a few weeks ago, it just happened to be in December- X-Men:  Destiny for the XBox 360.  THIS IS SUCH A TERRIBLE GAME.  I'm sorry.  I love the X-Men.  They were my REAL introduction to nerdy things.  The 90's cartoon changed my life.  If I ever get a tattoo, it will be the logo from one of the X-Men movies, with the X in a circle looking all metallic-y, on my shoulder blade.  I.  LOVE.  X-MEN.  But this game SUCKS.  First- in all the press stuff I'd ever read about the game, everyone talked about the freedom of choice, and how you can choose to be an X-Man or a member of the Brotherhood.  Maybe I didn't play far enough in the game to get to that choice, but the only chances I got to choose were side missions, nothing affecting the reality of the game.  No matter what side I picked, I did this mini-game, and then I was back on the main quest.  You get to choose one of three brand-new characters, and once you pick your character, you pick their powers, and all of their upgrades.  Which, I initially thought would be cool.  If only the powers didn't suck. 
     I am a person who would (in real life) prefer a power that allows me to stay at range and beat the crap out of people from a distance, like telekinesis or energy manipulation.  Something along those lines.  However, I have found that in games, especially those action games that I am no good at, choosing long-range powers/weapons tends to put you at a disadvantage, as you have no teammates to distract the enemies while you pick them off one by one from afar.  No, all of the enemies come straight towards you, and if you have a long-distance power, you are forced to flee from them and hide behind things and generally fight very cowardly, and it is annoying.  However, I also usually hate playing as "bruiser"-type characters.  So the power choices were Energy Projection (long-range), Density Shifting ("bruiser"), and Shadow Manipulation (something in between, OR SO I THOUGHT).  Figuring (correctly) that EP and DS were what they were, I initially chose Shadow Manipulation.  After you choose your power, there's a very brief cut-scene showing your character rescue some civilians using their powers.  My guy initially teleported, like Nightcrawler, and I thought "FUCK YEAH, I GET TO BE NIGHTCRAWLER!"  FALSE.  It was more like Wolverine.  But without the healing factor.  And you can't teleport, like the game TOLD YOU YOU COULD.  So I played for a while, and got annoyed.  They kept introducing these mutants, letting them fight with you, but not in any sort of controllable way.  There's one level where you free Surge, Colossus, and Quicksilver, and the four of you are on your way to escape.  But your three comrades are all doing their own thing in battles.  PLUS THERE ARE NO HEALING PACKS AND LOTS OF SHIT TO BE KICKED OUT OF YOU.  Enemies occasionally drop health orbs, but that does me little to no good if I wasted 50 enemies and didn't get hurt, and then a super enemy comes out, kicks my ass, and then drops an orb that heals 5 health of the 230 that he just took away from me.
     Sorry...I get pissed.  This game makes me pissed.  But it had lots of things going for it!  It has an impressive cast list, and the potential to introduce lots of casual fans to more obscure/modern X-Men characters, like Northstar, Surge, Pixie, and Caliban.  And the way they kept talking about putting an emphasis on choices, I thought it would be more like an X-Men-themed Dragon Age or Mass Effect (which would be HELLA FUCKING AWESOME, Marvel and Bioware- TEAM UP!)  Alas, it was not, I was sorely disappointed, and SUPER PISSED.  So I gave it back to McKay's and got a good game instead.  And...am seriously thinking about writing a nasty letter to Marvel, because that shit was unacceptable.

In Which I Write!

So, I've been reading a lot lately.  I've talked about that a few times.  Well, I finished The Hunger Games, and then started the Song of Ice and Fire series (also known as Game of Thrones).  It took me a little over a week to read the first one (A Game of Thrones), and I started the second one (A Clash of Kings) on ...Friday, I think...?  Anyways, it's a pretty enjoyable series, and I am genuinely intrigued by it, but I'm having the hardest time reading it.  I think it's because each chapter is told from a different point of view, and 99% of the time, the POV of the next chapter has nothing to do with the POV of the previous chapter.  And almost every chapter ends with some sort of cliffhanger, big or small.  And then the next chapter picks up somewhere completely different, often times with the "cliffhanger" having been resolved off-screen, and it turns out it was not a big deal.  It just kind of bothers me a little bit, and it gives me no real ...desire to finish the chapter and get to the next chapter to see how this plot line resolves or expands.  And because you get POVs from most of the main characters, you tend to like most of the characters.  Even though most of the characters are enemies, or at the very least rivals.  It both destroys the drama, and makes it more real.  Which is a hard thing to do.  Also, on occasion, it feels a little like a porno.  Not THAT often, but often enough that I will feel uncomfortable reading it while I'm subbing.  But it is a good series, and I am enjoying it.  I'm just having a hard time getting through it.

Which brings me to what I've been doing all night!  Writing!  I've had this kind of fantasy world living in my head since high school.  Junior year, at least.  So, it's been a while, and I've always intended to write it down, but every time I get started, I get frustrated with myself for not having thought out everything.  So this time, before I start writing the plot, I'm trying to figure everything out.  History of the world, mythology and religion, how magic works, politics, character histories, everything.  Aside from a little bit of mythology, I haven't really thought about this stuff before, so it's been really enlightening.  I've had the characters and basic interactions down for a while, but with everything I've made up tonight, I'm going to have to change a few things.  Which is fine, just little tweaks.  I'm actually really excited about the direction that this project is taking this time through.  I'm not sure if I'm going to try to get this published or if this is just going to be for fun, but this will also require me finishing it, and I don't have the best track record of finishing my projects, unless they are food- or class-based.  Wish me luck on finishing this one!

Day 7

I'm probably going to stop the "Day Number" title.  It makes it easy to title these ...very few blogs, but it also means that I'm acutely aware of how little I post, and that makes me self-conscious.

Anywho, I've been reading a lot lately, because being a substitute teacher allows for a lot of free time, and I can't rightly watch TV while making sure 20 high schoolers don't rape and murder each other.  So I read.  I finished The Wheel of Time series for the 2nd time total (as in, I've read every book at least twice.  Some of them a few more.)  The next book on my reading list was The Game of Thrones, however, because it is now on TV, that means that lots of people want to read it.  And I don't really want to buy the series until I know that I'll like it, so I want to get it from the library.  So...at the moment, the first book is actually waiting for me at the library.  However, when I first put it on my list, I was 32nd in line for it.  So in the meantime, I read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  Which was surprisingly excellent.

If you didn't watch the movie (and I believe that statistics state that you didn't...) you kind of know what it's about.  The 1st series stars Percy Jackson, and his friends, who are all (or mostly) demigods, half-human/half-god children of the Greek gods.  It's a very averagely written series that is totally engrossing.  Reading only while subbing, and in between plan periods, lunch, talking to students, and actually teaching, I read about a book in a day in a half.  Rick Riordan is the author, and there are 5 books in the first series, all of which are told in 1st person perspective from Percy.  He (Rick, the author) is also writing two other series, Heroes of Olympus (which is technically a sequel series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, in that it uses the same characters and locations, and expands upon them, adding in Roman mythology to the existing Greek) and The Chronicles of Kane (which is Egyptian themed, and takes place in the same universe as the Olympus series, which they subtly reference, but takes mythology from a slightly different angle).  Heroes of Olympus and The Chronicles of Kane are each only 2 books into a 5 book planned series (which means that there are 2 H.o.O. books and 2 C.o.K. books, for those of you that are slower), but all three series are pretty good reads for people who (like me) where big mythology dorks in their earlier years.

Right now, I'm working through the Hunger Games trilogy.  My old roommate recommended it to me a while ago, and I put it on my list, but it took me a while to get to.  It also had a huge waiting list at the library, so one day while I was in Wal-Mart, I noticed that they were selling it for less than $7, so I went ahead and got the first book.  I was still reading The Chronicles of Kane, so I didn't get to it for about a week, but as soon as I started it, I couldn't put it down.  The first book was super good, so when I finished it, I went to Walmart and bought the other two.  I had mixed emotions about Catching Fire.  I felt like it introduced a whole lot, but I also felt like it moved at a snail's pace.  I haven't finished Mockingjay yet, but...I'm struggling with it.  I made a mistake by thinking about the Twilight series, and now my brain won't stop making comparisons between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, and Bella, Jacob, and Edward.  I feel like Katniss from the first book was full of personality and spark, but third book Katniss just feels ...bland.  Her whole life revolves around Gale and Peeta in the third book, and...that's it.  She sleeps and worries about her two boys...just like Bella.  The first book was excellent, but after that, I just feel like the series has dragged.  I mean...it's still good, I'm still reading the books, and I plan on seeing all of the movies, but my brain will not delete the Twilight comparisons.

So yeah.  Between that and playing more Dragon Age, that's really all that's going on in my nerdy world right now.  What are you reading right now?

The Sixth Night

I have to tell you guys about this super awesome nerdy dream I had.  It's a dream, so it obviously didn't really make too much sense, but that in no way limits its awesomeness.  First off, the dream was a mix between Harry Potter and X-Men, using elements of both universes.  From Harry Potter, most of what was used was the movie version of Apparating and Disapparting.  The version where they just kind of turn into smoke and fly around.  That one.  And Voldemort.  From the X-Men universe was the X-Men themselves, obviously.  They were kind of like the Order of the Phoenix from the HP universe.  Also, there was some sort of character crossover.  James and Lily Potter were instead Cyclops (Scott Summers) and Phoenix (Jean Grey), who in my dream were played by John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer (Jim and Pam from The Office).  They did have a newborn (boy, I think, and would assume, but I'm not entirely sure about that).

Anywho.  The dream opens kind of the same way the movie flashes back to Lily and James dying.  Lily/Jean is putting the child to bed, and James/Scott is in the other room, being nervous.  Jean comes to talk to Scott about how this Secret Keeper thing is probably not a good idea, and they would be safer with their friends (The X-Men/Order of the Phoenix) around.  Scott agrees, so Jean goes to prepare their departure.  Suddenly, the front door gets blasted down and who should float through but VOLDEMORT!  Before he can raise his wand, Cyclops optic blasts him, not doing any real damage, but stunning him long enough for Scott to find Jean, who already has the baby and is ready to leave.  Jean insists they go together, but Scott says that he'll be fine, they need to protect the baby.  Jean agrees and she and the baby Disapparate out of their house, while Scott goes to confront Voldemort again.  Voldy has recovered when Scott reenters the room, and they kind of duel for a little bit until Voldemort realizes that Jean and the baby are gone.  He's about the kill Scott, but Scott Disapparates as well, but he uses the ghosty movie version, so he lingers around the house watching Voldemort wreck it trying to find a clue as to where the family has gone.  After Voldy gets pissed and is done trashing the house, he leaves, and so Scott finally leaves to go to the other safe house that they had installed (the X-Mansion, I'm assuming, but I don't know for sure because...)

The dream shifts to Jean and the baby, who have materialized in some sort of shopping center.  I don't know why she popped up here, but she did.  She starts to run towards wherever it is that she's going, when suddenly, KABOOM!  There's an explosion behind her.  DEATH EATERS!  There were a couple just hanging around who happened to notice her.  She's got her baby in her arms, so she can't use magic to defend herself (why she doesn't just telekinesis the SHIT out of them is beyond me, but whatever), so she just runs away.  Suddenly, there's another explosion, but this time where the Death Eaters where standing.  Dazzler apparently was here as well, ready to defend Jean.  Jean waves a thank-you to Dazzler, and keeps running while Dazzler stands her ground to kick some Death Eater ass.  Then the dream went into a chase scene, with Jean running through the shopping center, trying to escape the Death Eaters, while things explode and fall down all around her (I'm assuming that Dazzler is doing some of the damage).  Anyways, Jean finds her way outside again, and Cyclops comes driving up in a school bus (I don't know why).  Jean and the baby climb aboard and hightail it outta there, leaving Dazzler and the Death Eaters behind.  I feel like I should mention that it is also winter, and not a Tennessee winter.  Like...an England winter, with snow everywhere, and it's dreary and overcast all the time, and is frequently below freezing, if not zero.

Cyclops is hauling ass in the school bus, but it's a school bus, so...there's only so much ass he can haul.  Plus, there are other people on the road.  (Also, I think this scene MIIIIIIIIGHT take place in Farragut, where I live now, so bear with me)  He comes up to the Campbell Station/Parkside Drive intersection (which is a four-way light intersection, with like...six lanes on each road.  It's a fairly large intersection.)  He's trying to turn left from Campbell Station onto Grigsby Chapel, but there's this douchebag car in front of him that won't go, even though it's still a green turn signal.  So he maneuvers that bus around the car, and ends up on Grigsby Chapel.  He's driving for a little bit, and is about to turn onto Smith, when there's a TRAFFIC JAM!  He can ALMOST turn, but not quite, because he's driving a fucking school bus and those bitches are HUGE.  Luckily, Jean is right there and can levitate the front of the bus into a more turning-friendly position.  She does so, and the family sets off down Smith Road, until ANOTHER TRAFFIC JAM.  There is no real way to drive out of this one, so the family pulls over and ditches the bus.  When they get off the bus, a group of X-Men Apparate to them (I guess the bus was some sort of mystical cloaking device?  I dunno).  Storm, Iceman, Shadowcat, Colossus, and I think Havok and Polaris are all there.  And maybe Wolverine.  But the group of them work their way from Smith Road onto Union road, and are walking along with no trouble.  Someone senses something sinister (alliteration, yay!), so Storm and Iceman working together quickly create this blizzard.  Cyclops yells at them, saying that any Death Eater with any sense will immediately be able to tell where they are now, because really, how many localized blizzards are there in the world, especially when there's a known weather controller in a hunted group of heroes.  Storm explains that the center of the blizzard is a few miles down the road, and that's where all the Death Eaters will think they are.  Cyclops is like "okay, whatever, it's not like you can undo this now" and they start to continue on their trek, when SUDDENLY a caped figure stands in their way.  The X-Men assume battle positions, and before they can determine if it's Voldemort or Magneto (because Magneto is an ally, therefore a good thing), I woke up...

Also, after the Jean Grey shopping scene, there was this bizarre scene with Emma Frost, Storm, Iceman, Batman, and ...someone else, where they go to confront ...someone, and their abilities only activate when they twirl about in an anime girl fashion, so...there was that scene too.  Which I chose not to include in this narrative because 1.  Storm was a white girl with brown hair in that scene, 2.  Batman has no business being anywhere near the X-Men, as he is a DC character, and they are a Marvel franchise, and 3.  It made no fucking sense.  Yay dreams.

So anyways, that was my super awesome dream.  I sat with it all day yesterday, and I'm going to sit with it again today and see if I can't find a logical conclusion, and maybe write it out for National Novel Writing Month in November.  If I do, I'll try to post chapters here so whoever wants to can critique me.

Day 5

I love video games.  Anyone that knows me can tell you that.  And one of my favorite series has always been the Final Fantasy series of games.

It all started when my brothers and I downloaded an SNES emulator on our home computer.  It came with some 150+ games, including a couple of Final Fantasy games (II-the English version of IV, Mystic Quest, and 5-which was in Japanese because it had never been released in the States).  I discovered II/IV and DEVOURED IT.  It was such a great game, with compelling characters, lots of choices weapon- and magic-wise, and an elaborate plot.  I played Mystic Quest, and it was alright.  Nothing to write home about, though.  And I tried to play 5, but...it was in Japanese, so...it was quite difficult to play.

Years later, VII came out, and my family bought that.  It had similarly compelling characters, and lots of great everything.  Unfortunately, I quickly became attached to a character that dies at the end of the first (of three) discs, so ...I had a really hard time playing beyond her death, and to this day, I still haven't finished the game.

Then VIII.  I didn't really like the magic Draw system, although I did really enjoy the GFs.  I didn't really like the fact that there was no armor or accessories to equip, just the weapon, but I made do.  The playable characters weren't quite as compelling, and there was this big whole side story that I wish had had more impact on the main story, but it was still a better-than-average game.

IX was my favorite, after IV.  It was a "return to simpler times" the developers tried to tell everyone.  7 and 8 had been more sci-fi, and 9 was a return to magic/fantasy.  The characters could have used a bit more development, but they all had storylines.  I really liked the return of the class systems, and it was a very dramatic plot with a lot of locations to visit, and an interesting (albeit tedious) delivery subplot.

X is where it started to go downhill for me.  It was the first final Fantasy game with voice acting, and ...it was shoddy.  They had some talent (Tara Strong and Billy ...West, I think is his name), but OH MY GOD some of the voices were AWFUL.  The class system was back, kind of, but it was flawed somewhat.  You had 7 characters.  In the early part of the game, you had to constantly rotate between 5 of these characters in order to defeat even the most basic of enemies.  A 6th character to heal, and a superfluous 7th character.  I didn't really like the plot, or the mini-games.  The characters were pretty annoying (I thought), and I just didn't really enjoy a whole lot of the game.  However, it did have a well-defined history, and a few bright spots randomly interspersed throughout the game. 
 Then it spawned this God-awful sequel.  Charlie's Angels, Final Fantasy style.  It was...not good.  And 10 was not a good enough game to deserve a sequel, when every other game before was SO MUCH BETTER.

I never played XI because it was an MMORPG, and if I'm going to play on a team, I'd like to have some semblance of control over them.

XII was...also not good.  The battle system was ...just awful, and there was no real distinction between the characters, aside from what they looked like.  They could all use the same abilities and weapons.  The player character is not the main character, and the whole plot is just a small chunk of a larger story, but...you don't really see that story.  You hear about it, but your party's quest is not the world-saving, bad-guy-conquering quest that it should be.  And you have to walk EVERYWHERE.  Yeah, it doesn't sound that bad, until you do a quest in one remote corner of the world map, and find out that your next quest in the the opposite side.  You don't have access to your airship right then, and you're all out of Teleport Stones.  You have to WALK THE WHOLE WAY.  It takes like a half hour to walk from one map to the next, which means it takes you THREE HOURS to get to the next place.  Sure, you could go find another Teleport Stone, but that'll take you so far out of the way that you might not think it's worth it.

XIII has been the most recent (I think.  XIV might have come out, but that was another MMORPG so I'm not going to play it).  I haven't finished it yet, and truth be told am in no hurry.  It's another not that great game, I think.  You have 6 characters, who each excel in 3 job classes.  The upgrade system is costly and annoying, both abilities and weapons.  The game is very linear for the first two-thirds, and then suddenly BAM!  Wide open space.  Complete with every third monster being too hard for you to kill, so you get your ass kicked.  Quite frequently.  Which wouldn't be that bad, if you could change your lead character in battle.  Which you can't do, so if your lead character dies, GAME OVER.  Doesn't matter if your teammates are still alive and can revive you.  Nope.  YOU DIE.  I'm not a big fan of this game.  Which brings me to the point of this blog post...

Why the FUCK does Square-Enix do shitty things with their awful games, and NOT A GOD DAMN THING with their good games.  10 got a sequel.  13 is getting a sequel.  and 10 is being fucking REMADE for the PS3.  12 got a pseudo-sequel.  Granted, 4 got a sequel (15 years later...), but 5 (which wasn't that great, but wasn't terrible), 6 (which was actually pretty good and epic), 7, 8, and 9 were all much better than 12 and 13.  And 6, 7, 8, and 9 were all better than 10.  And...nothing.  7's mythology has been expanded with a sequel movie, and spin-off FPS game, and a prequel, but a remake would be excellent.

So here is my open letter to Square-Enix...

Dear Square-Enix,
I used to really enjoy your games.  But ever since you added voice acting, I feel like your games' quality has been falling.  Immensely.  And throwing shitty sequels onto already shitty games doesn't make either of them better.  Even remaking shitty games might make them better, but why not just remake an already good game that every single one of your fans wants.  It'd be so much easier.  You don't even really have to do anything to the remake.  Just update the graphics.  That's ALL YOU HAVE TO DO.  Add voice acting if you want to.  But that's really it.  Please stop doing dumb things, because pretty soon, you will lose me as a fan.  Sure, one less person buying your shitty games is nothing, but soon there will be two.  Then three.  Then ten.  Then fifty.  Step up the quality now, or you guys will be wishing you had.
Sincerely,
A Nerdy Gay who really used to believe in you guys

Day 4

So...it's been awhile.  Oh well.  You've lived, and will continue to.  I moved, and it's been stressful.

So yeah, I moved.  From home sweet home Nashville to home sweet home Knoxville.  Why?  Several reasons.  I'm a certified teacher, and have been looking for a teaching gig lately.  I had applied in Nashville and surrounding areas, Knoxville, Memphis, and Chattanooga.  School starts in August, and my lease was up in July, but I had to give a 30 day notice to my apartment manager if I was going to move out at the end of my lease.  I wasn't sure if I'd have a teaching job, and where it would be, so to be safe, I thought it was best to not get a new place in Nashville, because I'd had friends find out the day/week before school started that they got a job.  So...I planned to moved home, in the hopes that I would find out about a job in July, and wouldn't actually HAVE to move home.  But alas.  No go.  So I'm home, and still looking for a full-time job.  BUT I'm subbing for now, in the hopes that I'll save up some money and be able to move out soon.

But I've been gaming a whole lot!  I played through Dragon Age:  Origins and all of it's DLC, and Dragon Age II and it's DLC.  Then I started a new game, playing a different race and class.  Then...I got bored and watched all of Eureka that was available on Netflix.  And then Parks & Recreation.  And then I started Dollhouse (which I got addicted to real fast!)  And then I saw that Final Fantasy XIII is getting a sequel and decided that I need to power through it at least once, so that's what I'm working on right now.

Oh yeah, also, I'm in the Knoxville Opera Chorus for La Traviata, so...if you're in Knoxville you should come see me at the end of October!

Day Three

Ugh.  Moving sucks.

In the vein of recommending things to people, allow me to take a minute to recommend the video game series Dragon Age.  It's actually fairly well known, so it's not like I should need to push TOO hard to get people to play it.

Do you remember/have you heard of Knights of the Old Republic from BioWare?  Dragon Age is essentially that, but more Lord of the Rings-y than Star Wars.  I mean...Knights of the Old Republic IS Star Wars, while Dragon Age is just kind of similar to LOTR.

In Dragon Age:  Origins (which is the very first game), you create your own character, choosing sex (Male/Female), race (Human, Elf, or Dwarf), class (Warrior, Rogue, or Mage, although Dwarves can't be Mages), and then origin story (Human Noble, City Elf, Mage, Dalish Elf, Noble Dwarf, and Commoner Dwarf).  And then you create your character and play!  It's really fun, I promise!

You play through your origin story, and then all six origins come together and the game starts.  Your character becomes a member of a league of warriors called Gray Wardens, who are sworn to defend the world from darkspawn and the Blight.  Throughout the game, you can recruit various characters into your little army, and they can be fairly awesome.  You can customize your teammates ALMOST as much as you customize your own character.  You and all but two (possibly three) of your teammates can have two specializations within their class, and after you get them, you can change their stats, armor, skills, talents/spells, and everything.  It's a bit to take on, but still fun.
You get:
Alistair- Human Warrior, Templar
Morrigan- Human Mage, Shapeshifter
Leliana- Human Rogue, Bard
Sten- Qunari Warrior, no specialization
Wynne- Human Mage, Spirit Healer
Oghren- Dwarf Warrior, Berserker
Zevran- Elf Rogue, Assassin
Dog- Mabari Warrior, no specialization
Shale (Downloadable Extra Character)- Golem Warrior, no specialization

But...it is lots of fun, and I am a bit too distracted to go into too much more detail, but it is a really epic game, and it's really fun, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Sword and Sorcery kinds of RPGs, like I do.

Day Two

I'm terrible at updating.  This is something you will learn, and while I make no promises (or even moves) to update more often, I will at least say that I'll try.

Anywho.  I've been doing a read through of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson, but...I don't like his parts that much).  Robert Jordan started the series, wrote the first 11 books (and a prequel!), and then died before finishing the series.  One book left.  So the publishers and Robert's wife picked Brandon to finish the series, but there was so much story left to be told that Brandon broke the last book up into three more books.  Well...it's still one book, just being published in three volumes.  And each "volume" is the size of one of the regular books.  So...three books.  That is 15 books, plus a guide to the series that has been published so far.

Guys, this is excellent reading.  I've read each book before, but never back-to-back like I am this time.  It's so weird the stuff that I pick up on now that I KNOW what happens, and how long he(Robert) has been foreshadowing some of this stuff.  The prequel wasn't written/published until after the ...6th(?) book, but even it has foreshadowing, and not the *hint hint nudge nudge* kind.  The "Oh wait.  Really?  This character has been this way for the whole series?  I'M FOURTEEN BOOKS IN.  HOW HAVE I NOT NOTICED?!" kind of way.  There are multiple theory sites, and a Wiki, and a few blogs, and multiple websites all dedicated to keeping track of everything that happens in this series, all the characters, interactions, love connections, prophecies, EVERYTHING.  It's so wonderful, and a continuity nerd's wet dream (read:  mine.)  I'm one of those people who finds something with a complicated backstory (but one that still makes sense) and just DIVES in.  It's one of the reasons I love comic books, and HATE it when they "reboot" everything, or declare that "nothing will be the same."  Because shit like that caused everything to mess up in the first place.  But that is another post for another time.

Back to the Wheel of Time.  I'm going to try to give you a bare bones rundown of the series and major characters, but ...well...if you ever start reading, you'll understand.  Needless to say, SPOILERS.  I mean...it's stuff all happens (or is seriously set in motion) in the first three books, but still SPOILERS.

There are five (later six, arguably eight or 9) main characters.  Rand al'Thor is the MAIN main character, the prophesied savior of the world, but also someone who is supposed to pretty much destroy the world while trying to save it.  The Dragon Reborn. There's a metric shit ton more backstory and development to him, but I'll just say that he's a Savior/Jesus character, and kind of a slut.

Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara are the other two legs of the main male character tripod.  They and Rand are ta'veren, which in the world they inhabit means that they are people who the world does actually revolve around.  Things have a habit of going their way, even if they don't see it that way.  For our purposes, being ta'veren means that they are Main Characters (as the Xanth series would say) and therefore too important to die.  Yet.  If I were going to classify them as D&D characters, Rand would be a Warrior/Mage dual-class (first Warrior, then added Mage, you'll see.)  Mat is a fairly typical Rogue, but uses a spear-type weapon instead of any real Rogue-y weapons.  Also, he's really really REALLY lucky.  Perrin is a ...Warrior/Ranger, I guess...dual-class (but like...actually dual-classed, like every race except humans can be.)  He's a hulking brute who has an animal connection (and is my favorite character of the males...).

Ah, the females.  Firstly, there is a slight dispute as to which females are considered "main" characters.  Wikipedia lists three, I would consider arguments for two more, but for the first book, there are really only two.  The third cameos in the first book, and doesn't really become a presence until the second book.  Same with one of the extra two.  The last extra doesn't even show up until the third or fourth book, but she's still fairly important.  Anywho, the two females are Egwene al'Vere and Nynaeve al'Meara.  Egwene is Rand's first love interest, and an (eventual) Aes Sedai (which are the female magic users of this world).  Nynaeve is the village Wisdom (the female equivalent of the Mayor politically, but also the town doctor kind of person), and also an (eventual) Aes Sedai.  I can't say too much more without giving things important plot details away, but I will say that Egwene is my favorite character of the females.

The other one, and the extra two, are Rand's other love interests (I TOLD you he was kind of a slut!), and all interesting characters.  There aren't uninteresting characters in this whole series.  Robert Jordan is just an excellent craftsman like that.  And there are also a metric shit ton of secondary characters, and minor characters, and mentioned characters, and you can very easily get lost and sidetracked, but IT IS A WORTHWHILE READ.  I PROMISE.  I started this series ...sophomore year of high school, and I graduated college in Dec 2009, and am STILL in love with this series, and am constantly fascinated by it.  Seriously, check it out.  At least the first 11 books, and the prequel/the ones that Robert Jordan wrote.  Because Brandon Sanderson has done an admirable and unenviable job of closing out the series, but there is just a significant tone change that I personally don't like that much.  However, I am so dedicated to the series that I'll finish it out, even if it turns into Twilight-level garbage.

Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan.
prequel- New Spring
#1- Eye of the World (also published as two books From The Two Rivers and To The Blight)
#2- The Great Hunt
#3- The Dragon Reborn
#4- The Shadow Rising
#5- The Fires of Heaven
#6-  Lord of Chaos
#7-  A Crown of Swords
#8-  The Path of Daggers
#9-  Winter's Heart
#10-  Crossroads of Twilight
#11-  Knife of Dreams
#12 volume 1- The Gathering Storm
#12 volume 2-  Towers of Midnight
#12 volume 3-  A Memory of Light (not yet published)

Seriously.  Go read them.  They're about 800 pages per book, but SO WORTH IT.

Also...I'll probably do a few posts about the series as I blog more, so...you'll know what I'm talking about.

Day One

First Post!

Why am I starting this blog?  Not because I live such an entertaining life that I feel the need to chronicle it for everyone to see.

Mostly because I have tons of seemingly random interests that only a handful of people that I know in person share, and I'm hoping that maybe this will be a great way to meet people with those same interests.

So what are some of these interest?  Comic books and superheroes, video games, sci-fi and fantasy, supernatural shiz, the like.

Want to know more?  STAY TUNED.  More to come.