Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in dtstratovarius' LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
7:51 pm	Hey all, It's been ages since I've done a movie review, so it's time.... :) ( Matt's Movie Review of Van Wilder: Freshman Year ) (Comment on this)
Friday, August 21st, 2009
12:55 am	Boy, it's been 3 weeks? Hey there, LJ readers, Wow...it's been 3 weeks since I made my last LJ post? Geez, other than not being online as much as I used to be (I just don't get online that much, don't know why), and not having Amanda around so I have nice stories w/her & Murray to blog about...it's just one of those things where it's not a real stream of consciousness. That, and Facebook tends to eat into some of this blogging time, as I post things here/there over there at FB. ( Matt Catches Up the last few weeks. ) (Comment on this)
Friday, July 24th, 2009
4:40 pm	Some Random Thoughts Hey folks, Well, first off, those of you following my Facebook venting know how disappointed I am with the Cardinals mortgaging some of the future (especially Brett Wallace) for 3 months of OF Matt Holliday. I'm hoping that Holliday follows Edmonds/McGwire with the St. Louis effect of him wanting to stay, instead of his agent, Scott Boras, pulling another Jeff Weaver on us (ie. "I don't care how much you want to stay in St. Louis....Seattle's offering TWO MILLION MORE! YOU WILL SIGN WITH WHO GIVES YOU THE MOST MONEY!!!!"). As for the new girlfriend hunt, well, a new prospect entered the picture last week, and everything with her is going splendidly (we have quite a few of the same interests, same movie tastes, food tastes, etc...). Of course, the timing sucks, because she's going on a two week vacation with friends camping, to where she won't have access to the internet and that. Really sucks too, as we were trying to plan to meet but something came up the day we were going to have our first date (which she needed something for an event, and that day was the only day she could get said item, and didn't help that it was 1.5 hour drive to where she was getting it from). As for the other two gals I'm talking to...one is going decently well, as we're planning for a first date sometime soon. The other one is just slipping further away with her lack of communication (so far, it's been near two weeks since her last email, so I'll probably write her off in due time...even though of the 3, she lives the closest, is the tallest). Such is life. Some random thoughts... -Watching my DVR of nearly all of the only season of the "Spenser for Hire" spinoff, "A Man Called Hawk." I wish this was on DVD, as there was a TON of acting talent in this series (from EARLY Wesley Snipes & Samuel L. Jackson to Charles S. Dutton WITH HAIR! to Vondie Curtis-Hall to a very early Angela Bassett). :) Great stuff, and nice to see Avery Brooks (who produced, co-wrote, starred, AND even did the music) again, as it's a shame that Avery retired from acting shortly after his run on "Star Trek: Deep Space 9" (he's only popped back up to do a small bit of voice acting for Star Trek video games since then). -Also, been DVR'ing and watching an old WB animated series that Disney XD is airing called "Static Shock." Based off a comic, "Batman/Superman/Justice League" producer Dwayne McDuffie (the only African-American of the production team) pitched and got WB to go with a teenage African-American superhero. Honestly, it's a great series, with lots of cameos from the other shows (a few appearances by Batman, a Justice League ep, another with Sinestro & John Stewart/GL). Plus the voice casting for the villains and characters have been really solid. Veterans Phil LaMarr ("MadTV"/"Justice League") as Static/Virgil Hawkins and Jason Marsden as Ritchie Foley/Gear are very solid as the main characters, with WB vet Kevin Michael Richardson in a solid co-starring role as Virgil's father. The villains are really solid with the team of Specs & Trapper (the interesting pairing of Patton Oswalt and Michael Rosenbaum), Tantrum (a surprising John Cho), Shiv ("Police Academy's" Brian Tochi, sounding NOTHING like himself), Hot-Streak (Danny Cooksey, who you'd remember as Montana Max in "Tiny Toons"), Replay (a great Neil Patrick Harris), Hyde (the great vocal stylings of Tone Loc), and even in the hero side, a really good Kadeem Hardison doing Adam Evans, the Rubber-Band Man. All in all, I wish WB released this one on DVD, but they have no plans too. -Snagged two cheapy games that are still a combined $100 at work (and most other places) during GameStop's HUGE Sale. I haven't played one of 'em yet (Bionic Commando), but played Major League Baseball 2K9, and honestly, I give 2K credit, they DID fix a lot of what was wrong in the last few years of the game. The new control system for hitting/pitching is a LOT more improved (though the CPU still gets really fluky hits, which pisses me off, as I had Washington pull the upset on me 8-7, after I was winning 7-2, thanks to a stupid Rick Ankiel error that shouldn't have happened, a few fluke singles, and a 3-run HR by Ryan Zimmerman). Sheesh, did play another game with the NL All-Stars, and that one was a WAY different story (LOVED pitching with the Reds' Edison Volquez for 3 IP, as I was K'ing guys left and right with him). Did have a bit of a HR fest with the All-Stars with 3 HRs (Ludwick, Pujols, Braun). More later, Matt (Comment on this)
Friday, July 17th, 2009
11:58 am	Movie/TV News, Video Game goodness, and more Hey all, Well, it was a really interesting day in TV/movie news yesterday. First off, Warner Brothers announced that Ryan Reynolds (“The Proposal,” “X-Men: Wolverine-Origins,” “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder”) beat out Justin Timberlake and Bradley Cooper (“The Hangover” and “He’s Not That Into You”) for the Green Lantern/Hal Jordan lead role in WB’s “Green Lantern” live-action movie. While I’m a huge fan of Reynolds, in the DC Universe…I think Reynolds would’ve fit a helluva lot better in the Guy Gardner/Green Lantern part (as Gardner has that sarcasm factor that Reynolds just resonates). Heck, in the DC Universe, there are a few characters that Reynolds would fit a LOT more than Hal Jordan's GL, such as villain Deadshot (Michael Rosenbaum did him perfect in the JL/JLU cartoons), hero Booster Gold (if only Kal Penn would do Skeets). Anyway, a lot of fans are wondering if Reynolds casting in this might effect Fox's "Deadpool" spinoff from the "X-Men Origins" movie, which would follow a HELL OF A LOT closer to the 4th wall-breaking comics (which Reynolds has stated in interviews, as he's a MASSIVE Deadpool fan). There's been no real word on if Fox might push or cancel "Deadpool," but you had that character get a LOT more buzz than the title character before the movie was released....come on Fox, just get over it and push it to green-light status already. Besides, of all comic characters, if one fit Reynolds like a glove, it'd be Deadpool. Either way, I’m looking forward to this, and now myself (and a lot of fans) are curious to see who WB casts in the Sinestro role. Speaking of “Green Lantern,” I encourage any of the “Justice League” fans to check out the upcoming “Green Lantern: First Flight” DVD coming out in two weeks, as WB Animation cast it pretty interestingly (“Law and Order: SVU’s” Chris Merloni is voicing Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in it, while “Alias’” Victor Garber is voicing arch-rival Sinestro). ( Matt's updates on things... ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
11:51 pm	The page is turned on Amanda, John was right... Hey all, Well, the page on Amanda has been officially closed, as I noticed she deleted me as a friend on her Facebook account. John’s gotta be right with that online article he sent me about the Top 5 Reasons Why Women Lie (namely the reason on why they lie when they dump you about “not being ready for a relationship,” or “wanting to be single.” In other words, she’s single (since the divorce is out of the way), and NOW, she’s wanting to upgrade to someone she believes is better than me. So...I’m guessing that text message I intercepted while playing with her cell phone on my birthday from a Drew has to be the guy she unceremoniously dumped me for (especially if it’s the co-worker she was telling me about who’s young wife dumped HIM for one of her former HS students she taught). If this is why she suddenly when from being happy to me for those 5-6 months to being so distant/pushing me away...I really hope she finds herself another Eric, her ex-fiancee, who’ll treat her like crap, because I treated her millions of times better than Eric ever did. I just find it funny that she flat-out lied to me while we were going out telling me that “she’d keep me.” Now that I think about it, I’m wondering if that Wednesday night after Frank & I saw “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” IF she was trying to get me to dump her, by acting like her psycho-depressed friend, Kim in Chicago. Anyway...page turned, life goes on. Feel free to email bomb her or Facebook bomb her (as I’ve been pondering emailing her best friend in Minnesota to ask her WTF is up with Amanda). At this point, the lyrics from the song (and the song itself), “B**CH” by Apoptygma Berzerk just absolutely FIT right now. I just can't believe that the last two relationships (well, technically three, even though that third one lasted like 5 dates) have just ended as surprisingly and suddenly as they have. Danielle just did it out of the blue, especially given her emotional goodbye to me at the airport on that Houston/Austin worktrip (then not answering her cell or work phone for 2+ weeks, 'til I got an email....ON MY WORK ACCOUNT of all things dumping me). Now, this with Amanda, especially when she didn't tell me anything. *shakes head* I took advantage of eHarmony’s free communication weekend over the July 4 weekend, and got in touch with two possible prospects (though one of them hasn’t gotten back to me, which I’m pondering might be an intercept by the ex-fiancee, if this gal works at Bridgeway, like I fear. The one that hasn’t gotten back to me is a case worker at a mental health facility, which Bridgeway is….so I’m putting 2+2 together there). Meanwhile, the other gal I got in touch with, Lisa, and I have been chatting most of the week (except since Friday, since she’s in Florida for a wedding ‘til Sunday night). We’ve gotten along so far, as we’ve talked for about an hour to 3 hours/night during the week (though my spastic internet connection and spastic Gateway laptop here aren’t helping when I suddenly disconnect and take 10 minutes to reconnect). However, my other prospects beyond that, have been sadly, practically ZERO, as I’m on two other dating sites (as I would do eHarmony fully, but it’s WAY too expensive for me right now). Beyond that...work’s been going back and forth lately. After my yearly review, it sounds like after a positive review on next year’s review, I may be capped out salary-wise at my position. GREAT. With the recent restructuring (and elimination of all the supervisor/senior spots), there’s no real way of upward mobility, to where I’m going to have to start looking for something new (as I’m presently looking for a second job, part-time to work either a few nights/week, or Fridays/Saturdays, since I’m on a pretty set schedule, other than periodic all-store meetings/trainings). More later, with video games & sports, just this news of Amanda deleting me off of Facebook just confirmed things for me, and just has me steamed right now, Matt (Comment on this)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
7:48 pm	Single....YET AGAIN! And other thoughts.... Hey all, Well, as it stands, I’m single yet again, since Amanda has “changed” over these past two months since her divorce finalized. Pretty much, she’s “not ready” for a relationship and pretty much is too busy being the single gal, hanging out with her new friends and that, to deal or dedicate any time to her boyfriend, as “my friendship meant more to her than a relationship.” Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with me, as I openly wondered to her, “WTF was the first six months of our relationship then? A waste of time?” I just love how with the last few relationships I’ve had, that everything goes wonderfully, then out of left field…whammo! I should’ve thought something was up after the first email breakup, until we talked, then seeing her recoil when I tried to give her a goodnight kiss last Wednesday, after I had to be her venting board, since everyone else was seemingly crapping on her week. ( Lots of Random Thoughts... ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
3:06 pm	Blues Draft thoughts and more Hey all, Here’s another periodic blog from the reclusive Matt again. First off, Blues draft thoughts…for a team that needs more scoring on the forward lines (namely power forwards), they went defense heavy yet again. First rounder, Swedish defenseman David Rundblad was rated in the Blues draft boards’ top 10, and many mock drafts had him being drafted in the 10-15 range, not last to the Blues at 17. One weakness we’ve had lately is a lack of good offensive, puck-moving defensemen (as Brewer’s regressed from his Edmonton days, Erik Johnson was injured last year, Jeff Woywitka wasn’t the answer nor was Stephen Wagner, and Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t made that next step just yet). Rundblad has solid size and ability. Meanwhile, in the second round, a lot of draftniks thought we might have reached for Canadian defenseman Brett Ponich, a massive 6’7” defensive stay-at-home type. We’ve always had pretty good luck with defensemen drafted out of the WHL (Jackman), and based on his stats, Ponich seems like he’d make some forwards pay with his checking. In the third round, the Blues went against their norm by going to Russia for RW Sergei Andronov. Andronov has some skills and goal scoring ability, BUT…the Blues have not had very good luck at all with Russian players since the early ‘90s (I mean, the last solid Russian we drafted was F-Alex Korolev, and after that was D-Alex Khavanov). IF we can bring him over and he doesn’t pull a Konstantin Zakharov (running back to Belarus TWICE), he might be something (or at the very least, maybe trade bait). In the fourth round, we took another WHL forward in Tyler Shattock, a forward who finally broke out (scoring-wise) this past year. With our final pick, we took another BIG defensemen, this time out of Erie in the OHL, with 6’3”, 220 lbs. David Shields, other developing, possible two-way defender. Honestly, I have to go with the line, “in Jarmo we trust,” as he’s seen David Rundblad more than anyone in the front office (other than our Swedish scouts). The other picks…are not as sexy as prior years, but trust Jarmo’s crew, they always find the gems (look at Brett Sonne, as he went from Dave Lowry-ish utility forward/checker to possible second-line power forward). In gaming, I’m nearing clearing a nice 2,000 GS gap between Frank and myself, as I’ve been playing the recent WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2009 game for the Xbox 360. The controls are easier than the prior two versions. I went through Career Mode with my created wrestler, American “Nuclear” Power. I got a pretty good design for my CAW, as it looks like I took a variation of the old MNM jeans, patterned it with the American flag and two logos (an American flag with a blue thunderbolt, and a dark red ninja star with a lighter red nuclear symbol). I pretty much won all the title belts through progression on the different title paths (they even have the Cruiserweight and Hardcore Titles on the title paths). After you win all the titles and defend 3 of the titles once, you’re a WWE Legend AND Hall of Famer. The game also has a pretty interesting Create-A-Finisher mode where you can chain up to 10 moves/taunts as they make sense/progress. My two finishers for American Power. 1-The “Chaos Theory” (aka the Meltdown, I chose Chaos Theory, as it was one of the finisher names you could choose and the announcers would say it). Here’s the moves for it: boot to the midsection => chokeslam clutch/360 taunt => torture rack setup => 360 torture rack taunt => Spinning uranage spike. Looks a hell of a lot better on video than description. I did do another one, that’s kind of similar but with a gutbuster and Albert’s old torture rack/neckbreaker finisher. I finally beat “Battlefield: Bad Company” on hard difficulty last weekend. I can honestly admit I didn’t get shredded as bad I thought I would on the very last level (compared to when I first played it on normal difficulty). Finally saw some video of the upcoming sequel, and wow…total destruction. GAMING UPDATE: MATT: 11,535 GS; FRANK: 9,852 GS (Frank’s GS won’t move up much, other than for “Halo Wars,” until “Lips” gets restocked on Xbox Retail. I don’t know which game I’ll focus on next, but I may keep on going with WWE: SvR ’09 for the story mode points.) Meanwhile…if you haven’t followed my Facebook updates, I’ve gotten my new Acer laptop back from service. It turns out there wasn’t anything wrong with the hardware, but the OS/BIOS were corrupted. So, they had to do a full restore via the backup partition on the hard drive. I didn’t lose anything I put on there, but I am frustrated that after I installed my Internet Security on there, that it’s not allowing me to open Yahoo Messenger at all (stupid CA Parental Controls software). I even uninstalled and reinstalled Yahoo Messenger, but nothing so far. Odd. Oh well, I’ll figure it out. Saw “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” with Frank on Wednesday afternoon, after Frank got done with his Project Team shift at Manchester (while his car was being worked on at Elco in Ballwin). My thoughts on the movie: it’s definitely the big popcorn movie of the summer (I place it behind “Star Trek” for my movies of the year so far). One of my big gripes with the movie was that there were a LOT of Transformers scattered in the film that you didn’t know WHO they were at all. Major props to one of my fave anime voice actors, Crispin Freeman, on getting a voice part in the movie, as Demolisher (the big Decepticon at the opening Shanghai sequence of the film that NEST/Optimus/Sideswipe/Ironhide are chasing after). More to blog sometime later, Matt (Comment on this)
Friday, June 12th, 2009
7:53 pm	Welcome to Matt's week of suck... Hey all, I would say good evening, but honestly, it&'s been a pretty shitty week for yours truly. From an identity theft attempt on me to having my bank ledger being off by $200 (due to something I missed on my ledger book), it's been a pretty eventful week, up until this morning, when I read an email Amanda sent me last night. Needless to say, I'm single yet again (WTF is it about the time before my birthday, as this is the second F---ING year in a row this happens). In the letter, she has been doing a lot of thinking, and basically, needs some time to heal (from her divorce) as she thinks she's changing from the Amanda I met back in November to something else. At the very least, she values my friendship and wants that to continue (but honestly, it's extremely rare when that does continue, I know I still have two ex-GFs I'm still good friends with, but for the most part, the others don't want to talk to you & vice-versa);.but no word on if after she's done healing if there's a relationship to go back to. Wonder-f'n-ful. So, needless to say, I'm not feeling as crushed as I was when Danielle just flat out dumped me via email telling me not to contact her (blah blah blah, bitch still has a bit of my stuff and won't return calls/emails). However, I am feeling pretty blah and depressed right now, as this was something I really didn't expect, as we were happy together. *shakes head* Just when I think I find someone I could possibly spend my life with, this happens. I'll probably be scheduling something with Amanda next week (as she's busy this weekend) to pick up my Pioneer DVD player, a few of my DVDs over there, and my toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash I have over at her apartment. UPDATE: Talked with her briefly twice, when she was at work (once during a break of hers). And other than being very quiet;she didn't know the exact reason why she's doing this, but she's saying that none of it is my fault, it's all her. We'll either be talking or getting together (so I can get my stuff and we can talk more about this) tomorrow. Anyway, blah blah; and oh yeah, more blah, Matt (Comment on this)
7:46 pm	Welcome to Matt's week of suck... Hey all, I would say good evening, but honestly, it’s been a pretty shitty week for yours truly. From an identity theft attempt on me to having my bank ledger being off by $200 (due to something I missed on my ledger book), it’s been a pretty eventful week, up until this morning, when I read an email Amanda sent me last night. Needless to say, I’m single yet again (WTF is it about the time before my birthday, as this is the second F---ING year in a row this happens). In the letter, she has been doing a lot of thinking, and basically, needs some time to heal (from her divorce) as she thinks she’s changing from the Amanda I met back in November to something else. At the very least, she values my friendship and wants that to continue (but honestly, it’s extremely rare when that does continue, I know I still have two ex-GFs I’m still good friends with, but for the most part, the others don’t want to talk to you & vice-versa)….but no word on if after she’s done healing if there’s a relationship to go back to. Wonder-f’n-ful. So, needless to say, I’m not feeling as crushed as I was when Danielle just flat out dumped me via email telling me not to contact her (blah blah blah, bitch still has a bit of my stuff and won’t return calls/emails). However, I am feeling pretty blah and depressed right now, as this was something I really didn’t expect, as we were happy together. *shakes head* Just when I think I find someone I could possibly spend my life with, this happens. I’ll probably be scheduling something with Amanda next week (as she’s busy this weekend) to pick up my Pioneer DVD player, a few of my DVDs over there, and my toothbrush/toothpaste/mouthwash I have over at her apartment. UPDATE: Talked with her briefly twice, when she was at work (once during a break of hers). And other than being very quiet…she didn’t know the exact reason why she’s doing this, but she’s saying that none of it is my fault, it’s all her. We’ll either be talking or getting together (so I can get my stuff and we can talk more about this) tomorrow. Anyway…blah blah…and oh yeah, more blah, Matt (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
6:43 pm	Reminiscing about the past and things.... Hey all, Let's start this blog with a few things. I know I don't post as often as I used to, as I was constantly blogging here/there (much to John/Maggie's sadness, along with a few other regular readers). The reasoning with this is that I honestly don't get online as much as I used to. I just don't feel the need to (and in August when my cell contract is up, I'm going to look into a cell phone with Windows Mobile on it, so I can just do all of my internet on that). *shrug* Also helps having a great girlfriend to keep my Friday/Saturdays occupied usually. ( Reminiscing on last year and more... ) (Comment on this)
Monday, May 18th, 2009
4:50 pm	A few things after a long day at work... Hey all, Well, needless to say, a lot of testy things happening at work. First off, had a bit of a chat with my Product Process Manager and Supervisor (ie. Mark & Michelle), and needless to say, we're all a bit miffed that the closing staff can't do RTS (return to store product) at all, leaving MORE work that us in Media Merch don't have time to deal with (yeah, let me tell you, here I thought I'd have time to farm 1/2 of the CD area today....and nope, yet another task the closers can't do....downstocking, as I had a 7 page downstocking report to deal with). After work, returned a few things to the library, and I picked up a new sheet set for my bed (as my old dark green fitted sheet is falling apart now. Gotta love a full sheet set (fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 2 pillow cases in that jersey t-shirt material) at Big Lots for the same price that Target wanted there most basic brand fitted sheet (and JUST the fitted sheet). Nearly picked up a second sheet set (microfiber material), but passed as that one's a regular item there). ANIME: Well, yet again, I'm chomping at the bit for a channel to get on the ball and hurry up and air the rest of a show. (First time round, it's Sci-Fi to finally get on the ball and air Season 2 of "Mobile Suit Gundam 00, but now...) I'm enjoying that Cartoon Network is going through the last 9 episodes of "Code Geass R2: LeLouch of the Rebellion." They just aired Episodes 19 & 20, and I can't wait, as these last dozen eps of this particular season (2nd season) has just been a rollercoaster of twists and turns. Definitely probably #2 or #3 on my all-time BEST-written anime series list. Beyond that, not much to chat about (sorry I'm not online as much as I used to be, but that's the trevails of having a job, reading a lot more now, and having a girlfriend)... Matt (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
5:12 pm	Time to catch up on things... Hey all, Well, it’s been a pretty eventful week for yours truly. Amanda finally had her divorce go official on Thursday, though her ex decided to take Murray (Manda’s red golden retriever) for a week-plus (as part of the settlement, he’s able to get Murray for 6 weeks out of the year). Since she’s returned from her trip, she’s been a tad distant, but I understand that she’ll need some “me time” to get her things back in order (especially with as quiet and distant as she was Friday night). ( More to catch up with... ) (Comment on this)
Monday, May 4th, 2009
10:04 pm	a few things (as I try to slowly catch up on blogging) Hey guys, Well, here's a few quickie things... Watched a few movies over the past few days, and let's get some quickie reviews: -GI Joe: Resolute: A new, updated cartoon that seems to be more based on the recent comic series. THE GOOD: Absolutely tremendous action sequences (especially the showdown between Storm Shadow & Snake Eyes), the weapons/vehicle designs were updated and great, the tradition of whomever voiced Starscream does Cobra Commander continues, the new take on Destro VA-wise was interesting (as it's very Connery-esque). THE BAD: Two semi-major secondary characters killed in the first 10-15 minutes, then another semi-major secondary character killed later (all 3 fan faves, good guys & bad guys). Also, a grand total of FOUR voice actors (3 male VAs/1 female VA) to voice the ENTIRE CAST. And the entire male cast character models reminded me of He-Man, where everyone was absolutely/ridiculously ripped. -Zack & Miri Make a Porno: THE GOOD: A hilarious combo cast of Judd Apatow's usual suspects with Kevin Smith's crew & direction. THE BAD: Nearly enough deleted/extended scenes to do a 2nd movie. WOW. -The House Bunny: THE GOOD: Staring at Rumer Willis (Bruce's daughter) and Emma Stone. Not much else. THE BAD: A 2nd strike here for a non-Sandler-cameo'ing Happy Madison production (the first being "Strange Wilderness"). Anna Faris is VERY typecast now, as nearly every movie she does anymore is practically the same character. Sandler PA/great buddy Jonathan Loughran in drag, YIKES! More to blog about later, including Matt moving Amanda to Maryland Heights! Matt (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
10:53 pm	A quick update Hey again, Sorry I haven't been blogging as much as I usually do, it's just been really busy these last few weeks (especially with Physical Inventory this past Sunday night), and I've just not been in much of a mood to do anything online lately. Coming Soon: A blog post dedicated to Matt's thoughts on the Rams 2009 draft class, along with the 16 undrafted free agents they've brought in. Should be really interesting there. :) Gamer update: MATT: 10,350 GS; FRANK: 9,594 GS. Go me! :) -Played "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3" and "Quantum of Solace" today. Definitely interesting. Quantum is a pretty decent game, as Activision/Treyarch used the Call of Duty 4 engine for this Bond adventure (a first-person shooter, with it switching to 3rd person when you're in cover). Follows the Quantum movie, with bits from Casino Royale as well. So far, so good w/Quantum. Red Alert 3 is definitely interesting, as I've been supremely skeptical of RTS games on consoles. After reading a handful of reviews, I gave it a shot, and the control scheme is surprisingly good. Gotta love the Hollywood'ing-up that EA/Westwood does for these games (you got Tim Curry, Peter Stormare, Andrew Divoff, and American Gladiator/MMA fight chick Gina Carano for the Russians; Jonathan Pryce, J.K. Simmons, UFC's Randy Couture, and Jenny McCarthy with David Hasselhoff as Simmons' VP for the Allied Forces; and George Takei, Kelly Hu, and Ron Yuan for the Empire of the Rising Sun). Great stuff, though at times cheesy dialogue. :) Check it out, even for the PC version (the expansion on the PC has Ric Flair as one of the subcommanders in the game, I believe for the Allies). More to come later, busy weekend (Amanda's move to the new apartment, and next week, she goes up to Wisconsin for two days to finalize her divorce and that), Matt (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
4:28 pm	Matt's NFL Draft Predictions/Pre-Draft Thoughts... Hey all, Well, it sounds like the Lions (if they don't get a last second trade offer) will be picking Georgia QB Matt Stafford, which leaves the Rams in a nice position to be in with a handful of prime players to choose from OR if someone decides to trade up to snag USC QB Mark Sanchez. Anywho....if there's no trade-down....I'd LOVE to draft Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry, but it sounds like he may not translate into a 4-3 MLB like most want to shift him to (ie. where our need is, unless we keep him at SAM LB and shove Pisa to the bench). However, from the sounds and logic of it all....Virginia OT Eugene Monroe will be the Rams pick if they stay at #2. Reasons why Monroe's the pick: He comes from a college that produces SOLID O-Lineman; he was on a solid Virginia team; and athletically...he has way more potential. Other option: Baylor OT Jason Smith seems really iffy right now. I mean, his measurables at the Combine were impressive, but he was on a lousy Baylor team that really hasn't produced much in the NFL. He's got potential and size, but he was beaten a lot thanks to lack of weak-side help. Second round: Here's who I'm hoping for: Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (I know, wishful thinking here), Rutgers WR Kenny Britt, Ohio State MLB John Laurenitis (or if USC MLB Rey Manuaga falls, but after his Pro Day...I SERIOUSLY doubt he falls out of the 1st round), Utah CB/S Sean Smith (who'd be my 2nd choice after Heyward-Bey, with his size/speed/ballhawking combo). Another player I'd love here would be Connecticut RB Donald Brown, or even Cincinnatti OLB/DE/TE Connor Barwin (Vrabel revisited!). :) If the Rams surprise by not going with OT in the first round, Connecticut OT William Beatty. Third Round: Michigan State RB Javon Ringer, Richmond DE/OLB Lawrence Sidbury Jr, West Virginia QB/WR Pat White, Later rounds: (6th/7th) Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater (a name that pops up on a TON of full mock drafts as our 6th round pick). (4th) North Carolina WR Brandon Tate (a 1st round talent, but recovering from a torn ACL/MCL) (5th-7th) Sam Houston State QB Rhett Bomar (a definitely intriguing prospect). Other players I'd like to see: Mizzou DE/OLB Stryker Sulak, Boston College DT Ron Brace, Maryland CB Kevin Barnes, Mizzou S William Moore, Mizzou QB Chase Daniel (or Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell), Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden (huge redzone target!), Texas WR Quan Crosby (feel-good story, plus I think he'd be solid at returns). Course, Rams needs are: OT, WR, OLB/MLB, CB, DL, OG, RB, a developmental QB (to replace weak-armed Brock Berlin). More in a week, Matt (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
4:28 pm	More graphic novels, wrestling, and more Hey again, Well, work went well, even if I really wanted to get into a heated discussion with radio personality Kevin Slaten, who happened to be the first customer I helped today with some headphones and some headphone adapters. As much as I just flat out HATE Slaten's radio personality, he wasn't that bad as a customer (though trust me, I wanted to really rail into him otherwise for being a cancer in the St. Louis sports radio scene). Read a handful more graphic novels while waiting for Dad to get home. Chipped out the first volume of "Young Justice" (kind of a young Teen Titans, but not, with Superboy, Robin-Tim Drake, Arrowette, Wonder Girl-Cassie Sandsmark, Impulse, and Red Tornado in a supervisory role for 'em). Good stuff. Then, read 3 of the "Batgirl" novels, which focuses on the Batgirl after a then-paralyzed-turned-Oracle Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain. Very different, though I did like the added touches of Spoiler/Stephanie Brown being added in there, trying to be Cassandra's friend and having Cassandra train her to improve her fighting as Spoiler (and Steph will teach Cassandra to read). I read a bit on Wikipedia about Cassandra Cain after reading about Stephanie Brown's brief run as Robin...and man, of all the kids Bruce brought into things....Cassie was the worst and most dangerous (being trained until she was 8 to be an assassin by her merc/assassin father, David Cain). Started watching this past weekend's AAA Lucha TV, but really couldn't get into it, even an X-Pac/Alex Koslov vs. Teddy Hart/Jack Evans match couldn't spark any interest out of me. Blah. More to blog about later, I think I'm going to crash for a nap... Matt (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
8:50 pm	The Konnan purge of AAA continues... Well, more of the old-guard in AAA are being fazed out. Add the Minis-Mixed Tag Champs: Albreije & Cujie to the departing-AAA list. Jesus, Konnan....way to completely GUT your undercard & midcard talent. I mean...sounds like all of the Brazos (except for Brazo de Plata Jr. who's one of the Psycho Circus clowns) are gone. The Vipers, except for the soon-to-be-regimmicked Black Abyss, are gone now. Los Infernales/Diabolicos (Mr. Condor/Angel Mortal/El Gallego) have been gone for awhile, and seems like the Night Queens (other than Polvo & periodically for house shows Yuriko) are gone too. Geez....WTF? Hell, it'll be a matter of time before Latin Lover flakes again...so there's that to look forward to. (Comment on this)
6:14 pm	Jury duty cancelled Hey all, Well, first things first....called the hotline and my juror group was cancelled and I don't have to call back or anything this time around. So, I'm 2 for 3 in terms of actually having to go in for jury duty (#3: cancelled; #2 went/wasn't called to serve; #1: got out due to vacation trip). With the jury duty out, I took a vacation day instead of going into work (since Dan already filled in my shift). Read a few more graphic novels today. "The JLA: Tornado's Path" was another great Brad Metzger story. "Batman: Hush" was an interesting start to possibly a series, as Bruce had to go to Metropolis to work with Superman on this one. Finished "Batman: Dark Victory," which was a great setup and introduction with Robin. Not much more today. *YAWN* More later, Matt (Comment on this)
Monday, April 6th, 2009
6:41 pm	Lots o'random thoughts Hey all, Well, first off, used the free Redbox rental on "City of Ember," and so far, it's a really good family adventure (gotta love Bill Murray as a villain). :) I am kicking myself for not using the freebie on "Bedtime Stories," but Amanda would murder me if I saw it w/o her. Interesting to read about the recent trade with the Rams & the Falcons, as we switched draft spots in the 5th and 6th rounds, and acquired '07 3rd rounder WR/KR Laurent Robinson out of Illinois State (I believe). A guy with loads of speed (4.3/40), size (6'2", 193), and some starting experience. Robinson's has had some minor dings that has kept him from breaking out. He's competition for the #2 WR spot with Keenan Burton, unless...they bring in a veteran hand to teach the kids. However, Robinson will definitely get a shot to take one of the two return jobs. The big ouch to this trade is that we traded down in both the 5th and 6th rounds about 20 or so spots in each round. Kinda hoping we do a trade down or two to pick up some more picks. Read most of (if not all, since I read it got cancelled on the writers) of the Jaime Reyes version of the "Blue Beetle" comics that the library had. Very good stuff (especially when the Reach hire Lobo to try to take out a rocket with anti-Reach tech on it, and Jaime (and Robin & the Teen Titans) happen to be there)), and makes me appreciate the character more on "Batman: Brave and the Bold." I kind of hope they delve a bit more with Batman/Blue Beetle on that show (use his friends Brenda & Paco, his magic-wielding international-traveling girlfriend: Traci 13, and have some good interactions with his parents and little sister....or at least incorporate the Reach storyline they did in the comic). Also read what seems to be the "introductory" volume of the Nightwing comic (at least with this you see why Batman sent Dick to Bludhaven, the introduction [or re-introduction, in a sense] of Blockbuster/Roland Desmond, the background on corrupt Det. Dudley Soames, how Dick got his apartment/met his landlord/possible love interest-Clancy, etc....). Definitely enlightened me on stuff I missed in the 2-3 collections I read. I finished Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One," and that was definitely a different take on things (how Batman won over Lt. Gordon, and how Gordon's life was really falling apart on him). Presently, I'm reading Jeph Loeb's "Batman: Dark Victory," which so far has a pretty intriguing plot to it (as it's just after Harvey Dent was turned into Two-Face, and now-Captain Gordon had his wife leave him with their son, James Jr.). On the reading plate, 4 "New Teen Titans" collections (including the one WB is supposedly working on as the next Teen Titans direct-to-video release/movie), 3 collections of Kelley Puckett's "Batgirl," a collection of DC's "Young Justice" (kind of a Teen Titans as younger kids thing), Brad Metzger's "JLA: The Tornado's Path," and Jeph Loeb's "Batman: Hush," which should be interesting based off everything I've read about the Hush character, and finally, a collection with the "Starman" character (as I always was interested with the Shade character from JLA). More to blog about later, Matt (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
5:09 pm	More updates Hey all, Well, after helping out Amanda putting up new signage at her work, then showing her parents the "display apartment" where she's moving in 3 weeks-plus, Amanda and I ran around today. Before the apartment visit with her parents, we swung by Chesterfield to snag her a new microwave (which was a few dollars more than the one she bought Sunday, but was more compact at the same cubic feet/power wattage, and was stainless steel), along with getting Murray (her red golden retriever dog) a soft-compression softball. We ate at Jimmy John's after the apartment visit, then swung by my house to snag my spare softball bat (to use to hit said softball for Murray). Back here, even though Amanda's been on a testy/abusive streak lately....smacking me repeatedly with her remote last night, and then today, poking me with her sharp fingernail. *shrug* So...in other things: -Thanks to "Lego Batman," I'm now 405 GS away from Frank in the battle of Xbox 360 profile GamerScore. So, as it stands presently: ---FRANK: (still) 9,315 GS; MATT: 8,910 GS. -The Rams moved on from Gus Frerotte's demands, and moved to go younger with former Ravens' QB Kyle Boller, who newly-signed C/OG Jason Brown probably gave Coach Spags the thumbs-up. At least with Kyle, he'll throw the ball away or toss an INT, instead of taking a sack. Boller's got a solid gun for an arm, and has starting experience. He should be a solid improvement as a backup in case something happens to Bulger again, unlike "Concussion" Trent Green's pathetic-ness. More later, Matt PS: Anyone know anything about Affinity Golf? Seems like they are affiliated with Intech Golf. Reason I ask is that there's a driver (the Affinity Mega Launch) that I'm eying over here at Play It Again Sports in Fairview Heights. I couldn't find a whole hell of a lot of info online other than a sales listing at a store called Boscov's with not a lot of specs on it. Honestly, it's the best feeling club I've ever swung (in terms of weight and waggle). (Comment on this)