Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well Christmas has come and gone and in short time the New Year will begin. It looks quite promising as I noted in my posts last week. This year has been pretty solid for me and I am sure that the upcoming year will be just as equally filled with excitement and joy as well. I have something new, cool and unique to share with you all today. I got my video camera last week and thanks to this I was able to capture some very candid (and groggy) family footage of Christmas 2009 with the Colemans'. I hope that you enjoy these. Thanks for watching.

"Let the Fun Begin..." Part 1: As Christmas 2009 begins some of us are arriving and some are just trying to make it to the kitchen for our first cup of coffee. See our beautiful tree and the artistry of our wrapped gifts beneath it.



"Let the Fun Begin..." Part 2: More rugged footage as Christmas 2009 continues, recorded by Mikey and Merissa. Has footage of everybody, including Coco, D'Argo and Jasper. Very funny footage of Mom dancing, Shawn half asleep and Mikey telling what he got for Christmas before arriving at the house. BTW, Terrie does not like being on camera and I think I am a bit of a camera ham.



"The Presents Are Opened..." Part 1: My attempt to take footage of the presents being handed out did not go so well although I did get these three short clips. This one has grandpa Perry with a gift, mother with a gift and Mikey and Merissa with a Santa Hat on.



"The Presents Are Opened..." Part 2: Another gift opening clip. The lighting is not so great in this one but it does contain a couple worthwhile moments.



"The Presents Are Opened..." Part 3: Dad receives his five disc George Formby CD set. Would have been better had I not had a huge golden bag thrust at me near the end so I could have wrapped up the recording more smoothly, but such is the nature of home video. (As opposed to vBlogging itself, which is far less predictable I would imagine.)



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At any rate, I hope that these snips and clips bring to life the warmth, laughter and joy that always surrounds the holiday seasons within my family's home. Feel free to leave comments or to respond with a video or link to footage or writing about your own holiday memories for 2009. Thank you for reading and watching. May the joy of the season carry through into the new year for you and yours. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

KAt

2010 -- A Year In Preview...

My last article was about what happened last year. In this article, I will talk about some of the things that I am hoping for or looking forward to as the new year creeps up upon us.

1. Video Camera: I do realize that I am likely going to be buying this in the next week or two, but I still count it as something that is going to play a big role in the upcoming year. I am debating between all of the various pocket camcorders and trying to figure out which one I want most. I will be putting up an article on this shortly.

2. Great winter / spring games: There is a lot of cool stuff coming out in the next few months. Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Final Fantasy XIII are the games I am most excited about right now.

3. Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver: I realize that I just listed a ton of games, but I wanted to list this one separately because (a) it is a Nintendo DS game, and (b) it has a neat little gimmick to it by ways of a Poke-Pedometer that will level your Pokemon and give you points you can use to unlock new stuff for them by walking. This little divice is going to be one of the gadgets that I will be using to haul my ass out the door this spring, and hopefully I can get Jay to do this along with me.

4. WoW: Cataclysm: Yet again, another game. I am counting this separately as it is WoW and I do not have anything resembling a release date for it yet. I have a love / hate relationship with WoW. It can either be fun or it can be a pain. It can also help Jay ahd I, or it can hurt us. Which way will Cataclysm go? Only time will tell.

5. Going to Florida (again): If I do go it could be really interesting, or it could be really boring. No Shawn? (Possibly) no Grandma? And Jay does not feel he could get the money and / or time off of work? I love my parents, but I am very torn over whether me going would be better, or whether letting the two of them go and have the equivelant of the honeymoon they never got might be a better call. We shall see.

2009 -- A Year In Review...

Well its that time of year again. The holidays are just around the corner, and after that we will be entering a new year. With that in mind, I decided that this is as good a say as any to give my "review" of things that have happened in the last year and how I feel about them. No, this is not a tribute to Michael Jackson. Nor is it a recounting of who won at this year's academy awards. Rather, it is the highlights and lowlights about my 2009 from how I experienced it. Feel free to write your own and link it in the comments if you wish.

The Good Stuff:

1. Wizard 101: I love this game. Its fun, relaxing and has a whimisical art style that I really enjoy. The gameplay is a mix between an MMO, a turn based RPG and a collectable trading card game. There is lots to do, including questing, having pets, crafting, decorating a house and playing mini games. $9.99 per month, or $6.95 each for two or more accounts linked together. http://www.wizard101.com

2. Going to Florida: It was nice to see Florida again, as I had not been there since I was 11 or 12. Going with my parents was a lot different then going with my grandma and grandpa when I was younger, but it was still a fun adventure and a way to get away from my normal routine. (Although I did miss Jay.)

3. Jay's Visits: So far there have been three of these and we are working toward the next one now, and hoping it will be before I go to Florida again (if I do go again). Meeting person to person, as opposed to via the internet, has definately added strength and foundation to our relationship, moving it past being merely an "online thing". My family actually recognizes that he is real and legitimate. Fun or funny memories include randomly deciding to bake a cake together at 9 p.m., going to see "Taken" and "Star Trek" in theatres, sharing our first kiss (this is a public blog -- that is all you guys are getting from me!) and discovering quirky or amusing habits about the other that cannot be found via a computer.

4. Terrie & Merissa: I usually think my brothers choose idiots to date, but I get along perfectly fine with Terrie and her (now 5-year-old) daughter, Merissa. Most of my socializing takes place online. Its nice to make new friends who are local though.

5. Games -- Small Number, High Quality: There were not a ton of games out this year that I wanted, but I seemed to have the golden touch all the same. The games that I did want -- with regards to Xbox 360, anyway! -- tended to be good games. The ones that spring most quickly to mind are Brutal Legend, Dragon Age: Origins and Borderlands.

6. iPod Touch: Yes, I actually broke down and spent $300+ on an iPod Touch. And I am very happy with my purchase, and it is doing quite a splendid job of keeping me amused and coming up with small ways to break up random bordom. It now has its own hot pink & silver headphones with gel covers (making my ears not hurt) and a hot pink semi-clear case, making it look cute & feminine. All it needs at this point is a car kit, a car charger and a wall charger so that it will be ready to travel.

THe Bad:

1. Muffy had to be put to sleep: Muffy II, my grandmother's adorable yorkie-poo, had to be put to sleep as he was being diagnosed with multiple medical conditions and he was in a great deal of pain. Take care of grandpa with Baby, Belle, Bandit, Cuddles and Muffy 1 for us, little buddy.

2. PlayStation 3 Woes: When will I learn to say "No."? (Or perhaps just listen to Jay a little more often -- heaven forbid! :p ) I spent over $1,000 on my PS3 in games, console and accessories... Only to have it taken by my brother for $100 because he does not have any other form of entertainment and "I don't need it.". Will I ever get a new one? I am not sure. I *hate* repeat purchasing things. I really do need to decide, though, because if I don't plan to I could always use the trade in value of my PS3 games to get something else. (DSi or Xbox 360 upgrades, anyone?)

3. Throwing up in the van: This one was just totally gross. For two weekends in a row during October, I woke up feeling sick to my stomach and vomited without any real logical reasons. Not life threatening, as it has not continued. Just a little gross and embarrassing.

4. Modern Warfare 2: Huge waste of money. Call of Duty games just seem to ooze rotten luck for me though. I am really not a fan of the franchise at this point. (I was neutral on it before.) Forcing me to listen to guys try to guess the size of my boobs (among other stupid things) is not a good way to keep my business, ActiVision.

Champions Online loses my support. Details Inside!

I have been following the progress of Cryptic's new MMORPG, Champions Online, for the last six to nine months. It looked very promising on paper. You use thousands of options to create your own unique superhero and then explore Millenium City and beyond. It was one of the top three MMOs that I was currently anticipating -- to the extent that I had not even looked at its competitor, DC Universe Online, for a moment. My Xbox clan was going to get it together; it was a complete no-brainer. Right?

Well... Right up until Cryptic decided, for whatever reason, to drop a nerf-nuke the size of Canada on the game's launch day and completely split the player community as if the game had been hit by a socio-political earthquake. From what I have read, the amount of health possessed by and damage done by all enemies was doubled and an across the board percentile nerf made all but the most min/maxed character builds utterly useless. This is bad when you consider that the largest allure that Champions Online had was that you would be able to make *your* character, even going so far as to forgo a class system for a skill based system to add further freedom.

The hardcore v.s. casual debate has reached boiling point and beyond on their forums and the reviews on Amazon.com are absolutely abysmal. As someone who tends to teeter very much in the midle of the two broader definitions I must examine a game from my own perspective and know what I want from it. I can handle additional challenge. I can handle having to make currency in a game for multiple hours to get what I want there. I recognize that MMOs must have a gimmick that will ensure that I keep paying. What I cannot understand is the complete disruption of the actual premise that was making me look forward to the game. In essence it seems that Cryptic was so concerned about min/maxers abusing the skill system that they created classes and have left us to figure out what those are. That is not what I wanted from this game.

Therefore, I am not going to be rushing to test it out. If my clan on Xbox Live does eventually get the game when and if it releases on the Xbox 360 I will likely get it. But I am no longer curious what is happening to it or anything of that such. Not only were the nerfs given without warning, they were also done after people had paid for 6 month and lifetime subsriptions. Clearly Cryptic is an underhanded company. Even if I do end up being Rope(r)ed into playing this by my friends I will certainly be reading all the fine print before I attach the game to my gamertag.

Adventures in Toyland...

So my brother's girlfriend, Terri, has a little girl and she is going to be turning five this weekend. I went through university to become a teacher and -- surprise! -- I really enjoy kids. I also love toys. So I have been researching the latest toy trends so that I will have some idea about what Marissa (the little girl in question) will want. I have found some great new toys that I am sure will be a hit at the birthday party we are throwing her. And I found one that I will definately *not* be buying but which had a review so funny that I just had to link you all to it so you can laugh too. :D So anyway, here we go...

The Good: (i.e. things I might buy):

1. Webkinz: I love these. They are totally adorable, they are educational, they are multi-purpose toys since they have an offline and online component. Not only will she get her very own pet (I am showing her the Webkinz site this evening to see which pet(s) interest her) that she can cuddle with while watching TV or take to school for show and tell but that pet also doubles as a virtual pet on www.webkinz.com that she will be able to feed, play with, decorate a home for and play mini-games to get more items for. It is an excellent community for kids that monitors what is being said either through excluding bad words or things that could allow the giveaway of personal info, or by allowing her parents to give her a "canned" chat where she can choose from pre-constructed phrases. Further, I could also get her a Webkinz jr pet instead as everything on the Webkinz Jr. site is voiced over.

2. Dora the Explorer stuff: I already got her a Dora pencil case (almost time to go back to school) and I know my parents want to get her a Dora backpack and lunch bag. I am also hoping to find a Dora t-shirt for her too. I may also get her a pair of jeans to go with that. We'll see.

3. Wizard 101 account: I already have one and this is a side-gift so what I am doing is letting her make her own wizard on my account. The big pluses about this are (a) I can pass money to her wizard, (b) the entire game is voiced, (c) its another kid-friendly game, and (d) since I already have the account its just going to get the account more use for the $10 a month that I pay to own it.

4. Art supplies: What little kid can resist art supplies? Construction paper, kid-safe scissors, kid-safe glue-stick, crayons, stickers... The Dollar Store should have most of these assorted goodies (except the stickers, which I have brand new here at the house). Also need to buy her a good quality (hopefully pink!) pencil sharpener to go with the pencil crayons my parents got her.

THe Bad / Very Ugly (Who came up with this?!)



This is just plain disturbing and the toy does actually exist. There is no WAY I would let a kid play with this if I had one and there is even *less* way I would give this to someone else's child as a gift. Whoever developed the concept for this toy should be investigated for possession of child pornography. Whoever approved the design and manufactoring of this toy should be banned from the toy industry all together. The things people will not come up with... This definately takes the cake on the most "ballsy" toy I have seen.

TROLL TIME: "This Thread Already Exists!"

I am a huge fan of discussing things on forums. Whether it is game design, shopping for a new gadget, learning to make tripple chocolate brownies or getting dating advice... Forums rock! Or at the least they do if people are actually allowed to write in them. Unfortunately there is a phenominon that plagues the forum writing community. "This already exists!". There is nothing that pisses me off on forums more then this. If you wanted to run an FAQ site you should have made one. Its really that simple.

Now don't get me wrong... If something is being repeated again and again that is causing "flame wars" I can understand this. But that sort of topic should only be had on a debate forum anyway. Topics that I see get this issue a lot that do not generally deserve it are polls "Is game A or game B better?" and "Should I buy...?" threads. I get it: some people work their behinds off writing excellent guides on making certain purchases. And its great that they do. But that does not, and should not, give those people the right to feel that they are the sole authority on said subject henceforth through eternity.

There are three very interesting topics I have been following on forums this month: advice for my upcoming PS3 purchase, research on Sims 2 vs.s Sims 3, and comparisons between InFAMOUS and Prototype. In my reading I have come across two "This already exists!" retorts. One was actually on my own PS3 advice thread on GameSpot.com and the other was on a Prototype v.s. InFAMOUS poll on IGN. It was nice of the gentlemen who commented on my thread to link me to his advice column -- it had some good video links that were quite handy -- but I was rather shocked at his insistance that I post nothing more about the topic without first consulting his thread first. Get. Over. Yourself. !!!

There are reasons that certain topics are going to be repeated a thousand times over on certain types of forums. There are always going to be "I am buying XYZ system -- Advice?" threads on a gaming forum. Its as certain as the sun rising in the east. I think that the poster on GameSpot did have a good idea having a guide for mundane things like system types, necessary v.s. unnecessary accessories, history of the console in question, getting started, etc. I do not think telling me not to post again was a wise move in increasing his (or her, I am asuming its a guy since I was on a gaming forum. Ironic since I am a woman, I know.) reputation or that of his guide.

The problem with autocratic and static guides being the only permitted method of getting information on something is that you lose the human aspect and are unable to ask questions you might want to get answered in contexts that are specific as an individual. I do not need some game-guru wannabe using a mass discussion platform to try and pretend they know everything. If I want a singular opinion on something from a professional reviewer I will go look up a review of whatever I want on IGN.com, GameSpot.com or I will just hop onto YouTube.

So, how could we fix the problem? First off, if there are good guides that a forum has on something like this that they want people to refer to those should be stickied at the top of the board, they should be clearly labelled and they should be well written. Second, if such a guide is going to be a manditory source of information then it needs to be updated accurately and quickly when changes happen and it needs a Last Updated specification. Lastly, while encouraging users to use the guide should be important, paying attention to what they write and its specifics should never be pushed to the wayside. It is annoying to have 100 topics on the same thing. But if everything on a forum becomes a "check this guide" reference then we no longer have a forum.

Thank you for reading. How do you feel about repeated topics on forums? Do you have a solution? Discuss!

Where the Hell is Bioshock 2?

I did not know what I would end up wanting to buy once E3 rolled around. I often use E3 as my tool to see what is up for grabs and that usually works very well. This year has been exceptionally quiet for fall -- although spring is looking very loud. The one game that I know I am buying -- and the one game I was most looking forward to viewing at E3 -- was Bioshock 2. So the question is... Where is it? I cannot believe that I have seen no new footage or information for the game. Yes, it is coming out November 3rd. Yes, there is a wonderful demo and a strong interview for the game on YouTube (that I watched prior to E3) but nothing new has popped up. Grr...

Anyway, since E3 is not giving the game any love then I suppose that I will be compiling all the Bioshock videos I have found onto this blog post for your viewing pleasure. You may have seen these before, or you may not have. Feel free to check them out either way. I will be updating if I do find any new details about the game. Enjoy!

Bioshock 2 Demo: Hunting the Big Sister



Bioshock 2 Trailer: Dream



Bioshock 2 Gamespot Interview