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Go Go Gadget!

Happiness Is A Warm PS2

If you were anywhere near a television or the internet yesterday, you may have heard about Apple, Inc.’s new announcement: the iPhone. I, like countless others, spent part of my morning watching the “live bloggers” feed the world minute-by-minute updates on the situation at Macworld. The irony: no Macs were announced. This, I’ve heard, is because it would most likely be diluted by the talk of the iPhone. It’s definately big news.

But, this post isn’t about my plans to purchase an iPhone. It doesn’t come out until June, and I don’t know if it would make any sense considering it’s on the Cingular network which doesn’t appear to support “South Dakota”. No, this post is about another kind of gadget that you saw above: the PlayStation 2 (or PS2).

I’ve been thinking about getting a gaming console for a while now, and then I talked to Bryce and found out that he and Lindsey had gotten a PS2. ‘But,’ I thought, ‘they don’t have any money!’ It was an insult that they should get a cool toy on their little, combined income, while I sit in the dark ages. I resolved to do something.

I floated the idea by Holli who, at first, seemed loath to act upon it. Then, from somewhere deep in the abyss, she heard the words “Guitar Hero II”, and it was a done deal. Saturday we sprang into action, driving to Sioux Falls to pick up our very own PS2 and related accessories. When all was said and done, we’d spent quite a lot more money than we’d planned.

One notable anecdote from the journey is that we checked many different locations looking for good prices on games, etc, but we were always on the lookout for Guitar Hero II (or GHII), a game that has had quite a lot of popularity lately. (In Guitar Hero, you have a guitar for your game controller, and you have to play notes as they scroll across the screen. You get to play along with actual songs, which makes it even more fun.) Our quest, throughout all of Sioux Falls, fell short. The last place I felt sure would have it, GameSpot on Louise, did not. It was here, disheartened, that we instead purchased Dance Dance Revolution (or DDR) Nova with gamepad. We figured, this could be a reasonable replacement. (In DDR, you have a dance pad and you have to perform steps as they scroll across the screen. It can be quite a workout.) We paid and left.

We had decided on Saturday to wait on buying a memory card. Holli thought that he brother might sell us one, so we could get it cheaper than the $25 price tag you see on new ones. After playing a little bit on Saturday, however, I decided I couldn’t wait. We went to Pamida and bought a memory card, and then we decided to see what games Lewis would have. Lo, and behold! Beneath the stack of PS2 games we found not one, but two, GHII game bundles (which include a guitar)! Lewis, in Madison, had two of what no electronics store in Sioux Falls had. It seemed a miracle, and again, we forked over the money for it.

Here are the games we have, and their capabilities:

Do you guys have a PS2? What games do you have? Do you think you can beat us? Well, you can’t.

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Winter Wonderlanden

Well, it sure has been a while, hasn’t it. I wonder how many blog posts start out that way. I’m willing to bet it’s a very large number. Like, ninety a hundred. What’s going on, Miles Man? Hit me with the Newsizzle.

Newsbleep

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With Bryce home, and my new camera in tow, it was time for another Newsbleep. This one went on the theme of a “Pimp My Ride” show, and I tried to play up some of the cheesy motifs of such shows: the “victim”, cool teenage language, using family members as collateral, mocking the vehicle in dire need of “pimping”, nicknames of the crew so they seem more like a hip-hop posse than car mechanics, and (of course) the “reveal”.

This one was tricky. All of Holli’s stuff had to get shot on Saturday, but Tony and Tyler were going to be gone on Saturday and wouldn’t get back until Sunday. Lindsey didn’t want to shoot Saturday, but said “maybe” for Sunday. Then, on Sunday, she went fishing, so we had to shoot her on Monday (and cut a bit of her part). That and I had about two or three more characters than the original script had featured. But, it went well, and you can’t really tell that anything seems shot out of place. So far, the response has been positive. And, so far, I’d say that it’s my favorite. But, of course, the latest one is always my favorite.

Also, it was nice to get videos from family and friends to put together a “Happy Holidays” montage at the end. I really liked that, and I think I’ll work in “Call for Videos” again. I don’t know if I’ll use Mediafire again, however.

Visit my Newsbleep 007: Christmas and Must-Nots set.

Merry Christmas

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Of course, the list:

  • From Holli:
  • From Mom and Dad:
  • From Larry and Carol:
    • “The Office” t-shirt
    • 1/2 of a tripod
    • 1/2 of Apples to Apples
    • 1/2 of a Texas Roadhouse gift certificate
    • 1 ticket for Century Theatre
  • From Bryce and Lindsey:
  • From Adam and Cari:
    • 1/2 of Deal or No Deal
  • From G’ma and G’pa
    • $$$$
  • From Aunt Sue:
  • From Aunt Karin:
    • Gift certificate (which she unfortunately misplaced, but I’m sure it’ll turn up)
  • From Molly:
  • From David:
    • Something awesome that I can’t talk about until everyone has theirs
  • From Tony:
  • From Holly and Bob:
    • Something, but I’m not sure what yet as they still have it
  • From Santa:

Christmas was good. It seemed a little anti-climatic seeing as I got the video camera, my big gift, so early, but it was still good. And the bag is something I was planning on buying myself, anyway. All-in-all, it was a predictable Christmas. I think I requested or expected a higher percentage of my presents this year that usual. I’m not sure I’ll be so exacting next year. A big “Thank You” to everyone for your gifts. I love them!

View my Christmas 2006 set.

Our Anniversary Date

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Holli’s and my anniversary was on December 21st, and we had big plans, buddy, but it didn’t work out. Instead, we ended up staying at my apartment because of the roads. We did, however, have a nice present exchange and meal at Skipper’s.

Then, on the 27th, Holli came up to Sioux Falls, and we had the date we had planned for the 21st. We at at Johnny Carino’s. It was good. I had a hard time choosing my meal, and the waitress wasn’t great. At one point, another waitress came over with two plates and said, “We have the fetuccini alfredo.” Holli and I looked at each other. Neither of us ordered that. She eventually gave the food to another table. Then, later, she came back with a to-go package in her hands. “We packed up your food to go.” And I thought, “Why? Are you kicking us out?” We gave her blank stares, and protested that it must not be this table. As it turned out, the same table near ours must have gotten the wrong dish, and so they got either the original order or the food they started eating to-go, on the house. It was confusing, but the food was still good, and we ended up getting to-go boxes ourselves.

Then we went to Falls Park. It was beautiful and more lit up than a high school drop out. It was perfect for romantic picture taking.

New Year’s

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Whereas Christmas had been spent with my family in Big Stone City and Sioux Falls (with Holli able to share parts of that), New Year’s was spent with Holli’s family in Hawarden and Council Bluffs. I was very happy to have the latest Newsbleep up on the internet by the time I left for Holli’s house no Friday, so I had no editing I had to do over the weekend.

When I got there we played poker, of which I was first out, but after that we played Guitar Hero. I’d never played before. Holli said it gave her headaches, so I played with Marissa. We sucked worse a NASA airlock. Unfortunately, there are pictures, but we had fun destroying some classic guitar songs.

The next day we travelled to Council Bluffs to hand with their grandpa, Lauren. We went over to their uncle, Allen’s, place. He and his wife have a very nice place. Connie is a party designer, and she’s very good. As such, their house is very much a designer house. We watched a couple football games, ate some pizza, and then headed to our hotel. There we watched a Newsbleep, planned out church (for me), and went to bed.

The next day all hell broke loose. We left as early as we dared, because the weather was fast getting awful. The ride back was terrible. It was white-out conditions mixed with stupid drivers and ice. It was stressful, but Larry weathered the storm (pun intended) beautifully. I sat back and read (and eventually prayed a rosary for good measure) and listened to music while we made our way gradually home. Once back, it seemed way too late for mass in the area. My options, as I figured, were to travel to Sioux Falls for a 7:00pm service, and then it would make the most sense to go back home. New Year’s would have to be spent alone in Madison.

But, before that, Holli and I went and talked to the priest in Hawarden. I thought, at the least, maybe he could consecrate a eucharist for me, and I could read the readings or whatever. As it turned out, they were having Mary feast day mass at 5pm, and that could count towards my Sunday obligation. Score!

New Year’s Eve night was spent playing games with Marissa’s friend, Travis, and everyone else except for Adam and Cari. It was fun, but I could have done with less Fergie.

Visit my New Year’s 2007 set.

How did you spend your holidays?

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One Year Ago Yesterday

Us

I was driving around Sioux Falls. And I had this really pretty, funny, talented girl along with me. And I was nervous. I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend.

In Walmart we were shopping around, and I called Holly Smith, my accomplice. I wanted to do it there. I had a fair idea that the girl would say “Yes”, but I wasn’t sure. Holly said under no circumstances could I do it in Walmart. So, I made the decision to go to Falls Park. Holli asked who I was talking to, and I said it was Bryce.

Lie #1.

At Falls Park, we sat for a while on a bench and talked. I carefully and quietly worked up the nerve to ask my question. And then I asked it. And waited. And waited. And after a considerable pause, she answered and said “Yes”. I told her that I would really like her to meet my grandparents. In truth, I was trying to score points by bringing my new girlfriend to see the family first.

Lie #2.

We got to Karin’s and no one was there. We call and wait, and talk to Grandma and Grandpa for a very long time. Share stories, connect on a deeper level than anyone could ever imagine. And then the day ended, and we went back to whence we came. It was a good day.

A year later we had plans to enjoy food at Jonny Carino’s, revisit Falls Park (for the first time since), and take in a movie. Well, weather was no permitting. Instead we went to Skipper’s in town (which is a pretty good Italian restaurant a couple blocks from my apartment), we exchanged gifts, and we watched A Prairie Home Companion. Skippers was good, the presents were sweet (I gave her an album of music that I’ve written since first learning the guitar and recorded this past week or so, complete with album art, and she gave me a scrapbook with pictures from our first year together), but the movie was disappointing and a little boring.

All in all, I think it was a good Anniversary, and I’m very happy to have Holli in my life. :)

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Best Eight Albums of 2006

I missed this last year, so this year I’m putting in my picks for Best Eight Albums of 2006. I’m doing eight, because I really couldn’t come up with ten. I think I just found a love for older music this year. I considered doing a Best Of 2005 list, but you guys are smarter than that.

  1. In Ink Please – Formica Table for Two (50)
  2. The Streets – The Hardest Way to Make An Easy Living (27)
  3. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife (23)
  4. Thom Yorke – The Eraser (18)
  5. Guster – Ganging Up on the Sun (15)
  6. Cursive – Happy Hollow (15)
  7. Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I Am Dreaming (12)
  8. Snow Patrol – Eyes Open (11)

The numbers represent total play counts for the entire album (totaling play count per song). It’s not extremely accurate (especially since my library has seen a lot of modification this past year), but I agree with it. Guster beat out Cursive because I put two of their songs on a CD for Holli from that album, which I thought should count for something.

What is your list of top 2006 music albums?