DarthTofu

I started playing Rome: Total War, finally. I'd been putting it off because I figured it couldn't be that good. I now regret having spent all of that time playing The Battle for Middle Earth II: Rise of the Witch King. Bloody amazing game, a lot like Rebellion, more so than the War of the Ring game was! I very much like it, and highly recommend the game! I'm sure SOCL will now sweep in and give us all sorts of commentary on the game as well as the Rome: Total Realism mod, now. If not, I still win even if I am a failed prophet, because I prevented SOCL from giving his full schbeil.

My opinion of that guy is that he could stand to expand his mind: I think that, above all, the New Jedi Order was different than what we were used to, but not necessarily bad. The fact that he considers Tatooine Ghost to be one of his favorite novels eats at me, even though I haven't read it, because it's by Troy Dennings (*Hatred*). All sorts of NJO & LotF spoilers will follow, so read at your own risk. I'm not blacking it because most of us have read the full series, now. When Anakin died I certainly was upset and felt a sort of sense of "No! He has to come back somehow!" but that's ultimately realism. People die in wars, and ultimately Anakin, the warrior, for lack of a better term, of the Solo children, was at the most risk of dying- if he lived, everybody was ultimately safe. Killing off characters like that was part of what broke that sense of whimsy in NJO, and that really helped make it better for me. He complains about Jacen being the new hero, but I think that he was ultimately the right hero for the right crisis; the Yuuzhan Vong weren't evil, they were just obsessed with their mythology of war and conquest and were out on a religious crusade. Jacen can recognize that, and ultimately he helps to take the galaxy back to a state of peace through peace with the Yuuzhan Vong, and finds it in himself to essentially "Fight without fighting"- Converting the poisons Onimi (sp?) floods him with to nothing. As for Zonoma Sekot: Okay, that one I can't argue with him on- that was weak, as was just kicking the Yuuzhan Vong out. I really didn't care for that at all. So far one of the strong points of Legacy of the Force has been that tie-in with the prequels. There's a perverse sense of it being mirrored, but in a fully new way. As Luke puts it in one of the novels, Jacen isn't turning to the dark side because he's selfish, but because he's selfless. The huge moral grey areas throughout let you know just how hard this is for the characters as they have to wonder who to support in a war that ultimately seems to be between good guys with bad guys intermixed. Usually I'd agree with him that these novels might work best as either three separate trilogies or one author's full work, but in this case each one brings something new to the table that balances the books as you go; Allston has his great characters development that gets into every one's head, Traviss has her political experience to show how politics affect everything, and Dennings has that sense of despair to add, such as when he made us think he was going to make the Millennium Falcon blow up in Tempest. He was more bearable for that novel, at least, and he only has two more that he gets to write, thank goodness! Ultimately I like the new direction Del Ray went in. Do I disagree with a choice or two of theirs in authors? Oh, hell yes. If there had been a vote on them based on first drafts of their books I'd still be screaming, "No! Please, no! Please, dear FSM, no!" over one in particular, but I think that they've done a great job bringing new Star Wars to the world of the novels without making it the banal new super weapon of the week that Bantam suffered from.

Ouch. We only have one theater close by down here, but so far the worst I've heard about it is a rain leak that they had yesterday inside the theater. I'm kind of glad I didn't go back to see it with my parents that day. Has anyone else heard that there's an Ender's Game movie under production? Oh, and who else is ticked about that new The Dark is Rising trailer that claims to be based on the books and isn't in the least?

Funny thing, there- I did the job for one day, then never heard from them after another E-mail or two. Odd, eh? Thus I'm trying to get a gig at a bookstore working in their only open area- the cafe *Shudder* @Kaja: Yeah, but... Umm... Damn. I have no argument against that other than "But I really want it to be released for PC."

I WILL find a way to top this, without getting the post thwacked for innapropriate material.... I kind of have to ask: Have you already managed to top it? Sorry, I've been wanting to ask for a while.

Mad: Je ne parle pas français. Sorry, I just really wanted to do that...

@Mad: Those are all great! I really loved that Reporter one! That would be me if I ever joined the news industry! Edit: Get Smart!

"Assignment for Maxim."? Why does it say assignment for Maxim on that picture you posted, Krytos? I thought they only did shoots of models in studios- now they do flybys? @J: That's pretty awesome! I love those comparissons! I've done this before. I got kicked out of the place. But it was worth it.

*Maniacal laughter* For Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast remember to use the saberrealisticcombat cheat. It's fantastic! You get to do stuff like this That alone kept me entertained long after I'd beaten the game.

Er, right. So, for those of you who haven't yet seen the teaser trailer, here's a link to it on YouTube. Here's another cool video on Force Unleashed, an interview. Enjoy. However I am dissapointed that he didn't mention this coming out on PC at all. PC always gets the Star Wars games that are released for consoles! Sometimes they're a tad differant, but the PC damn near always gets those games! And now they aren't giving us cheapskates who only have PCs the chance to play? In the words of Darth Vader: N()()()()()()()000000000000000000000000OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo! Oh well. My friend has an X-box Three Sixty and really wants the game. He said he'd let me go for it once he beats it. I can do that. Or actually apply for a job and save up to buy all that stuff... Nah. The first one is easier.

"Indeed?" Thank you, Tiel'k.

The site's down, Bruja. Not my fault. Not unless I'm psychic and don't know it and subconciously wanted to take out the site's server. Which I doubt. Anybody think there will be new animangi in book seven, or that Fawkes might be one?

I saw it yesterday- this one is done far better than the last two, and is considerably more true to the book. That might not be entirely true, since five was my least favorite and I've only read it about three times, but I still thought they pulled off a better movie than the third and fourth. The characters are finally in robes again, which makes sense given some of the jokes throughout the books. Sirius is developed finally rather than just being a random little existence, their Luna Lovegood is decidedly random and eccentric (Very good) and Umbrage is so evil that you don't even love to hate her. You just hate her with a passion. Spoilers follow: The only things I had any problems with were: 1) Grawp. He looks far too digital, and in the end kind of like the fat kid you see in the supermarket trying to get his mother to buy him a donut. 2) The prophecy. Only half of it is ever heard or discussed in the movie, and Dumbledore never gives Harry the full version of it. 3) (This is just because I wanted to see it more than anything) They skip the visit to St. Mungo's (sp?) hospital and don't see Lockhart. I'm sorry, but I liked that in the book. 4) Sirius was pushed when he went behind the curtain in the arch, he didn't get advada kadavera... ed (sp?) That's more of a minor issue, and having Bellatrix do it adds to her insanity, so I suppose it works. All in all I had far fewer issues with this movie than I had with three or four. This guy is probably about the same as Chris Columbus was when he did the first and second movies and didn't feel the need to add random non-canonical details to them. Edit: After a bit more reflection and memory jogging (I've only read the book maybe three times sicne it came out) I realized that there were some more things left out that I'd like to see, though only one is "major." More spoiler-esque complaints follow in black. Kreacher (sp?) had more of a cameo than anything else. Where in the book he was responsible for getting Sirius killed, he did nothing more than mumble a bit on only one occassion in the movie. Also: Harry and Cho never had their awkward relationship that didn't really work out not work out. Harry kissed her, they were sort of together, he turned on her after she betrays them (In the book her friend did so) and it turns out that she was magicked into betraying them? Sorry, but I wanted to see the SNEAK hex Hermione put on their list for the D.A. I also kind of would have preferred that Dobby be there to go around the Room of Requirement, as well as for one to simply need to think very hard three times in a row about what they needed to have happen rather than simply having a need for it. Oh, yeah, and stunning spells don't knock you out suddenly? What's the point of 'em, then? Why not just use Expeliarmus instead of Stupefy, then, eh? Strikes me as rather foolish not to have those knock people out. Alright, that's it for fanboy whining part two.

Okay, that was officially longer than my attention span, Krytos I read the first few paragraphs before getting tremendously bored because I know nothing about operating systems. When the machines rebel against us all I'll be good for is getting them to the blue screen of death. Now, then, on topic: Calvin and Hobbs with post-it notes.

@Eagle: Oh... Yeah... My bad. I think I've lost what BEAKing privileges I once pretended to possess...

I apparently thought this was funny enough for the thread, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. Shaolin Monk stands on one finger. He is the only person known to be able to do this in the world according to the video!

Oh I was so tempted to add Fermat's last theorem, and some of René Descartes' works like his Folium of Descartes. But I won't Good thing that you didn't, too. You might have invoked Mitth's temper.

... I'm kind of glad I didn't add you to the list, now, Eagle. You might have gotten fifty votes, all from yourself.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/DarthTofu/postitposter.jpg http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/DarthTofu/twitch.jpg (This one works if you set it up properly) @Bud: ... Can not stop staring at that pic...

Duuuuuuuuuubya Tee Eff? Some of these "spoilers" are really odd. Oh, yes, probably not safe for work... Or if anyone is going to be looking over your shoulder. Or if you're a small kid. In fact, it probably isn't safe for anyone. I wonder why I posted it.

OOC: Because SOCL pressured me to. IC: To my eye it all went in slow motion. The synchronized detonations of all three explosives. The rip away along the line set by the first and second. That horrible retention along the corner. Explosive Three had detonated, but hadn’t been close enough to the edge of the walkway when it did so. Rather than creating a clean tear along the bent edge of the landing pad, the circular part tilted and treated the still-intact part of the site where Explosive Three should have gone off as a fulcrum, swinging almost like it was caught in a breeze. It wasn’t falling. Falling had been part of the plan. With the detonation the pad would fall, hopefully even skimming the sight of the Vong building, perhaps smashing a few of the fellows on guard duty. In addition to that, it would be covering my rapid descent, making the Vong think that I was still up there somewhere. Now they knew where I was. They knew that the jet pack let me fly. They would know if I latched onto the hanging circle that was the pad until it fell, and they would immediately send troops down to track me. While this would draw away from the numbers Hohass and Igens would have to face, this would make it nearly impossible for the Jedi and myself to plant the failsafe. I gave a quick burst with my jet pack and clung to the framework of the underside of the landing platform. “Hohass, what do I do, now?â€

Mad! You're back! Jeeze, where have you been for all this time, man?!? It's been, like, a week! That's a massive lapse for you! Usually you're using the forums like AIM or something! I need you to go on a spamming rampage so that I don't get termed the Biggest Spammer by default of a tie and creating the contest! Go, man, go!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/DarthTofu/elephants.jpg (Shopped, obviously) http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/DarthTofu/forthread.jpg http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a169/DarthTofu/poster.jpg I have a sneaking suspicion I just stole that last one from Def, but I don't plan to go through 50 + posters to see which ones have and haven't gone up!

Why does everyone hate Macs? As Douglas Adams put it, "The Macintosh was originally a great design- give it so few functions that it can't possibly crash! But then they went on and made all sorts of new fancy programes for it, so now whenever I open the tool bar it causes the lights to dim in all homes connected to the same power grid as me!" (Paraphrased from The Salmon of Doubt) The only Mac I've ever used, truth-be-told, was an old model, about sixteen years old or so, that was donated away only recently. It was a dependable enough computer, though some of the functions it had performed five years ago randomly dissapeared at one point. That was really the only issue I ever had with it. I honestly have no opinion on Macs- why does everyone hate 'em?