Friday, April 30, 2010

Halo Pick-up Lines

BEDA: April 30, 2010

I've been wanting to do a stereotypical pick-up line video for a while now but I couldn't decide on the type. I was going to do either Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Star Wars, or a pick-up line parody where I claim ones would work when they're really the worst of the worst.

The pick-up line parody video idea became my How to Pick Up Women video but I still had all these ideas.

Now, I'm not a big X-Box player, my brother has a PS3 but I just don't have a lot of X-Box experience. I have played Halo from time to time, and although I am horrible at it for lack of practice, I find it's pretty enjoyable.

A few days ago, I was playing Halo with a couple of my friends and my auto-aim was jerking around. I said something about how I couldn't control my aim, a friend made a comment about how it's a good thing there were no girls around to get upset at a guy's "wandering gaze" and it blossomed into the line, "I think something is wrong with my auto-aim. I can’t take my eyes off you."

And thus it began, the search for Halo pick-up lines.

"I think something is wrong with my auto-aim. I can’t take my eyes off you."

Now, this is one of those sickingly cutesy lines that could actually score you a smile. Very sweet and at least there is a zero chance you will get slapped.

"As soon as I came near you, the announcer said “unfreakinbelievable” and I would tend to agree."

Another one that won’t be taken offensively. You will have a better chance of this line bringing success if you are actually on a killing spree. The ladies love a man with some serious skills.

"Are we playing Assault? Cause I’m pretty sure you are the bomb."

This one is likely to get a cheesy response but inside she will be giggling. It may help if you say it kinda gangster. Da BOMB yo!

"I was following the indicator of where to score and it brought me to you."

This one is direct and to the point without being horribly offensive. If she gets upset just tell her you are new to the game, don’t know the map, and thought you were supposed to follow the icons.

"With the weapons I just need to hit “X” to pick them up. Does that work for you as well?"

This is very straight forward and your intentions are clear. If she shoots you down, make sure there is at least a power weapon close by. That way you can use the same technique on the rockets to make yourself feel a little better. Hey, at least you scored something.

This blog is hilarious because it implies that Halo fans talk to girls.
Ba-zinga.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Why David Tennant is My 'First' Doctor

BEDA: April 29, 2010

So, yesterday I posted a blog about how I started watching Doctor Who a couple months ago under the "pusher" influence of Megan. And by the ending of the second episode, I had grown to like Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. His performance was pretty over the top at times but his childlike wonder and enthusiasm grew on me rather quickly. Not to mention, when he got angry he created an incredibly powerful performance.

Take for instance (IMO) the best exchange of the season:

“We Have Your Associate. You Will Obey Or She Will Be Exterminated!”
“No.”
“Explain Yourself!”
“I said no.”
“What Is The Meaning Of This Negative!?”
“It means no.”
“But She Will Be Destroyed!”
“NO! ‘Cause this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to rescue her. I’m going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet! And then I’m going to save the Earth. And then, just to finish off, I’M GOING TO WIPE EVERY LAST STINKING DALEK OUT OF THE SKY!"
“But You Have No Weapons! No Defences! No Plan!”
“Yeah. And doesn’t that scare you to death!? Rose?”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“I’m coming to get you.”

Oohh, shivers. That part is purely epic.

Then, I heard that people were all "OMG DAVID TENNANT IS JAWSUM" but to be honest, when he regenerated into David Tennant, most of the entire Christmas special was rather lame. It wasn't enough that I was missing Eccleston's Doctor but that the new Doctor was comatose throughout nearly the entire thing.

I know, I know, it was necessary for 1) regeneration, 2) the storyline, and 3) the epic ending, but it was already giving me a bad taste for David Tennant.

Obviously, I think differently now. David Tennant has acting ability the likes of which I have not seen in any sort of actor, really, ever. The episode on Midnight is one of David Tennant's most powerful roles as The Doctor, pulling split-second emotional changes from talkative and cheeky, witty and easy-going, to being betrayed and then having an unstoppable sense when facing his enemies but then back to being light-hearted when someone says the right thing. Unlike the Ninth Doctor, who showed off his vengeful, rage-filled dark side when up against the Daleks, the Tenth Doctor displayed a more confident, self-assured side, but did not hesitate to taunt them. Tennant's acting is just a roller-coaster of theatrical wonder.

As I finished Doctor Who and awaited Matt Smith's incarnation, I thought the same thing with Eccleston's regeneration to Tennant. I was losing a character I had gotten attached to and had to make room to watch another character, one who I hadn't grown with.

And that's when it happened. I realized that Tennant was my Doctor.

It was that residual feeling of his saga being over but having to 'simmer' in it for a while, awaiting the change in actors ahead, still not comfortable with the idea but not wanting to judge Smith on an acting job I had yet to see. Now, after seeing a number of episodes this season, I can actually say, Mister Matt Smith, you are doing a fine job. I am super excited for the future of Doctor Who.

But David Tennant will always be my 'first' Doctor.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Everyone Remembers Their First Doctor

BEDA: April 28, 2010

Now, a lot of you know, I'm a big Doctor Who fan and I have Megan to thank for it. A large selection of Nerdfighteria watches Doctor Who, because, let's face it, it's one of the best shows on television. But even though "my community" was so taken by The Doctor, I never really had much of a craving to find out what it was about.

It was a time when I had caught up on House, The Office, Family Guy, and How I Met Your Mother, he new season of Lost hadn't started airing yet, and I had gotten sick of flipping though my movies and having nothing magically appear.

Shut up, you do it too.

Anyway, I was just walking back from class and it was quite snowy outside. I thought to myself, 'Hey self, Megan won't shut up about this show. I mean, she mentions it in more than half of her Vlogsmoothie videos. You should probably watch it.'

So, I looked it up online. Yo, Star Trek, I know you got that reboot and everything and I'm really happy for you, but Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction show of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Wow, even in text speech, the Kanye meme is incredibly jerky...

I hopped on SurftheChannel and saw that the episodes were separated into "Classic Doctor Who" and "Doctor Who" which was relieving. Megan had said something about starting with the 2005 episodes and how they did a pretty good job explaining most of what had happened in a moderate-reboot fashion. I found and watched the first episode, "Rose".

And I wasn't impressed. At all, really.

I mean, think about it from my point of view. This guy shows up, saves this girl from these plasticly-animated-men, her boyfriend gets sucked into a wheely-bin and then the man yells at some alien consciousness for a while. Not really exciting stuff.

But obviously, as I continued watching, (actually, while watching the next episode) I became hooked. My problem with episode "Rose" is that any sci-fi that exists in the episode, we're as clueless as Rose is. The Doctor doesn't explain much of anything going on. He does a much better job explaining things as they're traveling through time and space which, of course, is the most fun part of the story.

I'll probably post more on this topic later. I feel I've bored you enough, today. :)

Tune in next time for: Why David Tennant is my Doctor

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

It's Cold in This Lab. This Blog is Going to Be Short.

BEDA: April 27, 2010

In some of the labs on campus, the air conditioning is cranked up. Way high.

This occurs for multiple reasons.
1) The health of the computers to keep them from overheating.
2) People would rather be cold than hot.
3) Keeps the air circulating.

and 4) Which is probably false, but to keep people in and out of the lab.

Think about it, the warm people come in the lab to cool off. They work at a computer where they A) Don't get much movement in their entire body but at the same time they have to B) keep some of the smallest joints on their body typing constantly against a keyboard.

After a while, the cold sets into their fingers and it gets rather uncomfortable to type. [what I'm feeling right now] Then, said hall resident leaves the lab to go elsewhere and another computer is open for availability.

I can't actually do that because, I) I'm not a hall resident of this building and II) I sorta ninja'd myself into the lab and I don't have a key to get back in.

So, because I have to come to the lab to use MACs, I just spent three hours, off and on, working on a video and because it's so freakin cold in this lab, my fingers feel frozen stiff. I actually debated going somewhere else to type this blog. BUT NO, COLD. YOU WILL NOT WIN THIS TIME.

Looking around, I count nineteen computers in this lab, twelve of which have occupants. I guess because the system is working, it means my conspiracy theory is accurate.

I win.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Nothing

BEDA: April 26, 2010

Once again, I've started typing a BEDA blog without any sort of subject to write about.

EDIT: I finished typing the blog and I just wanted to let you know that it does get better. You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog from my now past.

But that's the thing about blogs vs vlogs. It's rare to start a vlog with no idea and have it be entertaining. With a blog, if you don't like the direction it's heading, you can delete chunks, retype it, or completely start from scratch with little more than three clicks of a keyboard. With a vlog, time and preparation goes into filming and editing and when it's a situation like mine where I travel to a different computer to edit, there's not much re-shooting I can do if I don't like the way something turned out.

Now, as logic and my previous explanation dictates, I could delete that entire paragraph. But I don't because then you wouldn't know to what I would be referring to. The same goes with the edit that I will put at the near-beginning about how the blog will get better.

But Travis, I already read that part about the blog getting better.

Yes, appreciated reader, but I haven't typed it yet. You're perceiving time in a linear fashion.

As some of you may be able to tell by the subject matter, I watched Doctor Who today and I was trying to understand all of the plot-holes in the Matt Smith Doctor and River Song story. A lot of things are either a) huge errors, or b) unable to be explained yet. I'll get into this later but to see where I'm coming from, the sonic screwdriver. Her's was blue. His new one is green. How's that workout in the end?

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.

If I'm able to go back and edit anything I wanted to in this blog, it could be asked why I don't just fit the model of the blog to explain everything I want to say and every edit I wanted to make.

Well, that would just be boring, wouldn't it?

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Hidden Treasures Right Above

BEDA: April 25, 2010

I have found that there are generally three types of people.
Some of us carry the bare essentials with us at all times. Some of us hoard everything we can and become packrats. But most of us set the majority of things we own aside in "I'll get back to these later" piles.

These piles can end up at our parent's house, at a friend's house, but most often the belongings from time past end up in the storage unit of all storage units: The attic.

This story actually begins with my cousin's surprise 18th birthday party today but the blog begins with me realizing that the attic above the garage where we were holding the party had no entrance.

So I made one.

A family friend and I found a space in the ceiling where the entrance used to be and brought the ladder over to the hole. If you know me well you know that I love flea markets, garage sales, anything with previously-thought-to-be-lost stuff. We climbed up and, at first, there seemed to be nothing really of interest.

There was a queen's trophy from the 1950s, an old baby highchair, some old dresses on the ground and a big pile of gift boxes laying in the corner but mainly just a musty room.

It was only after digging through the gift boxes that I got to anything of substantial age.

The woman who owned the house before my uncle was nearing 100 years of age. I found her diploma. And her certificates from 4H club. And a few photo albums from the 19teens. Talk about a surprise.

After looking through the dusty ruins more, (I say ruins because a lot of the things were broken and smashed) I found a single unbroken tea cup while the others had all been smashed, a ledger from 1932, and an ivory calligraphy pen in a little wooden case. My favorite thing that I found near the end was a large German bible with no distinguishable date, although it looked to be pre-1900s.

I pretty much geeked out over that.

How much do you want to wager that she didn't even know they were up there? Well, rest assured, most of it is currently on its way to her house as I type this. After all, it's her property and no one would get quite as big a kick out of it as she.