bobafred

Today I picked up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (note: The Rockstar Games site seems to not be responding). It’s pretty awesome. I first got into the GTA series on GTA:III and purposely skipped GTA: Vice City because I didn’t want to give up that much of my life again. I’ve recently come into some free time since I have no friends, so I decided to give this one a spin.

San Andreas puts you in the role of CJ, a gang banger, during the early 90’s. This leads to an excellent sound track featuring Dr. Dre, Tupac, Easy E, and Ice Cube. For those not into hip-hop, there are also tracks from Alice In Chains, Helmet, Danzig, Heart, Guns ‘n Roses, etc. And the best part, you get to choose which genre you listen to by changing the radio station in whatever car you are driving.

So far the missions have consisted of beating people up, stealing some weapons, doing a drive-by, etc. Basically, the goal is to get your gang back on top of the city. An interesting new addition to this entry in the GTA series is that you have to workout and eat or your character will become overweight and slow. Plus you get to pick hairstyles and change clothing. My guy looks like Tupac with a bandana (my gang’s colors, of course) and a black tanktop. You can really see a difference in the character model when you workout a lot. Pretty cool.

As the review on Gamespot says, ‘…there’s a whole lot more to San Andreas than just set tripping’. Even though I don’t know what ’set tripping’ means, I totally agree.

Go Dawgs!

Here are some observations from the day:

I had a meeting today from 9:30a – 3:30p at work. As mentioned before, there is a trend at work to use the word ‘leverage’. Today’s meeting consisted of 28 Leverages (I kept track in the corner of my notebook) and that doesn’t even count the Leverages that were in Power Point slides or handouts (there were 7 of these). That’s 4.67 spoken Leverages per hour. 1.167 typed leverages per hour. And, 5.833 total Leverages, per hour.

Isn’t it a law that trucks over 6 wheels have to use the 2 right lanes? I thought it was, but apparently not on interstates here in GA. Large trucks just get in the way and on rainy days like today, throw water all over the place. I want to be able to comfortably ride in the left most lanes without having to deal with them. Thanks.

I sometimes have problems using Gmail with Firefox. I will get a message that says: ‘Redirecting to /gmail’ and then it’ll just sit there and not do anything. Its not even trying to load. Just chillin’. I hate having to open IE just to read my Gmail account. Opera appears to not even be supported. I suppose I can’t complain too much as it is really only in beta test still.

I like to use the word ‘word’ in life. I use the standard Vanilla Ice style usage to agree with someone. An example would be where someone says to me, ‘I think we should refresh the test database so that we can make yesterday’s production data available’, and then I would respond with, ‘Word’. However, I sometimes like to say, ‘word to that’. I was told by a co-worker that this is not a correct usage and that the ‘to that’ part is really not needed. I don’t care. I am going to continue to use it incorrectly. My ultimate goal is to get others to adopt my vernacular.

Saw Shaun of the Dead this past weekend and I have to say that it was pretty damn funny. SOTD tells the story of one unlikely hero thrown into the role of savior when everyone turns into zombies and he has to protect his family and friends. Hilarity then ensues. The zombies here are of the classic, slow moving style. This only adds to the fun as there is plenty of time for Shaun and Co. to try to decide what to do. Makes for an enjoyable viewing experience.

Also picked up the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead yesterday on DVD. This is awesome. I am going to have to say that this is better than the original. That’s right. I said it. And, I meant it. Here the zombies are 28 Days Later style fast as shit. This leads to an all out race to save yourself. What a rush. Along with this, the makeup effects are fantastic as can be seen from the numerous headshots and other gore scenes. Look for cameos from Tom Savini and other cast members from the original film. This is an excellent addition to my DVD collection (now at 98 titles).

First, I’d like to take a moment to let everyone know that Cyanbane.com has a shiny new look. Its really clean and easy to navigate, two of my favorite website design features. Kudos to Eric for the fantastic new design.

Next, I wanted to congratulate my friend Louis who has just landed a role in the independent film Geekin’ from DigiTribe Productions. Head on over to the site for a synopsis of the film, but with a tagline like, ‘Love, Jealousy, and Twenty-sided Dice’ you really can’t go wrong. I imagine that a good portion of my readers can relate to at least some part of the storyline. Congrats again to Louis and I look forward to seeing you on the big screen.

I love this time of year. The weather starts to cool off (which is pretty huge here in hot ass Atlanta) and my favorite movie genres, horror and suspense, are being shown all over the place. Horror movies are great. Not only do they entertain and innovate, but they are breeding grounds for some of today’s greatest movie minds (ex. Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson). So, in the spirit of the season, here is my Top 10 Horror/Suspense Movie List. I’ll do my best to not spoil too much.

1. The Shining:
   The very first time I saw this film I had to be around 9 or 10 years old. It has stuck with me ever since. The ‘Here’s Johnny’ scene is one of the best in the history of film. Plus, those little girls are freaky. Pure crazy horror.
   ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’
2. Evil Dead II:
   While the first Evil Dead is scarier, this one is a better movie. With the perfect blend of horror and comedy this is a classic. Bruce Campbell was born for the role of Ash. People who have only seen Army of Darkness really owe it to themselves to see the origins of the Ash character and his trusty chainsaw.
   ‘Then let’s head on down into that cellar and carve ourselves a witch.’
3. Psycho:
   Of course I’m talking about the original Hitchcock version here. The shower scene scared an entire generation of grown adults. What more needs to be said?
   ‘We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven’t you?’
4. The Evil Dead:
   As mentioned earlier, scary has hell. I was 22 the first time I saw this and it freaked me out. That’s fantastic. Ash hasn’t quite stepped into his hero role yet, but it is very enjoyable watching him stumble around. Scotty is also a great character.
   ‘Join us!’
5. The Sixth Sense:If your friend who saw this movie before you spoiled the ending for you, I feel truly sorry for you. This is one of the greatest movie twists in recent memory. M. Night Shyamalan not only crafts an excellent mindgame, but the movie remains very rewatchable even after you know the ending.
   ‘I see dead people.’
6. The Ring:
   For a PG-13 movie, this is pretty dang scary. Watch a video, the phone rings, 7 days later bad things happen. There are some really interesting developments along the way. Best of all, Naomi Watts is super hot.
   ‘Everyone will suffer.’
7. Cabin Fever:
   I’ve posted about this one before. It combines all the classic horror elements: gore, boobs, teens, drinking, a cabin in the woods. I look at this as an homage to the great horror movies of the past. I expect great things from director Eli Roth in the future.
   ‘Goodnight, f*cker.’
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street:
   Wes Craven introduces us to one of my all time favorite villains, Freddy Krueger. Krueger haunts you in your most vulnerable state: sleep. Plus, he has great one liners. The series goes down hill from here with the notable exceptions of New Nightmare and Freddy vs. Jason.
   ‘Come to Freddy.’
9. Candyman:
   Having to say his name 5 times is a little lame, but Candyman is an excellent movie. Tony Todd excels in the role of the villain. A great mix of urban legend, gore, and Virginia Madsen make for a very enjoyable scare.
   ‘Be my victim.’
10. The Blair Witch Project:
    I think this movie is very underrated. The scares are based more on the audiences imagination and what happens when it gets away from them. Everyone has been alone someplace and heard weird sounds. Now, imagine being lost in the woods and hearing weird sounds. That scares the hell out of me.
    ‘I’m scared to close my eyes. I’m scared to open them.’

I’ve spent the past few days thinking about this post and I feel really good about my list. So where are movies like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist? Good question. I thought the original TCM was crap. Not scary and really pretty boring. And, I’ve never seen The Exorcist. Yeah I know, that is pretty weak. Not sure why, just never have. Maybe I should make a point of watching it this season.

On a related note, an excellent source for new horror movie news is Bloody-Disgusting.com.

If you have some time and are looking for a good scare, check out some of these selections. They all exist in better than average to excellent DVD releases.