Day 197 - EarthBound

April 20, 2011

EarthBound was a gift I received for my birthday when I was 12.  In the same way that you might recall a favorite book or toy from your childhood, I fondly recall this game.  It has held up remarkably well over the years, and when I started playing it again today, I remembered all the reasons I loved EarthBound as a kid.

The story is set in the 1990s in Eagleland, a kitschy and romanticized parody of America (perfect lawns and quiet suburbs). No dragons, mystical knights, or staff-wielding wizards appear in this game. You are just an average 13 year old kid from the suburbs...until the night a meteor lands in your backyard. The local wildlife start attacking you, a gang of local hoodlums begins causing trouble downtown, you realize that you have psychic powers, and a mysterious messenger from the future tells you that you are destined to save the world.

But, before you face any of this, your mom reminds you to change out of your pajamas.

Armed with a cracked baseball bat, a lucky charm for protection, and whatever food you can find (including whatever gets thrown into the trashcan outside the burger joint), you begin your quest to stop the evil alien Giygas from destroying the world.

A few highlights from the game:

• obsessive-compulsive police roadblocks
• bribing crooked politicians
• saving a girl kidnapped by a cult obsessed with the color blue
• solving a town's zombie problem
• freeing a race of aliens enslaved by a talking pile of puke
• fighting hippies with toothbrushes
• wandering inside a psychedelic minus-world ruled by an evil statue
• being taught by a talking monkey how to teleport
• having your soul transplanted into the body of a robot in order to facilitate time travel

But, before you get too involved in these kinds of things, you should remember to call your mother. If you go too long without hearing her voice, you'll get homesick.

(Description via Starmen.net)

The game is an RPG, which means it's not terribly exciting to watch.  

But I did find a video that expresses the feel of the game.  

And this is a good description of the story.

The game has received so much support over the years that fans translated a Japanese only sequel into English, they're making an entirely new sequel from scratch, and remixed the soundtrack to the game (Bound Together).

And there's Mr. Saturn too.  DOING!!

Day 196 - HULK SMASH!!

April 19, 2011

Today, I was asked to smash this doorstop to bits using a hammer.  

It felt awesome.

As I was smacking metal and wood with a hammer, I kept thinking:

 "Don't do anything stupid".  

This was the most productive thing I did today.

Day 195 - No, They Can't Text. They Were Invented Before Texting.

April 18, 2011

I showed every class how to use the very expensive graphing calculators.  We spent an entire period talking about all the things the TI-83 can do.  My students weren't particularly excited about the graphing or table functions.  And they couldn't care less about polar coordinates or matrices.  

 The only thing that impressed the kids was writing notes to each other on the screen.

Someone actually said "These calculators are amazing!  I only know how to write 'boobs' on my calculator".

What have I started?

Day 194 - Less is More

April 17, 2011

Softball is not baseball.  I know this.  But my swing doesn't.  Every time I step to the plate, I have to think:

 "Ichiro, not Griffey"

Softball is about making solid contact,  

not murdering the ball with every swing. 

While we're on the subject, this interview was given when Ichiro was still new to America.  I'm pretty sure some teammates taught him this phrase, but it's clear that Ichiro knows what he's doing.  All of his teammates say he's hilarious.  And he gives fantastic, profanity-laced pep talks in the clubhouse before the All-Star Game. 

Ichiro is my hero.

And the weather was nice.  


Swingers: 0-2

Day 193 - Springsteen? He's like the American Bryan Adams

April 16, 2011

Warm 106.9 visited our school a few days ago.  They raffled off several prizes, which included a pair of tickets to see Bryan Adams.  After four other people passed on the tickets, they were given to me.  

Major win.  

The concert was pretty great.  You can see in the photo, he didn't have a backup band.  Bryan wouldn't do that on the "Bare Bones" tour.  After the first few songs, I developed a real appreciation for him as a songwriter.  The songs held up really well in their stripped down versions.  Plus, the crowd was super into it.  80% of them were middle aged women on their fourth bottle of wine.  Good crowd.  
He wrote this song for an animated movie about horses.  It's been on repeat since the concert.

Bryan Adams - Here I Am

Bryan Adams has a ton of songs that you've heard.

Other gems:

Everything I Do (I Do It For You)

Summer of '69

Heaven 

Run To You
Cuts Like A Knife
Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?
Please Forgive Me
All For Love

Day 192 - Sick Day 2: The Deuce

April 15, 2011

I'm not trying to be gross.  

This became my personal mantra today.

Just kidding.   

It wasn't that bad.  

I just laugh so hard every time I see that clip. 

But seriously, I still felt awful so I stayed in bed.

On a slightly happier note, Netflix streaming on the iPhone is amazing.  I watched "When in Rome" and "Hot Tub Time Machine" from the comfort of my bed. 

Day 191 - Sick Day

April 14, 2011

This is the result of a bad choice.  

I caved to peer pressure during lunch today.  

I chose the Pulled Pork Sandwich.  

Not my worst choice.  

I also tried the Cole Slaw.  

That was my worst choice.

Day 190 - One Win Down. Fifteen More To Go.

April 13, 2011

I started following the Canucks during the 2003 season.  They played a seven game series with the Calgary Flames.  The Canucks lost Game 7 in overtime.  The next year, the whole league went on strike.  I still remember our First Line from that game:

LW - Markus Naslund

C - Brendan Morrison

RW - Todd Bertuzzi

D - Ed Jovanovski

D - Mattias Ohlund

G - Dan Cloutier

Every time someone talks about hockey, I feel the need to prove that I actually understand the game.  I'm not just a fan of the hits.  Like I always bring up this story about Paul Kariya.  He gets decked, knocked unconscious (watch his mask fog when he wakes up), then comes back in the game and scores a goal.  

Awesome. 

  

Canucks won tonight.  One down.  Fifteen to go.

Day 189 - "If You Ain't Outta Control, You Ain't In Control."

April 12, 2011

Life Lesson:  If the Yakuza are ever out to kill you, challenge one of their nephews to a drift race down a mountain.  If you win, they will let you live because you've earned their respect... or something.
Plus, drifting just looks cool. But this movie is more than just flash.  There's some pretty deep stuff in here too.
There's an old saying: "For want of a nail, the horseshoe was lost.  For want of a horseshoe, the steed was lost.  For want of a steed, the message was not delivered.  For want of an undelivered message, the war was lost"

Surprisingly deep.

And Mom made dinner.  Thanks, Mom

Day 188 - Why Am I So Tired? The Field Is So Small!!

April 11, 2011

Thank you, Heather for convincing me to join an Indoor Soccer team.  After some confusion regarding our free agency status, We were signed to a one game tender with the Green Team. Being the new guy, the team innocently asked me if I wanted to play Midfield.  Sure.  Sounds fun, but it's also the most running on the team.  Playing Mid means running sprints every minute you're on the field.  I think the team knew that when they asked me.  

Bonus fact.  Even though I played organized soccer throughout elementary school, I have never scored a goal... until now!! (Humblebrag, again?)

And even after playing the most physically demanding position, and scoring one of our three goals (I'm told that's not very many), I wasn't invited back to join the squad.  The team already had enough guys and didn't have any spot open for new people.  

I'm sure later in the season, I could have done something like this. 

Your loss Green Team.  

Say goodbye to one-third of your goals.  

Day 187 - SWINGERS!!!

April 10, 2011

Spring Softball League started off with a bang.  We maxed out in the second inning, scoring nine runs.  We seemed unstoppable until we gave up nine runs in the top of the third.  I know I didn't help.  My defense was fine, but at the plate I tried to absolutely murder the ball with every swing.  I was way out in front and poked a few off the end of the bat.  It's slow pitch softball.  The ball is coming slower than you think.  The key to getting a hit is right there in the title. 

The Famous Late-Inning Swinger Power Outage

I managed to earn the nickname "Sabo" after the former Cincinnati Third Baseman, Chris Sabo.  He was a Rookie of the Year, a three time All-Star, and won a World Series.  I don't see the resemblance, but I'll take the comparison.  I didn't play up to my nickname this week. Going 1-4 is not going to get it done, even if my lone hit was a solo home run. (Humblebrag?)

So we didn't win the first game.  One game isn't a big deal.  

There's an old saying in baseball:  

Every team is going to win 54 games.  

Every team is going to lose 54 games.  

It's what you do with the other 54 games that counts.

(What's that?  We only play SEVEN games!?!?!)  

Ok, that game was a big deal.

Day 186 - SCHLITTENTAG!!!

April 9, 2011

Red Bull Schlittentag at Crystal Mountain.  The sledding course you see below is WAY steeper than it looks and there's a jump near the bottom.  The problem with the course is the hill built to stop the sleds after they complete the course.  The hill is about 15 feet tall.  It needed to be 30 ft tall.  One group built up way to much speed, launched off the ramp that was supposed to stop them, and landed flat on their backs on the ice.  It was the equivalent of jumping off a two story building.  Bad times.

Theme:  SUPER MARIO KART

starring

Danny as Mario

Whitney as Bowser

Nick as Princess Peach

OH NO!!  BOWSER HAS KIDNAPPED PRINCESS PEACH... again

I don't remember this as a kid.  

The Karts performed great in the snow.  Totally 150cc!!

The costumes and theme were a total hit.  There were so many comments about how awesome everything looked.  The only problem was all the kids wanting to sit in the karts and play with the toys.

Darn kids.

Day 185 - It's Easy If You Swallow Your Pride

April 8, 2011

If you're willing to start slow, do a little internet research, and completely set aside your ego, you can do anything.  (Seriously, this website was super helpful.)

It must have been "Lil' Shredders" day because there were TONS of little kids on the mountain.  And every single one of them looked like they were born on skis.  At first, I was secretly angry at them because they were making me look bad.  But as I sat in the snow like an inverted turtle, the kids smiled and waved as they whizzed past.  Can't be mad at that.  

Though I didn't get off the beginner slope (or as they mockingly call it at Crystal Mountain: "Discovery"), I did make it from chair lift loading to the bottom without falling.  
I'm sure I'll be doing things like this soon:

  Snowboard WIN!!!

Day 184 - Preparations

April 7, 2011

The scope of this endeavor is massive.  I'm proud to say I helped with a small part of what came to be.  

Seriously, this gets amazing.  

Just wait.  You'll see.

Day 183 - We Are Butler

April 6, 2011

Over The Limit has consistently performed at the highest levels.  We have met every challenge with guts, energy, and skill.  We have stayed positive and never taken ourselves too seriously (unlike this kickball team)  But what I'm most proud of this season, is the way we played as a team.  We made a great run to the championship before falling short against Abusement Park.  I'm comforted by the words of Coach Taylor:


"Every man at some point in his life is going to lose a battle. He is going to fight and he is going to lose. But what makes him a man is at the midst of that battle he does not lose himself. This game is not over, this battle is not over."

Uh... but we just played in the championship.  Yes, the game is over.  He must have given that speech at halftime or something.  Oh well, we celebrated anyway.

Great Season OTL!!

Day 182 - "You Gotta Keep On Playing, No Matter With Who"

April 5, 2011

I miss playing music in a band.  And without the band as motivation, sometimes it's hard to keep practicing.  But I still love to play from time to time.  I'm probably not as good as I once was, but I'm surprised that I've kept most of my range.  I found I could still play some of the old covers if I could remember the melodies.  I'm really glad I invested in a great mute, so I can really go for the high notes.  Like in this Save Ferris song, "Everything I Want To Be", I have to blow serious air at the end.

The title of this post is from "That Thing You Do!".  It's the advice Del Paxton gives to Guy Patterson when the Wonders break up.  

"That Thing You Do!" was also one of the first songs I learned on guitar.

Del was right.

My Pick Of Destiny

Day 181 - March Blandness

April 4, 2011

Tennis started today, but with a rainout and no practice, there's not much to say.  I watched the NCAA Championship and hated it like everyone else.  At least they brought Luther Vandross back to sing One Shining Moment

Of course, I was cheering for Butler, because they were the underdogs (crap, I didn't mean to make a pun there), but there's an argument to be made that UConn was a true Cinderella Story.  It's a good point, but UConn has won two titles with Jim Calhoun.  It's tough to cheer for the rich to get richer.

Day 180 - Program: C- People: A+

April 3, 2011

City U Cohort A - Cedar River Watershed

I can't say I'm proud of it, but I attended City University.  One positive thing about the program is the cohort style.  I took every class at City U with this same group of people.  We met up for drinks a few times while we were in school together (mostly to see Timeslip), but don't see each other as often anymore.  Today, some of us met for lunch. It's nice to swap teaching stories and hear how everyone is doing.  I don't know how many of this crew are even still in the area, but if we can find another geriatric cover band, maybe we could have a cohort reunion.  

Day 179 - It's Like Groundhog Day... With Explosions

April 2, 2011

Source Code is still 90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.  That's because it's really solid.  It completely made sense, and even had a few twists and turns that didn't feel cheap.  Jake Gyllenhaal has definitely come a long way since LaserCats! 2

Day 178 - Twilight Exit

April 1, 2011

Twilight Exit is a great neighborhood bar in the Central District.  They run Happy Hour until 8pm every night.  We sat near a Ms. Pac Man table.  They have shuffleboard, pinball, and Big Buck Hunter.  Plus they allow dogs, which somehow makes anyplace feel 10x more friendly.

Also, Stephen Colbert sang "Friday" with Jimmy Fallon.  
I knew this song was awesome. 

Day 177 - Vacation!

March 31, 2011
I did not plan to take any trips or do anything crazy over Spring Break.  I knew I would be finishing NB's and because I ended up working 12 hour days this week, I was exhausted.  Now that I've finished, I don't know what to do with all this extra time.  

I don't want to leave the couch.  Here's the rundown:

1) I read this account of why Billy Joel licensed his songs to Rock Band.  

Here's his account from USA Today:  "I've never allowed my music to be used in a game before," but an Entertainment Weekly review of NBC's The Office changed his mind. Alluding to an episode in which characters mention a Rock Band featuring Billy Joel, "the critic wrote something like, 'God forbid that ever should happen.' So I called my people and said, 'Get me (on) that Rock Band game.' Then I wrote the critic, saying that every time I get a check, I'll give him a little nod."
The EW critic takes it all in stride and admits that Billy Joel is awesome.

Billy also released six new songs in Rock Band last week.  Score!

2) A few weeks ago, Community revealed the ending of Catfish as a joke, but I managed to cover my ears in time to avoid spoilage.  I had been meaning to see this movie anyway so I used Redbox for the first time.  Redbox is awesome.  The trailers made Catfish look like a thriller.  But it wasn't.  It wasn't great.  It wasn't bad.  This story could have been just as effective if it were a segment on This American Life.  

3)  I finally started The Wire - Season 4.  Why did I wait so long?  This show is so good.  I love that for their theme song, they use the same song performed by a different artist for each season.  My favorite is still the Blind Boys of Alabama from the first season.

4) Caught up on Justified.  I missed season one but I've been toying with reading the book.  The main character, Raylan Givens, is from an Elmore Leonard short story called "Fire in the Hole".

5)  Then I fell back asleep, having completed nothing productive.  Wait, scratch that.  I did some laundry today.