Monthly Archives: January 2012

Party Down, Better Off Ted, and Breaking Bad

I finished up a few different TV series recently. Most recently I watched Party Down. This witty comedy follows a group of caterers, most of whom want to break into the entertainment industry in some way (as an actor, comedian, writer, or musician). All the action takes place while the crew is working with each episode featuring a different party. You could watch any episode and still have a few laughs, but the series definitely has an overarching plot that’s best absorbed sequentially. After Better Off Ted and Party Down, I need to find another intelligent comedy. The Deadline reported on 1/8/12 that Megan Mullally, actress in Party Down, confirmed a movie is in the works.
Like Party Down, Better Off Ted is another quirky yet smart comedy that spanned two seasons. It follows Ted’s struggles to work for evil corporation Veridian Dynamics while still behaving ethically. While both seasons were enjoyable, the first was absolutely fantastic. I stayed through the second because I enjoyed the first (and I’d recommend you do the same), but it definitely lost a lot of the magic. It just wasn’t as witty anymore.
I also finished season three of Breaking Bad. I know there’s more, but it’s not on Netflix yet. Wow, what a great show. Season three ended amazingly, I can’t wait to find out what happens in season four.
Now, what’s next? I’ve been catching up on The Office with gem, and we’ve started Glee as well. Still, I like to have something to watch alone. I tried an episode of Workaholics today, but it’s not doing it. I suppose the problem might just be that the shows I watched were too good! I’ll keep looking.

Sometimes I play video games

The last time I made a large Game Journal post, I was playing Sonic Generations, Ocarina of Time 3D, inFamous 2, and World of Warcraft. I was also thinking about starting Gears of War 3, Ivy the Kiwi?, Sonic Colors, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Epic Mickey, and Kirby’s Return to Dreamland.

* * * Playing * * *

World of Warcraft
Of course, I’m still playing World of Warcraft. I have a separate blog to talk about that, but we’re now 5/8 in Dragon Soul.
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart’s always been one of my favorite series, and 7 is no let down. As usual, there’s a Mirror mode unlocked after 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. I’m working on it now.
inFamous 2
I’m so close to that damn platinum trophy! I really need to put some more time in it!
LittleBigPlanet 2
I actually just started playing this today, but I bought it for gem for Christmas. We’re playing through the game in co-op! Unfortunately, after every play session, we have to login as the other person and start the game again to sync trophies to both accounts. So much work. Fun game though, and I’m glad she’s enjoying it!
Plants vs. Zomibes
More content was added to the iOS version, so I’m playing that off and on a bit as well as the PC version ocassionally.
Super Mario 3D Land
I stopped playing this because of Pilotwings and Mario Kart, but I’ll hopefully get back to it soon. It’s amazingly excellent. Great level design. Every element is there for a reason, and when I die, it’s my fault. Perfect. Wonderful use of 3D as well.
Game Dev Story
I started playing this again just a little bit. I’d like to get a perfectly reviewed game.

* * * Finished * * *

Pilotwings Resort
I played this a lot of while! Alex let me borrow it, and it’s pretty fun. I didn’t manage to get perfects on everything, which keeps me from unlocking some bonus missions, but I did beat the main game!
Sonic Generations
I finished this and loved it. Thankfully Sonic Team didn’t make it super long by adding too much worthless content.

* * * Gave Up * * *

Zeno Clash
Zeno Clash is a weird first-person fighting game with a really bizarre story. I got stuck for a little bit, put it down, and never came back. I might be done with it. Maybe I’ll just switch it to easy mode and plow through it.

* * * Thinking About Playing* * *

Grand Theft Auto
I don’t even know which one I’d like to play. I suppose I’d like to finish the first one, but it crashes when I alt-tab. I have the third on Android that I could play, but I’m not sure how much time I’d want to devote to an Android port. What if I get stuck later because I lack good controls? Of course, I have all the pre-4 games on Steam as well.
Co-op Platformers
Lots to choose from after we finsh LBP2. Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and Kirby’s Return to Dreamland come to mind.
More
Gears of War 3
Ivy the Kiwi?
Sonic Colors
Epic Mickey
The Binding of Isaac
Sequence
Cthulhu Saves the World
Psychonauts
The Old Republic…?

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve, originally uploaded by theuser.

 
For New Year’s Eve, we went and saw Wicked! Sadly, gem had to work in the morning, but at 2 PM we were at the Pantages watching the start of Wicked! I love that show. I’ve seen it before, but it’s stil excellent to see again. I also bought her an overpriced Wicked shirt!
For dinner we went to the Stinking Rose. So. Good. As usual. I had an amazing filet mignon (although it should be redder than a bit pink when I order it rare). She had a prime rib. All in all, an excellent last meal of the year!
It was super foggy that night, but we made it home without dying. That’s always good.
For the first meal of 2012, I wanted Chipotle. Unfortunately, Chipotle was all stupid and closed. Wing Stop had to suffice.

Christmas

Christmas, originally uploaded by theuser.

 
The holidays were pretty exciting this year! The biggest thing, in my opinion, was that I bought a tree for the first time. It was great! We put up lights and decorations, including custom-made decorations made by gem. (I’ll put up photos of the decorations later.)
We went on a gondola ride with my parents in Long Beach as well as a boat tour of Balboa. They were both really fun! I saw both Edward and Antonio before Christmas. We bought Edward a steak dinner with sides. Each part of the meal was wrapped individually and in our fridge. It was fun! He gave me a Nerf gun, but inside the box was also an annual pass to Disneyland! Pretty cool. Antonio came over the next day. We traded gifts, but he didn’t want to open them until Christmas Day. He received Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, and he gave me a Logitech G930 wireless 7.1 gaming headset. It’s super awesome!
Christmas Eve I went to my aunt’s house. I hung out, playde Pass the Pigs, and talked to my brother while waiting for the rest of the family to get home from church. We had delicious ham, watched Christmas Vacation, and exchanged gifts. I gave some games to my cousins and a Farts Around the World book to Pete. He loved it. I gave Hyperion and American Gods to James. Both were excellent books. Hyperion was recommended by Taylor, my manager at Barnes & Noble, to both John, a Head Cashier, and Gabe, the Newsstand Lead. All three of them recommended it to me. I thought it would be nice to pass it down to another B&N employee, especially because it was one of the best books I’d ever read.
On Christmas Day I went to my mom’s house. This time it was beef instead of ham, and it was also delicious. I spent a lot of time chatting with my brother, which was really great. It was nice to catch up with him. We also did our holiday singing of the Twelve Days of Christmas, complete with signs you hold up when it’s your turn created by Pete.
It was a fun Christmas!

Reduced Speeds from AT&T



Reduced Speeds from AT&T, originally uploaded by theuser.
You are now chatting with Christine C., an AT&T sales representative.

  • Christine C.: Welcome to AT&T online Feature Sales. How may I assist you with your features today?
  • Peter Anargirou: Hi. I was wondering why I received a text message about having my speeds reduced if I’m already paying for unlimited data
  • Christine C.: I would be happy to help you with the data pla.
  • Christine C.: You will still get unlimited data. It is usually over 5GB then the speed can be slowed for congestion.
  • Peter Anargirou: I’ve only used 2 GB when I received the text message last night.
  • Peter Anargirou: And I don’t have tethering nor am I jailbroken or doing anything else I’m not supposed to do.
  • Christine C.: I understand. Unfortunately, I can’t access the account to take a look. The slowing speeds are based on location and usage. You will still have the unlimited data plan.
  • Peter Anargirou: I understand that it would still be unlimited, but it’s of course frustrating that there isn’t an option for a bigger package, yet reduced speeds is almost the same as cutting off data. If I can’t successfully do the things I pay to do with my data plan, then it’s become worthless. However, I know that’s not something you can change of course.
  • Peter Anargirou: I do have two other questions. First, if my speeds are reduced, does that reset the following month?
  • Peter Anargirou: In other words, if I go over this cap and have my speeds reduced, will I have normal speeds the next billing cycle until I hit the cap again?
  • Christine C.: It does reset with the next billing cycle.
  • Peter Anargirou: Well that’s fantastic, because I was on the 28th day of my billing cycle.
  • Peter Anargirou: Second, in case I want to consider different service provider, where can I find out if I’m still under contract and when that expires?
  • Christine C.: Perfect!
  • Christine C.: Your contract will be listed in your Profile which is under My AT&T.
  • Peter Anargirou: Okay, thank you very much!
  • Christine C.: It is on the second tab about half way down.
  • Christine C.: Is there anything else I can help you with or another feature I can help you with?
  • Peter Anargirou: No, that’s it! You’ve been very helpful! I work in a similar position than [whoops] you, and I know it can be frustrating when customers get mad when you have no control. I hope you have a wonderful day.
  • Christine C.: Thanks! Thank you for choosing AT&T. We appreciate your business. Have a great week! Happy New Year!

Curio

Curio for iOS | iPhone/iPod, Reviews, Action/Horror, Platformer

When Brain Blast Games offered me a horror title, Curio, to review for the iPhone, I was intrigued. Horror? I don’t see that very often on the iOS. Then I tried it, and after less than a minute, I found myself mumbling, “what the heck?” Okay, it was a little more colorful than that. I think that question sums up the game, and I mean that in a good way! While I wouldn’t exactly say it’s scary in the sense that it would cause me to jump, it’s definitely horror-themed and creepy and would be sure to scare a younger audience. It’s odd, and more so, it’s unsettling. It’s a running title in which you go for a high score, and I like it!

Former Joystiq Writers Moving On

The Justin McElroy Institute

So here’s what’s next for yours truly: I, and a big team of talented folks, are going to be building the best video game site ever.

Recently a bunch of folks left Joystiq, including three of my favorites – Chris Grant, Griffin McElroy, and Justin McElroy. I was worried about what was happening but hopeful that they were all leaving together. It looks they were! I can’t wait to see what they build.
Ludwig Kietzmann, the new Editor-in-Chief of Joystiq, better kick it up a notch! (Luckily I love him too!)