by Matt | Dec 18, 2007 | Personal
A very complicated situation started brewing this weekend. It involves people moving to a retirement village and a house being vacant. There was talk about Lauren and I potentially moving into said vacant house. This would be awkward and I’m not sure how much detail I should go into. To simplify things, lets just say that we’ve potentially just bought a house. Now, this is a nice house. Good solid construction, very livable. Not to mention free. There are numerous downsides however, all of which need to be weighed against the major upside of having a large rent free living space.
First, our commutes to work would double or potentially triple. In my case it would go from 20 minutes up a rarely used highway to an hour and a half up the most major freeway in the state. Second would be the surrounding area. It’s really far away from everything we like/enjoy about where we’re living now. No restaurants, no stores, no friends, no church, no convenience. Third, it’s really too close to things I don’t enjoy. The dirt mall, bad movie theaters, lots of congestion, lots of traffic. It’s also really, really close to my in-laws. Almost too close. I love my in-laws (that’s actually not a lie), they’re very nice people. But it would be like Everybody Loves Raymond, they’d be right down the street. For those who would understand the analogy, it would be like moving from Amherst NH, to the old stinky part of Nashua NH. Fourth, the house needs a lot of work. A lot. New everything would be required before moving in. Nothing major or really time consuming, but everything “little” thing. For example, it would need new carpet in every single room, new sheet rock in some places, a new paint job, stuff like that. It wouldn’t need new plumbing or new windows or a new roof, nothing crazy. There’s a bunch of little stuff, but those are most of my major concerns.
So, I’m between a very interesting rock and a very sharp hard place. On one hand, it would make life affordable. We wouldn’t be paying rent anymore. Lauren could get a new car. I could pay off school loans and we could save for a real house of our own. On the other hand, there is a lot of work to be done, a lot of downsides and life would be hard for at least a couple years.
This is definitely something that’s going to need to be discussed at length before I decide on anything.
by Matt | Dec 18, 2007 | Friends and Family, Games
My good buddy Dane just called me last night and told me he was setting up his new 360 as he spoke. That’s one more for Matt’s 360 army. I’m going to institute a Wednesday game again if it friggin kills me. He also picked up Call of Duty. Once my brother gets online when he gets back to college, that’ll make five close immediate friends who all have a 360 and CoD4. That’s never happened before. You guys are the ones with the new console, but this is like Christmas for me. The closest I’ve come is 3 of the TCC members having Gears of War, but there was just something about it that didn’t lend itself to casual gaming. Now we’ve got a real shot at some fun.
So, listen and repeat after me and probably to your wives/girlfriends:
“Wednesday is my game night. I play video games with “the guys” on Wednesday. I work hard and deserve some game time. Wednesday is my game night”
Just keep repeating that to yourself until it sinks in.
Chip’s on the verge, Matt is considering one as well. Now all we need is Chris and our team will be complete. lol.
by Matt | Dec 14, 2007 | Personal
As I sit here with my warm cup of morning goodness, checking my various daily websites for fresh content nuggets, I’m relieved that my week alone in the office is coming to an end. My boss(es) have been out of town on business and I was left to manage the office in their stead. I’ve done my best and have kept the work moving across my desk at a steady pace. I think I’ve actually gotten more done this week than I have in the past month or two. I am, however, ready to stop being the secretary / manager / accountant / mailing dept / art dept / photographer. I don’t mind the last two, but the rest really aren’t in my skill set. Don’t get me wrong, a monkey can label and ship out a package or print off an invoice, but I really don’t enjoy taking orders from point A to Z. I’m not sure anyone does or would.
On top of that I had to photograph a Christmas party on my own last night and another one tonight. Luckily the boss, though jet lagged and possibly cranky, will be with me, at least for moral support.
Completely changing gears, I was curious as to what everyone else was wishing for for Christmas? Just out of complete and blantent curiosity. It’s not like I have the money to get anyone the present of their dreams. Sorry guys. I’m just curious what games, gadgets and gizmos you have on your list this year. If you don’t have a list, or aren’t really sure, then what are you looking forward to in the coming months?
Personally, there’s a game or two in Jan/Feb that looks interesting. Frontlines (demo now available on XBLM) looks kinda cool. Army of Two, the new Brothers in Arms, Burnout Paradise, and Kingdome Under Fire: COD all look kinda strong.
Anyway, I should get back to work. Still a lot to do to get ready for the shoot tonight, then it’s a non-stop rollercoaster of crazy this weekend as we have 3 Christmas parties in a row, followed by helping someone move to a new apartment on Monday. Ah, the fun never stops.
Matt out.
by Matt | Dec 11, 2007 | Games
One thing I value ahead of all else is style. I say that with italics to emphasize the need for it. I collect things with style in my personal life. I have a collection of Kenneth Cole watches, not because they are good watches (which they are), but because they all have a distinct retro, 50’s vibe that I really dig. I have old baseball art work (Ted Williams drinking a Moxie), old movie posters (original Casablanca poster) and retro style clothes. I don’t really know why. I just really like the look and the feel. There’s something tactile about it all. Something real. Anyway, I’m rambling. What I really wanted to mention was that I found a whole plethora of art work right up my alley. Check this stuff out…
The Valve Store.
Man, those guys at Valve have an awesome art department.
by Matt | Dec 11, 2007 | Games
There’s a lot of things I don’t fully understand in this world. String theory, quantum mechanics, what the fuck the appeal of Fanta is, and so on. What I can’t understand the most is why good ideas become horribly crappy over time. This mostly involves the “movie trilogy paradox” and the “franchise game problem”. Why do the second movies in trilogies suck? Why is Madden (insert current year) never as good as Madden (subtract 5 years). Why do marketing departments constantly tell us that the latest iteration of something is the “best ever”? Obviously the latest Ford Mustang is not as awesome as a classic Mustang. Any car collector on the planet will tell you that. This theory follows in nearly every category of popular culture, at least, until the next one is made. Of course, it’s all relative if you look at the larger time lines. The 2007 Ford Mustang may very well be making up for the horrific 1980’s Mustang. Maybe National Treasure 2 won’t suck. Maybe EA Games “Battlefield Bad Company” isn’t the most ripped off idea of the century.
About that…
I doubt any of you guy care, but it irked me to see the new trailer for BF:BC. It’s a complete and total rip off of the classic war movie Kelly’s Heros. If you don’t believe me, take a look.
What on earth could possibly influence a company to single handedly kill off a major gaming franchise AND rip off an old movie plot at the same time? Not only did they bastardize Battlefield 1942 into it’s ugly step sisters BF:Vietnam and BF2, but now they’re killing the one things Battlefield had going for it… the fucking battlefield. They’re taking a new engine that shows a lot of promise and creating, given their track record, a crappy single player game set in war torn Europe. Wow. Way to be really 2001.
Maybe they’ve realized that they’ve been beaten on all fronts and they’re not sure what to do next. Call of Duty has completely trumped them in both the “modern combat” and multiplayer categories. Their former, and now disgruntled, employees are creating what will be the next level of “squad” combat games. People are no longer interested in WW2 combat games, so they can’t really go backwards in time, and their horrible cluster-fuck of a futuristic game, BF2142 received horrible reviews from players and the media alike. They are in deep deep crap and they’re trying to keep their heads above water. By the time the new game ships next year, there will be a dozen games, on a dozen engines that look as good if not better than theirs, so they can’t even fall back on technology.
It’s really sad when you see a franchise dismantle itself as it tries to stay a float. It’s a definitely George Lucas style problem. You had something so awesome that everyone hailed for its innovation and entertainment. Then you try to out do yourself. You fail. You switch gears and try something else. You fail again. You kinda sorta listen to your fans and try something completely different. You fail a third time. Now what do you do? People love your original work but can’t stand your newest stuff. In the case of old George, really the only way to save himself is to make Episodes 7-9, and to bring it back to the way it was, good vs evil, some sword fights and that’s it. None of this deep emotional conflict bullshit. Sword fights and space ships George, that’s what we want. EA, same goes for you. We want a WIDE OPEN game with a shit ton of vehicles, features, stuff to do and we don’t give one single damn about unlocks, achievements and tactical satellite bullshit. Bring it back home fellas, it’s the only way to save yourselves.
It’s that, or people will move on. In some cases it’s already too late. In some cases we had forgiven you of your “sequel sins” when you rocked us with a third installment. So, ask yourselves, is Indy 4 really necessary. Was Die Hard 4 somehow an improvement? Does Bad Company bring anything we haven’t seen already?
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