This Just In…
Permalink | May 30, 2008 by John in JB.com
JohnBedard.com has been blocked by the State of Montana firewall as sexually explicit.
Yes! I have arrived!
Alas, SSDD is still acceptable. ::sigh::
Breaking the Addiction
Permalink | May 29, 2008 by John in Video Games
I finally took the Assassin’s Creed disc out of my Xbox360. I completed all of the modules (memory blocks), completing all the investigations, saving all the citizens, assassinating all the major targets and of course, defeating the final enemy. I found all of the flags (several hundred) and killed all 60 templars, due in large part to this site. This is one of my all time favorite games, more than Halo, more than Gears of War and more than Call of Duty 4. Those are all great games, but Assassin’s Creed is still a notch above. I love the look of it, the design, the combat system and I love the tie-in to real history (although not completely factual, of course). My only niggling complaint is not being able to skip cutscenes, especially after completing the game the first time. There are several “achievements” I probably won’t bother with (I don’t feel the need to pickpocket 200 throwing knives). I’ve really got to move on with my life. This game has been all-consuming.
Update: Turns out I only have three achievements left, and two of them can’t be done without replaying the entire game from the beginning. That will wait until next Fall or Winter. The third I can get. It’s called “Eagle’s Dive” and requires that you kill 50 guards with combo attacks. I should be pretty close to that one.
Update Update: I couldn’t stay away. I had to get two of the three remaining achievements. The only remaining one will have to wait until I play the game again from scratch.
Mad World
Permalink | by John in Current Affairs
Is our society that retarded? Rachael Ray-Dunkin Donuts commercial pulled:
Rachael Ray was just trying to sell iced coffee but instead, her commercial brewed up a controversy. Is that a kaffiyeh around Ray’s neck? A kaffiyeh is a traditional scarf and headdress worn by Arab men, but has also been considered an emblem of Palestinian independence and Islamic radicalism.
Prescott 2008, Day One
Permalink | May 28, 2008 by John in 2002 TBA, Prescott 2008, Travel
[Note: I guess my day one draft didn’t get lost after all. Rather than delete it I’ll publish it with the caveat that it may or may not be better than what I eventually included in my trip report.]
I spent the whole day dodging shitty weather. I started out the morning by getting run out of town by a storm approaching from the north. I froze on the way to Butte, where, after an Egg McMuffin and the search for better gloves or glove liners (I found the latter and boy are they stylish) the storm caught up to me and again I skeedattled my ass south.
Monida Pass, at I-15 and the Montana-Idaho Border, was dry but had snow flurries going. And cold! My Gerbing heated jacket liner paid for itself today.
After that I found my stride, my groove, and really rolled on the miles. I made my goal, Ogden, UT (455mi), at around 5:30-6:00, and decided to keep going. I planned on staying in Provo, but then I saw a billboard for a Cracker Barrel in Springville. Sold! And sure enough, there is a Days Inn next door. Tomorrow I only have about 385mi to go to get to Vegas.
I love it when a plan comes together, or even improves!
(Tapped out on my Nokia Internet Tablet from my hotel room in Springville, UT.)
Best Movie of the Year So Far
Permalink | by John in Entertainment, Geekasm
Okay, best mainstream/blockbuster/popcorn movie of the year so far: Iron Man. I’m not going to say it’s better than No Country of Old Men or There Will Be Blood. But for me Ironman is tied for first for the best comic book adaptation of all time with Batman Begins, and I consider it in the top 10 of science fiction movies. Come July 18th it might be a three-way tie with The Dark Knight. DC and Marvel really seem to be hitting their stride lately. Heck I even liked Superman Returns (well, parts of it).
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was okay, not great. A few things bothered me, not the least of which was the age of the lead actor in the context of the actions supposedly carried out by his character and the circumstances survived by the character. I mean I can suspend disbelief on the alien bits, but c’mon, with that many bullets flying through the air, somebody is going to at least get a flesh wound, even accidentally. And Dr. Jones’ participating in secret spy missions against the commies between Last Crusade and this installment? Puh. Leez. Don’t even get me started on the A-bomb test.
Update: I agree with everything in this article.