Ghost Coon!

So Winter Break has been pretty uneventful. I've been coaching, shopping, etc. and that's about it.

But last night I saw something pretty cool. Did you ever read "Where the Red Fern Grows" as a kid? OK...remember the part where the kid and the dogs have to track down the "ghost coon"? In the book, the ghost coon was just a really smart crafty raccoon. Well...I saw a better ghost coon last night.

I was sitting in my car near Dev Z's apartment waiting for him to show up so we could go eat, when out of the corner of my eye I saw what I thought was a white stray cat. Wait a sec, I thought...that was too big to be a stray cat...it must have been a stray dog. No, wait a sec, that didn't look like any stray dog I've ever seen. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?

I got out of my car, and stared at this weird, white creature looking back at me. It was only a handful of feet away, so I saw it very clearly, but I still couldn't figure out what it was. Suddenly it dawned on me. It was an ALBINO RACCOON!!!

After a few brief moments the raccoon turned and waddled across the street into some bushes. The weird thing was that raccoons are distinctive animals identified in our minds by their black masks and striped tails, but this thing had neither, so it took me a bit of time to figure out what it was. I'm also kicking myself because I had my camera with me, but I didn't think to try and get a picture since I was too shocked. I've actually heard of people glimpsing albino raccoons before, but it was still really cool to see one myself.

So, if a black cat crosses your path, it's bad luck. What about a white raccoon? Are they like white buffalos, which are good luck? And what about white elephants, which are just names for obscure Christmas gifts? Am I in for a year of incredible good fortune? Fingers crossed...

I also saw "United 93" and highly recommend it. Very eerie, very good film. But it's also kind of unreviewable. Just go see it for it's accurate depiction of what happened to all the planes on 9-11. AND notice how long it took our president to do anything about the situation (the movie doesn't focus on the president or anything, but it's pretty clear again how incompetent he is).

Guitar Hero 3 Wishlist for Santa

So very many exciting and wonderful things have happened to me since my last post, and I truly am bursting to write about them all, but I think I shall refrain...for now. All I'm going to say is that the one thing I learned to do more than anything this semester was be proactive, and I think it paid off.

Anyways, what I WILL write about is something incredibly mundane and worthless, but I certainly had fun doing it. A few weeks ago, as I was browsing amongst the Internet wasting time instead of studying for finals, I came across a site somebody had set up for Guitar Hero 3. The site creator asked everyone to submit their top 50 choices for another Guitar Hero game. Naturally, I knew this would be a HUGE waste of time, so I spent the next six hours or so (at least) figuring out my list. So...without further adeiu, here is my wishlist for Guitar Hero 3. Please note these are not necessarily my favorite songs of all time. These are songs that I think would just be rocking to play in a Guitar Hero game. AND another rule of mine is that no artist gets listed twice for multiple songs. Here we go!

#1: "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by The Scorpions--This has, and always will be, my number one choice for a Guitar Hero game.

#2: "Tribute" by Tenacious D--Another song that would be oodles of fun to play. And dual mode would be great too.

#3: "Rock and Roll Fantasy" by Bad Company--A great song with some great riffs, and an overall theme that relates to what the Guitar Hero games are all about.

#4: Hold on Loosely" by .38 Special--A fun song that not a lot of people would think of right away, but it's one of my favorites.

#5: "Hotel California" by The Eagles--An easy-going classic. How could you resist?

#6: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin--The god of all guitar solos. This is kind of a given, even if it would be slow going at the beginning.

#7: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes--Some pretty funky guitar stuff in this song makes it a winner.

#8: "Naked and Famous" by The Presidents of the United States--One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, and one that not a lot of people would think of.

#9: "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine--What I consider to be the best head-banging song of all time. The only danger with putting this song in a Guitar Hero game would be that I would probably break something in the apartment every time I played it.

#10: "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood--That classic riff. How can you resist?

#11: "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits--It might get a little repetitive, but that riff is SOOOO good. And I love Dire Straits.

#12: "The Final Countdown" by Europe--Granted, the Guitar Hero folks would need to make this one more rocktastic than ever, but who hasn't imagined this song in a Guitar Hero game (it was rumored for #2 for a while)?

#13: "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol--Guitar Hero needs some more 80s funk in my opinion, and nobody screams "80s rock" like Billy Idol.

#14: "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey--True, the song is a bit sparse on guitar, so it might need some reworking. But once the guitar DOES come in it wails better than ever. Plus, chicks dig Journey.

#15: "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi--More 80s rock fun. Actually, wasn't this early 90s? Can't remember...but who cares. Bon Jovi rules!

#16: "Peace of Mind" by Boston--They already did "More Than a Feeling" which was definitely one of my favs from the first game. Who wouldn't want more of the same?

#17: "Teenage Wasteland" by The Who--They need SOMETHING by The Who. I'm not convinced "Teenage Wasteland" is the best choice, but it is a great song irregardless.

#18: "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry--The classic song often pointed to as the driving force behind the rock and roll era. And it's got a great guitar part. AND Marty McFly played it! What have you got to lose?

#19: "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield--You may laugh at first. But listen to the song again. It's got a pretty fun guitar part. And Guitar Hero is all about having fun.

#20: "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse--Great song. Great (and varied) guitar part. Now if only they would make a video game based on the music video...

#21: "Highway to the Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins--Like "Jessie's Girl" this is a silly, but fun, choice.

#22: "Jenny (867-5409)" by Tommy Tutone--More 80s cheese. But it's GOOD 80s cheese.

#23: "What It Is" by Mark Knopfler--A folksy, wonderful, laid back song with a beautiful dynamic guitar melody. Plus, Mark Knopfler is a really great guy.

#24: "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest--They did one Judas Priest song in the first Guitar Hero, but who wouldn't want more? And this has always been my fav Judas Priest song.

#25: "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart--By now you're saying "enough with the 80s!" and I am saying "NO."

#26: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor--Great pump-up song. Pretty rocktastic. Don't you agree?

#27: "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness--Think about the guitar part in this song and then try and tell me it doesn't deserve being in Guitar Hero.

#28: "Heat of the Moment" by Asia--Sure, it's lame. Sure it's silly. But that doesn't mean it can't at least be included in the bonus tracks list can it? Whatever...don't judge me.

#29: "Elevation" by U2--I like U2, but the vast majority of their songs aren't really Guitar Hero worthy. I think this one is an exception.

#30: "Take the Money and Run" by Steve Miller--Steve Miller needs to be included in Guitar Hero, and of his songs this is the one I would pick.

#31: "She's Got Issues" by The Offspring--The Offspring NEED to be included in a Guitar Hero game, and after much deliberation I decided this was their song that included the most varying, interesting guitar parts.

#32: "Rearranged" by Limp Bizkit--A fun song that'll take you back to junior high school, and the guitar part varies throughout. I just hope the folks at Harmonix wouldn't bleep out all the F-bombs.

#33: "Animal" by Def Leppard--I like 80s rock. I like Def Leppard. What can I say?

#34: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana--Guitar Hero II did OK in including "Heart-Shaped Box" in the second game, but as far as rocking songs go, they NEED this one. This is the anthem of all teenage garage bands across the country forever and ever.

#35: "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down--I'm not the biggest Three Doors Down fan, but this song is pretty gosh-darn good.

#36: "It's Been a While" by Staind--Again, good (if slower-paced) song, but I'm worried about the F-bombs.

#37: "Albuquerque" by Weird "Al" Yankovic--Chosen mainly for the ridiculousness of it all. The song is INCREDIBLY long and repetitive, although it has some suprisingly good guitar solos.

#38: "I Want It All" by Queen--Sure, they had "Killer Queen" but is that really a rock song? No. Is this a rock song? Yes.

#39: "Blast Off to Nowhere" by Powerman 5000--Most people probably don't know this song, but it's pretty shredtastic and head-bangin'. Trust me.

#40: "Closing Time" by Semisonic--Sure it's cheesy, but who can resist? I'm not sure this even qualifies as a junior high classic. Wasn't it elementary school?

#41: "Right Now" by SR-71--Another one that'll take you back to before your voice dropped. And it ACTUALLY rocks pretty well.

#42: "Layla" by Eric Clapton--While it DOES have a long piano part that might not be suitable, this song has what I consider to be one of the greatest guitar riffs EVER. I would wind up on my knees every time I played this one. I guarantee it.

#43: "Burning For You" by Blue Oyster Cult--They already did "Godzilla," which was fun, and I actually think "Don't Fear the Reaper" wouldn't work out so well in Guitar Hero (Cowbell Hero, maybe) because it isn't varied enough. "Burning for You" on the other hand, has some great and dynamic riffs.

#44: "Du Hast" by Rammstein--My pick for the song with the most shredding.

#45: "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" by Reliant K--Reliant K did a really fun and rocking version of the Veggie Tales song that would be a marvelous choice for a bonus track.

#46: "Take On Me" by A-ha--At first you may be thinking "WTF?", but let me explain; last year at that party where I was fortunate enough to play the keyboard in the band with Mike Rousselett (sp?), we made "Take On Me" the most rocking song I've ever heard. If they could do that in a Guitar Hero game it would be AWESOME!!!

#47: "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar--A fun, classic song with some great guitar riffs. And it seems to have that quintessential Guitar Hero feel for some reason.

#48: "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet--Not only good because of it's association with "Wayne's World", but also because it's a really good song with a really good guitar part.

#49: "James Bond Theme" by John Barry--One of the classic guitar movie riffs, it would be great to see this get rocked inside and out by the Harmonix guys.

#50: "Fight For Your Right" by the Beastie Boys--Great riff. Fun song.

So there you have it. Now it's up to all of you to criticize and debate to your heart's content. If only a few of these made it into the next Guitar Hero game I would be oh so very thankful.

Oh yes...a few quick movie reviews:

"Stranger Than Fiction" Light, but nice. Worth seeing on a Sunday afternoon with people you enjoy spending time with. And it's got Tony Hale.

"Pan's Labyrinth" Actually, it didn't turn out to be the masterpiece I was hoping for, but that doesn't mean it wasn't one of the best movies I've seen this year. It had a very strong "Sprited Away" vibe, and they didn't hold back on the violence at all, which was a good thing. NOT a fantasy movie by any means, but a very sad touching story about a young girl dealing with the horrors of war. I came close to tears at the end, and that doesn't happen too often. And the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in a very long time. A tentative four-and-a-half stars out of five for this hauntingly beautiful movie.

"Knocked Up" I got tickets to an early screening of Judd Apatow's latest film that will be released this summer (he did "40 Year-Old Virgin"). Like "40 Year-Old Virgin" the film is great in being somehow touching while still containing a lot of gross-out humor. The characters were well-defined, performances were great across the board, and there was quite a lot I found myself relating to. And several of the scenes were truly side-splittingly funny. While it was a rough cut that still needs some trimming, I think this will likely wind up being a better film than "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" once the final version hits theaters.
AND Dalton and I saw David Hasselhoff on the escalator on the way to the theater! Crazy!!!

OK...more introspective posts to come later...maybe. For now, peace out. It's been a wild ride of a semester.