Heroes Season Premiere and Episode 2

I apologize for the delay in this. Cubs baseball took up a lot of my time and resources last week. I also threw in a little of last nights episode which has lead to this whole post being horrible cobbled together.

I felt the same way about this season premiere as last season's series premiere. That is I wasn't in love with it, but I saw promise. I chalk that up to Tim Kring the show runner. I don't think he's that great of writer. I'm certain he's a great showrunner, but his episodes always feel stilted to me. Episode 2 flowed much better even though it was basically more of the same information from episode 1. My concern is that the departure of Bryan Fuller, who created Wonderfalls and Dead Like me will really hurt the show. He moved on to the TV show Pushing Daisies.

Unfortunately, many of the storylines didn't grab me. The Hiro story being the best example. Hiro meets his childhood hero in Kensei, who turns out to be some British lug. What? You mean Hiro now has to turn Kensei into the hero he believed him to be? This wouldn't happen to include Hiro having to pretend to be Kensei would it? We haven't seen this a million times have we? I love the Hiro character, but I hate how this storyline has begun. The discovery that Kensei has the same healing abilities as Claire was a nice find.

I don't mind the murder mystery of Hiro's father. Still would've liked to have seen what his superpower was. The storyline that someone is out to kill the previous generation of Heroes because of their mistakes is intriguing though nothing new. It certainly leads to discovering who these people were and adding to the Heroes mythology. I also like the symbol drawn on their photo and it being discovered in random places. It's just creepy. I do question the fact that Parkman though he just signed up with the NYPD is now the secondary investigator in a high profile murder. I did like Ma Patrelli yelling for Parkman to get out of her head during the questioning. I also liked her being attacked, but I hope they don't kill her. Once the attack began I kept wishing don't kill her, don't kill her. She's too good of a character. I would also like to find out what her super power is. Parkman has become somewhat of a badass now. He shoots first and asks questions later in NYPD hostage training sessions. He breaks windows with chairs.

I would also like to know what is going on with Nathan and mirrors. I do love his beard though. Why hasn't anyone said anything to Nathan about his forfeiting the Congressional seat he won? Nobody has said a thing to him.

Parkman My Two Daddying it with Mohinder and Molly is ok. I'm finding Molly annoying quickly. The mystery of who the big bad guy keeps me somewhat invested. Though couldn't the drawing of her nightmares be a little more frightening. They just didn't invoke the fear of dread it should have. I guess she's just a crappy doodler.

Mohinder didn't bother me as much. I still don't buy his tough act. I also don't believe that he's the best person to infiltrate "The Company." I understand that what he knows would be important to the "The Company," and therefore would still try to bring him into the fold. I just think he'd buckle once they found out he was trying to take them down along with HRG. I liked the Haitian reveal in episode 2. Still would like to know how HRG and Mohinder know what is going on with the "The Company."

I hope the storyline of HRG and his family still trying to live normal lives moves along quickly. We've already seen this storyline last season. The wrinkle that the whole family knows what is going on isn't enough of a wrinkle. Is working at a Kinko's the best hiding place for HRG considering is previous cover was working for Primatech Paper? What happens if he has to attend a convention with paper suppliers? I did love the judo finger move. Is that his superpower?

On to Claire who once again is stuck being an outsider in high school. At least her parents gave her a new Nissan Rogue! Though sadly stolen in episode 2. I do like that she wants to push to see how far her powers go. Though I would think walking up to an nuclear exploding man and sticking a needle in him would be a nice physical limit that's already set. She does though seem to accept her power now and wants to use it help people. Perhaps the creepy flying voyeur and her will become a superhero duo. I hope not. I hope he ends up becoming evil, or slightly bad at least. Sylar can't be the only person with super powers that uses them for evil.

By the way Sylar better show up in episode 3. As should Niki/Jessica and her family.

The two new characters are ok. The ying and yang twins from South America. One kills and the other heals though the girl the kills ala X-files black oil doesn't do it on purpose. I'm saying now she is going to be the one that kills the main bad guy of this season. They basically gave that away in episode 2.

Finally we have Peter who is still alive. But we already knew he would survive. How is it Nathan is still alive is the bigger question? So Peter is found handcuffed in a shipping container in Ireland. He has amnesia (ugh). He does at least find out his name in the second episode. He also seems to have gained a couple extra super powers. Again all will be answered in the "Four Months Ago" episode. Except for the Hiro storyline because that picked up right where we left off last season.

So after two episodes we have a decent start. Just like last season, it will probably take another two or three episodes for it to get rolling. I'm also looking forward to the "For Months Ago" episode that is certain to happen.

Why Madden Frustrates Me

This can probably apply to all video games, but it begins and ends with Madden. It is called the "No F-ing Way Game." Those who play Madden know what this is and there are numerous terms for it. I'm sticking with "No F-ing Way Game" because that is what I always yell when it happens. The worst example I have happened last night. I was six games into my franchise season as the Buffalo Bills. I was also 6-0. I can't score a lot of points, but my defense is an expert at the bend but don't break. So I'm playing the Ravens last night. I pull off a great 35 yard run for a TD. I'm feeling pretty good. Then the Ravens score a TD where the running back broke about six tackles and goes in for the TD. Alright, that's fine. I can handle this. On the ensuing kickoff, my return man fumbles the ball and it is run back for a TD. Now, I'm a little miffed, but I can come back. On the next ensuing kickoff my return man fumbles again, they return it to the two yard line, and score another TD. Now, it is taking all the self control in the world not to hurl the controller through my window. Still, I'm confident I can make a game at this. On the next ensuing kickoff, you guessed it my return man fumbles again and they return it for a TD. Madden has once again made sure there is "No F-ing Way" I'm winning this game.
I do though get within ten, and intercept a pass into the flats. I even run that interception back for a TD, only to have it called back for clipping. Which is again ridiculous. There is no reason for clipping on that type of interception because there is no one that needs to be blocked.

This is my problem with Madden. It always feels like you are playing against a stacked deck. You can dominate, but the game will always rig things every now and then to humble you. Do you want to try to score before the game ends even though you are leading because you want to practice your two minute drill? The game will punish you for that. You will not be allowed to run up the score. You will not be allowed to do anything out of the norm for a football game. It is you against the machine, and the machine holds the power. Yet, I keep coming back.

Ramblings (Updated)

The Cubs are in the closest race for the playoffs this season, and there is little to no national TV coverage. Can't WGN work a deal with Comcast so they can air more than two games a week? Why doesn't ESPN have a deal to show games during tight races? What Cubs fan across the nation isn't going watch? Man, my nerves are already shot. That Houston series nearly killed me.

In the latest issue of ESPN the magazine, Bill Simmons wrote a piece on saving Friday Night Lights. He praises it better than I did in my plea. ESPN.com finally put up the article. You can read it here

A week and a half till Halo 3 and the season premiere of Heroes.

A month and a half till Guitar Hero 3.

This year has clearly been brought to you by the number 3.

I've been battling myself over buying NHL '08, but I don't think it would be the same playing a hockey video game without Jiff.

iPod classic or iPod touch? Reading that Apple stores received the iPod touch early, I almost bought one...almost. This current control I've been showing over my impulse purchasing has impressed even me. I think it's that thought of the impending writer's strike?

I know I've been told that we won't care about such things, but I want to know answers to some of history's mysteries when I get to heaven. And, I don't mean Easter Island statues or Stonehenge or even Area 51. I mean I want to know those, but I'm more interested in who killed Hoffa and where is he buried? I'd like to know who Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac was.
Where did D.B. Cooper go after he jumped out of that plane? Who killed the Black Dahlia? Things like that. I'd also like to know who wrote those dirty poems to Susan Rice and put my name on them. That still bugs me.

Tottenham Spurs plays Arsenal this weekend. Again this is like OSU vs. Michigan only with more hatred in the fans hearts.

It's taken me longer to come up with a review for Bioshock than it took me to actually play the game.

I really enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma, though the turn in the story still doesn't seem rational.

It Was the Animation from Sesame Street that Always Stuck with Me

12!

An Adventure of Independent Brad (Mandy, Your Residual Check Is In The Mail)

So I stepped out of my comfort zone Saturday. Awhile ago, I signed up through my church with the Reading to Kids program. I figured because it was a once a month thing, and was just reading to kids that it was something I could handle. As the day approached though I began realizing what I'd committed to. That is waking up at 7:45 in the morning on a Saturday to spend three hours with a bunch of complete strangers. Flop sweat. So Saturday came, I crawled out of bed, and drove in a daze to the school near downtown. I walked into the auditorium and gave my name. Now I've been considering tinkering with being called Bradford rather than just Brad. Not a full implementation where I would require it, but it'd be fun to see in a couple years the differential between who calls me what. For example, it seems like everyone older than Anne Marie calls her Anne Marie. Those her age or younger call her Anne. Anyway, I went with Brad on the name tag. I'm clearly still unsure on where to go with this name thing.

They assigned me to the second graders which I thought was a perfect fit. Also, the book selection was Fog and Toad are Friends. Frog and Toad are Friends! I could've recited this book. Being a new guy, I was paired up with veteran. My original partner never showed, so I was partnered up with what was basically Neil at the age of 65. I realize I just referenced a person that only Ben I would know, but it fits. Wait! Jennie knows Neil. Actually, the only slight negative I had was my partner. He was a nice enough guy. It's just he was a little scatter brained, a little tightly wound, and he took the best stories. He stuck me with the worst story in the book! For those familiar with Frog and Toad, it is the story where Frog is not feeling well and Toad tries to come up with a story. (SPOILER ALERT!) It basically ends with Frog reciting as a story what Toad did to try to remember a story. So the last half is just you reading again what happened in the first half.

After reading it was time for crafts where they had to make frogs. Yeah, I know. It's not the most creative but my partner wasn't really up for discussing alternatives. Luckily, the kids were creative enough on their own to go outside the box. One girl just decided to screw the whole frog thing. She wanted to make a manta ray. My personal favorite Manuel made his frog with it's own head, a hole for a stomach, and a cape. All the kids were great. Sure their attention span was around 10 minutes tops, but their second graders. They were also very well behaved and respectful. They also clearly loved that this opportunity was made available to them.

The real moving moment though was meeting their parents. I spent two hours reading and helping them cut construction paper, and the kids were adamant about me meeting their parents like I was some their new best friend. And the parents were so thankful. They made such a point to thank us. I admit I got a little emotional having parents pulling me aside, shaking my hand, and thanking me.

That ended the day. It's such a nice contrast outside of the normal LA world I wade through. So my independent adventure was a rousing success, and I've already signed up for next month.

My Fingers Hurt

So in less than two months the rock gods will descend from the Mt. Power Chord and bless us mortals with Guitar Hero 3. The anticipation is building. Co-worker Dominic asks at least once a week when the game will be released, and I'm sure bobby is at least slightly anticipating my purchasing it when it is released. 46 of the songs have been announced, and some videos have hit the net. Which brings us up to the reason for this post. One of the bonus songs is a song by Dragon Force called Through the Fire and Flames, and word was going around that it will be nigh unto impossible. Then awhile back a video came out, and my heart sank. I think I'm pretty decent at the game. I mean I struggle through the expert setting, but still...this is ridiculous. I think carpal tunnel syndrome can set in just watching this. The thing is the video doesn't even show the solo part, which can be witnessed near the end of the music video. I do wonder about those kids that play this game and can complete songs like this. Are they seriously going to be paying for it down the road? What are there fingers going to be like after years of playing Guitar Hero?

July & August Heavy Rotation

Because of a lack of "new" songs in July, I decided to combine July and August for a heavy rotation. The list contains everything from dance rock, to indie rock, to rock with some other genres thrown in. A little bit of everything for everyone or no one.

Life Lesson #729

No matter how much you might be craving them, do not eat hot wings after midnight. I think my stomach just hatched a Gremlin.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Whooo!

Appalachian State 34

Michigan 32

Just a Little Heads Up

Since nearly everyone who reads this blog sees organized sports as an example of the hell this world is going to, I'd thought I should make you aware of what will be happening the next month and hopefully the month after that, and if really really lucky a couple weeks into November. You see, with a month left in the regular season, the Cubs are currently 2 ahead in their division. That means I will most likely be slightly agitated and tightly wound till the season is over or it's clear that the Cubs have no chance of winning. So what should you as caring friends and family members do? Don't ever ask or talk about the Cubs unless I happen to bring them up in conversation. Now you could probably get away with saying "Nice win today!" if you perhaps saw the Cubs did in fact win that day, but that's about it. Do not do what my co-worker Dom did today in asking why the Cubs are falling apart. Then go into a rant on how the billy goat curse is coming back. I was almost arrested for attempted murder with an HP deskjet. Mind you this is the same guy who made a joke about the Cubs blowing it during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. I still hold it against him. I also suggest checking to see if a Cubs game is on before you call, or decide to simply drop by if you live in town. It could save you some time. Bob gets a clearance on this because being a baseball fan he understands. He fully comprehends what and what not to say. As stated this will last till the end of the season, Sept. 30th. Now if they make it to the playoffs clearly this will last till they are eliminated. I apologize for the inconvenience. If you want someone to blame you can blame Dad, aka Ike, aka Mr. Iten, aka Hey, you. Thank you for your time.

I Beg of You!

It's not often I ask something of you few readers who are still around. This time I'm going to. On Tuesday, the first season of the best shows on television was released: "Friday Night Lights" I know I raved about the show in previous posts, but it clearly didn't make much of an impact. I know the idea of watching a show about high school football in Texas doesn't sound appealing. Trust me it's more than that. I'm not asking you to buy the box set or anything, just please Netflix it. Give it five episodes, and I'm certain you will be hooked. Once hooked you have till early October, when the second season begins, to catch up on all the episodes. Then you will tell your friends about this great show they've been missing out on. Then it grows from there, and maybe we can keep this show on a couple more season. Just try it, for me, please? Even bobby was intrigued with what he saw of the show. Bill Simmons on ESPN.com calls it "the greatest sports show since The White Shadow."

ROCK!

So Saturday I went and hung with Anne Marie, because I can easily do that now. We can now hang out any time we want. Any time! We went and had lunch. We saw Stardust, which was...um...cute. This really is only slightly related to the topic of this post. I state this for other family members who are looking to further their education as an example of some of the fun that could be had if you went to one of the universities in the LA area *cough Mandy cough* . Or even for those looking to enroll to a University only about six hours away *cough Ben I. cough* it would be great to have you on the same coast and available for a nice long weekend visit. I'm just saying.

Back to topic. I've been in ROCK mood the last few weeks, and I blame this on Guitar Hero. This has lead to making room on my Nano for more AC/DC, Stones, Priest, Motorhead, etc. I've also been looking for more obscure "classic rock" bands. Much like when I stumbled across the band UFO awhile back. This leads up to this weekend when Anne and I went to Amoeba. After much searching after mind blanking on their name, I picked up a Hellacopters album "Grande Rock. They aren't really that obscure, but the other album I picked up is. The group is called Starz. Yes, that is a "Z" at the end. Anyway, I picked up their anthology as a sampler. Man it feeds that classic rock need I currently have. With such songs as "Cherry Baby," "Boys in Action," "Rock Six Times," and "Detroit Girls" it's amazing that their only semi-hit was Cherry Baby. I would also like to point out that they deserve a little credit for praising Detroit Girls as the greatest girls in the world, because I would've never placed the greatest girls as living in Detroit. California girls? That's not surprising. Southern Girls? That's easy. Detroit? Who knew? Thanks you Starz.



I'm also including Hellacopters "The Devil Stole the Beat from the Lord" because it's a great title and a great song.



One more thing, why don't the Guitar Hero games include more obscure classic rock bands like Starz, and UFO? I appreciate that they give a bunch of current unknown bands a shot in the unlockables. But, why not throw in a few of these older groups so they can be rediscovered?

Hey, sprechen ze talk?

Last night, HBO was showing Die Hard in glorious HD. It took a lot of will power not to watch the whole thing. Many people have gone on and on about the greatness that is Die Hard. From Bruce Willis to Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber to how the movie began a new genre in the action thriller movie, it's all been said.

I watched a couple scenes last night. The first scene was when McClane first sees his wife. The slimy co-worker Harry Ellis then makes a big deal about Holly showing the Rolex the company gave her as "A little token of our appreciation for all her work."

After that scene I thought the Harry Ellis character never gets enough credit in Die Hard. Isn't he the perfect caricature of the 80's corporate yuppie. "Hey babe, I negotiate million dollar deals for breakfast. I think I can handle this Eurotrash." He puts American Psycho's Patrick Bateman character to shame. Also, he's the perfect "victim" that's so slimy the audience cheers when the villain kills him? Sure he's only in the movie for all of four scenes, but Die Hard wouldn't be Die Hard with out you. Here's to you Harry Ellis."Hans? What am I a method actor? Put away the gun this is radio not television."

"Hans, bubby, I'm your white knight!"

Happy Birthday Jaime!

Why Must the Gaming Gods Torment Me?

I post about all the games I'm looking forward to. I'm four days away from Bioshock coming out. I come home. Red Ring of Death! That's right I have my second occurrence of the Red Ring of Death in less than a year. Thank you Xbox!

Oh Glorious Pixels!

Much like sports, there is a video game off-season which occurs during late spring and summer. I guess it makes it sense with the kids having school off. There are also conventions like E3 which is like the owners meetings for sports leagues. It is basically a very sparse time for new games. There might be one or two that come out that might be worth picking up (i.e. Overlord) but usually it's where bad games are dumped in the hopes that the desperate gamers will pick it up simply to play something new. Wise gamers though know not to fall for that. They know that during the off season is when you put aside your budgeted video game funds in preparation for the video game season. Around mid-August the video game season picks up again. It usually always begins with the new Madden game followed by a slew of games for the Holiday season, and then a few more during those cold winter months of the new year.

This season is actually looking to be one of the bigger seasons. I've got my list to thirteen games that will be released between now and Christmas that I'm either instantly going to purchase, or have a strong interest in. Warning: Some of the videos have some strong violence. Stranglehold being the worst of the lot.

The List:

Is probably my most anticipated title of the year. Any game that claims Atlas Shrugged as a major influence is clearly not your average first person shooter. This game has me expecting a game of the year spot at my end of the season list.




Apparently a lot of people have played the first two games. Should be worth checking out.










A video game sequel to the John Woo movie Hardboiled? I've played the demo about five times. Is it revolutionary? No. But there is something about sliding down a banister in slow mo and taking out bad guy by shooting signs and air conditioners to collapse on them, and then when you reach the end of the banister you can then jump on a cart and slide along and take out more bad guys. Then tack on a multiplayer where you can do this all against your friends. I'm in. Just a warning Sam. There are in fact headshots in this game.



This game and Bioshock are neck and neck in my most anticipated games this year. Because Bioshock comes out next week, it gets the win. Mass Effect is by the same guys that did Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. I really don't need to say any more.





Yes, in the span of one month two games full guitar rock goodness will be released. That's over 140 songs for me to "pretend rock" to. That doesn't even include the albums that Rock Band will allow you to download. And a wireless guitar! Good grief I'm giddy.



Here's the rest of the bunch I'm looking forward to:

Mercenaries 2: I'm looking forward to being able to demolish everything and I mean everything.

Time Shift

Army of Two

Assassin's Creed

Kane & Lynch

Beautiful Katamari

Half-Life 2 Orange Box

Life Lesson #419

Never have your teeth cleaned by woman going through a bitter divorce.

Is it Time to Pack it in When Sesame Street Parodies You?

Rock N Roll Questionnaire or (Fun with Album Covers!)

See if you can follow along kids with this experiment. Please leave your answers in the comments. If you have another answer, please feel free to include those.

So you are going to take an trip to another planet.
1. What is your spaceship of choice?

A. Boston's guitar spaceship that apparently has the power to fire a blue blaze of rock?









B. Electric Light Orchestra's Simon spaceship from Out of the Blue.









C. ZZ Top's part classic Chevy part Space shuttle from Afterburner.









D. Parliament's mothership from the Mothership Connection. Durability might be an issue.









Now that you have your spaceship you need a someone to fly the darn thing.

2. Who is your pilot?

A. Marc Bolan from T. Rex's The Slider.








B. David Bowie from his Aladdin Sane album. Previous space missions could be a red flag.









C. Elton John's Captain Fantastic.









D. Steve Miller's the Joker.









3. Who is your crew?

A. The group of misfits from The Doors' Strange Days album.









B. The Bee Gees from their Children of the World album.









C. Manowar.









D. Barry and Glodean










Space travel isn't the safest so you are also going to need weapons.
4. What is your killing device?

A. Foo Fighter's retro laser gun.










B. Molly's Hatchet









C. GZA's aka The Genius' Liquid Swords.









D. The big ass gun from RZA's Bobby Digital in Stereo album.










Having a pet could also help ease the pains of space travel.
5. What will you bring along as a pet?

A. The three legged dog from Alice in Chains self-titled album.










B. The metal falcon? from Judas Priest's Screaming For Vengeance album.










C. The goats from Pet Sounds.










D. This ape thing from Fleetwood Mac's Mystery to Me album.










6. What planet are you going to?

A. The land on the album cover of Yes' Relayer.










B. Asia's Alpha album cover.










C. Styx' Land of Illusion










D. Public Enemy's Black Planet.










You have reached the end of this questionnaire. Please put down your pencils and close the book.