Book Review: Ready Player One

Its been awhile since I've posted a book review but after *reading* this one, I had to give it some praise out here on the interwebs. Yep, this ones' an audiobook (thus the stress on the *reading* part). I've only listened to handful of audiobooks in my time and I honestly don't know why I don't listen to more. I'm sure as life goes on, I will do plenty more!

Anyway, I've read a bunch of books since my last review posted out here (yes, physically read them). Books such as Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Hobbit and the Hunger Games trilogy... but whenever I can, I'll download an audiobook to listen to. Aside from the Micheal J. Fox book I reviewed many years ago, I've listened to some great ones in more recent times but simply never reviewed them on my site. For example, both Daemon and Freedom(TM) written by the tech savvy, Daniel Suarez were excellent to listen to. All these books I've mentioned are great books, but the one I am about to tell you about was SO cool I HAD to post something about it.

The book is a New York Times bestseller titled, Ready Player One written by Earnest Cline. It was released/published in June of 2012 and I first heard about it a few months after that (from one many podcasts I watch/listen to). Anyway, I picked up the audiobook version just about a month ago and loaded it in the ol' iPhone. I'd give it a listened during the commute to work or times where I'm killing time between shuffling one of my two boys around. All-in-all, I want to say it was about a 16 hour long audiobook! Maybe the most sad part is the fact that I listened to all of it in my car.

I won't dive too much into the story too much but before I do, the first really cool thing about the audiobook is that its read by the one and only, Wil Wheaton. Yeah, Gordie from the 80's classic Stand By Me and Wesley Crusher from the 90's show, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Today, in this internet world we live in, Wil Wheaton represents everything that is cool about geekdom (computers, games, beer). Having him read this book makes it that much more cool.

The story is about an impoverished teen living like most people do in his time (which is the year 2044) - spending it online inside a virtual reality world called the Oasis. In this world, people work, go to school, play and do just about everything else there. There is a whole economic ecosystem in that world; money is earned and spent there. In the story, the original developer of this world (James Haliday) had died and as part of his legacy, programmed a 'easter egg' somewhere inside the Oasis. The person who finds 3 different keys followed by 3 gates will uncover this easter egg and unlock the billions of dollars the developer has left in his will. Its basically a super hard scavenger hunt that millions of people have been attempting for over 5 years... without any luck until the main character, Wade (aka Parsifal) uncovers the 1st key.

Of course there is MUCH, much more to the story. You can read more here at Amazon.com's website. The reason I loved this story is because it brought together many of the things I grew up with - all being from the 1980's. All things 80's such as TV sitcoms, vintage Saturday morning cartoons, classic Atari 2600 video games and music from the era. Its simply a brilliantly crafted story! Before I wrap this up, I will give you a little spoiler - near the end of the book during one of the last 'Gates' the characters have to go through, they have to solve a quest which is directly based off the Canadian rock trio, Rush album, titled 2112... The way the author was able to tie this into the story was clever and cool as hell.

Bottom line: if you grew up in the 80's and have any interest in a fictional story involving video games and virtual reality, check this book out!

MP3 Scan + Repair

Here's an application for the Mac OS called MP3 Scan + Repair.

This little application is a must have if you download MP3 tracks from the web (outside of the usual sources such as iTunes or Amazon MP3) or are finding that some music files are unplayable on your system. This FREE app basically does what the name of it implies; it scans any MP3 files you drag and drop into the window (or icon) and if desired, you can repair/rebuild the file(s) selected.

What I've found out is sometimes MP3 files get damaged and is no longer recognized as a valid MP3 or sound files. This may have happened during a copy or download. Basically the resource forks (or something) within the file are damaged, thus altering the file in a minor way and making it unrecognizable as a music file.

I use MP3 Scan + Repair on nearly every MP3 file I obtain from an 'outside-the-norm-source' to ensure the files are clean and coded properly. Overall, a very useful tool that I have in my arsenal of Mac file utilities.

Xbox Support = Crap. (a short story)

UNBELIEVABLE. Yep. If I had to summarize my experience late last year with Xbox customer service and support, it would be UNBELIEVABLE.

It all started when my original Xbox 360 took another 'dive' (aka: Red Ring of Death) when I went to rawk on some Guitar Hero: Van Halen. The console/screen/picture simply froze and the buttons and controller would not work. Once I manually powered it off and powered it back on, I got the dreaded Red Ring Of Death. If you recall, this happened to me before as blogged back in January of 2008, so I was really surprised it happened once again. Thankfully, my console was still covered under an extended warranty and was able to get it shipped in for repair/replacement.

During this time, I was able to arrange a buyer of my soon-to-be-fixed console so I could take advantage of a deal for the newer, Xbox Elite system. This console is a nice elegant black unit which blends well with the rest of my A/V equipment and includes a much bigger hard drive to downloading games, content and more. The day I made that Xbox Elite purchase, I made a call into the Xbox support team to place an order for a data migration kit, so I could transfer all the games, gamertags and downloaded content from the old hard drive (which I kept while the old one was being repaired) to the new drive. The order itself was easy as pie. I was told I would have it within 7-10 business days. Cool.

Well, those 7-10 days turned into weeks and eventually over a month! Yes, a month! After placing a call shortly after the 10 day period, I was told the item was on back-order and that I would get one within 5 days or so. "Thanks for the call and/or e-mail on that Xbox."So the next 5 days came and went with no e-mail or notice so I called back in. I was given a runaround yet again; the item was still on back-order and no ETA of when it may be in!

With this botched order along with a warranty confusion/issue on my old console (a whole other story), I had enough.

I took my issue to the interwebs... more specifically Twitter.

I tweeted (a term known for 'a post from Twitter') about my frustration and CC'd a very prominent, social-facing representative and employee of Xbox, Larry Nelson, aka: Major Nelson. (As a side note, I 'follow' (another Twitter term) Major Nelson on Twitter as he often 'tweets' about Xbox news, deals and promotions.) I was truly shocked/surprised that Larry responded back to me almost instantly giving me his e-mail address asking for details on my issue/complaint.

I quickly drafted and sent Major an e-mail stating my issues (both with my botched data migration kit as well as the warranty expiration date on my old console) and within a few days I was contacted by someone at Xbox support! This wasn't the 'typical' tech support person, this was a true customer service representative whose sole purpose was to resolve high-priority and escalated issues. I must say that I was treated pretty good and was eventually shipped out a working data migration kit (it took 2 tries as the 1st data migration disc was in a different language).

I could go on and on and may have missed a few details but the bottom line is this: Xbox technical support = CRAP.


PS: On the positive end, they gave me a free Xbox Elite game controller free of charge. (+.5 for them)

Guitar Hero World Tour!

Ever played it? If haven't, you should. This is probably the best game/toy I've played in many, many, MANY years. Guitar Hero World Tour is one of the latest game put out by RedOctane/Activision. There have been many iterations of Guitar Hero since the first Guitar Hero I. There has been Guitar Hero II, III, World Tour, Rock The 80's, Aerosmith and soon to be released Metallica.

Being a musician, I enjoyed Guitar Hero III (the 1st guitar-based game I've ever played) but hit a plateau after I breezed through the Easy and Medium levels. I found the jump from Medium to Hard level was simply to big and honestly never took the time and dedication to 'learn' the guitar past that level.

World Tour combines the elements of a 'band' into the Guitar Hero platform with a low learning curve.  The 'kit' comes with a wireless guitar, drums and yes, a microphone! With all these elements, it's great for a social/party-type environment. As a matter of fact, within a few weeks of getting this, I convinced asked a neighbor to host a Guitar Hero party...they did and IT WAS A BLAST!

It was all adults and we all took turns singing, drumming and playing guitar and bass. Each person could play at their own level so its became fun for for everyone! There were about of us 5 families taking turns so we ended up playing all night 'till about 1am! Truly a great time.

Months later, I still enjoy the game. I've completed all the songs in 'career' mode on Medium level and am about halfway through on Hard! Some songs are harder than others but I am definitely not getting bored of it. What's even better is the fact that you can download new songs -  so the game stays fresh. My young boys love it and often have their friends over to play on it as well.

Overall, I highly recommend buying or playing this game; the more people the better in my opinion.

Skype

Ever heard of it? If not you should check it out. This is a computer software application that allows you to do online chat, video and voice conversations as well as placing and receiving call to and from land-line phones!

Now some of these features you have to pay for, but the basic online chat (instant messaging) and online video and voice chat are free and the only requirement is the other party needs to be using Skype as well.

I've had a Skype account for some time but only used it while traveling many years back when I worked for Norstan/Black Box (I used it to do voice and video chat to my wife and boys while they were back at home). However, in January, I was looking for an alternative to my land-line provider, Embarq (whom was asking a whopping $15 a month for unlimited long distance calls) and almost forgot about Skype. I happen to listen to a few podcasts that feature people using Skype so I checked it out. I found their long distance plan was a whopping $2.95 a month so I signed up!

Sure there are limitations such as being tethered to your PC but there are Skype enabled phones you can buy which allow you to use it like any other phone in your house; all you need is the internet connection. You could even take with with you on the road and plug it into a friends house! For me a simple headset to my mac is working fine. I've even hooked up my wife with a Windows version of Skype so she can login as me and make a long distance call and not have to worry about long distance charges, cell phone signal strength, etc.

For something cheap and fast, check out Skype. Its a great alternative to your local phone provider as well as VoIP providers such as Lingo and Vonage.

Drobo

Check this out, it's called a Drobo and it's now handling all my backup needs here at home! After nearly losing my main server/drive about 3-4 months back,  I've been keeping my eye out for a easier, simpler and better backup solution. Before, I had 2 tandem external USB drives; one was was for daily, primary use, the 2nd external USB drives was used to backup the first. Backups were done on an irregular basis via a script I put together utilizing Microsoft's Robocopy (a tool part of the Windows 2003 Server Tool kit). Sure, I could have taken it a step further and automated the Robocopy script to run on a daily schedule or something, but I've heard some cool things about the Drobo ( through some of my favorite podcasts Isuch as Tekzilla and Macbreak Weekly). So when I heard the price dropped on the 1st generation models, I scooped one up!

Data Robotics, Inc has put together a nice looking yet power piece of of technology. This is much more than a simple hard drive enclosure. The Drobo can take up to 4 independent hard drives and accumulates the storage capacity along with allocating proprietary space for data protection. The idea of this is you load this up with normal, everyday 3.5" SATA drives that you can get everywhere theses days (like Best Buy or Target) slide them in the drive bays and virtually forget about it the rest! If a drive gets full or a drive dies/fails, simply pull it out and replace it with one of equal or greater size and your good to go, you don't even have downtime when this happens!

It's a bit spendy but still reacheable for most households (It's about $350 bucks). If you want to learn more, just let me know. I definetly recommend this for anyone that wants to store their digital photos, music and/or movies!

Michelob Ultra - Lime Cactus

It's been awhile since a beer review...and that's probably because I haven't indulged as much this summer because of the training and races I've been part of... However, I've hear good things about the new Michelob Ultra beers, so I thought I would pick up some to try. I picked up a 6 pack of the Lime Cactus kind at my local liquor store and was impressed! Flavor was good, not too 'juicey' like a wine cooler or a Berry Weiss, it was a nice blend of beer, lime and cactus essence. If this one is any indication, the other flavors (Pomegranate Raspberry & Tuscan Orange Grapefruit) would be worth a try as well.

As in a previous post, I really dig the Miller Chill. I've had the Bud Light Lime a few times as well and like that too. I put this brew right up there in the mix. The good thing about this Cactus Lime is it has fewest calories calories (only 107 calories) of the other 2 and tastes just as good as well. On my next liquor store run, I'll probably get some of the other flavors (to try of course) but only when I have an excuse... This type of beer could ruin my reputation of being a man, I guess more 'manly' beer reviews and suggestions to come later!

Concert Review: 3 Doors Down, Staind and Hinder

So I got the chance to see a couple of bands that I really like as well as 3 Doors Down. Don't get me wrong, I like 3 Doors Down (3DD) but find most of their tunes kinda the same thing; rock ballads. Once I heard of the show months ago, I immediately told my wife (as she loves 3DD) and we called and snatched up 6 tickets the day they went on sale.

The show actually started at 6:30pm on the nose with a opening band that I wasn't aware was on the bill (Jet Black Stare) and I didn't get to actually see them. I was busy meeting up with old friends as well as getting a cup of the summer nectar/drink called Summer Shandy. We all made it back to our seats on the main floor (about 30 rows back) in time for Hinder. Now I've seen these guys once back in August of 2007 and have listened to many Hinder interviews on Joe's Podhole so I knew what to expect. Not only did Hinder give a great show, they pulled out a new tune that will be on their forthcoming album, Take It To The Limit, coming out later this fall.

After those guys were done, Staind came out. They started out strong but as I expected, they went for the radio hits and mellow tunes that more or less broke the band into mainstream music. I was a little let-down as I remember seeing these guys way back when at those 93X-fest concerts where every tune ripped and they played with intensity. The final encore tune they played was their hit, Mudshovel which really disappointed me. Even though I love Aaron Lewis as a singer, he put no effort into this final rawk performance; he was casually walking the stage, flipping picks into the crowd as he should have been showing some passion into the song to really end the set with a bang.

Finally was 3DD. As far as stage show, these guys definitely put on the best out of them all. Well, when your the headliner and have the whole stage to yourself that what happens. They performed all the hits you would hear on the radio in sync with video on dual jumbo-trons, pyrotechnics as well as a LCD backdrop for the band. The sound for these guys was spot on; they sound just as good live as they do on the records. Crowds both young and old were there to enjoy their near 1.5 hour set. I like how these guys gave tribute to our military on a few songs by showing some video while they were performing songs. My only wish was for these guys to really rip with their heavier tunes; overall just too many rock ballads for me.

The final question: Would I see any of these bands again? Hinder- Yes, Staind - hmm...Probably, 3 Doors Down - Maybe (if the price was right).

Apple TV

OK, I am not quite an Apple fanboy, but I must admit, I am extremely pleased with my Macbook Pro and 1st Gen iPhone purchase last year. So with my Best Buy Reward Zone cash (I got by buying my Macbook Pro from Best Buy last December), I contemplated between getting a new Xbox 360 game or the Apple TV. Well, It didn't take too much thinking (with the thought of me watching alot of downloaded video and podcasts on my Macbook) for me to opt for that Apple TV!

I've had this for about 4 months now and simply sits next to my 42" LCD. Its very slim, (about the size of 2-DVD cases stacked on each other tall) and very quiet (unlike the fan-blowing Xbox 360 that I have). And aside from its sleek look, one of the coolest feature this baby has is the ability to download DVD and HD quality movies for rent/purchase directly from the Apple iTunes store! You can rent movies at $2.99 and HD quality at $3.99. So far I've downloaded a few old school movies (such as Groundhog Day and War Games) for 99 cents which was very conveinien. I could pause, fast forward, rewind and all that stuff. Other cool features are the ability to browse/play podcasts on-the-fly as well as browse and stream YouTube.com videos. All this happens over a wired or wireless network connection!

Overall, the Apple TV essentially syncs with your iTunes application running on your Mac or PC. You can access and play music, music videos, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks as well as look at photos. So far its been a good little investment. There are some downsides such as hard drive space, lack of file formats you can play, but overall I give this 2 thumbs up. I have already been ripping a bunch of my DVD's and syncing them up with the AppleTV... another excuse reason to plop in front of the LCD TV!

Check out more info on the Apple TV here!

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Title: The Dark Knight

Plot: According to IMDB.com - "Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly."

My Review: First off I have to admit, I am a huge superhero fan in general (and I've got the comics from back in the day to prove it) so I tend to like most of the superhero movies that have come out thus far. I own most of the old school Batman movies on DVD as well as the prequel to this one, so I knew going in, that I would more than likely be happy with this movie.

The verdict: This movie is darn good. I agree with some of the critics and reviews out there that it was a wee-bit too long but thought the storyline, action sequences on top of some great acting (mainly by Heath Ledger as The Joker) made this a must-see movie, especially in the theater. Initially I wasn't sure but after thinking about it overnight, I would put this a notch above the original Batman Begins. Characters such as The Joker, Gordon and Harvey Dent make this movie what it is. Sure Batman is what the movie is named after, but these characters make the storyline what it is.

Oh, and I did catch this movie at a local IMAX theater. I've seen Superman Returns there in 3D, so I know what a difference it can make for a big-time movie such as this one. The IMAX experience made the action sequences absolutely phenomenal.

Fat Tire

Attention! I have a beer you need to go get. Its probably my all time favorite brew called Fat Tire Amber Ale produced by the New Belgium Brewing Company based out of Fort Collins, CO. I've been a fan of this beer since a college friend and I made the trip out to Fort Collins for spring break back in '95 (I think).

This beer has only been out since 1991 and has finally made it to the local liquor stores on a regular basis. If your a fan of beer, I definitely recommend you put this on the top of your list!

iPhone!

You've heard/seen some of my 'sneak-peak' posts. You also seen my Twitter posts on it. I've had it for about a week now... I figured I could post my 'review' of it thus far. But first a little history:

With the 2-year contract running to an end with Verizon Wireless a few weeks ago, the time had come to make a switch from my Palm Treo 700w. Both my wife and I were not necessarily dis-pleased with Verizon, but we both had our eye on certain phones we'd like next time around. Mine was the iPhone. Like my post back in the summer of 2007, I've been very much interested in them and constantly hear about them on several tech podcasts I listen throughout the week.

Going to the iPhone was basically a choice between going with AT&T Wireless and using the iPhone 'out of the box' or 'jailbreaking' it and using it with T-Mobile or some other GSM carrier. Well, seeing my better half wanted a Blackberry, AT&T was a option and went for it.

I must say this phone is very slick. It's very easy to use, intuitive, and entertaining to use. I went for the more expensive version, the 16Gb sized version which was the same size as my 3rd Generation iPod that recently died (yet again). I am now able to carry one device that acts as my phone and MP3 player. It syncs all my contacts with OSX Mail and calendar items with iCal. A sweet bonus with this phone is built in wireless for web browsing, text messaging, Google Maps, a weather widget and camera.

There are a few downsides to this device as opposed to my old Palm Treo 700w, but nothing critical. I am truly liking this phone... A LOT!

Landshark Lager

New beer alert!

I heard about Landshark Premium Larger on one of my podcasts, Diggnation, so I went online and looked up their website. It looked cool, sounded like something to try so I did a search within their site to see where the nearest retailer was that stocked it. Cool, there was a place nearby.

Well, I went and got a 12 pack while I was running some errands today and cracked one open with a neighbor over some Papa John's. "Hmmm." I thought it. Not horrible but not too great. I must say its mediocre at best. As far as taste, it says its an 'Island style lager' so I would put it in the category of a Corona/Corona Light, Red Strip Light or something to that sort.

I now have 10 left and don't plan on taking them on anytime in the near future...Maybe they'd go better with a slice of lime... Oh well. At least I have my Miller Chill.

Book Review: Michael J. Fox - Lucky Man: A Memoir

So I decided to download and listen to some audiobooks. Seeing I listen to alot of podcasts and music on my ipod/Zune at work and in the car, I though an audiobook would be something to try out. The first audiobook I've sync'd up with my portable player was written and read by Michael J. Fox called Lucky Man: A Memoir. This audiobook was only about 6 hrs worth of listening and finished it in about a week (which probably would have taken me several weeks to physically read) .

This book covers everything about his life starting with him growing up in Canada (bouncing around from Military base to another due to his fathers career in the military) to his latest life struggles and challenges. The underlying subject line in this book revolves around him discovering, struggling and ultimately coming to terms with Parkinson's disease. There were times during this book that brought a tear to my eye - when he talks about the passing of his grandmother and father for instance.

I learned a few thing about Michael J. Fox. First off I didn't realize he was a big smoker and boozer during his prime. He confesses that he probably had a slight problem during the 'haydays' of the Family Ties sitcom and Back To the Future movie series (which I am watching with my 1st grader at the moment) and ultimately gave up both nearly a decade ago. Overall, this is a decent book. For me it is always interesting reading about someone else's life.

Budweiser Chelada: part I

As some of you may or may not know, I am a fan of beer. Big surprise huh? If in doubt, just check out this previous post. If you know me even better, you know I am a big fan of the Bloody Mary cocktail. Well, when I came across the Budweiser Chelada drink in the liquor store, I had to get one two (one a Bud Light version and the other a Budweiser version) of these and give it a shot.

At first, I tried it straight out of the can. Hmm. Not sure what do think. It definitely had the carbonation of a beer and slight taste of a bloody...So after finishing a snort, I went on an decided to pour it over the rocks, add a twist of lime and top it with some celery salt. It was better, but I am just not sure what to think...

Tune back in for part II when I give my final rating on this odd drink (I need to try the Budweiser Chelada flavor yet).

Book Review: AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll: The Ultimate Story of theWorld's Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band

Aside from this being the longest title of a blog entry, its also been a long time since I've read a book! Sad I know.

I actually started this book while on vacation to Jamaica back in December. This was a big book - 400+ pages, so thats my excuse. The book is a biography of 2003's Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame inducted band, AC/DC. The author does an excellent job detailing (almost too detailed) the history of band including the 'brainchild', Malcolm Young and his more recognizable schoolboy clothed-wearing brother, Angus. I think one of the reason it took so long was the beginnings (meaning the days before AC/DC) took along time to get through. For a die-hard AC/DC fan, this book is for you.

I could go into alot of detail here but if you're into books about bands, this would be a great one to check out. The book covers the early days as they worked through the ranks in their home country of Australia, including the acquisition and hiring of the legendary frontman, Bon Scott, who really put them on the music map. It covers all their early ups and downs - the biggest of course is the death of Bon back in 1980. From there, they go into the Brian Johnson era and the making of the 22 time platinum selling album, Back In Black. The book covers all the albums, tours and personal tribulations they endure all the way up to the late 90's. The one cool thing I liked about this is book is the fact they go through an album-by-album breakdown and some of the things the band were doing, syaing around the time of the recordings. As I was reading, I'd take a break and listen to the particular album I just read about (Yeah I have most of the AC/DC discography).

As I am typing this, I am watching the AC/DC - Plug Me In DVD set. It's kinda funny; these guys played alot of these American Bandstand type TV shows in the early days w/ Bon. You can tell they are setup and staged; some elude to the fact they are lip-syncing! Love it!

Movie Review: Mr. Bean's Holiday

Title: Mr. Bean's Holiday

Plot: According to IMDB.com - "Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two come back together. On the way he discovers France, bicycling, and true love, among other things."

My Review: I'm not much into the British comedies but I kinda like this guy called Mr. Bean (played by actor Rowan Atkinson). He doesn't talk; just mostly facial and physical humor. I must confess that it took me a few night to completely watch this flick (of course that may have been because I was watching this about 11pm at night). I think if you like silly movies with not much else this might be right up your alley.

My favorite podcasts

For 2008, I thought I would post some of my favorite podcasts in case your were interested. For the most part they are tech related shows; some video and some audio only. These are shows I listen to on my iPod/Zune at work, in the car or while working out. The video shows, I usually watch on my computer or Zune.

1. The Tech Guy - Link
2. Joe's Podhole - Link
3. This Week In Tech - Link
4. Diggnation (video podcast) - Link
5. MacBreak Weekly - Link
6. Tiki Bar TV (video podcast) - Link
7. Hak.5 (video podcast) - Link
8. Tekzilla (video podcast) - Link
9. Dinner with the Band (video podcast) - Link
10. KFAN Video Games Weekly - Link

Some of these I'll go into further in the coming months. Make sure to check back!

Movie Review: Shoot 'Em Up

I thought I'd start another type of post; a quick, down and dirty movie review. I don't consider myself a movie 'buff' but I do like to watch one at least one a week. As a matter of fact I hardly see any movies except at home on DVD or through satellite. Well, here's my first down and dirty review:

Title: Shoot 'Em Up
Plot:The title says it all; the first scene to the last - gun shooting. Here's the plot according to IMDB.com:

"A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen."

My Review: A movie I would say is a cross between Sin City and Die Hard: Live Free or Die Hard. The first scene from this movie had me thinking twice about even watching this. I struggled to get through Sin City do to the violence and cinematography and laughed at the predictability and outrageous scenarios "John McClane" had to deal with in the latest Die Hard flick.

Like it sounds, it was dumb. The other thing was regarding the scenarios that "Smith" (who was played by Clive Owen) encountered and got through 'untouched' was absolutely ridiculous! This movie is for someone who likes straight-up shoot 'em type movies. I did end up watching the whole thing but not sure how I did considering it was 86 minutes long.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock!

A nice little b-day gift from my family. Now I have an excuse to throw a party with the guys...It's Guitar Hero III for the Xbox 360!

One of the hottest games to come out this year, the GH3 is a game that allows you to play a very stupefied simplified guitar to some of the hottest hits of the 70's, through today. Basically you have a mini-plastic/play guitar that has several colored buttons on the neck that you press as soon as you see them on the screen/game; those notes are supposed to represent the notes played during a song (After playing it, the 'notes' are a combination of the drum beats, bass lines rhythm or lead guitar parts). In addition to hitting the correct buttons (in-time with the song), you have to hit this 'toggle switch' with your other hand which represents you strumming the strings at the right time.

I've played a few hours of this bad boy and its a blast! I've been playing easy just going through some of the levels and its really fun. I like it because alot of the songs I've actually played on guitar or bass in real life so I know the songs, its just a matter of getting a rhythm and following the screen. I can't wait to bust this out at a party! Overall a solid game.

PS: The real cool thing about it is you can go online and download new songs/albums; there is a small fee but a cool option for down the road!

12/21/07 2:00pm - I just finished the game on the Easy level. Time to pick it up a notch!