Your Thoughts Exactly

So, I'm not busy at work and the NCAA tournament doesn't start for another hour. So I think I'll blog about some newsworthy bits.

• As you may know, the Senate recently approved drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Some people are getting incredibly upset about it; and rightfully so. Apparently our friend Georgie and most of the republican party doesn't understand the word "refuge." To me, the worst part is the horribly flawed logic behind most of the supporters: "if it will reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we have to do it." Well, it won't reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and even if it did, did it ever occur to them that maybe we should reduce our dependency on oil in general? More than anything, I think this is a total panic move by them when they realized 1) Iraq won't be providing us with oil anytime soon, and 2) Gas prices are going up! Oh no! Everyone will support it because people hate paying 2+ bucks for a gallon of gas! Oh well, it's just another in the long line of broken promises made by our government.
• March Madness starts today! I am not quite as assured about the Illini, not because they lost, but just because of their inability to score for long periods of time. At the beginning of the year, their offense couldn't be stopped. Now, it's sputtering along. Still, they've got a relatively easy road. If they just manage to avoid a major letdown (minor ones will still probably get them to the elite eight), a Final Four appearance is assured. And from then on, it's a crapshoot anyway.
• Since I have had a good amount of free time in the past few weeks, I've managed to finish two video games and watch a few movies. No books, unfortunately. So here are some quick reviews:

1. Sideways: B-. An above average movie with a character that you just KNOW was modeled after the writer's life. In that regard it makes it more believable, which is always a plus for a movie. But the characters just didn't do it for me otherwise. Plus, I don't drink wine, which I guess may be a big draw for some.
2. I Heart Huckabees: B+. Surprisingly few big laughs in this movie, but it never makes any big missteps and never insults your intelligence with really stupid, obvious jokes. It's not a hilarious movie, but it manages to be amusing throughout.
3. Office Space: B. I watched this movie at the behest of my co-workers, who insisted it was a must-see now that I am working. I liked it; I'd seen parts of it before. Again, Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill creator) goes for some subtler humor and pulls most of it off. As a satire on 'cube life' it's pretty good; as a movie, it's merely above average.
4. Knights of the Old Republic 2: 80/100. I blew through this game: it was nearly as addicting as the first one; and even though it was almost exactly the same game with a new storyline, it was still a lot of fun to play. And that's more of a glowing review of the first one; because this is merely an expansion pack when you think about it. The story isn't quite as good, the graphics look the same, the characters aren't as fresh, and the gameplay is EXACTLY the same, with one very minor addition. If this game had been released first, it wouldn't have been as good as the first one; it would have rated maybe a 92 as opposed to a 95.
5. Republic Commando: 72/100. Yes, I know, two Star Wars games. But this one is based off episodes 1-3, giving it a big handicap to start off. The only appeal this game has is that it looks and feels a lot like the movies, which is a fun thing, even if it weren't a Star Wars game. Otherwise, it's a standard first person shooter, albeit one with a lot of polish and no mistakes or bugs. It feels a lot like a console game, with a lot of action and very predefined routes. Bottom line is, I would never be playing the game if it didn't have the Star Wars name on it.

• The Pope is out of the hospital. O frabjous day!
• Look for a science/tech post soon. Any requests from the audience?
• Lastly, I would like to public mock my blogmates for not holding up their end of the bargain. Seriously, at this point, who doesn't hate dave and marmar? Anybody? Exactly.

# posted by Stuart @ 10:06 AM