Letter # 3

Andizzle,

What's going on amigo? Got yer memoirs and man you sure know how to make a bad situation seem not so bad. It still sounds like a shitty situation, but I guess we all have to deal with what life throws in our paths. uhm...so yeah. How bout them Bucs! They embarrassed the Redskins so bad they benched McNabb for the rest of the season! lol They could make it to ten wins just like I predicted. All they have to do is beat two of their last three games! It could happen!

Got some bad news. Elgin's drummer ditched his band. So it looks like it's back to the drawing board for him. That's gotta suck. He can never keep his band together long enough to succeed!

Fantasy Focus. Oh yeah, one thing. lol Adrian from Palma Ceia, every time that bitch sees me she brings up last years debacle. Like I had some part in her not getting her money. lol She even told me that she deserved to play this year for free. LOL shut up bitch! She didn't even make the playoffs, dumb ho. Girls don't know how to play Fantasy Football. eL Oh eL

But yeah, I'm finished in the 20 dollar league. My team was good too, but I made some bad coaching calls and my team lost by one freaking point! I'm so pissed. Big Ben and the Babes prematurely faded away. =(

In the Palma Ceia league though, my 50 buck league I am looking nice. I had a bye week last week and now I play some guy from upstairs I never see. It's me, two guys from upstairs and Chad. LOL Chad's team is pretty dope, but he lost Rodgers this week to a concussion. We were already talking about how we were gonna split the money in the finals. We are some cocky assholes. lol

It's Christmas time. I have no idea what to get people...ever! I just ask them what they want. here's what i got for people. I bought the Force Unleashed for my brother. It was super cheap on Amazon.com. I'd never used that site before. Got the game for 15 bucks BRAND NEW. Also no shipping and handling fees. I got my mom a 50 dollar gift card to Home Depot. I dunno why she likes that place so much. I bought my sister some perfume. Actually, that's a lie. I had bought this perfume for a girl....Annette if you remember her....stupid ho. Anyways, I bought the stuff for her, but fuck that girl and her lying ass. I've been sitting on this stuff for a couple of years now. lol I was gonna give it to Amanda, but she doesn't like perfume. So...it goes to my sister. Shhh don't tell anyone. lol One of my professors gave me a book about Baseball's greatest hitters. I'ma give that to my dad. He likes Baseball and he can read! BOOM! For Amanda...she took me to a store and told me she wanted some green Lantern Converse shoes. I saw them and I wanted them. lol But I got them for her after the store was sold out of them. Hope they fit and I hope she likes em. But...Green Lantern? Word? She's a keeper fo shoooooooooo. Oh and last but not least I got Chris a present. lol He has a broken copy of Super Mario World for his Super Nintendo PLUS he has never played the damn game...EVER! I had to buy him a copy of the game...bang Amazon.com had used ones for like 7 bucks. lol

I told my family I wanted a Wade jersey for Christmas. That or a new computer monitor. Doubt I get either...cheap asses. lol

Anyways, Merry Christmas Buddy. Wish I could send ya something, but I'm sure they don't allow that kind of stuff. Hope they treat you nice during the holidays.

Ravi is coming into town. I told him about you, and he was sad about it. I wasn't even sure if he remembered you. lol Dude isn't as crazy as he used to be, but then again, none of us are....I guess that's a sign of the times.

Oh yeah, get this Gonzalo is such a punk. He doesn't want anything to do with my brother or Casey anymore. Oh and I found out what his problem with you was. He told me that one day when Isabel came over or was coming over you said something under your breath about stealing her from him. I don't buy it. lol Dude has some serious paranoia issues. He thinks my brother is stealing from him, and he think Casey is just no good. lol I think he is losing his mind. All these conspiracy theories are starting to make him question everyone around him. He blamed me for him and Isabel not working out before. lol What a loon.

Amanda got me Black Ops. That game is DOPE! I couldn't kill Castro, but I will.............someday. lol

The Heat are kicking so much ass right now its crazy! It's still weird for me to see Wade and James on the same team that isn't an all star game. You can't defend one of them let alone both of them. And now they are playing better as a unit....beware. Orlando just traded away vinsanity for Turkoglu again. lol What a bunch of morons. But they might get Agent Zero for Rashard Lewis who sucks.

I dunno man. Seems weird with you not around. I hope yer lawyers get you out of there and back into the states. And when that happens you need to apply for residency! lol

But I guess that's all for now man. I keep spreading the word for you, and people keep telling me they are gonna send you letters. Tommy said he wrote one, so you should hear from him soon.

Take it easy, take it wheezy, but don't take it sleazy.

Adios,
Risky Rat

Letter to a Friend

Dear Andizzle,

Hey, man. fifteen minutes wasn't enough time to talk to you, so here it goes. I gave that Veronica your address, so hopefully she sends you some letters too. How are they treating you in there? Are you really caged up with killers and rapist? That's some crazy shit man! I hope you don't get deported. You know you are one of my bestest buds in the world. It would suck to not have you around town to hang out with and make me laugh. Your too good of a person for this to happen to you. Sometimes life is not fair. I've been praying for you any time I can remember. I don't pray as much as I should, but all I want for Christmas is my best bud back.

I guess if there was any good news is that I would come to visit you in Chile should this matter turn for the worst. I hope that doesn't happen, but hey, Chile isn't so bad...I guess? Plus it's a fresh start, and no debt, right? Anyways, I have been staying in contact with Sara so she can give me all the new news about you and your situation.

I dressed up as Luigi again for Halloween. It wasn't the same without my Mario brother to make a funny outfit over the top redunculous. It was fun, and Casey dressed up like a Rabi...so he didn't even dressed up at all. LOL Silly Jew. Gotta love that kid, he had the curly hair hanging down his face and a Bible (or whatever they read)  and everything.

So what is keeping you active in there? Do they let you work out? How's the food? Is there an good news you can send my way?

I got some other bad news, via fantasy football. Your teams are taking dives left and right. I can't seem to save any of them right now. I started Vick this past week. It was a great game for him, he threw up 57 points for you, but you still lost, sadly. My cousin Elgin took over yer team in our fantasy league. He isn't doing much better. He would have won this past week, but he benched Andre Johnson because ESPN told him he was doubtful for the game. What a tard! lol If it makes you feel any better, ALL my fantasy teams are looking to lock playoff births this upcoming week. I just beat Thriller too! Holla~

Well my friend, I have all yer info up on yer facebook, like you said. So it's only a matter of time before people start sending you letters. I've been busy with school, so this letter is a bit late, but otherwise, you have been in my thoughts throughout this ordeal. Hope to hear from you again soon buddy.

Love ya.
Ryan

The BCS and Florida Teams

Another week another round of ups and a few downs. Let's start off team by team.

Florida is back in the rankings. After trumping Vanderbilt, the gators now have a chance to play spoiler. They host South Carolina and the winner of that game would most likely play Auburn in the SEC championship game. The Gators spent the last three weeks out of the top 25 after losing three straight. They are ranked 22nd in the BCS polls. they are also the only Florida team ranked currently.

Florida State is having a rough outing as of late. The Seminoles lost their second game in a row after missing a FG wide right as time expired against North Carolina. They were ranked last week, but with consecutive losses they dropped out of the top 25 with quickness. They host Clemson this Saturday. Surprisingly enough, they can still make it to the ACC championship game in Tampa should they win out.

The Miami Hurricanes showed signs of life last week. With their starting QB and RB out, the Canes managed a comeback victory against Maryland to stay within arms reach of going to the ACC title game. Miami would need a lot of help though. They would have to win their next two conference games against Gerogia tech and Virginia tech and have VT lose to North Carolina this week to have any shot of going to Tampa. True Freshmen Steven Morris is looking sharp and is in a position to start this week again. Jacory Harris has been shaky all season long and is still not completely over the concussion he suffered in the loss against Virginia.

If the USF Bulls keep winning they also might go to their conferences title game. The Bulls manage to win against a good Rutgers team last Wednesday and are back in the middle of the Big east race. They are one out of seven teams with two losses in the Big East. If they can somehow manage to win out, they would need  Syracuse to lose another game and they would be in. They also face off against Pitt who is undefeated in conference play in two weeks.

The most surprising team in the state of Florida has to be the UCF Knights. For the first time in school history, UCF is ranked in a poll. Though they aren't in the BCS polls yet, they are in the, AP, and USA polls. They earn marks as high as 23 in one of the polls. If they continue to win (which they should) they should be ranked in the BCS polls as well. The Knights are undefeated in conference play and beat reigning Conference USA champion, Houston this past week. UCF plays Southern Miss, Memphis, and Tulane to close out their season. Those schools have a combined record of 10-17, and they are all in UCF's conference.

Interview

str and cond coach of notre dame ny yankees la raiders

money attrition  people want to see football at its peak, at its best. less preseason games will make it harder to evaluate new talent

records will get shattered

predicts a lockout or a strike.

players would want more money.

spreading the talent around the league very thinly.

more games could mean ticket prices will go up.

~

He is the current fitness director of the Palma Ceia Country Club who was previous employed as the strength and conditioning coach for Notre Dame's football program, the New York Yankees, and the Raiders when they were playing in Los Angeles. He feels that money is the major driving factor in the decision to add more games. He also mentions that adding more games to the schedule would be attrition due to the fact that the NFL already deals with enough injuries in their current state. Fans pay to watch the best product their favorite team can deliver, and by the end of the season, when fans want to see the very best game available, an additional couple of games could spell a decline in performance due to injuries sustained. He reiterated the facts that players would want more money and also thinks the extra two games is paving the road for an expansion in the number of teams in the league. The talent level in the NFL has a good balance to it, and adding more games along with the idea of more teams would stretch that talent out very thinly. Fans might like the extra two games, but those games would likely mean a jump in ticket prices as well. With the economy the way it is, the NFL should be wary when and how they make these adjustments.     

Pat's Bad Trick

And here's another one based on another one of my friends.

~

There once was a kid named Patrick,
no Hockey, therefor no hatrick,
he loved to fool around,
but made for a bad clown,
and acted like a huge dick.

We nicknamed him Patricia,
he used to be part of a militia,
but he had some bad asthma,
and couldn't rock the casba,
all alone rocking a Vista.

Pat woke up early to life weights,
to impress or annoy those that he hates,
he got all buff and lean,
but stayed sulky and mean,
all alone with no mates.

I just kid about my boy Pat.
whose on the verge of getting a cat,
a pet cause he is alone,
no urge to use his phone,
buying a pussy because he can't get that.

Did I mention he was a fan of the UFC,
trying to box, pretending to be,
loves to throw a punch,
won't ever by me lunch,
because he is a Jew and stingy.

A small glimpse of that Jew bastard,
taking this poem seriously is absurd,
I joke with him cause he is a friend,
I do it to them all, call it a trend,
Leave it at that, it'd be preferred.

Joe's Big Show

I have a friend, and I was bored at work so I made a poem in honor of him I guess.

There was a man named Joe,
who could not find a good ho,
he had a good soul,
but was stuck in a hole,
here's the reason why he lacks dough.

See Joe was a very free spirit,
and the law, he just did not fear it,
but he would always get caught,
for good or for not,
and watched his money go down the toilet,

Now Joe had a mission in life,
to find his oh so special wife,
she would love to smoke,
and laugh at his every joke,
and not stab him in the back with a knife.

Joe also had a big dream,
WuTang called it CREAM,
he would travel the globe,
to discover and to probe,
all the while drinking some Beam.

Now Joe worked at the Depot,
but once had a job as a repo,
at least he had a job,
but now he might resort to rob,
like that one guy named Debo.

Him and his friends were hippies,
whose nights were fun and trippy,
he met a girl while on acid,
but couldn't perform and was flaccid,
his new nickname was now drippy.

Drippy used to have a black eye,
how he explained it sounded like a lie,
he said it was from a rave,
I think he met an ape in a cave,
who punched him while he was high.

A pull up Joe was trying,
At full speed he went flying,
but his gloves did not grip,
he hit the ground like a big dip,
coughing up blood as if he were dying.

And that was Joe's big flow,
a story that all need to know,
his life will always be a mess,
and I must confess,
It's way more entertaining then any show.

So Where Was I...

Oh yeah, Teta had just been kidnapped by the Death Brigade while Ramza and company were off trying to quell the loose stragglers at one of the Brigades last remaining bases. Dycedarg was injured and Algus was removed forcefully from the group after learning of his elitism.

Ramza and Delita are now forced to embark on their second rescue mission, but this one is personal.

Zalbag denotes the area of the last base camp for the Death Corp, so that is the direction the two young friends. Delita becomes more and more detached from the group, due to his growing concern over his kidnapped sister. Ramza is at a loss to try and calm his friend down.

...

On the way to the camp, they encounter a unit of the Brigade led by Wiegraf's sister. Though tough as nails, she proves no match for the fiery Delita and the cautious Ramza. She loses her life in the battle, though Ramza is unaware that she is related to Wiegraf at the time.

...

The scene shifts to Wiegraf and his few remaining soldiers. They are holding up in a windmill, still traveling to the fort they call home. A tied up Teta is among them as well. Wiegraf notices her dark brunette hair color and begins to berate his commander Golagros for kidnapping a peasant girl. The commander acts shocked and proclaims that she has to be a Beoulve because he caught her within the castle square along with Alma (Who is a Beoulve, also the Beoulves all have blond hair.) Wiegraf informs his mistaken commander that she is worth nothing in the eyes of the nobles and that it would be best to travel without her. As he is talking a messenger runs in and informs Wiegraf that his sister has perished and that her murderers are hot on their trail. Wiegraf goes outside to slow the pursuit and tells Golagros to leave the girl behind because she will just slow them down. As Wiegraf makes his exit, Golagros shows his cowardice and proclaims that its better to have a hostage regardless as the scene fades.

...

Meanwhile Ramza and Delita make it to the windmill and confront Wiegraf in battle. Wiegraf is shocked to see the kids that saved the Marquis are the same people that killed his dear sister. Enraged he charges the group, but forgets that his goal was to stall them. Delita screams out the whereabouts of his sister, and Wiegraf confirms his suspicion of her not being a noble to be true. As his fellow Death Corp members fall, Wiegraf regroups and retreats, but tells them that Teta is behind held within the windmill. After the battle Delita rushes inside, only to find the windmill to be abandoned and his sister nowhere to be found.

...

At the almost desolate fort, there are only a handful of Death Corps members left alive, and Golagros is confronted by Zalbag and Algus along with a collection of soldiers. His trump, Teta is his shield as he holds her by knife point in front of himself and between him and the army sent to eliminate the brigade once and for all. Wiegraf is nowhere to be found during this entire exchange. It seems he has given up on his revolution and has fled to an unknown location. Ramza and Delita arrive just in time to see Zalbag give Algus the the order to fire. Dycedarg's promise not to attack the Corp was another lie, and the two friends witness Algus fire his cross bow. One bolt strikes Teta, and to Golagros' shock his hostage falls from his grasp. The next arrow strikes the commander himself leaving the Deat Corp completely wiped out.

...

Zalbag retreats seeing this and leaves Algus to search the fort for any remaining survivors. Delita, at a loss for words is helpless as he witnessed his sisters murder at the hands of the noble Algus. Ramza is also disgusted by his brothers actions and the two friends turn their backs on the Houkoten and attack Algus. Algus is no match for Delita who starts to scorn Ramza for his brothers actions and vows to get his revenge eventually.

With Algus dead, Delita walks over to his lifeless sister. He picks her up and becomes lost in his despair. Meanwhile, Golagros, who with his dying breath had planted explosives within the fort, slowly escapes inside. Ramza notices the smell of gunpowder and begs Delita to withdraw from the fort, but it is too late. Ramza, safe from the explosions witnesses his friend caught up within the fiery inferno as the whole place erupts.

Delita's body was never found.

Ramza becomes a sell sword, ashamed at his brothers political scandals and deceit tries to live the way his father would have wanted.

~

So, that concludes the flashback of Ramza and Delita's past. It is also the end of the first chapter in the story. I should mention that there are four chapters to this story. The next chapter begins from where we left off before the flashback; with Ramza, hired by Agrias to protect Princess Ovelia. If you remember, Ramza is part of the dark knight Gafgarion's unit of mercenaries. There journey is far from over, as now there are more questions then answers left to be resolved.

A Change

I figure that it's time to change things up around here.

I have two different angles with this blog. I have the sports side, and the writers side which is rehashing the story of an old game I played. Both are good subjects to write about, but the blog is getting cluttered with the two and it's hard for me to write about FFT when I take some time off and write about sports. I lose my train of thought and where I left off which makes me go through pages of search to locate what I wrote about last.

So... I made a new blog for the sports stuff.  http://radshadowsports.blogspot.com/

Same website, just a new blog. Who knows, I may add some more pages as I improve on my ideas for the future of whatever I'm trying to do.

Dorter and Beyond

Ramza and his band of rapscallions make it to Dorter and confront Wiegraf, the leader of the Death Corps (or Brigade as I have said in mixed fashion.)

...

Wiegraf escapes, but Algus beats on one of the Death Corps members the team had captured until he reveals Wiegraf's whereabouts.

...

The teams confronts Wiegraf who himself is confronting one of his generals, Gustav. Apparently, Gstav was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the Marquis, not Wiegraf. the two get into a heatedexchange and Gustav lunges at Wiegraf with his weapon drawn, only to get parried easier as Wiegraf counters and stabs Gustav through the chest. Ramza and companying arriving just in time to see Gustav dead on the floor and Wiegraf alone in a cellar with a tied up Marquis Elmdor. Wiegraf uses Elmdor as an exchange for an escape, and to Algus' displeasure, Ramza agrees and Wiegraf flees.

With Elmdor safe again, the group heads back to Igros. There, they meet a surprisingly upset Dycedarg who is meeting with Prince Larg. unbeknown to Ramza, Dycedarg had plotted the entire kidnapping and had wanted marquis Elmdor dead, because he was a support of Goltanna. Again, the nobles were using the peasants to cause chaos in a political level.

...

Dycedarg orders Ramza to attack one of the Death Corps main bases, but while they are away the Death Corp rallies a counterstrike and attacks Castle Igros itself. During the raid, Dycedarg is severely injured and the Brigade attempts to kidnap Alma, but Zalbag rescues her at the last moment. Ramza and Delita arrive, only in time to hear the grim news, that Delita's sister, Teta had been kidnapped by the Corp thinking that she was someone of noble birth. Dycedarg promises to tread carefully because they hold Delita's sister captive, but Algus (who has never shown any care for the lower class) demands immediate results.

Algus starts to call Delita trash because he was born into a lower subdivision of class. Delita punches Algus, who has started to show his true colors of being a snob and prick, born into a label and someone who has no compassion for friends or otherwise, while Ramza sides with his long time friend and kicks Algus out of their group.

The two friends, before setting off to find Delita's sister share a moment as the stars begin to shine. Delita wonders why people look down on him just because of his birth. How is he any different then those born into nobility? Razma, who has both peasant and nobles blood doesn't care about rank or status and assures his friend that they will find Teta and bring her back safely.

The BCS Top 25...

This past week, the BCS, which is some computer program that the NCAA uses to rank college football teams according to strength of schedule (SoS is basically how well they performed against good opponents.) and total records to produce a numerical rating system from the number one team (being the best) all the way to the twenty five spot. Number twenty five does not mean that team is the worst, because there is 120 total teams in college football. These twenty five teams simply recognize those teams that stand out as the best of the best.

The BCS comes out after oh...say seven weeks into the college season. I'm not sure how it works, because it seems to favor some teams over others, but that is not the point I am trying to make. By the way, Oklahoma jumped into the number one spot for the first week of the BCS rankings. They had been in the six spot of higher each of the previous weeks in all the other polls.

Anyway, back to my point.

The Miami Hurricanes are not in the initial BCS rankings. Why not? They are 4-2. there two losses have been against GOOD teams. They lost to Ohio State as well as Florida State. Both are good teams, both are ranked in the top twenty of the BCS, yet Miami sits outside in unranked land. After number 25, it is not known where teams rank, because the BCS and pretty much every other ranking system only goes to twenty five.

In every other poll, the AP, Coaches, and Fans Power Rankings, Miami is ranked. granted, they aren't ranked high, but they are ranked dag nabbit!

Teams like Texas, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State all jumped from being unranked into the BCS top twenty five in its inaugural first week rankings. I find that pretty annoying.

Sure, it's only the first week, and all Miami has to do is win to get ranked eventually, but this is how it always is for the Hurricanes. It seems that they always have their backs against the ropes and that people just want to see them fall.

They play north Carolina this week at night. Butch Davis, one of their former head coaches has had the Hurricanes number as of late. He has beaten the Canes the past three years, but the tar heels are playing with limited talent this year due to some fines and legal stuff with the team and some of the players. A lot of their roster is unable to play because the NCAA has banned them from any collegiate activities.

Miami is playing a beaten and battered team. if they want to get some respect back. they need a win, and they need to keep winning.

Go Canes!

Super Special

Now THAT is how you play the game of football! The Miami Dolphins improved to 3-2 with a clutch overtime victory over the reeling Green Bay Packers. A win is always appreciated, but this one felt that much more special. Why? Because we won it with special teams.

If you remember, before the bye week, the Dolphins had just fired their special teams Coach following that debacle at home against the New England Patriots. The special teams played so horribly allowing a blocked punt, kick, (which was returned for a touchdown.) and a kick-off return for a score. That is unacceptable in the pro levels, and the Dolphins made sure to correct their mistakes.

They took a week off, and it showed in their preparation. Early on there was signs of the special teams falling apart when one of Miami Punter, Brandon Fields' punts was partially blocked. Thankfully that did not result in anything costly. It was mostly smooth sailing from then on out.

Dan Carpenter, last years Pro Bowl kicker, showed his worth as well. He was perfect on the day making all three of his field goals as well as his two point after try (or PAT for short) attempts. Carpenter even had to retry one of his kicks because of a Miami penalty. He made the first attempt, was forced to move back ten extra yards and still managed to kick it straight through the goal posts.

The Packers were a resilient bunch, however and forced Miami who was leading most of the game into overtime with a late TD by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Miami persevered in the end. After both teams had less then impressive opening overtime drives, Miami was left with favorable field position and the rest is history. Carpenter lined up in OT and kicked Miami into the win column.

By the way, this was in Lambeau Field; a place not known for easy wins from the road team.

What makes this win feel special is that the team corrected their mistakes and used that same area that was a concern into the reason for victory. The special teams were special on that day. let's hope that carries over when the 4-1 Pittsburgh Steelers come into Miami this weekend. Green Bay was a team riddled with injuries, and the Steelers are not and set up for a fantastic season. Pittsburgh welcomed back Ben Roethlisberger after his four game suspension for off the field issues. It's not going to be tough, but Miami has yet to win at home this year.

Against the Steelers would be a nice way to start.

Back to the Past

So back to Final Fantasy Tactics, (which I will refer to as FFT from here on after...) you got the tiny little exert from the current timeline. Delita, who was until previously was thought to be dead has just kidnapped Princess Ovelia. That was now, this is then. They flashback to when Ramza and Delita were still recruits in a low level militia for the Hokuten. (which is Prince Larg's faction name) They are best friends and Delita has Ramza's status and fame to thank for his acceptance in the academy they are both enrolled in.

The threat of war breaks out and the recruits are called to duty. (I'm going to have to make up something for the meaningless fights that take place between travels. Some have minor importance so I cannot just leave them out, less the reader be even more confused as is!)

...  <------This will signify a fight of some importance, or those that I remember!

Ramza and Delita with their little army of no named fledglings are quick to try to decipher what is going on and look to Ramza's brothers for guidance. House Beoulve sits at the stronghold of Igros castle. Along the way home they encounter a band of Deatn Corps renegades.

...
*The Death Corp is a small time band of mercenaries and hired sell swords who were thrown away so to speak by the government after the fifty year war without receiving their pay. They turned their anger and hostility to the nobles who turned their backs on them. Led by Wiegraf Folles they execute guerrilla warfare style tactics to weaken and annoy their former comrades.

*The Fifty Years' War was a huge war that gets brought up repeatedly during the course of this story. This is one place where the story turns and praises Balbanes Beoulve for his acts of heroism and bravery. Wiegraf was also a major player during this war, but was considered a peasant in the end and denied his pay for his help. The most storied general during this war is a man by the name of Count Cidolfus Orlandeau. Known on the battlefield as Thunder God Cid, (or T.G. Cid for short.) this is man who strikes fear in any who oppose him. (You will hear more about him later!)

So, back to the story. Ramza and Delita save a man who was being attacked by remnants of the Corps Brigade. This man turns out to be Algus, the sole survivor of a Marquis' convoy. Marquis Elmdor, another important figure was taken prisoner by the Brigade and upon hearing that he is a Beoulve, Algus begs Ramza for his aid. The three of them then book it towards Igros.

At castle Igros, Dycedarg barely looks up from his paper work to address his brother and the impatient Algus. Ramza is ordered to stay in the castle and Dycedarg will take care of the matter. Out in the courtyard, Ramza and Delita share some family time with their respected sisters, Alma and Teta. The siblings take about the war and how the ghost of the past will not give up. Delita believes the Corps Brigade, while not in the right, deserved better treatment from the nobles. Algus, who is an apparent upper class dislikes Delita's ideology. Tension between the two can begin to be seen. Zalbag, Ramza's other half brother comes into the courtyard and drops a hint as to where the Marquis is being held. Zalbag tells ramza to be careful, because he is starting to get involved in something he shouldn't and implores him to stay out of it. Knowing his brother though, Zalbag can see the young Beoulve is the spitting image of their father and cannot allow the brigade to get away with these acts of  terrorism.

The three young squires, with the tip from brother Zalbag head toward the trade city of Dorter.

and that is where I will stop for now!

They Won't Make it Look Easy

Rays lost.

I am still super sad.

So lets look at the only positive I got out of this week(end) so far, and that would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What a great season so far for these upstart Bucs. (I like that word: upstart!)
This Tampa team, who everyone...EVERYONE (except the crazies and yours truly) had written them to the bottom feeders of the NFL before their very first snap. Most predicted them to go 2-14, or at best 5-11. Not me! I have said that despite what everyone said, the Bucs could very well go ten and six...10-6! That is playoff bound usually. That would also make this year a great improvement over last years growing pains and their 3-13 record. Hell, they already have three wins after their first four games. Their only loss came against a hungry Pittsburgh team who looks to be at the top of the NFL food chain.

So, they have already matched their win totals from last year Still everyone doubts them.

Let's look at some of their games left to be played and dissect them individually.

Next week: @ home against the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints. At a glance, everyone would count them out right off the bat. But, the Saints aren't the same team that won it all last year. They just lost to the Arizona Cardinals who are not a good team at all, and started a rookie QB against them... Even if the Saints manage a win, I was not counting the Saints as a win in either game they play, just for arguments sake. So lets give them a L here.

3-2

@ home vs the St. Louis Rams (2-3). Rookie QB, no offense other then Steven Jackson who is running with one leg. Their defense stinks.This game is the Bucs game to lose. W

4-2

@ Arizona (3-2). I've already stated my disdain for the Cardinals and their lack of anything. Easy win hopefully. W

5-2

@ Atlanta (4-1). The Falcons will probably be the hardest team they play and they usually play them well. Again for arguments sake, I gave the Falcons the edge here. L

5-3

@ home against the Carolina Panthers (0-5). That record is atrocious! The Bucs can't afford to lose to this bad of a team. W

6-3

@ San Fransisco (0-5). Another team that is not playing well at all. The Bucs need to beat these teams in order to make people take them seriously. W

7-3

@ Baltimore (4-1). The Ravens are for real. They have a defense that looks similar to the Steelers who pounded the Bucs earlier this season. We will be nice and give the Ravens the win here. L

7-4

@ home against the Falcons again. I said I would give them both games just to make a point. I don't thin the Bucs will give away four losses in the division, but I will here right now. L

7-5

@ Washington (3-2). The craziest team in my eyes this year are the Washington Redskins. Donovan McNabb has given them a passing game finally and they look for real. We will be nice and give the Redskins the victory here. L

7-6

@ home against the Detroit Lions (1-4). Their record is a lie. They are much better then a one win team, but still it is a home game and will need this win after a tough loss. W

8-6

@ home against the Seattle Seahawks (2-2). They stink. Should be an easy win. W

9-6

@ New Orleans (3-2). We should split the series against the Saints. If not here then back in week 6 (this week actually hahaha). So I give them a W here to break even. W

Final record of 10-6.

BOOM!

Agony

I'd first and foremost like to give my thoughts on what now very well be one of the more depressing seasons the Tampa Bay Rays will ever have to overcome.

The season is over for them. And what a season it was. Not only did they top the American league with the best record, but they proved to be formidable against the best teams in the game and even had winning records against the defending World Series champions, the New York Yankees.

However, that celebration was all for naught as the Rays could not get past the first round of the American League playoffs. They lost the first series they played to the Texas Rangers. It was not the prettiest of losses to be sure. neither team could win at home, and Texas took three games from us in our own home field, Tropicana Field.

The Rangers, to give them credit played hard every game, but this was a team who had never won a playoff series...ever. That means in their existence as a pro sports team, they had never advanced past the first round. Well now they have, and it was against the Rays of all teams.

The Rays had a season of highs and lows. They proved to be competitive against the best, but also gave up a few bad games. They were in at least three games that the opposing pitcher posted a no hitter or worse: a perfect game. This outing was no better. Ranger ace, Cliff Lee played a complete game, and not only did he win the first game in the series, but he also closed out the series and knocked the Rays out of the playoffs and off the mountain.

Now the Rays deal with the sad off season that will steal all their talent. The owners have already said they are going to cut cost of the team dramatically, nearly 20 millions dollars worth in fact. With the contracts expiring for some of their pivotal players, this does not bode well for the team.

Here are some of the few players the Rays will most likely lose this coming off season: Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza, B.J. Upton, Jason Bartlett, and possibly some more well known and well loved players on the team. Crawford will be one of (if not) the most sought out after free agent(s) this off season. He is a great player and has spent nine wonderful and very memorable seasons with the Rays. A speedy base runner and a great left fielder, Crawford will be an upgrade for almost any team who has the money to offer him instantly. Sadly, the Rays do not have that privilege. They just do not earn enough revenue and the owners will not spend the money to keep Crawford.

Next years Rays are already looking to be a team on the outside, trying to rebuild after what will be its hardest off seasons to date. Its a sad state, after what looked to be such a promising year.

Last nights loss was a hard one to swallow.

Not Special at All...

UGH!!!!!!!!!

Miami what in God's holy name was that!? I mean lose, that's fine. But don't lose like THAT!

What the crap was that?

So...after the Miami Dolphins started the 2010 season with a great and positive record of 2 and 0, they have lost consecutive games to go into their bye week a measly 2 and 2. That's average, okay, five hundred, nothing special, not a good record and not a bad one, but COME ON!

Monday Night against the New England Patriots better have been a wake up call for that team. Let me explain...

They started off strong. The offense drove down the field and made New England's defense look lost early, scoring on their second possession. They struggled for a bit, but maintained a 7-6 lead going into half time.

It was the start of the second half where everything fell apart. The Patriots started the 3rd quarter by returning the opening kick off for a touchdown. We call that a special teams play. Right from the get go they were down 13-7. The Dolphins offense struggled again and were forced to punt. Again, this is a special teams play. Guess what, the punt was blocked and it gave NE great field position.

Hooray for special teams fudge ups!

The Patriots scored with their short field and made it a quick 20-7 hole the Dolphins faced.

Miami recovered somewhat. They scored a Touchdown not long after and cut the lead to six points. The defense however, would not give us any help this time. The Patriots scored again making it a two score lead going into the 4th quarter. Miami's offense looked poised to get some points on the board and try to mount a comeback, but they fell short of the goal line and were forced to try for a long field goal.

Field Goals are special teams work as well. (No this can't be foreshadowing...)

So guess what happens? The Patriots block the FG attempt and run it all the way back for a touchdown for their own.

That pretty much wrapped it up.

I have never seen a team fail so badly on special teams before.

I think ESPN stated that this was the first time a team has given up a blocked punt, and blocked field goal and a kick off return for a touchdown all in the SAME GAME!

The special teams coordinator for Miami was promptly fired after this debacle. Good riddance I say!

Miami gets a bye week to ponder at their mistakes and hopefully, to rectify them as well.

That was just sad. It truly broke my spirit as a fan of that team.

And the road doesn't get any easily either. They get to play a Packers team out of their bye who is on fire right now.

Yay, Dolphins!

(Let's hope I can get a win from my less-then-stellar Buccaneers this week to help the pang.)

Frustration!

Sunday night was supposed to be one of pure jubilation, instead it ended up as another night a Dolfan would soon want to forget. I need to analyze this game further, the Miami Dolphins loss to the New York Jets. It's hard to imagine that Miami (who gave up 31 points AT HOME) was walking around with the best defence in the league before that drudging. They had only given up 10 points in both of their first two games and then allowed New York's abysmal Offense to rack up 31 points in a single night! ARGH!!!!!

Well it's not all that bad. Miami only has the one loss so far in the season and it is still early, so they can and should (I hope) learn from their mistakes.

I just want to know why the Defense looked so bad Sunday night after it looked so dominant for the past two weeks.

First and foremost I want to call out Defensive back (DB) Jason Allen. How are you going to allow Braylon Edwards to score on you? The guy is a bust if I ever seen one. he is big, sure...but the guy is slow as molasses. Allen lost his footing and slipped which allowed Edwards to run for 87 yards and a quick score after Miami had taken the lead. Talk about momentum killers. There are plenty of speculations running in my head as to why Allen might have fallen, but he was still out of place to begin with since he had no help from the safety. That was his mistake. He also, later on, allowed a crucial reception go to Edwards on a third down play that would have (if not converted) forced the jets to punt the ball to Miami. Instead he does the opposite of what killed him before and allowed Edwards to snag the reception, but this time he had help from the Safety and should not have been covering the receiver so loosely. Edwards caught the pass, converted the first down, and the Jets eventually scored to pull too far ahead for the Dolphins to come back from.

I'm not saying this loss falls entirely on Jason Allen's shoulders, but he needs to correct his mistakes.

The defense in general was playing off Sunday night. I mean, how does Dustin Keller get two touchdown? REALLY!? UGH! Come on Miami...

One of the bright spots in the loss was watching Chad Henne grow up. The dude can flat out play some football. he is still young in his Quarterback maturation stage, but I think (despite ESPN saying otherwise) he is progressing faster then Mark Sanchez is at least.

Why you ask? I will tell you! Sanchez got lucky in he threw a lot more balls that were, and should have been intercepted. He had no picks in the official stats of the game, but that's because his interceptions were called back by penalties or dropped by Miami defenders. YOU CAN'T DO THAT! Don't miss opportunities, you rarely get a second try to cash in on those chances. Miami needs to work on finishing on defense. the D produced tons of turnovers against theit first two teams, but did not collect one against New York. That is not a good stat for the defense. Finish the play.

Did I mention how much I enjoyed watching the offense last week? Cause I did! In a losing effort, the passing game looked marvelous. Brandon Marshall finally had his emergence game for Miami collecting 10 passes for a whopping 166 yards and one touchdown. The Henne to Marshall connection should only build off of this production and get better which will help the other WRs get into the action and most importantly it will soften the coverage in the box (The box is a short name for players who occupy the defensive line, along with linebackers should they play up against a run). No one was fearful of Miami's passing game for the longest time, so everyone would crowd the box with extra men while the WRs would be single covered. that seems like a trend that will end (Ha, I rhymed!) due to Marshall's demand for double coverage on most plays.

The running game definitely needs to improve. Ronnie Brown is running decent, but decent will only take you so far. Ricky Williams has started to have a fumbling problem which needs to be corrected PRONTO! Those are two good workhorse backs. They are due for a breakout game, one of them at least.

I have no idea what to make of their next match up, a Monday Night Football showdown against division rival New England. The Patriots (or Gaytriots as my cousin would say!) have a solid offense which scares me a lot more then the Jets'. So how will the defense look on Monday night?

Only time will tell. GO MIAMI!

(Tampa was on a bye, and I didn't get to see the spanking they received, so i won't comment on that loss.)

=)

An Ode to the Dolfans

Ahem...my attempt at poetry.

~

It is late in 2010,
But football season has just began.
To my delight,
And to oppositions fright,
The mighty dolphins are back again.
With a roaring, robust, and revamped team,
We will surely make the league scream,
In terror because our offense will not stall,
Because now we have a beast in Brandon Marshall.
We have Ricky and Ronnie running the ball,
A devastating duo let me tell you all.
The QB is young, but worth more than a penny,
We have found a gem in young Chad Henne.
The O line is sick and much as it is strong,
The QB will be protected by big boy Jake Long.
Our offense is solid, our defense is young,
The fans we have are the best among,
Vontae Davis, Channing Crowder, and Karlos Dansby lead the defense.
Whether they are good of bad is my only suspense.
The coaches are smart, like Mike Nolan.
 Who will get all up in the other teams colon.
We have Tony Sparano as head coach and is a cool man.
Unlike that punk ass quitting bitch Nick Saban.
2010 looks to be a good year for Miami.
I said it’s the year of the Dolphins, can you understand me!
So even though we no longer have Dan the man,
It’s always a great time to be a DOLFAN!
So if this be regarded as a poem or something sung.
Remember… MIAMI DOLPHINS NUMBER ONE!

Money Makes the World Go Round.

My girlfriend loves movies, but she is so deprived in good cinema quality. She hasn't seen any of the all time classics...like...oh STAR WARS for example. That's a travesty all in itself, let alone all the other flicks she has missed throughout the years.

In any case, I go over to her house every so often and bring a movie I think she will enjoy. Now, they all aren't Oscar worthy movies, but some are comedies while others are dramas that I think she will enjoy.

Yesterday I brought over a movie called "All About the Benjamin's" starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps of the Friday movie fame. Those two actors had great chemistry in the Friday movies, so it seemed obvious that they would make more movies together in the future.

Enter this movie, it's set in Miami and has to do with stolen diamonds and Ice Cube's character who is a bounty hunter of sorts. Mike Epps is a con man who Cube has taken into custody countless times, but both end up getting involved in this diamond heist which then leads to all sorts of craziness. Cube is the brash and bold Dudley Do Right character who just wants to earn a living, while Epps is the comic relief who tries to nickle and dime his way through a day. The two end up becoming friends or partners rather and foil the crooks attempt to steal 20 million dollars worth of expensive glass.

The catch of the movie is that Epps' character plays his girlfriends numbers every day, and on this day the day that he stows away in the villains van, that his numbers are winners. He hits the 60 million dollar jackpot, but upon running away from the bad guys, he drops his wallet. He gets caught by Cube and is going to be sent to jail for the umpteenth time, but he convinces Cube that he has just won the lotto and will split the rewards with him if he can every find his ticket.

So both characters are motivated in some way to solve this case. Cube is the semi-cop who wants to nab the people who tried to kill him, finding the diamonds and making a name for himself as a good detective and Epps wants to go back to the scene of the crime and find his ticket so he can cash it in.

The movie is pretty funny, as I enjoy Mike Epps in most of his roles. Nothing special, but it has its moments where you laugh and it has tons of memorable lines and catch phrases.

Here's one of my faves. Point of interest, food for your brain, Mike Epps is talking to an older black man with white hair who works ay a convenient store.

Epps' character- "The you know what? I'm a start goin' D'Wights 'cause you don't laugh at my jokes or nothin'

Mr.Chef- D'Wight who?

Epps - D'Wight around yo lip!"

Gets me every time.

So Where Was I?

I think the Northern Sky Knights had dressed up as Southern Sky members to get close to Ovelia and set up a surprise attack on the church. Agrias, Gafgarion, and Ramza all go outside to quell the disturbance. They leave Ovelia inside with minimal protection (Que forshadowing here!). Outside they make little work of the few soliders and Agrias finds Gafgarion's tactics to be disturbing. He becomes a demon (not literally) on the battlefield, sparing no ones life. Meanwhile Agrias is dead set on protecting the princess, she just incapacitates her foes. Afterwards they here a scream from within the church. Aw darn, we forgot to protect the princess!

They run inside to see a knight clad in gold armor abduct Ovelia and ride off in a chocobo (which is a huge chicken-like mount). Agrias and Ramza are too far away before the man runs off the back entrance and flees. Ramza gets a good look at the man and becomes disturbed. He identifies the man as his long time friend Delita, which who he thought had been dead for years (more on that later). Delita takes one look back at Ramza before the scene fades away...while Agrias questions Ramza is he knows who that man was.

 This is the setting in the timeline currently. The next chapter in the story takes place back when Ramza and Delita were younger and still best friends. 

So that is basically thr opening scenes of the game. I gave you (the reader) a quick, yet pretty detailed backstory on some of the major story characters. Ovelia is the key to pretty much all the old men's plans. She isn't the rightful heir, but is viewed as the most important puzzle pieces to ruling the kingdom.

Why aren't Ramza and Delita friends anymore? What happened to their friendship? Why does Ramza think delita to be dead? What are Delita's intentions? Who is he working for, and why did he kidnap the princess?

All these answers and much more, when I decide to write again!

So It All Started When...

You know how Quentin Tarantino loves to give you a scene from a movie and then shoot you into a flash back? Yeah, well that's how Final Fantasy Tactics starts off. The scene they give you is that from inside a church on a dark and stormy night! (Creeeepy) We see a young maiden kneeling in prayer, mumbling about how she wishes this world was at peace, and how she wants to find a solution away from all this bloodshed. We find out that this is a Princess named Ovelia. She is probably next to Ramza and Delita, the most important character in the story.

A quick backstory on the princess and her heritage. She is the daughter of the former king who had just recently perished, though it is later discovered she is not the king's true daughter, but was only adopted and raised as such. The king after adopting Ovelia has another child, a boy named Orinas. This causes the nobles to start a split on who should reign should the king (and eventually does) die; Ovelia or Orinas. Two factions eventually form. Orinas's uncle, Prince Larg supports his nephew alongside the queen to become the regent and ruler of Ivalice, and Duke Goltanna who supports Ovelia. Ovelia is the more suitable heir to the throne because Orinas is only an infant (1 year old) at the time of his fathers death. Prince Larg and his sister, Queen Louveria. Thankfully, most of these characters names do not appear in the meat and potatoes of this story, because I know it would get somewhat confusing.

So backstory summed up. You have two sides, Larg who is in charge of the Order of the Nothern Sky Knights, and you have Goltanna who commands to Order of the Sourth Sky Knights. It's Goltanna who wants or shall I say, needs Ovelia for his selfish needs of ruling the country.

Back to the story.

Ovelia is praying at a church. She is hiding I guess, and then comes her body guards. Her closest guardian is a Holy Knight (I guess Paladin in some translations) by the name of Agrias. She has caught wind that Larg's men know of her whereabouts and has bought the assistance of some mercenaries to help transport her to a new location. This is when we get introduced to Ramza. He is part of the mercenaries hired by Ovelia to help guard the princess. his leader is that of a man whose blade is forged with black arts, a Fell Knights by the name of Gafgarion. He is an older man who wears dark armor and is feared throughout the land because of his skills with a blade and its ability to steal his opponents soul.

In any case, the chucrh then becomes overridden with members of the Nouthern Sky (Larg's men).

yada yada, to be continued or something...

The Sand is Covering My Understanding

Dune. Am I supposed to know what is going on in this story all at once? Fiction is great and all, but I really have no idea what I am reading at the start of this book. Granted I have heard this is a grea read, and I am not going to write it off completely. I just wish I knew what some of these words meant.

Then again, I think every book I have read recently does this to me. Except I really dislike the way Dune has done it. The words they use all have some sort of Turkish or Mid-European crazy origin that for some reason annoys me. Words I have a hard time sounding out in my head annoy me. And that is what this book throws at you in the first chapter, along with a whole bunch of terms that I don't recognize or understand.

We are given this boy who is special somehow or another. Whatever. He has a mom who has a mentor or teacher that is supposed to judge him. He is the prince of some well off or established kingdom? I should probably re-read the first chapter, because all I got out of it was that he was tested and passed and the boy has an uncle who wants him dead...maybe?

All in all I know this will be something that grabs my attention, but maybe I picked it up during a time where I have too much on my plate. I only did read the first chapter, so it's not like I will have to back track too far if I do decide to start over.

Well...they (who they is I do not know) always did say the second time is a charm!

I guess you could say they were each others Kryptonite!

That title should have been used two posts ago! Oh well, it's way out of context here and I want to work with that.

So, my Tactics game...oh how I love thine story. Let's give you a crash course history of the two male leads real quick.

Ramza Beoulve born into the pristine household Beoulve was something of a child prodigy. He took after his father, Balbanes in both appearance and character. Balbanes is loved by everyone because of his actions during the 50 year war. Being a noble he married and had kid with a noblewoman, his first two sons Zalbag and Dycedarg. This is brought up all the time in the story, so pay attention! Balbanes later remarries, but this time to a peasant lady and gives birth to Ramza and his little sister Alma. This makes Ramza and his brothers blood related, but they always point out that he has the blood of a commoner and that skews his purpose in life. Balbanes made the Beoulve name highly praised and the family is well off. They serve the crown with extreme loyalty, and Balbanes teaches his children to always fllow the path of righeousness and to not tolerate injustice. It seemed at least to his brothers that Ramza was the child Balbanes loved the most.

So there you have it. The house of beoulve that Balbanes built. It is rich with history and serves the crown with fierce dedication. Then you have Delita Hyral. A young boy with no trace of nobles blood within him. He was born to a poor family, but his parents were victims to a plague and he and his sister Tetra were left alone. Balbanes, with sympathy overflowing from his heart deciding to adopt the two children and ever since, he and ramza were the best of friends. Title or nobility was never something Ramza was too worried about, most likely due to being partial himself. Being adopted by the house Beoulve allowed Delita and his sister to attend special military and academic schools. Delita went off with Ramza to learn the way of the knight, while Tetra became good friends with Alma who both attended some academic school. The two Hyrals were lucky because no person of common blood were normally allowed to attend either school, but because of Balbanes influence, they were permitted.

So...the two main characters gone into a little more detail. Ramza, the son of hero and Delita the son of a peasant farmer. Rank and class are brought up throughout this game so it's important to note each characters background.

I've also recently started to read a book...in which I belive it's fairly popular. It goes by the name, Dune. I'm sure you have heard of it? Either way I will try to mix both of these stories into this blog to keep it interesting!

Project

This is a project I am writing for one of my other classes. I sense a trend...

The headline on Monday's paper said it all, “Where Were You?” On the opening day of the 2010 NFL football season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had their broadcast blacked out in the local markets. So what you say? It was the first time in thirteen years the Buccaneers have failed to sell out a home game. Say what you want about the economy, but take a look at a similar situation in Oakland. The Raiders, a team who has not been good since their super bowl loss to the Bucs has no problems of selling out their stadium. So why now? Why are we experiencing such a drought in loyalty to our team this year? It deserves to be defined and explored in more detail.

This trend has happened in the past sadly. It is hard to collect interest in a struggling team. Last year Tampa went ahead and fired their Super Bowl winning coach Jon Gruden and went with a young defensive coordinator by the name of Raheem Morris. With the change meant one of many things, a rebuilding phase was set in motion. Rebuilding phases are never easy to sit through, even as fans the mood was nervous optimism going into the 2009 season. They drafted a rookie quarterback in the draft and planned to rebuild the team around young Josh Freeman. Fast forward to this season. Freeman had a rough rookie season, but it was a learning process in which every QB has to go through to mature and improve. The team went 3-13 and saw less and less support with every passing day. It is hard for anyone to cheer on a losing team, but be it your local and home team the support should be there year in and year out. That was not the case in Tampa as seen in the 2010 home opener against the Cleveland Browns. Raymond James usually holds roughly 65,000 screaming fans in attendance, but sadly only 47,211 fans made it to the game. That is almost 20,000 less fans that normally fill those seats were unable to even watch their team play. The game was not shown in the Tampa area. If you drove over to St. Petersburg however, you could have watched the Buccaneers play. That does not seem right, in both regards.

The owners of the Buccaneers sought to remove the stigma that the team was bad by revamping the uniforms, the colors, the mascot, and even went as far as built a new stadium for the team. Yes, gone was the distracting cream-sickle orange that forever will be remembered as bad times around the bay. Out with the old and in with the new colors, red, and pewter. Buccaneer (or Bucko) Bruce was replaced with Captain Fear

My John Hancock

Bloody drawn out wars aside, I saw Hancock last night and I must say it was not all that bad. Granted, it did not win any awards or is my favorite movie, but if accomplished a few things. The setting gives you this guy, who for whatever reason is gifted with super human powers. Of course there is a twist.

The movie starts out with a car chase with all the specials sides included. Car full of immigrants or something, cops chasing said car through heavy traffic areas, news media covering every second of the chase. This is all happening, but our supposed hero is nowhere to be found.

Enter Hancock sleeping on a bench in supreme bum status, with his face ill shaven and a bottle of empty liquor lying near him. All he needed was a newspaper blanket to complete the picture. A little kid wakes him up and encourages him to help the cops and subdue the bad guys. Hancock barely moves a muscle to the child's pleas. The frustrated kid walks away while throwing Hancock a nasty comment in retreat. The hero of the story takes his time to wake up from his drunken daze and with bottle in hand (he never seems to be without his booze) he takes off from his bench into the air in an impressive display of speed and the ability to fly. This of course causes massive damage to the ground and surrounding buildings. His damage output in the aftermath becomes the heroes twist. He doesn't seem to care.

Hancock finds the criminals and tries to talk them into surrendering, but to his dismay the things open fire on him and break his bottle which irritates him extremely. he then picks the car up and starts causing even more mayhem and destruction, scaring the inhabitants of the car and pretty much everyone else around close to the scene. The chase ends with Hancock tossing the car up on a steeple, impaling the vehicle and leaving the men helpless and probably impossible for police to subdue by normal means.

Instead of being praised. Hancock is berated by the media and accused of causing more hurt then help. This hero, is not loved at all. Fast forward, you find out that Hancock suffers from amnesia. He has no idea who he is, what he is, or how he got his powers. His first memories are that of him waking up in the hospital in Miami. The nurse asked him for his John Hancock and he thought that was his name upon leaving the hospital. So this person with amazing powers is scorned by the public and has no family, no loved ones, nothing. He spurns social contact and does not care how the media perceives him.

You feel bad for him. he goes about life the wrong way, but in the end he only tries to help. Granted he does not always help in the fashion that is cost effective or smart, but he does save lives constantly. He saves a man life and the man helps him clean up his act and with a vow to change Hancock goes to prison as an act of repentance for all the billions he has cost in repairs. He of course could escape at any time he chooses, but the man begs him to stay in prison because the world needs a hero like him and sooner or later they will pardon him because the crime rate would skyrocket with him behind bars.

The plan goes according to plan and Hancock goes from enemy of the world to beloved hero in an instant. People aren't terrified of him and now greet him with applause instead of rude banter. For a man who had no place in this world, you can truly see that being wanted really hits close to this guy.

The movie then gives you a twist. there is another person who shares Hancock's abilities. Though this person wants to be left alone, all Hancock wants is the truth about himself and what or who he is. The movie does a decent job of portraying Hancock as a true outsider to society and all the humans around him. At first he just does not know how to mesh well with people often yelling at kids and older women who are staring, but at the end of the movie he accepts his part in this made up world as its protector.

It was an enjoyable enough film. I like Will Smith as an actor, and I think he did the loner surrounded by people who need, but can't stand him pretty well. Again, not the greatest movie ever written, but it kept me awake.

A World of Wars

Hm this website does not seem to have the option to use tab. Oh well! So the latest story I have been privileged to read has been one of the interactive sort. Yes, I am talking about a video game. Before you get all high and mighty in protest, I want to say the games I play are story driven and are heavy on text. Role playing games are full of huge world, the stories are expansive, and the characters get fleshed out the in the same fashion as characters do in books. My personal preference to any type of reading material has always been fantasy based, and luckily these RPGs focus mainly on that genre.

With that said the game I have been playing is called Final Fantasy Tactics. It takes you on a journey of discovery, betrayal, love, bloodshed, and religion's dubious history. The preset tells you of the war that ravaged the lands, "The War of the Lions" as it was called. They describe how the war looked everlasting, with both sides failing to gain any ground on the other, the people suffered, the death count was skyrocketing. There was no end in sight. All of a sudden a saviour appeared. His name was Delita Hyral, and he ended the conflict and was crowned king of Ivalice, the land in turmoil. This is what is recorded in the history books. This to the people of the land are the cold hard facts. Delita's name goes down as a legendary hero and loved by everyone across the land.

But things are not always how they appear in the tomes. Written history can be easily manipulated and altered as shown in this game as it progresses. A scholar discovers a secret tome which explains that Delita was not the so-called hero that united the land and was widely known as the saviour of Ivalice. There was another name that appears in these scriptures. A youth named Ramza Beoulve whose name is all, but missing in any known documents seems to have been erased from history. These passages detail his journey and explain that his role, not Delita's is the real reason for peace throughout the land.

The game then centers around Ramza as a youth. It tells you how history details the War of the Lion, but the game shows you what actually transpires and how Ramza becomes a central figure in the reshaping of the land, but in the end gets no credit and is erased from being a central figure during these times.

The characters talk in a old medieval style akin to the days of chivalry and knighthood. Thy, thou and thine along with a whole bunch of outdated jargon fills up the text boxes, so it becomes an interesting read since the words are all so unfamiliar with me.

The story is very engaging and I can't wait to see how this is all shapes up in the end.

Journal Entry #1

So I was given a task of sorts by my girlfriend the other day. The topic was movies and transformers 2 came up. for some reason, she loved that film. I on the other hand could not stand that pile of garbage. We kept on debating about who was right on this particular subject and she gave me a sarcastic comment about how I should give her a written report (or essay I suppose) as to why I think that movie is so bad. she wanted it to be a joke of sorts, but I told her I was going to actually do it.

And so I did. Now, you must forgive me, because that movie is not something I keep fresh in my mind, and I really do not want to re-watch it again for the sole purpose to just bash it. So I go with the next best thing, the internet! It just so happens that when I type in Transformers 2 reviews, most of them are as i would expect. reviews that focus on all the bad aspects of the film. So at least I won't have trouble researching this report!

For the most part, I have never written a paper which main focus was to point out the flaws and basically talk down upon someones hard spent time. thing is, I am a die hard transformers nerd, and even the first one was enjoyable to me. the sequel did not deliver at all, and I have at times been known to go on tangents as to why and how this movie was so bad.

First, the plot. My lord what did Micheal Bay do here? there basically isn't one, and if you say that the movie wasn't supposed to make sense in the first place, then you are watching movies for the wrong reason. Any movie should have a decent plot that is easy to follow and makes sense from start to finish. this was a multi-million dollar project. Shame on the writers.

The next thing I wanted to focus on was the comedy. They needed to get one thing straight from the get go. is this or is this not a movie for children? I understand transformers is targeted for the younger audiences so most of the toilet humor that was thrown in this makes sense. Now, if that is the case and this movie is for kids, then why is there so much sexual scenes, dick jokes, and racism so overly abundant from start to finish? It's one or the other, it can't be both.

The fights were horrible too. If you are going to have two giant robots fighting, that is fine. Just please make them distinguishable! every scene where the Autobots and Decepticons fought each other was so confusing to me. it was just metal on metal moving around with horrible camera angles to boot. I couldn't tell who was winning and who was losing.

I guess the casual movie go'er doesn't really care about this or any of my other complaints. All they want is expensive explosions and pretty CGI effects. Weeeeeeeeee