I do apologize for my continued procrastination on that silly top-ten list. Honestly, I'll get around to finishing it eventually but as for now I'm on this relaxation kick where I want to get back from class, go running for a while, maybe lift a few ridiculously miniscule weights, come back, do some necessary homework, and then... Relax. You'd think the idea that there are only two more game articles for me to flesh out would make the idea of finishing it a lot more appealing, but these are the top two; an article of such epic proportions deserves more than an aggressive "let me finally frickin' finish it" hand taken to it. So, yeah, word up to that.

One thing I want to bring up right now is to say just how amazed I am at how well the American version of The Office has turned out. The first episode of the American version was pretty much a joke-for-joke retelling of the British first episode, and it bombed, but every episode after that has gotten continually better. It has actually gotten to the point now where I actually prefer the American version of the show to the British one; partially because the awkward humor has gotten to the point where it's actually painful to witness the scenes take place, and then partially simply because the relationship between Jim and Pam is simply fantastic. Every episode advanced their romantic relationship (or takes it a step back) by such small steps that it's one of the most "believable" TV relationships that I've ever seen. Plus, and this is primarily a personal reason, but the way Jim handles his relationship with Pam is almost creepy in how I handle pretty much every relationship. Yeah, okay, Akamu -- we know. I'm a "wuss." "Just ask the girl out." Yadda, yadda, yadda, so on and so forth into eternity. Go to Hell.

Now a repost of the story from yesterday: Paradise - Introduction (DOC or PDF). Once again I'll say that it's got some "graphic content" and PG-13 level swearing, so if you're little or squeamish of any sort, best stay away. I really like the direction this story is going in my head, even if the introduction isn't really any kind of indication as to what I have in mind, and I can't wait to start fleshing it out a bit more in text. I finished up a few sketches of some stuff tonight, namely the Paradise itself, which as of right now is a 2x1 mile fallout shelter "community" complete with all the necessities to get a fairly large number of families (I'm aiming for the size to be enough for 6,000 people, no idea how many "main" characters there will be yet) up and running in this well thought-out and constructed post-nuclear shelter world. I'd be smart to research some basic information on city planning and civic concerns, but I think I'll just write what I have in mind and let the violent outrages of angry readers correct my wrongdoing when the time comes.

Overall the book/novella is a very ambitious project, and I don't have the best record for actually finishing this kind of stuff (then again, maybe I do), but I have to write a decent amount of material for my Creative Writing class this semester, and I have a fairly open summer, so who knows. We'll find out together, I suppose.

In other news, The Hills Have Eyes and Slither are both coming out in March, so if you're dying for a place to take me for my birthday on March 11 (or you want to postpone it until later in March, I guess it's your call), there you go. And being that I'm turning 21 this year, I'm already taking names for a string of "bar partners" with whom I will go into a bar with, order a beer, drink and be merry, and then be on my way with. Now, obviously, such an undertaking can only be done once a day, so as of now I'll probably be hitting the bars once a day in this fashion for a solid couple of weeks to fulfill all my promises. I'll also need to out-do myself on St. Patrick's Day this year, just to keep with tradition. Yeah, Mike, I'm looking at you.

Another thing I just came in contact with just as I was writing this is the website for Keith Schofield, who apparently uses old video games as a basis for shooting some music videos (the E.T. one in particular). While the music may not be your thing, the videos themselves are pretty damn cool. Definitely something well above the independent aura I had been expecting. And, yeah, that E.T. Atari game was terrible beyond comprehension. Absolutely. Terrible.

While I'm on the run of posting links, I might as well mention the Fear of Girls a short indie film about the ridiculously dedicated nerds who play custom-written RPG's. One involves a palace of whores, or something. There are also such memorable quotes as "Dougdoug is pretty much to be dropped right into the fiery pit of hell!" and "MERCY? YOU WANTED MERCY? I'M CHAOTIC NEUTRAL. GAAAAAAAAAAH." Truly hilarious whether or not you have any idea what the real-life basis for it is. I think I've had friends in the past that actually bared a not-so-minor resemblance to the guys the short. This… Makes me all sorts of sad.

And now I'll close with this final thought: what's with the good college girls having boyfriends? I mean, seriously. What's with that?