LadyCrimson

One can find a body to be 'fine' but not find the face to be 'fine', and I think the latter was the point of The Architect. And ... it's not a movie, but I watched the Shrek The Halls the other night, the 30 minute Xmas special thingie. It was predictable and (to me) largely boringly gooshy, but the bit where Puss n Boots told his version of Nightmare Before Xmas and becomes distracted by the puffball of his Santa hat was hysterical. Hubby and I were in stitches.

Ah ... ok. I asked because I've seen some packaged boxes labeled as "Xbox360Live" and some as just "Xbox360". Perhaps the Live version comes with a cable included etc. and the other doesn't? I didn't notice. I did notice, however, that the "Halo3" version (here, at least) doesn't actually come with the game included. I had look at the fine print on the side of the box to realize that. $50 more for a green case, then. No thanks. heh

I somehow doubt Mother Teresa would've agreed with you. I understand the emotional sentiment behind your statement, but there are plenty of examples of individuals/couples with no children who care about/sacrifice/do more for the future of all than some folks with 10 children. I even know some personally.

That would be me, as well. I look at reviews sometimes, certainly, but since ANY review is only ONE person's opinion, I place much more importance on blogs/word of mouth/forums etc. for a well-rounded consensus than on 5-10 people from review sites. However, I think firing a writer only because of ad pressure to write a review to pander to advertisers would certainly be bogus. No clue if that was actually so in this case ... I don't care enough about the case to research it ... I'm only saying that I'm against the notion in principle.

Just so I'm clear ... if you don't buy an Xbox that says "Xbox360Live", you don't have access to "Live" - yes? We have no need/desire for Live ...

For some people it might be ... like a couple w/different work hours and a very, very tiny living space.... :D I won't not-buy something based purely on noise levels, but I do find extra-noisy appliances very distracting if/when I'm trying to concentrate on something. Maybe it depends on how sensitive the hearing is. Mine's pretty acute. But I can always use headphones? Thanks...that's the kind of description I was looking for.

So they're really noisy, eh? Hmm ... I won't like that much. But oh well. Is there anyway to explain what you guys mean by 'combat is better than Kotor?' In what way? Just the fact it's harder? Or something else, ie, style or interface?

Well, these reponses are definitely making me feel more comfortable with the idea of spending $350+ on a console, perhaps around Xmas. Hopefully it'll make my spouse more comfy, as well. Then the question becomes ... should I get the basic white one or the Halo3 green one? Haha!

I didn't have a ratfink father, but I did have an odd family dynamic w/a lot of conflict - much older siblings + disabled father + extreme lack of common interests. The latter meaning large doses of either the "nothing to say" or "you need to change/get a life" syndromes. I understand the 'family thing' - I have fond memories of early holiday seasons as a kid. But I didn't retain enough of such moments to make me want it as an adult, I guess. Speaking of childhood memories - one of my favorite recalls is the tradition my family had of creating a Christmas "tree" out of tumbleweed. My brother/sister and I would run around these local empty land-lots, chasing down big, round, dried out tumbleweed sections ... we'd take three and stack them up kind of like a snowman, spray it with white fleck 'snow' paint, and decorate it. They were actually very nice looking. Plus, the old-style electric-metal train-on-big-wooden-board rounded it out - we'd put the 'tree' in the middle of that. Turn on the train, watch it go round and 'choo choo' - I loved that trainset.

I have a feeling of moral responsbility in the sense of, say, taking care of anyone who's sick or in great need, but family in the traditional, warm and fuzzy gatherings and "close family bonds/family is forever" concept is not what I'm really about. My mother used to ask me if I thought my lack of 'family' bonding was because I was adopted ... and to this day I have no idea. Perhaps. You can't choose your family, and thus I don't generally feel an emotional predisposition to be warm and fuzzy/close etc simply because we share the same name. Once an older youth/adult, there has to be a basis/enduring foundation for that kind of closeness, just like with any other long term close friend.

All right, since someone else bumped that other thread, making me notice it ... Seems to indicate there was some tweaking done w/the systems later. I'll do some research on how to figure out what you're getting, which should help. I'm always leery of stores during the holidays, with their giant displays of on-sale consoles to entice holiday shoppers ... And Musopticon?, I understand that sentiment re: Apple ... I have the same issue with Microsoft. Not the PC ... just Microsoft. I keep hoping Vista will be another hole in their armor to allow Linux and Mac to grow a bigger market share. Actually, it's already happening a little. Competition and options good. Oh and I forgot to mention that my entire family are largely Apple people ... I've been the lone, adamant PC user and it's kind of a pain, sometimes. Huuby likes Linux for some stuff ... I've never been able to get into them as-is.

I see Apple prejudice is still strongly in force in many corners ... heheh ... believe me, I was one of them for years ... and so is my hubby. I don't know if it's the right solution for me yet ... but I seriously am tired of the PC routine. I'm not a coding geek, I'm getting too "old" and don't have enough free time to spend farking around w/all the PC stuff anymore. If not a Mac, I may give up computers almost altogether before long. But thanks for the info on the xbox. :D

Because I like graphics, video, and photography and am tired of drivers, patches, conflicts, spending hours on the web looking for "the best free/cheap software that usually ends up needing more drivers or doesn't suit my needs" routine ... besides, with Mac's current OS, at least you have the option of running Windows OS and software as well. Plus their monitors rock. Take off the games from my computer and there isn't all that many things I really need the PC for, that Mac can't do just as well. Xbox360 - I still see a lot of websites with people complaining about the hardware failures up to current day. I don't know if the xbox you buy right this minute is 'fixed' or not, tho.

Woke up, moaned and groaned about my shoulders, knees, and other failing joints that have fallen apart since I was sick, exercycled and free-weighted with gritted teeth, went grocery shopping, got an oil change, started a stew, made some lunch, did some housework while also considering violent acts against the bank/loan agent who's been keeping us in limbo for weeks re: reviewing/responding to our bid on of their short-saled houses, then pulled up a rocking chair in front of the big TV, played a little bit of a game, and now it's almost time for my afternoon nap...

I bought a slowcooker/crockpot to make more stuff my husband would like (we have very different "favorites" tastes) and it's currently in the process of making an experimental chicken stew - I followed no recipie, just tossed a bunch of stuff in. Sort of like a healthier version of chicken pot pie, minus the crust ... and more stew-like. I don't know how it'll turn out yet, but it sure smells good.

I'm getting more and more fed up with the shrinking PC-game aisles, as well as the whole PC hardware/driver +Microsoft game and am becoming more tempted to buy a MacPro for computing and consoles for gaming. But then you still run into the 'have to get the new console version' every couple years, and they're not exactly cheap these days. Plus needing more than one console system if you want "all" or at least the majority of the games. It's going to take some time for me to decide what I want to do. In the meantime ... I know Xbox360 has more titles and seems to be more popular than the PS3. But I've heard so much about the 'rings of death' and terrible reports of people sending in their broken 360's only to get refurbished ones as replacements, that then break in a couple more months. Anyone have problems with the 360's hardware since buying one? I'd hate to buy one for $400 and have it conk out on me in 8-12 months or something.

Overlord for PC. Mostly because it appeared to be a good game to play on the TV w/the new wireless keyboard/mouse. :D It's cute, but has a clunky interface. I'd like to try ME, but I'm still hedging on the console thing. Been considering them more and more tho. And Mac's, too. Sigh.

Looks nice, but it's so ... mono-toned ... :D

Definitely sounds like a rip-off/price gouging. Sheesh. I'm in the position where $40-$60US doesn't make me blink too much, but I'd still like it if they were $10-$20 cheaper - who wouldn't. Still ... if you lowered prices where it actually lowered the profit margin by quite a bit (I don't know how much it would take to do that), a lot more buyers would have to purchase to make the same profit? You can sell a lot of hamburgers by pricing them really cheap, but I'm not sure about things like games, simply because individual games are one-shots rather than always-in-big-demand hamburgers. But the $80 thing for non-US areas ... with our weak dollar even ... that's bad.

Not a bad list overall tho. The Mist interests me partly because I heard they changed the ending from the book - I don't know to what, so don't tell me, hehe - and I'm curious about that. Plus the reviews haven't been toooo bad, so ... Planes Trains & Automobiles is a great little movie. The only others I can think of off-hand are "Home for the Holidays" and maybe "Hannah and her Sisters". Some might have a ending or scene around T-day, but not many where it's the main theme, so to speak.

With what's turning into a lazy holiday weekend, I've been playing SimCity Societies a little. Still like it - great game for being entertaining for an hour or two but easy to turn off when it's time to go to bed. Playing a bit o' Tomraider:Anniversary too. Oh heck, this weekend I've been trying a little of everything. So many games installed but almost untouched on my PC. hehe.

I might try that later. Hubby just left to try and find a better gamepad to play TR:A with, heh. The computer hubby threw together for the purpose wasn't even that good - made out of spare parts - and it still looked great.

@ Bok - hehe that looks pretty much like our TV ... except knowing you, it's a better model. :D I was surprised by how good the graphics looked. I thought it would be a little fuzzy or something, because of the size. But it looked really nice. I was too lazy to take a good picture of the screen ... yours are much better.

I want to see The Mist. Yes, it'll probably be yet another mediocre S. King film adaptation. But I still must view it ...

I played a little SimCity Societies, ate food, idly did some photography stuff, watched hubby turn our TV into a PC/game screen, and generally farted around the house, which was pleasant and relaxing. We're feeling lazy ... don't know if we're going up to the sister-in-law's or not.