I'm still waiting for my Half Life 2: Episode 3 details. Any details whatsoever. Even confirm that Gordon Freeman can once again wield a crowbar for all I care. Just give me something.

Episode 2 came out nearly a year ago and concluded with one of the more jaw-dropping scenes I've ever witnessed. I just want closure. You would figure that episodic content wouldn't take as long as it does, but I guess we are dealing with Valve here.

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to take a deep breath of air... and I'm going to hold it until Episode 3 comes out. This seems completely rational at the moment.

I'm going to do it.

Hey look, it's a gnome!

Bah. Go me for wrecking my computer AGAIN. I gave myself a virus or a trojan or some hefty spyware, I don't know, I'm not too good at this stuff. So let me bore you with my symptoms.

-I have some process called eternal-blackness.net/money.exe trying to hurt me,
-An application keeps popping up telling me "The picture cannot be displayed". This occurs every one or two minutes, with a network connection.
-It sends everyone on my MSN one of those annoying messages that you SHOULD NOT CLICK.
-some other wierd stuff that only seems to happen with a network connection.

Yay. My bad room mate is a computer programmer, so maybe he can help me out. I also have an old school friend who I should really phone because I haven't talked to him in a month and bribe him to fix it with beer and Guitar Hero. Or you could help me.

With that said, I'm turning off the network.

I'm like the dumbest nerd ever.

Also, just in time for E3. LOL, I guess I'm missing the big event for the fourth year in a row.

Honestly, it is.

I seem to do all the cleaning just because I get fed up when the place is messy. I asked the guy to dump out his pile of plastic milk cartons six weeks ago. He still hasn't done it. I've asked him to mop the floor. Nope, not happening.

Seriously, what the hell.

There once was a time I updated my blog almost daily. That was like... four years ago. Times have changed and I rarely post anything worthy to the Gamespot community (yeah yeah, I can feel you nodding in total agreement right now). I can't afford any new consoles, so I can't talk about them. And if I can't talk about videogames, I really need to migrate to a different stomping ground.

But I won't so don't worry. Even through the thick, videogames remain a top hobby of mine. But as mentioned, talking about games can get tough if there's nothing relevant worth talking about.

Not too long ago, I took over a union. As one who never really "got" the union thing, I've taken quite a liking to establishing a mini-community. It's tough when activity drops, but all in all, its been a great experience. Since hockey is a hot topic for me, I have a lot of satisfaction researching and writing new material, and I'm a firm believer that this experience is forcing me in becoming a better writer. I've actually gotten a couple of requests to be involved at some different websites.

I'm still a lousy writer, but Gamespot made me better over the years. When I arrived at Gamespot as a stupid 15 year old kid, I was downright terrible with the English language. I know of at least a few people that can vouch for that. Infact, Gamespot has helped my writing so much, I'll even go as far as saying that Gamespot helped me pass English 101.

So, aside from being a memory bank, blawggging does have a purpose in the long run. So keep on typing.

I was always a late bloomer when it comes to music. When I turned 13 years old, I received my first stereo and a gift certificate to buy my first CD. Being a smelly, nerdy, pimple-infested kid (and I had glasses) prior all the Y2K hoopla, I went out and bought albums so mortifying it makes Present Trev cry and eat ice cream in self pity. Back then, I was all about Limp Bizkit and Korn. In fact, Limp Bizkit's "Nookie" was the first tangible form of music I ever owned, in any medium. Then I was introduced to Blink 182, and I was all about that too. Then there was the brief two months in my history where all I listened to was rap and hip-hop. Teenage-me was a lost soul when it came down to "good" music.

But music tastes change, and when I was in my Senior year of High School, I fell in love with the punk-rock scene. I would occasionally go into a record store and randomly select an album from the "punk" section (only to occasionally feel discriminated against because of the sign). One of my favorites was a band called Rocket From the Crypt, a six/seven man operation consisting of the usual three chord punk rifts, blaring horns in the background, and high-octane vocals from lead singer, John "Speedo" Reis.

Unfortunately, Rocket From the Crypt is no more. They disbanded in 2005, and just recently, a DVD compilation titled R.I.P was released. And it's awesome, but forget that. Fortunately, there is hope for people like me! Because Speedo and his group of ex-Hot Snakes band members have collaborated to create the biggest thing since... the moon. Yeah, the moon. That's big enough, right?

The Night Marchers is the name of the band, and See You in Magic is the album name. And it's fantastic. For non-stop high voltage fans of good ol' rock n' roll, I urge you to check them out. And if you don't buy my word, maybe check out some reviews.

Essentially, the CD is Rocket From the Crypt-lite, in the sense that the blaring trumpets and saxophones of old have taken a back seat. But "lite" doesn't mean bad, as it certainly is a stronger, more refined overall sound than Rocket From the Crypt ever was.

I could go on (actually, I couldn't since I never excelled at the art of reviewing), but hey, actions speak louder than words, right, so I'll just link you to their Myspace page (where there is a list of four songs to listen to) and you can judge them and call me silly/stupid/awesome accordingly. It's about 47 minutes of head banging rock n' roll and is certainly worth the $9.99 iTunes is selling it for. I believe the best tracks are "Panther in Crime" and "Open Your Legs".

And now... for a thrilling re-introduction of... BLAWG STATS!

Blawg Stats

Days it took me to complete this entry? three
Hours it took me to write this entry? About two and a half, over a three day period, lol
Number of times I listened to "Open Your Legs"? 12
Slices of pizza I ate during completion of the entry? 8
Favorite catch phrase of the moment? Cool beans

Earlier today, I went to a party to bid my final farewells to a friend of mine, who's leaving to Japan. He lives just down the street from me, so I left the house and started walking downhill to where he lived.

Slowly, a black car started to reverse down the hill ever so slightly as I walked down the pathway from my room approaching the beginning of the sidewalk. It was picking up speed, but I didn't notice anything peculiar until I hit the sidewalk and saw... that there was no driver inside.

So I ran to catch it. It was probably two houses down at the time, and approaching an intersection. I just kept running, caught up to the car, and started pushing at it from the back bumper. It pushed me a little ways, but I caught it and successfully stopped it without myself being hurled underneath, in what would've undoubtedly be a painful turn of events. An older couple, spectating from their window, ran outside and grabbed some large rocks from their garden to shove under the rear tires. My job was done.

The car itself ended up blocking two lanes just before the intersection. If it didn't hit a moving car at the intersection, it would've surely hit a parked car just down the street.

The moral of this story? Put your emergency breaks on. Seriously. And remember to leave your tires pointed towards the street, just in case something does happen.

The owner of the car was lucky I was there. Very lucky. And lucky for me, she was quite attractive. What a way to meet someone.