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Video game review on occassion

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TakerHart's Blog
 

Utah Mine Rant

As of the writing of this blog, there are still 6 miners trapped in mine for the last ten days. Just recently ambulances were called to the scene because several rescuers were injured.   What upsets me is that it has taken so long to find these guys. It's the twenty first century and the people in charge have been slowly digging to find these miners. Through out this entire crisis the CEO of the mining company has been doing damage control. He has been trying to shift the blame on an earthquake. I believe it has not determined which came first; the earthquake or the mine collapse.   I know one thing. The people of Pittston, Scranton, and Dupont, PA. would have put up with this.   In the days before World War II, the Irish miners in PA were getting sick of working in the mines. They were moving on to other ventures. The owners of these mines looked to the Polish to work in the mines. A Pole representing the mining company would travel to Poland and tell the Polish how great America is. The Poles would agree that America is great and would leave for America. When they got to America, they worked in the mines.   Those were my relatives. In their time working in the mines, they experienced lung problems. During their time in the mines, they never collapsed.   I believe if something were to happen to them, the surrounding communities would have come together and rescue them. They would have put up with waiting more than 10 days.   I hope the miners are safe.
TakerHart's Blog
 

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Dolby Digital Blowout

I haven't written anything here in a while and I've been thinking about doing a video game column. I know I'll lose intrest in it quickly but here we go.   I had this weird obsession over Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo since in came out in the arcades in the mid 90's. Maybe because the arcade I went to as kid didn't have it or it never made it to the 16 bit systems. Back then, I thought it should have happened but in retrospect it was a good idea because it's predecessor didn't do very well.   Anyway, time passed and Super Turbo made on every home system since the 16 bit era. Nothing changed with the ports and the graphics became really dated. 2D sprites on your 100 inch television set tend to look really bad. Capcom decided to release the game once again with pretty graphics.   I don't know what to say. Capcom and it's partners did an excellent job with this remake. To be blunt, I didn't like the bigger, redrawn graphics. It looked like the developers zoomed into screen. After awhile I got use to this change. The characters look like the anime version of Street Fighter. If you want to see how the characters would look on your display, there is an option to toggle the old sprites. They look rawful.   The music was remixed by the good folks at OverClocked Remixed. You can download a different version of the soundtrack of their website. It's really, really good if you like the Street Fighter background music in the first place.You can also listen to the old soundtrack by toggling it in options.   In Remixed mode, they changed a few of the motions like the Spinning Piledriver to make it easier to perform. I love this feature because I can't normally do one. There were a few minor tweaks done to certain moves. Guile's Flash Kick shoots up towards your opponent and instead of straight up. I don't have problem with 360's controls but I'm sure some people will use joysttcks.   The only problem that I have with it that there isn't much substance to it. There aren't any bonus features. Arcade mode is easy to go through and then you are stuck with playing people online. That too can be frustrating because you will run in to the one guy WHO CAN'T STOP DOING THE PSYCHO CRUSHER OVER AND OVER AGAIN!. Also, jerks who pulls. THey suck also.   If you are a Street Fighter fan Iw would definitely recommend it.
Prophet of Mike Zagurski

Prophet of Mike Zagurski

5
TakerHart's Blog
 

Chris Osgood = HOF?

I have been doing some thinking and I have been wondering if Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood is a Hall of Famer. There have been many debates on Hfboards about his worthiness. Most the people on there hate him. I decided to use the Keltner list to determine if he makes or not. (I am really bored.)   1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in hockey? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in hockey?   No, he played mostly in the era of Roy, Hasek, Brodeur, and other goaltenders who were better than him. Actually after a little bit of research, he won the Jennings Trophy twice but he has never won the Vezina.   2. Was he the best player on his team?   No. Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, and possibly Chris Chelios are going to the HOF. It's hard to compare goalies to forwards and defensemen though.   3. Was he the best player in hockey at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position?   No. See above.   4. Did he have an impact on a number of playoff races?   He played on Detroit teams were usually division leaders or in second place. He did well in Long Island and St. Louis also. I would say yes.   5. Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime?   This season is probably the first season where he is showing his age. His GAA is 3.17 so far this season. His record is 11-1-4. The Red Wings are scoring a lot of goals to make up for his poor play   6. Is he the very best player in hockey history who is not in the Hall of Fame?   Hasek and Brodeur aren't in yet. I could see Belfour in Hall and maybe Curtis Joseph.   7. Are most players who have comparable career statistics in the Hall of Fame?   Billy Smith, Gump Worsley, and Harry Lumley have less wins than Osgood and they are in the HOF.   8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?   His win totals make him HOF worthy. His career GAA is around 2.4. It isn't good. For comparison Roy's was 2.5.   9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?   People would say that he didn't deserve a lot of those wins because he was a goaltender during Detroit's dominance. His stats carried over to St. Louis and the Islanders. His performance didn't decline during his non-Detroit years.   10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in?   He isn't eligible yet but that would be no. Hasek and Belfour will be in before Osgood.   11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?   I'm going to guess that he carried the Islanders and the Blues to playoffs, so that would probably make him a MVP for those times. It's hard being a goaltender in the NHL and winning the Hart trophy. The last guy they gave it declined after that and ended up partying Paris Hilton.   12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the other players who played in this many go to the Hall of Fame?   He was a four time all star. I'm not really sure about the last question.   13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the playoffs?   No, he couldn't do it for Islanders or Blues.   14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?   No.   15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?   He wasn't a troublemaker and he hasn't been caught using PEDs.     In my opinion, he is a borderline HOF'er. I think he gets based on his win totals. Hockey fans will probably complain about because the Red Wings were and are a good team. Most people won't credit him with the wins because a HOF defenseman played in front of him among the other top talents the Red Wings acquired during his stints.. Of course, no one brings up the trap when talking about Brodeur and his shutouts. Osgood played on two other teams and did really well on them and he has four rings, which means he'll get in eventually.  
Prophet of Mike Zagurski

Prophet of Mike Zagurski

4
TakerHart's Blog
 

Chris Benoit, we hardly knew ye...

I have been watching professional wrestling for 10 years. Yeah, I know it's fake but some of the moves that the wrestlers can perform are amazing. Plus, there is always a lot of drama and comedy, so it's entertaining.   After awhile of watching it, you start to think you know everything about the wrestlers. When the Internet was booming, so was the wrestling scene. A lot of wrestling websites were dedicated to what really happens backstage. Also, because of the Internet, people tend to like and push certain wrestlers on other people. A columnist I used to read kept pushing Chris Benoit.   Chris was a plain looking fellow, once described as a "vanilla midget". He was a really good wrestler but he didn't tall much. He just wrestled and the Internet basically ate it up. Fans in the arenas also started to take notice and he was given several promotions and belts.   After the double-murder suicide he committed, I don't feel like watching wrestling anymore. It's sad that one man's actions can ruin his entire career. Something real happened and the wrestling world continues on like everything thing is okay. It's so boring right now.   He was one of my heroes. Not anymore.
TakerHart's Blog
 

First post

I don't post here that often. I am more of an observer. Instead of actually debating people, I've decide to create this blog, I can post stuff about sports and life. Why? Because everyone else is doing it.   Up next: New Orleans Story: The Unfinished Story
TakerHart's Blog
 

New Orleans: Parts 1-4

I know I should have written this sooner. I have a lot of catching up to do. Obviously a lot has been going on in the world. I'll start here and hopefully catch up later on other stuff I want to blog about. One last thing before I begin, I am starting to really hate MySpace. I've been getting spam everyday now.   Last semester my American Marketing Association class worked on a case study. The case study was about bringing back people to New Orleans. The American Marketing Association chapters who worked on the case, among those who didn't, had the opportunity to go the AMA Collegiate Conference in New Orleans. It was a cool oportunity because we spent an entire researching New Orleans.   So let's fast foward to the last week of March. The conference was going to be from March. The conference lasted from Thursday to Saturday. We were going to arrive on Wednesday and leave on Monday, that way we could see parts of New Orleans.   Wednesday: We had to fly out of LAX 6 o' clock in the morning. Which meant I would have to be on the road at 3 o' clock in the morning. I told my dad (the VanMan) that he would have to take me to LAX in the morning. My advisor at school thought I was abusing him. But I figured he would be okay doing it cause usually wakes up that early in order to make it Anaheim by 5AM. So we are on the road and there is no traffic. Sweet. We make it to LAX by 4AM. I don't see anyone else from my group. I think to myself, not only did I travel farther than anyone else in my group, I made it before them. The problem with arriving super early is that no one is at the airport. It's quiet and the customer service and the security people are starting to arrive. Soon lines start to form and at least I'm early, so I'm in front. When I'm in the security, I see two members in my group who were in a different security line. Because the security flipped the line around, they ended up way behind me. The fourth member of my group called me. He was just arriving to airport at 5AM. However he was lucky enough to put into another security line and he was at the waiting area rather quickly.   We'll I spent the first post on LA, so now let's arrive to New Orleans.   Wednesday (cont): The cheapest deal we could find for a flight had layover in Denver. I start thinking to myself, I wonder if it's going to start snowing a lot. It didn't. The ground was dry and the brush near the air brown... I forgot about the crazy lady. We were all waiting in the terminal for our plane to come to the gate. There was another flight to Orlando that was about to leave and what happened next was a like a scene from Home Alone. This lady with her accent was yelling for them to stop the plane. At same time, she was pushing her little daughter and yell for someone else. The flight attendants told her to be quiet and the plane isn't going to leave if she calms down. Eventually they let her on. After the door is shut, the flight attendant says to people in the lounge, "This is an airport. This isn't a hospital." We all laughed . We arrive at New Orleans International Airport around 1 o' clock their time. We grab our baggage and head to the shuttle. All of us are hungry and tired because the airlines refuse to feed anyone who doesn't have money (only assuming 1st class got fed.)   We got on a crowded Enterprise shuttle withh a group of volunteers who were going to help rebuild New Orleans.   When we got out of the shuttle, it hit me. It was humid as hell over their. It must have been 70 degrees with 80 percent humidity.   We drive to the hotel. In order to get there, we take the 10 East (just like home). Our hotel where we were staying at and where the conference was taking place was in the French Quarter.The exit that we took to get to the hotel went past the Superdome and the City Hall. For the most part, the French Quarter looks great. You wouldn't have been able to tell that a mojor catastrophe had hit New Orleans.   We dump our stuff in the hotel and go out to Canal Street which is in fron to the hotel.   We're hungry. Obviously, us being strangers in a strange land, we don't know where to eat. In the back of my mind I'm thinking that we should have spicy Cajun food.   Instead of asking the front desk where to eat, we walk east of the hotel for several blocks on Canal St. Canal Street is a long avenue, which was under reconstruction. The city was adding large palm trees to sidewalks and also adding more sidewalks to roads. We walked about a half a mile, passing a Walgreens, a Chinese restaurant, some abandoned buildings, and several shoe stores, till we turned around and went back to the hotel. On our way back, we went to Walgreens and picked up water, Dr. Pepper, and a map of New Orleans.   ..............................................................................................   Bourbon St. is different in the day time than it is at night. It was around 5' o clock when we went up Bourbon Street. The Street is made up bar, strip club, bar, bar, strip club, and so on and so forth. It goes on for several blocks like this as a one way street and then it turns in to residential. Because the rest of 1,200 students hadn't arrived for the conference, the Street was quiet. We stopped at a restaurant on the Street of which name I cannot recall. It was an opened air restaurant where the pigeons would come in and peck at table scraps. On the menu were Cajun foods like jambalaya and bread pudding. What was really interesting is that the specialty drink in New Orleans is the Hurricane. After we ate, we saw more of the Street and then headed back to hotel room. We were tired.   ...............................................................................................   I went out with David around 8 o' clock. I was bored in the hotel because they didn't have ESPNews or any hockey on. Also, I wanted to buy souvenirs for the family. We went to the Street and it wasn't as wild as it was going to get. There were men on the streets advertising strip clubs and bars. We were trying to avoid them while my friend was taking lots of pictures of the architecture. We left the Street and went towards the riverfront. On our way there, we saw psychics, the homeless ("Please don't take any pictures of me." "I'm sorry didn't mean to scare you."), and this guy playing the wind harmonica.   When we made it to the riverfront, it was beautiful.   Later that night David and I went shopping in one of the overpriced shops in New Orleans. (Yes, the French Quarter is full of these souvenir shops that sell the same stuff.) I bought Mighty Ducks beads. For 8 dollars a necklace, you could wear your favorite sports team around you neck. We walked around some more and then went back to the hotel room.   Thursday My roommate slept for about twelve hours straight. I woke up and played my PSP. The conference would officially kick off in the evening but we had most of the day to ourselves. The group decided we should go to Baton Rouge. So we hopped on the 10 Freeway heading west to Baton Rouge. It took us an hour to get there. When we arrived, we were hungry and we didn't know where the Capital Building was. We ate at Sonics and then I called the VanMan because he knows how to use Google. "Where is the capital?" "It's in Baton Rouge." "I know that but where specifically is the building? You know, like an address." He eventually gives me a street and then we eventually find it.   I don't remember much about going to Sacramento and seeing our Capital Building but ours is bigger than theirs. On the steps leading up to the building, there are the names of every state that entered the Union in order.   We enter and find out that there is an observation tower on the 27th floor. We explore the bottom floors and visit the Legislative Chamber. It looks the like the US Capitol chamber except it is smaller.   The group heads up to the top. We have to take two elevators in order to get there. The view from the top was breathe taking. The AMA members saw the Mississippi River and the other things surrounding the Capitol Building.   After that, the group went to this old armory on the Capital groups. It was boring because 1) It was historical. 2) The cannons weren't working.   There was a casino nearby and I cannot confirm that anyone gambled. The casino staff was rude to me.   We headed back home. I'm used to California freeways. In most parts of California, they are densely populated, so by the freeways, you see houses or businesses. On our way to and from Baton Rouge, there was foliage and water. It was boring to look at it.   We get back to the hotel and it is starting to fill with college kids. I go and crash in the room.   Finally, the Conference is going to start.
TakerHart's Blog
 

600 words on 2 goals

Yeah I could write more about New Orleans but I want to take a slight break from it because this happen.   I played roller hockey on Mother’s Day. I woke up groggy because I was up till about 1 o’ clock in the morning.   I guess in the back of my mind, I figured I may get another assist or block a shot or something. I probably wouldn’t score another goal in my life because I’ve missed so many rebounds and I haven’t played hard enough.   I was the first person to arrive in our locker room and I was the second person on my team on the rink.   I started shooting pucks from different angles at the net. I was getting most of them in. My teammate Ray told me to stay in front of the net and deflect pucks into the net.   “Who cares”, I thought. It is not going to happen this way.   We were playing a tough team. They were higher in the standing than us. They had some good defensemen and it was going to be a tough game with our depleted roster.   I was playing badly and almost running into my teammates. I should have seen it coming. Usually when I’m playing my worst, good things do happen.   I stood towards the right of the opposing goalie during the second period. We tied 3-3 and the time was winding down. Chris had a hat trick and no one else was scoring.   It’s weird that when I was coached in high school I was told to do the same thing. I would stand and screen the goalie and collect any rebounds. I had scored previously off my skate with a random team in Upland but I didn’t consider that my first goal. I scored with Snipers before a lot of bad stuff happened and that was my first goal.   I had been with this team for three seasons and this was the season I was showing signs of life. I was getting assists and making plays and feeling good about myself.   It was Mother’s Day and I was at the right of the goalie. I was looking for the pass and I got it. I couldn’t react to it till passed the goal line. I couldn’t believe it. I had done it for a third time and it was sweet. I raised my hands in the air and tried to do a little jump. My teammates on the floor embraced me and a couple of the player on the bench congratulated me.   I felt great that I had accomplished something that I hadn’t been able to in three seasons.   The Average Joes scored again in third period. What was running in the back of my mind was when am I going to score again? I mean, come on. I am an American and I want more, more, more. I saw Ray taking a slapshot. It rebounded and came to stick. Without hesitation I used a quick wrist shot and put the puck over the pad of the goalie and scored again.   The only way I could react to that was, “What the ….” Ray came over and gave a bear hug.   Suddenly, with about seven minutes left, it was not about scoring a goal but about getting a hat trick. I didn’t get that hat trick but I would have never imagined scoring two goals in a season, let alone the same day.   I was the last one on my team to score. We lost 7-5. I was congratulated by both teams after the game was over and I can’t wait for next Sunday.  
TakerHart's Blog
 

The Downfall of MySpace

I like Facebook. I like the fact that when I post this, I won't be bombarded with spam. I post one thing or write to a friend, and poof, the Inbox fills up with fake profiles. Most of the messages contain things like "Hey hon, cLiCk here for my pix". NO!   MySpace is one of the most heavily trafficked sites on the Internet. News Corp/Tom need to work on something that filters out these fake profiles otherwise MySpace will turn in to the next AOL.   MySpace stole the little headlines from Facebook while applications are being created on Facebook to make it more like MySpace.   I'm sorry. I don't want to listen to your music. I like my music and I know you like your music. In fact, I'm listening to music right now but I don't feel like making a mix tape.
TakerHart's Blog
 

Been a year (Personal)

Maybe I should stop playing sports. My University is closing down the tennis courts. I learned how to play tennis there. I had to wake up 6 o' clock in the morning to set up for a tournament.   About a year ago, the Upland Roller Hockey Center shut down. It was put out of its misery. The people working there were irresponsible. They never collected any money from any of the players. The air conditioning stopped working in the middle of summer. The lockers and restrooms were horrible.   I was on vacation. It was a peaceful vacation compared 2005's trip to Pennsylvania where grandma went under open heart surgery. She is doing really well.   When I was on Myspace I was alerted to the fact that the goalie on our team died. Well, that was a really big shock. Obviously, I was really sad and confused. I wasn't really as close to him as one of my teammates was.   I didn't go to the funeral because I was away. I still wonder if I would have went if I would still be on the team.   Upland Roller Hockey closed a week later.   I was depressed. My team was talking to me. They were retooling and going to play in West Covina. It sucks being rejected and not being told you're fired or being told you suck. I need an explanation but I'll never ask because I don't want to talk to them ever again.   My current team seems to like me. I show up to every game and occasionally I score.   There is another part of this story but it wll be told later.
TakerHart's Blog
 

Retro Blog: Wrestlemania 21 Report

I just got home from Wrestlemania 21.   We were out by the Team LA store and JBL came out. He taunted us and we booed him.   I guess the 30 man battle royal was on Heat. Did the commentators say what Booker T would get because he won? There were Booker and Regal chants. I think Heidenrich was over.   I liked Eddie/Rey. Eddie was over huge (maybe cause he lies, cheats, and steals,) There was a small 619 chant too.   Money in the Bank- The crowd booed when the staff members were extinguishing the ladders on the stage. That was a good match. It reminded me of all those TLC matches with out the tables.   Eugene came out and then Hassan beat him up. When Hogan came out, I nearly lost my voice and probably the most the crowd did the same. This is a close as I have to come to seeing Hogan wrestle live. The crowd cheered for him for 5 minutes then he left.   Orton vs Undertaker. Undertaker did some cool levatation (riding a platform to the ring,) Match was good. I could not take a picture of the Tombstone Piledriver because a fan 2 rows down decided to raise his arms and celebrate.   Angle vs. HBK. The crowd was 50/50 for each man. The crowd chanted "Let's go Angle" and then "Let's go HBK". There was also a "You screwed Bret!" chant. That was probably the match of the night. I did not expect HBK to lose cleanly in the ring by tapping out.   The women's title match. People around me started getting up and leaving to go the bathroom. The match could have been better but Trish retained.   Piper's Pit. When ever Piper would say something about the What! chants, the crowd would chant What! louder. I did not expect Carlito coming but I expected him to be Stunnered (if that is a word).   Sumo match Read women's match except it was shorter, Big Show's aattire was horrible, and is he cursed. He has not won a single Wrestlemania match in his career. People booed the wrestlers when they went into their corners to get more salt.   JBL vs, Cena. More people paid attention to the fake money and gold stuff falling from the rafters than JBL kissing his belt good bye. Match was short and showed how limited each of their movesets were. JBL was kind of treated like a jobber. I think there a lot of stalling in the match.   The HOF segment was next while they were setting for Motorhead. Hogan was over. *Tune in to Raw to find out if he coming back*   Motorhead has a lot gear.   I figured there would be more brawling in the main event. If they hate each other, should they beat the pulp out of each other. This match was ok.   Batista celebrated for about five minutes then left. The highlights package was shown and Howard Finkel that us for coming. (Why does the WWE have 3 ring announcers?)   I bought a Wrestlemania t-shirt and program and then went home.   Overall, I really liked this show. (I paid $400 for two tickets, I better have liked it.) I want the DVD for WM21. The crowd the was hot and most of matches were good. I don't know how it falls under the Greatest Wrestlemania of Alll Time but it might in the top ten.   But what do I know? I am just a mark.  
TakerHart's Blog
 

Senior Stupidity

t's been a long semester.   First of all, when I got to school last week, three of my classes changed rooms. Two of those changes happened without the school telling me.   The third was a special circumstance that was my fault. I went to the wrong class for two sessions. Had I printed out another schedule I could have figured this out.   I switched classes because I didn't know how to tell the other instructor that I'm an idiot.   Yesterday when I got to school my biology room changed again.   Please God let me graduate in May. I promise I won't even think about going back to school until 2010.   My assignment for media class is to avoid the media during the weekend. If I didn't like sports/football in the past, it would have been easy. I'm going to do my best to be productive during the weekend. I'll be okay. I haven't touched my video games in a long time.   (If I had a job, I would buy a working Xbox 360...grrr)   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We lost our final game of the playoffs. My superstition didn't work. *Hint* It's visible on my profile pic.   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Also forgot to mention. My school's BlackBoard isn't working for me. Time to complain to some one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   I heard the VMA's sucked. I didn't know that they were on. I could make fun of the fact that MTV doesn't play music videos but I don't care. I watch what I want on Youtube.  
Prophet of Mike Zagurski

Prophet of Mike Zagurski

0
TakerHart's Blog
 

March 2nd

I won't update what's going on with the New Year's Resolutions. Nothing substantial has happened yet. It's funny, it's March and nothing has changed yet.Here I am trying to look for work and it's getting harder to find things I am qualified for. I should have gotten a useless degree in Art or something. In this economy, everyone is equal with everyone else.   Since no one read these things, which is excellent by the way. I should admit all my big problems and then they'll probably come back to haunt me. Anyway, I was just thinking this morning, we should never meet ever again. Not like we ever met in the first place anyway. The past is the past I suppose.   I went to an anniversary party yesterday. The couple was married for 50 years. That's incredible because that's a long time. My grandparents didn't make it that long.   So the Celebrity Apprentice was on last night. What does qualify for a celebrity now a days? Let's see there was a poker player, a Playboy Playmate, Dennis Rodman, Tom Green, Andrew Dice Clay, Herschel Walker, Joan, and Melissa Rivers. The only thing wrong with this group is there aren't enough trainwrecks in this bunch. Amy Winehouse should been in this season. Prediction: Rodman wins it all.   So of course I'm here a lot because I'm bored. I'm thinking about making another inspirational poster. Just thinking about it. I thnk I play my online gimmick pretty well. No one cares about it or my fantasy baseball league, but this working out well.   Well, I'm just rambling. I'm ooking forward to the weekend. Peace.
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