Matt Young

Spike is most certainly NOT a fellow Springfieldian.

*celebrates* Finally, I'll get to attend a PPV live. I never did before because I didn't have a car that would enable me to drive 2 hours to St. Louis, which was as close at they came for any TV tapings. Maybe I'll actually get to see Eddie Guerrero defend the WWE Title.

I read in Inside Wrestling sometime between the November 9, 1997, and March 29, 1998 (HBK's last title reign before retiring) that the Brooklyn Brawler of all people won an MSG battle royal and got a title shot at the Garden, a match which he nearly won. Of course, considering the source of the information, it could all be one big fabrication.

First name: Matthew- Hebrew origin... Means "Gift from God" Middle name: Robert- English origin... Means "bright, famous" Well, I certainly am a gift from God, and although I'm not yet famous, I have performed publicly in bands as well as in pro wrestling (though not as a wrestler... yet). That and the fact that I live right outside Hollywood makes my name meanings the most accurate. DISCLAIMER: The preceding statement was not 100% heartfelt. Although I do believe those things in a way, it's certainly not to the level that I would make such brash claims and expect to be taken seriously, hence the . In actuality, I have low self esteem. I just fake confidence to garner the affection of the ladies... and Anglesault.

SON OF A BITCH! I had been to every single WWF/E and WCW show, as well as nearly every indy show, in Springfield in the last 6+ years- a total of around 25 shows- and then the first show that comes through there after I move is the best one yet. We used to always get the B level shows, and now they have Triple H vs. Chris Benoit for the World Title ONE MONTH AFTER I LEAVE? Mother fuckers. We also never got any Smackdown shows- always Raw. Smackdown was always in Peoria. We were lucky to get 1 Raw show per year. Now Smackdown's coming to Springfield, and only 4 months after the last WWE show? Andrew, you know you're my favorite cousin, right? If I don't end up moving back there by then, I so need to come visit you in June.

Those commercials fucking rule. I found myself singing the song on the way to the video store today when it popped (back) into my head for no reason. I've wanted to try Quizno's for a while since I'm a big Subway fan, but even if I didn't already have the urge to eat there, those commercials would convince me. They're funny and an effective marketing tool.

I never had to deal with this shit living in a rural Illinois town as I did from 1997-this year, but even though I'm pissed at being woken up, this is kind of cool. We have an LAPD helicopter circling our neighborhood and the surrounding mountain area with the spotlight on, presumably searching for some fugitive who will more than likely rape and murder my family and pets before you all wake up and read this. Crazy.

While watching Smackdown (which just ended here on the left coast), I was thinking about starting a topic asking for everyone's theories on the identity of the mystery assailant who has been taking people out backstage on Smackdown in recent weeks. Obviously, we all know now that it was Kurt Angle. He injured Eddie in an attempt to prevent him from winning the Smackdown Royal Rumble. He faked an attack on himself so he wouldn't have to be Eddie's partner in the tag match, hoping Eddie would get beaten down 2-on-1 so that he wouldn't be able to receive his title shot. Finally, he took out Chavo Senior tonight in order to replace him as guest referee and do the job himself. Despite Angle being the obvious suspect, I was really starting to believe it might be Edge before tonight. Although rumor has it he's headed to Raw, he's due back very soon and it would make sense for him to attack people in such a manner seeing as how that's how he was taken out in storyline terms last February at No Way Out. He's also had big feuds with both Angle and Guerrero in the past. So, did any of you have any interesting theories, or was it basically common belief that Angle or Edge was the culprit all along?

As you can see in my sig, I'll be 20 in July.

Bossman? That son of a bitch!

Choken, even though I admittedly laughed my ass off week in and week out when Edge was playing the loveable doof alongside Christian, I loved the dark, brooding Edge (and in fact, most dark characters) and I think that your idea would work very well in making him a more credible threat if he is indeed going to make a run for the World Title.

The only reason I remembered the release date was because the PS2 came out on the same day, and getting through the store was just insane. I feel your pain once again as far as finishing the games goes. I'm still in the middle of Chrono Cross, but Skies of Arcadia has grabbed ahold of me and won't let go. I played it for 5 hours today. I don't remember the last time I played a game for that long in a single day. I also have started games on Sonic Heroes and Mario Sunshine, and then after that I have 6 other games I got a month ago and haven't even started, plus 10 more on top of those that I got 2-3 months ago and barely had time to play, plus the Zelda disc, plus probably 50 more games in my collection (quite literally- my collection's grown pretty large over the past 17 1/2 years) which I haven't finished completely... It's making my head spin. I guess that if there's one positive coming from not knowing many people yet out here in Cali and not having a job here, it's that I have all the time in the world to knock some games off that list. That is if Skies of Arcadia will allow it...

I'm the same way as you, Sakura. I hate owning games and not beating them. However, seeing as how I got around 40 games when I replaced my NES a little over a year ago (most of which have no save feature) and I recently acquired over 20 games between Thanksgiving and mid-January, I've got a lot of catching up to do. And speaking of games I own but have never beaten, Majora's Mask, while sharing the same engine as Ocarina of Time, is NOTHING like its predecessor. Most people either love it or hate it, and I fall into the "hating it" category. I don't know if it was because I was let down by expecting another Ocarina of Time (my favorite game ever) or because that was around the time I started losing interest in gaming temporarily, but I was really excited when I purchased MM on the day of its release- October 26th, 2000- and then I found myself disgusted with the game very quickly, even after playing it for a couple hours a day for a week or so. Well, I still own the cartridge and I also have the game on my Zelda Collector's Disc... so maybe I'll give it another shot someday.

Neither did I. But for the guy who said there was nothing else good on Nick Jr.- You cannot tell me that Face wasn't the shit. "... coming up next, on NICK JR.! Doot-doo-doo! Tee-hee-hee-hee..."

This is going to make Red Sox fans hate me even more, but I almost forgot to add that while the team was attempting to work out a deal for A-Rod, they went ahead and alienated their 2 best position players. Of course, now they have 2 disenchanted All-Stars that will probably either leave once their contracts are up or end up getting traded for next to nothing, and they got nothing out of the whole ordeal. This time, there's just no way around it. They blew a sure thing and alienated their most talented employees.

Back then? I'd say that repeatedly blowing a chance to acquire the league MVP and then allowing him to go to your most hated rival that you lose to every year despite usually fielding a better overall team is pretty fucking retarded. It's not nice to mock the Red Sox's failure. That's what they're good at. Hey, it's not even like that for me. Despite being a Yankees fan (although they're not my #1 team, it was hard not to like them when I started watching in '96), I don't hate the BoSox. In fact, I feel their pain. I grew up in Illinois... in a family full of hardcore Cub fans. I also love the White Sox. I can't say shit about failure. It's just that this time, it was really stupid and hypocritical, and Boston really sealed its own fate in the first place. I took great satisfaction in seeing Steinbrenner OWN the Sox in his response by simply stating the obvious.

Back then? I'd say that repeatedly blowing a chance to acquire the league MVP and then allowing him to go to your most hated rival that you lose to every year despite usually fielding a better overall team is pretty fucking retarded. Then, after that monumental screwup, Boston management has the nerve to make complete fools of themselves by lamenting the excessive spending of the Yankees when the Sox themselves have the next highest payroll in the entire league at well over $100 million. Also, I seem to recall hearing on ESPN or maybe reading in Sports Illustrated at the time Robinson's number was retired that he was not the first black player in the majors, but rather the first one to garner any recognition. I may be way off on that one since I only became a baseball fan in 1996, but I'm fairly certain I heard or read something to that effect.

I don't have much to add at the moment, but I just wanted to make one thing clear. Sakura, although I do not agree with your views on certain things, I still respect your opinion. I'm not attempting to insult your tastes. I simply enjoy a good debate. I actually enjoy the couple Final Fantasy games I have played, and the Resident Evil series (since you mentioned it) is amongst my favorites. To be perfectly honest, an easy game- Zelda: Ocarina of Time- is my all-time favorite, although Skies of Arcadia is making a great run for that position the deeper I get into that game. Easy games can be fun. It's just that on the whole, I prefer to be challenged more. That, and I love the NES. Those are the main points where our tastes differ. I hate to sound like I'm stereotyping, because I know some women that are almost as hardcore into gaming as my male gamer friends and I are, but most girls I've encountered who play video games are like you. They tend to play mostly RPGs (especially the love story driven Final Fantasy games and cutesy anime type ones) and other less than mature (but still very fun) games like Mario, Yoshi, and Zelda titles. A few are into puzzle games as well. Maybe it is a gender thing. Again, I don't want to stereotype, but that's just what I've observed. Then again, you have more Mortal Kombat games and know more about the series than anyone this side of Ed Boon and John Tobias, so that kind of fucks up my whole rationale.

Jesus... It's like they heard us bitching aboutthe US Title not being defended and finally gave in to shut us up. However, they decided to punish us by having those matches feature the worst wrestlers on the roster. Next up: Orlando Jordan.

I never liked the Muppets, but I loved Muppet Babies. My favorite characters were Gonzo, Rolf (sp?), and Animal. Oh yeah, Nanny was a fine piece of ass.

Sure, easy games can be fun. For example, I enjoyed Yoshi's Story, and hell, a good portion of the Super Mario Bros. games are easy for anyone with gaming experience. I also like pretty cutscenes to a point, and love a good story. But most easy games and games loaded with cutscenes get very boring after a while. What's the point of a game without challenge? If you're just looking for a good story, you'd be better served reading a book or watching a movie. Challenge is what gives a game replay value. What is there to anticipate when you already know you have a battle, level, or boss beaten beforehand? There are few things better than the feeling one gets after a tense boss fight where you battle back and forth, barely clinging onto that last bit of life, before finally emerging victorious in the end. That is the time when a cutscene or story element is most welcome- when you feel like you've earned it- When it is a reward for a job well done. Challenge is one of the main factors that makes a game good, in my opinion. Without challenge, one cannot better themselves or their skills. Without challenge, a victory is simply hollow and meaningless. That applies not only to videogames, but to most things in life in general. If you find a game with the right balance of good gameplay and a level of difficulty that is just hard enough to make things interesting but not so high that it's cheap and frustrating, there's are few things finer in life. Final Fantasy X-2-Dressup-AmericanIdol-2003 is fine and dandy (and don't think I hate RPG's- I'm working on Chrono Cross and Skies of Arcadia currently), but I can only stand so much at a time. Hand me a copy of Contra, however, and you'll be lucky to tear me away from the controller without losing a limb (unless you come bearing women, booze, or a mixture of the two ).

Searching through the archives, I stumbled upon this topic. I figured I'd bring it back since Tantric has a new album coming out very soon. These guys are one of my favorite modern rock bands, and they were pretty damn good when I saw them open for Lifehouse and 3 Doors Down in Springfield, Illinois, on July 4th, 2001. That show was great- 3 awesome bands, all of which I got to meet, I caught a drumstick from 3DD, and I met ane xtremely hot woman. Good times.

I have come to the conclusion that benoitrulz4life (much like myself) never sleeps. I see him in this thread every time I am at the board. Here I am at 7 AM, working on my 3rd soda of the hour, and that motherfucker's still roaming around here. God bless my fellow insomniacs. </sleep deprived ramblings>

I take it you didn't start playing video games until at least the 16 bit era. I believe that the NES may have more quality games than any other system. Back in my day, all games were the way you described. Most were frustratingly challenging, had no save system, and if we needed help, we couldn't get online and read a FAQ- We had to call our friends for help, or if you were really lucky, you could call a 900 number. And you know what? We bloody well liked it that way! Take it like a man, dammit! Oh... you're a girl... yeah. *Hands you flowers and candy* DISCLAIMER: The above was a rant by a crusty 17 year gaming veteran and is in no way representative of the opinion(s) of the sane.

So many good bands... soooooooo many.... At least I have the Warped Tour to look forward to. I haven't gone since 2001. I need to see if there are any good, affordable shows coming up soon in Anaheim, Long Beach, or LA. Oh, and I can also vouch for Sevendust's live awesomeness. They headlined the Locobazooka Tour 2002- at least the show I went to, which was in Biloxi, MS, and sponsored by local radio station WCPR- and kicked copious quantities of ass.