deadite_99's Blog - 2old2play

Merry Christmahanakwanzaka

Hey gang....just wanted to wish ya'll Happy Holidays.

I am fortunate to count ya'll as my friends. This is such a great community, and we're all fortunate to have this resource. This year has been a tough one for me and the missus. Health issues, finances and family crap seemed to pop up in spades this year. Here's to next year being a better one!

Have a safe and happy time guys, see ya'll online soon!

Here's one of my favorite newer Christmas songs, done by one of my idols......

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Band makes first public appearance

So...we played last Saturday. Had about 50 friends show up. We got all liquored up and played for about an hour. I was nervous as hell!!

This is the first band I've been in for over 10 years, so I'm still trying to knock the dust off. I've usually been just the lead guitarist in bands, but in this one, I'm the rhythm, lead guitarist, AND singer! Man that's a lot of hats. I'm really enjoying playing the stuff we're doing. It's old school, and the songs are really fun to play. Still trying to get my chops back in shape, and I end up getting nervous and hitting wrong notes, but soon I'll have my stage legs.

Anyhow....we taped the show, and it's up on YouTube. If you care to check it out, here's the link.

www.youtube.com/headmahone

I've been so wrapped up in learning songs, writing some originals, and practicing, that my gaming has kind of fallen by the wayside. Between that, and holiday stuff, I haven't been on much. I've been mainly playing Left4Dead (man I love that game!) GOW2 has mainly turned out to be a dud to me. What a disapoinment! Oh well....RE5 is coming out in a few months, and I have some single player games that I really need to finish.

Until next time...

Shawn...the lazy ass blogger.

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Bettie Page - R.I.P.

We'll miss you Bettie. You'll forever be beautiful!

Resquiet in pace

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Lazy ass blogger + Band Website

Shit... November just flew by. I just noticed I haven't put anything up here for a month. Where the hell does time go??

Been really busy lately with projects at work, and trying to get my band ready for our first gig next weekend. Oh speaking of my band, we just got a MySpace page up and running. The page has 4 songs that we recorded last week. They're a bit rough, but it's a good indication of what we're going for. We are doing some old school 50's style roots and rockabilly, with a smattering of psychobilly thrown in. We're a three piece, myself on guitar and vocals, a standup (doghouse) bass, and drummer. Out set list is all covers right now, but we're working on originals. We started the band just to have some fun, drink many beers, and maybe put a cd together. It's really starting to pick up steam, and it looks like we might be able to make a bit of money playing around the area!

Anyhow....if you'd like to check out our page, here's the link. www.myspace.com/stilltrifling

On the gaming side of things. I have to say, I'm already a bit burnt out on Gears2. It just didn't hit me like the first game did. I've been playing more Left4Dead, and Fallout3, as I find those more satisfying. Played some RB6V2 last night, and had a blast. That game is still fun as hell.

I think the gaming famine of the next couple of months is settling in. For the last 3 months there's been something to look forward to every week, so it keep the excitment going. There's really nothing I'm looking forward too, except for Resident Evil 5. Can't wait for that one!

Well....gotta run. They actually expect me to do some WORK for my money!

Sheesh!

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This week in gaming

Hello everybody...(in my best Dr. Nick Riviera voice)

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty uneventfull. Did a bit of work around the house, played a bit of Fable II, and got some Fallout 3 in. Getting REALLY excited about GOW2!! It's just a few days away, and I can taste it. I can't wait to try out all of the new weapons, and see if some of the annoyances of GOW are gone. It'll be killer if I can actually run past something without feeling that I was wearing a velcro suit. I'm hoping the inherent lagginess of MP will be a thing of the past too. I'm going to pick it up at midnight, and play until I can't keep my eyelids open. I'm hoping I can take Friday off, if not, I'll be one sleepy ass mofo Friday morning.

Like I said, I played some Fable II this weekend. I'm still really impressed with the game, but it has gotten a bit repetitive. I played Fallout 3 for about 4 hours yesterday, and got a lot of stuff done. I'm knocking around Megaton right now, with a few excursions out to the wasteland. Fallout 3 is definately living up to it's pedigree. I'm really digging it. The first time I shot a bandit in the head, and their head flew off in glorious slow motion, I had a big smile on my face. I can't wait to level up my weapons skills so I can inflict even bigger damage to my enemies!....Ah...it's the small things in life.

Well, that's about all that's going on this week. The Maniacal Marauders are having a GOW sendoff this Wednesday, to get in the mood (like we really need that right now, I think we all have raging hard ons right now!) It'll be a bit bittersweet to retire GOW, but damn, GOW2 is going to be sweet!

Well, in closing....tommorow is Election day. Get out and vote! I don't care who you vote for, that's your business, but VOTE!

Here's a little election humor for ya'll.

www.cracked.com/article_16733_2008-presidential-election-as-depicted-by-5-year-olds.html

Cheers.......and see ya'll online!

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Happy Halloween!!!!

Yeah! It's Halloween. My favorite "holiday"

This year's going to be a bit tame as my wife is still recovering from hip surgery, and we're still down about our dog. I think tonight, we're just going to do a horror movie marathon and give out candy. Usually we make a haunted house "pilgrimage" We have one here in Baton Rouge that has been voted on of the best in the country for a couple of years now. "The 13th Gate" is really great. They own the building so they can work on it year round. It's always really impressive, and they usually have a good mix of new stuff, with the old.

We usally try to hit the "House of Shock" It's an 18 and older haunted house in New Orleans. It was co-founded by Rob Zombie, and Phil Anselmo (of Pantera) It's definately not for the faint at heart. There's usually a goodly amount of people that don't make it through (pussies!)

I've always loved Halloween. Carving pumpkins, decorating, wearing a costume, and eating more Halloween candy than is advisable. It really is my favorite time of year. This year we really haven't done any decorating, or neighbors went all out and did a really great graveyard in their yard. I told Claire (the missus) that next year we'll make up for this year (Hopefully we'll be able to AFFORD to do something next year!

I love horror movies. It's my favorite genre by far. Anything from classic Universal horror to J-Horror, it's all good to me. American Movie Classics has been showing some great old movies the last couple of days. We watched "Twice Told Tales" with Vincent Price last night. I've pretty much been recording AMC for a day now. There's a couple of movies that have never been released on DVD that are airing today. YEAH!

Well...enough of my yapping.... HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

MUH-HAR-HAR

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Initial reaction to Fallout 3

Greets all...

Picked up Fallout 3 yesterday. I only got to play for about 90 minutes, but so far I am very impressed! I played the first 2 games, and loved them. I know a few of the Fallout faithful that were very leery of the switch to first person format, but I have to say that it does not bother me in the least. You can play the game in first or third person view, just like Oblivion. Speaking of Oblivion, it's very obvious that they are using the same engine. It took about a nanosecond for me to get comfortable with the controls, as I spent an unhealthy amount of time playing Oblivion.

The first half hour of Fallout 3 is spent creating your character. You start as a kid, and by the time the game starts to really take off, you are 19 years old. The character creator is fairly extensive, much like the one in Oblivion. You chose skills, and are taught combat, and how to use your Pip Boy (Personal Information Processor) and the VATS targeting system. There's not much combat in the first part of the game, you interact with the denizens of Vault 101, and kill a few huge ass roaches (radroaches), but the combat is pretty limited. You do a lot of sneaking around in the first couple of objectives, and you do fight a few guards, which gives you some experience using the VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System)

The graphics are good. The muted color pallete suits the post nuclear wasteland world of Fallout. Since it shares a game engine, the graphics are about on par with Oblivion, I would say. Controls are pretty intuitive, and the interface is well designed. The Pip Boy is really easy to navigate, and chock full of information.

So far I am very pleased with Fallout 3. If you were a fan of the first two, and can get past the format change, I think you'd dig it. It's funny, because the format change makes Fallout 3 feel a bit like Half Life (which isn't a BAD thing, let me tell ya!) I can't wait to gain some of the skills, and use some of the outrageous weapons that you will gain as the game progresses. Fallout 3 is receiving rave reviews, except for a few timmies that apparently don't know the difference between and RPG, and a FPS.

I think it definately deserves the accolades!

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Back to work (sigh)

...so, it's my first day back to work after a weeks vacation.

I so don't want to be there. I'll still really down about our dog passing away, and worried as hell about my wife. I'd rather be just about anywhere but here right now. Of course I've got a week of work to catch up, so no rest for the wicked.

Spent most of last week playing Fable 2. Damn, that's an addictive game. Got in a few matches of Gears of War, and a bit of Dead Space. Really wasn't all that much into playing this week, but I needed a diversion. Fallout comes out tommorow, then Resistance 2, and then of course GOW2 on the 7th. Lots of stuff coming out, but I can't really seem to get that excited. I guess I'm going through a bit of depression over everything. I am glad that Pig is not suffering anymore, but I miss her. Claire seems to be doing okay, and I really hope she does get relief after she heals up. We've been through a lot in the last couple of years, and she means everything to me. I hate seeing her in pain, and not really being able to do anything. The doctor says she should see almost complete relief of the pain in her hip, and then hopefully they can ease the pain in her back. She's a great person, and doesn't deserve all of this hurt.

Well, I don't want to spill my guts too much on my blog. Just giving ya'll that have asked about us an update.

I hope to shake out of this funk I'm in soon, and get some good games in for GOW2. I hope to take November 7th off so I can pretty much play from midnight until I pass out.

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Good news and horrible news

Just a quick update on my last post.

My wife made it through surgery with flying colors. They were able to repair the torn connective tissue on her hip. She is already feeling some relief from the operation. Thanks to all for their prayers/thoughts. We really appreciate it.

Unfortunately our dog Pig didn't make it. She steadilly went down hill yesterday. I was going to bring her to the vet, to do what had to be done. I picked her up to bring her inside so my wife could see her before I brought her. She was non responsive but still hangin in there when I brought her in the house. We sat and held her for a while, told her what a good companion she's been, and she died in our arms. She was ready to go. I'm deeply saddened, but I take consolation that we were both there, and she went quickly,. It feels weird this morning not doing her morning walk and feeding her.

She's in a better place now. Hopefully she is with her sister that passed away last year, and with our other dogs and cats that have passed on over the years. She was 11 years, and had multiple health issues. We really didn't expect her to live this long. She was a rescue dog and was near death when we found her, and the vet said to not get attached because her and her sister had very little chance of survival.

Here's a picture of Pig (her real name is Gabrielle, her sister was Xena), in Mardi Gras mode.

We'll miss you terribly my girl...

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Horrible Monday from hell (surgery and ill dog)

Hi all..

Those that game with my wife and I know that she's been having major problems with a hip injury that she sustained a few months back. Well, they finally figured out what the problem was, and surgery was recommended. Today is the day she goes under the knife. Now the surgery is arthroscopic, which is "minimally invasive", but still it's surgery involving anestetic, so I'm a lot freaked out about it. She actually is going under the knife in a few minutes. Those of ya'll that pray, please put her in your prayers, those that aren't, a bit of well wishing would work wonders. I

am actually home right now, watching our dog. She is 10 years old, and I honestly think she doesn't have much more time on this Earth. For the past 2 weeks she has been steadily going downhill fast. She is at the point now where here back legs give out on her, and she is throwing up mutiple times a day. Today she is very listless, and I think her time has come.

So...I'm having a "GREAT" Monday. Claire (my wife), has at least 2 or 3 weeks where she won't be able to walk unaided, and then another month of taking it easy on her hip. Going to be really rough on her (and let's face it...on me!)

I don't know what to do about Pig (our dog) I'm taking her to the vet to see what he says. I'm afraid we might have to put her down though. You can tell she is in pain, and I hate to see an animal suffer, so I'll do what has to be down. A prayer for her wouldn't hurt as well..

Thanks for listening.......

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Boring ass Presidential debates!

Hiiiiidi-hoooooo boys and girls!

So, I've watched the Presidential debates, in part to see if they would sway my decision, but also to see the possible trainwreck, that sometimes happens whenever you get two opposites going at one another. Well, my mind remains unchanged, and there were no real zingers this time around.

In fact, the debates were pretty damn yawn-worthy. Now I don't want to discuss politics. Personally I believe who you vote for is between you, and the button you push, but here's a "thought provoking" list compiled by the fine upstanding citizens at Cracked.com of 20 things that would fix the boredom factor of the debates.

www.cracked.com/article_16707_20-ways-they-could-make-debates-actually-worth-watching.html

I'd definately go for #11, #8, and or course #1.

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Happy Boss's Day

http://www.whackyourboss.com

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My Guitar Hero "Controller"

G'day all...

I've been playing guitar for going on 25 years now (damn, I'm getting old!) As such, I get asked frequently if I play Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Now I've tried both, and while I've found them mildly entertaining, I just couldn't get into them. It's really frustrating for me to muddle through a song on these games, that I can easily play on guitar.

I do think these games are great, as they give gamers the thrill of playing in a band, and perhaps they create interest in learning guitar, bass or drums. The line is definately blurring, as some of the new controllers ape a real instrument in many ways. There are a few companies creating guitars with USB interfaces, and I can see the next step being a guitar or bass that you plug straight into your gaming console. Cool stuff, to be sure!

I've been in 4 bands over the years, and have sat in on blues jams and whatnot for years. I'm currently playing in a new band. We've been together a couple of months, and have yet to establish a name. We're playing old school rockabilly (Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins etc) and some newer Psychobilly (Reverend Horton Heat, Cramps) We're working on a few originals right now, and we're currently recording a demo to give to club owners. The band is a three piece, myself on guitar and vocals, a drummer, and a stand up bass (doghouse) We are in the band to have fun, and do a few gigs, but mainly it's our weekly de-stressor. We drink a bunch of beer/whiskey and rock out. We're just starting to really get in the groove, and click with one another. It's really magical when that happens. Imagine the fun of playing Rock Band times 10!

We filmed our practice session last week, as soon as I get the footage back from Brian, our bass player, I'll post something.

Here's a pic of me with my "baby". It's a 2003 Gretsch 6120. It's pretty much the standard for rockabilly guitars.

I dig it the most!

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Kim Falcon

Had a few people asking about my background photo.

That's Kim Falcon. She's a pin-up model that I really dig.

Here's her official site. http://www.kimfalcon.com/

There's a lot of great pics there. Enjoy!

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Inagural Blog Entry

...so, I've been posting on 2old2play for a while now, and have never posted a blog.

Figured it was time to pop my blog cherry.

So...I guess I should give ya'll a bit of an intro for those that have stumbled onto my corner of the "blogosphere" (God, I HATE that word!!)

My name (in real life) is Shawn. My gamertag is a mash up of Shaun of the Dead, and the deadites from the Evil Dead series. Besides being a gamer, I'm a huge movie fan, especially horror movies! I'll probably throw a few reviews on here from time to time to spice it up a bit.

I'm from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was born and bred here.

I've been a gamer for most of my life. My first console was a Fairchild, back in the mid 70's. It predated the Atari 2600. I would go through the progression of the Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intellivision,Nintendo 16, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Gamecube, PS2, and now the Xbox 360, PS3, and a Wii. (whew)

My wife (Claire Voyante) also games, and is a member of the site. We usually play 3 or 4 nights a week, and are members of the Maniacal Marauders.

Besides gaming, I play guitar, occasionally draw and paint, and I love to read (mostly sci-fi, and horror)

Well....I think I've rambled on for long enough. I hope to make future posts more interesting.

Later!

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