Oh yeah, I still have a blog…

Wow. Two years since the last posting. My last entry in this blog detailed my intention on going to Southeast Asia for a few months…and I did just that. I spent my time split between Thailand and Vietnam and it was indeed an amazing experience. I met many interesting people (some of which will now be lifelong friends), saw beautiful and strange places, and got myself into a number of ridiculous (and some dangerous) situations. I returned from Thailand with the intention of not coming back to Alaska, but instead staying in Portland. But, one of the things souvenirs I brought back from my trip was a $1000 and some odd dollars of debt. It was not entirely feasible for me to stay in Portland where the job market was horrendous (and still is by the way), and instead decided to return to Alaska.

After about a year and a half back in Alaska, I finally decided it was time to go and do the Portland move for real this time. So in October, 2011 my sister and I put my trusty truck on the ferry and drove from Haines to Portland, a 2050 mile drive. And so now, here I am, living a lifestyle that is truly a tribute to the alternative Portland attitude. Once again, in the past few months, I have done even more growing and learning than I thought possible in this amount of time. I am not sure where to begin, or if I want to begin. I am currently deciding what to do with this virtual space that has been, so far, vastly neglected. I have been meeting many new people lately and it has come to my attention that I have some pretty good stories. Everything from embarrassing childhood memories, to mind boggling adventures abroad. So I think I am going to start to put these stories in words for the amusement of the masses! I will also probably add in the occasional review of whatever video game/television show/book that I am currently into. Speaking of storytelling, there is a show called The Mystery Box. The organizers of this event collect a bunch of storytellers to talk about their sex positive stories. I, along with my amazingly talented girlfriend, will be participating in this week on August 23rd, 2012 at the Brody Theater in downtown Portland. I will be telling a story from my adventures abroad in Thailand. Tickets are $10. After the event, I will post the same story up on this blog for those of you who cannot make it to the show. Thus concludes my first blog post in a bit more than two years. I am hoping there will be more to follow.

Fall Adventure

The prospect of another winter here in this town of Juneau Alaska is unbearable. Just thinking about the dark and cold nights that are sure to be spent alone with nothing but a television and an Xbox for company makes me want to lash out irrationally at the nearest inanimate object, which just so happens to be my work computer, so I should probably remedy the situation before I lose my job.

I have been considering leaving the country for some time now. Ever since I graduated High School back in 2003, I have had an unused round trip plane ticket to anywhere in the world that I just haven’t gotten around to using. I could bore you with a list of excuses as to why I have not cashed this in until now (my lack of financial responsibility being the primary reason) but let’s just skip that. And so, now that I have the proper motivation, I have decided to leave here in the coming month of November.

There are two places in the world that I have always wanted to see. The first being Japan, for that is where my Father served a two year mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For as long as I can remember, my Father has regaled me with fond memories of friendly people and great food.

When I was in second grade, my school participated in a cultural teacher exchange. My teacher Ms. Cross and a teacher from Australia swapped classrooms. While the teacher was a horrid bitch, she did instill within one small Troy Willis the desire to travel to her country. (I will also admit to being a serious fan of the Disney classic Rescuers Down Under. My sister and I probably watched that movie more than 50 times.)

With these two places in mind, I decided to request that my flight be to Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand has received a reputation for being a traveler’s hub. From Bangkok, I can maximize my opportunities, and see any more places than just Australia and Japan. Both of those countries are known for being quite expensive, while Thailand, and other countries nearby, is known for great places for travelers on a budget. From Thailand, I will explore Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia, and whatever other country that I so please. This will be no small holiday, as I plan to be away for many months.

My goal on this trip: to get outside of my comfort zone, where nobody knows me, where I can really find myself. I want to meet people of all backgrounds, experience different cultures, and to develop and inspire the writer within myself. I will be journaling and blogging extensively on this adventure. I hope to share my experiences, and maybe inspire others to take similar adventures of their own.

In the coming months, I will be blogging all about my preparations. That includes things to pack, what I might want to visit, guide books, and anything else I deem relevant. I know my blog has been rather empty (who would have guessed?) but this is something I am determined to remedy.

2010 has been a hard year for me so far. I have been dealing with issues that have long been buried away in the far outskirts of my brain. I have been surrounded with people who love me, yet I still feel more alone than I ever have in my entire life. Despite the drastic changes I have made in my life during the past few months, things that include cutting down on my media intake, exercising, and being outdoors more, my mental state remains unchanged. I am hoping that after I come back from this adventure, I will not be the same person that I am now.

Join me in my next post as I attempt to find the perfect Backpack I need to carry my belongings in the travels to come.

Soon to Come

I obviously I never got to that Watchmen Review I promised, so here is my very short and late review: It was as good as it could have been, which was good enough. The end.

Before I leave for Flordia on Thrusday I will post a review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Stay tuned!

Watchmen Review Postponed

The world is a terrible place, children. It is full of self centered, sociopathic freaks bent on making your life a living hell. This is the reason why there is not a shiny new Watchmen review.

Some assbag with a fatty plow on the front of his truck scraped up against the side of my truck. The fool hit it so hard that it bent the rear axel and the whole damn thing is caddywhompus now! The Auto Repair guys are telling me its probably totalled.

This is a little message to you, the dumbass mouth breather that smashed my car:

There is little chance that I will ever find you, but know this, if I do, I will use your goddamn femur to knock the dents out of my truck! You are probably some idiot piece of redneck trash that can’t properly use is manhood, so you bought a fatty, piece of shit, F250 (most likely from the 70s or 80s, because that’s the best you can afford with your minimum wage income that is split between meth and credit card debt) and stuck a plow on it, a tool you can actually use (unlike your useless penis that quit out on you after you fathered two children with two separate mothers), though not that well apparently. I’ll bet you were on your way home to your trailer filled with moldy dishes and a neglected dog, which is no doubt the only love you have in your sad, pathetic life.

Alright…I feel better now…I will start working on the Watchmen review.

Introduction, The New Xbox Experience, Left 4 Dead, Next Week

Introduction
Hi and hello cyberspace! I am Troy, Dude of Destiny, and this is probably my sixth blog I have made. I create a blog, post a couple times, and then realize that I am the only person that reads it, then delete it, and start the process again. My previous blogs have covered topics of Pop Culture, Religion, Politics, and a bit of Philosophy. While these topics might be hinted at, or discussed briefly, I will try to shy away from them.

I am here, because I love movies, comics, video games, TV shows, and music. Even more, I love to rant about these subjects. So this time, I am going to keep this blog going for at least three months. I am usually really hesitant to write down my goals, because that means if I don't achieve them I feel like shit...but here goes...

The New Xbox Experience
This new system update for the Xbox 360 Dashboard should actually be called "The New Xbox Wii Rip-off". While the new update looks nice, it really isn't anything special. It is a Wii copycat from the clicks and sounds it makes right up to the personalized Mii-like Avatars. The only difference is that Wii does it better. Yeah, the Xbox's might look a little nicer, but so far you cant really do anything with them expect look around...oh and when you look around to much, they get dizzy and go cross-eyed. This might be fixed as more games are released that utilize this so far useless feature.

It’s pretty common knowledge that Wii's are selling like Hotcakes (mmm...hotcakes). It’s because Wii's not only appeal to the "hardcore" gamer, but they also appeal to the casual gamer. The controls are motion based and usually pretty easy to figure out. My grandmother can pick up a Wiimote and play Wii Sports pretty simply. But if I were to hand her an X360 or a PS3 controller, to play another sports based game, she would have a stroke. Obviously, with this new update, Microsoft wants to draw in that same demographic that has made Nintendo a lot of money. So whats their solution? Copy Nintendo! Good job Microsoft!

Except for one small thing, you did a bad job. The only thing you can really do with the Avatars is play some lame ass game where you act as a giant butler/construction worker for you little masters. And in said game, they only animate the legs and the arms bounce up and down slightly. I look like a giant robot but without laser eyes or rockets in my fingers.

Getting away from the Miitoo's (clever huh?), Microsoft also has added the ability to stream Movies from Netflix...which is kind of cool. Unfortunately many movies will be unavailable because Columbia Pictures (which is owned by Sony) don't want Microsoft getting their dirty hands all over their product...

That being said, the Netflix Instant Streaming feature is AWESOME! If you do not yet have a Netflix account, I highly recommend getting one for this feature alone. I also have an account with Blockbuster, which is currently frozen because I have $35 worth of late fees on there. So I decided it was worth spending $8 a month to have one movie sent out at a time, plus the instant streaming feature, and no late fees. This is easily the best thing about The New Xbox Experience.

I am still getting used to everything else. I find myself getting pretty flustered because I have to spend a couple minuets to find the things I am looking for, like where to change my theme. Now that I have had a few days, this is getting easier, but I still like the older system better.

All and all, it's nice to see some changes, but its mostly just a new coat of paint and a poor copy cat of what Nintendo has perfected. Yet the newly added Netflix feature kicks so much ass, its quite easy to overlook its issues.

Left 4 Dead

I have been looking forward to this game for quite sometime. Left 4 Dead is Vavle's Infected Monster Apocalypse game that relies heavily on teamwork and is at its best when playing with a full party of your friends. The game consists of 4 "Chapters" or Movies. Each gives players the goal of trekking through levels of increasing difficulty with the final level making players survive wave after wave of infected while they wait for a rescue vehicle. The games four chapters can be played through easily in a day, but it has enormous replay value because each play through as random elements. Depending on how well the survivors are doing, the game will spawn more or less infected or throw in the occasional boss such as a huge super strong monster called a Tank, or a devastatingly fast and powerful Witch.

And if that wasn't enough, Left 4 Dead's Versus Mode is wickedly fun. Two the four chapters are available in this mode. It pits four human survivors, against four special infected special monsters. The players that take on the infected rolls must kill the human players before they reach the safe house. The Infected have little health, but using each monsters unique special abilities, they can make a lot of problems for the survivors, especially those that lack teamwork skills. I have never played a game that brought me so much satisfaction, especially when some fool things he can blitz to the safe house, leaving his time behind, only to meet his end by my Hunter's claws ripping out his intestines.

Many other reviewers will be quick to describe this game as a "Zombie Game". It isn't! Their are two reasons why this is not a Zombie Game, first, Zombies do not run. Second, Zombies bite, thus spreading infection. In this game, the infected use their arms to beat the poor souls. Simon Pegg recent wrote a wonderful article on Zombies. I will spare you my rant on the “new Hollywood Zombie” so just go check out what Simon has to say.

Left 4 Dead is absolutely worth the $60 dent in your wallet. Between the enormous replay value of the campaign, and the terrific fun of the versus mode, this game is a must have for any console or PC owner.

Next Week
Make sure to come by next week for when I review Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero IV: World Tour. Also I will discus the best news EVER. Be there!