Applying for jobs full-time is exhausting. I'm about ready to crash over here. It really has a draining effect on one's energy.

I'm very tired, but I've covered a ton of ground. I've got my Unemployment lined up, I've applied to 14-17 jobs (depending on what you consider "applying"), I've got a counselor at KansasWorks going to bat for me, and I'm putting my information onto job sites I previously didn't even know existed.

This is only day three, so I feel pretty good about the headway I'm making.

We're also cutting back on spending. Things were always a little tight before the new job came into play, but now they're understandably tighter. Hopefully we won't be a single-income household for very long, but we're trimming everywhere we can.

I'm trying not to act like a soul-sucking pit of despair. For my family's sake, of course. It's best to remain optimistic and try to put on a brave face; even so, it's hard not to be stressed out. I think we all are. Even Ollie probably senses it.

Let this period of struggle pass as quickly as possible.

Do you know anyone who's looking for someone with writing/editing/management skills? Feel free to let me know, because I got let go from my shiny new job today. Department restructuring, apparently.

Hi all! So I'm alive. I've got some big news, but I'll have to put that in a friendslocked post after this one. For now, I'll give some other updates.

Oliver is doing so well. He's so good at grabbing things, he's so smiley, his neck is so strong now. He especially smiles a ton at his gorgeous mommy. He likes to hold his little stuffed tigger and play on his play mat. Oh lord, when he grabs the monkey hanging from his little play pad... he can yell at that monkey for a good long while. Like a persistant, adorable yodle. "AAAAhhhaaaaAAAHHHaaaaAHHHH!" That baby is so cute and so sweet and frequently so zen! He tends to be quite peaceful, and we're very lucky for that. Of course, when the crawling starts, we'll be beside ourselves with panic, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. He's just barely trying to "scoot" during his tummy time right now. He's got a little practice ahead of him yet.

I've been successfully updating The Daily Backlogger every day from Monday through Friday. It's good practice for my dream of being a video game journalist someday, and it's also a good way to keep myself writing no matter where life may take me. I don't know if many... or, well, any... people are really following it, but I'm enjoying the challenge.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was a good guilty pleasure. It was entertaining and far from boring, yet I feel bad for liking it because I sincerely hate the whole "requel" thing. The notion of a reboot that's also a prequel/sequel just sounds like someone's lame excuse for how they couldn't be bothered to watch the previous movie(s), and yesterday I saw an interview with the directors where they confirmed that, despite all of their badmouthing of it, they never saw even five minutes of the 2007 Ghost Rider. Note for the future: If you publically badmouth a movie without ever watching it, you immediately go on my "douche" list. (Yes, Robert Rodriguez, this means I've had to downgrade you to "douche" for how much you've trashed the Alien vs. Predator movies prior to finally admitting that you never saw either one.)

I'll do that other bit of news behind a friends post now.

I have a huge backlog of video games, and I love to talk/write about them. That's why I made my new blog, The Daily Backlogger.

Every Monday through Friday (and sometimes other days), I'll be posting something over there about video games, usually focusing on what I've been playing lately. Sometimes it'll just be a review, like the ones I've done this week. Sometimes it'll try to be funny, like my Mario vs. Donkey Kong post from earlier this month. Sometimes it'll just be a reaction to the latest news. Whatever it is, I hope gamers out there enjoy it. I'm having fun with it.

I've been playing Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem on my DS - mostly by squeezing in a few levels here and there in the middle of the night while I'm rocking my son to sleep. MULTITASKING!

I have some good news: It's MUCH better than (and much longer than) "Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2," which felt like it was slapped together in a weekend by someone who was half-asleep.

Ignoring its quality, though, I want to take a moment to reflect on how utterly bizarre this franchise's path has been. I mean, Mario vs. Donkey Kong on the GBA was a great platformer with puzzles to it, a game where Mario was chasing down Donkey Kong because DK stole a bunch of "Mini-Mario" wind-up toys. The title becomes misleading in the sequels, however, as Mario barely shows up. Instead, he just appears long enough to wind up the Mini-Mario toys and send them marching in one direction - towards Donkey Kong - and it's up to you, the player, to remove all obstacles in the toys' path so that they can exact their mindless, accidental revenge upon the poor ape. How utterly insane is that?

Imagine if someone made a game where a hero battled pirates because they stole tons of gold, and the sequel was about the non-sentient gold coins accidentally rolling their way into bonking the pirates on the head as punishment for their transgression in the first adventure. Clearly, someone at Nintendo said "What if the sequel to Mario vs. Donkey Kong was the most passive, ludicrous revenge tale to ever star a bunch of inanimate objects?" And someone ELSE thought this idea was GOOD.

Of course, the sequels aren't just about revenge; they're about getting back Pauline. Yeah, Donkey Kong is falling back on old habits, and is STILL kidnapping Pauline, the girl from the original Donkey Kong whom Mario is still hanging around with! And based on how Pauline's voice actrees delivers all of her lines in an overtly sexual fashion, it's obvious she still has it bad for chubby midgets of the Italian persuasion. It's hard to NOT suspect that Mario is tapping that. Is DK kidnapping Pauline as some sort of attempt to get Mario to 'fess up to Peach about his two-timin' ways?


What happens in the Mushroom Kingdom stays there, baby. You're my only girl in THIS dimension.

Further comedy is provided by how little of a damn Mario gives when his ex-girlfriend/secret lover is abducted. In the first game, when toys are stolen? It's ON. In the sequels, when a friend is taken by a rampaging gorilla? Eh, fuck that bitch. Mario winds up some toys that mindlessly march towards the ape, then leaves to grab a drink. He does this at the start of each "world" - not even each stage! - so he makes like 8 appearances in the whole game, just so he can wind up some toys and walk off. Then it's up to you to make the toys administer their mindless justice while Mario goes off and saves his ACTUAL girlfriend, perhaps, or maybe just drinks a coffee and reads the paper.


Steal my toys? It's GO TIME, motherfucker.


Steal my ex-girlfriend? Well... sucks to be her.

Red Tails on Jan. 20 - Probably will wind up seeing this with my dad.

One for the Money on Jan. 27 - Maria likes these novels and is interested in seeing this. I'm not sure if we'll try to make it to the theater or wait on it.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance on Feb. 17 - This is the first "must-see" of my new year. I'm guessing I'll go with my dad, since we saw the original together and Maria isn't really caring about this.

John Carter on March 9 - We both want to see this. You have to admit it's looking cooler with each new trailer. Of course, there might a bigger priority later in the month...

The Hunger Games on March 23 - Yeah, this one might be a bigger deal. Maria really liked this book, and I'm really interested in it myself.

The Cabin in the Woods on April 13 - Joss Whedon and his Mutant Enemy cohort Drew Goddard serve up an off-kilter, winking spin at an old horror movie trope. Might pay to see or wait for rental, hard to say.

The Avengers on May 4 - Well, obviously there's no choice here.

Men in Black III on May 25 - The second one was awful, but Maria loves the first one so much that I imagine we'll try to get to this one.

Prometheus on June 8 - My most-anticipated film of the year. I will be there with my eyes taped open so I DON'T MISS A SINGLE DETAIL.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation on June 29 - Combine "drooling anticipation" with "growing dread," and you get my feelings on this one.

The Amazing Spider-Man on July 3 - This might be skippable for us. I don't know if we're really beating down the doors on this one, y'know?

The Dark Knight Rises on July 20 - This, on the other hand, is a no-brainer. Maria might go with one of her friends, though, so we might end up seeing it separately.

Resident Evil: Retribution on Sept. 14 - Hard to say if Maria will join me for this or if I'll go alone. It's high on my priority list, but I dunno where it stands on hers.

Dredd on Sept. 21 - This is another "might-be-skippable" comic book movie. I want to see the new approach to Judge Dredd (complete with Evil Lena Headey as the villian!), but maybe not enough to pay ticket prices.

Skyfall on Nov. 9 - The third Daniel Craig James Bond film will probably be a boys' night for me, my dad and my brother - just as the second one was.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 on Nov. 16 - We're certain to close the book on this series together.

Silent Hill: Revelations 3D on ??? - They can't seem to decide if this will release in March, April, September or October of this year. Mandatory viewing for me, but Maria's not interested.

And that's probably our list of "known quantities" going into this year. Other properties that we MIGHT end up caring about exist, but don't seem like priorities right now. At least... not yet.

I kinda had a busy year at home, so it's not too surprising that I didn't see as many films in theaters this year as I usually do. I only saw 20, in fact, plus 2 new direct-to-DVD releases. Are there any movies I didn't see in theaters that I wish I had gotten to? Oh, only a couple. I'll just have to rent those, though, and that's no big loss for me. It doesn't seem as much of a priority with Oliver around, y'know? But don't worry - I'm not just going to quit. I still love the theater experience, and there are movies we'll definitely make time for next year, such as Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises.

Theatrical:
Green Hornet
Beastly
The Adjustment Bureau
Scream 4
Fast Five
Thor
X-Men: First Class
Green Lantern (x2)
Friends with Benefits
Horrible Bosses
Captain America: The First Avenger (x2)
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part Two
Cowboys & Aliens
The Help
Abduction
Dolphin Tale
The Thing
The Three Musketeers
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Direct-To-DVD:
Death Race 2
All-Star Superman

And so the year ends with 40 games finished!

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (DS)
Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (PS2)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PS3)
Iron Man 2 (DS)
Golden Axe: Beast Rider (PS3)
Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
Batman: The Brave & The Bold (Wii)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (PS3)
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Wii)
Aliens: Extermination (Arcade)
Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3)
Splatterhouse (PS3)
Heavy Rain (PS3)
Portal (PS3)
Half-Life 2 (PS3)
Half-Life 2: Episode One (PS3)
L.A. Noire (PS3)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (PS3)
Ys I Chronicles (PSP)
Bionic Commando Rearmed (PS3)
Again (DS)
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (GC)
Super Adventure Island (SNES - VC)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Reflex Edition (Wii)
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PS3)
Dark Void (PS3)
Saw II: Flesh & Blood (PS3)
Super Bonk (SNES - VC)
Ys II Chronicles (PSP)
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox)
Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters (PS3)
Aliens: Infestation (DS)
Rainbow Six: Vegas (PS3)
inFamous (PS3)
Corpse Party (PSP)
The Legend of Kage 2 (DS)
Portal 2 (PS3)
Centipede: Infestation (Wii)
Thor: God of Thunder (DS)

Why is there a profane one-syllable insult for women that has a nice, harsh sound to it, but no equivalent for jerkass men? I mean, "bitch" honestly sounds mean thanks to that vicious little "CCHH" sound on the end. You can SPIT that insult through your teeth, and make it really sound hateful.

But the truth is, I've always run into way more guys I hate than girls. What am I suppposed to call them?

"Asshole"? Lack terseness.

"Dick?" Lacks brutality - plus it sounds roughly as profane as calling someone a "butt."

"Bastard"? We might as well be cuddling by this point.

I demand equality. Can we create a derogatory term for guys who are complete tools? Because there is certainly no shortage of them. Perhaps we can even imitate the pleasant "CH" sound that puts the exclamation mark on the word "bitch."

How about "skatch"? I think that sounds pretty good. (Besides, "sketch," "skitch" and "skotch" are all taken or sort-of taken by other words.) Go ahead, try it out: "You filthy fucking skatch!" See, that feels nice and solid.

Feel free to inform me of insults I'm unaware of, though, or suggest alternative made-up words.

Taken by my wife: