The Frinklin and Fred Show

Holiday Bowl Blues

The Holiday Bowl follows the same script every year. You have the gritty, gutty team that's overjoyed to be there, and you have the team that's ticked off it isn't in a bigger game. Last year, the Beloved Cougs were team A, and Texas was team B. Wazzu came out and played harder, smarter and tougher than the Longhorns, and by the time Texas figured it out, the game was over. The previous year it was Arizona State and Kansas State. ASU played tough, but KSU got it together in time to win.

Last night, after three weeks of caterwauling that they were screwed out of the Rose Bowl by Mack Brown, by the BCS, by Texas sportswriters, by whomever, the Bears came out and laid an egg. Texas Tech was better last night. They were smarter, faster, and they wanted this game, while it was obvious Cal didn't.

Nice going Golden Bears. Way to prove the Longhorn assholes right.

The Calender Doodler

My best friend from teenagerdom has resurrected his blog, complete with his legendary (well, amongst his close friends anyway) calendar doodlings. Check them out here, and convince Mr. Siano to actually keep the damn thing up.

Is this in reverse order or something?

I listen to several radio stations down here in San Diego, one of which is KPRI. They call themselves “Authentic Rock”, and in this case, that means a niche usually called Adult Alternative. It’s what you find on VH1; on the odd chance they’re actually playing videos. Anyway, since it is the end of the year they did a quick reader poll to name the top five… well, top 5 what is up in the air, as it’s called top 5 bands, but it’s really singles. This is what they come up with?

5-U2/Vertigo
4-REM/Leaving New York
3-Counting Crows/Accidentally in Love
2-Jet/Look What You’ve Done
1-Los Lonely Boys/How Far is Heaven

Does that look backward to anyone else? Two of the most influential bands of the past 20 years release excellent albums and they finish 4 and 5? Let’s see, U2’s album is a masterpiece obviously intended to cement them as the Biggest Band in the World, while REM releases a lovely, quiet return-to-glory album and they finish behind these guys? Counting Crows is a fine band, one of my favorites (I know, I am NOT COOL. I deal with it), but this song is a movie-theme trifle. The Jet song is nice. A shameless Beatles rip-off, but Jet is always shamelessly ripping-off somebody. The Los Lonely Boys are an over-hyped Tex-Mex mediocrity. Those three songs and bands are better then U2 and REM? Seriously?

It could have been worse though. KPRI plays Train. They play Train a lot. They love Train.

Nothing sucks more than Train.

This job almost rocks

If it weren’t for all that “Laid Off’ stuff going around, my job would pretty much rock right now. Since they have announced our fates, we have closed the office early four times, and announced 4-day workweeks starting after the holidays.

Again, if it weren’t for the fact we are going out of business, I could get used to this.

And We're Back!

We are back in the lovely San Diego. Much happened during the vacation, and some will be discussed here and the Missus' blog.

Oh, and we might end up buying a house... More later.

Doesn't get much uglier than this

The Seahawks play pretty awfully, manage a 17 point lead, but hold on to beat Arizona. Yep. your 2004-2005 Seattle Seahawks-Playoff Bound! then again, this is the first back-to-back playoff appearances in 20 years.

Feel the magic, 'Hawk fans?

A sort-of KotOR 2 FAQ

Over the last few weeks, I've had an explosion of hits for this little blog. Now, these aren't due to anything I've written or any witty observations I might have had. No, these are hits from people looking for tips on KotOR 2. I figured, since no walkthroughs are up yet, I'd answer some questions that bring people here.

How do you find the silver/red/cyan/whatever lightsaber crystal?
No idea on this one. Most of the stuff available in The Sith Lords is random. This means where you might find a lightsaber crystal (the Duros shopkeeper on Citadel Station, the sick man on Nar Shadaa), it's unpredictable what color it might be. In fact, Geriel the sick guy could also give you a power crystal. If you desperately need a particular color, save a game before accessing the Duros' inventory, then just reload until you get what you want.

The same story for Jedi Robes. Plus, the only way to get Master Robes is to kill a Master.

Can I get my original lightsaber back?
Nope. Atris has it, and kill her as often as you like, she never gives it back.

How do I turn the Handmaiden into a Jedi?
This one is easy. You need to build up influence. The best way to do this is to beat her in the three training duels. At that point you can talk to Kriea, and she will tell you that Handmaiden's mother was a Jedi in the Mandalorian Wars. Alternately, you can ask HM if she'll put clothes on. After the second or third time, she'll put on some Jedi robes, and introduce her mother's story there as well.

How do I turn Mira into a Jedi?
This one is even easier. Build up some influence, and take her back to Nar Shadaa. You should have the option to talk to her about how she seems more comfortable there than on the ship. If you have sufficient influence, you can take her to the spot Kriea shows you the "flow" of the planet. At that point you can train her as well.

How do I turn Atton into a Jedi?
If you have enough influence, and get through his rather ugly story, he'll ask you too.

How do I turn Bao-Dur into a Jedi?
This one is pretty easy too. You'll need to get enough influence again. This time, it isn't much, as 3 gains will do it. At that point Bao-Dur will talk about his anger decreasing (if you'r LS) or increasing (if your DS). At that point you have the option of training him.

How do I turn Hanharr or Mandalore into a Jedi
You can't. Neither of them are Force Sensitives.

Who and How do I romance in KotOR 2?
If playing as a male character you have options with the Handmaiden and Visas Marr. If female, you have the option for Atton, the Disciple, and Visas as well. None of the romance is very detailed or deep. It never goes beyond the "I'll follow you" stage. There is some jealousy between HM and Visas and Atton and the Disciple, but nothing much. You can't start a romance with Mira. The missed opportunity is with Atton, as he's clearly gay. I don't mean that in a derogatory manner, I mean Atton is a homosexual. He's got really nice hair, past problems with women, and an unnatural need to comment on the physical appearance of a male PC. He even gets catty with the Handmaiden when she shows interest in the PC. C'mon Lucasarts, let Atton out of the closet.

What KotOR 1 characters are in the sequel?
Not much. HK, T3 and Canderous (as Mandalore) are available for your party. If playing as LS character Carth will appear as a Republic Admiral. If you said Revan was DS, then the Sith Holocron in what was Master Uthar's room will show a recording of Bastila. Alternately, if Revan was a LS male, Bastila will have a quick cameo at the end, and also appear in T3's message. Jolee is briefly mentioned, but no Zaalbar, Mission or Juhani. And don't even think of such non-NPCs like Dustil, or Yuthura. Master Vandar is believed dead, but Vrook plays a big part.

How do I influence {insert name here}?
There are thousands of ways. The easiest is when you have the opportunity to thank them or take their suggestion, do it. Beyond that, it's a general rule of thumb that characters who start out LS like when you are a nice PC, and DS ones like when you're nasty. Beyond that, you can always check this out, a very nice guide put together by the posters at Obsidian.

Where do I find {insert NPC here}?
Okay, in order... sorta.
Kriea-first met in the Peragus medical bay morgue, and will join your party after Sion first appears.
Atton-first seen in the Peragus jail, will join right after Kreia does.
T3-first communicated with at the Peragus Administration console. Will be unavailable more than once until after Telos.
Bao-Dur-the surface of Telos.
Handmaiden (Male PC only)-will sneak aboard the Ebon Hawk as you leave Telos.
Visas-assuming you have established DS or LS, she and her master will have a cutscene while you are on Telos. She will be waiting for you in the Ebon Hawk, appearing the first time you return to the Hawk on your first planet.
HK47-You'll meet several HK50 droids. Kill them and you'll get a repair part from each group. You will also have to buy a piece, either from the droid junk dealers on Nar Shadaa or Dantooine.

At this point, when you get particular characters depends on what order you hit the planets.
On Dantooine, you can find the Disciple in the ruins of the Jedi Temple. If your a female PC, he'll join your party.
On Nar Shadaa, Mira will shadow you until you're invited to a meeting at the alien bar called the Jekk'Jekk Tar. She'll join you, in a sense, at that point. This is only if you're a LS character. If you're DS, you get the Wookie Hanharr at about the same point.
G0-T0 is found at the very end of Nar Shadaa. Aboard Goto's yacht, imagine that.
On Dxun, you will need to prove yourself to Mandalore. If you do, he'll join your party and give you transportation to Onderon.

Update-1.1.2005
Does it matter if I'm LS or DS when it comes to making my NPCs Jedi?
No, you just have to have enough influence. Going DS does cost you a potential Jedi in Mira, but HM, Atton, Bao-Dur and the Disciple can be convinced to go to the Sith route. What's wierd is the game doesn't always recognize that a NPC is now DS. For instance, if you have a DS Handmaiden, she'll still get upset (and you'll lose influence) if you go slaughtering innocents.

How do I beat the Mystery Sith?
It isn't difficult. The only hard part is the three floating lightsabers. The trick is to attack each saber individually. Don't go after Darth Mystery, as she'll dodge, and the sabers will cut you to pieces.

The Minister

Reggie White passed away today at the too-young age of 43. The Minister of Defense, possibly the best D-Lineman in NFL history, retired with the all-time sack record, later broken by Bruce Smith. Smith was a great player, but he couldn't compete with White. After football, White devoted his life to his ministry and helping inner-city kids. He lost some luster, deservedly so, for his inexplicably insensitive comments on homosexuality, but his life is still one to celebrate.

Merry Christmas Everybody

Richard is out to get Obsidian

Richard is done with KotOR 2, and he's not happy. I agree with him, and have had some of the same clipping problems and stuck characters. I got Fable from my lovely sister-in-law, and I'll get to see what RPG graphics can be.

Also, very short storylines.

Cool...

I usually try to read the PI and Seattle Times online edition, but it is nice to read the paper paper sometimes. Imagine my surprise when I open up the PI and find Derek from USS Mariner has a newspaper column. Good stuff too...

And we're outta here!

Well, the Missus and I are off to Seattle for the Christmas Holiday. How much blogging happens this week is up in the air. We're spending the week at my Father's house, doing the Christmas thing and maybe even looking to move up there. It will be slightly more Holiday weather up there. It's mid-40s and raining. Here in San Diego it's mid-70s and sunny. Has been all week.

Whatever readers I have back east just died, didn't they?

So, this is what happens when the Seahawks take on a good team

Sort of a review of KotOR 2, but really just a series of observations

When I started this post, I was 7 hours into the game. I have updated this as I was 1/3, ½, and ¾ finished. Now, I am done, and it took me a tick over 44 hours.

Just in case, why don’t we hide this? No big spoilers or anything, but it is best not to take chances.

-The graphics, like those of the first game, are nothing special. In an RPG, that is an excusable fault, but it is irritating that the sequel is no better. In fact, it is worse at times. In large battle scenes, the frame-rate can slow to a crawl. The problem lies with BioWare’s Odyssey engine, on which both KotOR games are based. It was state of the art in 1998, but is simply out-modeled at this point. The engine has been tweaked, and yes, there are some impressive weather effects, especially on the polar regions of Telos and the jungles of Dxun. The biggest improvements in the graphics department are the combat animations. They will change as the move is upgraded. It is a welcome change. There are also new basic attacks and hand-to-hand combats.

-The selectable player faces, while improved, still need some work. It is rather disappointing that an Xbox (and PC) game in 2004 wouldn’t have fully customizable heads, but that goes back to the engine as well. Things are better though. I am using the bearded guy this time around. I thought of him as an Obi-Wan type until my wife saw it and remarked how much he looked like Jesus. Now I cannot get that out of my head.

-At this point, I have my entire party. I’m playing as a Lightside male this time around, so I get Kriea (female Jedi Consular), Atton (male Scoundrel), T3M4 (expert droid #1), Bao-Dur (male Zabrak Tech Specialist), Handmaiden (female Echani soldier), Visas Marr (female Miraluka Jedi Sentinel), Mira (female Scout), G0-T0 (expert droid #2) and Mandalore (male Mandalorian Soldier). The provisional characters are the Handmaiden and Mira. If playing as a female PC, instead of Handmaiden you get the Disciple. If playing a darkside character of either sex, the Wookie Hanharr replaces Mira. My biggest gripe about the NPC selection is the lack of interesting aliens. Only Bao-Dur is obviously different, the Echani, Mandalorian and Miraluka are just exotic humans. The game itself brings in several new species: Chadra-Fan (who was in the programming for the first game but never used), Gran, Sullustan, Weequay, and Gand all make appearances. Anyone geeky enough to read the X-Wing books know how cool Gands can be. Why not an NPC? It has a built-in story, as Gands need to prove their worth before taking a name.

-Character progression goes differently from the first game. In the original, it was fairly straightforward: talk to an NPC, wait for level-up, and talk again, and eventually something happened, like Bastila running into her mother or Carth finding out his son was alive. This time everything is based on influence. All of your characters have secrets, and it is up to you to get them to reveal them. I will give an example. When the Handmaiden joins your party, the easiest way to gain influence over her is to defeat her in a series of training fights. It is a series of three, and if you win each, you will have considerable influence over her. She will mirror your dark/light alignment, and if you choose too, you can train her as your apprentice. Where influence is gained varies between NPC. If you don’t have influence over a character, and it’s difficult to gain with characters with alignments opposite from yours, their stories remain locked. Still, it is always worthwhile to try. A hint: Do not forget to ask HK what love is.

-The Handmaiden is also one of your romance options, at least if you are playing as a male PC. The romance subplots are a lot murkier than in the first game, and they lack the melodrama of the Bastila/Revan or Carth/Revan relationships. If you are a male PC you get Handmaiden and Visas Marr, females Atton, the Disciple (a rather unctuous Jude Law wanna-be) and Visas as well. Whatever romance is tame, nothing beyond the “I’ll follow you anywhere” stage. In fact, if it were not for some cutscenes that don’t include the PC, you wouldn’t even know if there were romantic feelings involved.

-This game, while ignoring romance, is far more sexual than you would expect. The first game was positively chaste, not even Bastila’s slave-girl outfit was anything revealing. The sequel goes in the opposite direction, probably too much. Mira’s outfit is comic-book ridiculous, a bare stomach and plunging neckline on armor? The Handmaiden’s duels take place without clothes. There are a few sex jokes (sex jokes in Star Wars?), and Kriea immediately warns against “mating” with Visas. It’s nothing bad; it just doesn’t always suit the material.

-Don’t play this game hoping to find out what happened to the characters from the first game. Revan is a looming presence, but never really present. Carth and Bastila will play cameos depending on which direction the story goes, and HK, T3 and Canderous (as Mandalore) will join your party. The others, with the very small exception of Jolee, are never mentioned.

-The storyline is where an RPG needs to shine, and this game doesn’t disappoint…much. It starts out brilliant. The first levels are a claustrophobic, paranoia-inducing mess. It’s a gritty, street-level, almost dirty version of the SW universe. It also raises some interesting questions about the Star Wars universe, like what would happen when the Jedi, a band of mystical warrior-priests, became disconnected with average society. The game slips a bit when it expands this vision and emulates its predecessor. It works, most of the time, but there are moments where it seems the game developers were confused about which vision to show. The levels themselves are good, perhaps not as excellent as the first game’s Korriban or Kashyyk levels, but the sequel also lacks a Manaan-like clunker. The problem with the story is the ending. Not to give anything away, but the story seems to come unraveled and never really ties itself together again. This game seems almost a “Part 2 of 3” as the recent Halo 2 did, though this doesn’t end nearly as abruptly.

-The villains, like the storyline, start much stronger than they end. First, and most disappointingly, Darth Nihlius (Freaky Mask Guy) is a non-character. He’s presented as a nearly omnipotent Sith, capable of killing planets with the Force. And his first appearance is a great one; a cutscene showing him riding the galaxy in the wreckage of his ship the Ravager. He’s barely seen again, and never displays any personality whatsoever. It almost seems as if the developers came up with a terrific look for a character and decided that was enough. He’s really a non-entity. Sion is better. Again, in the beginning he’s most impressive, arriving to capture you in the ghost ship Harbinger. He’s not seen again until Korriban, but he does have some sort of relationship with other characters. He’s also far more difficult to defeat. The third Sith Lord is “The Betrayer” as labeled by Kreia. Unfortunately, the identity of this person will not shock anyone playing the game.

-In the end, The Sith Lords is a damned fine game. Maybe not as polished as it’s predecessor, but at times superior, it stands alone quite well. I wonder, if LA had not pushed for a Christmas release, would they have a better game in February 05? I don’t know. The story of this game almost demands a third and probably final installment to the story. Considering the 18-month gestation of this game, that would put it as mid-2006. Just in time for the Xbox 2.

Well, lemme hear ya say YEAH!

I dunno about the Sexon signing, but damn... we landed Beltre!

Well, this kinda sucks don’t it?

Merry Christmas to me!

What did I get? Laid off!

Yeah, I know… it does suck, doesn’t it? We found out yesterday. As of Valentines Day, our entire division will be shutting down. It does not come as any real shock. Our division, which is a bit of an oddity in the company anyway, hasn’t been doing well the last few months. We had a restructuring a few months ago where some got laid off, and others (like me) were transferred. We thought that did the trick and we stabilized.

Guess not, huh?

The company got tired of our extraneous asses (our unit is in a different discipline than the rest of the company; we are the only unit still based in California), wasn’t able to sell us, and decided to liquidate. If we stick around until the end, we get a small severance package, health insurance until the end of February. Then we are on our own.

I’m taking this better than I would have imaginedm and so is most of the office. It did not surprise anyone. If anything, there is a great sense of relief at the office. At least we know what is coming now.

Of course, if I’m still here come February, I may think differently.

Tinkerbelle!

I really, really hate secret gift exchanges, yet I am sucked in every Christmas. Why is that? It’s easier to spend $10.00 then spend an entire Holiday season without people wondering if I’m some sort of Grinch.

This year, in our newly reconstituted (and soon to be dissolved) unit, we did things a bit differently. Since we are so new, and don’t know each other well, we sent out a little list of things we’d want or would be interested in. It was just my luck to draw Pammy, the office airhead. You know the type. She has an annoying HEE-HEE-HEE giggle that emanates from her cubicle; everything’s relative value based on “cuteness”, a general sense of wide-eyed stupidity, you know what I mean. This girl is the office equivalent of a prop-comic.

Seeing as I know as little as possible about Pammy I was very pleased that everyone sent a helper for this particular gift exchange. I’ve never seen her reading or discussing anything beyond general cuteness, and her only known hobby is breeding. I mean, c’mon, she’s 21 and 7 months into pregnancy #3. She listed two things on her interest list: Chocolate (thank god) and Tinkerbelle.

Only she didn’t just list “Tinkerbelle” or “Tinkerbelle memorabilia”. No, she listed every fuckin’ thing that Tinkerbelle appears on: Tinkerbelle mugs, Tinkerbelle pens, Tinkerbelle glasses, Tinkerbelle shirts, Tinkerbelle baby clothes, Tinkerbelle dolls, Tinkerbelle jammies (of COURSE she spelled it “jammies”), Tinkerbelle slippers, Tinkerbelle key chains, Tinkerbelle frames, Tinkerbelle socks, Tinkerbelle, Tinkerbelle, Tinkerbelle.

It covered half a page. I wonder now if she meant chocolate covered Tinkerbelles. If so, she’s outta luck.

Screw it, I’m re-gifting. The Missus received a perfectly awful, noxious chocolate-scented candle at a business luncheon the other day. It is the perfect gift for this situation.

Hmmm... Las Vegas Nationals?

Check any and all bridges and tall buildings in the DC area because you might find Fred and Ball-Wonk teetering at the edge. That whole Reborn Washington Baseball franchise? Well, in the words of the Mayor who did the deal, "The dream is now close to dying. We're in great jeopardy here, and I think I'm being optimistic."

Now, I know this one isn't really MLB's fault, but Sweet Jesus, what more can go wrong with this Expos mess?

All I want for Christmas...

...is this. Go and bug Ensie for me okay?

Preview: New Orleans Bowl

Okay, when I mentioned I would preview bowl games this year, I kinda forgot I’d be out of town the week of Christmas. So who knows what I will actually do.

If your watching this game, matching the North Texas Mean Green and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, you’re either an alum or totally hardcore. We have the best team from a lousy league against a mediocre team in a slightly less lousy conference. North Texas is lead by freshman TB Jamario Thomas, who ripped off 5 straight 200-yard games. USM got off to a great start at 5-1 with a victory at Nebraska, but flattened out as the season went on.

I’d take the Mean Green, if for no reason then it’s more fun to say.

Funny thing here

Due to a myriad of factors, I’ve been posting to my blog much less in December than I did in November or October. While my posting has been less frequent and my frontpage gets progressively blanker, my hit totals are steadily increasing. They actually reached their highest point this past weekend. The implication is apparent: The less I post, the more people like me. At this rate, I should stop posting entirely. My hits will continue to rise, and eventually I’ll be seen as one of the bright lights of blogdom. One of my blank pages will grace The Best of Blogs Vol #2 and offers from Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated will start rolling in. Perhaps even Cat Fancy

Actually, it would most likely be Obsessive Geeky White Guy Quarterly, but I’d be okay with that.

A New Rule

Regular readers (okay, all three of them) will know that the Missus and I like to come up with needed rules for our marriage. So far, we have two: No-Murder and No Gay Sex at Work. Well, we were discussing Mark Hacking, the Utah guy who killed his wife and was eventually turned in by one of his brothers. The Unabomber was nabbed the same way. Well, I have no siblings, but Ensie has three, two younger sisters and a younger brother. The conversation naturally flowed to whether or not she would be able to turn in her siblings had they admitted to some horrible crime. The consensus? She wouldn’t be able to do it, but would tell me what happened, knowing that I would be able to turn them in. Thus, we came up with the Rat on My Siblings Rule.

Just a warning, in-laws, just a warning

Uh-Oh

It’s Mid-December and the San Diego Chargers are 10-3. The Seattle SuperSonics are 17-4.

This may be a sign of the impending apocalypse.

Just thought I would warn you.

The Huskies have a coach?

According to the Seattle Times, the UW should announce Ty Willingham as their new head choach sometime early this week. I know some boosters wanted someone flashier, but this a good choice. I said so last week.

Comparing M’s to O’s? That can’t be good

This week’s Sports Illustrated contains, between nice articles on the well-liked Chargers and Husky dynamo Nate Robinson, a tiny slice on the beloved Mariners. Albert Chen, a writer for the SI (not-so) Daily Blog, has this to say:

The Mariner’s courtship of the Carlos Delgado and Richie Sexson reminds me of the Orioles lat winter: Baltimore bought sluggers Miguel Tejada, Rafael Palmiero and Javy Lopez and barely improved. Seattle should add a starter and upgrade its dreadful bullpen

While I am not a fan of the sign-both-aging-sluggers idea, I have to disagree with this. Yeah, the pitching is a mess, and the M’s are attempting to pick up a starter (the wrong one, but that is another thing entirely), but this team had a terrible offense. Of course, the idea that Delgado and Sexson are preferable to Beltre OR Beltran is questionable in of itself. This does compare to Baltimore, and that’s a sure sign of a franchise heading in the wrong direction.

Of course, this may all be moot, as contracts for non-stars are so ridiculous so far this off-season it is beginning to frighten. Jermaine Dye? Omar Vizquel? Cristian Guzman?

The New Husky Coach? U-Decide

This morning’s Times has an interesting article from Bob Condotta on the UW’s search for a coach. With Tedford out of the picture, they seem to be looking around. The new names are Boston College’s Tom O’Brien, Jim Mora Jr of the Atlanta Falcons, and Viking coach Mike Tice. Mora is easily the most interesting name. A guy willing to leave a head job in the NFL for college doesn’t happen… well, ever really. He’s an alum, a great d-coordinator, and (so far) a pretty fair head man. O’Brien does nothing for me. He’s not particularly exciting, and it doesn’t strike me a good idea to hire someone with only east coast recruiting experience. Tice is trying to make himself a candidate, but it isn’t working.

Another name heard, on ESPN radio yesterday, was Walt Harris of Pittsburgh. That stuns me, seeing as Harris has nearly been fired twice recently. If I’m Todd Turner, I focus on Mora and Willingham. They’re the best options out there.

Dropping out are Dan Hawkins from Boise State, and Louisville's Bobby Petrino. Both are in the process of signing extensions to stay where they are.

Of course I'm still alive...

Just busy with... well, if you don't know, you haven't been paying attention now have you?

Best for Last

I can't sign off for tonight without mentioning my wife. Tonight she had a church tea with her mother and sister that she had completely forgotten about. It was slightly dress-up, so my lovely wife did what many women would do: use this as an oppurtunity to buy a new outfit.

My wife got of work at 4:30, ran to the mall for 15 minutes, managed to find a top and new shoes to match the skirt she bought the other day and hadn't yet worn.

She rushed home, had 15 minutes to change... and came out as beautiful as I'd ever seen her.

It's really magical what women can do sometimes, isn't it guys?

Hell with sports, time to be geeky

I don't have KotOR 2 yet. My copy should be available tomorrow afternoon at GameStop. I don't even have to pay for it, my lovely in-laws gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. Yes, I'm 31 and I still get toys for my birthday.

Anyway, a couple people seem to have it already, and we have new reviews from GamePro (4.5 out of 5) and GameSpot (8.5 out of 10). Both the reviews are much the same: dynamite storyline, excellent voice acting, mediocre graphics and awful load times.

Since the game is out now, the official site has massive updates, especially on characters, including Mandalore (widely rumored to be Canderous from the first game), Visas Marr, The Handmaiden and Disciple.

Well, so much for the Tedford option...

Washington will have to look somewhere else for a new coach, as Cal is on the verge of announcing a 5-year extension for Coach Jeff Tedford.

This stuns me actually. I figured the BCS mess would chase Tedford up to the U. Guess not, and now the Huskies are scrambling a bit. They have three real options at this point: Ty Willingham, Boise State coach Dan Hawkins and Louisville coach Bobby Petrino. I'd take them in that order at this point, but it seems Dawg Boosters aren't at all happy about the possibility of Willingham. Can Hawkins move to the big time? We could find out soon.

Death by a thousand Julius Jones Cuts

AAAAAAAAAARGH! tonight is a perfect example of why, sometimes, i wish i hated sports and never watched them.

I found this from a commenter named "RSJ" on USS Mariner tonight. Pretty much encapsulates what all Seahawk fans are thinking. My first attempt at posting about this, written right after the game ended, was merely a rapid-fire sting of mostly unconnected curse words.

For those wondering, the immediate reaction in the Frinklin household was me yelling “AUGH” and pounding my fists into the floor.

Scared the hell out of the dogs.

This game was the biggest roller-coaster game I’ve experienced since the Cougar/Longhorn Holiday Bowl last year. The first 10 minutes the ‘Hawks come out gangbusters, take an early lead and look dominant. Then they fall apart, and the Cowboys put up 26 unanswered points. Then the pendulum swings again and the Seahawks start playing like they did the first three weeks of the season. At that point this game is the best thing that could have happened to Seattle: a tight, hard-fought win, after they had been sleepwalking.

And then they collapse.

Again.

Playoffs? No... A .500 record? No...

What we get now is another rebuilding attempt. Holmgren is gone, as is Hasselbeck and maybe Alexander too. Hopefully Whitsitt, who has proven himself utterly incapable of running a professional franchise in two different sports should be canned too.

Back to the drawing board folks.

Again.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The Holidays? Nahh.. Christmas and New Years and Hannukah and Kwanzaa and anything else you can think of are merely ancillary to the real highlight of this time of year: Bowl Games!

I love bowl games. I’ll watch every damn one of them, no matter how meaningless it may seem to be. I wish we could dump the BCS and go back to the conference championship arrangements. The Big 10 and the Pac 10 should always play in the Rose Bowl. The SEC champ should be in the Sugar, and the Big 8 (or 12 or whatever) should be in the Orange. Period. I’ll never understand this mania to find the “real” national championship. I trace my opposition to any sort of playoff to two things: First-one of the best parts of NCAA football is that two dozen teams get to be champions of something. That’s cool, damnit, and we shouldn’t be so quick to get rid of it. Secondly, my alma mater Washington State won the Pac 10 championship in 1997. They qualified to play in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 67 years. Generations of Cougars had been supporting the team with that goal in mind. They went to the Rose Bowl, lost a heartbreaker to Michigan, but energized the team and its fans.

Had the NCAA instituted a playoff by then, WSU would have been the eight seed in a eight team playoff.

Where the hell is the fun in that?

Anyway, for this bowl season, I’ll do my best to do previews for each game. First game up is the New Orleans Bowl featuring the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and North Texas Mean Green.

To start out, check out CollegeFootballNews' Matchup Rankings.

As for the BCS, I think USC, Oklahoma and Auburn are all pretty much even, so there isn’t anyway around this mess. The team that gets screwed is Cal, as they lost only once, a heartbreaker to #1 USC. Texas takes their spot. The Longhorns only lost once as well, but they got stomped by #2 Oklahoma. This could cost Cal their coach. Tedford has to realize as Kirk Herbstreit put it on ESPN: a 10-1 Washington Husky team wouldn't have been passed over.

Thanks to Jeremy for pointing out what this could mean for Tedford.

The M’s Semi-Official Media Outlet Speaks

Some depressing stuff in this morning’s Finnigan column on the M’s and the winter meetings.

-The ludicrous idea of signing both Delgado and Sexson continues, even though it could push the Mariners over their self-imposed cap of $16 million to spend. If that happened, they would attempt to trade Ibanez or Winn. Really though, aren’t those things they should be trying to do anyway?

-Pavano visits on Tuesday. Why this guy is considered the best FA starter out there is beyond me. The back-up seems to be Jaret Wright, and the M’s have made a preliminary 3 year/$9 million offer to him. This would be fine if he could bring Leo Mazzone with him, since the only halfway decent year of his career was under Mazzone’s tutelage.

-If the Yankees are able to invalidate Jason Giambi’s contract after his recent steroid admission, they would be a major player for Delgado. I have no problem with that. If the Yankers want to overspend on another aging slugger, go right ahead.

-The most worrisome note is this concerning Jereomy Burntiz : Burnitz is intriguing as he played some center field in Colorado this season.

Yep, the team that has employed Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Cameron is considering Burnitz as a CF. A smart team wouldn’t consider him at all. A slightly dumb team would consider Burnitz as a corner-OF/DH option. Only a seriously demented team would think of him in center.

Yet another thing stupidly spelled with a "Z".

The Single-A affiliate of the Angels has moved from Provo, Utah to Orem, Utah. In addition, they changed the team name from Angels to (wait for it...) Owlz.

No, not "Owls". They spell it O-W-L-Z.

And we wonder why children today are so damned stupid.

Thanks to Rob at 6-4-2

Hey Irish Fans!

D'OH!

Utah's Urban Meyer, forever known in South Bend as they-guy-they-fired-Ty-for, spurns his "dream job" for a shot to win national championships by agreeing to coach the Florida Gators.

Why? Well, the giant contract, easy admissions policy and enormous FLA talent base are a start.

So, what now pinheads?

IGN Reviews The Sith Lords

....And they love it, with a couple small reservations.

Why the HELL don't these things come out before the weekend instead of after?

That would be Secretary Bad Ass, thank you very much.

I have to commend the Bush Administration on their choice of Bernard Kerik for the Secretary of Homeland Security. I don’t know much about him, but c’mon, he looks like he could bite a terrorists head off and spit it out if he had too.

You really can’t say that about Tom Ridge, can you?

The Ever Expanding List of Commercials I Hate…

I’m not someone who hates commercials. I’m someone who understands and even appreciates the more mercenary side of art. That being said, there are some commercials that are so egregiously bad that I have to comment. This might be a recurring theme here, haven’t decided.

Corporate cousins The Gap and Old Navy are both pretty high on the annoying scale right now. The Gap’s current ad campaign is built around Sarah Jessica Parker, which is a mistake. I have nothing against Sarah Jessica, in fact I find her very attractive and I even enjoyed Sex and the City when they were not all naked and stuff. The problem lies in the rather obvious age-difference between her and the two-dozen models who act as human wallpaper in the backgrounds of the ads. While still a young-looking 40, Parker is still a good 15 years older than anyone else in the ads. It’s jarring, and does not make her or the company look good.

Still, the Gap is light-years less annoying than the current Old Navy ads. Now, I shop at Old Navy, but if I didn’t, their awful new Christmas ad campaign would be enough for me to never start. For those who haven’t seen them, these ads feature models doing normal things like going to lunch or the bakery, only to be interrupted by several more models, all diverse ethnicities (but nobody over 21) singing personalized Christmas carols. These carols make it damned clear that the true meaning of the season is making sure everyone in the family have plenty of inexpensive sweatshirts.

Finally, we have the current America Online commercials, which feature AOL members showing up at the corporate office to voice opinions and suggestions. This is fine, and it is obvious that AOL wants to portray themselves as a company open to improvement. God knows they have plenty to improve on. It is questionable at best; whether it is a good idea to imply that EVERY member of AOL has something to gripe about is not. It’s moronic, made even worse by the follow up ad featuring a presumably normal member bursting in on a board meeting in order to list her complaints. Is this really the best idea AOL could come up with? People so dislike AOL they invade the company headquarters to complain about it?

I do have to thank my lovely wife for pointing out just how old Sarah Jessica Parker looks in the Gap commercials.

Thanks to my wife...

...I'm 18 again. My birthday present this year.

Am I old yet?

Today is my birthday. I turned 31.

I do not deal well with birthdays. I’ve been paranoid about getting old since about 15, and I have not gotten much better. My wife is the opposite. She is one of those people can look at it and say they are just a day older than the day before. Ensie is forever reminding me that the only that makes my birthday any different than any other day is the fact that people feel the need to give me stuff and give me cakes.

This is a good thing. I understand that. Still, there will always be a bit of a freak-out that occurs around 2 weeks before December 1st. It usually passes around the third or the fourth. I am fortunate in one respect: My birthday falls in an ungodly busy part of the year. We have Thanksgiving, then my Mom’s birthday on the 27th (Hi Mom!), mine on the 1st, my sister-in-law on the 5th, and on to Christmas. I wonder how neurotic I would be if I were born in July or something. It would not have been pretty.

I started dreading 30 sometime around 21, but it has been a good age for me. I managed to get married, for one thing. It didn’t strike me at first how much different life could be; the missus and I had been living together for years. It’s been amazingly special though, and I still get a slight case of the chills whenever I call my wife “my wife”.

I also managed to get this blog up and running. More importantly, I didn’t quit during any of the times wanted to. While it’s never as interesting as I’d like it to be, and I seem overly obsessed with video games and comic books for a man about to turn 31, I enjoy it.

I hope to be as fortunate at 31.