Terraria

A little random trivia for you: I am not the best at video games. And I really suck at first-person shooters. Give me side-scrolling Mario any day and I can do some awesome and amazing things. When we got Super Mario Bros Wii, my wife kept dying before finally finishing the first three levels. I, on the other hand, didn't have my first death until near the end of the 2nd world. And I consistently had 99 lives in the later part of my first go through of the game.

My point being, I really enjoy side-scrolling games. They're less difficult to navigate and I know I'm not gonna worry about changing directions. The buttons are simple to use and fighting bosses don't require too much thought process.

Well, years after the first time I played the original Super Mario Bros. back in the late 80s, fellow Mormon Geek, Andrew, introduced me to the world of Terraria. And at first I thought "this is the stupidest game". And then I realized "this game is AWESOME!"

Terraria is a side-scrolling game whose graphics pretty much belong on an SNES or a Sega Genesis. And there really isn't much to the story, which was my initial problem in the game. I had no idea what I was doing the first time I played it. Then I understood the goal is to seek out treasures, build up my house, and destroy the bosses that can pop up.

For me, it's finding the goals to accomplish that make it fun. Start off with a goal of "build a house". Then there's "get copper armor and tools". And maybe better armor, or better tools, or a specific tool or weapon. Eventually I find myself saying "beat the Wall of Flesh." Still haven't done the last one, but I will soon enough.

A lot of people prefer a similar game called Minecraft. Minecraft is a first-person game, which is probably the biggest and most obvious difference. And I really haven't played Minecraft, but I definitely prefer the 3rd-person sidescrolling.

Terraria is my go-to game right now. My line of thinking is akin to "I need to kill some time, I'm gonna play Terraria." If you like simple game play (like me because I suck at first-person shooters), then Terraria is a game that can work great for you.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.

Hope burns bright-a guest post by Adam Coon

Green Lantern

I've long been a big Green Lantern fan. I've worn a Green Lantern costume for Halloween three different years, as well as to the premier of the Green Lantern movie a couple of years ago. And I've collected every issue of Green Lantern since the return of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Rebirth almost ten years ago.

I had a very active imagination as a child (and I'll admit that I still do today), and the idea of having a ring that could create anything I imagined had a lot of appeal to me. If I could will it, I could create it.

But as much as I love all things Green Lantern, I found myself even more intrigued when DC expanded the concept of the emotional spectrum and introduced the Blue Lanterns. While a Green Lantern's power is based on willpower, a Blue Lantern's power is based on hope. I've also been impressed with how closely Blue Lantern powers follow the gospel concepts of hope and faith.

Blue Power Ring

The scriptures tell us that “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen” (Ether 12:6). As hope is a necessary element for faith, for the purposes of this post, I will use them interchangeably, though I will note that in reality faith is more than just hope. And as will is a necessary part of taking action, I will also use will, action and works interchangeably.

The scriptures also tell us that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). Pres. Thomas S. Monson has also been quoted as saying, “Work without vision is drudgery; vision without work is dreaming; work coupled with vision is destiny.” If “hope” is substituted for “vision,” this quote very much follows the relationship between will and hope.

Going back to the comic books, shortly after the first Blue Lantern was introduced, it was shown that proximity to a Blue Lantern more than doubled the power of a Green Lantern's ring, just as in life, hope can encourage, motivate and even strengthen action.

A Blue Lantern supercharging
Green Lantern's ring

It was also soon shown that unless they were in close proximity to a Green Lantern, a Blue Lantern's ring had very limited abilities (limited to flight and a protective aura). But when near a Green Lantern, a Blue Lantern has all the abilities of a Green Lantern, as well as many more. When near a Green Lantern, Blue Lanterns have been seen to have healing abilities, the ability to reveal others' hopes, and in one case is shown to channel the hope of the natives of an orbiting planet to turn back the clock on a dying star by several billion years.

This is a good analogy of life, in which case vision, hope or faith without willpower or action will accomplish next to nothing. But when action and vision (or will and hope) are combined, there is almost no limit to the potential that can be accomplished.

Blue Lanterns have also been shown to have abilities related to several of the other types of Lanterns. Blue Lanterns have the ability to drain the power from the rings of members of the Sinestro Corps (the Yellow Lanterns empowered by fear). And Blue Lanterns are also able to cure Red Lanterns (who are powered by anger or rage) who would otherwise die when their rings are removed. And finally are able to decrease the hunger or appetite of the Orange Lantern (who is powered by greed or avarice).

This is also true in life. Hope overcomes fear. It can counter anger and resentment, and fend off greed. Indeed, of all the emotional spectrum embodied by the different Lantern Corps, hope is easily the most powerful, but only when coupled with willpower.

In addition to its analogy to how some of the principles of the gospel and life work, the Blue Lanterns also have a special meaning to me.

I've usually been a pretty optimistic guy, tending to look at the positive or try to find the positive in negative situations. But there have been some circumstances and events in my life during the past few years that have left me feeling very discouraged. At times, I have been in despair, not being able to see how things could get better. During some of those times, I have found hope in the Blue Lantern motto, “All will be well.”

To me this means that even though things may not be going well right now, and in fact things might be really bad, there is hope. And as long as I hold on to that hope, and use that hope to motivate me to action, things will get better. And I've found on a number of occasions as I worked those principles, my life did improve.

Me wearing my Blue Lantern shirt

A few years ago, a good friend gave me a t-shirt with the Blue Lantern emblem on it, and written in bold across it the word “HOPE”. I wear this shirt often because it inspires me, just as the members of the Blue Lanterns have and continue to do.

I'll close with the Blue Lantern Corp oath (which is also my favorite of all the corps' oaths):

In fearful day, in raging night,

With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,

When all seems lost in the War of Light,

Look to the stars-- For Hope burns bright!

Pardon Our Dust

Hey Everybody!

So you may have noticed I didn't post last week and you may also notice that things are starting to look different around here. It looks like I have some explaining to do! Alright, so here's what's going on folks: I'm doing a design overhaul on the blog! Woohoo! It's been a lot of work and a lot of fun and I'm almost finished. 

In the meantime, here are some backgrounds that you can use on your computer or smartphone. You love us so much so why not see our cartoon alter egos offline, right? ... Right? *puppy dog eyes*

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Hope you like what I've been working on.  Look forward to more fun stuff on the way!

-Stephen

UPDATE:  The wallpapers for Joe's cartoon ego have been added.

Victory for the people

So in case you don’t obsessively follow Disney like I do, here’s the story so far: Merida, the Oscar-winning princess from last year’s film Brave, was popular enough to be inducted into Disney’s line of princesses. Apparently being a princess in a Disney movie isn’t enough to cut it, but whatever we’ll go with it (Though a note is that Mulan is considered a Disney princess, while Pocahontas is NOT, explain that one…). Anyway, as part of her induction Disney gave the sassy tomboy with the bow a little makeover.

Fans were not happy.

Now say what you want about the film (The second act was a mess, the villain was sub-par, the magic was confusing and kind of stupid, the backgrounds looked like stuff they recycled from Tangled…) Merida was cool. She’s a no-nonsense princess who can shoot a bow like Hawkeye and her main motivation isn’t marriage. She’s a lot like Disney’s recent princesses who are in pursuit of their own goal, only unlike Repunzel and Tiana she didn’t end up with a man. I loved it! Then Disney decided to make her look older… and skinnier… and show more of her… femininity… The masses were outraged. It seemed like for every positive step Disney have taken towards showing a more diverse and colorful world they were about to take a step back and try to recreate Barbie.

Fans across the internet spoke out against this move, as moms in droves staged online protests and petitions to the House of Mouse.

And guess what?

Disney listened.

The image of the “improved” Merida has been removed from their website. Everyone’s favorite ginger archer is going to stay as she always is. Sassy and classy.

To me this is extremely encouraging, not just at Disney but at society as a whole. I like the idea that children’s media is going beyond making emotionless drones to sell to boys and girls. This is one of the reasons I love Monster High, because unlike Barbie’s Malibu/LA plastic world each girl has their own look and personality rather than just being colored differently. Merida’s victory is a victory for all parents and children everywhere, that we won’t stand for shoddy carbon-copies any longer!

Go Merida! Keep shooting for your own hand!

-JOE

Confessions of a Fanboy

Me corrupting my niece Bella early... :)

I know I’ve admitted this several times before, but I am a card-carrying fanboy, which is pretty much a fangirl but with a lot more shame. The fact is: I get excited about things I like. Sometimes it’s normal (Batman) and sometimes it’s stuff I should’ve never known about (Monster High), but either way fanboys and girls fall deeply in love with their subject matter.

All that being said, it’s no surprise that two videos in the last month have made me cry.

Yes, I’m pathetic.

First is this tribute to Disney Animation. As my massive report on my trip to Disneyland demonstrated I am a massive Disney geek, and being a kid who saw The Little Mermaid and Lion King in theaters, a tribute to the animation just brings out my inner child like nothing else can.

So check it out

Next is a bit more recent. Another tribute video, this consists of other fanboys and girls gushing about DC’s latest cancellation of both the Green Lantern series and Young Justice. Now I was a major fan of Young Justice since it prominently featured some of my favorite yet sadly obscure heroes, namely Superboy, Zatanna and Captain Marvel. If they’d thrown Harley Quinn in somewhere I probably would’ve had the logo tattooed on my back. The first season won several awards but after an unusually long sabbatical the second season took place five years later from the first, and while the overarching story was a bit slow interest was at least present for what the characters were going through now. Sadly it was abruptly cancelled to be replaced with Teen Titans Go, a pandering Muppet Babies wanna-be. Now while I don’t think this video will actually get DC to bring back Young Justice or Green Lantern, I consider it a very touching tribute to the shows as well as to super heroes in general and what they mean to their fans.

And so, here it is.

Being a Fanboy means that while I get teased about a lot I also get the chance to fall in love over and over again with different creations and characters, all while being old enough to understand their significance to me on an intellectual level. I’m the guy who defends Monster High as more than just a Barbie knock-off and declares any one Monster High character to have more personality and depth than Barbie ever had, and I’m kinda proud of that. As embarrassing as it is to say some of this stuff makes me cry, I’ll also say that it’s better than not feeling anything and just living life in a shallow vacuum of emptiness that most of society seems to be pushing men towards…. Wait, that’s another blog for another day… J

-JOE 

Going Rogue - A Review of Two Roguelikes

It has been a long while.  I have been AWoL for the last little bit.  Minecraft has been eating a lot of my free time.  (I'm sure you all would be bored to death of all the different Minecraft mods I've tried out in the past few months).  Today I'm going to review two roguelike games.  What is Rogue you say?  Read on, dear viewer!

What is Rogue?

Rogue was a game released in about 1980.  It was a dungeon crawler.  Each level of the dungeon would have a 3 by 3 room grid.  The room sizes as well as the passageways between the rooms would be randomly generated.  Each time the player played the game, the layout of the dungeon as well as the location of the monsters would be different.  The graphics for Rogue weren't all that impressive.  The player was represented by the '@' symbol, and all of the monsters and items were represented by the same.  It often led to some hilarious forum posts for first time players. "A 'C' then started to chase me!"  Because of its popularity, many games have replicated Rogue's basic formula.  Some examples are Dungeon Crawl, Nethack, Angband, Moria, ADoM, and so on and so forth.  Today, I'll be looking at two modern spinoffs.

Sword of the Stars: The Pit

Sword of the Stars:The Pit (or SOTS for short) was released in March of this year.  It features many of the same features that Rogue had: randomly generated dungeon levels, random loot, as well as the turn based system that Rogue had (in the original Rogue, monsters wouldn't move until the player had moved).  SOTS provides quite a few interesting spins on the classic Rogue formula.

First off, SOTS is a science fiction genre game whereas Rogue was a fantasy game.  Players can arm themselves with a variety of ranged weapons, as well as things like knives, swords, and nanoblades.  There are also more futuristic weapons like a laser pistol, laser rifles, or even the powerful Meson cannon.

One major change is that the player is unable to see behind the character (there is a small black cone that stretches out from behind the character).  Many times, I have been caught off guard by monsters that managed to sneak up behind me.  Also, unlike Rogue, SOTS has actual graphics for everything in the game, rather than using alphanumeric characters.

Probably my favorite feature of the game are the computer terminals that are placed randomly throughout the dungeon.  Once per terminal, the character has a chance of retrieving an encoded message.  As the messages get deciphered, the player can learn lore from the game, random musings from dungeon inhabitants, or recipes.  For example, Message #1 is 'Remember to Drink Your Ovaltine'.  The best part is that the messages are saved even if the character dies, so that the knowledge they obtained is usable by all future characters.

Overall, I found Sword of the Stars to be a fun and challenging game.  Trying to survive on normal difficulty has proven quite difficult for me!

Rogue Legacy

Rogue Legacy is a game that is still in beta.  In Rogue Legacy, the player takes the role of a knight that is trying to find a cure for the King in a dangerous castle.  The castle is a randomly generated dungeon full of monsters, traps, and spikes.  Every step is deadly and could be the character's last (especially at the start of the game).  The character starts out with only the most basic of armor and weapons. The deadliness of the castle usually leading to the character's quick demise.  However, once one character dies, one of the character's heirs take their place on the quest, inheriting all their gold (and any upgrades).  So, each time a character goes through, they will gradually get stronger and stronger.  In addition to the upgrades, each character can have a class and a variety of interesting traits.  For instance, the Turrets trait makes the character yell out expletives (all of them are censored as @%!$ and the like) when they get damaged.  The colorblindness trait makes the whole game only show up in black and white.  Most of the time, the traits are just for flavor, although some can influence the size of the character and their ability to knock back enemies or be knocked back themselves.

One major variant from the original Rogue is that the game is entirely realtime.  The player must react quickly to defeat many of the monsters and traps in the castle.

I've tried out the demo, and quite enjoyed it.  I was able to beat the final boss after a few hours of trying.  I'm quite interested to see what other areas of the castle will be like in the final version of the game as well as any new classes or equipment that the final version will offer.  As of May 31st 2013, Rogue Legacy was 'Greenlighted' on Steam, meaning that it will soon be available on Steam.

If you are looking for some fun games to try out, check out these two.  They might just tickle your fancy.

Dynamic Duos

With a title like that I could go so many different directions. I could talk about. And initially, I was gonna take this to a certain set of movies. Instead, that'll be a later post. Today, I'm gonna talk about some of my favorite dynamic duos from TV shows and movies.

Before I go through my list, I had to make a difference between two similar ideas. That's Dynamic Duos and Bosom Buddies. There's a difference to me. There are some relationships on here that are both. But there's a difference between them. A Dynamic Duo have two (from duo) distinct (from dynamic) personalities. Where Bosom Buddies are BFFs who play off one another, Dynamic Duos use their separate ideas and concepts to battle for something else. Dynamic Duos can easily be Bosom Buddies, but these concepts aren't the same. Power Couples are also considered a different category. I highly anticipate blogging about both those other similar ideas later, and probably some crossover from post to post.

Without further garbling, here are my top 10 dynamic duos

10. Frodo & Sam (Lord of the Rings): I wasn't sure I was going to put them on this list. There's something about Frodo & Sam that classify them as Bosom Buddies. However, they have a cause that they collectively fight for, which makes them a Dynamic Duo. Frodo is charged with taking a powerful ring to Mordor. Sam is charged with keeping Frodo safe. What makes them Bosom Buddies is that they went through their own personal hell in order to get there. So they're Dynamic Duo trait comes from the time they leave the shire to the time they get back. They have to fight and survive a lot in order to accomplish their goal.

9. Shawn & Gus (Psych): Shawn is a dork. Gus is a nerd. They're definitely BFFs, but they also work well together to solve mysteries with Santa Barbara's finest (or not finest) detectives. Shawn does all these quirky, over the top performances to prove the guilt of murderers, and Gus is there to make sure Shawn doesn't go too far into it. Also, Shawn is like the world's worst wingman for Gus.

8. Robin Hood & Little John (Robin Hood): Go on...you know you want to sing it. "Robin Hood and Little John walkin' through the forest, laughin' back and forth at what the other'ne has to say." Or there's the other one..."We're men. We're men in tight, (high voice) TIGHT, tights." Whichever one you want to go with, Robin Hood and Little John are a powerful duo. They know what they're doing and work off one another's strengths quite well.

7. Cobb & Arthur (Inception): My wife still hasn't seen this movie and to be honest, it is one of my favorites. It is said when Christopher Nolan wrote this script, he created a character for a different part in filmmaking: Cobb was the director and Arthur was the producer. And after reading that, it made even more sense. You have to have a director to lead, but you need a producer backing up the director. Even though Cobb is interested in his freedom and Arthur is wanting the money (but also technically to not die as well as help his friend), they're aim of implanting an idea is consistent. They work as a team and definitely use one another's strengths as well as challenge one another in their job. I like their friendship, it's professional, yet personal.

6. Kirk & Spock (Star Trek): It would be illogical for me to not include this great duo. Kirk was the emotional leader with Spock keeping him grounded. Both in the original Star Trek series and through the movies, Kirk and Spock work/fight together in order to accomplish mutual goals.

5. Gilligan & the Skipper (Gilligan's Island): After a sucky 3-hour tour, all they wanted to do was get off an island. Instead, they kept getting stuck there. Whether a stupid mistake or someone else's greed, they were just stuck. Gilligan & the Skipper are almost the antithesis of a Dynamic Duo, but they still work together to get themselves off the island.

4. Carter & Henry (Eureka): Not the most popular show. And some people would argue that these two don't classify as a Dynamic Duo, but I say they do. Henry and Carter are best friends, but they're more than that. Carter is the dumbest person in a town full of geniuses. But what Carter lacks in intelligence, he more than makes up for in wisdom. Henry is not only one of the smartest, he is also one of the wisest. Without Carter and Henry, the town of Eureka would probably have been destroyed by a nuclear bomb.

3. Batman & Robin (Batman Franchise): Oh duh! Like I would omit THE Dynamic Duo. Yeah, there are 2 I rank higher than the "original". But I definitely gotta pay respect to good ol' Batman & Robin. Robin defines sidekick. He is the person that Batman needs to help him through most situations. Without Robin, Batman is a solitary dark knight, which fits the persona just fine. But with Robin, Batman becomes a team player who sees his weaknesses from being alone. Or you can disagree with me like Joe probably will.

2. Picard & Riker (Star Trek: The Next Generation): These two are actually a reversal of Kirk & Spock in a way. Riker is the emotional/lady chaser and Picard is the stiff "by-the-books" leader. But as a team, they've always got one another's backs. Picard trusts Riker to do the right thing, and vice-versa. Picard picked Riker to be the commander on the Enterprise. Riker chooses to stay despite being offered a ship multiple times throughout the show.

1. Leonard & Sheldon (BBT): Yes, Big Bang Theory is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. These two...like Gilligan & the Skipper make an anti-Dynamic Duo. But they are still a team. Their cause is science. Or maybe it's to get the audience to laugh. But honestly, Sheldon calls Leonard his best friend, mostly because a) it's a logical choice and b) Sheldon probably wouldn't survive without Leonard, even if he won't admit it. But what makes this one of my favorite Dynamic Duos is that they are exactly that: dynamic. Their personalities collide and Leonard just gives up because he knows it's not worth fighting someone who, as he put it, is "one lab accident away" from being a supervillain.

And remember: Alien abductions are involuntary.

The Problem with Star Wars

Last week I posted my top ten favorite movies list and I pointed out that, despite sleeping next to a 2 ½ foot Lego Death Star, I didn’t have a single Star Wars film on my list. The reason being:

I’m sick of Star Wars.

That’s right folks. You heard it first.

Let me take a step back and explain: When I was a kid the original Star Wars films were re-released with all of George Lucas’s touch ups and add-ons and my dad thought it would be great for my brother and I to see these films in the theater like he did. I was mesmerized by the galaxy far far away and instantly fell in love with the sweeping space drama. I was still a kid when The Phantom Menace came out and fell in love with that film too, and even now I still defend that it’s not THAT bad of a film, just not what everyone was hoping for (And for the record, yes, Jar Jar was annoying but you only really had to deal with him for one movie. I thought Luke was WAY more irritating and he’s in three. Just saying.).

So at one point I was a huge Star Wars fan. I read books about Star Wars, played games about Star Wars, and had as many toys as I could get my hands on, but that’s when I started noticing the problem. It started when in the toy aisle I noticed an action figure for one of the dancers in Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi. It wasn't the green gal with the legs on her head, it was the chick who looked like Ursula’s mother. My young mind thought “Who on Earth would want this thing?” and that’s when I started seeing the problem.

Remember that scene in New Hope when they walk into the Canteena and it’s full of Muppets? It’s supposed to show that the universe Luke and Obi Wan live in is full of aliens and strange creatures, and makes the bar more threatening because of how different everyone is. Did you know that every single one of those Muppets has a backstory, characterization, and that it’s all written down in a dozen books somewhere? Most of these things even have action figures!

And that’s my problem: Star Wars is too big! The Canteena example is just a small piece of the picture, as there are literally hundreds of books that take place all over the Star Wars universe. One series, Shadows of the Empire, became so popular that they actually briefly got their own toy line! I’d be forgiving if they were all part of one continuous story, but half of them contradict each other and go over the same periods of time with different outcomes. If that’s not enough you can check out the Knights of the Old Republic storylines (Admittedly the Knights of the Old Republic video game is one of my favorite games of all time but my point still stands) which takes place about 1000 years BEFORE New Hope! 1000 years? What is this the Bible? Who is going to need history about something from 1000 years before?

We also have all these mid-story stories like that Clone Wars TV series, which I just can’t get into. First of all I hate the CG and second I just don’t see how a show like that can have any significant character arch if we already know the outcome-why we’ve known the outcome for over 30 years! He’s Darth Vader! He’s Luke’s father! Get over it!

Disney has announced that starting next year they will be releasing a new Star Wars film every year starting with Episode 7 and that every other year will be a film about someone’s backstory, IE Han and Boba Fett and my thought is: WHY? Han Solo was a well written character, a scoundrel yet moral, a person who seems lost but who found a cause to fight for, who cares how he grew up? It’s like that new Monsters U film, I don’t care how Han and Chewbacca or Mike and Sully met, you already established that they were friends and have been together for a while, why do we need to go back and show how they met? It’s just adding more clutter to an already cluttered mess of a continuity.

Now I know what you’re going to tell me: Other properties do this too. Comic books have flashbacks and continuity adjustments all the time and Star Trek has tons of media written about it too, but here’s my thing: At DC comics there is literally an entire department devoted to making sure whatever continuity they’re currently running stays consistent, so that if someone writes a story about Catwoman meeting Bane some guy can say “Actually they met at a villain/hero mixer in Florida and they exchanged email addresses…”, and all of Star Trek’s books and films are all kept within one established continuity, despite being written by different authors at different periods of time. So when I pick up a Star Trek book I know I’ll probably be reading about a certain period of time and won’t get lost.

Here’s my last word: Star Wars as a whole is a mess. Yes, there are good things, even great things, floating around, but the massive atrocity that is the continuity has lately been turning me off. I miss Star Wars, I miss a fascinating space drama, but I’m not willing to dig through mountains of trash to find it.

-JOE

T.J.'s Top 10 90s Sitcoms

I'd thought about doing a Top 10 Movies post, like Joe did last week. But I decided to be random and go with a Top 90s Sitcoms. If I were to do Top 90s TV shows all together, there'd be some Star Trek on here. Where? Meh, you'll have to wait. Give it a few years and I'll probably write about them.

But here are my Top 10 Sitcoms from the era of the 90s.

10. Home Improvement: If you don't know, my first name is actually Timothy. Most people met me pre-2001 know me as Tim. And as such, many people (especially in middle school) would say to me "I don't think so, Tim." (Unlike Tim Taylor, I was usually right.) This sitcom, today, kinda bores me. But I remember when it was the most popular show that kids at school talked about. Oh, how I miss the time of the 90s when there was such a thing as a "family comedy."

9. Full House: Yeah, I admit, I used to watch this show religiously. It was my weekly favorite. And then I started watching it on TBS or something and decided "what was I thinking?" However, I still have good memories of watching this feel good family-comedy.

8. Family Matters: Speaking of family comedy, this one started out that way. But it turned into "The Urkel Show." I love how a one-time guest star gets so much praise that they have to write said character into the show permanently. Not only that, but the character became the MAIN star of the show. A lot of people don't realize that Family Matters was actually a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, and it did better than its predecessor. (You know what though, Urkel is so annoying today.)

7. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: To be honest, I rarely watched Fresh Prince. To this day I've maybe seen about 10 or 11 episodes. But I gotta say, if given the option of any of the previous shows on this list, or this one, I would choose Fresh Prince. First of all, it's theme song is the best. And as if that's not enough, Will Smith is pretty awesome and hilarious.

6. Dinosaurs: I'm the baby, gotta love me. Dinosaurs was such an odd show, yet really well loved. How could you not love Baby Dinosaur and everything he did (or rather, said). Not the mama! Not the mama! Not the mama! Being a mama's boy and the youngest, yeah I could kinda relate. The thing I liked about this family-oriented show was that it pointed out then-modern themes that could be applied to life.

5. Saved by the Bell: It's all right, cause I'm saved by the bell. Zack. Kelly. Jessie. Slater. Screech. Lisa. Ah, the whole gang. Yeah, I'm placing this in the upper half of the list. Despite being "lame" and any other negative term you can throw its direction, I will always have a place in my heart for this show. Both Leah Remini and Tori Spelling spent time on this show. If you don't know who they are...meh, doesn't bother me. Anyway, this show was a great lesson teacher to teens. Although, I don't remember that one time when the school started spouting oil and it somehow became all the students' property.

4. Wings: If you pay attention, you can see how a few things from this show inspired Friends. Big example? Joe's OCD cleanliness + Helen's former overweight self = Monica. Shoot, I swear that Phoebe was a younger version of Fay. Interesting that Antonio went on to play Monk and probably currently has the best career of any of the alum. Yeah, a lot of them have gone on to have decent acting careers. In the later seasons, you find Maid Marian from Robin Hood: Men in Tights starring in the show. It is a pretty funny shows. And the characters mesh well with one-another. It reminds me of Friends a lot in the way the characters interact.

3. Muppets Tonight: I love the Muppets. The Muppets are one thing from when I was a little kid to today that has remained a consistent like. This short-run follow-up for The Muppet Show, was awesome. It had the same concept of the original, modernized for the 90s with its guest stars. Added Clifford, the random Rastafarian, and one of my favorites: Bobo the bear. But it keep your classics, like Kermit, Piggie, and Fozzie.

2. Newsradio: This show would have lasted longer if not for Phil Hartman's murder. You've got the classic will-they-won't-they story of Dave and Lisa. Bill's awesome jerk humor. Matthew's spazzing out. Catherine's attitude. Beth's ditziness. And not to mention Jimmy James being the oddest man to ever own a radio station. Newsradio was a classic from the get go. Best moment, in my mind, was when Matthew grew a mustache and it was presented to the three women. Beth screams in fright. Lisa laughs in horror. And Catherine slaps him. Honestly, my wife and I found it so funny we had to rewind it and watch it again.

1. Friends: I can watch Friends over and over again. And believe me, I have. From Ross saying he just wants to be married again to Rachel saying she got off the plane, this show is just a great way to watch adults grow up. One thing I think this show proves to us is that we can be who we are and still grow up without losing our authentic natures. Phoebe goes from being this hippie with very few things to tie her down to a careered massage therapist, with a husband. But she's still ditzy, floopy Phoebe. Chandler goes from being a man-child to being a committed husband and father. But he's still dorky, goofy Chandler. Rachel goes from spoiled rich girl to hard-working career mom. But she's still shopaholic,  This is a show about growing up, even when you think you're already there.

What? Something's missing? No, honestly, there isn't. Can't stand Seinfeld. Never liked Frasier. I'd honestly rather torture myself with Sister, Sister and The Nanny than either of those.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.

Joe's Top Ten Favorite Movies

So last week I was supposed to write about my top ten favorite video game characters. Unfortunately my own impossibly high standards as to what makes a character good (Incidentally, I do NOT think Mega Man, Mario, Sonic or Link are AT ALL good characters, but that’s a discussion for another time) it’s probably not going to be done anytime soon. So instead, being a film critic by trade, I often get asked what my favorite movie is. So here we go, my top ten favorite movies, once again in no particular order.

Side note A: I will admit that while I am pretentious, that doesn’t mean that I can’t accept that a movie can be both good and make a whole ton of money, so thus the presence of some big Hollywood blockbusters unlike some other film critics whose lists are full of artsy films.

Side note B: I am well aware that two of the films on my list are rated R. I would like to remind the audience that the official statement by the First Presidency of the church is to “Use one’s own discretion”. I’ll explain more later.

Side note C: You’ll notice the lack of animated films on this list. There are too many to count (Disney could easily have its own list) so this is all live action films.

10: Harvey

To me this is one of Jimmy Stewart’s best films, even though his most popular today is It’s a Wonderful Life. This is one of the movies that made me fall in love with movies in the first place. The story is about a soft-spoken and kind man who makes friends easily but is the constant embarrassment and shame to his family because he’s best friends with a 6’ tall white rabbit named Harvey that only he can see. Stewart is so loveable in this as this kind man, almost completely oblivious to the havoc he causes around him for talking to his rabbit friend. If you ever get the chance, check this out because this is fun for the whole family.

9: The Dark Knight

On the other side of the film spectrum from Harvey sits The Dark Knight. Like a lot of people the reason I really love this movie is for its villain, the Joker, played by the legendary Heath Ledger. I love how this film captures the real spirit of the Joker by making him be the only one to push the stalwart Batman straight to the edge. The film itself has the feel between Law and Order and Saw, with just enough not shown to keep its PG-13 rating. I love it and I can quote the lines from it by heart.

8: Rebel Without A Cause
This film has been talked about so much there isn’t much I can say about it to add to the conversation. I will say that something I love about this film is the relationship between Jim and Plato, which for those who haven’t seen it plays out in this weird twisted version of hero worship. How it develops through the film shows the strengths and weaknesses of both characters, as well as the weaknesses of the society in which they live. It’s a hard-hitting film for its time that I think needs to be show to every teenager with their dad sitting right next to them.

7: Star Trek: First Contact

Yes, I like the Abrams stuff, and if you haven’t seen Star Trek Into Darkness yet then go see it immediately, but this is still my favorite Star Trek film, partially because it dealt with my favorite cast and partially because it had one of my favorite villains from Star Trek: The Borg. The film is about an attack by the Borg on the Federation, choosing to go back in time on Earth to assimilate it in the past and stop the test of the human’s first warp ship. Following them is the crew of the Next Generation’s Enterprise both to save history and stop the Borg once and for all. I love how tormented Picard is in this film as he struggles with the trauma of having his individuality torn away from him, as well as Data’s desire to be human twisted and perverted by the Borg in an effort to gain more control. I also love that Star Trek took time to explore its own history, rather than going back in time to our time as they like to do. Plus, is it just me, or is there something kind of hot about the Borg Queen?

6: V for Vendetta

This is one of the rated R films on this list and for good reason. While the film does feature some gratuitous fight scenes, the political messages alone I feel are enough to give it a rating. In a distopian future, a neo-fascist regime has seized power in England, ruling the populace through media manipulation and fear. A lone hero, V, has vowed to bring the regime down in the course of a year and set the people free. Now while the film does have several political stands on religious freedom, gay rights, and government and media, I feel the film’s main message is that freedom at its basic level is a cause in and of itself to be fought for, and that nobody deserves to be persecuted or live in fear. The hero is great, Natilie Portman is great, and this film helps us all remember why we should be grateful for the freedom we have.

5: Young Frankenstein

Of course a Mel Brooks film had to end up on this list. I actually couldn’t decide between this, Spaceballs and Blazing Saddles, but I decided that of the three this was the most intelligent. Young Frankenstein is about Frankenstein’s grandson, an accomplished doctor, inheriting his grandfather’s castle in Transylvania. He ends up finding his grandfather’s laboratory and builds a creature of his own, all while teaming up with a hunchback and a busty lab assistant. The jokes come from the hysterical accent (Blucka!) as well as references to the old Universal monster movies which will always be near to my heart (Yet another top ten list).

4: Les Miserable

This film caught me completely by surprise when I saw it. The complicated tale of love, redemption, and revolution all with songs melts my heart every time. Yes, Russell Crow is also my least favorite thing in this film, and I’m honestly not too fond of Hugh Jackman’s singing (Except when he sings the song with Anne Hathaway at the end and dies, that tears me right up), what I do love about this film is how despite some weird casting choices it captures the spirit of the play so wonderfully, bringing audiences around the world to tears as Hathaway dreams her dream and Epany (I have no clue how to spell these names) dies on the barricade singing about how rain will make the flowers grow. What can I say, I’m a romantic at heart.

3: Avengers

Another film that caught me off guard, I honestly had no idea what to expect when I went into the theater. I knew that one of my favorite people ever, Joss Whedon was in charge of it so I had some hope, but what I got was one of the best freaking super hero stories I’ve ever seen. It was exciting, funny, moving in parts, heartbreaking in parts (I lose it when Iron Man is flying into the black hole and tries to call Pepper). I know a few weeks ago I said how the Marvel film franchise is walking a tight line, but if they keep making this I won’t have any complaints.

2: Harry Potter 7 parts 1 and 2

I could make a snarky comment that this is my favorite Harry Potter movie (And yes, it is one big ol’ movie on two DVDs if you ask me) and book for that matter because the thing finally ended, but honestly that’s kind of why I love it. So many franchises just keep going, with movies, TV shows, books, video games, comic books, that following the thing becomes almost a life goal (You notice you don’t see any Star Wars movies anywhere on this list). Harry Potter on the other hand doesn’t just end, but it ends with a giant battle that’s been building up since the beginning, and every single piece of the series gets tied up in its own little package. Do I want to hear what happened to Harry and the gang between the battle of Hogwarts and them sending off their kid on the train? Honestly no, I don’t need to because I know that whatever he faced compared to Voldemort would be easy. It ended a satisfying part of my growing up experience.

1: His Girl Friday

This film is so old all the copies I’ve ever seen of it are grainy, including the DVD copies. It stars Cary Grant and Rosiland Russell as a divorced couple (Shocking for Hollywood in 1940) who are also fellow reporters. Russell is trying to start her new life away from Grant and the cutthroat newspaper business while Grant is trying to get Russell Back in the only way a Cary Grant character knows how: Through deception border lining on sociopathic. Seriously through the course of the film Grant gets a guy arrested like three times, one for “mashing” which is basically the 1940s way of saying sexual assault, all of course a rouse set up by him to win back Russell. But as messed up as some of these concepts are they are certainly entertaining to watch. The dialogue is fast and punchy like New Yorkers were supposed to talk back then, with lots of quick insults and jokes that you have to pay attention to get. I love this film because it shows us just what it means to live life in a New York minute.

-Joe

Special considerations:

Pulp Fiction

The Seven Year Itch

The Wizard of Oz

Hunger Games

Entrapment

Die Another Day

Silence of the Lambs