Christmas Loot

Inspired by Mike I decided to do a loot post. I started a thread on the message board I frequent most, and it seems only fair to do it here. Be warned it is a video game Christmas.

The wife and I have been saving change, and putting aside money since March to get a next gen console and some games. So we got a next gen system, and I gave the wife a bunch of my budgeted fun money over a couple of months to get me games. So without further ado*:

Christmas Candy box. My new years resolution last year to give up candy. I had the leftover Halloween candy, a chocolate bar on Thanksgiving, and I'm giving myself 2 weeks of candy eating from Christmas to my Birthday (Jan 10th). This had a 330 pice red vines, chocolate of many types (notably chocolate oranges, and chocolate covered peanuts and raisins. Starting the day after my birthday, back to no candy.

A complete set of Bruce R McConkie's Messiah Series (The Promised Messiah, the Mortal Messiah Vol 1-4 and the Millennial Messiah. This was purchased with Christmas money - Our Gospel Doctrine (Sunday School) teacher has been using bits from these books and I wanted to read them. Hard to find online (at collector's prices). Found it at a local bookstore, their last copy. They said it was a tough one to get in. Reading now, and it is really really cool. :)

X-box 360 came with the unit, 2 controllers, a recharge pack and two games, listed below.
Games:
360:
Forza Motor Sports (came with the unit) - Driving game
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (with the unit) - Multi-player Gauntlet type
Ninety Nine Nights - A Dynasty Warriors beat up handfuls targets game.
Mass Affect - Space based Action RPG.
Bioshock - Really Atmopheric FPS. Very very well done.
Earth Defnse Force 2017 - Run around and blast thing game (car sized bugs so far)
Bullet Witch - 3rd Person action game.
Halo 3 - First Person Shooter
Live Arcade Unplugged - 6 smaller games that started life as Live Arcade Downloads. Pretty fun.

Xbox
Panzer Dragoon Orta - Shooter where you fly on the back of a dragon. Sequel to a Saturn series, which I loved.
007 Nightfire - Bond Adventure game.
Crimson Skies - Pulp style fighter - Biplanes with jet engine enhancemets.
Dead to Rights - Adventure game in Hong Kong mode - you can do slow mo jumps firing guns in both hands.
Conker - Platformer with the main character a drunk foul mouthed Squirrel
Halo
Ninja Gaiden - Action game.
Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction - Action adventure - you have to capability to destroy just about anything that shows up in the game
Call of Duty 2 - Military FPS
Red Dead Revovler - Western 3rd person shooter
Shadow Ops Red Mercury - Military FPS
Robottech Battlecry - Action Adventure in giant robots
Phantom Crash - Action Adventure
Phasntom Dust - Action Adventure
Sonic Heroes - 3-D Platfomer
Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders - Action adventure. Medieval/Fantasy
Mechassault 2: Lone World - First person Mecha adventure
Samurai Warriors - Dynasty Warriors spin off with Japanese characters
Star Wars: Knight of the old Republic - action RPG
Quantumn Redshift - Hovercar racing game
Shenmue II - Adventure Drama.
Kabuki Warriors - Fighter with Kabuki people. Interesting
Dead or Alive Ultimate 1&2 - Fighter
Incredibles Rise of the Underminer - 2 player action adventure. Fun fun stuff

PS2
Nina Williams: Death by Degrees - action adventure
Justice League Heroes - Action Adventure
Spyro: The Legend Begins - 3d platformer
Vexx - 3d Platformer

And I don't think a single one of those was purchased at full price - there were discounted, on sale, used or any combination of the above. The Xbox (not 360) games ran about 5 bucks apiece. :)

* I got the wife a number of Video games too, but this is a post for my loot.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday and of course Merry Christmas.

Because, many of celebrate this season because of a birthday just over 2000 years ago. So I wanted to share my love of the seasonwith all of you this holiday, and hope your holiday (in whichever way you celebrate it, or what you call it) is happy, love filled and joyous.

I just wanted to share two thoughts with you - First from Ben Stein

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. ....It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.

And second from Luke (a speech that many know from Linus on the Charlie Brown Christmas special.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Top 5

Okay getting a little more time, so here is another memeage from the Music Memoirs:

Top five albums of 2007 (in your opinion), so here are mine in no particular order:

Bloodangel's Cry - Kryperia
The best Eurometal album of the years, and an amazing female vocalist. Great great stuff.


Snakes and Arrows - Rush
It's Rush. Their first full studio album in many years. Fantastic album, and one of their better ones - which is saying a lot, given how many really good ones they have.

No More Kings - No More Kings
A funky rock CD (stylistically closer to Spin Doctors than anyone else I can think of) and with a great sense of fun and heart. With songs like "Sweep the Leg Johnny" A tribute to the movie Karate Kid and "Zombie Me" a fun lighthearted song about becoming a zombie this Cd is really good.

Influence - Shaw and Blades
The best cover album I have ever heard. These guys harmonize so well, and went with 60's harmony songs to cover. Very nice stuff. I just hope we don't have to wait so long for their next CD.

Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace - Big and Rich.
Not their best albums, but it is the one that came out in 2007. I just love these guys - the music mafia are one of my main country sources these days (along with people like Crosscanadian Ragweed, Mickey and the Motorcars and the like).

Tuesday tunage

Open your Itunes or Windows Media or Winamp or whatever music player you use and tell me.

Your top 5 songs:
Your most played artist:
These two I can't answer. I don't keep a "library" of music that tracks how often I play, nor do I rate songs.
How many songs you have on your computer
59,682
The first artist listed alphabetically and the last
Abba to ZZ top