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Showing results for tags 'General'.
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Ok, so the title may well be a serious over-generalisation or exaggeration, whatever you wish to call it. I doubt anything could keep me away from toy shops indefinitely. But...I now have all the Bionicle sets I want this year. For months I've been intermittently visiting toy shops to see if they have the set I want, but now I have no reason too! It's...strange. It's become so much of a habit now. *sigh* Just have to wait until next year.
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So Wal-Mart has a new policy, which is influenced by the Massachusetts state law, so this is a widespread policy for Wal-Mart. When you see an item on a shelf that is priced incorrectly (like say the shelf price said 2 bucks, but when scanning it the price is a dollar). Originally the policy is that if there is a price error for a product under 3 dollars, it is free. If it is over 3 dollars, 3 dollars is taken off. Now that policy is no more. If a product is priced incorrectly, you get it for what the price says. For example (which happened recently at my Wal-Mart), there was a computer for $800, but it was on a shelf that said $150. Customer got it for $150. And a $50 gift card since the manager was going by the original policy instead of the new one. -Omi
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In MSP form! I know, it sucks. The Lord Dragon
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Saw the first showing last night at midnight of Dark Knight. Movie was incredible of course, but I have a few things to say. » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Two-Face stole the show. Not saying Joker's role sucked, just saying that he got showed up by Two-Face the second he came on screen (like the last 45 minutes of the movie was Two-Face going around killing people. Two-Face also resembled his counterpart from the animated Batman series from the 90s (remember, it was all CG for him, Aaron Eckhart didn't wear makeup for the role). Joker was amazing. Second he came on screen to perform his magic trick, I was in awe. The stuff he did was just amazing. Batman was alright. He seemed kinda bland, but I loved it when he went out of control and nearly killed the Joker in the interrogation room and also when he threw him off the building. However there are some things I wanna say. Movie was too long. They shoulda taken out the Hong Kong scenes, and Scarecrow's role cuz he was just useless. Too much talking, and a little bit of action is all it is. Just suspense and drama, like a regular mobster movie I can see on AMC. Anyways movie was good so go see it. -Omi
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This time I was the victim here. Because of the oh so lovely weather, the roads are now very slick. So slick that a women was hydroplaning and smacked into me. And yeah. -Omi
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I can't remember if I ever made an entry about how bad the Eragon film is. Whether I did or not, I'm making one now. Right. Let's start with the trivial things shall we? In the book Eragon is not 17, he does not have blonde hair and he actually has a personality different from every single generic fantasy/action hero in every sub-par fantasy book or film. The Raz'ac are supposed to have beaks, look nothing like their film manifestations, none of them die (VERY important) and I'm certain there's a different number in the film than there is in the book. Galbatorix is NEVER supposed to be seen, so we don't even know what he looks like yet but considering he's an ancient Dragon Rider, he probably looks more elvish. On the subject of elves, last I heard, they had pointed ears. What happened to Arya's? On another note, since when was Angela JUST a fortune teller (and an unconvincing one at that) and when did the Urgals become big men with bald heads and tattoos? With many of the trivial details aside (but by no means all), let's move onto the plot. It seems to me that whoever spearheaded the idea simply decided to pick out a few words he liked, throw 9/10ths of the plot out the window and re-write everything around those few happy words into something that only partially resembles the actual plot if you've been hit on the head by a sack of bricks, thrown down a large hill infested with angry gnomes armed with mallets and land in a stone ditch where, just to make sure, a team of disgruntled peasants have amassed to brutally remove whatever is left of your intelligence with a chisel. Not only do they simply cut out almost everything that happens, major events (or those that are left) are thrown together like tadpoles in a blender so it's almost impossible to distinguish where one begins and the other ends. Apparantly, Eragon goes from being a happy little farm boy with a blue stone to the hero of the Varden, crossing leagues and leages of country being pursued all the while in about two days. Oh, and Galbatorix manages not only to amass his army, but to get them across a vast mountain range from half way across the country in no more than twenty minutes. Not to mention Eragon managing to become a competant swordsman and magician over the course of about a day having started a novice at both at its beginning. It holds together about as well as a pile of sand in a tornado. I'm not finished yet. I've yet to mention the dialogue. From the moment Galbatorix announces "I suffer without my stone" you know the writer has about as much ability as a drowning beetle floating obnoxiously in someone's soup. The entire thing suffered painfully as the writer attempted to make grand and earth-shattering points with every single sentance. The result? A pile of repetetive drivel so unbelievable and ridiculous it makes a national sonnet-writing competition for sheep seem an almost everyday occurance. You know what I really hate? When the writer puts a phrase in somewhere loaded with undue significance and then, later on, throws it back at you with a smirk as if to say "wow, look! Aren't I clever?" No Mr Writer you are not. I don't care that you based the entire plot on a single pretentious and over-bearing sentance. I don't want to be reminded that "truth is greater than a sword" or "courage lies in the heart" or whatever other unnaturally significant phrase you want to come up with. People simply do not go around saying that to each other and then suddenly, in a moment of sudden realisation, proclaim it as if it were the meaning of all creation. Ok so Eragon doesn't do that as such, but it does seem to attach itself to certain annoying phrases that were almost bearable once but just sound cheesy when repeated again. I mean really. Dialogue is meant to be the characters speaking and should, therefore, at least act on the pretense that it's meant to sound in some small way natural or realistic. It should not be the writer's excuse to big themselves up and make important self-rightious statements that sound like they came from the mouth of a crusading fanatic than whatever character they are meant to be portraying (unless it's a crusading fanatic, but they'd probably start talking like everyone else should). with the exception of maybe two people, I found the acting to be at best unimpressive. At worst? Let's not even go there. It's as if they were each handed a little card saying '"you are [insert stereotype]" and told to run with it, then bashed repeatedly round the head whenever they tried to do something new or original until their portrayal of the character was as grossly inaccurate in their representation as modern art. I cringed so often at just how mind-numbingly blatant and painful some of the clichés were. Alright, they're working with a book that has a fair few of them itself, but not as many as that. Yes, alright. Arya is the 'love interest'. Except she went out of her way to show no interest in Eragon whatsoever, if I recall. With that in mind, I would very much like the penultimate scene in the film explained. I particularly want to have a rant about the character of Eragon. He could be stereotypical in many ways, yes. It's the classic 'farm boy inherits his destiny and becomes a great hero' story, and he fits right into it. That is not the same as having enough character to be played just as well by a moth-eaten piece of crumbling bark (I'm not even sure if moths eat wood. They do now, anyway). He really did have the personality of an old discarded brick forgotten about it the construction of a lavatory extention. He went from 'I'm a poor little farm boy' to 'no! I'm a crusading hero with a sword out to right wrongs like every single crusading hero before me!' in the blink of an eye and seemed uncertain the whole way through as to which he actually was. On second thoughts, that's being too generous. It almost makes him sound like he had some kind of recognisable personality. I'd hate to give anyone such a mistaken impression. If you hadn't guessed it already, I think Eragon works about as well as using cake and jam to build a house instead of bricks and mortar. It shows so much promise and looks delicious, but suddenly loses its attraction the moment you step in the door and it all collapses on you in one large mushy heap. It's such a blatant attempt to cash in on the LoTR wagon it hardly deserves to be called a film. It's more of a 'please give us your money we want to be big and popular and famous' heap of second-rate trash cunningly disguised with badly altered stickers from the latest big fad. I cannot believe I actually sat through it twice. If time is money then I want the cash equivilant to the amount of time I wasted in front of that poor excuse for a money-spinner back, please.
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My blog has come to a close. It may open up again or if I become a P.M. They're may be one more post after this one. Thank you for all of you for not reading this.
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Yeah, it's been a LONG while. I've been busy with a combination of Tuesday volleyball leagues and the beautiful summer weather. A buddy of mine also got married earlier this month. I was in the party, which meant I got to help out in the proceedings. There's pics in certain "books" if you catch my drift, not many of them. Lots of movies. Here's a quick recap... The Dark Knight: Awesome. Best movie I've seen this summer. Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker is incredible. Nolan has managed to really dig Batman out of the gutter that was the last two movies before Batman Begins. Even going back to watch the much more grounded Batman and Batman Returns doesn't seem the same these days. The Incredible Hulk: Again, an upgrade over Ang Lee's debacle from earlier this millennia. But comparred to fellow Avenger Iron Man, it's just not the same. Bruce Banner's not nearly as interesting as Tony Start. But Edward Norton does a good job as Banner. But if they're able to actually put together this Avenger movie using the original cast members from the different films...I'm going to be there on opening day! Get Smart: I like Steve Carrel, and I loved Get Smart when I was growing up. Together they make an entertaining film that manages to bring back fond memories of the original series. The plot was a bit predictable, and it suffers from "Hey is that Patrick Warburton?!" Syndrome...but only at the end. In other news, and cause for even further delays in enjoyment...I am currently fighting to have my car exchanged under Minnesota Lemon Laws. Brake issues have been ongoing since February, and after getting pushed around by one dealer and then leaving a second with the issue still present, I now have to start this long and incredibly taxing process. Because they're more than eager to help you when you buy the thing...but once something goes wrong they're nowhere to be found. Updates as they become available. I'll try to keep them fairly upbeat and profanity-free.
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Just built Gavla and Photok today. ^Blurry photo taken from laptop integrated webcam. Comments: The Matoran were the most simple thing I have ever seen (Which means it excludes the McToran). The parts are okay and it's nice that they have new Kanohi moulds, but they aren't exactly worth the price. The only reason I bought them was to pair them up with my Phantoka. And then I encounter problems with the connection feature. First off, Photok can't look straight when Pohatu is looking forward, standing up. I either make him look at the stars or twist his head to the side. Both look weird. Or, I could put Pohatu into a flying position. There's where the second problem comes in. There are many articulation points, and it is difficult to position the sets together as a whole. Same thing with Vamprah and Gavla. Other than that, the connection feature is still pretty creative, I guess. ~D~
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Come with me if you want to live. -Omi
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Happy Birthday BZPower! I just checked this site yesterday and found that it was the anniversary. I've been out of Bionicle for quite some time now and I'm probably gonna get back into it. Seems that I missed a lot of stuff about the Mistika. Hm...Nothing else, for now. ~D~ (Possibly my new sign-off)
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This marking my third one. For those who haven't been keeping track: First Second -Omi
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Well, last Friday my family and I went down to Iowa for a Do Hard Things event. When I came back on Sunday, I was too tired to check BZP. So today, on Monday, I look at the News, and guess what...I get a free blog for a week! This is my attempt at one. I hope you find it enjoyable, most likely you won't.
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Well, I only have a week and I want to get some stuff out, but I know I'll do it in one day, so I've got to decide on what I'm doing first. Plus, I want at least three readers before a spill everything. What would be the point if no one would be here to read it? Like right now.
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Saw "Heckboy II" last Saturday. Twas a funny yet thrilling movie. -Omi
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Um, perhaps cake was the wrong word. After all, saving up is an action and cake is a physical thing, therefore the two cannot be the same, so it must indeed be the wrong word. I think the word I was looking for is 'hard'. Yeah, easy to get those two mixed up. As the title may have indicated, I am saving up for a laptop. I actually have enough to buy one now, but should I do so I'd end up with almost no money - a very undesirable prospect. So I'm going to try and nab another £500 or so. Thinking about it, that could take a while. I'm not sure I'll even have it by the end of the summer - especially not as I'm going on holiday late August. It also means I'll have to be much more careful about spending, which sadly includes things like Bionicle sets and a series of books I've started that I want to buy the next four of. Saving money has never been a strong point of mine, but if it means I can replace the old piece of junk I'm currently using it'll be more than worth it I feel. In other news, I did something shocking yesterday. I went round to my friend's house with a couple of other people where we set up a Wii and played Brawl (no, this isn't the shocking part). As we're all on holiday, that happens a lot. The shocking part comes next. We decided to go...OUTSIDE!!! The great outdoors! The wildy wildy (as my friend says)! That place with wierd green...things...and dangerous natural light! I'm not sure I've quite recovered. In other news, I've finally got my hands on a Tryna which means I now own at least one instance of every different plastic mask mold to date, with the exception of the Mistika masks. I'm quite pleased with myself now. Right then. I have absolutely nothing of importance to be doing right now, so I'm going to run off and not do those important things because they don't exist. Until next muffin...I mean time!
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arrows at a target! A couple of hours ago I returned from a short scout camp. It wasn't a camp really - more an activity weekend. Hardly a weekend, more an overnight kip with some activities thrown in. Well whatever it was, it was fun. I would, however, like to strangle all the scouts. I haven't done archery or abseiling in ages, so I really enjoyed doing them yesterday. The archery I surprised myself at by actually being good at it. Possibly because I was firing right handed instead of left handed, so could use my dominant eye (left handed right eyed. What can I do?) I've learnt to take time over my shots, and deliberately aim completely off until I've pulled the string back. Then I can start to aim properly, and am able to shoot the moment I have my target in sights. Seems to work. Most fun about the archery were the balloons. Yes, balloons. Four targets, four shooters each time, and we each got a balloon. I got the short straw both times, actually. My first balloon was smaller than the others, then the instructor decided to place my second right at the edge of the target. But guess what? I hit them both first try! After we'd all had a go at shooting two balloons (or, firing two rounds of three arrows at balloons) there were three balloons still on the targets (none of them mine, of course). We then took it in turns to fire a single arrow at a balloon. I missed the first time (because I was using a different bow of course), but my shot hit the very centre of the target! Talk about a way to miss! Then I got round to my second turn - surprising, considering there were eight of us - and of course, I hit the balloon. I've never been brilliant at archery before (although I don't think I was bad), so I came away very pleased with myself indeed! Then came the abseiling. For the first time ever, I had to tie my hair back! Gah! Stupid health and safety. Anyway, that was awesome. I have no trouble with heights me, and I've been abseiling for so many years leaning over the edge doesn't bother me. First time I did it, the prospect of letting go of the side, holding onto nothing but the rope and leaning back over a sheer drop, legs straight, until I was in a sitting position was not exactly a pleasant one. Nowadays I do it easy. It's almost become natural, and I've learnt to trust the rope as a support as much as I do the sides. I think climbing up the ladder was scarier! Not to mention the Metal Man glaring at us from the side of the tower... My greatest regret was the lack of campfire. We didn't want to carry a metal thing to have a fire in because they're heavy and very unpleasant to carry (especially the distance we had to), and the campfire circle was in a very bad state. Still, the camp was fun, and my nose is slightly sunburnt. That always happens... Now to get on with the masses of kit-related stuff I have to do.
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Happy 4th of July! -Omi
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As some people may know, Iron Maiden have been touring recently. Yesterday they performed their only showing in the UK on the tour - and for at least two years - at Twickenham Rugby Stadium. I heard the number of people attending was around 87,000. Yes, I was among them! I've been trying to see them for about 3 years now, since they announced their tour in support of their most recent album (a different tour altogether from this one). Sadly I did not get the chance to see them, although I came close. Then last year they were playing at Download which, much to my displeasure, came right in the middle of my exams. Not a good time. Then this year I hear they're playing at Twickenham and it could be their last showing for a good while - well, I've got to go really, haven't I? I almost didn't, though. It was also the chosen date for a large family gathering - largest for many years - which, of course, I would be expected to attend. Fortunately I was able to wriggle out of this at least in part because I was supposed to be organising the Maiden trip and was the only person who knew everyone who was going in our little group. It's a shame I had to miss the event, but boy was it worth it! So, a three hour coach journey there and back. Six hours of travelling, arriving back here at two 2:00am. That, and the extortionate prices at the Stadium (£1.80 for a coke? £3.50 for a hot dog or a pint?), were the only bad points about the whole thing. I'm exhausted today and my neck aches, but it was all so, so worth it. Of course, there are always support bands. The first - Within Temptation - I was very impressed by. I arrived too late to see their entire showing, but what I saw was excellent. The second support band - Avenged Sevenfold - I was less impressed by. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm just not a fan of their style of music. Of course, both bands paled in comparison to Maiden. They arrived, as always, amidst fire, explosions and teams of pure awesomeness erupting from the stage. From that moment I left my seat and did not look back. They began with Aces High - an excellent song, although sadly not one with which I'm especially familiar with the lyrics. I must rectify that sometime. All of the songs they played with the exception of one from Fear of the Dark (yes, it was Fear of the Dark) came from their 80s albums. No complaints there! That's where most of their best stuff lies. Two hours of solid Maiden. How Bruce manages to leap around the stage to much at 50 I do not know! He also made some incredibly fast costume changes early on which still leave me slightly baffled, and the band managed to get through six or seven songs with no break inbetween - one of them being the 13 minute epic Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Both incredible and impressive - not to mention extremely enjoyable! I've heard it said that a lot of music tends not to sound so good when played live. This, however, cannot be applied to Maiden. They sound fantastic live - possibly even better than they do recorded. I guess the atmosphere might have something to do with that. I mean, it's a huge stadium filled with 87,000 Iron Maiden fans all chanting along to an incredibly powerful and influential metal band with 25+ years of experience under their belt who know how to please fans and, above all, to put on an outstanding show. Consdering this was their only showing in the UK, too, it really was something special. Of course, no Maiden show would be complete without an encore. I feel so sorry for the people who leave thinking the show is over. Upon their return they played two songs from what is, in my opinion, their best album to date Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Moonchild and The Clairvoyant - as well as the fantastic song equal in strength to the mighty Fear of the Dark, Hallowed Be Thy Name. The fact that they played both songs at the concert (like they do every concert) was truly the icing on the cake. I utterly adore both of the songs, and being able to scream them out unselfconsciously among tens of thousands of other fans along to impeccable live performances by the band itself - only metres away - Wow. Just wow. I did indeed sing along to every song, and I'm glad no one could hear me. I'm sure my singing was atrocious. Still, that's hardly what matters is it? I expect most people there were in the same boat. All in all, that has to be one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I was absolutely exhausted on the coach journey back, and my failed attempts to find a comfortable position to sleep may be the cause of my neck aching this mor- no, afternoon. I enjoyed every moment of it and that's what matters, and I would gladly do it again. So, so gladly.
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Unfortunately, somehow, I only got a 94 on the physics regents. Don't know how that happened, considering that I put more effort into that than anything else this year. I certainly had the knowledge, I probably just made a bunch of stupid little mistakes. Physics is the type of course where that can happen a lot. Oh well. I got a 92 on my english regents, which I'm happy with. My math teacher assigns (not assigned, I'll have him next year for calc) homework almost every day, but rarely checks it. When he does, however, if you don't have it done, he takes a point off your average. Amusingly, the first marking period was when I did the most homework, but I got the lowest grade (only an A). All other marking periods, I did much less homework, but got A+'s (got one on the final exam, too). To quote him "Well, if you have a 101 and subtract 4 points, it's still 97." Lol Anyways, on sunday I leave for some medical "national youth leadership forum" in Phoenix. It should be fun, except for how much dress stuff I need to wear. I hate whoever invented neckties.
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Click Woe being the fact that I am not going and meeting him.
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Since my schedule is always busy (working during the day and spending weekends with Meaghan), I only had my few evenings to play the game and still get the rest I need for the next day (I didn't stay up all night like I would normally). Played the game on Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday, and I beaten it yesterday, with 11ish hours put into it. Because I don't wanna spoil everything, I am gonna have my review in spoiler tags. » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Metal Gear Solid 4 proved its worth after the extensive wait we endured these past few years. Game starts off in the Middle East and you have to track down Liquid aka Liquid Ocelot. Through the course of the game you end up in locales such as South America, Eastern Europe (most likely Russia), Shadow Moses (yeah game returns to Shadow Moses), and Liquid's Outer Haven (a modified Arsenal Gear). You meet up with familiar characters such as Otacon, Campbell, Meryl, Raiden, Rosemary, Mei Ling, EVA and square off against Vamp, Liquid, and even Psycho Mantis from MGS1. New support for Snake are Drebin, Rat Ptrl 01 (consisting of Meryl, Johnny Sasaki, Ed, and Johnathan), while new enemies are the Beauty and the Beast Corps, which intertwines the codenames of FOXHOUND from MGS1 and the emotions that were symbolized in the Cobra Unit in MGS3. However what tops all of this is Big Boss, which you see after the cast credits. The gameplay of MGS4 is so much different from the previous games. First, the way to use weapons is combining L1 (to ready and aim) and R1 (to fire). R1 is also the button to use for CQC and attacks with the knife. Since I did not read the instruction manuel and assumed it will be similar to the previous games, I was totally thrown off from the start. I gradually got into the functions and got back to my usual OHKO shots (I always aim for the head, and I am darn good at it with practice from MGS2 and MGS3). Second, the Octocamo gear brings a whole new level of sneaking. Combining the elements of Stealth Camo and the Camoflauge system of MGS3, the Octocamo can mirror that of the surrounding area. There is also faceCamo, which you can have cover your face for additional sneaking rate. There are bonus FaceCamos that can be obtained throughout the game (such as a young Solid Snake face). Along with gameplay and camo going into changes, the FPS view is also changed. Instead of the traditional way in the previous games, FPS view can be selected via the Solid Eye (an item that doubles as Soliton Radar and Night Vision). Otacon fights alongside this time in MGS4 as the Metal Gear MkII, which is a tiny robot on wheels controlled by him. This is handy to scout areas ahead of you and shock enemies. Howeve the the battery life prevents long usage of it. The Gun Laundering System set up by Drebin is interesting. You can pretty much use any weapon you pick up in the battlefield (there are so many guns in this game), but using them comes at a price. Most guns are locked by ID chips, and Drebin unlocks them for you with point you earn throughout the missions. You can also purchase guns and customize them from him along with ammo. Unless you are good with ammo consveration, chances are you will be bulking up on ammo from him since ammo is hard to find for the gun you are using. The music is just fabulous, and even includes remixed tracks from MGS1 during the Shadow Moses mission. The inclusion of the iPod is neat, allowing you to listen to music from MGS and other Konami related games in the background. So basically I can play through the game with the Snake Eater theme if I wanted. One thing I enjoyed most was the references made to MGS1 specifically. The big one being the return to Shadow Moses and the B&B unit. MGS4 ties up every loose end, even the smallest ones that were left up in the air, like Snake's "blood of the east that flows in his veins". The only part I did dislike were the creators of the Patriots, who ended up being Major Zero, Sigint, Para-Medic, EVA, Ocelot, and Big Boss. I liked how they had it before with the Wisemen's Committee. It added a lot of mystery to the Patriots. Considering I bought a PS3 just for this game, and was totally please with the results, I totally recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of the MGS series, a fan of espionage games, or just a fan of killing people.
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Holy cow, it's been forever since I posted! Well, since march, I: -Took the SATs (got a 1510/1600 [or 2150/2400]) -Took AP US and Bio (still waiting for my results -Got crisis core (great game), the world ends with you (another great game), and FFCC: my life as a king (started off good, got kind of boring) -Failed at my AP bio final project. I don't mean I failed it, I mean it didn't work at all. Not in the "my results don't support the hypothesis" way, but the "my data isn't worth jack" way. -Took the English regents (thank god it's over, 4 essays in 2 days is a pain in the neck), took the US regents (easy), and I have the physics regents tomorrow. After discovering that NOBODY at my school has ever gotten a hundred on it, I decided that I MUST be the first to get a hundred. Does that mean I'll study? Nah. I'll just double check each question.
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He sure strikes up a hard bargain.
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She scares me.
