I'm a slayer, ask me how.

I just booked our hotel for our trip to Niagara Falls!

Gosh, that was nerve-wracking. I think it is because I have been a spoiled traveler for many years and tend to have friends or family living in the destinations I visit so I don't have to look at hotel prices and reviews.

Or, like when we went to Orlando, I knew I wanted to stay on-site for the park so that was an easier thing to pick. Also I think my friend picked the room the first time so I just did the same thing she did.

This was so much more since it was looking at Canadian prices, having to figure out what that would cost in U.S. currency, reading through all the reviews on TripAdvisor...I think that is the worst part. You look at the reviews and it is a top hotel, everything looks great and then you find a review from a couple weeks ago that is 1 star and they are ranting about how awful it was and you doubt everything.

Though reading reviews really shows you what different people value in their hotels. I think people that travel more for business will pick on a hotel room's TV and what not more. Me? I don't care about the TV. I'm going to be out and about all day, I just need a comfortable, clean bed and bathroom. Plus, it is 2018 people, use your damn phone and the free Wi-Fi to watch your porn tv shows or whatever!

I opted to go with a hotel. For some reason B&Bs just freak me out. I guess I prefer the privacy and anonymity of a hotel. I can't do hostels either. Tried one once in London and immediately moved the next day to a hotel. I think I'm just too private a person and my evening rituals for winding down require alone time. And my morning rituals too.

Anyway, now that is done, our leave requests are in so I can spend the next month thinking about what we will do for 3 days in Canada. I figure one day will be the "tourist" stuff around the Falls. Another might be going to find some hiking trails. Third day will be the wild card. I guess we can see how we feel but maybe something fun like a winery?

Just nice to have something to look forward to! We have a whirlwind family trip to Boston next week and I can't wait to just get away. But this Canada trip will just be Tim and myself and that will be nice too.

Okay my geeks, I just saw this on my calendar and wanted to see how you all felt about it:

Every year around Christmas I do a Lord of the Rings rewatch, ever since the movies came out on DVD. It has become a tradition and a time I really look forward to. I go all out and watch the extended editions.

Last year I made a note in my Google Calendar that when Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, Galdalf tells him it is October 24 and therefore I should start my rewatch on October 24th!

Should we try to coordinate this? I am thinking since that is a Tuesday night we will probably just watch Disc 1 because of work in the morning LOL. I love LotR but they are long and if we don't start until 7-8pm the first disc won't be done until around get-ready-for-bed time.

Let me know what you all think!

GAH GETTING SO EXCITED FOR DRAGON*CON!!!!!!!!!!

Trying to get some costume ideas together. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I can pull off a Buffy outfit. Mostly it would be wears jeans, a nice top, and then putting on my cross necklace, claddaugh ring, and carrying a stake.

If I get REALLY motivated, I'm going to try to make a slayer scythe. Nothing screen worthy, but at least something I could carry around to ID me as Buffy.

Of course, if I can pull that off, I might try the next step and get a Fray costume together. She would require a teensy bit more, depending on which outfit I go with. (faeriesfolly, I would need you to do the lip scar for me) I always wanted to do the orange cargo pants outfit but damned if those are not hard to find on the cheap! Might just use the same pants I plan to use for me...

Starbuck costume. Have not actually added much to this since last July, but I was thinking of getting a cigar to chomp on since that's pretty trademark.

I've also got this idea to make some t-shirts. You know how Captain Hammer and Doctor Horrilbe have their little fan groups in the show? Well, who got left out of that fun and who will be at Dragon*Con? EXACTLY - Felicia Day! So, I was thinking of making t-shirts (or at least the iron on image) and having myself, faeriesfolly and maybedeadcat all wear them on the same day and go get a photo with Felicia that day. Because Penny needs love too!

jellibean also had the brilliant suggestion of Arthur Dent which I really want to do because HHGTTG is my favorite book of all time. maybedeadcat said I can borrow his bathrobe, then I just need a towel. And maybe an empty tea cup. And I'd probably decorate my iPhone to look like the guide. My mom suggested getting some sort of bluetooth device and making it look like a babel fish in my ear. I love my mom.

Mom also suggested dressing up like the Mom in "A Christmas Story" and carrying a bar of Life Boy soap and a pot roast LOL!

So, yeah, some time this week/month I need to go to Michaels and see if I can find some craft supplies to help me at least make a prop stake :)

So, I started Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell last week and even before I started the book, I knew there were going to be issues.

First, with a topic so broad a video games and justifying their existence, you'd expect to pick up a tome. But this book barely makes it past 200 pages.

Second, flipping to the table of contents, it was pretty clear that Bissell was only covering PS and Xbox games. No Nintendo. In fact, almost all of the games mentioned were from the last few years (except for the essay on the first Resident Evil game).

Then, I actually tried reading it and pretty much had to put it down by the end of the second essay. Bissell wasn't explaining why video games matter, he was only talking about why they matter to him personally. Plus, in his effort (or maybe his editor's effort?) to make the book readable to non-gamers, he spends pages telling us about certain scenes in games, but I never felt he really explained WHY these scenes were important.

He also makes some snide comments about PC games and when I saw no sign of Nintendo in the table of contents, I knew he was not going to cover the topics I was interested in. I aired my greivances with andy_wolverton while at work last week, ending the conversation with the classic "I could write a better book!" and him telling me I should.

So I typed up some stream-of-consciousness notes and realized that there is no way I could write a single volume. I talked with AD about it today and he pointed out that you could probably write an entire book on the 'Legend of Zelda' series, let alone the entire video game world.

To me, video games are a very personal experience, more so than any other form of entertainment out there. There are so many questions to be answered, so many reasons that one person might say games matter to them. Bissell did a good job in the first two essay telling me why he liked to play video games, and I probably wouldn't have been so perturbed if he had called the book "my adventures in video games" or something like that. But the "Why Games Matter" title just demanded so much more. Here was his chance to talk about the evolution of video games - from the simple pong to the cinematic Heavy Rain. Here was an opportunity to discuss the "are video games art?" question. And the million dollar question - WHY? Why does someone play a video game.

But, see, to me, that question cannot be answered by one single person. Because my answer will differ from your answer. My retired-Navy Dad LOVES World War II games...WHY? My Mom can play Dr Mario into the wee hours of the night - WHY? After so many years, why does destertale still log into World of Warcraft? Why is AD drawn into Starcraft? Why did faeriesfolly and lostacanthus disappear from LJ right after DragonAge was released?? Why were so many people pulled in by the Nintendo Wii?

Yes, we could just say "escape" - but that's too easy. We could say that about fans of books, theater, or movies - but there is always something more underneath.

I'm trying to figure out if I could even pretend to start a book like this. Part of me thinks this would be a great online project - asking gamers to submit their stories about why video games matter to them. I can type up my personal experiences, my hypothesises, my understanding of the history of video games - but there is just no way I could explain the appeal of so many different genres and styles of video-gaming today.

It would be a big project to manage, but maybe it would encourage hardcore gamers, casual gamers, and non-gamers alike to think a bit more about why they pick up the controller/remote/keyboard/DS etc. for a few hours every now and then.

What do you guys think? Would this be something worth persuing? I was thinking of calling it "Saved Games" or "Save Point" or something along those lines...

<a href="http://orangerful.livejournal.com/719141.html" target="_blank"><center><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/orangerful/pic/000fx22c" title="Secret DJ - Summer Mix"></center></a>

I'm totally ganking this idea from one of AD's Facebook friend. She did this in her dorm and revived the tradition this past Christmas. AD found sound really cool music through it so I thought, "HEY! Let's do this on Livejournal!"

So, here's the lo-down.

Secret DJ is a CD exchange, a way for you to discover NEW music and spread the word about some of your favorite songs! You sign up and I will Direct Message you an address, and you have to mail them a Summer Mix CD for them to enjoy (and if this goes well, we'll do it all again for the fall!)

How do you get in on this crazy wacky fun???

1. Comment to this post if you want to make a mix, then send me a Direct Message with your mailing address. To qualify for the Summer Mix, you must comment & DM me by June 18th.

2. I will Direct Message you on the 19th and include an anonymous address from one of our other participants.

3. Mixes should be mailed by June 30th.

Don't worry about the person you get and what their musical tastes are - just make the best mix you can make with stuff that you love to listen to on a hot summer day.

That's it, pretty easy huh?

Feel free to pass this on. The more we mix it up the better. Remember - you MUST comment/DM me by June 18th to participate. :)

I'M GOING TO DRAGON*CON!!!!!!!!!!

I got my leave approved this afternoon and I just put in a reservation for a hotel room AND bought my membership badge.

OMGOMG SO EXCITED!

Not only will I get to go to this fun convention of geekiness, but I will FINALLY get to meet faeriesfolly and jellibean, two lovely ladies that I've been chatting with via LJ for so many years now.

**SQUEE**

So, now I'm brainstorming low-tech costumes that I could handle with my lack of skillz and my lack of budget. First, I thought of Dr. Saunders & an Active. All we would need is a white lab coat and some scar make-up for Dr. Saunders and for the Active, a tank top and yoga pants. VOILA! Then I just say "I want to be my best" and I'm totally cosplaying like a pro. (and I think Dr. Saunders should carry a clipboard that allows her to keep track of any "Man Reactions" in the area LOL!)

I was also pondering buying a Merlotte's t-shirt and then just wearing black shorts and tennis shoes - I'm a waitress! Maybe we could put little bite marks on our necks and be total fang-bangers haha.

Ah what else...I have 105 days so I could probably track down a Starbuck-esque tank top and have her off duty uniform...that can't be too hard to make, yes?

I still have all the parts to my really lame ESB Luke Skywalker outfit which was just some brown boots, loose khaki pants, green tank top and my Yoda backpack. Oh, and I had my lightsaber but I don't think I'll drag that down to GA.

la la la...yes, I will be spazzing over this between now and September. I apologize in advance.

Conundrum - will I ever feel like plugging in my PS2 again now that we have a Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, and PS3?

See, Gamestop is having a special this week - trade in your PS2 plus 2 PS2 games and get $100 off a PS3. I was thinking I could probably trade in our PS2, get a PS3, and return that PS3 to Target to get our money back. I know, it's a bit ridiculous but it's $100! That's more than a few bucks!

But, as AD pointed out to me, that's the only system I have DDR on and it's the only system my DDR pad works with.

Frak.

But, right now the TV is occupied with the plugs for the other 3 systems plus the cable. I'm not even sure the PS2 is plugged in. Will I ever feel the need to crawl down behind there and plug it back in just to get my DDR on? Do I hold on to hope that maybe Red Octane will make some sort of plug that makes my pad work with the PS3 or Xbox360? (ha, yeah right, they'd rather I dropped another $70 for a new pad, I'm sure!)

It's a great guilt free way to get rid of my PS2 (I hate throwing out working electronics) but at the same time - DDR! I'm like the 8 year old kid who sees his mom throwing out the toys he had when he was a toddler and freaks out that he still NEEDS it!!!!

I guess I could keep the pad and the games for old time sake...now that's a ridiculous idea. Stupid not backwards compatible PS3...I just want you to play my DDR games, that's it! I swear!

Of course, looking at the Gamestop site, this might be a moot point...they do not list the free games that we got when we purchased our PS3 at Target in the product description (Resistance and Motorstorm)....

Well, I have until May 10th to figure it out...but I think I'll just hang on to my ol' PS2 for now. Maybe one day, when we have a house, I'll have my little star wars room and my old TV can sit in there with the PS2 hooked up to it (because it will look like crap on our shiny new TV) and I can DDR to my hearts content...if I want to...

Nevermind, I called Gamestop and they don't have the PS3 that is packaged with the 2 games we got! PROBLEM SOLVED! I KEEP EVERYTHING!

Just ignore me.

So, I'm trying to get myself organized enough to throw a Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog party ala the Once More With Feeling party we had last year. Thing is, the Buffy party came pre-packaged so I just had to read the instructions and hand out the goodies. No one has done anything with Dr. Horrible yet (or, at least, no one has shared it on the Internet). So I'm brainstorming for ideas. And I'm reaching you to you, Oh Flist, for input.

I wanted to have at least one random thing to do during each song and I have zero ideas for My Eyes, Penny's Song, Slipping,andEverything You Ever.

So throw any ideas you have at me. Like I said, I'm still in the planning stages so any idea is a good idea because it might lead to more ideas.

And I promise to share the ENTIRE plan once I've got it figured out myself...

Okay, so right now the plan is to go to Six Flags, New Jersey, find a hotel, then drive to Boston and wander around, then drive up to Maine for the lobster bake (complete route here).

I'm trying to find something fun/random to do between NJ and MA, but with little luck. The Mark Twain House/Museum looks pretty cool though I don't know if AD and V-man will be down for all that educating. I was thinking of Ben & Jerry's but they are in Vermont which is a teensy bit of a detour. We're not really beach people.

Ah well, if worse comes to worse, wandering Boston is always entertaining. Lots of random shops and food and such.

So, I wasn't sure if I was going to attend a Midnight Madness for the new line of Clone Wars figures...that is, until I found out there would be NEW Galactic Heroes. So, of course, now I must go. Not sure which Toys R Us it will be but the group is leaning towards Columbia. Apparently if you spend $30 (that's easy) you get a free holographic Grievous figure.

Hasbro has posted 2 pdf guides -- one for the July 26 release, and one as a Fall preview.

I managed to find the Hoth and Naboo TRU Exclusives today, plus the Mighty Muggs Indiana Jones (I passed on Mola Ram and the Sword guy...they were cool but unnecessary). I need to order the Cantina Band & Mos Eisley exclusive sets from Wal-Mart before they sell out! *sigh* I clearly suck at saving money. :\