Ruminations of a Rider

Relying on COTA often complicates my life, giving me less freedom to get around than if I were capable of doing the driving thing without risking the lives of schoolchildren all around central Ohio. On the other hand, I feel that by riding the bus so much these past six years I've gained a lot of perspective on my own life by looking at what others struggle with. I have it pretty good, really. Yeah, I pass out more often than I'd like to lately, but I generally feel healthy, school is good, and I have great friends. What about the crack addict who somehow scraped together the dollar and fifty cents required to ride the bus this morning but got on the wrong route? What's so bad about my life compared to that?

On a happier note, I also got to witness a theological debate this morning. Two earnestly insane people sitting half the bus away from one another started arguing over who it was better to pray to: God or the Wizard of Oz. it takes all kinds.

I get a weird thrill out of seeing normal people cornered on the bus by sub-normals. Part of me wants to throw them a life preserver, but then another, more vengeful part of me recalls the times when I myself have been cornered by sub-normals and not been rescued. I really don't need to answer sports trivia questions for half an hour provided by a guy with a plate in his head. Nope, sure don't. But where were my fellow riders when I gave an indicative roll of the eyes after provoking my own personal game show host to shout "Motherfucker!" for the fourth time by correctly answering a question regarding John Cooper? He thought he had me stumped, apparently.

A strategy game set in the world of FOOTBALL is forthcoming for the X-Box 360. That's right, BLOOD BOWL is going digital. Video game geniuses have somehow managed to cross-breed something geeky with something not geeky, and somehow come out with a sum more geeky than either of the original parts! And it's not just a football strategy game. It's a football strategy game with spells and mythical creatures and stuff! It's like Mutant League Football to the nth degree, only with a turn-based option, which actually sort of makes it like a fully realized Blitz Ball from FFX. I imagine Lee could be up on this at some point. Somewhere, Andrew is having flashbacks.


BLURN!

This just popped into my head for some reason, but other than "You look like Babe Ruth's gay brother... Gaybe Ruth", I think the best line in Knocked Up is Martin Starr's stoner girlfriend remarking to a pregnant Katherine Heigl: "You must be angry at the baby whenever it steals your food, huh? 'Ohh that's mine, not yours.' But, you know, because you're family you gotta share." I love that movie.

Speaking of Judd Apatow related ventures, the Napier Family Christmas Day Cinematic Treat for 2007, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is not getting such great reviews locally. Perhaps the BACKLASH truly has begun. I really miss Craig Robinson being on my television screen every week. It has an 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, however, and my own personal movie deity, the jawless Roger Ebert, gave it *** out of ****.

Wrestling matches are generally rated on a five-star scale by those that think it's important to rate wrestling matches. Neat story about that. While the rating system was popularized by Dave Meltzer with his Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was actually Jim Cornette and another man named Norm Dooley who dreamed it up. They started out with a four-star scale back in the '70s, but then saw a series of Terry Funky-Jerry Lawler matches that blew their original system to smithereens, thus the addition of a fifth star. That's been nearly thirty years ago, and with wrestling changing as much as it has, it's possible that the scale needs to be expanded once more. Of course, I don't rate matches that way, so I don't really care. Anyway, that's the back story. Ta-da!

I was originally going to allow written reviews by people who have actually played both games help me decide which college hoops game to buy this year. But then I saw that Greg Oden is on the cover of one, while Kevin Durant's wack visage haunts the other. Easiest decision I've ever made. Although... I should probably get LAST YEAR's game so I can actually play as Oden and Mike Conley. Tough decisions. I guess I could just buy an NBA game, because I don't think he has a season ending injury in video game land.

Anyway, it's been real. See you tomorrow!


SAY IT AIN'T SO.