Zeptember (Like Led Zeppelin)

Howdy everyone, here's what I suppose has become my monthly update. So I just started classes recently and everything looks to be promising. I finally have a hands on video production class which looks like fun. Though it's weird cause a bunch of people who introduced themselves were all like 'Yeah I used to do commercials for some company." Hmm, "Then why are you in this class?" I ask. It doesn't make sense it's like a beginner class. I guess people just like to exaggerate I was just like "I make stupid Youtube" videos and then the teacher said "Have I had you before?" and I replied "No but apparently I look like a lot of people" that got a good laugh, I'm awesome. Unfortunately my other two classes are online because that's the only form their offered in and they're required for my degree. Sometimes I wonder if technology is ruining some of the social aspects of education.


I got my work schedule perfectly balanced with my classes so although I'm busy I got it all in check. My free time has mostly been made up of watching all the various TV shows I've purchased recently. This includes; season 1 and 2 of Flight of the Conchords, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 4 and Dexter: Season 2 which now my whole family is obsessed with or "all about" if you will. My dad and I are pretty wrapped up in it right now. Combine that with all the new fall shows on NBC and HBO (I'll elaborate shortly) and it's been crazy keeping up with everything.


So like I said my dad recently purchased HBO for the sole purpose of Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was awesome seeing a brand new episode on it's premiere showing but aside from that HBO is not worth it at all. The other show to premiere was Bored to Death with Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galfianakis (okay but not particularly interesting) and then they just replay Entourage and a bunch of crappy movies over and over again.

I'm getting pumped for some of the upcoming movie and music releases and well... I guess that's everything I feel like reporting as of this moment. See you all in the funny pages, Otteni out.

August Rush

It's been like a million years since I last poster here, so here's one of my typical update posts. (In time I'll also review my latest sega genesis purchases as well). So I've been working at PETCO for a little over a month now and that's been going quite smoothly. It can be pretty demanding with all the duties like; cashiering, restocking, taking care of all the animals, bagging crickets, cleaning and assembling cages, tuesday and thursday night freight and all the other small jobs, but at least I can say there's never a dull moment. I'm learning a lot anyways but I mostly prefer just working the front register and occasionally "closing" animals, you know like feeding them as the store closes. I'm not really too interested in talking about right now but you get the idea, seems like a pretty good first job and hopefully it'll give me plenty of diverse work experience, hurray!

I'm currently registering for what I hope is my last year at BCC, now officially Bellevue College according to the latest packet I got, so let's hope I can get enough credits for my associates. After that I still plan to transfer somewhere else for an additional two years or so to finish off my next degree. I've got a few ideas for different schools and talked to BCC counselors but I'll wait till I'm sure of something before I divulge any info, it seems very possible that I can finish my education in state.

Been pretty bored with a lot of the music and current movies I've been checking out lately, though I have high hopes for District 9. Seems like there might be some good stuff coming out next month with a new Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying, a new workplace comedy from Mike Judge Extract and that quirky looking new Matt Damon/Steven Soderbergh film The Informant!, so hopefully they'll be something good out of those. I'm still waiting for an album I can really embrace this year but who knows what's coming and when. Jet has a new album coming out next week but I'm keeping my expectations low due to the lameness of the lead off single. Lately I've mostly been listening to some older 70s bands again like The Raspberries, not to mention I've been revisiting the music of the Fab Four once again for you know what, awesome.

Still hope to get in a few more shorts and video productions before the end of summer. AJ and I are going to be working on a faux horror movie trailer he's been wanting to do for a while. I've been pretty much putting it off but we brainstormed a few weeks back and I think it could be very funny. We might film some stuff this Saturday if anyone's interested.

That's all I got for now folks, so just keep on keepin' on, Ottteni out.

John's Video Game Vault

Not a lot of "post worthy" things going on in my life lately, so here's something completely different. Recently Sean and I picked up some old video games at "Amazing Heroes" in Totem Lake. Always a fun place to visit, I myself picked up three genesis games for the fair price of 16 bucks. So I figured it might be fun to share my latest vintage gaming experience. Hey who knows? Maybe if I head back to that shop sometime soon this could be an occasional recurring feature, much in the same vain as Sean's "The Stack". I don't know what I'll call mine, maybe just the uninspired "Video Game Vault" any how let's make it happen.


VR Troopers (1995)
The Scoop: Based on the Power Rangers wannabe TV show, VR Troopers is your typical fighting game. You play as any of the three Troopers as you go from monster to monster in order to escape Grimlord's virtual world.

Why?: I picked up this cheap little piece of crap just for a laugh. Of course I didn't actually know it was gonna be a piece of crap but I figured it would be kind of funny to own a copy of a game based off of a campy 90s TV show.

Pros: Uhh... The graphics aren't bad and there are some pretty amusing visuals. There's this one guy who debriefs your missions who looks like a retarded Larry Wilmore (pictured at the top), that's kind of funny.

Cons: Let's see, how about it's difficulty? I played on easy and couldn't even get pass the first monster. I mean if you fall down at the edge of the screen you're basically dead. Time after time I'd fall down and than continually get kicked and kicked until death, without a good opportunity to get back up. I mean this is easy mode and this guy couldn't be more aggressive. Aside from the annoying difficulty, there's the repetitive gameplay and lack of playable characters. Thank god there's a "Kids" mode for losers like me or I would of never played this for longer than five minutes.


Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (1994)
The Scoop: An action packed sidescroller where you can take on the role of either a weapon clad Alan Grant or a viscous Velociraptor. I'm not entirely sure what the game is about but basically this is a whole lot a shooting and killing dinosaurs and pissed off guys shooting at you.

Why?: I had vague memories of playing this many years ago and enjoying it. Plus, I figured I'd probably have more fun being that I'm definitely better at video games than I once was... I beat it as Grant in like 40 minutes a few days ago.

Pros: Colorful graphics and unique gameplay. Playing as Grant is a blast with all the various weapons and features (such as missions involving riding a speeding boat or a live gallimimus) and though the raptor isn't half as entertaining, it's kind of a nice bonus.

Cons: Playing as the raptor isn't half as satisfying as blowing guys away with a rocket launcher or flame thrower. The raptor's limited attack range as well makes combat far more difficult (it basically just bites and kicks, no tail.) Though I imagine it just takes more practice to get that character down, so it's not too bad.


Superman (1992)
The Scoop: Some super-villain is wreaking havoc on Metropolis... Braniac maybe? There's certainly a lot of robots and it's all up to the man of steel to save the day.

Why?: Of course I knew that Superman was infamous for having bad games but I'd never heard of this one. Staring at the colorful comic book artwork on the cartridge I just had to have it. This one really was more of a curiosity than anything else and hey, it turns out it's somewhat of a collector's item.

Pros: The graphics are umm... Fine I guess.

Cons: Oh my god this game is so hard! You'd expect Superman could take down anyone but I'm yet to even beat the first level. I could try a little harder but frankly I just don't care. You have limited powers (No flying here), it's repetitive, I have no idea what's going and if you die once you have to start from the beginning. They're just trying to piss me off aren't they?

In conclusion, not some of the best purchases but still kind of a fun stroll down 16 bit memory lane. Hopefully I'll be more careful next time, I have my eyes on the Batman movie game and maybe even some Power Rangers? We'll just have to wait and find out.

May Twas the Time for Mandolins!

Here's a brief update just for kicks and giggles. Last Friday was my birthday which was enjoyable. My dad and I went out to lunch at some chinese luncheon (I still have to drive for him for about another month), not great but okay and than he gave me some mullah, Cha-Ching! At about five or so my mom came home with a card and apparently a surprise gift. I hadn't asked for anything but somehow she'd remembered something I'd fondly talked about having some months back. So in all it's glory, I was presented with my very own mandolin. What a great surprise and I've really had no trouble picking it up with all my guitar and ukulele experience.. It's a satisfying feeling to play the mandolin break from '"Stonehenge". Later that evening my dad, my brother and I went to see Drag Me To Hell which was immensely entertaining. I just hope that it's released on dvd before next Halloween, because it really is the perfect Halloween movie and one of the most entertaining movies I've seen this year.

The next day I pretty much just hung out doing nothing but watching the Mariners game. Later that night Sean, Colin and I went to go see Up which I liked okay. I didn't find most of it that funny and never really got into the story but I loved the animation, the music (Michael Giacchino's becoming one my favorite current film composers) and some of the sentimental stuff. I also have a lot of respect for Pixar constantly taking such unconventional approaches to animated films. Tackling such kid's movie taboos as death (In this case our protagonists wife) and the most blood I've seen in an animated movie since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, well it's not that much but you get the idea. Still I've been more of a fan of the Brad Bird Pixar films and of course the Toy Story series, but this did the trick.

Sunday I went over to AJ's house to help him with a video project for one of his classes. I played a cop who like uh was arresting this guy for like a prank or something? I wasn't about his method of shooting whole scenes from one angle and memorizing a bunch of dialogue (I prefer the Cat Fancy method of quick cuts for conversations) but I got through it alive. I did struggle remembering some lines in this one back-and-forth with AJ until I was like "Can't we make this two shots?" I finally got to do one thing the Cat Fancy way, it was sweet. Aside from that it was weird walking around in a cop uniform around town but as a whole it wasn't so bad... But I really have not interest in ever seeing the finished product.

Now I'm just trying to work on this incredibly annoying paper for my "American Heroes" class, you know; bibliographies, outlines, rough drafts... When will I personally ever need to do a bibliography to aide me in the future? I hate that kind of stuff and I wish classes would just end already. Aside from that I'm still driving my dad around to all his appointments and trying to get some nice free time when I can, it's been busy but that's life, Otteni out.

The Magical Month of May

So what's new? My last post seemed to be pretty grim in spots but everything has been going quite nicely lately. So my dad's still on the road to recovery but it's good to finally have him home. I lived over at his house for a little while after his return from the physical therapy center and have been driving him around from time to time, but aside from that he's fairly independent. Aside from helping my dad with various chores I haven't been doing too much as of the past few weeks. I found out at BCC that I met my math requirement and was taking a class I didn't need, he suggested I drop the class so my schedules been pretty easy, and I get home at like 11:00 but I still have to wake up at seven in the morning, fortunately I was told that I'm on good path to getting my associates. I probably could of gotten it this year if BCC offered most of the important video production classes more frequently. Due to that I'll probably be there another year before I transfer for anywhere. I feel like I'm on a very slow path but I'm determined and I just got to stay focused.

Our latest Ferret "Steve II" or as my mom has been calling him "Cap Garland" (I think it's from a Laura Ingalls Wilder book) recently had to go to the vet for an obstruction. Meaning he ate something (in this case some rubber tubing) that he couldn't digest which if not treated in 48 hours would kill him. Luckily we got him in quickly and he's already home and in good shape. It was our second ferret to have an obstruction (Don't worry that one was okay too) so we weren't too worried and now it's all good.

On to less pressing issues, what's new in the world of movies? So far May has been pretty "Whatever" for me. Star Trek was fine but I don't understand what all the hubbub is about. It's like when Dark Knight came out and everyone loved it (I include myself) but my dad was like "Yeah it's fine but nothing special. I liked the first one better." I understood his complaints, but I didn't get how anyone could not be blown away. So now it's like I'm in the position he was and it's weird. I love the original show's clever, character driven writing, it was a thinking man's sci-fi, but this new one doesn't remind me of that at all. Seems more like a tongue and cheek action flick than anything else. I've also made it clear that I didn't like Zachary Quinto, I felt he had no presence and was just a prick, oh well.

Soon to come will be Terminator Salvation which thus far hasn't received very generous reviews. Sounds like the consensus is that director McG sucks. Looking ahead there's Drag Me To Hell and Up both being released on my birthday. Both currently have 100%s on Rotten Tomatoes (Though DMH only has seven ratings opposed to Up's twenty) I love Sam Raimi, especially his horror and thriller films, so I hope DMH is good despite it's generic horror trailers. I'm not too interested in Up yet but I bet I'll like it, Pixar rarely disappoints.

I finally tried one of those "3 for $20" sales at Blockbuster that Sean's always telling me about. Was kind of neat but I had a hell of a time picking a third movie. I almost got Zach and Miri Make a Porno but it had this stupid "blockbuster edition" design on the cover, not very esthetically pleasing. I ended up buying Ghost Town, In Bruges and Pineapple Express all three films that I very much enjoy.

Well that's all I got the energy for today, keep on truckin'.

April 21st

It's been a scary week for the family as my dad has been in the hospital since Tuesday. He came over that night with terrible pains around his chest and neck, I never really got a good idea of what he was feeling, but he was in a lot of pain so he asked me to take him to the emergency room. At first no one thought it would be anything serious. My dad frequently goes to the doctor for various ailments and had never faced anything too serious, until now.

We went to Evergreen where they got him in immediately, but had trouble finding out exactly what the problem was. He was having distorted vision, among other bizarre symptoms but it took many hours before anyone could figure out the problem (I'll try my best to describe what exactly was wrong). At about 10 or 11, the doctor came to the conclusion that his aorta (a large artery that sends oxygenated blood to parts of the body) was tearing, calling for an immediate transfer to Overlake Hospital and immediate cardiovascular surgery.

This was a lot to take in all at once. This was a very serious surgery and he could very well die from many different factors. He started calling family members and telling me things if he didn't make it through the night, it was an extremely emotional moment. Initially, the doctor said I should follow the ambulance driver to Overlake, but when the driver came in he responded with "What? No that's insane do you know how fast I drive?" I was a little relieved that I wouldn't have to follow a speeding ambulance, but that didn't take much of a dent out of my worries.

I drove home to meet up with the rest of the family, where we would head out after I filled them in on what I knew. We arrived at Overlake later that night, where we would meet the surgeon that would be performing the surgery Dr. Vu Trong Hoang. The doctor gave us a little more insight on the condition, which apparently in the medical world had become known as "John Ritter Syndrome" after John Ritter died of essentially the same condition in 2003.

After this we went to see my dad one last time before the surgery. He seemed fairly optimistic but I was still freaked out and with good reason. We spent about three or so hours at the hospital and soon enough, my grandma and aunts showed up. We all talked for awhile but later decided that at least Paul and I should go home and try and get some sleep. We did so, but I didn't get much sleep that night. We went back to the hospital the next morning to luckily find that the surgery was a success, but he wasn't in the clear yet. There was about a 48 hour time frame where other things could go wrong. I could tell you of all the other worries that went through everyone's minds in that period, but let's flash forward to today.

It's been almost five days since my dad went into surgery and he's recovering quite nicely. I've missed some school and literally hadn't felt like doing anything for most of the week, this including missing the last Killers concert among other things. Luckily, everything seems to be stable now, it's been comforting seeing everyone in the family come and visit, not to mention some of my dad's friends such as; his best friend Dick, his boss Sam and his old friend Ron, who visited my dad before he could recognize anyone (due to the drugs he'd be given) my dad thought he was a doctor.

That's about as much as I feel comfortable talking about, it's been really hard on everyone, especially my dad. Fortunately this isn't some condition that's going to drastically change his life afterwards, at least to my understanding. Once it is fixed, it's fixed and shouldn't come back in some new form. As a matter of fact my Grandpa went through the same surgery in the 80s and lived another twenty or so years, dying from an unrelated ailment, plus he was older than my dad when he had it done. So I'm optimistic towards the future and as of right now, it appears everything is going to be just fine.

What's Weak this Week?

Well here we are into April and I'm currently on my second week of classes. I've Anthropology this quarter which so far is both fun and fascinating. It seems like most of my favorite classes at BCC have been taught by younger, cooler teachers, I guess they're just more in touch with this go-go gadget modern world. I've also got my typical math class, hopefully this will be one of the last ones I take, it;s taught by your typical Mr. Mabbott-esque old guy educator. I've also got my online class which I like now but really pissed me off at first.


So I signed up for an online class called "American Heroes" just before Spring Break. It didn't really give any specific information regarding the class specifics online, but being that it would give me some of that sweet, sweet credit I signed up. Then I went to go get my books during Spring Break in which I received a National Geographic book called "American Heroes" and a book about Malcolm X. So I figure "Okay this is a class about influential Americans." but that didn't turn out to be the case. The class turned out to be about Western heroes in fiction. Well that's cool, but why the hell did I get these other books? I sent my teacher and email but he never responded. A lot of other people in the class were hella confused but didn't get answer either, so everybody' just went with it. Basically we watch a western every week and than take a quiz and write a brief character analysis along with some reading and essays. The only thing is no one has the actual book yet because everyone got some Malcolm X book. So I just ordered this apparently new book off of Amazon with the dough I got from selling some old books to BCC and here I am now.


Let's see what else is worth discussion? Oh, April Fool's Day was just great last week in our household. My mom usually plays a prank on Paul and myself every year, which I usually don't enjoy, but this year it was pretty good. So I awoke that morning at about 7:00, completely forgetting it was April Fools, got dressed and opened my door only to reveal something that gave me a good scare. For what else was standing behind that door but a life size cut out of Zach Effron. At first I thought it was lPaul standing before me with a large disturbing grin but after I realized it was just a cardboard cut out I had a good laugh. I tried the same prank on Paul leaving it in front of his door for when he woke up, but he wasn't really that surprised. As the day progressed everyone was taking that cutout and hiding all around the house. You'd find it in various rooms, in the shower it was everywhere. That was a good day in my book.


Last weekend the family and I went to the Swedish Cultural Center for it's monthly Swedish breakfast which was good. I'd never felt so accepted with all the old paintings and artwork of tall blonde dudes, I was in good company, though the huge crowds of old people were kind of annoying. It just seemed like every single one of them had a story to tell about the "old country".


I went to Adventureland last weekend with Paul, though we had to go to Crossroads after we noticed Bella Botega was carding people left and right. Luckily we got in safely at Crossroads and enjoyed the movie, though I'm more looking forward to Observe and Report this weekend. In the world of T.V. I'm back watching the fifth season of Oz and the second season of Deadwood which has been pretty boring ever since Ian McShane's character has been somewhat out of commission. Luckily his character is almost back to his dynamic self so I think the show will pick up again. I checked out the season premiere of Rescue Me and was surprised to see I had no problem getting back into it. I'd watched most of the previous season so I felt pretty in check, the show's still entertaining. Animation wise I haven't been too hot on South Park this season and Family Guy has still been more or less hit or miss these days. Hopefully I'll find some more good comedic Television somewhere soon.


Aside from all this I've pretty much been in baseball mode. It's hard for me to take losses early on in a season but I'm real excited about our offense, especially (well aside from Griffey) Franklin Gutierez who I'm all about. Probably just because I love yelling "Gut!" to the T.V. "C'mon Gut, my man Gut!" It's early but I think we have a good chance of dishing out a fairly respectable season. I mean you can only expect so much out of team that's rebuilding.