tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46008741105926708452024-03-20T02:14:23.091-07:00HoloNet Entertainment DailyWelcome to the HNED hub! This blog covers upcoming video games and movies, Star Wars, weekly box office and video game numbers, and (on Saturdays) anything random that pops into my head. If you like what you read, then please click that handy little "Follow" button and don't forget to comment! :DAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-26938236560428666862013-09-09T14:21:00.001-07:002013-09-09T14:22:56.063-07:00Participation Needed!Two posts in one day. Yeah, I know the next post wasn't supposed to come until Wednesday, but I have a really amazing reason for this! Simply put...<br />
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I was very pleasantly impressed with <i>Pacific Rim</i>, even so far that I would easily put it in my Top Ten Most Favorite Movies...Ever list.<br />
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Well, that's great, right? But what's with the title of this post?<br />
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The deal with the title is that (long story short) I'm going to be doing a podcast review of <i>Pacific Rim</i>... and I need your help to make it awesome.<br />
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Do you remember last December when I did a review of <i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i> by answering questions you guys asked me about it? Well I thought that was a lot of fun, so I'd like to do it again.<br />
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So what can you do to help this review be great?<br />
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Ask questions!<br />
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Ask all sorts of things!<br />
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If you've seen the movie, ask me about specific scenes, characters, or whatever. If you haven't seen the film, ask about anything that you'd like to know more about it. Specifics, generalizations, even statements.<br />
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Anything goes. Everything is game.<br />
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But in order for this to become reality, I really need you guys to ask questions. If I don't get any questions then I won't be able to do this, but I know I can trust you guys. =)<br />
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You can ask your questions by commenting on this post or by tweeting me @EdessaCarrick, and you can ask as many as you want. No maximum.<br />
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The only thing is that <b>your questions have to be in by this Friday (the 13th) at 5:00 p.m. CST in order for them to be included in the podcast.</b> All questions posted before then are guaranteed a spot in the review. Any posted after that deadline likely won't get in because I'll be recording it on Saturday.<br />
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So let those questions rip, guys! I'm excited to see what you'll come up with!<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-7066497970682859812013-09-09T07:02:00.000-07:002013-09-09T07:02:26.930-07:00"Riddick" Boosts the Box Office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The weekend directly following Labor Day is usually pretty slow. This week last year had <i>The Possession</i> at the top of the box office, but it only managed to rake in $9.3 million. This time we have a post-Labor Day box office that's 26% healthier.<div>
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You can thank Vin Diesel for that.</div>
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Diesel stars as the title character in <i>Riddick</i>, the third film in the <i>Chronicles of Riddick</i> franchise which follows the adventures of an intergalactic alien criminal. The film - which was independently funded by Diesel and writer-director David Twohy after Universal initially refused to finance it - earned $18.7 million domestically in its first weekend, which is up from the first movie and down from the second. <i>Pitch Black</i> debuted in 2000 with $11.6 million, and <i>The Chronicles of Riddick</i> debuted in 2004 with $24.3 million (Star Tribune).</div>
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While not debuting as well as its predecessor, <i>Riddick</i> did manage to knock <i>Lee Daniels' The Butler</i> out of its three-week streak as number one. It also helped to boost the post-Labor Day weekend box office totals by 26%, compared to last year.</div>
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But this Friday is the 13th, and there's a horror movie sequel - <i>Insidious: Chapter 2</i> - releasing that day. It could be an "unlucky" day (if you believe in that kind of thing, which I don't), or it could be just the thing <i>Insidious</i> needs to terrify the number one box office spot from <i>Riddick</i>. I don't know about you, but I'm really interested in seeing the box office numbers next week.</div>
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Here are the estimated ticket sales for the weekend of Friday the 6th through Sunday the 8th in the U.S. and Canada (numbers courtesy of the Star Tribune):</div>
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1. <i>Riddick</i> - $18.7 million</div>
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2. <i>Lee Daniels' The Butler</i> - $8.9 million</div>
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3. <i>Instructions Not Included</i> - $8.1 million</div>
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4. <i>We're the Millers</i> - $7.9 million</div>
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5. <i>Planes</i> - $4.3 million</div>
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6. <i>One Direction: This is Us</i> - $4.1 million</div>
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7. <i>Elysium</i> - $3.1 million</div>
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8. <i>Blue Jasmine</i> - $2.7 million</div>
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9. <i>Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters</i> - $2.5 million</div>
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10. <i>The World's End</i> - $2.3 million</div>
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- Edessa, signing off</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-9071523150867345592013-09-06T14:19:00.001-07:002013-09-06T14:19:07.953-07:00"RoboCop" Trailer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMO07sIbl_AHAvD6FEJSbR686skwEfdkH6caVEgSiSxD8BIOSH1i4tMyJ7Rv3-hCvi9yptnWeKMdI_MvauW8EipJoCINkZNgyppmdylqhaucZNnFrUq1y8353BqwtUw3HcHyWG_HL8tc/s1600/Robocop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMO07sIbl_AHAvD6FEJSbR686skwEfdkH6caVEgSiSxD8BIOSH1i4tMyJ7Rv3-hCvi9yptnWeKMdI_MvauW8EipJoCINkZNgyppmdylqhaucZNnFrUq1y8353BqwtUw3HcHyWG_HL8tc/s1600/Robocop.jpg" /></a>Hopefully you guys saw my last Tweet, which explained that I wasn't able to blog until now due to papers and other college stuff that needed dealing with. Honestly, I was hoping that these first few weeks of college wouldn't be intensive, but that just doesn't happen when you're a Junior. I'll be making adjustments to my schedule to accomodate for more homework time and less social time...but that's boring to talk about, so let's discuss something a whole lot cooler.<br />
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A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about the upcoming <i>RoboCop</i> remake. Now - a long time later - the first trailer for the film is now out.<br />
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The original <i>RoboCop</i> (made in the 80s) is a movie I've always wanted to see but haven't yet because of it's heavy violence and R rating. Maybe I'll get around to seeing it sometime, but I'm really excited about this remake. Not only are the special effects much better than in the original, but it's also being slated as much less violent than its three predecessors.<br />
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Just from watching the trailer, the film feels mostly like a generic blow-things-up-and-kill-things action feast. Through all the explosions and gunfights, though, there are very important questions being asked:<br />
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Can a machine control a man?<br />
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Is a cyborg still human?<br />
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What happens to the rest of the family when the father is fused with a robot?<br />
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Hopefully the film will actually flesh out these questions and answer them well. Too many action films start to ask good thought-provoking questions but then get distracted by really cool weapons, big explosions, and aliens. With that kind of stereotype, I wonder how the new <i>RoboCop</i> will address particularly the issue of family. Will they actually explore the situation in depth, or will they blow it off like a case of dynamite?<br />
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2014 will tell.<br />
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What do you think of the trailer? Have you ever seen any of the three original <i>RoboCop</i> movies? Do you have any hopes or fears for this remake?<br />
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Speaking of action movies, last Sunday I finally went to see <i>Pacific Rim </i>with two guy friends of mine. Cutting to the chase, it was pretty epic and I loved it despite its generic moments. I'd like to do a review of it, but I'm not sure exactly which way would be best. This is where your opinion will be most invaluable to me<br />
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So would you guys prefer to have me write up a review of <i>Pacific Rim</i>, do a generic sort of audio review, or would you like to have me answer your questions about it (like how we did for <i>The Hobbit: And Unexpected Journey</i>)? Or do you have another idea that you think would be a bazillion times better?<br />
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Either way, let me know what you think, and I'll get on that review ASAP. Also, if you're interested in reading my earlier post about <i>RoboCop</i>, you can <a href="http://holonetentertainmentdaily.blogspot.com/2012/06/robocop.html" target="_blank">click here</a> to check it out.<br />
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I think I want that robo-suit.<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-47760649885624321352013-08-31T08:58:00.002-07:002013-08-31T08:58:40.035-07:00A Wedding Day RambleDue to the fact that I need to finalize a list of upcoming games/movies to blog about (I'm a little behind on that), this particular post will be a Saturday Ramble.<div>
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Two of my friends from Youth Group are getting married to each other in less than four hours, and I'm so very excited for them.</div>
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But at the same time, it also feels a little...weird.</div>
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I don't know. When I look at and hang out with my friends and family, I just kind of subconsciously assume that they'll stay the way they are for the rest of their lives. I know that's totally impossible and won't ever happen, but I think like that anyway. Maybe it's because I just don't like change.</div>
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This will be a big change. These two friends have been dating each other for over three years, so it makes sense that they'd get married eventually. Now it's happening, and if it feels surreal to me (whose only job in the wedding is to run the tech aspects) I can't even imagine how it must feel for the bride and groom.</div>
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Part of the issue - undoubtably - is that I don't like change, and even though I'm not extremely close to these two friends it's still going to be an adjustment. The other part is probably a little, nagging tinge of... longing.</div>
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I'd like to get married one day (no matter what I said when I was five), and when I go to weddings I always feel a little bit sad. I see other people with their dates and then the bride and groom together, and I wonder if I'll have the opportunity to be in that situation as well. Right now it doesn't seem like it'll ever happen. "Forever Alone" and all that. It makes me feel a bit jealous sometimes.</div>
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It drives me crazy that I think like that. I mean, really, it's not right to be envious of <i>anyone</i>, and it seems even worse right now because this is supposed to be a happy, celebratory day.</div>
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But I <i>do</i> think like that at least once at every wedding I've ever been to. I'm thinking about it right now, just two hours before I have to go for the final rehearsal. It's probably better to get it out of my system now rather than be self-pitying while I'm there. Even so, I wish I wasn't envious at all.</div>
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It's so annoying.</div>
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At the same time, though, I know that God's got a great plan for me. And if that involves getting married, then WOOT! And it if involves being single for the rest of my life, then WOOT! I know I'll be praying today that all I think about is how happy I am for my friends on their wedding day. Being envious is just so selfish and rude and won't help anyone in the long run.</div>
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Besides, I get to dress up and get free cake. What's not to love about that?</div>
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Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run an errand at the bank before I "get dolled up" (as my Grandma puts it). It'll be fun, and I'm looking forward to it.</div>
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Don't let me think of myself, God. It's not worth it.</div>
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- Edessa, signing off</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-34320959239063133672013-08-27T14:10:00.001-07:002013-08-27T14:10:17.612-07:00Bring Back Boba<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I'm breaking my Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule, I know, but this is too important to pass up.<br />
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There's a petition going on for the creators of the new <i>Star Wars Rebels</i> animated show to keep Boba Fett (still as a teenager/young adult) as a regular, recurring character. Daniel Logan - the man best known for playing young Boba - has expressed great interest in being part of <i>Rebels</i>, and there's already a Bring Back Boba campaign going on all over the Internet.<br />
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If you want to see Daniel Logan as Fett in <i>Rebels</i>, show your support by liking the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BringBackBoba" target="_blank">official Facebook page</a> and tweeting with the tag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BringBackBoba&src=typd" target="_blank">#BringBackBoba</a>. If you're a blogger, podcaster, vlogger, or anything similar, please also consider getting your opinions about the topic out there to encourage more supporters.<br />
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Studios do listen to their audience. The more people who support this, the stronger our voice will become, and the more likely that the production studios will greatly consider our proposal.<br />
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Get on the campaign and show your support not only for the greatest mercenary this side of Coruscant but also for the amazingly talented Mr. Logan. There isn't anyone in the galaxy who does Fett better than he does.<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-58262259425508277622013-08-26T14:29:00.000-07:002013-08-26T14:29:27.731-07:00Podcasts, Buttons, and Scheduling, oh my!After a very long (but extremely fun) orientation at my new college, classes have finally started today, the Internet is working again, I've been watching way too many <i>Star Trek</i> episodes with Borg (if that's at all possible), and we are back, back, back.<br />
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This particular post is a basic overview of things that have happened and what's to come. Hopefully it will contain things you're all looking forward to, both here and on the Holocron site.<br />
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Firstly (since we're on the topic of the Holocron), two new podcast episodes have been posted on the site: a two-part commentary of the special extended version of <i>The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</i>. It's pretty crazy talking through a film that long, I know, but I'm such a geek that it was simply inevitable that this would happen. Plus, it was crazy fun. So if you like <i>LOTR</i> and/or like hearing me talk (that sounded slightly stalker-ish...), <a href="http://holocroncast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">then you should totally check them out</a>. It's great fun.<br />
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Secondly, HNED has recently had a little work done. <a href="http://www.robynlindenmayer.com/" target="_blank">Robyn Lindenmayer </a>(check her out, folks. She's awesome) created some sweet new social icons for the site so you all can navigate to my e-mail, the Holocron, my Pinterest, and my Twitter just like that. She also adjusted the margin layout so it looks a whole lot better. I'm excited about how awesome it looks, and those icons are still totally cute. I love them so much!<br />
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Thirdly, since college just started today, I've created a schedule to live by that also includes designated blogging times. You can expect HNED updates <b>every other day</b> (starting today and <i>not</i> including Sunday) sometime around <b>5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Central Time</b>. The Holocron will be updated once a week (usually on Saturdays), but occasionally I will probably have to update that particular site every other week depending on my work load. I'll also be posting a new updated podcasting schedule for the Holocron by the end of the week (though likely sometime late Friday afternoon). <br />
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Added to all that, I would like your help with something. If you notice that I haven't blogged for a fair amount of days and seem to have dropped off the planet entirely... please, please, <i>PLEASE</i> don't hesitate to bother me about it. Spam my inbox, my Twitter and Facebook pages, stand on your rooftop and scream at me, whatever it takes to get me back on track. Procrastination is probably my worst fault, and I want to break it like Bane snapped Batman's back. But in order to do that, I need to have accountability partners to yank me back on the path when I start to stray. <br />
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Long story short, I'm literally begging you to please bother me incessantly if I disappear without notice. I would sincerely, honestly appreciate it.<br />
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<br />
That's all I have for now, but I think that's a pretty good start. So check out the Holocron, admire those pretty buttons, check up on my Twitter and Pinterest if you're interested, and let's kick this new schoolyear off well (and <i>keep</i> it kicked off).<br />
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God bless you guys!<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-70393280730107959152013-07-23T11:06:00.000-07:002013-07-23T11:06:03.508-07:00Come to the Pork Side, We Have...Pigs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If I asked you to name a popular app, which one would come to your mind first? Or if I said "angry," would "birds" be the next thing you'd think of?<br />
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Lucasfilm Ltd and Rovio Entertainment Ltd are hoping so.<br />
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Following the huge success of the <i>Star Wars</i> version of <i>Angry Birds</i>, these two companies are coming together again to offer a sequel<i>. </i>According to starwars.com, "<i>Angry Birds Star Wars II</i> will follow the story of the three prequel <i>Star Wars</i> movies, including the introduction of never-before-seen <i>Angry Birds Star Wars</i> characters." One of the biggest changes to highlight is that you don't have to just play as Angry Birds. You can also play villainous Pigs like Darth Maul and General Grievous.<br />
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Pork Side, anybody?<br />
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The original <i>Angry Birds Star Wars</i> has been downloaded over 100 million times since it debuted, and it has some pretty good ratings in various app stores. Lucasfilm and Rovio are hoping that adding new characters (like young Anakin, Mace Windu, and Darth Maul) will continue the appeal of the sequel. Plus the new game will also come with TELEPODS, an interactive system from Hasbro that works a lot like the <i>Skylanders</i> game for Nintendo: place a physical toy representation of one of the characters on the phone or tablet camera to scan it in, and then play as that character in-game.<br />
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<i>Angry Birds Star Wars</i> <i>II</i> will be released on September 19th alongside an expected storm of new merchandise, and if you went to San Diego Comic-Con this past week you likely saw the first demo of the game in one of the exhibit halls.<br />
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Watch out, Angry Birds. The Pigs have Sith Lightning.<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-65472091265038328842013-07-22T19:15:00.000-07:002013-07-22T19:15:21.457-07:00Horror Movie Scares Off Pseudo-Ghostbusters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When it comes to choosing between a movie about demons and exorcisms and a movie about policemen shooting ghosts, it seems that the general public prefers the former.<br />
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Based on a true story about a Catholic demon-hunting couple, <i>The Conjuring</i> was the number one movie in America last week, pulling in $41.9 million in its first weekend. <i>R.I.P.D.</i> - which stands for <i>Rest In Peace Department</i>, and is probably one of the most boringly unoriginal titles I've seen in a long time - opened over the same weekend as <i>The Conjuring</i> but only pulled in $12.7 million, which puts it in seventh place overall.<br />
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I guess not even Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds can save a Ghostbusters-wannabe movie with a bad title.<br />
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On the other hand, <i>Despicable Me 2</i> has been doing very well in its weeks at the box office (I saw it twice, so there's about $20 for it right there). It held onto the number two spot over the weekend, followed closely by <i>Turbo</i> (am I the only one who thinks that this movie is basically <i>Cars </i>but with a superpowered snail instead of a talking car? If the story works, though...). So just from weekend number one, it looks like the public prefers Mr. Reynolds as an animated snail instead of a Ghostbuster. Works for me.<br />
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Here are the estimated ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada from Friday the 19th through Sunday the 22nd:<br />
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1. <i> The Conjuring</i> - $41.9 million<br />
2. <i>Despicable Me 2</i> - $24.9 million<br />
3. <i>Turbo</i> - $21.3 million<br />
4. <i>Grown Ups 2</i> - $19.9 million<br />
5. <i>Red 2</i> - $18 million<br />
6. <i>Pacific Rim</i> - $16 million<br />
7. <i>R.I.P.D. </i>- $12.7 million<br />
8. <i>The Heat</i> - $9.3 million<br />
9. <i>World War Z</i> - $5.2 million<br />
10. <i>Monsters University</i> - $5.1 million<br />
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In other basically unrelated news, I finally finished my really crazy month of working basically nonstop and to "celebrate" I decided to get a Twitter account just for fun. Some people have started following me there already, and if you have Twitter I'd love to follow you back. If you're interested, just follow <a href="https://twitter.com/EdessaCarrick" target="_blank">this link</a> to go to my profile.<br />
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I'm also experimenting with a new schedule for my life to make sure that everything gets done when it's supposed to get done, so you can expect more regular posting as well as new Holocron episodes coming soon (which includes finishing up my commentary of the original <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy, a discussion of what I want to see in the new <i>SW </i>movies, and possibly even finishing up my commentary of the Christopher Nolan <i>Batman </i>trilogy).<br />
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So, yeah, a lot of updating, scheduling, getting back on track, and whatnot, but it'll be fun. I know I'm definitely looking forward to it!<br />
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I'm curious: what have you guys been up to this past week or so? Have any fun last-minute vacation plans before the summer's over?<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-29776594550973951022013-06-27T14:26:00.001-07:002013-06-27T14:26:23.763-07:00Star Citizen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been konked out with a sudden attack of the flu, which is definitely not how I wanted to spend the past four or five days. The nice part was that I was finally able to watch the BBC <i>Sherlock</i>, and Pinterest has suffered under my massive <i>Sherlock</i> pinning spree.<br />
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But now I'm finally feeling well enough to write logically and not grunt and snuffle like a zombie. It's Thursday, and that means game spotlight!<br />
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For the longest time, my dad wanted to be a commercial airline pilot. While he never saw that dream to completion, he did spend enough time with airplanes to get his pilot's license (which I've heard is yours for life once you get it) and told me and my siblings about it quite often over the years. I'm acrophobic (extremely afraid of heights), but I've always loved airplanes. When I was twelve, I wanted to fly B2 Wing bomber planes and then choppers for the military when I was about fourteen or fifteen. I decided pretty quickly that a) I wouldn't be able to physically take military training and b) that the thought of being blown up by a SAM wasn't exactly wonderful. Even so, I still want to learn how to fly someday.<br />
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That's the audience that Chris Roberts knows how to address.<br />
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Most non-gamers and even a few gamers have never heard of Mr. Roberts, which is kind of a shame since the guy practically invented the space simulation game genre. <i>Wing Commander, Privateer,</i> those are franchises he designed. And now we can add <i>Star Citizen </i>to that list.<br />
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<i>Star Citizen</i> is an MMO whose emphasis is on getting your bird, flying it, and not getting shot down. According to IGN, "The game brings the visceral action of piloting interstellar craft through combat and exploration to a new generation of gamers at a level of fidelity never before seen. It offers a complete universe where any number of adventures can take place, allowing players to decide their own game experience. Pick up jobs as a smuggler, pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or enlisted pilot. A huge sandbox with a complex and deep lore allows players to explore or play in whatever capacity they wish."<br />
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The game calls for players to "Immerse [themselves in] high quality, cutting-edge visuals and technology, a virtual world that is massive and detailed, a sophisticated storyline that is wide in scope, and visceral space combat that will make your heart pound." (IGN)<br />
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Like many other projects that are looking for direct consumer funding, Roberts took <i>Star Citizen</i> on Kickstarter. It's a strategy that's worked amazingly for him so far, earning $10 million and counting from gamers eager to be part of the project. Critics are jokingly serious that Roberts could easily afford his own universe now.<br />
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If the funding keeps up this brisk pace, he could probably own <i>two.</i><br />
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Probably the biggest aspect of <i>Star Citizen</i> is ship customization. I mean, when you play flight simulation you spend most - if not <i>all</i> - of your time staring at your ship. It might as well look perfectly sick, right? Roberts Space Industries (the company developing the game) shared a lot of info with PCGamer concerning this vital area of the game and, needless to say, it's a bit complicated. Concisely speaking (and all quoted material is courtesy of PCGamer)...<br />
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1. "Customization...rewards ingenuity and mechanical understanding over stat vs. stat showdowns"<br />
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2. There are multiple components required to mod ships (like power consumption, heat load, mass, CPU, durability, etc.), but it's been built in such a way that there's no micromanaging during combat.<br />
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3. As opposed to <i>EVE Online</i> - a longstanding space flight simulation MMO - the intricate systems management required in <i>Star Citizen</i> is entirely optional.<br />
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4. There are 14 customizable parts to all ships, including: afterburners, hull, avionics, main thrusters, and intake, among others.<br />
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If you'd like more specific information on all of this stuff, check out <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/03/26/star-citizen-ship-customization/" target="_blank">this article</a> at PCGamer. It's pretty interesting stuff.<br />
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All in all, <i>Star Citizen</i> looks like a pretty solid game, and I'm definitely interested in seeing if it will be a big competitor to <i>EVE </i>or if it will splutter and not reach the level that is <i>EVE</i>. I say it a lot, but only because it's true: time will tell.<br />
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<i>Star Citizen</i> will be available on PC (not sure about Mac, yet) sometime in 2014. An official release date has not been set yet.<br />
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<b>DISCLAIMER!:</b> <i>Star Citizen</i> has not yet been rated by the ESRB, but the target rating is T for Teen or higher.<br />
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For more information on the game, you can visit the <a href="https://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/blackout/" target="_blank">developer's website</a> (which is currently experience an update blackout). And if you'd like to check out the competitor<i> - EVE</i> - then you can <a href="http://www.eveonline.com/" target="_blank">click here</a> to find out more.<br />
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Now let's hope the flu bug stays away for good and doesn't come back to haunt me, as it usually likes to do. =P<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-57417604352999716862013-06-14T10:08:00.002-07:002013-06-14T17:14:54.502-07:00Liebster Award<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">I've just been given the Liebster Award from Gabrielle, a very good friend of mine who has a really good writing blog called <a href="http://theinkstainedparchment.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Ink Stained Parchment</a>. If you like writing, you should totally check out her blog!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">So to accept this award, I have to state eleven random facts about me, then answer the eleven questions Gabrielle asked me, and then pick eleven friends whose blog has less than two hundred followers and ask them eleven random questions. Let's start with the eleven random facts, shall we?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">1. My reading list for this summer has about forty-two or forty-three books on it that range from historical fiction to sci-fi to theology to fantasy (I like a lot of different kinds of books).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">2. I sometimes livestream my online gameplay using Twitch.tv (my channel - unoriginally - is EdessaCarrick).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">3. I like fuzzy animals and even go running to hug cute animals in video games.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">4. I don't like hot dogs. They're just...bleh... *shudders*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">5. On the other hand, homemade apple pie is absolutely AMAZING! Particularly my mom's.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">6. I'm going to start working on my entry 501st Legion costume hopefully sometime next week. I want to go as Eleena Daru (from the book </span><span style="line-height: 20.78125px;"><i>Deceived</i></span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"> and from one of the SWTOR trailers), but if the lekku start giving me pains then I'll probably switch to Darth Zannah. I'll definitely keep you posted on the </span><span style="line-height: 20.78125px;">process</span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">7. As much as I love dogs, I would love to have a pet sloth or slow loris or koala someday. They're just so stinkin' <i>cute!</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">8. Err...wow, I'm running out of ideas. Uhhhhhhh...I eat things, I guess? Like food. I eat food. That's kinda random, right?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">9. I LOVE PINTEREST! LIKE LITERALLY! IT'S JUST SO AWESOME! Yeah.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">10. I'm a Communication major, and I'm thinking I'd like to work in the film and/or video game industry for public relations and/or advertising (not sure which yet).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">11. I'm that weird kind of individual that everyone seems to be comfortable with telling me everything, and that's totally ok with me because I really love helping people and giving emotional and physical support whenever I can. Probably makes sense why I'm a Communication major, right? =P</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 20.78125px;">And now to answer Gabrielle's questions:</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>1. Why did you start your blog? (If you already been asked this question and answered it, you don't have to unless you want to).</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Well, I have been asked before, but I'll answer anyway. I started HNED simply because I love video games and movies, and I wanted to share that love with fellow fans. That's the uber-concise version, but hopefully it still works.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>2. Where do you hope to find yourself in five years? 10?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> I'd really like to be married in five years, and hopefully before ten years. Other than that, I'd like to graduate from college and have a career in public relations and/or advertising for some video game or movie production company. I'm thinking 343 Studios, EA, BioWare, Disney, Warner Bros., or even Microsoft, but we'll see where God leads. Wherever I end up, though, I definitely want to be a light for Christ to my fellow workers and bosses and then (by extension of working public relations or advertising) the world at large.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>3. If you could be in any movie, what movie would it be?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, no questions asked. I'd wear all the crazy make-up and even be ok with never being seen on-screen, just please, please, <i>puh-leeeeeeeeease</i> let me be in just one little tiny scene! That would be just so awesome!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>4. Are you quiet, shy, or outgoing?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Er, it kinda depends. I'm very quiet and reserved when I'm around people I don't know (doesn't mean I don't smile or talk to them, but I'm just very careful to not let them see all my craziness because I'm paranoid like that), but I'm very talkative, random, and all around crazy when I'm around people I know. And if you're really close to me, then you get to see the really deep-rooted fangirl passion that is me. So, yeah. It depends on who I'm around and what the situation is.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>5. What are you currently reading?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> I'm currently reading three books from my reading list: <i>The Screwtape Letters</i> by C.S. Lewis (amazing book), <i>Come Thirsty</i> by Max Lucado (also an amazing book), and <i>Foreigner</i> by C.J. Cherryh. And I'm always reading the Bible, so I guess that counts, too.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>6. Star Trek or Star Wars?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Warsie For Life! I mean, I love Star Trek, Stargate, and Firefly (working on Dr. Who), but Star Wars is just unbeatable!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>7. When you are at the library or movie rental place, do you find yourself reaching for an action/adventure film, romantic, comedy, or documentary?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Action/Adventure is what I go looking for, but honestly there are so few in that genre that can actually meet my high expectations. Sometimes I can just sit down and watch what I call a "junk movie" (a movie that just exists to entertain and make me eat popcorn compulsively), but most of the time I want to watch a movie with clear messages, a well-thought-out plot, deep and well-rounded characters, complex themes, meaningful cinematography, and immersive acting. Unfortunately, most Action/Adventure movies are "junk movies," so I usually just end up going for a BBC drama like Little Dorrit, Emma, or Bleak House. BBC is just amazing like that.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>8. Lewis or Tolkien?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Tolkien all the way! <i>LOTR</i> is my favorite book (after the Bible), and he's just inspired me so much. I do like Lewis, but really only his books on Christian theology and doctrine. I mean, <i>Narnia</i> is good, but he just writes better nonfiction than fiction, in my opinion.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>9. If you met the Doctor and he said he would take you back in time to any place in history, what period would you choose?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Asking this of a history geek (like me) is like asking a dog what kind of food he prefers. I think if I had the choice, I'd want to go back to the time of Christ so I could follow Him around on His ministry and get to ask Him some of the questions I have. Hopefully the Daleks wouldn't follow us, though...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>10. Do you watch cop shows?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> Only Monk and Castle. Cop shows really aren't my thing, but I do like those two.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><b>11. Are you into Biblical Archaeology?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> I haven't kept up-to-date with any of it, but I do find Biblical Archaeology quite fascinating. The Dead Sea Scrolls are one of my most favorite discoveries, but any discovery that clearly gives more and more evidence for the truth of the Bible makes me so happy (not like anyone should rely on physical evidence alone, but sometimes it helps for witnessing).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">I would now like to give this award to...</span><br />
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<a href="http://cptps.wordpress.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 20.78125px;" target="_blank">Tiberius Shift</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://jandjproductions1809.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">James the Movie Reviewer</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://starwarshereandthere.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Helen</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://prophetsoftheforce.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Solace Utara</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://www.robynlindenmayer.com/" target="_blank">Robyn</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://princessfaithm.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Faith</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://cadbanehasablog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stilwater</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://safirewriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jessica Greyson</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://www.shelearnsasshegoes.com/" target="_blank">Kelli</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://r-justme.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rebecca</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><a href="http://soontobejedi.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Duchess of Mandalore</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 20.78125px;">To accept the award, you just need to state eleven random (or not-so-random) things about yourself, and then answer these questions:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 20.78125px;">1. If you could go anywhere in the world for as long as you'd want to, where would you go?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">2. What's your least favorite food?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">3. Biggest pet peeve?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">4. What's the best movie and/or video game and/or tv show you've ever watched/played?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">5. Do you prefer "junk movies" (movies just for enterainment's sake) or deep, complex ones?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">6. What's one of your most favorite memories?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">7. Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">8. What is your number one fandom?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">9. Would you rather be stranded on a deserted island with Deadpool or Wolverine?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">10. Describe your room in three words.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">11. What's your dream job?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 20.78125px;">Thank you, again, for awarding me, Gabrielle! Hopefully I'll get to see you again sometime soon! =D</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"> - Edessa, signing off</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-16554889770450875742013-06-14T08:37:00.002-07:002013-06-14T08:37:31.803-07:00One Trailer to Rule Them AllThe official trailer for <i>The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</i> has arrived, and already I can feel all sorts of fangirl-ness building up inside of me! Who else can't wait for December??<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-19653814853334998812013-05-21T13:10:00.001-07:002013-05-21T13:10:31.919-07:00Hello, XBox OneThe big reveal has finally come to pass.<br />
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Please welcome the XBox One, the newest gaming console from Microsoft since the XBox 360 about six years ago.<br />
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Some of you may have caught the livestream of the reveal earlier this morning, but for those of you who didn't I'll be highlighting a lot of the cool stuff that happened. If you'd like to see a recording of the stream yourself, just <a href="http://www.heavy.com/entertainment/2013/05/xbox-press-conference-2013-live-stream-video-event//" target="_blank">click this link</a>. Otherwise, I hope you all find this post of quick highlights interesting and informative.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgA_t-HFsMQR-D4oQTd1AspwSlY2wVx0F00uhPku7PSnSFksV5Jnl-TBTxCjizp3TrhDTJUc2zluXaBeQrX-8dBa7ZS7I1wXiHBQREDD9syIvS0MA6mtokAcXCDo5Ja1JWYzcWlhIeXg/s1600/XBox+One.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgA_t-HFsMQR-D4oQTd1AspwSlY2wVx0F00uhPku7PSnSFksV5Jnl-TBTxCjizp3TrhDTJUc2zluXaBeQrX-8dBa7ZS7I1wXiHBQREDD9syIvS0MA6mtokAcXCDo5Ja1JWYzcWlhIeXg/s320/XBox+One.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Console</span></b><br />
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So what's behind the name "XBox One?" A lot of people were expecting the new console to be named the XBox 720 or the Infinity, so One was a little surprising (for me, at least). Microsoft's desire and goal with this new system is to not only revolutionize gaming, but to revolutionize entertainment as a whole. The two tag lines that the speakers kept using to describe the system were "Simple, instant, and complete," and "The all in one experience." Basically, the developers want to sync every type of entertainment - from the internet to watching movie, from listening to music to gaming, and everything else in between - into one easily accessible, easily controlled system: the XBox One.<br />
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So what makes this console a big screaming deal? A lot of things, actually.<br />
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First and foremost is the voice recognition software. The new Kinect (which will come with every XBox One console) has been upgraded to recognize your voice and various vocal commands. True, the original Kinect can be accessed with vocal commands, but with the new version it will be so much more conversational as well as so much faster.<br />
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During the demo, Yusuf Mehdi showed off every aspect of the XBox One's voice recognition system. It started with powering on the system ("XBox, on") and then went on to watching TV ("XBox, watch CBS"), to bringing up the built-in TV Guide ("XBox, show TV Guide" or "XBox, what's on HBO?"), to accessing the Internet ("XBox, bring up Firefox"), to loading up a game, and then right back to the start page ("XBox, go home"). What made all of that even <i>more</i> amazing was that the switches between all of those applications - even from listening to music, to playing a game, to watching a specific TV show - were completely seamless. It was incredibly fast, exactly like simply switching TV channels with a remote.<br />
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Not only can you use voice commands, but you can also use universal hand gestures to move through the system. Bringing your fists together diagonally will make an in-use application smaller, while moving those fists outward diagonally makes the application fullscreen.<br />
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The Interface system remembers what you were last doing before you shut the system down, including what game you were playing and any other applications (like Skype or Netflix) that you had running. It also contains multiple organizational tabs such as Trending, Games, TV Shows, and My Pins, among others.<br />
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The One also offers a Snap Mode similar to the Windows 7 snap feature, group Skype video calls on your TV, and the Guide: a voice controlled search and navigation system for movies, shows, games, and other related things. Probably the biggest feature here, though, is XBox's ESPN system. When watching games on ESPN, you will receive automatic live fantasy league updates, clips of game highlights, league standings, and all sorts of stuff in that regard.<br />
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What about the actual system itself? What's in the One that makes it so cool?<br />
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In a nutshell... five billion transistors, 8 GB RAM, built-in Blu-ray player, USB 3.0, HDMI in/out, 802.11n Wireless with Wi-Fi Direct, 500 GB HDD, and 8 Core CPU in the console itself. <br />
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The new Kinect contains... 1080p HD RGB Camera, 30 FPS color, Time of Flight (TOF) technology, and Microphone arrays that allow it to recognize your voice and respond quickly to your vocal commands. As far as the you-as-the-controller is concerned, this new Kinect contains more joints, greater depth, and is better able to read your minute movements and balance. It can even read your heartbeat, making it even more sensitive to how you move within a game.<br />
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Even the iconic controller has been updated... Integrated battery compartment, Impulse Triggers, Wi-Fi Direct Radio Stack, Precision Directional Pad, and dynamic feedback triggers.<br />
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And while they're updating everything, Microsoft might as well update XBox Live, right? The new updated service will be more powerful and more personal. It's powered by 300,000 servers, which is more than the whole world's computing power in 1999. It will work on a Cloud system, saving your games and everything you do anytime anywhere. The online interactions will also take place in persistent worlds with bigger matches.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Games</span></b><br />
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So that's all pretty sweet, but what's a console without games? I mean, that's the main function of even an entertainment synchronizer like the One.<br />
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Four EA Sports games will be launched at the same time as the One, all of which will be made with EA's new engine: Ignite. These four games include titles in <i>FIFA</i>, <i>NBA Live</i>, <i>UFC</i>, and <i>Madden</i>, and Ultimate Team in <i>FIFA 14</i> will <i>only</i> be available for the XBox One.<br />
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EA's new Ignite engine is much more powerful than their previous one. It's capable of making four times more calculations per second with ten times more animation depth and detail. Plus these four new sports games will also include 3D dynamic crowds to make your experience even more immersive.<br />
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More titles are in development for this new console than ever in XBox's history: 15 exclusive games in the One's first year, 8 of which are brand new franchises. <i>Forza Motorsport 5</i> - which was briefly demo-ed during the event - will be available at the launch of the One, and some games such as <i>Call of Duty: Ghosts</i> (more information on that later on) will be released first exclusively on the One.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Call of Duty: Ghosts</span></b><br />
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For all of you <i>CoD</i> fans out there, <i>Ghosts</i> looks to be an incredibly beautiful game. It encompasses a whole new world with a new story, new cast, and was even developed on a new next generation engine. The characters are easier to connect to emotionally - much of which probably comes from the experience of writer Steven Gaghan, who wrote the movie <i>Traffic</i> - are fully customizable, and look very realistic. One of the newest characters is actually a German Shepherd who looks amazingly realistic, even down to the scars on his nose and the tattoo in his ear. The game's plot involves the crumbling of America and a group of former Army SpecForce troopers who are working to deter that. The multi-player even allows for revamped, dynamic maps: ones that change due to earthquakes, floods, and eve ordinance that players set off in-game.<br />
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And the animation! It's quite literally the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You can now leap and go over obstacles, lean out behind walls to fire, the world is full of fluid dynamics, the AI system is very cool (like fish who move out of the way when your character gets too close), and swirling interactive smoke, among may other features. There's also increased texture resolution - dirt beneath fingernails, bruises, blood, and individual hairs on arms - as well as self-casting shadows that really make the experience so much more real. And, as always,<i> </i>this new <i>CoD</i> game will run at a crisp 60 fps.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Other News</span></b><br />
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There's also some really big news for <i>Halo</i> fans. As you probably knew, 343 Industries and Microsoft released a <i>Halo</i> webseries - "Forward Unto Dawn" - not too terribly long ago, and considering the success of that campaign a new<i> </i>live-action <i>Halo</i> TV series will be coming... under the direction of Mr. Steven Spielberg, himself. No other information was given, but we know it's coming and it should be good if Mr. Spielberg is part of it.<br />
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The biggest drawback to the One? It's not backwards compatible with the 360. According to Microsoft's corporate vice-president of hardware, Todd Holmdahl, "We started with a completely new architecture for this generation [of XBox], and the architecture that we have with the 360, that would have been limiting to go forward with." The 360 will still be supported for many years to come, but it won't be compatible with the new One system.<br />
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*whew*<br />
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So that's all the basic information concerning the XBox One. More information will be coming in the next few weeks at the E3 conference, but until then I think that's quite enough to wet our whistles. I, for one, am pretty excited about this new member of the XBox family.<br />
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XBox One will release worldwide later this year. I'll let you know the specific date whenever Microsoft gets around to releasing that information.<br />
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Now I'm curious to see how the upcoming PlayStation 4 will stack up. Time will tell, I suppose.<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-4825562657195066592013-05-21T09:56:00.004-07:002013-05-21T09:56:51.246-07:00XBox Reveal Live EventMicrosoft is revealing the next generation XBox live in less than ten minutes. If you're interested in watching, <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hub/reveal">click here</a> at 12:00 CST/1:00 EST. I'll be watching and, hopefully, I'll make a post highlighting the event afterwards.<br />
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This should be a lot of fun!<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-85100615757264421692013-05-20T14:22:00.002-07:002013-05-20T14:22:39.213-07:00Enterprise Crew Knocks Down Iron Man<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyGvux2Nd3Fqh0I2_pLOZRpf5X2OkVOUjYVSy1ss-Si1eL0KhJfFXYe7_RHmpbuZUwyMxD2AW7PhXWMSQVjQ0zlklIvk1YLndU3xNcQwmCaE__0zCqJ3uuzMd58rJdRzXNbERADRzGUI/s1600/Into+Darkness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyGvux2Nd3Fqh0I2_pLOZRpf5X2OkVOUjYVSy1ss-Si1eL0KhJfFXYe7_RHmpbuZUwyMxD2AW7PhXWMSQVjQ0zlklIvk1YLndU3xNcQwmCaE__0zCqJ3uuzMd58rJdRzXNbERADRzGUI/s1600/Into+Darkness.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a>Which film should logically be topping the charts this week?<br />
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If you guessed <i>Star Trek: Into Darkness</i>, you would be very right.<br />
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The newest <i>ST</i> movie just released last weekend to the tune of $70.6 million, but it also fell way short of Paramount's expectations. 2009's <i>Star Trek</i> opened with $75.2 million - about five million more than <i>Into Darkness'</i> actual numbers - so it makes sense that the studio figured it would make more with the sequel. Their estimation of $100 million was way off, though, and I'm sure that the guys at Paramount aren't exactly thrilled about that.<br />
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Nevertheless, <i>Into Darkness</i> managed to grab the #1 domestic spot from <i>Iron Man 3</i>, who had been at the top for two straight weekends. In fact, Marvel's Man of Steel has still been going very strong at the box office, particularly overseas: a $1.1 billion worldwide haul (so far) is nothing to sneeze at.<br />
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What's surprising (at least to me) is that <i>The Great Gatsby</i> did even better overseas this week than both <i>Into Darkness</i> and <i>Iron Man 3</i>. That film pulled in $42.1 million internationally as opposed to <i>ST</i>'s $40 million and <i>IM 3</i>'s $40.2 million in the same market.<br />
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Then again, maybe the overseas market prefers DiCaprio over Downey, Jr. I dunno. But I'm expecting <i>IM 3</i> to outlast both <i>Into Darkness</i> and <i>Gatsby'</i>s theater runs, even though it does have a two week head start. But I guess we'll have to just sit back and see what happens.<br />
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I'm also very curious as to whether or not <i>Into Darkness</i> will be able to beat <i>ST'</i>s worldwide total of $385 million. It's definitely possible, particularly since I've heard that this sequel is much better than the first. Then again, Paramount's original opening weekend estimation was pretty far off.<br />
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That's one of the most interesting parts about the movie industry: a great movie can flop, a terrible movie can succeed, and it's all on the shoulders (and wallets) of the public.<br />
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Being a financial adviser for the movie industry must be some stressful job.<br />
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<br />
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday May 17th through Sunday May 19th at U.S. and Canadina theaters (courtesy of the Star Tribune):<br />
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1. <i>Star Trek: Into Darkness</i> - $70.6 million<br />
2. <i>Iron Man 3</i> - $35.2 million<br />
3. <i> The Great Gatsby</i> - $23.4 million<br />
4. <i>Pain & Gain</i> - $3.1 million<br />
5. <i>The Croods</i> - $2.75 million<br />
6. <i>42</i> - $2.73 million<br />
7. <i>Oblivion</i> - $2.2 million<br />
8. <i>Mud</i> - $2.16 million<br />
9. <i>Peeples</i> - $2.15 million<br />
10. <i>The Big Wedding</i> - $1.1 million<br />
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In other news, finals are done and I refuse to keep making excuses not to blog. The procrastinating tendencies in my brain are going down and staying down if it's the last thing I ever do.<br />
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So let the summer blogging begin! This will be so much fun!<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-38484180277963026352013-04-20T21:27:00.001-07:002013-04-20T21:27:29.529-07:00Happy First Blogiversary!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaKrIsznmE0U3IQIJ6xqgvTxKBHJl22_yJesUSNQGJdstd_rVl4YwKH1x42kj7lA3g43RbKidR1JvyMRD7ocFpxYiEHRJJ6aojfcHneasDU-u7Oz9v88xTBUcCIt-9VavisLUYVN2wq0/s1600/happy-blogiversary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaKrIsznmE0U3IQIJ6xqgvTxKBHJl22_yJesUSNQGJdstd_rVl4YwKH1x42kj7lA3g43RbKidR1JvyMRD7ocFpxYiEHRJJ6aojfcHneasDU-u7Oz9v88xTBUcCIt-9VavisLUYVN2wq0/s1600/happy-blogiversary.jpg" height="200" width="190" /></a>So, yes, I know that this is coming fairly late at night; however, it's still April 20th, which means that I can still say...<br />
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HAPPY FIRST BLOGIVERSARY, HNED!<br />
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It has been a truly amazing year and, honestly, I wasn't sure that I would ever be able to celebrate a blog's first birthday. But because of you - my wonderful Followers and readers - I can stand here, a full year later, and say "thank you." Because, really, what is a blog without its Followers and its readers? It's you all that have kept me going and who have encouraged me to continue blogging, and for that I am more grateful than I could ever express in words. The English language just isn't sufficient to convey the depth of my gratitude for all of you, so I must simply say: thank you so very much. You're all so wonderful, and I ever couldn't ask for better Followers. Thank you so, so much!<br />
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Now I bet you're all anxious to hear my answers to the awesome questions you all asked over the past week or two, or at least I hope you're all interested in hearing them. So, without further ado, here is episode eleven of The Holocron: Blogiversary Q&A!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="http://archive.org/embed/Episode11BlogiversaryQA" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="500"></iframe>
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I answered every question I received and had so much fun doing it, too. I hope you all enjoy this episode (which will also be posted on The Holocron site) and, again, thank you so much for just being you. You're all so very awesome, and I can't wait to see what the next blogging year has in store for all of us.<br />
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May God bless each and every one of you today, tomorrow, and for all of eternity!<br />
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- Edessa, excitedly and gratefully signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-27862720525019843842013-04-17T22:08:00.000-07:002013-04-17T22:08:00.426-07:00Quick Little ReminderThis is just a quick reminder that today is your last day to send in your questions for HNED's first birthday this weekend. If you comment with your questions after today (i.e., on the 19th or 20th), there's a good 90% chance that they won't get answered. So if there are any questions about anything at all that you'd like to ask me, then comment away before it's too late.<br />
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I'm so very excited for this! It's still so amazing that HNED has been around for a whole year. God definitely blesses us, even through social media. =)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGxeiAIOeqhqf0lmTH-hq4nvRMGpHDa6sy0X02XvNJKfNoa-IwWPPORm6RAenUQ0GNJCqmxZrQ92EfDpRB_7y7DzNtrEyexKuJjJ96n2-bvo5VqgEt2J9U_DNxsCmfaZuG_T-wTH2HIM/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGxeiAIOeqhqf0lmTH-hq4nvRMGpHDa6sy0X02XvNJKfNoa-IwWPPORm6RAenUQ0GNJCqmxZrQ92EfDpRB_7y7DzNtrEyexKuJjJ96n2-bvo5VqgEt2J9U_DNxsCmfaZuG_T-wTH2HIM/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-31232140989868863722013-04-17T14:55:00.001-07:002013-04-17T14:55:55.813-07:00Fuse<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKOvt2T0O_wdtrgOQlKDW4B6P-z9SPInaumvr4PJtglmbz46gdzxppRyS-7R8yLQmyC2exvr_TOXIiGz9JNB_X2yPWY5LScyOkAkTugOCxqc2cRlFQjCCMFwown0sqWF1WjbtSleljt0/s1600/Fuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKOvt2T0O_wdtrgOQlKDW4B6P-z9SPInaumvr4PJtglmbz46gdzxppRyS-7R8yLQmyC2exvr_TOXIiGz9JNB_X2yPWY5LScyOkAkTugOCxqc2cRlFQjCCMFwown0sqWF1WjbtSleljt0/s1600/Fuse.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overstrike 9 strikes back...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's nothing quite like being told that you can't have something.<br />
<br />
Some people just submit when they've been told they can't have something they want. Some (like a few very young kids I've seen at the mall) throw themselves on the ground and scream like a howler monkey on steroids.<br />
<br />
And then there are people - like those in the Raven corporation - who say "Well, yeah, boo, sucks to be you," steal most of your high-tech alien weaponry, and attempt to blow you up multiple times.<br />
<br />
That's the basic premise of <i>Fuse</i>, a new shooter from Electronic Arts and Insomniac Games: leading four elite agents of contact team Overstrike 9 in reclaiming the high-tech weaponry stolen by the Raven corporation before they obliterate everything.<br />
<br />
According to IGN, <i>Fuse </i>is a "story-driven, cooperative action [in which] players must thwart a rogue paramilitary organization called Raven from stealing the deadly alien energy source known as Fuse. Your team -- Dalton Brooks, Izzy Sinclair, Jacob Kimble and Naya Deveraux -- will pursue Raven around the world, from the fortified desert facility to underwater bases, island strongholds, icy mountain peaks, palatial hideouts and beyond."<br />
<br />
Even though the game is mainly centered on co-op play, there is also a solo player option. When playing solo, players use "the game's LEAP feature to switch between the four characters at will during combat," so much like a similar ability employed in the <i>LEGO</i> video games. Each agent has his own set of skills and specializations that are unique from all the others in the group, and you're also given access to some pretty sweet experimental Fuse weapons that make gameplay even more interesting.<br />
<br />
Besides solo and co-op options, <i>Fuse</i> can also be played online or offline and characters can "level up along unique character paths, allowing players to unlock more powerful Fuse-driven abilities as the game progresses. In addition, the game's progression system is unified between different play modes, allowing players to continue improving their agents regardless of how they play," (IGN).<br />
<br />
All in all, it really seems like EA and Insomniac are doing their very best to give their players the most options they possibly can, which is always good in my book. What's really interesting is that the game is being described as "Bringing the best bits of Ratchet and Resistance together," and that sounds pretty fun.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Fuse</i> will be releasing in the U.S. on May 28th (May 31st in the UK, May 30th in AU, and at a yet to be determined date in Japan) for the XBox 360 and the PlayStation 3.<br />
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<b>DISCLAIMER!:</b> <i>Fuse</i> has not yet been rated the ESRB, though the target rating is T for Teen and above.<br />
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<br />
Get out the magnum, ladies and gents. You've got a corporation to stop.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-59284169834879554952013-04-09T20:55:00.002-07:002013-04-09T21:01:06.295-07:00Blogiversary Plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFIVhGQMiGg07652bDf1x6MSAOmGWrkdYPKxFF401Yzl5ByECFsp7iafCwF96qvLQNF-Mh9VFBeFqVDsnJDZX9RP13zaUDyPcO57XkIhUlLRv4tnsPYTUtRCyoSrtHnfwy1_1OHDKzXg/s1600/Blogiversary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFIVhGQMiGg07652bDf1x6MSAOmGWrkdYPKxFF401Yzl5ByECFsp7iafCwF96qvLQNF-Mh9VFBeFqVDsnJDZX9RP13zaUDyPcO57XkIhUlLRv4tnsPYTUtRCyoSrtHnfwy1_1OHDKzXg/s1600/Blogiversary.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm so excited because in just a few days HNED will be having its first blogiversary! It's so amazing that I've been blogging for a whole year now, but I'll save all that gushy stuff for the actual anniversary post.<br />
<br />
Because I wasn't sure what to do to celebrate HNED's first birthday, I asked my awesome Followers for their suggestions and one of them suggested that I do some sort of Q&A post. That sounds pretty cool to me, so that's part of what my anniversary post will include (besides talking about how awesome of a first year this has been).<br />
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In order to do that, though, I'll need to call upon all of you - my wonderful Followers - for help. If there's any question about anything you'd like me to answer (something about myself, or my opinion about some issue, or randomosity, or anything that doesn't belong in any of those categories), then totally comment below and I will answer all of them.<br />
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Yep. <i>All</i> of them.<br />
<br />
So comment away! Ask anything and everything (unless it's something crass or inappropriate. Don't ask those), and I will answer every last one of them. If you could get your questions to me <i>by April 18th</i> that would be wonderful. If you post a question <i>after</i> the 18th, it may or may not end up in the final product. Just a fair warning.<br />
<br />
I also thought it would be cool if HNED managed to get 16,000 pageviews and/or 40 Followers by April 20th (the blogiversary date). HNED's at just a little bit over 15,000 views and 34 Followers right now, but I think it's totally possible to reach 16,000 views and 40 Followers by the end of next week. So if you guys would like to help reach that goal by referring HNED to your family and friends, that would be so awesome!<br />
<br />
The Q&A is my main plan right now with the view/Follower goals secondary, but if you have any suggestions of something else I could also do to celebrate HNED's birthday then I would totally love to hear them. Just post your suggestions below, and I'll definitely consider each one.<br />
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Well, that's all I've got right at this moment, but I'm looking forward to reading and answering all of your questions. This will be so much fun!<br />
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I hope you guys are having a great week! God bless!<br />
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<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-63976730159080751842013-04-04T14:45:00.001-07:002013-04-04T14:45:21.838-07:00Farewell, LucasArts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I heard the big news during my Audio/Visual Production class yesterday afternoon and, honestly, I'm still not happy about it.<br />
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Disney shut down LucasArts.</div>
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There wasn't any warning. There weren't any rumors about it. They just discussed it quietly and then suddenly laid off over a hundred employees yesterday morning.</div>
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And gamers like me are still sitting here in shock at the whole thing.</div>
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For those of you who don't know, LucasArts is the video game company that George Lucas - the Maker himself - founded years ago. They've been the publishers and developers behind games like <i>LEGO Star Wars, The Force Unleashed, Battlefront</i>, and so many others. And now it's gone.</div>
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By a technicality, LucasArts still exists. According to one of the company's representatives, their position was compared to other similar developer/publishers in the gaming industry, and they've "decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization" (Computerandvideogames.com)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Basically, LucasArts will no longer be developing games, just publishing them. It also means that two big games that so many people were looking forward to playing - <i>Star Wars 1313</i> and <i>First Assault</i> - have apparently been totally cancelled. Supposedly, they're looking for another development company to finish both games, but that may or may not end up happening. It's all rather up in the air at the moment, and probably will be for a while.</div>
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<div>
Honestly, I'm really not liking this. I mean, I had some initial reservations about Disney taking over the Lucas Empire, but then I figured, "Hey, it's Disney. They do quality stuff, so they probably won't screw this up."<br />
<br />
Then they cancelled <i>The Clone Wars</i>.<br />
<br />
And now they've totally messed with LucasArts.<br />
<br />
I think what makes me the most upset is the fact that over 150 LucasArts employees were laid off because of this decision. I mean, it would have been one thing if Disney had warned them about it, but from everything I've read it seems like the developers just walked in one day and found their jobs gone.<br />
<br />
I mean, really, Disney. Couldn't you have at least let them finish making <i>Star Wars 1313</i> and <i>First Assault</i> before you laid them off? Those guys had been working on those projects for so long, and now they don't have the opportunity to finish what they started. And for a creative person (which game designers, programmers, and developers <i>definitely</i> are) who puts so much time, effort, and imagination into his work, being dropped from that project that you put almost everything into is nothing short of terrible.<br />
<br />
But what's done is done. Disney has made its choice and, unfortunately, that choice involved almost two hundred men and women losing their jobs. For me, I know I'll be praying that all those who were laid off will find good work soon and specifically work that they love, and I would encourage everyone else out there to do the same.<br />
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And who knows? Maybe one day we'll look back and realize that this was ultimately a good decision for everyone. Right now it feels like anything but.<br />
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Expectations are sky high for you, Disney. Please don't mess this up.<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JJbVkTHloMs_If7tpmoe1JBpZB0_tOgKVLmhn4QEIDuUhJeHeSDSPKLP8HYFlcgggZWvHsJ0WI3_l-PL6e12dO95hoJoP1VfK4wFdRnN4nvVEB5VoKcjliIKv17pO82prIwlwh3xmYM/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JJbVkTHloMs_If7tpmoe1JBpZB0_tOgKVLmhn4QEIDuUhJeHeSDSPKLP8HYFlcgggZWvHsJ0WI3_l-PL6e12dO95hoJoP1VfK4wFdRnN4nvVEB5VoKcjliIKv17pO82prIwlwh3xmYM/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-43564830941354821592013-04-01T18:13:00.003-07:002013-04-01T18:13:25.323-07:00Happy April Fool's Day!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ihnFbVboDz1qRp7mz6Arm-zpGyPrusraR2l1u2aJqdcSzMrAXHuo-Jz4bgdb8PcWg4QDMxn_aSAVZgLx5bqLi72F1PWmrDeaXyYSwE-0gAXKZ-L-5k58gIWqmkSoiH6ooDRUNh2gbb8/s1600/April+Fools+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ihnFbVboDz1qRp7mz6Arm-zpGyPrusraR2l1u2aJqdcSzMrAXHuo-Jz4bgdb8PcWg4QDMxn_aSAVZgLx5bqLi72F1PWmrDeaXyYSwE-0gAXKZ-L-5k58gIWqmkSoiH6ooDRUNh2gbb8/s1600/April+Fools+Day.jpg" /></a>So as most of you guys figured out, my last post about cancelling HNED was nothing short of an April Fool's Day joke. I hope I didn't freak you guys out too much (even though it was a lot of fun to read your comments about it =P).<br />
<br />
On a very serious note, though, the HoloNet's first blogiversary is on April 20th (which is in a few days), and I have no idea what I could do to celebrate it. So I thought I'd open it up to you guys: what do you think I should do to celebrate HNED's first birthday?<br />
<br />
If you have any suggestions, just comment below and I'll definitely take all suggestions into consideration. I have basically no ideas at the moment, so send all of your suggestions in! I'm looking forward to reading what you guys all have to say.<br />
<br />
Besides that, I'd just like to encourage you all to check out The Holocron every so often. I'm doing a commentary of the Original Trilogy right now (<i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> - my personal favorite - will be coming soon) and I've got a bunch of other episodes lined up, including one on everything I'd like to see in the new <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy. Also, if you're on Pinterest you should totally check out HNED's boards. I've got quite a few of them, ranging from movie posters all the way down to some random drawings of mine. The links for Pinterest and The Holocron (as well as HNED's Facebook page) are over there on the right hand sidebar.<br />
<br />
And I do believe that's all I really have to say at the moment. So what kind of pranks or tricks did you plat on your friends, family, or Followers for April Fool's Day this year? I always like to hear stories like that because they give me a good laugh and great ideas for next year's Fool's Day. =D<br />
<br />
I hope you all had a great (and not <i>too</i> embarrassing) day! God bless!<br />
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<br />
<br />
- Edessa, signing off (but not for good =P)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-86079745473558100792013-04-01T08:04:00.000-07:002013-04-01T08:05:29.127-07:00The EndWell, we all knew it had to happen at some point in time. Good things don't last forever on this earth.<br />
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The long and short of it is... I'm cancelling HNED.</div>
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School has been taking up way too much of my time, and I'm so far behind in, well, <i>everything </i>that it's not even funny.</div>
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I loved blogging and hanging out with all of you amazing people, but the time has come for me to depart.</div>
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I'll miss you guys so much, but I hope that you all understand. I hope you all have a great year and, who knows? Maybe you'll see me hopping on to comment on your blogs every so often. =)</div>
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Farewell, my most wonderful Followers! May God bless you today, tomorrow, and forever!</div>
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<div>
- Edessa, signing off for the last time</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-60477629562729763552013-03-31T16:10:00.001-07:002013-03-31T16:10:12.619-07:00An Easter Story<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvxU9m8A_T4e1LsOxwixDr5npCPv9LlHxODBORZaZbjY0z-kMZuJxaT1LX1Yez_EIqxLLwwtczyQ-D3LMiX5I_KyW0HVyYqIk6sSrVR6rNrfVkNJnTql52VP3VlBbZK1UJOm462QdBwo/s1600/The+Resurrection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvxU9m8A_T4e1LsOxwixDr5npCPv9LlHxODBORZaZbjY0z-kMZuJxaT1LX1Yez_EIqxLLwwtczyQ-D3LMiX5I_KyW0HVyYqIk6sSrVR6rNrfVkNJnTql52VP3VlBbZK1UJOm462QdBwo/s320/The+Resurrection.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Resurrection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's that time of year again. The time when we dress our dads up in bunny outfits, dye eggs, bite the ears off of <i>all</i> the chocolate bunnies, and eat baked ham to our hearts' content.<div>
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<div>
But Easter is a lot like Christmas and other related holidays in this one big way: most people in the world tend to focus on the celebration rather than the <i>reason</i> for the celebration.</div>
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I'm definitely not saying that holidays shouldn't be fun. I mean, really, what's the point of a holiday if it isn't any fun? At the same time, though, I'd like to ask you a question...</div>
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...<i>why </i>do we celebrate what we celebrate?</div>
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Today's answer is pretty easy for the vast majority of people. We use Easter to celebrate Jesus, just like how we do on Christmas.</div>
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But is that all? Are we just celebrating Jesus? Or is there something else that should be added to that reason?</div>
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I would defend the belief that Easter is more than just celebrating Jesus, and to do that I'll have to go back in time a bit...</div>
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Once upon a time, there was God. Nothing else. Just God. Simply a just, merciful, perfect, eternal, loving God.</div>
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At some point in eternity, God decided to create a universe and, within that universe, He created a blue and green planet called Earth and populated it with animal, plant, and human life. This creation was perfect, so perfect that God even proclaimed it to be "good" (Genesis 1). The first two humans, named Adam and Eve, were also created perfectly and had a wonderful relationship with their Creator.</div>
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And then those two perfect humans decided to willfully disobey God's only rule in a vain effort to become like Him (Genesis 3). In a word, they rebelled. In trying to be like God, Adam and Eve ended up severing that perfectly wonderful relationship with their Creator and sinned, becoming completely imperfect. That's why we have sin in the world to this day.</div>
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God could have destroyed the world right then and there. He could have said, "Ok, they just broke My one rule that I explicitly told them <i>not</i> to break. Sucks to be them," and then destroyed His whole creation with a mere thought. Or God could have gotten extremely angry and said, "Alright, they want to break My rules? Then I'll break <i>them</i>," and then tortured His whole creation in every possible way. It would have been nothing less than what they would have deserved for rebelling against God.</div>
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But instead of destroying or severely punishing what He had made, God had compassion, love, and mercy. He had a plan of salvation, a way to save His creation from its sin and rebellion and to bring it back into His loving arms. He could have executed His divine judgement, but He didn't because He loved (and continues to love) us despite our heinous sins.</div>
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But the perfect relationship between God and humans had been completely decimated by our rebellion. How in the world could the perfect God and sinful humanity be reconciled? We needed a sacrifice, someone completely sinless who could take our sins to the grave for us. And since no human is sinless and could ever fit that bill, Jesus Christ (God the Son) came to earth to save us (Luke 2).</div>
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He became a human so He could empathize with us and so He could take our sins. He lived a completely sinless life on earth so He could be that perfect sacrifice. And then the perfectly sinless man (who was simultaneously fully God and fully human) was unjustly executed on a cross by His own corrupted creation, taking our sins down with Him to the grave (Luke 22-23). Christians call this day Good Friday.</div>
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The story could have ended there. If it had, then sin would have won. We, as totally depraved rebels, would have just killed our God. There would have been no salvation, none of our sins being forgiven or taken away. It would have just been us continuing to sin and be corrupted without a care.</div>
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But it didn't end there.</div>
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Jesus was buried in a tomb for three days, but on the third day something miraculously wonderful happened...</div>
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...He rose.</div>
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He destroyed death, broke the Devil's power, and proved that He was our only salvation. This Jesus, who we in our sinfulness had unjustly murdered, conquered death once and for all eternity and offers us the only true salvation from our sin and corruption.</div>
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And that's what Easter's really all about. It's about Jesus rising from the dead but, ultimately, it's about the reason <i>why </i>He died and about the salvation He continually offers us after his resurrection.</div>
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Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection gives us the opportunity to return to Him, to repent from our inherent sinfulness and run into His loving arms. He has repaired and restored our relationship with God and offers to bring each and every one of us back to Him.</div>
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But we're still sinful beings. And, honestly, many of us fall into the misguided belief that we have to do something ourselves to repair our relationship with God. We have to do this one particular thing, or we have to stop doing this one bad thing, or we have to say this particular prayer, or whatever. But while all of that is good, it's really not necessary.</div>
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Jesus Christ died <i>once</i> and for <i>all</i>, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18).</div>
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There's literally <i>nothing</i> that <i>any</i> of us can do to earn any part of salvation. There's absolutely <i>nothing</i> we can do, or say, or think that will help us repair our relationship with God because Jesus Christ fixed the whole thing Himself by dying for our sins and rising from the dead. Anything we do to "earn merit" falls terribly short of what He did and, honestly, it's redundant; however, there is one thing that we are called to do.</div>
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Our Savior, Jesus Christ, repaired the chasm that separates sinful us from perfect God, but the only way that we can cross that repaired chasm is by repenting of our sins, believing that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and by following the will of God all of the days of our lives (John 14:6). We're not just little robots and pawns that God moves around flippantly, like someone playing chess. He cares deeply for us, loves us like no one and nothing else ever could, and He gives us the freedom to follow or reject Him.</div>
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And that's the message of the Gospel, the truth about God's work of salvation. That's the reason why we celebrate Easter. Honestly, it's pretty amazing to realize and to know that God loved His sinful creation <i>so much</i> that He was more than willing to let His Son die for our sins on a cross and then rise again three days later and offer us eternal life, permanent salvation, and the opportunity to return to our Heavenly Father.</div>
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I pray that none of us would ever forget the true meaning of Easter not only today but <i>every day</i> of the year. And if there are any of you out there who don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, then I would totally encourage you to do some research (reading any of Lee Strobel's books - like <i>The Case for Christ</i> - will be helpful along with reading the Bible), to ask other Christians (including myself) hard questions, and to be willing to ask <i>yourself</i> hard questions about why you believe what you believe.</div>
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I hope you all had a very blessed Easter Week, and I pray that you would continue to follow God in all ways. He really is so very amazing.</div>
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Hallelujah! He is risen! He is risen, indeed!</div>
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Happy Easter! =D</div>
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- Edessa, signing off</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-12356026843980746942013-03-18T10:04:00.001-07:002013-03-18T10:04:31.929-07:00A Great and Powerful Weekend at the Box Office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's always really cool when films live up to their hype and even their names.<br />
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The film I have in mind with the above statement is none other than <i>Oz: The Great and the Powerful,</i> which is leading the box office again in its second weekend.<br />
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Earning $42.2 million domestically and $46.6 million overseas (which bumps its two week worldwide total to $281.8 million), <i>Oz</i> has easily become the biggest hit of 2013 so far. And a big hit is what this film year has been sorely needing for the past few months. Most of the films that have opened in 2013 have not done as well as the estimations originally claimed, and currently the box office is down a whopping 13 percent from the same time last year.<br />
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You don't have to know a lot about statistics and finance to know that a 13 percent drop in revenue is bad.<br />
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But with <i>Oz</i>'s massive release worldwide, it would appear that the box office will be getting back up to normal speed soon enough. And if that doesn't help, the veritable storm of incredibly hyped-up animated film (<i>Despicable Me 2, The Croods, Monsters University</i>) should be able to kick start the box office all by themselves.<br />
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Another film that is doing well in theaters is the thriller <i>The Call</i>. In its opening weekend this week, it pulled in a nice $17.1 million domestically. While that's almost nothing compared with <i>Oz</i>'s profit, <i>The Call</i> is still doing much better than it was originally expected to do, and any film will take exceeded expectations as a success.<br />
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Here are the ticket sale for Friday March 15th through Sunday March 17th at U.S. and Canadian theaters (courtesy of the Star Tribune):<br />
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1. <i>Oz: The Great and the Powerful</i> - $42.2 million ($46.6 million international)<br />
2. <i>The Call</i> - $17.2 million<br />
3. <i>The Incredible Burt Wonderstone</i> - $10.3 million<br />
4. <i>Jack the Giant Slayer</i> - $6.2 million ($10 million international)<br />
5. <i>Identity Thief</i> - $4.5 million<br />
6. <i>Snitch</i> - $3.5 million<br />
7. <i>21 and Over</i> - $2.6 million<br />
8. <i>Silver Linings Playbook</i> - $2.6 million<br />
9. <i>Safe Haven</i> - $2.5 million<br />
10. <i>Escape From Planet Earth</i> - $2.3 million<br />
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Before I end this post, there are just a few announcements I'd like to make.<br />
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Firstly, HNED is now on Pinterest! It's something I've been wanting to do for a little while, so over the weekend I just knuckled down and did it. Currently there are five boards: Film Posters, Movie Production Stills, Video Game Stills, Star Wars, and the HNED Random Picture of the Day. I'll try to update all of those boards daily with new pictures and whatnot, and I hope you all like it! The link to the boards is under the Links tab up there or you can just click the little Pinterest icon on the right hand sidebar to go there.<br />
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Secondly, I've started my commentary series on the <i>Star Wars</i> Original Trilogy on The Holocron. I've only recorded one to <i>Episode IV: A New Hope</i> so far, but <i>Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back</i> will be coming later this week. If you're interested, the Schedule tab on The Holocron site has a list of all of the commentaries that will be coming in the next month or so, and I think it's a pretty fun and diverse list. I'm also planning on recording a podcast episode of all of the stuff I want to have the new <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy contain, which I hope will be interesting to most (if not all) of you. So, long story short, be sure to check out <a href="http://holocroncast.blogspot.com/">The Holocron</a> every weekend for a new podcast episode!<br />
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Finally, you all may want to plug your ears because <i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i> releases on DVD tomorrow and my fangirl screams get loudly obnoxious when it comes to anything related to Tolkien! Who else is excited? SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! =D<br />
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- Edessa, signing off<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-86801650886078343642013-03-13T16:40:00.001-07:002013-03-13T16:40:49.817-07:00Pride and Prejudice and Zombies<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creepiest. Thing. Ever... imho</td></tr>
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As a general rule, I'm not much of a "girly-girl."<div>
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I don't really like chick flicks, clothes shopping bores me, pulp romance novels leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I actually don't mind playing airsoft in a swampy forest.</div>
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Even so, there are a few things "girly-girl" things that I get excited about. Glitter, for instance, as well as puppies and unicorns. But the biggest thing I get all "girly-girl" about are novels written by Jane Austen and the companion movie adaptions.</div>
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True, Austen's books are kind of old fashioned (being written in the early nineteenth century kinda does that), but they're so witty and deal with issues that we still face in our modern twenty-first century. There are still social classes, there's still a desire for wealth and power, there are still conniving no-goods who will do anything to get their way, and there are still many people (both young and old) falling in love. Language may always change, but social issues transcend time.</div>
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Now that Miss Austen's books are now public domain, the market's practically flooded with spin-offs of all of her books. Modern retellings of <i>Mansfield Park</i>, murder mysteries, all sorts of interesting stuff.</div>
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And then along the way, a certain Seth Grahame-Smith decided to add zombies.</div>
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And <i>that</i> just made everything a whole lot weirder.</div>
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Even those of you who aren't fans of Jane Austen have probably heard of <i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> or <i>Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters</i>, which is Grahame-Smith's take on two of Austen's classics. What you might not have known was that the zombie rendition is so popular that it's being made into a movie.</div>
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Produced by an ensemble of production companies (1821 Pictures, Panorama Media, Handsomecharlie Films, and Darko Entertainment), <i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> is a weird twist on Austen's original work, the story of "A young woman [who] makes [a] quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers." Read: "the classic 'Pride and Prejudice' story with zombies'" (Movie Insider).</div>
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Apparently its a horror romantic comedy, though I'm honestly not sure how the "comedy" aspect is gonna come in. Last time I checked, watching a zombie chewing on some hapless guy's brain wasn't exactly "funny," but whatever. I'm not getting on my soapbox at the moment. =)</div>
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Anyway, the proposed film just got out of the Concept phase and (as of March 3rd) is now in the Development phase. That means that casting, budgeting, and general crew hiring is already in the works.</div>
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So far, a director has not been attached to the project, though a lot were formerly going to be part of it: David O. Russel, Mike White, David Slade, David Katzenberg, even Grahame-Smith himself.</div>
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There isn't a cast, either, though Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, and Natalie Portman were formerly rumored to be included. An interesting side note is that even though she's not in the cast, Portman is still one of the film's producers. That kinda makes me think that they'll reconsider her for a part, but it'll probably be a while before we know for sure.</div>
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Writing the script is the author himself along with David O. Russel (<i>The Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees</i>) and Marti Noxon (<i>Fright Night, I Am Number Four</i>).</div>
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An official release date has not been created yet, but those are usually nailed down during the Production phase and this particular film has a little ways to go until then.</div>
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So what do you guys think of this new Austen adaption? Do you think it'll be Good, Bad, or Ugly? And for those of you who have read the book <i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i>, do you think you'll go see this movie when it releases?</div>
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Personally, I'm not going to see it. Part of that reason is because I really don't like vampires, but the other is that I much prefer Austen's original work to anybody's spin-off (I'm kind of a traditionalist like that). Still, I think it'll do well in theaters. I mean, how many people went to see the movie adaption of Grahame-Smith's other novel, <i>Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer</i>?</div>
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Yeah. A lot.</div>
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But at this point, there's really no way to know how the populace will respond to it. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.</div>
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- Edessa, signing off</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436504842091418119noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4600874110592670845.post-9927929596179566672013-03-12T17:10:00.000-07:002013-03-12T17:10:17.438-07:00A New Direction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's some big news circling around the <i>Star Wars</i> world, and it's most definitely worth keeping an eye on.<div>
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As all of you (hopefully) know, Disney recently bought the <i>Star Wars</i> franchise from George Lucas, including all of novels, merchandise, and television series. While Disney is working on giving us another <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy - which, by the way, will also have Mark Hamil, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford reprising their iconic roles from the original trilogy - it's also putting <i>The Clone Wars</i> and <i>Detours</i> on new tracks.</div>
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After an absolutely wonderful fifth season, Disney has sadly decided to wind <i>The Clone Wars</i> series down. This doesn't mean that they're just stopping with Season Five (there are still a few more story arcs left for them to tell), but it does mean that the series is slowly drawing to a close. It's really sad, particularly for big <i>CW</i> fans like myself, but I guess I also realize that Disney would rather focus its creativity on making an amazing new trilogy of <i>Star Wars</i> films. I suppose I would rather have them devote more of their efforts to that, no matter how much I love <i>CW</i>.</div>
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For more information on the <i>CW</i> issue and to see a really exciting clip from one of the upcoming story arcs, check out this video: http://starwars.com/watch/the-future-of-star-wars-the-clone-wars.html</div>
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As for the animated comedy show <i>Star Wars Detours</i>, Disney has decided to postpone the series release until an unspecified later date. Their reasoning is that it doesn't "make sense" to release a comedy series before the release of Episode VII. Honestly, that logic doesn't "make sense" to me, but I guess Disney will do what Disney will do. Hopefully the series will release fairly soon because I, for one, am really looking forward to it.</div>
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So whether you love or hate or are indifferent to Disney's purchase of<i> </i>George Lucas' iconic franchise, now is still a great opportunity to support that wonderful galaxy far, far away. Change is most definitely hard and many people (myself included) hate change, but the potential for <i>Star Wars</i>' growth as a franchise is very real and very possible.</div>
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Let's rally around Disney and Lucasfilm, Ltd., and encourage them to make this the greatest century to be any type of <i>Star Wars</i> fan! Viva la <i>Star Wars!</i></div>
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- Edessa, signing off</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JJbVkTHloMs_If7tpmoe1JBpZB0_tOgKVLmhn4QEIDuUhJeHeSDSPKLP8HYFlcgggZWvHsJ0WI3_l-PL6e12dO95hoJoP1VfK4wFdRnN4nvVEB5VoKcjliIKv17pO82prIwlwh3xmYM/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JJbVkTHloMs_If7tpmoe1JBpZB0_tOgKVLmhn4QEIDuUhJeHeSDSPKLP8HYFlcgggZWvHsJ0WI3_l-PL6e12dO95hoJoP1VfK4wFdRnN4nvVEB5VoKcjliIKv17pO82prIwlwh3xmYM/s320/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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