BlizzCon

BlizzCon ran on Friday and Saturday. First, let me say how weird it is to see a two-day convention that takes place on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. My husband signed up for the DirecTV pay per view to partake in the geekiness. And, oh, was it geeky. To be honest, we only watched the interesting parts of the show. The opening ceremonies with Chris Metzen's speech, the costume contest, the dance competition, and the Tenacious D concert. Amazingly, Chris Metzen was extraordinarily entertaining. Most of the time, these speeches are done by boring suits or developers with no social skills. You end up wondering when the pain will end. I was very surprised to see Metzen and, even more surprising, I didn't want his speech to end. I was ready to listen to him all day.

Then we saw some boring panel with PowerPoint slides on the new changes that were added to.....I forget what game....Starcraft 2 maybe. I actually turned to my husband and said "You paid to watch some geeks do a PowerPoint presentation on a game? This is lame."

There was some cool things in the costume and dance contests. (I wonder if there were trophies handed out....) There were a lot of people that stupidly wore stilts. They needed help walking down the ramp to the stage. Overall, I was impressed and I was happy with the winners. As for the dance contest, it was silly and fun but one guy did end up getting injured. (It has been debated whether he broke his leg or just dislocated his knee. Either way it sucks.)

Finally, the Tenacious D concert at the closing ceremonies. Of course, they rocked the house. Dave Grohl (from Foo Fighters and Nirvana) played drums for them. If anything, this was the only thing worth the price of pay per view. I would do it again just for the D. Everything else was dull in comparison.

Game review: Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

I played the demo for Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat last night. Before I start talking about the gameplay, I'd like to point out that Big Fish Games no longer offers the hour trial of the game. While you still have 60 minutes to play, you only get a short demo. I was able to finish the demo in about 45 minutes. This annoys me because I used to really get into to game then have it turn off at the 60 minute mark. That forced me into a situation where I had to purchase the game if I wanted to know the rest of the story. With this demo, it stopped at the end of a "scene." Instead of leaving me with a feeling of "OMG. I didn't finish it!", it gave me the feeling of "Well, at least I finished this section." The demo should leave me wanting to buy the game. This change was a terrible idea. Onto the game itself! Despite billing itself as a hidden object game, it is more of a click-and-play action game. There is a lot of instances where you use an object in your possession to find another object to move you forward. For example, you need to find a razor, a tree branch, and a rope to make an item that will help you cut a dog's leash. However, none of these objects are located in a hidden object puzzle. They are all there in plain sight, waiting for you to grab them. I didn't reach any hidden object puzzles until I was about 15 minutes into the game. This might intrigue other people, but it bored me. I hope this is not the new trend in hidden object games.

Jdorama review: Rookies

Title: Rookies Broadcast dates: 4/19/08 - 7/26/08 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Sports, drama Cast: Sato Ryuta, Ichihara Hayato, Koide Keisuke Plot: The baseball team of Futakotamagawa high school has been banned from playing for six months after fighting on the field. Rookie teacher Kawato Koichi arrives with promises to help them achieve their dreams. Together, the group fights to get to the Koshien baseball tournament. What is good: Sato Ryuta is a very good actor. What is bad: Aniya (Ichihara Hayato) is a bit of an annoying character. Letter rating: C+ Overall: I was hesitant to list this as a 'sports' drama because, really, the baseball takes a backseat to the personal dramas of each of the characters. Granted, the main plotline is to get the team to Koshien but it's still not the core of the story. As such, I found myself getting a lot more enjoyment out of the show. I'm not a huge sports fan so usually things like this are lost on me. However, by making the characters the meat of the story, it makes the show more interesting for people like me. I'm actually looking forward to watching both the special and the movie to see where this goes.

Play: The Addams Family

About a month ago, when I was in New York City, we managed to get half price tickets to catch the matinee for The Addams Family. My daughter enjoys the old television series and I love watching both Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. It would be a good time for everyone.

The play advances the lives of the family slightly. Wednesday has grown from the delightfully morbid little girl we knew into a young woman in love. Unfortunately, she has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a "normal" young man. In an attempt to break the news of their impending wedding to their families, Wednesday decides to invite the Beinekes to dinner at the Addams mansion. Both teenagers beg their parents for one "normal" night, but can anything ever be normal in the Addams house?

I went into the play not knowing the storyline. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised that the characters had been aged a few years. Luckily, everything came together amazingly to produce this fantastic production. Not only is the story well-written, but both the acting and the stage effects gives it even more oomph. (Yes, they even have Uncle Fester lighting a bulb in his mouth onstage.)

Krysta Rodriguez plays Wednesday. I was absolutely floored every time she opened her mouth to sing. If Kristin Chenoweth is a modern example of a Broadway actress 'making it big,' I predict that Krysta will be closely following in her footsteps. I am definitely looking forward to seeing bigger things for her in the future.

As I said earlier, I am a fan of both Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. Unfortunately, Nathan Lane was not in the production we saw. (Which is probably why the tickets were half price.) However, we were lucky enough to have Merwin Foard in the role of Gomez. Once again, an amazingly talented actor was cast in a difficult role. Everyone in my group agreed that he was the perfect actor for the role. None of us can even imagine Nathan Lane doing as good a job. As for Bebe Neuwirth, I was a little hesitant to like her as Morticia at first. With a bit of time though, she grew on me. I enjoyed her performance, even if she doesn't seem to be a perfect fit.

I definitely fell in love with this show. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to figure out a way to get my husband to New York so he can see it as well. If you have the chance to see it, even if you need to buy the half price tickets, GO. You will not be sorry!

Game review: Reincarnations: Uncover the Past

Sadly, I did not realize that Reincarnations: Uncover the Past is the second in a series of hidden object games before I started playing it. I think I would have liked to have played the original game first. Anyway, in the game, you play Jane, a woman who has been traveling through time via her past lives. I imagine the first game explains this a bit more. In this game, Jane has been committed to a mental institution. She plans on using her past lives to help her escape.

I found the game to be tons of fun. My favorite parts were where you have to combine objects in order to find something on your list. For example, you need to combine a brush and a boot to make a shiny boot. I also find the different storylines interesting. Each past life has it's own story and problem to solve. This keeps the game fresh so, even though they are the same puzzles, each one has it's own flair.

I actually haven't finished the game yet. I went ahead and got the full version. Hopefully you'll find it as fun as I did!

Play: The Lion King

One of the most popular Disney musicals on Broadway is The Lion King. Most Disney fans know the story by heart. Simba, a lion cub destined to be king of his pride, is tricked by his evil uncle, Scar, into thinking he killed his father, Mufasa. Fearing the wrath of the other lions, Simba runs away. Luckily, he comes upon Pumbaa the warthog and Timon the meerkat. The three best friends live a carefree life until Simba's childhood friend, Nala, tries to eat Pumbaa. Nala convinces Simba to return to Pride Rock and retake his rightful place as king.

There has been a lot of hype around the musical, mostly due to the amazing costumes the actors wear. I will admit that they are absolutely breathtaking. However, that is the best part of the play. If you are already familiar with the animated movie, this show is just a live rehashing of the story. There is nothing new, beyond a few songs. It is pretty much word-for-word a re-enactment of the movie. As such, it's pretty easy to tune out entire scenes. This is unfortunate since the actors, especially the children, are so amazingly talented. I'd like to recommend The Lion King to people but I just can't. Yes, the costumes are great but I think you should get a little more for your money. Though, if you manage to get discounted tickets, snatch them up and be stunned by the beauty of the show.

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is the last museum I have to talk about. Even though most people are familiar with the monument, it's difficult to truly realize how huge it is until you are standing next to it. It stands approximately 555 feet tall. The building was finished on December 6, 1884. Think about how awesome that is. Way back in the late 1800s, they were able to erect this humongous pillar in honor of the first president of the United States. It almost makes today's buildings look lame.

Admission to the monument is free, but you do need a ticket since they can only let so many people in at one time. It's very tiny at the top. As a note, if you order your tickets online, there is a $1.50 service charge.

At the top of the tower, there are two windows on each of the four sides. While it is a little difficult to fit into the space near the window (unless you are a child), it is possible. You can see about 30 miles in each direction. That means you'll be able to see both Maryland and Virginia. I'm not particularly fond of heights but I did find the view impressive. (I stood in the back by the elevators instead of going right up to the window.)

The longest part of the museum is the elevator ride up and down. If you have a half hour or so to spare during your trip, you should check out the monument. It's just plain neat.

National Zoo

We're almost to the end of the places I visited in Washington, D.C. One of the last places we saw was the National Zoo. Since it is a part of the Smithsonian group of museums, admission to the zoo is free. Of course, I think that makes it the best zoo ever.

Unfortunately, we happened to go while the elephant enclosures were being upgraded so they was closed. No elephants for us. (Phase One of the exhibit opened September 3.) It was also rather hot out. As a result, most of the animals were just hanging out in the shade. We must be the kings of bad timing. On the other hand, the red pandas were extraordinarily active. I've never seen red pandas wandering around their enclosure. This time, one of them actually walked right next to the glass. It was awesome. We also had a ball in both the bird house and the small mammal house.

Overall, the zoo was well-kept and fairly easy to navigate. The parking can get a bit expensive but I'm willing to forgive that since there is no admission fee. Also, if you become a member, you get free parking. We are definitely planning on going back the next time we are in the area.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

I'm not usually a science person. However, the National Museum of Natural History is an amazing museum. I really think this is a museum that has something for everyone. Not only are there fossils and insects, this is also where the Hope Diamond is on display. (By the way, the Hope Diamond is the centerpiece of the gemstone collection so there are rubies, emeralds, and other gems as well.)

My favorite display was the deep sea creatures. There's a giant squid, which I found pretty interesting. I also highly enjoyed the film about a group of scientists that get to explore the sea floor. As a matter of fact, my daughter even sat still to watch this one! That is a feat in itself.

Usually, I have a difficult time recommending museums to people who aren't the nerdy type. However, I truly feel this is a museum that everyone can enjoy. Between the butterfly enclosure, the gemstone collection, the live insects, and the history of the creatures of the earth...I'm sure everyone can find at least one thing they'll love. I know it was true in our group!

National Air and Space Museum

Another Smithsonian museum we hit while we were in DC was the National Air and Space Museum. There are actually two of these now. We went to the 'original' one and not the one outside the city.

This place is pretty much designed for geeks. Almost every exhibit has some sort of 'behind the scenes' aspect to it. In the airplane section, there's a cockpit (glassed off so you can't touch it) that shows how the controls work while the plane is landing or taking off. A video plays where the front window should be so you can fully understand what is happening. Of course, tons of people gather here but it was neat to see nonetheless.

There's also a lot of space exhibitions right now. One entire area consists of various pictures of the planets. Since the planets were covered in my daughter's science class in school, she thought this display was awesome. There's also an area where you can play ground control and launch a shuttle. In the same area, there is a trivia game that the three of us played. It was fun.

But the most popular area is the How Things Fly exhibit. Here kids of all ages can play games to see how things like lift work. There's even a scale so you can see your weight difference between a couple of the planets. Needless to say, when we returned to the museum for a second look around, this was where we spent most of our time.

Obviously, if you aren't into airplanes or space travel, this isn't the museum for you. However, if you have even a little bit of interest, you will have a great time. There's even a planetarium and an IMAX theater and a couple of simulator rides, just in case you find yourself getting bored. Air and Space isn't my favorite museum but it is in the top 10.