Selling a bit of old hope...

trading up for new.

So, the XL1s sold on Sunday. I packed it up and shipped it out yesterday. I have to say, once I handed it over to the post office, once I would never see it again, a little pang of sadness hit me. It's rare that your emotions surprise you. Usually I'm pretty good at preparing myself for what I'm supposed to feel.

I mean, rationally, it was just a camera. It served its purpose at the time I needed it. It was a good camera. I made some good films with it. My life has changed, my needs are different now. I guess, as with everything else, I'm out-growing a lot of things.

I'm reminded of that Ikea commercial with the old lamp sitting outside the house by the trash, unplugged, with the arm tilted downward in a weeping position, cold and in the rain. The new lamp highlighted in the house window, inside, dry and surrounded with warm light. Maybe I do feel sorry for that lamp. Maybe I am crazy.

Needless to say, the whole ordeal has been more emotional than I expected.

As if I bubble-wrapped and package-taped -- sealed and mailed off a little piece of myself. A piece of my past, of my old-life. Maybe a few dreams and aspirations thrown in there for extra padding.

The plan is to take the money and invest in a new camera. Something not as pro-sumer as the XL1s but definitely not your grandma's camcorder either. I'm looking at a Sony HVR-A1U. Seems like a nice middle ground with some nice options. 3lbs is a great weight as I plan on taking this thing out. The 1080i resolution is also nice. It should make Japan and PAX look amazing.

In sixteen days I step on a plane to leave the country. The excitement of which is overwhelming. I do well at hiding my anticipation. I keep busy and try not to count down the seconds but inside, I am bursting. I can hardly keep a thought in my head that isn't over-powered by "JAPAN! JAPAN! JAPAN!" A trip that has been in planning status for close to two years, gone through all kinds of changes and has been the root of a lot of my emotional roller coastering, is finally coming to fruition.

When I come back, things are going to be different.

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Gonna be into Bill for a bit.

So, yeah, here is the Xbox 360 release schedule through the end of the year. I'm pretty much going to be gang-raped in the wallet until late January/early February. I've put a yes, no, maybe, or rent/borrow next to the items listed. You're smart, should know what that means.


June:
____________________________________________
Call of Juarez - NO
Fantastic Four Rise of Silver Surfer - NO
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia - RENT/BORROW
Tenchu Z - NO
Ratatouille - NO
DiRT - RENT/BORROW
The Darkness - RENT/BORROW
Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix - RENT/BORROW
Hour of Victory - NO
The Bigs - NO
Transformers The Game - RENT/BORROW
Overlord - MAYBE


July:
____________________________________________
NCAA Football 2008 - NO
Vampire Rain - NO
Project Sylpheed - NO
All Pro Football 2K8 - NO
Two Words - NO
NASCAR 2008 - NO


August:
____________________________________________
Moto GP 2007 - NO
Too Human - MAYBE
Stranglehold - YES
Madden NFL 2008 - NO
BioShock - FUCK YES
Stuntman: Ignition - NO
Tiger Woods 2008 - NO
Medal of Honor Airborne - NO
Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions - NO
Blue Dragon - RENT/BORROW


September:
____________________________________________
Mass Effect - FUCK YES
Unreal Tournament III - MAYBE
Blacksite: Area 51 - MAYBE
Jericho - NO
Project Gotham Racing 4 - RENT/BORROW
NHL 2K8 - NO
Skate - NO
NHL 2008 - NO
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men - MAYBE
Turok - NO
Eternal Sonata - FUCK YES
Timeshift - RENT/BORROW
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights - RENT/BORROW
Hellboy - NO
CSI Hard Evidence - NO
NBA Live 2008 - NO
Half-Life 2 Orange Box - YES
Halo 3 All Edition - YES
Sega Rally Revolution - NO


October:
____________________________________________
Lost Odyssey - YES
Looney Tunes ACME Arsenal - NO
Heist - NO
Virtua Fighter 5 - NO
The Club - NO
Crash of the Titans ‘07 - NO
NBA 2K8 - NO
Bladestorm: Hundred Years War - NO
Beautiful Katamari - YES
Fatal Inertia - NO
FIFA Soccer 2008 - NO
Conan - NO
Grand Theft Auto IV - YES
Naruto - NO
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames - RENT/BORROW
Simpsons: The Game - NO
Need for Speed: Pro Street - RENT/BORROW
Guitar Hero 3 - MAYBE


November:
____________________________________________
Assassin’s Creed - YES
Rock Band - YES
Super Street Figher HD Remix - YES
Alone in the Dark - MAYBE
Turning Point - NO
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - MAYBE
Army of Two - FUCK YES
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway - NO
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - MAYBE
Ace Cobmat 6: Fires of Liberation - RENT/BORROW
WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2008 - NO
Left 4 Dead - FUCK YES
Splinter Cell: Conviction - MAYBE
Golden Compass - NO
Devil May Cry 4 - MAYBE
Haze - MAYBE

I wish publishers would stager the release schedule so we don't get bombarded with A-list titles all at once. I realize this is the lord-high-shopping season but sheesh, can I breathe please? Keep in mind, these are only the games coming out for the 360...

So yeah, through September, October, and November, I'm gonna want to die.

*Deep breath*

BioShock, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Eternal Sonata, GTA IV, Beautiful Katamari, Rock Band, Assassin's Creed, Left 4 Dead, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Half-Life 2 Orange Box, Lost Odyssey, and Army of Two are all must-haves. I mean, I've got a reputation to uphold here.

Unless I've miscounted, that's 13 games I have to buy. Let me say that again. Thirteen. I don't need this shit right now. I hope some of those titles get pushed back to '08.

I also hope no one wants Christmas presents!

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An open letter.

To: People who like strawberry ice cream

Stop fucking up my Chocolate and Vanilla.

That is all.

Sincerely,
Paul Petyo

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My Xbox ♥s me...

Or, rather, Jess' Xbox ♥s me. You know, since mine is in the freakin' MAIL and all. Anyways. It blogs about me. My 360 has its own blog over on 360voice.com Here's a little snippet:

Tenebrous ReX's Xbox - 6/8/2007

Tenebrous ReX decided to ride the gamer-train yesterday. I will admit it... I was happy. What is the gamer score? 5045 is what it is! That is an increase of 50 points over last time! We have now entered the 5,000 GS club! He rocked out to Pac-Man C.E., Mad Tracks picking up 4 achievements, and loved every minute of it in high definition glory!

It's nice to be loved by anthropomorphized inanimate objects. Let's hope it doesn't watch me sleep.

[EDIT] Yes, I re-title my posts a lot. I edit my entries six or seven times before I'm done. Even the posts -- like this one -- that don't much matter. Thusly screwing those of you on RSS feeds. Welcome to my perfectionist brain. You can send your psychiatrist bill to my ass, care of my middle finger. :)

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