+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Next Gen Gaming Systems

Since someone asked, here are my thoughts on the 3 new gaming systems (pros and cons):

PS3: Plays PS2 games, probably will have alot of RPGs, very expensive, online gaming isn't that great, Blueray (but I think that will fail vs HD-DVD)

XBOX360: Expensive, but less than PS3, online gaming and community is great, lots of FPS games (Gears of War, Halo3), early units tend to overheat, download demos and small games to hard drive, HD-DVD, plays some XBOX games, Microsoft will probably upgrade the heck out of it via online updates

Wii: Fun, cheap, download old games (SNES RPGs), cool control scheme, can play gamecube games, fun at parties, no HD DVD playback

My initial thought is that I will get the Wii, but I'm waiting to see what happens in a year or so (if any good games come out on the 360 or PS3)... then I'll pick the one that fits me best (if any). For now, I'll just enjoy the cheap games for my Gamecube and Dreamcast.

+ 0 - 2 | § ¶Merry Christmas

Happy "belated" Christmas!  Hopefully everyone had a safe, fun and fulfilling holiday.

+ 0 - 2 | § ¶Wicked

This weekend, my wife Suzanne took me to see Wicked (the musical) at the Oriental theatre in downtown Chicago. I usually like going to plays and musicals so I was pleasantly surprised when my wife let me know that we were going. The Oriental theatre was a great venue for the show, the inside is very ornate and the theme of baroque sculpture worked pretty well with the theme of the show.

As for the show itself, it was very well done. The story was based loosely on the Wizard of Oz story line with a focus on the "Wicked" Witch of the West. It was suggested that the Witch wasn't born into Wicked-ness, and that it was something that was based on the perspective of the Emerald City populace. A similar theme was explored in the recent movie "V for Vendetta", where a freedom fighter was branded a "terrorist" by the current regime in London because he was fighting against them. Both stories cover the concept of history being written by the victors, which I find pretty fascinating.

I liked how Wicked didn't make this concept too obvious. The story and characters just presented the facts of the Witch's life and let the viewer come to their own conclusions. This is definitely a play I would see again and I'm looking forward to reading the book that it was based on someday.