The Don blogged

    Webster's dictionary defines home as "A place of origin" and "The social unit formed by a family living together." For me, the question of Where is your home? is no longer as simple as saying That townhouse down on Meadowlands Dr. Home is just a concept of a certain place where you feel the utmost comfortable. You could call pretty much any place home, but what happens when your home is longer your home?

    I've been fortunate enough to live in two different parts of North America. For 13 years, I lived in Ottawa, ON Canada but have lived in Hayward, CA USA for the past 4. I must say, the difference are subtle but are blatantly obvious when you look for them. Currently, I am on vacation in Ottawa for the summer for about 3 weeks. I had always called Ottawa home but I've been rethinking that. Home is a place where you're allowed to openly be yourself, and be loved for it. It's the place where you're supposed to feel the most safe, and it's supposed to be the place you yearn to be. After 4 years of being vacant of Ottawa, I'm not longer familiar and comfortable in Ottawa. Friends are now just nameless faces that wonder around the same relative area as I do. Old neighborhoods are just where random strangers reside and old schools are just where kids I no longer know attend. I've lost all familiarity with this place. Driving by the occasional fast food store will resurrect some nostalgia, but it seems the joy of coming back to an old hometown is lost. The place where I've had the most fondest memories is no longer that place. I've accepted that things change in life, and despite just how much we want to think otherwise, I've also accepted that change is inevitable.

    Adapting is a important aspect of life. It's one of those things you obtain when you move around, especially at a delicate age such as 13. You cannot control the impact that change thrusts upon you and when that impact is irreversible, your only choice is to adapt. I like to think I've changed a lot by moving. I doubt I would be the person I am today (whether that's a good thing or not, I'll never know) and I'm fairly content with the life I live. I have a loving girlfriend and a family that cares about me. However, my core is shaken by the thought of my home becoming just another destination with nice tourist spots.

    It's saddened me that my friends for who-knows-how-long don't care to even acknowledge my stay in their city of residence. Part of that is my fault, for not maintaining long-distance relationships, but if they aren't willing to even bother, why should I? I guess I only have myself to blame for the lack of care, but it's still very startling to hit that realization point where you finally come to the conclusion where in those of 13 years of numerous relationships/friendships, none were strong enough to go the distance. None were as close as the friendships I have now, and none were significant. The saddest thing about it is that if I past by one of my old friends, I would most likely recognize them, but they wouldn't even give me a second look. I've accepted the notion that I don't have any friends in Ottawa anymore while living in Hayward, but I guess that's the price you pay.


musingsthoughts
The Don blogged

Preseason is coming soon so that means Fantasy Hockey is up. Kevin and I feel that this year there should be a site-wide Neoseeker Fantasy Hockey League. Last year, there were a few regulars from the Canada forum that participated but it didn't have that much of a turn out. I hope this year will be different.


Neoseeker's Fantasy Hockey League 2009-10


League ID: 114306
Password: neoseeker




Live Draft: Sun Sep 27 3:00pm EST - 6:00pm PDT


The sign up deadline is the day of the draft.
The Don blogged



With the release of their official website containing teaser videos that contains some info of the rethought newly designed, next-gen edition to the growing series of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Conviction has hit up E3. Just hours ago, the Ubisoft presentation was ongoing and presenting new games that you should all expect to see (and hopefully enjoy) by at least this fall. But after around two years of delays and disappoint from die hard Splinter Cell fans alike (myself included), a new years turns the corner and Conviction explodes into life. Thought to have been completed scrapped from Ubisoft's mindset, information has been spilling onto the internet and into gamers' heads ever since.

Now, lets dissect Splinter Cell: Conviction for what it really is and what it seems to promise, just from a glance with some gameplay footage. Oh yeah!



Now, if you aren't as nearly as blind as my great Uncle Eugine, you can see Ubisoft has taken a different approach to the whole series; completely redesigned and refurnished with hundreds upon thousands of hours of mind-blowing, eye-popping, pants-jizzing gameplay to be ever experienced from a stealth espionage video game. Sam Fisher is more badass than anyone could have ever conceived (which is quite nearly impossible tbqh). Conviction takes on a more rogue theme with Fisher taking orders from no one. No Lambert holding you back, no laws defining what is right or wrong. Just your endless hunt for who killed your daughter.

Now, as mentioned the whole game has taken a different approach compared to previous installments to the Splinter Cell series. Yes, the series right from the start was completely kickass and you never thought it could get better. Although now looking back on it, I now have the feeling of some constraint of what Sam can and can't do. That is no longer the case in Splinter Cell: Conviction. You play the game your way. Trigger happy? Go ahead and pop your rounds into some flesh. Love sneaking up to people and hiding in the dark (sound like highschool?)? Go ahead, snap some *bleep*ing necks. Like doing both? Shit go the *bleep* ahead, nothing can stop you now.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is all about how YOU want to the play the game. The entire environment is destructible. And I mean EVERYTHING. As you saw in the gameplay footage, you can redo the urinals in the bathroom while interrogating some guy. It's all up to you. Later in the video, you have a lot of options on how to infiltrate the mansion. Want to go through the front door? Why not just jump through the window on the side of the building and headshot whoever's inside. Also note the style used to attack the guys inside the mansion. Remind of you of the gameplay footage of Batman: Arkham Asylum?



Right so, that was my two cents. I hope you guys are as excited as I am for the next installment to the series Splinter Cell: Conviction. Expect a release sometime this fall.


xbox 360 pc gaming related
The Don blogged

The Don blogged




VOTE DON 09



Vote for me and I'll make all your wildest dreams come truue


other neoseeker related
The Don blogged

I'll save you the time and just tell you, do not see this movie under any circumstances.
I'm just warning you now...


» Synopsis
Centered around an Account Manager, Wesley Gibson hates his life and constantly asks himself who the *bleep* is he. Being chased down by a group of assassins calling themselves The Fraternity after Gibson's father is killed. Gibson, trying to desperately take control of his life and understand who he is, joins The Fraternity in order to find out and kill who killed his father.

Plagued by pointless bullet-time action, a ridiculous script (based off of a comic book, which should stay a comic book btw) and predictable endings and "plot twister", this movie had me going "what the *bleep* did I just watch". To be quite honest, I don't know if this was an action movie with crude humor or a horribly scripted comedy with meaningless bullet-time action gunfights.
At the end of the day you want a movie to make you think about your life and the directors had tried to do exactly that with this movie, but failed terribly. The film ends with Gibson turning to the camera and saying, "This is me taking back control of my life. What the *bleep* have you done lately?" That particular ending sent me over the edge with rage. Taking control?! What *bleep*ing control?!! You spent half the movie being (what the butcher constantly called him) a "pussy". Suddenly you grow a backbone only to end up on the run again, doing nothing.



The best part? Angelina Jolie's barenaked ass and Morgan Freeman's epic line "Shoot this mother*bleep*er". That's it.



» Result
Don't see this movie. Ever.


movies
The Don blogged

K, so I got straight out of bed after having a weird dream just so I can remember most of it enough to write it down.

Right so, it was a race. It started on this mushy, grass terrain into some water. There were dozens of us kids just in line, ready to race. When the announcer said go, we ran into the knee high water and just dashed. I didn't know what I was running towards until about half a mile in. In the distance, I could see a temple/fortress-like place. It had everything a castle would have but it was all colorful. Once I got on the sandy terrain, infront of the castle was sort of like a playground. The entrance was high above the sand so you had to climb on to the colorful jungle gym to get there. Unsure of what to do, I walk around the elevated platform and find a man singing there. I spot him and call out to him numerous times. He never turns around to directly look at me but I can sense he knows I'm there. As I call out to him for the 3rd time, he walks off the playground type platform and starts walking off the beach and away from the castle. That was the last I saw of him.The other kids arrive, wet and energized and I must have been the oldest kid there as I saw mostly 5-8 year old kids. I help some younger kids onto the platform and make my way into the dark entrance. I walk inside and from where I stand in the doorway, I see another door with kids surrounding the door trying to open it. Thinking that since I'm older, I could open the door with shear strength, I charge at the door, full sprint and hit the door with a routine hockey shoulder check. I bounce right off the door and stumble backwards. I look over to the door and notice a padlock. -_-
Anyways, I see one of two kids at the door, trying to look into the peephole. I look into it myself and it gets... odd from here. It was sort of like Willie Wanka's factory inside but it wasn't like a factory. Everytime you look into the hole, a new toy or servicing machine would appear. One could read your mind and display what you're thinking on a board, the other would make whatever food you wanted. It wasn't real though. It was all animated on a pixellated plasma screen. After telling it I wanted milk, and the woman staring at me with a face on, I walked away and noticed more older kids appearing on the mysterious island. I didn't think about going back to the start line, where the mushy grass was, but when I left the building, I looks over out to the horizon to see the grass vanish into thin air. We were stranded.


musingsthoughts
The Don blogged

The social scene has never been my forte so to speak. I'm not what many considered "anti-social" but hell, I sure am not a social magnet. I'm not as shy or conceited as I used to be in, say 5th grade? High school and a little bit of the end of middle school really allowed myself to blossom into the person I want to be and the person I am today. Jackpot right? Well, heh....

I used to laugh of the thought of teenage relationships. I was like "what's the bloody point?!" Sure, I would generalize when I would say teenage relationships (like ages 16 and under) never worked out and the two parties involved were "going out" for the sake of "going out" and that really had me laugh. Well, it's high school and you can never turn a corner without some sort of couple making out and eating each other's faces. It's disgusting when you think about it and it's tempting to ruin the moment by maybe I dunno, standing beside the couple and start randomly rubbing your crotch. >.>
Right so anyways, school has always been about relationships, whether serious or friendships. Always. Oh and academics. :o Going into high school is when you seriously think about dating and all that jazz and I was kind of the third wheel in middle school with my best buddies going out and such. Well that's when I starting think "will I ever have that?" See, I used to think teen romance was non-existent and totally obscure but then there are those days where I feel shitty and the "odd one out".


I constantly talk to my old friends from my hometown on a daily basis and they're also in HS. Most of my old friends I talk to over MSN are girls and an inevitable topic always comes up: Have a girlfriend yet?
Somedays I think WHO THE *bleep* CARES??? and others No. /cut

You always hear what girls want in a man - funny, smart, kind and respectful. So when the said topic comes up, I always respond with a light "lol nope". Their response (always) would be "why? :P". Whenever that happens one question of my own pops up - "I don't know. How come I didn't have a girlfriend when I was still in Ottawa? *glares*" (btw I live in California and grew up in Ottawa, Canada) but never have the guts to ask in which I know it would get really awkward and silent. It's hard getting the truth without any kind of drawback.


Don't take this rant for a plea for attention. Just random "Musings/Thoughts".


shakugan no shana flame haze shana signature musingsthoughts
The Don blogged

It's that time of the year again. Where running noses meet running around in stockings, it's the holidays! Now, my family isn't much for traveling but since half the family is split in two, my older siblings have booked some flights to lovely California so we could all spend this end of the year together. I have no idea why but I thought this would all go off without a hitch. They booked their flights on Sunday 21st and supposed to get here at 7:00 that evening. Well it's Monday December 22nd, 10 pm and I sit year all alone. Why is this? THE MOTHER *bleep*ING SNOW STORMS THAT'S WHY!!
Their flights have not been delayed once, not twice but THREE TIMES and I bet tomorrow's flight will be delayed even further.


Happy *bleep*ing holidays.


I'm sorry, I just need to vent. It's been a disappointing 2 days and I've been looking forward to this week since September. I haven't seen my sister in a year and haven't seen my brother in almost 2 years.

The Don blogged

We all remember past greats such as "Rocket" Ricard, Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur. Making the way for a high speed, goal scoring, mullet-wearing, chops baring hockey league. Watching highlight after highlight of past greats ones, I noticed something; the goalies in that era SUCKED.

I won't degrade what these pioneers of the game have done but I just want to make something clear (aka stating the obvious): their hockey isn't the same hockey we have today.
Two different eras = different playing styles, different opportunities and of course, different players. From the likes of Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, to Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo, goaltending had changes dramatically over the years. It's hard to make it in the NHL today. You have to possess a number of skills and traits such as handling, shooting, checking, speed, aggression and passing. There are some better at others and there are those out that that manage to have all those traits pretty much down. Though 1940+ hockey wasn't any different, there was hardly any checking out hits, making the way for more passing and shooting opportunities. Now baring that in mind, would those great pioneers of hockey mentioned earlier be as great today? If we placed Brodeur in the era of Rocket Ricard, would Brodeur go shutout after shutout?


I also want to take note of equipment changes of the years.


Behold Lorne Worsley in 1955


...and 2006 Luongo



The pad size of goalies is a growing issue but I'd also like to mention player gear.


Maurice Richard


...and Dion Phaneuf with Jerome Iginla. If either of them sent a check towards Ricard, Maurice would die.




Now, are past greats really that great? They didn't have much opposition...


other
The Don blogged

Last night, I had just received some pictures from some relative's wedding back in Cambodia. (btw the dude was like 10 years older than the bride <.>) Anyways, I had asked "how are we related to these people?" Well, knowing my dad, I sat back and prepared for a rant. I don't remember much of the rant but that's not the point. What really caught my attention the most was how my grandmother (dad's side) passed away.
Now, he wouldn't go into detail and I didn't want to pull on some lose threads as I saw the pain in my father's eyes so I listened carefully with respect. All he said is that his mother had some sort of terrible accident which ended up her splitting her head open. Not that shocking right? Well the part that got my dazzled was the part when my dad told me that while his mother was going to the ground, she had my father in her hands and from what I took from my father's description, she had tried to save his life by sacrificing her own. I would not be alive to tell you this story if his mother had not saved him. I don't know about you, but that's pretty damn heroic.
I also remember my mother telling me about her own mother for an assignment I had to do. My mom has a LOT of siblings, something like 8 brothers and 6 sister. Anyways, my mom also didn't go into much detail but I remember her remarking their hut (in Cambodia mind you) had caught on fire. Now, with all the siblings and such, many were still inside. With that motherly instinct and without any hesitation, my grandmother went inside to save her offspring. She died from the fire.


What got me thinking is, after hearing these tragic stories, how can a lot of us take our lives for granted? Many of us have food, clothes, shelter and warmth. We have cars, electricity, big fancy TV's but we aren't as strong as those who come from little to nothing at all. I'm not saying we all take life for granted but hell, I know I do and after those stories, I feel bratty and selfish. Those with nothing, expect little. Those with everything, expect more. It's amazing how those less fortunate in other countries (and even in our own countries) can survive power through life with nothing but their bare hands. Have we become lazy? Have we become greedy? Have we become blinded by this new era, we forget how things were 100 years ago and how things are to this day in developing countries?


other
The Don blogged

If you're anything like me, you're always fascinated and excited about new jerseys. Especially after the 06-07 NHL season where new, RBK fitted jerseys, many teams had decided to edit or completely revamp their team logos. And that means one thing: New season - New jerseys.

Only until recently, teams have been adapting to their new emblems, adapting to their new persona's, new identities per se. Teams have been getting used to their already brand new home and away jerseys and now comes the third, alternate jerseys where things get interesting...
btw, this is no fashion show.


Atlanta Thrashers - With team colors of brownish-red and navy blue, this minimalist jersey dons the team's shoulder emblem on their regular home/away jerseys (seen here) proud on their chests.


Boston Bruins - One of the original 6, this jersey takes on a new, yet vintage look on earlier Bruins jerseys with a nice finishing black.


Buffalo Sabres - Not forgetting their roots, the Sabres take on one of their infamous throwback jerseys.


Carolina Hurricanes - Seen sporting their shoulder emblem (from their reg home/away jerseys) on their chests, they hold a sleek yet dominant black surrounding.


LA Kings - Vintage seems to be the fad this year and the Kings fail to disappoint. With a new look from an old logo (seen here) with also a mix of their purple jerseys (seen here the Kings bare a familiar, yet new look from the past.


Ottawa Senators - With a brand new look, the Senators are back in black with this sleek jersey with red and white surroundings.


Phoenix Coyotes - Still baring the team colors, the Coyotes manage to create a nice new look for the franchise with a simple coyote with a nice black finish.


Pittsburgh Penguins - Another take on a vintage jersey, the Penguins try to bring back their winning ways with old timer jerseys.
lulz, looks like Sid has to take a huge dump


St. Louis Blues - No, it's not the Buffalo Sabres, it's St. Louis' new look for the season. With the familiar emblem on the chest, the Blues have a sleek blue, white and yellow finish.


Tampa Bay Lightning - And no, it's not a KHL team, it's the "Bolts"'s new jersey. With a simple blue, grey and black jersey, with a new take on the team name across the chest.


Vancouver Canucks - No one can ever forget the Canucks' old logo they used for decades and decades. With a very conservative look, they will sure to please old timer Canuck fans.


other
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