There’s been a few sets of pictures that need to be posted since last I added pictures. I’ll commentate as applicable and/or appropriate.
Let’s begin….starting with E3! George, a coworker of mine at NBC, is a crafty guy and has some fairly wonderful connections. He’s also wily, and figured out how to get the right paperwork to validate we work at NBC and that it’s an entertainment company. That sounds easy, but it really isn’t. Anyway, we signed up for a free registration back in early April and from that point on, I was super excited about the beginning of June. This is E3 people – the Electronic Entertainment Expo! Video games video games video games!
I must say, it was a cool experience, but some things I’ve learned:
- If you are just a “regular” person and don’t have invites or meetings set up, it can be a fairly superficial experience. You have to wait in line for potentially hours to even play some games or see some demo movies, and some of the very high-profile publishers like Bethesda and Ubisoft kept a lot of stuff behind closed doors. Of course, you could read about it on Kotaku or Game Informer too, but still, it would’ve been nice to see it for myself.
- Comfortable shoes are a must. Even then, if you’re out of practice in the world of standing on your feet all day, it’s gonna suck. I remember this from NAB last year too. After a while standing on sore feet, even video games can cease to be interesting. It’s been a long time since my days at Bookstar, that’s for sure.
- Don’t think that the last day will be any less crowded than the first day. George & I headed down to E3 on the first day (Tuesday) and took the Metro to get there (look at us, stewards of the planet). Just had to go. It was packed. Worth going, for sure, but ridiculously crowded. George had heard that the last day was better for getting a chance to play the games. Went back on Thursday afternoon. His theory was false. Still packed. And because we got there just a few hours before the expo ended, lines were now getting roped off at the end to prevent accidentally running over. So get there early if you’re going to go.
- It was awesome to see these crazy-ass booths and displays. Loved EA’s, as it had a huge arena feel and we even saw Snoop Dogg walk by with his security and entourage. Ubisoft’s was just as loud and the size of the video screens was amazing there as well as for Activision’s. Nintendo’s world was almost magical.
- The Wii U is interesting. Graphically it is very good. Not sure if I want to hold a giant controller screen though. Also heard the battery life is dismal.
- MUST PLAY ASSASSIN’S CREED III NOW.
Alright, here are my pictures from both days of E3:
E3, Day 1 – June 5, 2012
E3, Day 3 – June 7, 2012
The next week was my triumphant return to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. Just in case you didn’t know where it was. I’m full of help, I am. I hadn’t been to a major league game since traveling through Baltimore on my way to the Azores. My bud Ben Yarish met me there since he lived in the area and we went around the waterfront area and finally went to an Orioles game. After that though, the latest baseball game I’d been to was in Colorado Springs at an Avalanche game (I think that was the AAA team there…). As for Dodgers’ games though, I’m pretty sure the last one I went to was while in college.
My coworkers heard of my dream and decided it was a great idea for an after-work activity. So Maj picked up 6 tickets and it was on. I was very interested to see if much had changed at the stadium, and was surprised that the prices we paid were fairly reasonable, compared to what I knew it cost to go to a Yankees or Mets game in NYC. Turns out, not much has changed from what I remember from previous trips. Things of note:
- Traffic is still just as stupid as it was over a decade ago. Getting in was slow, but not rage-inducing. Leaving the park was as I feared…and once it got to 30 minutes and we were still trying to get out….yeah….RAGE. I had been thinking of taking the Dodger Express bus from Union Station but decided against it. Not next time.
- Dodger Dogs are still fucking awesome. We got the Super dog which was all Farmer John beef. That sounds dirty. SO GOOD.
- Baseball is still pretty boring. It wasn’t until the 8th inning when the Dodgers came from 1 run behind the Angels and put runners on two bases and then the next guy hit a home run. That was pretty cool. Up until that point though…ooof.
- Doing the wave is still awesome. We were in the section of the main stadium right next to the outfield bleachers. That’s where the wave typically originates from in a counter-clockwise pattern. So we would always get wave action, but unfortunately the wave never really made a full circuit. People are lame.
Dodgers v Angels @ Dodger Stadium, June 12, 2012
Moviefest 2012
Meanwhile over the past few weeks, Larry & I have managed to catch a movie pretty much every weekend. I have always wanted to do this and rarely ever get past the first weekend. But we’re pretty diligent thus far.
- The Avengers: Great superhero movie. Awesome characters. Joss Whedon rules.
- Battleship: A Universal picture that ended up a massive flop….but I liked it a lot. Â Entertaining and loved all the navy stuff.
- Men in Black 3: Mostly okay. Could barely remember seeing it and had to dig through my Facebook timeline just to see what was between Battleship and Snow White!
- Snow White & the Huntsman: So disappointing. Another Universal pic, but this one did well.
- Prometheus: I enjoyed this sci-fi flick, despite their being a few plot holes that epitomize “fridge logic” after thinking about it a little bit.
- Rock of Ages: Best bud Mila came up to see this with me & Larry as the three of us saw the Broadway show in NYC when she visited me back in 2009. It was so wonderful to hang out with her as well as see the movie. Good movie, but I would say safely that the Broadway version is probably a better venue for it. Tom Cruise was amazing though. Anyway, here’s a pic of Mila that I took when we were pre-gaming at the Misfit restaurant in Santa Monica:
Father’s Day 2012 in Santa Monica
Since being back in California, we’ve had people over a couple times, but not that much. And our place is one that screams to entertain. So when it came time for Father’s Day this year, I volunteered us immediately. We had just gone to Stacie’s for Mother’s Day/Harv’s birthday, so it seemed fair. Once we volunteered, Larry got motivated to make a stellar menu, and that he did. We grilled two tri-tips, made mac & cheese, and then a plethora of appetizers, including crudite, pigs ‘n blankets, and chips & guacamole. We also made chocolate chip cookies. There was a lot of trial & error from previous meals and luckily, this dinner turned out fantastic. Harv & mom came over as well as Stacie & Trent. Lots of drinking and laughing and dancing and Rock Band 3 playing commenced. It was a lot of fun. Here are pics:
