We survived our Disneyland outing yesterday. Barely. I'm really digging my pretty much new PC. WoW never looked so beautiful. I got Chris sucked into the game and he's trying to catch up to my level so we can quest together. I love how Blizzard has turned WoW players into crack dealers by including a 10-Day guest pass with every copy of the game to give to a friend. That's how I got hooked. "Here, try it out. The first taste is free!" I've got Grad Nite again tomorrow and then I'll be starting my lead training. Hopefully by this time next month I'll be in a new place with Chris and Duncan. I also found out that my brother is coming to visit me for my birthday. I haven't seen the guy in a year, so that should be pretty darn sweet. Hope everyone out there has a happy hump day!

Simpsons neologism of the day for Wednesday, May 24, 2006:
America's Wang

Homer: Florida?! But that's America's Wang!

Another in my mini-series of darker animated movies, The Fox and the Hound is actually not as dark as I would have expected it to be from what I heard about it. Disney movies of the past had a tendency for some pretty serious stuff, like Bambi's mother dying or the horrors of Maleficent or the Queen in Snow White. I think a lot of that stuff actually helped me as a kid to understand and accept that death was a part of life. So it was no surprise to me when this movie began with a very Bambi-esque scene in which the fox, Tod, is secured in hiding and his mother dies while running through a field.

The nearby animals of the heavily wooded land help drop him off in front of a woman who lives alone, and she readily takes him in as kind of a wild pet. He sleeps indoors but roams free by day. He befriends a puppy at a nearby house, but unfortunately the puppy's owner is a hunter, and while the two begin as the best of friends, as they grow older they are forced to consider each other as enemies.

The whole movie has a lot of charm, but often feels slightly off. There is a lot of potential in this movie, because there are so many different types of animals who can make great characters. Unfortunately, along with the many cute moments, there are plenty of by-the-book ones that don't quite measure up to previous Disney movies. I actually did like all of the characters, but was somewhat disappointed that the movie didn't do more with what it had.

I'm not sure if it's just a sign of the times (early 80s), but the music was kind of pathetic. It lacked singability, wasn't memorable, and always felt like it was injected into a movie just because music is often a requisite of Disney's animated features.

Visually speaking, the landscapes of the land, especially the greenery and the waterfalls, is very lovely. The rest of the animation creeps more into a sketch-like feel around the edges of the characters instead of clean lines (like the Aristocrats). I tend to prefer clean lines myself, being a huge fan of Disney's early animated movies and cartoons, so I stuck to admiring the backdrop more.

I know I'm focusing on the negatives, but it was a good movie overall. A kid would probably like it, and if I had grown up watching it as a kid, I probably would have some sort of blind allegiance to it like I do for a lot of movies I saw a million times while growing up. I guess the reason I focus on the negatives is because I see the potential in it to have been a better movie. Slightly disappointing, I still liked it in the end, and would possibly buy it in the future to add a note of variety to the movies I plan on subjecting my kids to one day.

IGN Wii: There are a lot of Web browsers on the market. Why do you think Nintendo chose Opera for Wii?

Scott Hedrick: Opera is a full Web browser for desktop, mobile and devices. We use our same desktop core to run on non-traditional devices, often with constrained resources. Opera is able to provide Nintendo with a full functioning Web browser, customized for Nintendo and working within any limitations the device presents. We are also able to use the device's features, whether dual screens or an innovative remote control, and incorporate these features into the browsing experience. I think that Nintendo quickly found that Opera was really the only browser that could meet and exceed their expectations in terms of speed, functionality and innovation. We are also very like-minded companies, placing the user experience first and ensuring that our products are not exclusive but rather inclusive, no matter age or gender.

Wii's World Wide Web

:: Dueling Analogs :: The Konami Code

This is the real deal.