Xatal

I’m not going to give anything away, but if you’re looking for a great science fiction movie with aliens that’s a bit different than the typical movie, go see it. I went to see it with my girlfriend yesterday and we both absolutely loved it. District 9 was definitely the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. It was even better than other recent movies I’ve really liked, including Transformers and Star Trek.

It’s not a typical alien movie. It has some interesting plot twists and an interesting approach overall making it more accessible and interesting, no matter what types of movies you normally like.

Most of the complaints I’ve heard have been with slight plot holes that are pretty normal for all movies, I haven’t really heard any bad things overall about the movie. I don’t have any real complaints, it was the best $6 I’ve spent in a long time.

District 9 has lots of action, cool aliens, and great special effects. Peter Jackson delivers.

Prints and Stuff is a pretty good resource for decorations!

Looking through the site a bit, it’s got some great tips and great links to some quality art. Trying to make your dorm look a bit unique can actually be tough (believe it or not, the famous “College” poster and a Pulp Fiction poster are not really unique), but if you look around you can definitely find cool posters and paintings you might like. Keep reading »

You know how when you find a $20 bill in your pocket that you didn’t know about, it puts you in a great mood? I love that feeling. Ever expect to have money, but then find out you don’t? I hate that.

I’ve found it’s a similar feeling when I try to estimate how much money I’ll make at my job. If I over-guess how much I made, I end up disappointed. If I guess it exactly right, I’m pretty neutral because it’s what I expected. But if I underestimate my money, I’m always pleasantly surprised.

I plan my life around what I expect to make, so when I actually make more, it’s a lot easier to keep it in my savings account rather than spending it. Keep reading »

I was Stumbling tonight and I came across this post by an MIT admissions officer, and I’m glad I did.

A lot of high school and college students will hold a lot of contempt for admissions officers and the admissions process as a whole, claiming it’s unfair, biased, vague, and confusing. Because students never fully know what to expect from admissions, it’s very easy to take it out on the anonymous people who decide our futures. Keep reading »

When I think back to third grade, one of the most prominent memories of the schoolwork we did was our large “Handwriting” books that we were required to write in to learn cursive. Each day, we would learn a different letter, practicing it a zillion times on its own and in sentences until we could master its use. Our teacher would check our books occasionally to make sure that we were still writing it just fine.

Cursive handwriting books

I went to a private school through sixth grade, and cursive was definitely forced on us there. Once we learned how to write in cursive, we were expected to always use cursive in any writing we turned in. Teachers wouldn’t accept our work if it wasn’t in cursive. They claimed that only cursive was used in the “real world”, and that printing was inferior and for little kids.

In seventh grade, I finally began to attend public school, where it was perfectly fine to print. Out of habit, I used cursive for the first couple of weeks until I decided to give printing a try again. I quickly found out why most people never bother with cursive. Keep reading »

To any father’s out there who might be reading this, I’d just like to wish you a happy Father’s Day! Congratulations on being a father!

So in addition to Prototype, I’ve recently been playing another game lately. This one, though, is played from within a browser itself.

I’m talking about OGame. OGame is a space game set in the future where you try to build up your space empire to be as powerful as you can. You farm resources, research new technologies, colonize planets, build massive fleets, and raid enemy planets. It’s surprisingly addictive once you get the basics down. Keep reading »

Now that it’s summer, I’ve found myself with a lot of free time. How better to spend that than with a fun new game?

My game of choice: Prototype.

To sum up this game quickly, think Grand Theft Auto, but with super powers. You can roam around the city freely, running up buildings, jumping around, gliding through the air, and causing general mayhem, and on the way you can do missions to work through the storyline.

I’m just starting out in the game, but already I’m liking a lot. Prototype is centered in New York City, meaning there are tons of large buildings to climb up and a huge town to roam around.

The fun in Prototype definitely comes from your super powers. You can spawn large claws or huge fists. You can pick up cars. You can hijack tanks. You can absorb people and become them. As you play, you unlock more powers. Keep reading »