As holidays go, the Fourth of July is actually pretty high on my list. It's midway through the year, so it offsets the winter holidays, and usually comes with an extra 2 days off. Not to mention that it is just an excuse for fireworks. :)

I spent this Fourth of July in San Angelo with Daniel, which is always wonderful. He and his friends had about $300-$400 dollars worth of fireworks that we took out to the spillway outside of town where everyone sets them off on the fourth. It was quite fun, and the only thing missing was my Dad's fireworks music. No serious injuries, but I'm glad I wasn't the one throwing fireworks into the fire. :P

Another Fourth of July tradition my family and I had growing up was going to the movie theater. This year was no different, complete with three movies. First was Hancock, which I think could have been better, but I still enjoyed it. Will Smith was not in his usual kick ass role... he played the character well, but it wasn't quite what I expected. Wanted was the next movie we saw, and though I had a few issues with part of the premise and storyline, it had some good action scenes, which is really all I was expecting from it anyway.

By far the best movie I saw was Wall-E. Pixar produces quality movies, and this one did not disappoint. Despite the main character being a robot, Wall-E is adorable and the movie is very touching. The animation was, of course, amazing, and it had plenty of great humor. It is definitely a movie to see!

This actually made me cry:
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/07/eat-your-heart.html

I don't know how accurate it is, but damn it, it's touching!

Yesterday I was scheduled to have my third root canal (in the past few months). Originally I was scheduled to have four, but in one of the teeth the decay had not gotten into the root, so it just needed a filling and crown instead of root canal and crown. So when I went in to the dentist yesterday I was expecting another root canal, but apparently this one hadn't gotten into the root either. Yay!

I still walked out of there completely numb and with soreness to come later, but at least not another root canal. Overall they aren't nearly as bad as they are made out to be. There's no or very little pain during if you're numbed correctly, but it does end up sore. I've heard of people taking two weeks to recover, but my soreness went away after a few days. Still, if I have a choice... :p

WOOT!! Diablo 3 site and Cinematic Teaser

Now the waiting game starts....

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Two decades have passed since the demonic denizens, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, wandered the world of Sanctuary in a vicious rampage to shackle humanity into unholy slavery. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils directly, the memory fades slowly and the wounds of the soul still burn.

When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram's Cathedral seeking clues to new stirrings of evil, a comet from the heavens strikes the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. The comet carries a dark omen in its fiery being and it calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells – and even the failing luminaries of the High Heavens itself.

Features:

• Explore a fully-realized Sanctuary – the living, breathing gothic fantasy world of Diablo III rendered in gorgeous 3D.


• Battle the unholy forces of the Burning Hells with all-new character classes like the otherworldly Witch Doctor, or with re-imagined warriors from Diablo’s past: such as the fierce Barbarian.


• Rain Hell on your enemies wielding the interactive environment as a weapon: lay cunning traps, turn destructible objects against your foes, and use environmental obstacles to your advantage - all powered by the Havoc physics system.


• Experience the intensity of multiplayer Diablo III over an all-new, wickedly-enhanced Battle.net platform with numerous enhancements to make connecting with your friends easier – and cooperative gameplay more fun.

Diablo III?? Signs point to... yes! I'm not usually one to get my hopes up, but this is sounding more and more likely.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53312

I'm starting to have a case of too many games, too little time. Not that I'm complaining. :)

My recent stomach problems are very likely due to eating too much crap that my body can't handle (it tasted great though!). So, I'm going to try to get back to eating healthy. Luckily I still love oatmeal and eat it every day for breakfast (hard to imagine having anything else). Now I just need to add more fruits and vegetables and try to have less processed food. The hardest part will probably be Daniel tempting me with cheap chinese or ordering in. :p So I'll allow myself crap once in a while as long as I don't make a habit of it.

Exercise is also something I need to get back into. I'm lifting weights about twice a week now, so if I can get that up to 3-4 times a week and add in a little more cardio I should be good to go. I always forget how much better and more awake I feel with exercise. It might even help me sleep better again.

That is all.

Apparently I can't go for longer than a few months without playing an MMORPG, ever since I was first introduced to them in 2000 with Asheron's Call. AC is still very nostalgic for me (/atoyot!), though I'm sure I would find the game tedious now. The list of MMORPGs I've played is continually growing, but when there aren't any interesting new ones to play, I long for familiar ones.

I just canceled my WoW account (for the second time), but then I started reading up again on EQ2. There have been two more expansions released since I quit about two years ago... new races, new content, plenty to do. So the other day I downloaded the trial and played around with the new fairy races. It's starting to suck me in again, and I will probably end up getting the uber all inclusive expansion pack and subscribing again.

Does this qualify as an addiction?

I'm actually going to start posting here instead of on Dark Isles (which has been stagnant for months now). Stay tuned...

My blog and personal website can be found at www.darkisles.com. Read about news, movies, tv, games, fractals, cross stitch, and other things I'm interested in.