Club Nintendo Fan

I have been an on and off fan of Nintendo.  I loved it during the 80’s and 90’s, but then in the early 2000’s I stopped playing video games and never even owned a GameCube.  But then when the Wii came out I had to get it because I wanted to play Mario Galaxy.  A few years later, I got a Nintendo DS because I was taking the subway and wanted something fun to keep me occupied.  I loved the DS, and still love it today.

Last year the 3DS came out, and I figured it was time for me to upgrade my handheld.  I was a little hesitant to buy one at first because the DS was poorly manufactured (it broke easily).  But I decided to get one when Super Mario 3D Land came out.  When I opened my 3DS I then joined Club Nintendo.  I think I was a member before, but I never took it seriously.

I think this was a great idea from Nintendo, but I just wish they would lower the cost of prizes, and put better prizes as well.  My first prize that I redeemed was this Blooper fan or Sensu.  It cost me 300 points, and once I ordered it, shipping was fast.  It comes in this nice felt pouch, and the fan is made out of paper and bamboo.  It’s a really great collectable and I love the minimalistic design of the fan (it reminds me of the great wave off Kanagawa).

Club Nintendo:

https://club.nintendo.com/

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaQS2u2H2Lg

Nintendo NES Console

A few months ago a friend of mine came over to watch some movies.  He brought his external hard drive so we could choose a movie to watch from his collection.  When he came in he handed me his hard drive, and I was amazed that it was a NES cartridge.  I hadn’t seen a Nintendo game in years, and his hard drive brought back memories.  The link below should take you to 8-Bit Memory, the website that sells the NES hard drives. 

As the days passed by, I had one thing on my mind: I needed to have an original NES back in my life.  I didn’t have a large video game collection when I was a kid, but the games that I did have I played for hours.  So for nostalgia reasons, I went on E-Bay to buy a console.  I also thought that as more NES cartridges become recycled into something new, that NES games would become more difficult to find and expensive so now was the perfect time to buy it.

The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES was my second video game console.  My first video game console was the Atari.  I remember I had three games which were Donkey Kong, Mouse Trap, and Asteroids.  I would play those games for hours, and never felt bored that each level was the same level, only in a faster mode.  Then in the late 80’s I finally got a Nintendo, and I played that even longer because my first game was Super Mario Bros.  That game was amazing because it had graphics I had never seen before, the levels were all different and colorful, and it was an easy game that was very enjoyable to play.

I paid a little more than what I wanted to pay on E-Bay for this new NES.  But considering it was in a good condition, and that it came with a lot of accessories, manuals and a game, I don’t regret the deal that I got.  As soon as I plugged it in, I started to play and it was like I never stopped playing because I remembered all the tricks to how to play it well.  Of course I was a little rusty, but I still had fun.  I now plan to collect more NES games, but at the same time be patient and buy them at a cheaper price.  I am extremely happy that I finally have a NES again, and this time I promise to never let it go again.

NES Hard Drive:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/8bitmemory

Nintendo NES wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System

Nintendo:

www.nintendo.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ifqt_rJjJg

Strawberry fortune cookies

I went to Mandarin (a Chinese buffet restaurant) today and was surprised at the end of my meal when I received some extra ordinary fortune cookies.  Mandarin now gives out strawberry fortune cookies.  The first thing you notice is how bright the colour of the cookie is, it’s really nice to see a pink fortune cookie.  They not only look great, but they also smell and taste good.  They have a subtle strawberry smell and taste, which is nice because it blends with the original cookie flavour very well.  Its stuff like this which makes Mandarin one of Toronto’s most loved restaurants.

Mandarin Restaurant:

www.mandarinrestaurant.com

I Love Lobster

Lobster was on sale this weekend at my local supermarket so of course I had to buy some.  I was amazed to find out when I got there that they had these giant lobsters.  I bought three of them, and each one was over 5 pounds each.  A few years ago I bought some lobsters that were about the same size, thinking I could eat two.  Unfortunately I could barely finish one before I had to call in for help to finish it.  So this time around I made sure to invite a couple of friends over to enjoy my feast.  I’m a really good host because I like to cut the lobster completely before I serve it to people because I don’t want them to cut themselves.  This meal made me reflect on some words of wisdom; when you share with others, what you share will be bountiful.

YouTube:

http://youtu.be/XJJZ_cVRIug

Prometheus

Prometheus is another summer movie I went to without intention.  I had seen commercials about it and trailers, but it just never really captured my attention.  Then suddenly on Friday I started to read the reviews about it and I started to believe that it would be a great film.  It is directed by Ridley Scott who did Alien.  I don't consider myself to be a Sci-Fi fan but when I started looking back at all the films I liked, a majority of them have been Sci-Fi.  It took years until I finally watched Alien, and when I saw it I was surprised by how much I liked it.

I went to Prometheus with this in mind; that I might actually enjoy it.  I saw the movie in 3D because I heard the effects look much better, and that was true.  Right from the beginning you get this waterfall effect that I was amazed by.  The storyline is easy to follow, and while it does have parts that don’t seem logical, if you watch it without trying to make sense of the science then you will enjoy it.  Besides when has a Sci-Fi movie ever been correct in its science?   The actors are also very impressive in this film.  

Ridley Scott was blessed with actors that gave performances that will be memorable.  Of note of course must be Michael Fassbender, who I have been a fan of since watching X-Men and Inglourious Basterds.  Then there is Idris Elba who plays the cool and smart Captain of the ship (I can’t believe he’s Bristish); Logan Marshall-Green who I hope to see more of in the future (like in a cop action movie); Charlize Theron was sexy, and of course Noomi Rapace was outstanding.  I didn’t like her at first because she seemed out of place; too girly to be in a rugged violent alien planet; but as the movie progresses her character starts to adjust and grow stronger and I found that to be powerful because you start to care for her.  From what I heard this movie is supposed to be part of a series of movies, and after watching it I can’t wait to see the next films to come out of this franchise.

Lego Super Heroes Batman Superman

Ever since I started playing Lego video games I have been a fan of Legos.  The first game I played was Lego Batman, and I played that game for hours.  It has many of the things I love in a video game; it can be simple or difficult (depending on what you want to accomplish), it has cool and cute graphics, it’s fun to play so it doesn’t get boring, and Lego is able to combine many of the pop-culture genres and movies that I like (Batman, Star Wars, Indiana Jones).   The ideas are endless as to what other games they might come up with, but I would love something like Lego Back to the Future, Lego Pulp Fiction (I’m dreaming, lol), and Lego the A-Team.

As I was playing Lego Batman I got the urge to buy some Lego minifigures of Batman.  I went online to look for some but unfortunately they had come out a few years earlier and were now very expensive.  I wanted to kick myself because a couple years ago I had seen the Batman sets on clearance and I passed on them.  Fortunately as time passed I was online one day and read the news that Lego was going to re-release Lego Batman, and other Marvel and DC Superheroes as minifigures.  That made my day, and I couldn’t wait to collect them all.

Lego Superheroes officially released in early 2012, and the first characters I bought were Batman and Superman.  Batman is featured in a grey and blue costume, while Superman has a regular blue, red and yellow costume.  Both Batman and Superman have two faces, so you can pose them however you like, and they both come with capes.  I didn’t want to buy the whole set for each character, so I bought them separately online.  I highly recommend these figures, they are top quality and stand out pretty nice on a desk.

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBE1UYg9nn4