Welcome

For most of the year, this should be locked as the top post of this blog. I'm going to use it to serve as a short introduction, so feel free to skip down to the good stuff if you've already read it.

This blog was created to serve as an organic host for my birthday and Christmas wish list. I'm a rather impulsive person, you see, and the items on my wish list is constantly growing. Either increasing because I saw something I want, or decreasing because I saw something I couldn't wait for. And sometimes I just change my mind, again, impulsively.

Rather than trying to send out constant updates of my wishlist to everyone in my family, flooding their in-boxes, I'll just use this site. Then, whenever folks decide to go Christmas (or whatever) shopping, they can skip straight to my list, print it off, and be confidant that they are 100% up to date.

I'll include a few extra features that only an HTML-based list can offer. For instance, I'll try to put an Amazon.com link to each item I can. Also, I'll make a semi-detailed description wishes and why I want them in separate posts below. These posts will stack up like normal blog posts, just below the top two. Each item with a detailed post will have a link to that post, as well.

Okay, enough explaining. Let's get to the good part.

Wishlist

List status is currently locked. (This means I am not buying items on this list until after Christmas.)

List needs filling out, more to come shortly.

Click here to have the list in printable form.

Toys
Transformers-
Titanum series (details)
-Bumblebee
-Starscream
-The Ark
-Megatron (War Within)
-Any of the 6" models
Classics series (details)
-Any / all except Astrotrain (already have)

Video Games (details)
Gamecube
-Pokemon Colleseum
-Starfox Assault
-Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door

Playstation 2
-Disgaea 2
-Ace Combat 5
-Ace Combat Zero
-Shadow Of The Colossus

Nintendo DS
-Starfox Command
-Final Fantasy III
-Contact

Sony PSP
-Ace Combat X
-Metal Slug Anthology
-Loco Roco

Multiplatform
-Lego Star Wars II

Wii (yeah, it's a long shot)
-Red Steel
-Trauma Center: Second Opinion
-The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Books
Danielewski, Mark Z. House of Leaves (details)
Levin, Jenna. A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines. (details)
Weinberger, Sharon. Imaginary Weapons (details)

Movies (details)
Star Wars Trilogy DVDs with theatrical versions
The Boondocks, Season 1
Superman Returns 2-Disk set (Widescreen)
Transformers The Movie 20th Anniversary Edition

Gift Cards (details)

Last Minute Additions

Okay, I know there's less than a month until Christmas, so I don't really expect all these things to end up under the tree for me, but I want to add them in anyway. A little bonus for all you last minute shoppers, you don't even have to check and see if any of the early birds beat you too these.

Superman Returns - 2 Disk DVD set - I loved this movie. Went to see it twice in theaters, plus once on the IMAX here in Austin. I was surprised that this was coming out so soon, which is the only reason it didn't make my list sooner.

Transformers Classics - I don't really have a link for these guys, but it's a new line of the Transformers toys. These figures are all based off the original characters, made with the toy-making technology of today. This makes them more pose able, and better quality than the originals, but they still bear a striking resemblance to the characters they're modeled after. Anything from this line would be great. Except Astrotrain. I already have him.

Transformers: The Movie - 20th Anniversary edition - I know, I already have this movie, but this one is in a 2-disk set! You know how much I love those! Plus it comes with tons of cool extras and stuff just for the Transfan like me.

Nintendo Wii - (Don't bother ordering it from there, that's just an example.) I know I said I was planning to buy one of these with my own money, but that was back when I was still employed. I'll definitely get a better work schedule before next semester, and pick one up then, but I sure wouldn't mind finding one under the tree either. If you do end up getting me one (and I know, that's a BIIIIIG if), a few Wii games that would be nice to have are Red Steel, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Again, probably not gonna get this, not counting on it in the least, but it's worth the shot to at least ask.

Okay, that's about it for now. I'm sure I'll see more stuff later on, but I might as well put this up while I have it written down.

House of Leaves

I found another book I want. It's called Amazon.com: House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski, about, among other various topics, a house that defies the laws of physics, having more space within than the exterior dimensions allow. It's something of a horror / mystery story, and the more I look into it, the more I want to read it. It's written in a unique style, that, though it's fiction, has a great deal of foot notes and simply odd page layouts (one word to some pages, whited-out words re-written in "pen", and more). Basically, an intriguing book, and one I'd like to look more into.

Movies

I like watching movies, especially with my friends. This will be a short part of the list, though, since working at Target has had a direct impact on the size of my DVD collection. I'd see DVDs at work that I'd like, notice that, especially new releases, they are marked down significantly from the usual price, and, coupled with my 10% discount, I had to buy them. Anyway, here's a list of the movies that I don't have yet, probably because they just recently came out, or I made a mental note to reserve such-and-such movie for my wishlist.

The Star Wars Trilogy - Last year, Lucas film released the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, and I decided that I didn't want it. I was never really happy with a lot of the extra tweaks and changes done in the Special Edition compared to the original, and I really hated the way the prequels were shoved in to sync with the original. I don't think the two trilogies mesh together very well, and, from what I've read, the "Ultimate Edition" edits on the DVDs prove that point. So, why am I asking for them now? Simply because, for a limited time only (read - If I don't get one for Christmas, they'll probably be all gone) they will come with the original "Han Shot First" versions of the films. Direct copies of the theatrical releases, transfered over to DVD for my viewing pleasure. THESE are really what I want. The "ultimate editions" will serve as an interesting little footnote aside the classics.

The Boondocks, Season 1 - A cartoon based on the newspaper comic strip, its about two young black boys out of Chicago who move with their grandpa into a rich white suburban community. It's a blatantly political work, and really pretty funny, too. I love watching it, and would love to have it on DVD so I could call up my favorite episodes.

More to come, I'm sure.

Video Games

Okay, I've put this off for a while now, and I'm gonna try and get it all done in one shot. I'm sure you all know by now what a big video game fan I am. Aside from just playing them, I actually see them as the next step, or at least another step, in the history of storytelling. They combine mutliple aspects of our art - drawing, writing, music, film - and create one cohesive work, something that affects it's audience at a level the other mediums just cannot. That's the main reason I want to make a carreer out of it, really. I like the storytelling aspect of it, and the ability to immerse a person to that depth in the story.

Anyway, all that's neither here nor there. I've broken the list up by game system because that's the way it makes sense to me. I'll put a star by the ones I'd really like.

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Gamecube - Though it's on the way out, I never got one, so when I heard that Nintendo's new system (the Wii) would play 'cube games, I figured I'd see what all I had missed. Since the system is "last year's model" the games have for the most part been discounted (added to the "Players Choice" collection), and are usually easy to pick out with their different packaging.

*Pokemon Colleseum - Aside from being another adventure in the world of Pokemon this will let me transfer the Pokemon from my Game Boy games and see them battle in 3D graphics, which I think is a good use of a 6' wide projection screen.

Starfox Assault - It's been a while since I had a good space-combat game. I played this with a friend a while ago, and really liked it

*Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door - Super Mario Brothers done as sheets of paper. Looks really cool, with a unique gameplay system to boot.

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Playstation 2 - Though I've managed to get most of the games I want for the home system we already have, there are a few that I decided could wait until the holidays

Disgaea 2 - A strategic game with a light and funny storyline. The genre is called "Turn Based Strategy RPG", and it plays out a lot pieces on a chess board, only the pieces have different abilities. The first was a cult hit, and lots of fun.

Ace Combat 5 - Jet fighter simulator. I loved AC4, and 5 looks to keep the quality coming.

Ace Combat Zero - See above. This is the latest release in the Ace Combat Series.

Shadow of the Colossus - A series of battles with giant bosses. Colossuses? Colossi? Whichever, it's supposed to be simply beautifully crafted, and got great critical reviews.

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Nintendo DS - The DS stands for Dual Screen. Or maybe not, officially it is just DS, so who knows. It does have some of the most unique and fun games out on the market right now, and is considered by many the best portable gaming system available.

*Starfox Command - Portable starfighters! It's in the same series as the Starfox Assault I listed above, but the additional touch-screen controller changes the controls to make it a completely different game.

Final Fantasy III - A classic RPG from the old Super Nintendo that's been updated for use on the DS. I never played the original (actually, this is the first time it's been released in America in any form besides imports), but every review I've seen raves about it.

Contact - A game where the only method you have of controlling the main character is to manipulate the environment around him. Seems interesting.

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PSP - I got this last year, and was pretty bummed that there werent many good games for it. Luckily, it's host of other features (web browsing, Music and Video playback) kept me occupied long enough to hang on to it and now, over a year later, it's finally getting some quality games.

*Loco Roco - Use the shoulder buttons to tilt the world of a little blob, steering the blob from start to finish.

Metal Slug Anthology - A remake of the classic sidescrolling arcade game. Or rather, 6 of them. It's something that I always pop a few quarters into when I see a machine somewhere, so now I'll be able to have it for my very own, and not have to worry about when I have to leave.

Ace Combat X - More Jet-fighter combat. Same as the other Ace Combat titles from what I've read. Flight simulators on the airplane seems appropriate. Plus, I just saw a movie where, when both pilots died, the only person able to fly the plane was a gamer with 2000 hours of simulator experience. Maybe if they see me playing this in coach, I'll get my shot to help out, too. (Seriously, I hope not. I want to land every plane trip I take with as many pilots as we took off with. Maybe more, but I don't see how that's possible.)

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Multisystem - Lego Star Wars II - Lucasfilm is releasing the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD in two disc sets. For each movie, one disc will contain the Super-special edition version, with all the new CG enhancements and extensions, and (the really exciting part) one disc with the movie completely untouched from it's original form. That'll be added to the list when I get around to the movies I'm looking forward to, but in the video game realm, they are also releasing Lego Star Wars II. The first Lego SW game was a trip through the prequel trilogies, and while the concept looked solid (you actually play as Lego toy versions of all the characters, and build ships and vehicles out of lego bricks), I wasn't a big fan of Episodes 1-3. 4-6 though, that I would enjoy. This title is listed as Multisystem, because it is availiable for pretty much every system out there. While I'd rather not have it for DS, I'd accept it for either PSP, PS2, Game Cube, or Wii, if that version exists. Whichever you guys decide will be great.

P.S. - I will edit this later on, as new games come to my attention.

Imaginary Weapons and A Madman Dreams...

I've got a couple of books in mind that I'm going to add, both at the same time, for once. There's no real reason for this grouping aside from the fact that I'm too lazy to make a seperate entry for them both tonight. I'll try to be more dilligent in the future.

Honestly, the only thing these books have in common is that I heard about them on TV. Imaginary Weapons: A Journey Through the Pentagon's Scientific Underworld, by Sharon Weinberger, was featured on The Daily Show a few weeks back, when I was on vacation in San Diego. It's about the "fringe science" used by the Pentagon in researching new weapons and defence technologies. Although it sounds like a good plot for a sci-fi story, you'll find the book on the non-fiction shelves, so heads up. Government psychics could be less insane than you think.

The second book I heard about on the Colbert Report. Jenna Levin, the most attractive theoretical physicist I've ever seen, was pitching her novel (yes, this one is fictional) A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which deals in another of my favorite subjects, artificial intelligence, with a fictionalization of two of the greatest philosophers on the subject.

People are always telling me I'm not reading enough, so I guess this should be a step in the right direction. And don't worry, I'll add even more books to the list later on.

Gift Cards

I'm really opposed to the idea of money as a present. Getting cash for Christmas seems to really take the spirit out of the holiday. That said, I don't have as much of a problem with gift cards. Especially since so many of the items I want are either obscure or, more likely, too expensive to reasonably be a gift, getting a gift certificate for a store I frequent could be the next best thing. Such cards were partly how I managed to buy myself a PSP in 2005, along with saving, and of course, ignoring imporant things to save for.

So, if you're having trouble finding something for me, feel free to get a gift card. Here are a few places that already have more of my money than I'd like to admit:

Best Buy, the friendly neighborhood electronics superstore. I get a lot of video games there, along with the occasional movie or computer accesory.

Fry's Electronics, located right here in Austin. They're especially handy being practically right next to my ACC campus, and I'd like to start modifying my new desktop computer with some of their parts.

Borders, the big bookstore. I'm not sure if their gift cards are good at Waldenbooks, though I know there's a Borders Express in the Lakeline mall that I'd bet would take their card. By the way, I realize that Borders and Barnes and Noble are pretty much the same thing, but I wanted to pick one over the other so I wouldn't have to go to two places for basically the same thing (books), or, say, end up with $5 for one store and $4 for the other, but the book I want is $9. Of course, I end up in Barnes and Nobles enough that I'll spend their card just as easily, anyway.

Suncoast Video. It's probably the best movie store I've come across. They've got the widest selection of semi-obscure videos this side of the Internet, and I love popping in while I'm at the mall just to see what's new.

Amazon.com. They have everything. Seriously. It's ridiculous the amount of cool stuff I can find there, as my wishlist proves.

On a final note, please don't get me Target gift cards. I spend enough time (and money, unfortunately) there on my own without having extra insentive to buy things. I'd much rather go out shopping and make an event out of my present than have it turn into something I got on a 15 minute break. If possible, I'd like to spend it in my benefactor's presense, so my appriciation can be, um, appriciated?

Please though, don't go overboard. I know Danny put money on his list last year, but I don't want money. I'd much more enjoy stuff. ^_^

Transformers Titanium Series

So here it is, the first thing to be added to my list. Well, first four things, technically. So what exactly are they? First off, sorry, but the only decent picture I could find was the one I already had. What you see in front of you is a tiny statue of a Transformer, in this case, Unicron, the planet-munching chaos god from the first Transformers movie. It's something of a contradiction in terms, a Transformer toy that doesn't transform, but I think they're really cool, and I'd really love to add several of them to my collection. They come in two sizes, the three- and six-inches, the latter set being able to actually transform.

They are all really cool, and I would enjoy any of the set, but there are a few characters I want more than others:
-Bumblebee
-Starscream
-Megatron (the 6in 'War Within' version)
-The Autobot Starship Ark
I've already got Unicron, as well as the six inch Optimus, also from 'The War Within', but really, any of the others are pretty much fair game. And you can get most of them for under $10 at any toy store, so that's a plus, right? (I'm trying to keep price from being an issue, but since so many of the things I want are on the expensive side, I'mpatting myself on the back for starting out low.)