More Blu, Okie for a day, and more...

A couple weeks ago I picked up a clearance blu-ray drive for my PC. I didn't pay that close of attention to it thinking it was a just a blu-ray reader, but as it turns out it also is a CD/Dual layer DVD burner with lightscribe (so technically it could totally replace my current drive). It came with a copy of PowerDVD that was unusable (first it wouldn't select the drive, then it wouldn't recognize blu-ray media) so I gave up uninstalled it, and went with TotalMedia Theatre (because WMP doesn't support blu-ray in Vista, or 7 for some reason) which works fine.
Now I just need to upgrade to a 1080P 16:9 monitor. :)

A friend had a meeting in Tulsa, OK Wednesday afternoon, so I went along for the ride. We knew there was a Dave & Busters now, so we stopped for lunch there after a wonky GPS detour. I've been to D&B in Denver, K.C., and now Tulsa (which is the smallest location out of the three), and have never had a bad meal the food is always good.

After his meeting we decided to take in a movie, so we went to Inception that was showing in IMAX at CineMark Tulsa. It was directed by Christopher Nolan who also did Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight (I still haven't watched either of the last two). I had seen the trailers so I knew it was a sci-fi/thriller/action and it didn't disappoint, and lived up to the praise everyone was telling me.

We also seen the new Quik Trip prototype store with multiple entrances, a coffee/soft serve bar, outdoor patio area, and so many drink choices it made my head spin (there must have been 7-10 iced tea flavors).

I went to a sneak preview of SALT Tuesday night, and came away feeling rather "meh". It was okay, but never really did anything out of the ordinary the action scenes/chases were pretty cool but seemed like standard fare. I can only imagine how lackluster this would have been if I seen it after Inception, instead of before.

The new 'summer' crop of tv shows has started spilling out with some running 4-5 weeks, and others just onto their second week. My current favorites The Glades (A&E), Rizzoli and Isles (TNT), and Covert Affairs (USA). Those that fall somewhere in between Rookie Blues (ABC), The Good Guys (FOX), and Haven (SyFy). Rookie has had 5 episodes now and it's just not 'gripping' me, while Good Guys started off okay (funny odd-couple schtick) it hasn't made any strides lately. I really liked the first episode of Haven, but the second one seemed kinda cheesy, I hope they pick up a bit from here.

XBLA Summer of Arcade, and Knight and Day...

Microsoft has released this year's Summer of Arcade schedule, and pricing information. The titles included are Limbo (7/21), Hydro Thunder Hurricane (7/28), Castlevania Harmony of Despair (8/4), Monday Night Combat (8/11), and finally Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (8/18). All of the titles will be 1200 MS points ($15 real bucks) if you buy all 5 you get 1200 MS points back (buy 4 get 1 free), or if you buy 3 get 400 MS points back

All of these were playable at E3 this year, and I probably played the demo for Lara Croft 5-6 times (why is it releasing last?!) and was already on my "must buy" list. I know I won't get all 5 because watching people play MNC it wasn't something I would play even if I really wanted the other 4. Limbo looks like a cool 2D platformer (which I love) with a weird b&w art style, but I'll need to read some reviews first. I enjoyed playing Hurricane (I loved HT in the arcade, and on Dreamcast), but for some reason can't get over the downloads $15 price tag (especially when history shows it will be on sale for $7-$10 within 6-12 months). Finally the Castlevania game seems more focused towards co-op play, which I'm not a big fan of, although I enjoy the 2D world of metro-vania so it might be my third title if the reviews pan out.

I went and seen Knight and Day today, and don't know what the filmmakers were trying to pull, but I've been to Wichita Mid-Contienant Airport and your visual representation was 'wwwwayyy' off. :( The sprinkling of Wichita jokes were pretty funny though, and it ended up being more of romantic-comedy than action comedy I was expecting. Overall a very fun 2 hour romp with some great stunts, and chase scenes. Think of it as Bourne extra-light less story, less filling, but enjoyable nonetheless!