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I think the prices are pretty reasonable. Cheaper would be nice, but some people are paying far more for some of those old school games, not even knowing if the cartridges still work or not. I recommend Super Mario World. I just beat it, and it was an amazing game. Actraiser is incredible as well, and I had tons of fun beating that. Star Fox 64 is solid, although I haven't played too much of it yet.

Originally Posted By: bobby12 Shouldn't the topic title be - "Miss Universe is *a* Japanese" Not necessarily. 'Japanese' doubles as noun and an adjective. Saying "Miss Universe is Japanese" is just using Japanese in its adjectival form. I think it sounds more natural without the 'a' article, but to each his own. To not derail this thread: She is hot.

You get the feeling it's been doctored from the outset with the really bad take-off and stomped-landing sound effects. The board flying off the guys feet only confirms how fake it is.

I've had a Wiivelation. I picked up Wii Sports after lots of Virtual Console gaming with my old school favorites and love it even more. I'm trying to go Pro (1000pts or higher) in each of the five sports. I couldn't stand boxing or golf because I thought the controls were bad. Turns out it was me who was bad. I've gotten a few birdies now and improved my short game, and I can now more or less control the location of my punches. Anyone in Japan with Wii Sports on here? I heard that Wii Sports does not come packaged with the console on purchase, which kind of surprised me. Incredib

From production values, to cinematography, to action, to the adapted story, LOTR won me over big, especially the extended editions. It's now my new Holy Trilogy (replacing the original Star Wars, which I still dig though). I couldn't go into LOTR with the uberfanboy mindset: "There's no Tom Bombadil?! F*$& that! Boycott it!" and the like. This isn't to say it's perfect - I actually thought the hobbits were pretty well done, but they made Gimli look like a fool every chance they got. Some of the departures from the book in The Two Towers were bordering on extreme as well. Overa

I feel bad and I hope the kid's okay (assuming it's real), but I did laugh. At least we all know who's winning the Worst Parent of the Year Award now. And the remix:

I can't believe I just read this entire damn thread, start to Finnish. I need beer. (That line circa page 4 was classic though: "Niseko: Just like football, but with fewer goals" HA!)

Nintendo's got some big titles coming out soon: Resident Evil 4 (FPS-ish, aiming with the Wiimote), Metroid Prime 3 on August 20th (in the US), as well as the new Mario platformer (Super Mario Galaxy) and Super Smash Bros Brawl later this year, including a new Zelda game this year. I've been so out of it until our recent Wii purchase that Metroid's the only one that's got me stoked. Online Wii games will finally start coming out this summer though. That's a good sign.

Originally Posted By: thursday do you get to jump over boarders who are sitting on their asses in the middle of the run? Ha! I wish! They took out the NPC's though (non-playable characters), which I actually like because they did far more harm than good in the last SSX installment, the dreadful On Tour. (You can throw snowballs in Blur though, kinda fun.) Here's a video that gives you a feel for the style of SSX Blur: http://files.ea.com/downloads/sports_videos/ssxblur/SSX_SPIKE_BIGGER_V2.mov (right-click and Save As)

Originally Posted By: yamayamayama That SSX Blur hasn't been released over here at all and isn't even on the release lineup. Curious that, I'd love to have a go. Interesting. I thought it would be out by now. Carving with the nunchuk is a really cool feeling. Very surfy, especially in the deep pow spots when you get a rooster tail going. The Ubertricks are difficult, and you need them to progress through the game. (Imagine drawing certain shapes with the Wiimote in mid-air to nail bigger tricks, like one-footers.) There are ways to practice though. If it comes out and you get

I have yet to play PS3 or Xbox360, but we picked up a Wii last week. (Very tough to do in the US, as they fly off the shelves within hours of the sporadic shipments that come in.) Extremely fun. I'm in halfway decent shape, but I've got sore muscles through my arms, shoulders, back and chest from playing so much Wii Sports. The missus and I go doubles in tennis and work up a sweat. (It's a double bonus for me because she's always harping how I never want to play tennis with her, but I haven't heard those complaints since!) We picked up SSX Blur, the snowboarding game for the

Originally Posted By: Fattwins never give up never surrender! That was my mantra at the bar. [insert beer icon here]

I just got my last day of lift-served at Alpental this past Saturday (outside of Seattle). Big Cinco De Mayo festivities, including $5 lift tickets for the non-passholders. Absolute mayhem and packed with people, but tons of fun. Sunny but fast down low and morning snow on top of Chair 2. Got to stop at the favorite brewery on the way home for fermented beverages and pizza with the missus. Killer end to the season.

The advertising blitz and tongue-in-cheek "turns ice into powder!" marketing might make it seem gimmicky, but it absolutely does what it says it does, which is add/improve edgehold. That said, MTX isn't for everyone. The majority of people who get to spend more than an hour or two on it really like it. People who ride it for a few weeks and then go back to a standard (non-MTX) sidecut notice quite a different in edgehold. Personally, I liked it. One of the complaints I've heard with MTX is that you can't lay out carves, Euro-style (think of armpits skimming the snow on a hardb

Originally Posted By: Kumapix sounds like you work for lib tech. Regardless, that banana tech seems promising. We'll have to see how it actually works out Ha! I wish (I think?). Nope, I just teach English to immigrants and refugess, and unfortunately, none of them have flowed me any snow gear yet. I used to be really stoked on Mervin boards, but then discovered Capita, Stepchild and some other boards and more or less wrote them off, especially after seeing some of Mervin's tucked edges give out easily. Board longevity/durability is still Mervin's Achilles' heel, but these boa

Yeah, Lib Tech is probably more known for their all-mountain sticks, however, the recently reissued Snow Mullet (tapered/Fish shape, but not as exaggerated) is definitely a pow killer. Since they put MTX on it, it supposedly holds an excellent edge even on ice and groomers, which is usually the biggest drawback to tapered boards like the Fish or Khyber. There's rumor that the Banana Tech will eventually makes its way to the Snow Mullet since it can take a freestyle stick and make it very pow-friendly.

The DC MTN LAB was the most stoke-inducing shred flick of 05/06. Here is a set of trailers for the new '07 release, featuring some very tongue-in-cheek song choices.

I don't think anything's going to beat that speedclimbing vid, as that dude was absolutely nuts. (I Googled him and he apparently died almost a decade ago - while climbing, of course. RIP, Dan.) Here's Mack Dawg's trailer for their new film coming out this fall. They've actually made solid films the last two seasons, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Ouch. That blows. Hitting up MosBurger's always on the to do list when returning to Nihon. I'll have to try 'em out for myself though. So much for "If it ain't broke, dont' fix it."

Oops - I'm a bit late on this, but danz hit the nail on the head, pretty much. Snoqualmie also has a killer park and a superpipe, if that's your thing. Not to toot my horn, but www.snowboardseattle.com has a solid message board with loads of people to help you out there on places to shred or other things for Seattle. Whether you're still in town or not, check it out. We've been getting pummeled with Pineapple Expresses, not to mention or January snowfall was only 50% the normal amount, so we probably only have three or four more weeks of lift-served riding left. Starting Sunda

We've had no public smoking here in Seattle for a few years now and I absolutely love it. I can now see my favorite bands live and come home not smelling like a chimney sweep. As for keba's comments, the ban (at least here) is on smoking in public places, so cigarettes are still being sold, but perhaps a little less than before. People can still smoke in their homes, cars and also outside as long as it's x meters away from buildings.

Accents: British (but some areas more than others) Scottish Farsi Romanian (female) Puerto Rican Spanish Colombian Spanish (PIMP!) Japanese (female) Languages: French Icelandic Japanese Cantonese (as opposed to Mandarin)

I'm not a big fan of Burton, so I may not be the best source, but I believe the Baron ES is the wide version of the Custom X. If you have larger boots, you might want to consider the Baron ES over the Custom X to avoid the dreaded toe/heel drag. I personally think you can get a better board for less cash, but to each his own.

Spangle Call Lilli Line is mix of indie and J-Pop that is so well done and far from the standard, mindless lollipop teenie bop J-Pop fare. They are probably my best recommendation as my other J-music mostly classify as guilty pleasures.

Thank you for your replies and insight - and sorry to hijack the thread! I haven't come across many research opportunities in the college I currently teach at (outside of Seattle now), but I'll ask around a bit more as the missus and I are getting antsy to return to Japan. Again, thank you for your help.