Julie & Julia

Been on a bit of a Meryl Streep kick lately. Julie and Julie has been sitting in my Netflix instant queue for a while, and decided to watch it while working. (I'm so add, I can't function without background noise). This movie is so charming and adorable. It follows the lives of two women, Julia Child, a famous author and cook of the late 1940s, and Julie Powell, a woman bored with her own deadend job who only finds joy in cooking.
The movie follows Julia, who is the wife of an ambassador who moves them to France, and her journey to becoming a master of French Cooking. Then there's present day Julie, who decides to cook through Julia's book in a year and blog about it. All the characters in the movie are so heartwarming, and the movie itself is an aesthetic pleasure.


The movie is very well written and so fun. Meryl Streep is hysterical in her role, and Amy Adams is adorable in her attempts at Child's french recipes. I almost died laughing when she attempted a lobster recipe, in which she had to kill the lobsters herself; something I recently did when attempting lobster bisque last valentine's day. (it turned out freaking awesome btw)


I think I'm going to have to go on a cooking streak after this movie. I love food. And I now have a strong desire to visit France. The Boy better look out, he's gonna get fattened up next week after I figure out what new recipes I want to attempt!

Halo Reach

So, I haven't blogged in like a year. I know, I'ma slacker, but there hasn't been too much thats been blog worthy.

Yesterday, I checked my xbox messages expecting the usual round of "Quit watching Netflix!", which is what I do with my xbox while I play WoW. But to my surprise a good friend a Bungie sent me a Halo Reach beta key with the words "Play the damn beta!"

Now I'll admit, I kinda fell of the Bungie fangirl bus after Halo 3, and haven't had any pressing urge to buy ODST(even after playing at Pax Prime), therefor hadn't been keeping track of any other Halo games. So I smiled at the message and went right back to farming Heroics in WoW.

Then Faith hops on in IRC wanting people to play Reach with her, and I figure, what the fuck, my controllers been pretty neglected, let's check this shit out. 2 hours later(fffffuuuuuu timewarner!) I finish downloading, and start up matchmaking with Stan.

Our first flag match was on a remake of a favorite Halo 1 map of mine, Prisoner, so I already had the upper hand. I had fun toying with the new weapons, but to my surprise and giddy delight, when I pulled out my secondary weapon, it was a pistol, reminiscent of the Halo 1 magnum.

Until 4am I was running around in utter ecstasy picking off people with my pistol and scooping up flaming skulls in my favorite gametype, Headhunter. It's an FFA game where when you kill someone, they drop a flaming skulls, which you then scoop up, and deposit in constantly moving target areas. This game type is genius and hella fun, because if you're like me, you always have a really high kill count, the struggle is getting the damn skulls to a drop point before you get picked off! Aggggh, I dropped like 7-10 skulls so many times it was infuriating, but holy crap this game type is a blast!

Anyway, I'm gonna try to get some work done so I can play more Reach!

Kick PaxThrax to the curb

a warm, spicy soup that goes down easy and keeps your energy up to get rid of that nasty PAXthrax!

PAX Thrax Serum.

easy to do, no exact measurements

- chicken broth base(from a can)
- chili oil (to taste)
- fresh spinach leaves 10-15
- button mushrooms chopped up spoon size
-2-3 cloves garlic, freshly chopped.

keep on mediumhigh heat while adding ingredients! yumyum!


also, if you're a tofu person, I think a couple cubes would make a great addition. I just didn't have any around. = (

PAX Schedule

getting excited! Hope I can make everything!

Friday, 9:00pm - 10:30pm, Unicorn Theatre

The Guild Season 2 Screening

Watch all 12 episodes of The Guild Season 2 back to back, followed by a Q & A with cast members Jeff Lewis (Vork) and Sandep Parikh (Zaboo), moderated by producer Kim Evey.

Panelists Include: Jeff Lewis (Actor, The Guild), Sandeep Parikh (Actor, The Guild), Kim Evey (Producer, The Guild), Wil Wheaton (Actor, The Guild)

Saturday, 10:00am - 11:00am, Raven Theatre

Designing indie games with a team of one.

Michael Todd is an Indie Game Designer, who makes games as a 1-man team. He'll be speaking about how he does this, methods he's learned and the concept of making a game quickly. He'll also be talking about why working solo is an awesome way to design games, especially for people just starting out.

Presented by Michael Todd

Saturday, 10:30am - 11:30am, Unicorn Theatre

Girls and Games: The Growing Role of Women in the Game Industry

According to the ESA, more than 43% of video gamers are female, making women the single largest untapped market segment in the gaming industry. Look at the milestones crossed and the hurdles to come as developers and publishers reach out to this previously overlooked demographic. Are current strategies effective? What does this mean for the game industry as a whole?

Panelist Include Jeff Kalles [Moderator] - (Penny Arcade), Annie VanderMeer Carlson (Freelance, Game Designer), Deirdra Kiai (Programmer, Hothead Games), Sandra Lew (Marketing Manager, Foundation 9 Entertainment), Cindy Armstrong (CEO, WebWars), Senta Jakobsen (COO, EA Dice Sweden)

Saturday, 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Unicorn Theatre

Now What? Keeping Community Engaged

You've built a gaming community, now what do you do with it? Community leaders (both corporate and grassroots) discuss how to keep a community fresh, fun, and sane.

Panelists Include: Christa Phillips Charter (Xbox LIVE Community Manager, Microsoft), Kevin "KP" Paul (Associate Community Manager, Xbox LIVE, Microsoft), Steven "Steve519" Artlip (Editor in Chief, Platform Nation), Jeff Rubenstein (Social Media Manager, Sony), Mike "Burnie" Burns (Writer and Director, Roosterteeth)

Saturday, 1:00pm - 2:00pm, Raven Theatre

What do Recruiters and Hiring Managers look for?

Tired of getting rejection letters? Interested in becoming a game developer but don’t know what to do? Come and talk to the people that are responsible for the gates to the studios. Learn how to prepare yourself with tips, tools and straight advice from the game industries top Recruiters and Hiring Managers.

Panelists Include: Jim Rivers [Moderator] - (Hiring Manager, Obsidian Entertainment), Lindsey McQueeney (Recruiter, Big Huge Games), Angela Baker (Insomniac Games)

Saturday, 1:30pm – 2:30pm, Unicorn Theatre

Twitter and Beyond – New Game Communities Online

Online game communities are changing rapidly as social media is being used more and more by gamers. No longer are people primarily congregating on official game forums. They're talking with each other on Twitter, Facebook, and in other types of online communities about games. For this reason, Community Managers are actively leveraging social media tools to keep online communities informed and engaged with their games. This panel will discuss the exciting transition of game companies using social media to build, communicate with, and engage with players as well as highlight the macro-trends that impact all online communities. Panelists include executives from both the game development and social media side of the fence.

Panelists Include: Michelle Broderick [Moderator] - (Marketing Director and Community Manager, Yelp.com), Morgan Romine (Fragdoll Team Captain, Ubisoft), Jaap Tuinman (Director of Social, Community, & Online Marketing, EA), Sam Houston (Online Marketing Manager, Gamer DNA), Meghan Rodberg (Senior Manager of Online Community Relations, Turbine)

Saturday, 5:30pm - 6:30pm, Raven Theatre

The Making of a Hit Web Series

Join Kim Evey, Sandeep Parikh and Greg Benson, the creator/producer/directors of three of the web's biggest sensations, "The Guild," "The Legend of Neil," and "Retarded Policeman." They'll tell you how they got their start in online video and then answer your questions about everything from content to distribution to funding. If you're thinking about getting into online video and want to talk to the experts, this panel is for you!

Panelists Include: Kim Evey (Producer, Knights of Good Productions, Inc), Sandeep Parikh (Owner, Effin Funny), Greg Benson (Owner, Mediocre Films)

Saturday, 6:00pm - 7:00pm, Main Theatre

RoosterTeeth

You, us, Saturday evening at 6pm. Let's be honest, you don't have a date so just come to our panel and we can all be sad together. Just replace the word sad with the word drunk.

Saturday, 9:00pm - 10:30pm, Unicorn Theatre

The Legend of Neil Season 2 Screening and Panel

The Legend of Neil, the story of a regular dude who gets sucked into Zelda and has to fight his way out, returns with an action-and-nostalgia packed second season. Neil stars Tony Janning, Mike Rose and Felicia Day (of Guild and Dr. Horrible fame) and is created by Sandeep Parikh (of The Guild)

Panelists Include: Sandeep Parikh (Creator / Co-Writer and Director, The Legend of Neil), Tony Janning (Star (Neil) and Co-Writer, The Legend of Neil)

Sunday, 2:30pm - 3:30pm, Serpent Theatre

Wil Wheaton presents: THE AWESOME HOUR!!1

Wil Wheaton first came to PAX in 2007, when he gave the keynote address that your parents won't stop making you listen to in the car. In 2008, he returned for a panel that asked and answered the burning question, "Can Wil Wheaton really be a panel all by himself?" This year, Commodore Wil Wheaton welcomes you aboard the USS AWESOME for 60 minutes of story-telling, lingerie-dodging, mirth-making, myth-making, iconoclasting, and the obligatory burning-questioning ... ing.

Presented by Wil Wheaton

How 'bout Some Tank & Spank?

New Love - Owl City

Owl City - New Music - More Music Videos

seriously, so in love. its my new coding/rockout music. and a rockin website to boot!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Opening Night

also, amazing nintendo dance to wii music!