Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Last night I went to the 12:01 showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Quite good, I'd say! :) The theater was packed, the crowd was excited, and there was one movie trailer that I'll never, ever forget... hehehe, it was hilarious. But I can't say what it was... because that would spoil it!

I'll update with more impressions later.

Happy Birthday Toph!

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to Toph,
Happy Birthday to me!

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Woohoo! Today's my birthday! And, in honor of that, I though I'd give a long-overdue update on the state of things.

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MOVIES That I've Recently Seen
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Flightplan

Flightplan really capitalizes on the current national state of mind, and it ended up as a pretty good, if not spectacular, movie. There are a few very thought-provoking moments, and it sure keeps you guessing.

Well, it kept me guessing, at least. :)

Serenity

The first thing I thought about this movie is, "Wow. That doesn't sound like a sci-fi movie name." I'm suppose I'm used to something as blunt as "Star Wars." :)

Speaking of which, Serenity has a number of sequences that appear to be largely inspired by SW, and it has a similar overall feel, albeit with some very, very brief moments that lean more towards the "horror" genre. A few things for SW fans to look out for:

• Serenity itself is very Millenium Falcon-esque, and the captain is very Solo-esque.
• Space sequences seem very reminiscent of the Episode III space battle...
  ...especially the end.
• Highly recommended for any sci-fi fan.

In Her Shoes

This isn't typically the kind of movie I would go to. Quite the opposite, in fact. And I won't waste too much time describing it, aside from saying that it does a pretty good job of what it's meant to do.

Elizabethtown

Again, I probably wouldn't see this normally. But I did like it. It's awfully reminiscent of Garden State in a number of ways, while remaining unique and funny. And an excuse for popcorn is always enjoyable. :)

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WEBSITE Version 5.0 on its way
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As I've said before, I'm somewhat dissatisfied with version 4.0 of my web site (which I haven't even completed, by the way). So I'm abandoning it. It didn't really accomplish the task at hand -- that is, to clean up and organize the site -- and I don't quite like the design, although I do think it's an improvement in many ways.

Just like the early stages of version 4.o, expect 5.0 to come in bits, starting with the mere skeleton of a site and then building up to its v.3 glory and beyond.

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I must be off now, so fare thee well. :)

School, Rockets, Segways & Websites

Well, school has started again. It's been pretty good so far -- and the BSEC has been born. :D

Standing for either "Beaver Science and Engineering Club" or "Beaver Society for Environmental Catastrophe," the BSEC is a new club I've founded with a couple friends. We're focusing primarily on rocket, potato guns, and robots. Hehe... it should be fun. :)

However, the most exciting news of the past few weeks is that I got to ride a Segway! Last weekend the Third Annual AltWheels Transportation Festival took place at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. My Phyiscs teacher suggested I go at the last minute, and I sure am glad I did! Seascoast Fun Rides (website under construction) was giving 5-minute Segway demos on a p-Series. I got to go on one -- it was really, really fun!

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I'm currently in the conceptual stages of redesigning my website... again. Yes, I'm unsatisfied with version 4.0, which isn't really even done yet. The new site will feature a more unified look across all pages, including the home page, which is currently a random Flash thing. I think I'll have a quick Flash intro, but have the regular site be mainly just good old HTML.

I'm also hoping to get this blog on the front page, if I can ever figure out how... I need a web-based RSS newsreader... hmm...

Last Day of Summer

Three posts all summer long. Not so great, eh? Well, school -- yes, dreaded school -- is now upon me. I have just over eight hours left until I begin. It's been less than one since I finished my summer reading. Fortunately, I ended on a good note -- Rocket Boys, which inspired the movie October Sky.

While I haven't been a reliable blogger, I have still kept track of my summer. Oh yes indeed. It's probably my most well-documented summer ever. It's just that the documentation has yet to be sorted out. Perhaps, if I ever find some free time, I shall "retro-blog" as I said I would in my last post.

One last thing, before I retire for the night. In honor of the summer of 2005 drawing to a close, I have renamed this blog from the faux-egotistic and initially-temporary title of "Toph's Awesome Blog." It is now entitled, quite simply, "Toph Tucker." It matches my website better, and -- with luck -- eventually this site will match that one in style as well.

That is all for now. Happy September, and fare thee well.

Two Years Old

As of Wednesday, my blog is exactly two years old! Wohoo! Wanna know why I missed it? Probably 'cause I haven't posted here in over a month. Sorry about that. :( Here are some quick updates.

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Half Blood Prince

I went to Barnes & Noble at midnight and got the new Harry Potter, and finished it three days later. That's the fastest I've ever read a Harry Potter book, and (I think) the second-fastest I've read any book. It was quite good, albeit sad... well, that's all I have time for now.

Website

I uploaded some minor changes to my site yesterday, including a revised home page. Check it out. More changes coming at the end of the summer, although I'm thinking of giving up on this version -- too messy, really, and I still haven't gotten it all working -- and skipping on to a very similar version 5.0.

Taconnet

Mere minutes from now I'll be on the road, heading for a wedding in New Hampshire. From there, on Sunday, we'll be going on to Taconnet. So I'll be relatively out of touch for the next month or so.

Retro-Blog

I have been keeping track of what I've been doing this summer... just not here. :) So I've been thinking of "retro-blogging" -- altering the time & date manually to make it look like I actually have been posting all this time. If I do, though, I'll put a little disclaimer towards the bottom.

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Okay, gotta go. Fare thee well.

Last Day of School

Wow... I've been so busy lately I've barely been updating at all. Since my last update, I've studied for endless hours for exams, taken my exams, gotten my exams back, and -- today -- had my last day of school. I'm now, officially, a 10th grader... at least, that's what they say. I'd actually lean towards calling myself a 9th grader.

Gotta go... bed time. Late, it is. To bed I must go.

Xbox 360, Movies, and More

It's been an extremely exciting and busy time lately. For the biggest reason, head over to my new Star Wars blog, which is replacing the old Blogger one. Yes, Episode III has come out, and yes, it's awesome!!! :-D

In addition to seeing Revenge of the Sith six times so far, I've been swamped by homework, projects, and exam review. Here's my attempt at a worthy blog update.

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Xbox 360

You know it's been a long time indeed when a whole new console has been announced and I haven't said a word about it.

Xbox 360 was officially launched during an MTV event that aired May 12th. Then, at E3, they revealed more information... kind of. The launch has been somewhat underwhelming, but there's sure to be plenty of new information as the launch -- this fall -- approaches.

It seems like X360 is going to be slightly less powerful than the PS3 this time around, but they're very, very close. That's interesting, since PS3 is launching 1/2 a year later. Hopefully the power differential will be balanced out by X360 being easier to develop for than the PS3.

A couple of promising games thus far include Gears of War, Project Gotham Racing 3, and, of course, Perfect Dark Zero. (What a weird name.) Also, it's been suggested that Halo 3 will launch day-and-date with PS3, which, personally, I find hilarious. Take that, Sony!

Backwards compatibility? Check... kind of. Word is X360 will support compatibility with only the best-selling games from the original Xbox. No, that makes no sense, but whatever. ;-)

One category in which X360 clearly has PS3 beat is online gaming. From micro-transactions to the marketplace to downloadable content to video chat to Live Arcade, persistent Gamer Card, reputation & stats... X360 looks to blow PS3 out of the water. You'll be able to create your own content and put it online for others to "buy" from you, as well as buy other people's custom work. Having one unified online persona really has its benefits.

Every connected X360 will have access to "Xbox Live Silver," which is basically all the features of Xbox Live but online gaming. "Ha ha," you say, "well what does that leave?" Stats, gamer ID, content download... a lot more than non-Live subscribers have today, that's for sure! Subscribe and you'll get Xbox Live Gold, which adds actual online gaming. It looks like some X360 games could get as many as 64 gamers per game, and I have no doubt someone will exceed that after a year or two.

Xbox 360 will also have Media Extender functionality built-in. Basically, that means you can stream video, music, photos and more from your Media Center PC and access it all from your Xbox. That means that, even without the optional, removable, upgradable hard drive, you can get Custom Soundtracks in every single game.

X360 versus PS3, I'd definitely go with X360. I expect the power & graphical differences to be negligible, and online/Media Center capabilities make up for all that. For more information, check out...
- IGN Xbox 360
- TeamXbox
- Xbox.com
- Xbox360.com

Movies

No, I won't mention a certain sci-fi epic. You can read plenty about that at my other blog. However, a couple weekends ago -- Saturday the 14th of May, if I'm not mistaken -- I saw Kicking and Screaming in theaters with my friend, and then went back to his house and saw Collateral. I couldn't find two more different movies if I tried. The former was pretty funny, although not extraordinary. The latter was very serious, though, and rather gruesome. It was good, though. Well done.

Constitution Day

"WASHINGTON - The Constitution long has ensured that Congress can’t tell schools what to teach. But that’s no longer the case for at least one topic — the Constitution itself."

That just about says it all. Click here for more.

Dreams

Last night I dreamt a little group of neighbors, including me, cleansed the neighborhood of all wildlife and then re-introduced only our favorite animals -- which, strangely enough, happened to include a giant man-eating frog. It got loose and started scaring people off. I think that's when I woke up.

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Gotta get back to History now. I've probably spent too much time on it as is. Fare thee well... and do yourself a favor and go see Episode III!!!

SAT IIs

Today I took the SAT II Physics test. Fun. Not. I didn't even finish the test. Oh well... I'm glad it's over.

Forza, SAT IIs, and New York, oh my!

Today we finally got Forza Motorsport, which I actually got for Christmas but which didn't come out until this week. I've barely gotten to play at all, but so far it's great! You can customize you car in I'd say about a duotrigintillion ways. In addition, you can use the "Drivatar" technology to train your own AI driver who drives just like you do, and then have your Drivatar race for you in races you don't want to do yourself. You can also race against your own Drivatar, which is cool. Forza also supports split-screen and Xbox LIVE play.

(I've loved racing games on Xbox ever since the original Project Gotham Racing, which was one of the very first games we got.)

In other news, I'm taking the SAT II in Physics this Saturday. Fun. Not. And my brother's going to New York tomorrow with the 7th grade, just like I did two years ago. They stay until Friday. (Friday the 9th grade also has a field trip: going to a Red Sox game!)

I have to go to bed now. So bye. :-)

So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish

Today we saw the 5:30 show of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I liked it, although I don't think it lives up to the book. Still, it does an admirable job. I thought the casting was great, and the opening scene is hilarious. It's a fun movie -- I'd recommend it.

Tests and Weekends

First of all, I had three tests today. Actually, I technically had only one, but I also had a quiz and an exam. (Quiz in Spanish, Test in Geometry, and Exam in History.) They weren't too bad, but still - it's a bit much, I think.

Second of all, I realize I never wrote up an overview of my long weekend, so here goes.

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Friday

We went to Fever Pitch for the second time, which was fun. We saw the Episode III trailer again -- my fifth time in theaters -- which was even better. (We didn't have Friday off, mind you.)

Saturday

We went to my older sister's birthday party.

Sunday

First we went to my cousin's First Communion, and then to the after party at his house. That night we went to another birthday, this one for a family friend. That took up pretty much the whole day, but I got some good reading in what with all the commuting. Actually, I got quite a bit of reading done almost every day of the long weekend.

Monday

Patriot's Day! Every year we've always gone to a parade out in Concord (where my grandparents live) and then to watch the marathon at Heartbreak Hill. This year we managed to get Red Sox tickets and went with a few friends! The marathon route passes very close to Fenway, so we stopped by before leaving and watched for about 30 seconds, as opposed to several hours last year. When we got back there was some Xbox to be had, and then a little game of baseball with those same friends we went to the actual game with. Ugh.

Tuesday

Web site work, which I had also done some of the other four days, and homework. I was up pretty late, so now I'm tired.

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That long weekend made this a three-day week for me! Last week was also a short week, but for a different reason -- I was out sick on Wednesday.

I have to go do homework now. Fare thee well.

Congrats to the New Pope

Congratulations to Pope Benedict XVI. I'm sure it's no coincidence that he was chosen exactly one month before Episode III is released. :-)

New Tophtucker.com Home Page!!!

I've just completed and uploaded a brand-new Tophtucker.com home page, unlike any it's ever had before. Complete with a Star Wars theme to celebrate one month until Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, it's done entirely in Flash. Check it out!

(I've also completed miscellaneous other updates around the site.)

I worked on the new home page some last weekend, but I did most of it over the long weekend -- we had today and yesterday off form school. Anyway, enjoy the new look, and tell me what you think!

Fever Pitch

I just saw Fever Pitch tonight, and it was great! They also had the Episode III trailer playing before it, which was a nice surprise. :-)

End of Vacation

At 8:00 tomorrow, I must go to school. Grr. Silly school.

Oh well... I actually got some web site stuff done today! And saw Miss Congeniality 2, which was pretty good.

Abduction!!!

Just this morning, I was abducted by evil aliens trying to take over the world!!! They broke into my bedroom through the window at 4:00 this morning, while everyone else was still asleep. They grabbed me from my bed, immobolized me with some kind of stunner, and then loaded me onto a hovercraft that was hovering outside my window. At that point the commotion woke up my brother, who came in to see what was happening. They stunned him, too, and then flew off to their mothership with me!

Once onboard, I was interrogated by their Supreme Overlord. He asked me all sorts of random questions -- how old I was, what my hobbies were, and so on. Just then, right in the middle of the interrogation, there was a fire drill on the mothership! I couldn't believe my luck. We all walked calmly but quickly from the Overlord's chambers, just as we had been taught to do. As we were all lining up so the alien fire chief could take our attendance, I spotted an escape pod right next to me! While the rest of the aliens were preoccupied, I dove into the pod and slapped the eject button. (I couldn't read the alien writing, so I just pressed the most prominent button, and it worked!)

By the time they noticed I was gone, I was already re-entering Earth's atmosphere. They shot at me a couple times with their laser cannons, but I was too far out of range. I had made it! I had escaped!

I landed in a field in Virginia. Sadly, I didn't know how to operate the parachute or reverse thrusters or any other landing equipment the pod might have, so it was quite a hard impact. The pod totally destroyed the surrounding field and an adjacent pod -- I hear you can see the crater from space!

So anyway, now I'm back safely, but I'm going to be tried for involuntary manslaughter on a massive scale. Too bad... I'll try to keep you updated on any new happenings.

Hans Brinker

Another thing: we watched "Hans Brinker" tonight, which is a hilariously dated skating movie. The acting is, shall we say, sub-par. :-)

Walt Disney World

Just a couple hours ago we got back from Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was very fun!!! Here's my report.

Day Zero (Thursday) -- Disney Board Walk

We arrived on Thursday, March 24. As soon as we got to our hotel room (roughly 18:45) I rushed to the TV to see if they had Cartoon Network so I could watch Chapter 24 of Star Wars: Clone Wars, which was on at 19:00. Tragically, they didn't. We got the laptop set up, though, and downloaded it from starwars.com soon thereafter. We also went outside and explored the area behind our hotel, called the Disney Board Walk. There "Jeff" pointed us in the direction of a little restaurant -- and arcade.

Day One (Friday) -- Disney-MGM Studios

We spent our first full day at MGM, which remains my favorite of all the different parks. There we went to see, among other things, "Star Tours," Indiana Jones, "Lights, Motors, Action," and the nightime spectacular "Fantasmic!"

Day Two (Saturday) -- Epcot

Our second day was spent at the land of the giant golf ball. We saw (among other things) "Honey I Shrank the Audience," "Muppetvision 3-D," and "Test Track," which I did not go on.

Day Three (Sunday) -- Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is probably the most famous of the Disney parks. We spent the morning at attractions like "Big Thunder Mountain," "Splash Mountain" (which I didn't go on), Buzz Lightyear, Indy go-karts, and the Country Bear Jamboree. We went back to our hotel by way of Epcot shortly after noon, and then returned at night for the amazing parade and fireworks. ("Sal" helped us out then with seating suggestions.)

Day Four (Monday) -- Disney-MGM Studios, Disney Board Walk

We returned to MGM on Monday, this time doing "Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play it!" twice and even more "Star Tours." I went on Star Tours five times total duirng our vacation. Later in the day, we fully explored the Board Walk, again assisted (this time in our quest to learn more about Disney's navy) by Jeff. We rented a little pedal-powered buggy to ride around the lake on, which was quite an interesting experience.

Day Five (Tuesday)

That's today! We spent a bit of time on the Board Walk, then packed up and left. Disney World was lots of fun -- perhaps when I have a bit more time I'll go more in-depth with my opinions on it.

Disney World

In 24 hours, I will most likely be in our hotel room in Disney World. Again, I'll be sure to report in afterwards!

In other news:

Yesterday and the day before yesterday, my family did the exact same thing at night.

1. Watch the latest Clone Wars chapter
2. Eat dinner while...
3. ...watching The Incredibles

We finished The Incredibles yesterday. It's a very good movie, and the DVD has some absolutely hilarious extras, which we also watched last night. Note that when I was watching The Incredibles last Saturday, it was with some friends, separate from our little family watching campaign. :-)

Vacation

As of 14:10 this past Friday, I'm on vacation! This time, my family's actually going somewhere, which is rare for us. This Thursday we're flying down to Florida to Disney World! It'll be the first time my brother or I have gone.

I'll report in when we get back.