Month: January 2014

Championship Sunday

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

2014ChampionshipGames

 

It’s the NFL’s championship Sunday and in about 9 hours or so we’ll know what teams will be playing in Super Bowl XLVIII. At 3PM Eastern (on CBS) the New England Patriots will take on the Broncos in Denver in the AFC Championship. At 6PM Eastern (FOX) the San Francisco 49’ers will be in Seattle to take on the Seahawks for the NFC Championship.

Both the Patriots and 49’ers found themselves in this same situation last year before the 49’ers advanced to take on my Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.

Who will you be rooting for? My girlfriend is a Seahawks fan and I have to admit they’ve been exciting to watch this year. I’ll be pulling for the Seahawks to take it all this year. I also really like Peyton Manning and hate the Patriots with a passion, so I’ll be hoping the Broncos advance to the Super Bowl.

 

FCW Wrestling

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

I just wanted to share a video from a YouTuber whose videos I’ve enjoyed watching for awhile. YouTube user JD Venom has created a variety of Let’s Play videos and his most popular videos are his FCW wrestling videos. Basically he puts together his own wrestling shows in WWE 2k14, creates storylines, adds commentaries and edits it all into a wrestling “TV show” for his YouTube audience. I wish I had the time, patience and enthusiasm to do this sort of thing. I think it’d be cool to do something like this in Madden or something where you could tell your franchise / career story in a weekly highlight show or something.

Anyway, check out his most recent FCW video:

Pondering what to do with this year’s tax return.

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

tax return

Every year around tax time my mind always wanders to what I might do with my tax return. I have around $42,000 in student loans and a bit of credit card debt. My lowest student loan balance is around $600 which I will be paying off in full with my tax return. The question is, what will I do with the $800 or so I’ll have left over after that (assuming my return will be similar to last year’s. I’ll get my W-2 next week and will be able to do my taxes then). My lowest credit card balance is around $100, and the next lowest is around $450. My next lowest student loan balance is around $900 (and my highest balance is $15,000, a loan which I have deferred right now).

I’m really tempted to pay off the $450 credit card and use the remainder on an iPad Mini, because who doesn’t like buying themselves a new toy around tax time? Besides even if I allocated all $1,300 ish of my tax return toward my debt, that’s only 1/42nd of my mountain of student debt. Would it even make a difference? I might save $20 on monthly payments, what fun is that? Paying off the $600 balance will save me $110/mo which I’ll start putting toward one of my credit cards with a higher balance. I figure I want to pay off the credit cards before I start chipping away at the rest of my student loans which have higher interest rates and lower monthly payments…..

Anywho…..Debt sucks! Haha. And what do I have to show for my $50,000 English degree? Not very much, that’s for sure. 😉 Sorry for the rant!

GIRLS (HBO) season 1 episode 1

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

Girls HBO

 

I just finished watching season one, episode one of the HBO show girls produced by Judd Apatow and I have to say I like the show quite a bit so far. The characters are interesting and I already want to get to know them more. I especially like Hannah as a character. There’s something about the way she dresses, the way her hair is and the way she carries herself that I can’t help but like. As someone who thought it was a great idea to be an English major in college, I can relate to the ‘what do I do now’ situation she finds herself in. Heck, I still don’t have the answer to that one.

Hannah is played by Lena Dunham who is also the show’s creator. I had not previously heard of her, but she does such a great job in Girls so far I’m sure we’ll all see more of her in the future.

I’m looking forward to watching more of the show and seeing where things go from here.

New on TV: Enlisted

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Enlisted-Fox

On Friday we watched Fox’s new comedy, Enlisted. I didn’t expect a whole lot, but it was one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in awhile. The characters are quite entertaining and the acting is quality. The show parodies military life, but it doesn’t offer an accurate depiction at all. I understand that’s not the goal, but being an enlisted member of the Air Force I kept getting distracted by the fact that the characters often wear their uniforms incorrectly, and they all need haircuts. Regardless the show was funny and entertaining throughout and I look forward to next Friday’s episode.

I’ve read Enlisted debuted to low ratings, which is unfortunate but to be expected on a Friday night. I hope they move the show to a better time slot so it can make it through the season without being canceled.

EDIT: I’ve been made aware of this video below and think it’s great! Big thumbs up to Enlisted!

This week on Playstation Plus, ESO Beta weekend

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

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New this week on Playstation Plus is DmC: Devil May Cry for PS3 users (I believe PS4 users have Don’t Starve). I tried DmC out on the 360 awhile back and didn’t really like it. The whole story felt like I was watching anime (and I’m sorry, but I hate anime) and the entire thing felt and looked too Japanese for me to enjoy it (especially the letter grade and score for each level. The score / grade screens really distract for the game and essentially serve no purpose at all).

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This weekend is another The Elder Scrolls Online closed beta weekend. Those who have received beta keys will be able to play the game Friday through Sunday.

Recently watched: American Hustle, Hobbit 2, Anchorman 2

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

American Hustle poster

I couldn’t quite tell what American Hustle was from the trailers, but Jennifer Lawrence looked stunning so I knew I had to see it ;). Early on the movie seemed a little dry but once things got going it got really interesting and I felt invested in the characters. The climax and conclusion are absolutely thrilling and I’m certainly glad we watched it.

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was another great thrill ride. Unfortunately the movie is long, and I feel like they could’ve easily trimmed it down by at least half an hour. The scenery in the movie is incredibly breathtaking and there are plenty of laughs on the journey courtesy of the dwarves. The movie ends quite abruptly and the year long wait for the final installation will be painful (Unfortunately I’ll be deployed when the final movie comes out so the wait will be even longer!).

Anchorman2_Poster

I was never a huge fan of the first Anchorman (or any Will Ferrell movie for that matter) but I can say I enjoyed Anchorman 2. Again, this is another movie that was longer than it should’ve been. Some of the plot could’ve easily been tossed out and the movie would’ve still been enjoyable. Regardless the climatic moment full of hilarious cameos was well worth the wait and provided some of the best laughs in the movie.