Crimson Sundown

Maybe we can bring back the light

I have a lot going on right now.  Anyone who knows me personally or follows my Twitter account, knows this to be true.  After the epic Convention month of March as I have been running around like a crazy man, I have most certainly earned a break from the madness.  So how will I relax?  By setting up a LAN Party.

Thanks to the awesomeness that is Steam Dan we have started preparations to start up a LAN / Hamachi gaming group.  Translation, all of the friends in our group are going to get together and play a crap load of video games.  Honestly, nothing could be bad about this prospect.

In response to this idea and while trying to figure out what our first event would be, I have composed a Co-Op competition that I believe would be a crap load of fun.  What follows below is the structure that I have setup.  The basis of this idea, is my attempt to get some Co-Op gaming in, along with some multiplayer team fun.  I also want something that will take up most of the night / weekend and has stats.  It is with all of that in mind, that I have decided to go with a L4D marathon.

Here is the setup in my head, along with the requirements.

Requirements

• An absolute number of 8 people.
• Each of these 8 people must have Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 (combined total of $70 on Steam)
• Each person must have, or be provided a computer that can play said games.
• Each person must never grow tired of killing zombies

The Marathon

1. Of the 8 Players we have, for fun purposes we pull names out of a hat.  First person picked, gets to pick their survivor of choice.  Then second person from the hat chooses from the remaining survivors, and so on until all 8 players have a survivor.

   This will be their survivor for the rest of the marathon, until the Grand Finale.  Players should note that once they pick that survivor, it will determine whether they are playing L4D or L4D2 for the rest of the day.  Choose wisely!

2. Once we have our two groups of 4 survivors, those teams will split up and boot up their game of choice.
3. From there, each group will go through the process of playing through every single Campaign that is available in L4D / L4D2 from the beginning until the end.  Every single map will be played (difficulty being determined), and if the group dies at some point, they will restart that map until they finish it.
4. Stats are tracked at the end of each campaign segment and we will be using that information to dole out points to exceptional survivors.  A full list of stats and point values are still being determined but this information is available after a campaign is completed so it will be readily available.
5. At the end of each survivor group finishing their game, all the point values will be tallied up and the top two survivors from L4D and the top two from L4D2 will be selected as the winners of their campaigns.

The Showdown

1. The 2 L4D winners and 2 L4D2 winners will now combine and play an assortment of L4D and L4D2 multiplayer modes.  When possible, the winners will use their survivors.  If their survivors are not available because we switch games, they will flip a coin for the other two available survivors.
2. The other 4 players will be playing as infected and their goal will be to get the most points and survivor kills possible.  While you are out of the running for top survivor, you can now get top infected!
3. Stats will once again be compiled (point system pending), and at the end of a still to be determined amount of multiplayer games, a winner will be announced for both Survivors and Infected.

That’s my idea and plan.  What does everyone thing?!

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks.

Some common goal setting tips:

1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

And here’s my list! I’ll keep you updated whenever I can, and please feel free to try and make your own list. Thanks to Liv for the idea!

Red – Completed tasks!
Blue – In progress tasks …

Start Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008
End Date: Friday, September 9, 2011

1. Take a trip to New Orleans
2. Lose 20 pounds (10/20)
3. Post on my Blog at least once a week (16/142)
4. Record a non-RPG related Podcast at least once a month (16/32)
5. Follow through and actually have CosWatch at an Anime Convention, with live coverage on Crimson Sundown *May 22, Anime Boston!*
   
6. Organize a game of 5-on-5 basketball with my friends
7. Plan out a Fantasy Football live draft BBQ with 10 teams
8. Go see The Living End, and Ben Folds live (1/2) *Update* Going to see Ben Folds on February 14!
   
9. Travel to Japan
10. Completely fill up my 80gb Zune with only music (48/80)
11. Go see at least 6 basketball games (6/6)
12. Fully paint my Tyranid 40k Army
13. Get 100% Xbox 360 achievements for at least 5 major game releases (1/5)
14. Go out drinking with Chris & KFJ and whoever else wants to come, at least once a month (15/32)
15. At some point go to Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)
16. Compile and print out the history of Jimmy Jackal
17. Have a Diablo 2 LAN Party Weekend with a full team of 4 people *Completed March 13-14!  Amazing time*
    
18. Have a personalized jersey with my last name and number (Valenti / 57) for Football, Basketball, and Hockey … Baseball blows =)
19. Take an Olde Time Photo with Katie (lots of cleavage) and the rest of the group
20. Bring my World of Darkness Adventure to a conclusion
21. Draw a badass picture of Anime Joey V, without anyone else helping me and frame it
22. Get my third tattoo of a scarab
23. Go over 100 mph in my Mustang *Completed on July 18, 2009 on the way to KFJs!  105 mph!*
    
24. Take up some sort of gym workout schedule or a martial art *Bally’s for the win!*
    
25. Tell Katie that I love her in some fashion, every day
26. Buy no more than one video game a month
27. Have sex outside under a full moon (hawwwwwwwwwwwt)
28. Go out more, and see at least 10 movies in the theater … make sure Katie picks 5 of them. (10/10) | (5/5)
29. Own at least two nice suits (1/2)
30. Keep my beard / goatee trimmed and under control … don’t get lazy!
31. Create a new RPG adventure, D&D or any other system that is not WoD
32. Have to stimulate the mind, so read 10 full books that are not RPG related (1/10)
33. Only eat out for lunch once a week when at work at the very most
34. Create another Anime Music Video and enter it into a contest
35. Create an online catalog of my music, movies, and video games
36. Make a Harry Potter cosplay at some point, Slyverian ftw
37. Own a Johnny Utah and Shane Falco jersey
38. Host at least two themed movie marathons each year for a new tradition *Russelathon & Halloween in one year, tradition it is!*
    
39. Play paintball *it nearly killed me!*
    
40. Make it part of my routine to take the recyclables out each week
41. Keep my Mustang clean: Wash the windows more, and take it to the car wash more, about once every three months, and throw out the trash
42. Play with Nerf Guns more, go play Nerf with KFJ
43. Don’t always have to come to me, so go out to everyone else’s house more
44. Create a full folder of music, stories and podcasts for everyone in the nWoD adventure
45. Buy a house
46. Once I have enough room, get a dog
47. Visit my Central & South Jersey friends more, at least 5 times each. KFJ (3/5) Paul (5/5) Josh (5/5)
48. Finally get a chance to try absinthe *Yay, thanks Liv and Dan!*
    
49. Be able to order a fish dish that is not sushi, out at a restaurant and actually enjoy it *Chilean Sea Bass rules*
50. Successfully keep a Betta fish that will survive for longer than two weeks
51. I love Anime, but I’ve been lazy. Watch some new series or finish up the ones that I started (0/5)
52. Keep the apartment clean, so clean at least one thing every day *Respect the chore chart!*
    
53. Learn enough Japanese so that I can make my way around Tokyo with little issues if I had to
54. See a Cirque show live *Completed, saw Beatles Love in Las Vegas!*
    
55. Add Photo Gallery capabilities to Crimson Sundown.com
56. I’ve got a camera, so I need to use it! Take at the very least take one picture a week, no matter what!
57. Wear a bright pink item of clothing in public
58. Donate blood
59. Have a candlelit dinner with Katie
60. Have a professional massage
61. Learn to play craps *Now just time to go out and play!*
    
62. Go skinny dipping
63. Compile a list of 50 favorite films
64. Compile a list of 50 favorite songs
65. Compile a list of 50 favorite albums
66. Play poker in a Las Vegas poker room
67. Fire a real gun at a shooting range
68. Sell off my physical CD collection, whether all together or in piece meal *Pawned it off on my Brother-in-Law!*
    
69. Go sledding! *Went during PBL session #2!  We nearly died!*
    
70. Take Katie to a Hockey game
71. See a baseball game at Fenway Park
72. Go to the West Chester, PA Food Festival
73. Go to a place that is advertised as being haunted
74. Do 100 sit-ups without taking a break (best: 30/100)
75. Do 50 push-ups without taking a break (best: 25/50)
76. Get a good kite and fly it
77. Host and podcast a beer tasting night
78. Starting right now, play 10 different board games that I haven’t played before (10/10) *Red Dragon Inn, Candyland Crap fest, Lord of the Fries, Bang!, Hunter: Deadly Prey, Settlers of Catan,  Fury of Dracula, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Once Upon A Time, Two random games at Anime Boston*
79. Hand write a blog entry and scan it to the blog
80. Attend a comedy show
81. Document a “day in my life” with photos
82. Write ten short stories that lead into my eventual new RPG adventure (0/10)
83. Slowly build up a better work wardrobe
84. See 50 of the top 100 moves on Bravo’s Top 100 Horror Movie Moments (34/50)
    
85. Hit golf balls at a driving range and see how far I can hit it
86. Get rid of all the clothes I don’t like or can’t fit into
87. Use a teeth whitening kit, because it couldn’t hurt
88. Go to a murder mystery dinner or B&B
89. Sing “Bizarre Love Triangle” at a Karaoke bar somewhere
90. Donate $100 to Child’s Play Charity
91. Grow out the Obi-Wan beard again and dress up for Halloween *Did it for Kenny’s party!*
    
92. Go see my very first professional football game
93. Paint a picture!
94. Complete a 26-Things Photo Scavenger Hunt
95. Be able to complete 25 different “6-Degrees of Separation” , just by  memory, no IMDB! (14/25)
    *Liv*
    Sandra Bullock to Tobey Maguire
    • Sandra Bullock in Speed with Keanu Reeves
    • Keanu Reeves in Devil’s Advocate with Al Pacino
    • Al Pacino in Ocean’s Thirteen with Brad Pitt
    • Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire with Kirstin Dunst
    • Kirstin Dunst in Spider Man with Tobey Maguire

    Sandra Bullock to Michael Duncan Clarke

    • Sandra Bullock in Forces of Nature with Ben Affleck
    • Ben Affleck in Armageddon with Michael Duncan Clark

    Tobey Maguire to Richard Gere

    • Tobey Maguire in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Benecio Del Toro
    • Benecio Del Toro in Snatch with Brad Pitt
    • Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Twevel with Catherine Zeta Jones
    • Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago with Richard Gere

    Tobey Maguire to Gary Oldman

    • Tobey Maguire in Cider House Rules with Michael Caine
    • Michael Caine in Batman Begins with Gary Oldman

    Sandra Bullock to Luke Wilson

    • Sandra Bullock in Practical Magic with Dianne Wiest
    • Dianne Wiest in Birdcage with Gene Hackman
    • Gene Hackman in Royal Tenenbaums with Luke Wilson

    *Katie*
    Liam Neeson to Kevin Bacon

    • Liam Neeson in Star Wars: The Phantom Menance with Samuel L. Jackson
    • Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction with Bruce Willis
    • Bruce Willis in Charlie’s Angels 2 with Demi Moore
    • Demi Moore in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon

    Nicole Kidman to Anne Hathaway

    • Nicole Kidman in Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise
    • Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 3 with Phillip Seymore Hoffman
    • Phillip Seymore Hoffman in Doubt with Meryl Streep
    • Meryl Stree in The Devil Wears Prada with Anne Hathaway

    Tom Welling to Rosario Daweson

    • Tom Welling in Cheaper by the Dozen II with Eugene Levey
    • Eugene Levey in The Man with Samuel L. Jackson
    • Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction with Bruce Willis
    • Bruce Willis in Sin City with Rosario Daweson

    Kevin Bacon to Tom Greene

    • Kevin Bacon in A Few Good Men with Demi Moore
    • Demi Moore in Charlie’s Angels 2 with Drew Barrymore
    • Drew Barrymore in Charle’s Angels with Tom Greene

    Rosie Perez to John Malkavich

    • Rose Perez in White Man Can’t Jump with Woody Harleson
    • Woody Harleson in Natural Born Killers with Robert Downey, Jr.
    • Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man with Samuel L. Jackson
    • Samuel L. Jackson in 1408 with John Cusak
    • John Cusak in ConAir with John Malkavich

    Madonna to Rhea Pearlman

    • Madonna in A League of Their Own with Tom Hanks
    • Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can with Christopher Walken
    • Christopher Walken in Batman Returns with Danny Devito
    • Danny Devito in Matilda with Rhea Pearlman

    Helen Hunt to Keenen Ivory Waynes

    • Helen Hunt in Twister with Bill Paxton
    • Bill Paxton in Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio
    • Leonardo DiCraprio in Man in the Iron Mask with Jeremy Irons
    • Jeremy Irons in Dungeon & Dragons with Marlon Waynes
    • Marylon Waynes in Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood with Keenen Ivory Waynes

    Lindsey Lohen to Sean Connery

    • Lindsey Lohen in Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis
    • Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies with Bill Paxton
    • Bill Paxton in Tombstone with Kurt Russel
    • Kurt Russel in Grindhouse with Nicolas Cage
    • Nicolas Cage in The Rock with Sean Connery

    John Stamos to Kenneth Branagh

    • John Stamos in Party Monster with Seth Green
    • Seth Green in Old Dogs with John Travolta
    • John Travolta in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 with Denzel Washington
    • Denzel Washington in Much Adu About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh
96. Own season tickets to the Nets or Knicks
97. Create and document an awesome dickerdoodle
98. Be able to actually suffer through and complete any one game in the Metal Gear Solid franchise
99. Own a Blu-Ray player and a TV that will make it worthwhile, immediately playing “Shoot ‘Em Up” *Woo, looks amazing!*
    
100. Sell something on E-Bay
101. At the end of the allotted time, take one booze shot for each item that is not completed

G-d be with me, because this is going to be crazy!

It’s that time of the year again.  The time of year when we all get together, our band of brothers, and go wage war on our livers!  Damn stupid organ never stands a chance of surviving.

Normally I wouldn’t post about Wildwood, in that we all know it’s coming, and we all go and have a blast.  This year however takes on a slightly more special meaning, at least it does for me.  This will be the last year before we all go off and get married.  Myself, KFJ, Lukey, and Josh are all going to be saying our vows and getting our “Game Over” T-shirts starting in August and moving all the way through October / November.  Instead of going to Wildwood, I will be on my honeymoon, and KFJ will be tearing his hair out trying to get everything ready for his September swary.

Now of course I don’t mean to say that this is the last trip to Wildwood ever.  Heavens no!  But in the classic sense, Wildwood has in general and at it’s core, been a bachelor’s weekend.  It’s a trip with the guys where you go and get drunk for every minute you are down there, you watch bad movies, you swim in the pool and make fun of the saps who walk a mile to the beach, and you laugh and have a blast.  It’s all a great little thing, and I have been lucky enough to go on many occasions at this point.  So for me, and for a few other of my friends and brothers, this is the last bash that we get before we have our lovely new brides.

Plans will of course be made the following year, after all of our weddings and such, and hopefully most of, if not all of us will be present for those subsequent parties.  I don’t see this as the end of an era, simply the last trip before I’m slightly changed by the letter of the law, but not changed at all from who I am and what defines me as a peson.  I’m sure there will be a call to arms and all of the guys will assemble again.  The only difference will be, instead of being sans girlfriends / fiances … we’ll be sans wives for the week.

Truth be told … I can’t think of a better present to give to our wives.  Lord knows they have to see our stoopid faces for the rest of their lives.  Give them a week reprive would certainly be in their best interest.  =)