Stratovania

Honestly, I'm getting pretty bored with this, and I get the impression that you readers are as well. Still, I might as well finish up.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The final page of our list

20. Kaley Cuoco
Man, this top page is filled with people I don't know. I think some of you fine people watch The Big Bang Theory, but I never have. It really strikes me as one of those shows written about geeks by non-geeks, but maybe I'm wrong.

19. Scarlett Johansson
Yeah, she deserves to be on here (and higher than most of the rest of the people on the list), but that's not really saying much. Tastes differ, but have you ever heard anyone say, "Scarlett Johansson? That cow!" Except maybe in ancient Greece, a time and place in which cows were considered beautiful.


18. Kate Bosworth
Don't know her, but she looks all right.

17. Grace Park
I think I've been there before. They had a jungle gym. Wait, that's a person's name?

16. Kim Kardashian
Awesome, yet another person who's famous due to family connections rather than any actual merit on her part! Unlike other people in this category (Paris Hilton, George W. Bush, the British royal family, etc.), however, she really does have kind of a nice body.

15. Karolina Kurkova
A Czech model? Well, I'm one-eighth Czech, so that means I should like her, right? I mean, that's part of why I thought I should read Kafka. Seriously, she's pretty typical model material. I like that yellow bra she's wearing in the picture, if that counts for anything.

14. Kate Beckinsale
Eh, whatever.

13. Halle Berry
I can't say I've ever been a fan of hers. I think maybe it has something to do with her hairstyle.

12. Megan Fox
Okay, I've asked this before, but really, what's her appeal? She looks kind of unpleasant to me.

11. Ana Ivanovic
No real opinion.

10. Salma Hayek
Don't know much about her, but I'll agree that she's attractive.

9. Minka Kelly
Another one I can't say I care about.

8. Beyonce
I kind of find her attractive against my will, because I think she seems bitchy, but that doesn't mean she doesn't look good.

7. Evangeline Lilly
If you're referring to anyone on lost, your references are going to be LOST on me.

6. Emmanuelle Chirqui
Meh.

5. Marissa Miller
Meh again.

4. Isla Fisher
She's all right, but a little on the skinny side for my taste. I've seen her compared to Amy Adams, but I like Amy better.

3. Jessica Alba
Another one where I don't really see her appeal so much. I mean, she's not ugly or anything, but one of the hottest celebrities? I wouldn't say that.

2. Sofia Vergara
Well, based on the pictures, she's pretty.

1. January Jones
What, like the New Pornographers song? No, wait, that's JULY Jones. Maybe they're related. Whatever. I guess I agree with a fair number of the choices on this list, but not the order by any means.

Well, that's it for this exercise, if you can call it that. I hope I haven't offended anyone's sensibilities with this series, but if I have, take solace in the fact that I don't think I'm going to be doing it again.

As I've mentioned before, I have a bad habit of abandoning video games when they get too difficult. Fortunately, since I mostly play role-playing games with save features, I can always pick them up again later on. Perhaps this won't be interesting to anyone but me, but here's a list of games where I've made it part of the way through:

Chrono Trigger - In the DS version, I've reached Masa and Mune, but I can't defeat them. I wonder if I should swap out Robo for Marle; petie_s says that the Antipode spell that she and Lucca have works well.

Chrono Cross - It was a long time ago that I played this game, but I remember I couldn't make it through Fort Dragonia. Unfortunately, it's one of the few places in an RPG where you can't just retreat and get more supplies when you're ailing.

Dragon Quest IV - I've beaten the NES version, and I've made it up to Psaro the Manslayer in the DS version, but I haven't defeated him yet.

DQ5 - Just started on this one, but it's pretty cool so far. I've reached the fairy kingdom.

DQ7 - The farthest I ever made it was that really obnoxious 3-D maze.

Final Fantasy II - I've actually finished the main game, but I haven't gotten anywhere in the Rebirth of Soul thing in the Game Boy Advance version. I'll probably try it again at some point, but it's not really a high priority, since I already won the game as it originally stood.

FF3 - Just started this one, actually.

FF4 - From what I remember, I made it through the Tower of Bab-il, and am now facing the Cave of Eblan. I'm somewhere around there, anyway.

FF5 - Made it up to Exdeath. Beat Exdeath's first form. Had my ass kicked by Neo Exdeath. Forced to write in sentence fragments.

FF7 - This was my brother's game, and I doubt my save is still on the memory card (if said memory card even exists anymore), so I can't pick up where I left off. From what I can remember, though, I made it up to the space rocket part.

FF9 - Another one of my brother's games, I barely got anywhere in this one, and died in the first cave. It probably wouldn't have too difficult to try again, though, considering that you seemed to increase in level every time you tripped over a rock.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - I think I'm fairly close to the end, but I'm unable to beat Roy Koopa. And since this is an action RPG, it takes a little more time to get used to it after not having played it for a while.

Paper Mario - I'm in the forest where Tubba Blubba lives. I don't think that game ever became too difficult; it's just that I don't get too many chances to play the Nintendo 64.

Phantasy Star II - I haven't made it very far, but I'm confused as to what I'm supposed to do next. I think I even tried looking it up in a walkthrough, but it was still confusing.

Here are two list-type memes I came across recently. Actually, with the latter, I've seen it a lot of times, but never got around to doing it myself.

First, some comments on this list of comfort foods:

• Apple Pie - I like it, although I can't really eat a whole lot of it. Pie crust is so filling.
• Baked Beans - No, I've never liked them.
• Banana Pudding - You'd think I would like it, but I don't remember being too keen on the kind I had at Charlie Brown's Steakhouse. I'd like to try Kelly Hogan's, though. And bananas in and of themselves are a favorite of mine. They're my Ray Comfort Food. {g}
• Beef Stew - I'm not a big fan, but it's okay sometimes. Stew is one of those things that can really taste like just about anything, you know?
• Brisket Pot Roast - I've had pot roast, but I don't think briskets were ever involved, and I wouldn't consider it a comfort food.
• Chicken & Dumplings - Well, Chick-fil-A is a comfort food for me. I like chicken served in other ways, but it's too messy for me to be totally comfortable with it.
• Chicken Pot Pie - While I like pot pie better than stew, it has similar variety in quality. My favorite brand of frozen pot pie is Myers, which I don't think they sell outside my general area.
• Chicken Soup - Well, chicken noodle, maybe.
• Chili - I've never been a big fan, but I guess it can be okay if it's not too spicy.
• Chocolate Chip Cookies - Yeah, I think they'd qualify, although I actually prefer oatmeal raisin. I'm weird that way.
• Corn on the Cob - Not a comfort food, but pretty much the only way I actually enjoy eating corn.
• Fried Chicken - I guess that qualifies, although, like I said, it's messy.
• Gelatin - Not by itself, but my mom used to make a mixture of Jell-O and yogurt that I think would qualify as a comfort food for me.
• Green Bean Casserole - I don't think I've ever had it, or that I'd want it. Green beans are all right, but I've never been too keen on casseroles.
• Hot Dogs - Sure, I think that qualifies.
• Ice Cream - Yeah, another fairly safe one that fits the bill. No plain chocolate ice cream, though.
• Macaroni & Cheese - Yeah, I like it. My dad used to make baked macaroni that was really good, but he'd often insist on throwing in onions and celery, which kind of ruined it.
• Mashed Potatoes - I mention this pretty much every time there's a list of foods, but I've never liked mashed potatoes. I'm really not big on potatoes in general, but especially not mashed.
• Meatloaf - Another food I never really liked.
• Potato Salad - Not only do I not like potatoes, but it just LOOKS gross.
• Pumpkin Pie - Not sure I'd qualify it as a comfort food, but I do like it.
• Shepherd's Pie - Don't they have mashed potatoes in them? I just SAID I didn't like those!
• Spaghetti - Definitely, especially with meat sauce.
• Tomato Soup - See, the thing is, I remember eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with my dad as a kid, but I think I've lost my taste for it. It's not terrible, but I can't eat much of it.
• Tuna Casserole - I've never been a fan of tuna. There's a reason cats like it so much, and that's because it essentially IS cat food.


And here's a list of bands/artists I like, one for each letter in the alphabet. I tried to go with my overall favorite for each letter, if I had one.

Tori Amos
Frank Black
Neko Case
Dresden Dolls
Elf Power
Fastbacks
Gothic Archies
Hypnotic Clambake
Interpol (I really don't know too many I bands, so I just went with the one I have the most MP3s by.)
Elton John
James Kochalka (Superstar)
Tom Lehrer
Magnetic Fields
New Pornographers
Olivia Tremor Control
Pixies
Queen
Rasputina
Sugarplastic
They Might Be Giants
Unit 4+2 (I only know one song by them, but it's pretty much all I have under U in my iTunes library. Anyone want to recommend a U band?)
Vermillion Lies
Rufus Wainwright
XTC
Young Fresh Fellows
Zombies