minivenom

Thanks for the support, guys. You're a fine group of friends.

Found out Thursday afternoon that my sister-in-law's son was killed in Iraq. It has taken a couple days to really set in on me, almost like it's just a bad dream or something. Though we are related through marriage, I didn't get the opportunity to know him as well as I would have liked. Still, I feel a deep sorrow over his death, and I can't even imagine the hell that Julia (his mother) must be living right now. I'd like to ask for any of you who believe in it to maybe send a prayer or two this way, especially for Julia.

Definitely Elite Beat Agents. It's currently my favorite game. Other notables (besides those you mentioned) include: Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis Yoshi's Island DS Clubhouse Games (a crapload of card and board games on your DS) MarioKart DS Tetris WarioWare Touched Also, you weren't specific on which Mario game you have. If it's not New Super Mario Bros., you'll need to add that one to the list as well. The next-gen systems get all the attention, but the Nintendo DS is no slouch. If I could have only one game system, it would be the DS. *DISCLAIMER* "Minivenom is not an employee of Nintendo and has not been paid for this endorsement. He's saying it because he means it."

I like ham!

I know the big money, fancy next-gen consoles have dominated most of the discussion here, but I wanted to chime in that anyone with a DS (best system on the market, in my opinion) without Elite Beat Agents really needs to try it out. I bought it for my youngest son and we spent several hours playing it yesterday. Up to 4 people can play with one game card and some of the songs are incredibly hard to keep up with. Great fun, and super cheesy (but still funny) storylines. It's funny when you mess up, and it's super cool when you get through a really tough part. Highly recommended.

Going to have the usual family gathering on Christmas day, then back to work on the 26th. I hope everyone here has a very happy and safe Christmas!

Shanester's top 5 hobbies: 5. Riding his motorcycle. 4. Drinking Guinness. 3. Posting on MMMV all hours of the day and night. 2. Rooting through other people's garbage. 1. Building the largest Shockini collection known to man.

I voted for Gambit, but Thor would be a close second. Now that I think of it, I should have voted for a mid-transformation Eddie Brock/ Venom minimate. The custom I have isn't the best in the world.

The first 2/3 of this year really blew. Nothing was going right for me, and I found myself hating life for the most part. Lots of family problems, the worst of which being my decision to end my 10+ year marriage after four torturous years trying to make it all work. (9/9 would have been 11 years) That's a lot of time and effort invested, but I walk away confident that I stuck it out a lot longer than most would have. No regrets. I hope I don't jinx myself, but the past couple months have seen the turning of the tide. I'm down to 217 pounds, only 2 pounds from my goal , after weighing a very unimpressive looking 301 in early 2004. I feel better physically and emotionally than I have in many years. I see my children as often as I can, and they know that I love them more than anything in this world. I have a job that I enjoy. The pay isn't the greatest, but I get by. My car isn't cool and fancy, but it gets me where I need to go. Life is good and I hope to carry the momentum over into 2007. My motto: Have the courage to change the things you can, the strength to accept the things you cannot, and the wisdom to recognize the difference.

This is going to be a TOTAL shocker, but my favorite toy line is LEGO. I know, nobody would have ever guessed that, but it's true. The minifigs (though not as posable as minimates) are cool and some of the sets LEGO has produced in the past year or so are incredible. Just look at any of the Batman or Exo-Force sets and you'll see what I mean. Honorable mention goes to GI Joe Sigma 6. Cool sculpts and great posability add up to a cool toy line. The 3 3/4" purists hate it, but that's what purists do, right? Standouts include Zartan, Lt. Stone, Tunnel Rat, Destro, and the first issue Storm Shadow. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with either of these lines.

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't mind having one of those. Should I ever win the lottery, I WILL have one of those in my rec room. As for grail items that I can obtain, I'd say it's the older LEGO minifig keychains that have the staple in the back of the head to hold the chain. I've been fortunate enough to find a couple here and there on ebay for reasonable prices, but most times they end for insanely high amounts (upwards of $100 or more) and I don't always have enough cash to justify spending that much on one item.

Wow, it's like being on really good drugs. Not that I would know what being on really good drugs is like or anything...

I don't get a choice, it would seem. Oh well. At least we got our clever user title lines back.

Pre-Mod days, I would have thought it was Profane Language. Old PL sure could lay it down.

Didn't you know the board would turn white after 20000 posts?

Even if I didn't think LEGO's model was better, I would have had to play the LEGO fanboy card and call you out anyway. You realize that, right? But honestly, I do think the LEGO model is better. The C3 Batwing is definitely no slouch, and is the standout of all other C3 pieces in my opinion. I just think LEGO made theirs slightly better. The LEGO model is a bit larger, sleeker, and the attack formation feature on the wings (perhaps Batman was a Star Wars fan?) is the icing on the cake for me. Yes, I even enjoy flying it around the living room on occasion, blowing the hell out of any and all evildoers along the way.

Hey!! This is a family friendly board. Watch your language!!

Damn, Ivan has the best drugs.

My name is the product of a very creative moment in my life. While trying to think of a username to join the old Art Asylum forum, I couldn't think of anything even remotely interesting, so (after well over an hour of trying ) I said screw it and went with "minivenom" since Venom was my favorite minimate at the time. My avatar is (as if you don't know) a picture of the Minimate Venom, further solidifying my legend as a "creative genius." I've often thought of changing it to something different, and even considered a new name when I signed up here, but "minivenom" IS my online persona. Hell, I even get called "MV" for short sometimes. I'm stuck with it now whether I like it or not. When fbtb.net (LEGO forum) switched servers, I rejoined as minivenom there too. Might as well keep it simple and cut down on the confusion, right Divebomb? For the record, I am neither mini nor venomous. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Somehow I'm expecting Roadblock to come out from behind the bushes and tell Alpheon "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."

I just want you to know that I had a hell of a good time piecing him together, and was up way past my bedtime making sure he was just right. Hulk is looking damn sexy sporting his Flash panties. Whoooo!!!! This truly must be the centerpiece of your Minimate collection.

Man, I've never seen one of those nonposable minifigs up close. They sure were crappy, but it dates back at least to the mid-70s. The current LEGO minifig wasn't around until 1978-79 or somewhere around there. The thing I'm really impressed with is how good the condition seems to be. They look practically new. What an unbelievably cool find! It almost cancels out your Shockini purchase... Almost.

Hey, man! I can't believe you're selling out a fellow Cincinnatian! I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, since you've got a freakin' NY Giants avatar. WTF, HD?!?!?!?!? Oh, and if you think the teasing has ceased, you are sooorely mistaken.

Aw man, vintage figures galore!! You really hit the jackpot Shanester! Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, either. Can't wait to see the pics.

A giant box of LEGO? WOW, nice score Shane!!!