Nothing like being 6 years late. Now that the PS3 is on the verge of release, I finally bought a PS2. Had it not have been a deal too good to pass up, I probably wouldn't have ever bought one, but a new slimline PS2, extra controller, and 3 games (Jak II, Ford Racing 3, MLB 2K5) was less than $125. To top it off, I picked up March Madness 2K5 for $9 on clearance at Circuit City. Of course, as usual, there's not enough time in the day to play, but that doesn't stop me from wanting more. Send me your list of must-buy games for PS2 (bamf226 AT jasonwsmith.com).

My Summer Vacation, Part 2

After recovering from the SEC Baseball Tournament, we flew to Charlottesville, Virginia. Doesn't really sound like the summer tourist spot and it isn't. However, it was a nice peaceful getaway from normal life. We arrived on June 2 and promptly wandered over to the campus of The University of Virginia to watch some baseball. The NCAA Baseball Regionals were being hosted by UV and by a stroke of luck, South Carolina was participating. We decided to watch South Carolina's game, however, when we got there, the first game was still underway. Unbeknownst to us, the first game between Lehigh and Virginia had started late and no one bothered to tell us when we asked for tickets for the night game. When we sat down, Virginia was winning 10-2 and the game only in the fifth inning. Thankfully we were entertained by a group of frat guys acting goofy. After the game was over, the stadium had to be cleared. On our way out, a thunderstorm hit and drenched us on the way to the car. We figured that the night would not get better, so we went back to the hotel only to find out that there was no power. The trip was certainly not going the way we wanted, but the power came back on after about a half hour.

Saturday and Sunday were the typical tourist attraction days. On Saturday we wandered around Monticello and Miche's Tavern. That night we went to a professional Shakespearean theater to see Richard III and have a nice dinner out. On Sunday we drove around some of the nearby Civil War battlefields. The majority of the history we saw revolved around Stonewall Jackson. We visited the spot in Chancelorsville where he was shot and also followed the ambulance trail to where he later died. We also traveled to the Fredricksburg battlefield and the Spotsylvania battlefield which has the distinction of containing the bloodiest battle of the war. That evening we had planned again to see South Carolina play in the NCAA Baseball Regional, but we returned from the battlefields after the game had started and decided to stay in for the night.

Monday was an open day for me as Erika had to visit the university for research, which was the original intent anyway. I spent most of the day in the hotel room playing video games before going to an Indian buffet for lunch. After lunch I decided to play miniature golf before going downtown to have dinner and play some pool. On Tuesday we had to pack up and leave but not before going to play miniature golf one more time. Back to the grind once again.

**** NEWS FLASH ****
We interrupt this summer vacation report to inform you that the lost review for The DaVinci Code has been found. Actually it was never missing, but no notice was posted about its whereabouts. Does The DaVinci Code survive the controversy and live up to the hype? Read all about it in the Now Playing section.
**** NEWS FLASH ****

My Summer Vacation, Part 1

I started my summer vacation a little early. On the Wednesday before Memorial Day, the SEC Baseball Tournament started in Birmingham. For 4 days, Erika and I sat out in the heat watching baseball while sitting on metal bleachers. I never realized how tiring watching baseball can be. By the end of the weekend, my butt was sore and I was exhausted. Unfortunately, Alabama lost on Saturday and because we were both so tired we just watched the championship game on TV.

Our Memorial Day was relaxing thankfully. We went to see X3: The Last Stand and then went over to our friends' house for a cookout and to play games. We bought Cranium: Turbo Edition as a birthday present and ended up playing it three times. Cranium is definitely one of the best games around. It's great to be able to use your brain when playing a game instead of relying on sheer luck.

Speaking of X3, I've posted my review in Now Playing. Find out if Brett Ratner kills the franchise.