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I took some time recently to write up a short biography for my character within the game I play, which is LOTRO (The Lord of the Rings Online).  Here it is for your review and comment.

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My name is Givias Aloysius, and I am a man who has seen the changes sweeping this land first hand. I was born to a captain of the Minas Tirith guard some 35 years ago. My mother was a simple tailor, and when my father was not captaining the guard, he was a prospector. As early as 6 years old, I began learning how to use a sword, a dagger, a bow. The bow was my favorite weapon. I loved the simplicity of the wood, the string, the arrow…the thrum of the arrow flying through the air straight to the target. I fell in love with that sound and it soon became my weapon of choice.

Being a captain’s son, I had to learn to use many different weapons. On the battlefield, you may find yourself without your own weapon and having to pick up the weapon of a fallen comrade, or enemy, and continue on with the battle. So I learned the spear, the axe, the mace, the hammer. I also learned that I could inflict greater damage in close range if I wielded two weapons at once. I became proficient with the crossbow, and even though it could inflict greater damage than my bow, I felt encumbered by its weight and the time needed to reload such a weapon. No matter what weapon I mastered, I always returned to my bow.

One reason I became a hunter was that I was a slighter build than my other brothers. Givian was the largest and oldest of the three brothers. He was born from my mother’s first marriage, and was adopted by my father after his father was killed in a battle at Osgiliath. Givian grew to be a hulk of a man, no doubt the spitting image of his father. But my father learned to love him as his own. Givian took up the sword and heavy shield as a guardian of the realm, but met an untimely end himself upon the blade of a particularly gruesome orc riding through the North Downs. I was greatly saddened by his loss.

Givric is the maverick of the brothers, and the youngest of the three…always going his own way. Givric learned to use the two-handed sword with great ferocity, and soon became a captain himself. He remains in Minas Tirith to this day, leading a unit of the Guard there. I do not speak much with Givric, as he and I do not see eye to eye on who should lead Gondor to future glory. He feels as if the Steward of Gondor should assume the mantle of leadership. I believe, as my ranger friends from the North believe, that the line of Kings extends to them, and it is their right to reclaim the throne of Gondor. Alas, because of this divide, conversations between Givric and myself remain terse.

Like my parents, I learned the trades of tailor and prospector in order to earn a living. I’ve become proficient in tailoring, refining materials, and gathering materials like ore and leather. And when I became of age, I wanted to make my mark upon the land and help rid it of the darkness that was ever approaching. One spring day, I was speaking to a friend who told me a tale of a once-proud group of soldiers and true men called the Osgiliath Guard. He said the Osgiliath Guard once stood as the last bastion of defense against the forces of Sauron in the Second Age. I gave it much thought, and after talking with my friend again, we decided to reform the Osgiliath Guard to combat the forces massing in the East.

Our ranks grew quickly and we became a formidable force. We had members reaching as far as Evendim and Lossoth, into Angmar where only the bravest of souls dare to tread. We were prospering and things were going so well…until…

I took a severe injury during a battle at Carn Dum. One of the many goblins there slipped through our defenses and pierced my side with his dagger, which was tipped in poison. I was able to extricate myself from the battle, only to find myself huddled against a mountain in Angmar in the middle of the night. I dragged myself to Gath Forthnir where a ranger there took pity on me and began to heal my wounds. I was in and out of consciousness for nearly three months.

When I had fully recovered, I return to the Guard’s house in Bree to discover that things had changed…dramatically. I had been supplanted as leader of the Guard, and the focus had changed. No longer was the Guard a group of like-minded free men who worked to defeat evil. Now, the membership was concerned with personal gain and personal achievement above defeating the ever-growing darkness. I did not recognize many of the members that walked the halls of our home, and they looked upon me with disdain. Many of my own friends, people I had relied on in battle, had departed in search of a group more closely linked to their own beliefs…the beliefs that had once been the foundation of the Osgiliath Guard.

Everything had changed. Dejected, I submitted my resignation to the new leader and left quietly in the night under the cover of darkness. Now I wander the lands of Eriador alone, searching for a band of free men and women who feel, like I do, that community and fellowship are the things that make us different from Sauron’s minions. It is the very soul that we possess that brings forth the light from the shadow.

Many of you know I’m a big MMO gamer…I have spent many hours over the past 16 months playing a game called the Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO for short).  Well, I’m also a big fan of this MMO gaming community website called MMORPG.com.  I recently became the Lord of the Rings Online in-game correspondent for MMORPG.com, and my first article for them has been posted!

You can check it out by going to http://mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/45/feature/2086.  I’d love any feedback you would like to provide!

Thanks.

I do have other interests you know…

Recently announced at Connect08 in Europe, Turbine has given the people what they want…an expansion to the 2007 MMO Game of the Year, The Lord of the Rings Online. Called “The Mines of Moria”, this first official retail expansion of LOTRO will contain two new classes, hundreds of new quests, new areas to explore, and weapon customization! Also the level cap will go from 50 to 60, so time to start that grind again!

I’m excited about this, although it is a good many months away. The release is set for sometime this fall, so I can guess Sept/Oct/Nov. There will be two more “book” releases before this major expansion (Books 13 and 14), so there will be plenty of stuff to do between now and then…

To read the official press release, head on over to the official Lord of the Rings Online website for full details.

I just downloaded the new Jack Johnson single, “If I Had Eyes”, which is a bit more electric than his usual stuff.  I like it, so the album is pre-ordered.  More news on that in February.

I took the job with IACT, and I could not be happier about it.  This company’s philosophy is 180 degrees different from the VCO.  Speaking of that, we’re getting together with some VCO folks tonight at Pub 261 as a little farewell for me.  I’m going to miss all these wonderful people, but those who are my close friends will still be my close friends no matter where I am.

Here’s something ironic…I have two fantasy football teams this year, one is a pay league (just $20) and one is a free league.  I’m in the playoffs in both leagues, but because of Brady’s tank-job on Sunday, I’m in the consolation game in my pay league, and in the finals of my free league for the same reason (my opponent had Brady).

I think we are just scratching the surface of what’s out there with regards to steroid use in baseball.  Several players have come forward confirming that they used substances like HGH and steroids during their careers since the Mitchell Report was released.  It will only continue.

Amy Lee’s voice is pretty awesome.  I’m in love with that song “My Immortal” right now.

Are dreams the incarnation of true desire or complete randomness (like this post)?

I’ve pretty much stopped playing LOTRO.  Guild Wars is now loaded up and I’m enjoying that.  You can solo that game for a while.

Peppermint Mocha CoffeeMate Creamer is nearly as good as sex.  You know what I’m talking about Pickerings!

Enough randomness!

Yeah, I’m not a fan of how they handled the results of last week’s show.  Sure, it was nice that nobody got kicked off during “Idol Gives Back” Week, but still…this is American Idol, not for wimpy pantie-wastes!

Anyway, I guess it’s safe to say now that Chris and Phil are gone, and we’re down to our Final Four, we’ve got the best four contestants left in the competition.  I know Gina is pulling hard for Blake to at least make it to the finals, but I think he’s going to have a tough time overcoming these three female competitors.

I think Melinda is really the favorite at this point.  Jordin is clearly the most talented, but I’m not sure she’s mature enough or has the fan base to carry her through.  I could be wrong (and I hope I am), but Melinda I think has the edge at this point.

It’s 70’s Week on Idol this week, and it’s time to break out your shag carpet and bell bottoms and boogey-oogey-oogey to the crack of dawn…or something.

On other fronts, I’m diving headlong into The Lord of the Rings Online - Shadows of Angmar this month.  The game released on April 24th, and I’ve been playing off and on for about 2 months now including closed and open beta testing.  It’s a great game, and I encourage anybody into computer gaming to give it a shot.  It’s got great graphics, great storyline, and hey, you get to play with me, so what else could be better? 

Your Weekly Mayer is coming up tomorrow…perhaps a song you’ve never heard of from him, which should be fun.

That is all.

I’m a member of the gaming website The Older Gamers, and right now, the only game I’m currently playing is the beta test for The Lord of the Rings Online.  Well we have a division of TOG set up for this game, and I’ve been pretty active in it.  This weekend, the Division Captain of our group picked me to the Kinship Leader within the game itself.  A pretty nice honor to be sure, and I’m excited about it.

The closed beta test ends tonight and then the open beta starts on Friday, and goes for about a month or so.  Then they will be releasing the game to the public on Tuesday, April 24th.

A very cool birthday plan has emerged for me and a bunch of my friends.  John Mayer is coming back to town on August 4th (2 days after my 34th birthday this year) and as a way of celebrating, about 12 of us are going to have a cookout at my place that afternoon by the pool and then go to the show that night.  It should be one helluva time.

The countdown is still on to the Trip of a Lifetime.

American Idol is back tomorrow night with Gwen Stefani as the guest helper person.  I believe the Top 10 are singing pop songs.  Yippee.

I still suck at Spades.

That is all.

American Idol - Top 11 tonight…singing songs from the 60’s British Pop Invasion.  I guess we get to hear Sanjaya sing “Let It Be”.  I’m totally guessing, but that is going to suck.

Our good friends Mark and Brianna (and their newborn baby Katie) are coming for dinner tonight…we were going to have chicken parm, but I forgot to take it out of the freezer to thaw, so instead we’re having taco soup.  They’ll be happy, I make the BEST taco soup EVER.  It is teh bomb-diggity.

Is Yellowcard emo?

So Christy and I are going on a cruise again this fall…this time, the biggest one of all, to the Mediterranean…Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain…we’re VERY excited, and I’m trying to determine the best way to cover it here on onemattDOTcom.

My bracket resembles a smoking crater, but I do have my Final 4 intact…not that it matters.

Where the HELL is Heroes!?!?

The Lord of the Rings Online will be the next game that takes my $10 a month and likes it.

Advice for the day… “Procrastination is a thief which steals the best years of our life.”

Abi Jones over at HeatEatReview.com gave me some props (do people still say “props”?) regarding their Top Ten Countdown ending 2006. I suggested yesterday that they do a countdown with rice-containing meals, and guess what…they did it! And they gave me the credit for suggesting it…so that was even cooler.

Things are starting to come together for my new site, ventureTONE. I plan on gathering my resources this weekend for a first links posting on Tuesday of next week. I plan on posting links to reviews on various things from various websites at least once a week and maybe more, and twice a month, you’ll get specific reviews from the staff of vT (which right now consists of me and my brother, Marc). I plan on asking a few other friends of mine to contribute. If you’re interested in helping me build this site, feel free to contact me. My email is mattplanet(at)gmailDOTcom.

Okay, so I’m now going to let you all know what I got for Christmas…and it’s quite the stash!

(And for those that think it’s bragging, get over yourself…it’s Christmas, and chances are we’re all blessed beyond belief. I just like sharing.)

Okay, I got 3 sweaters, 2 from Old Navy, and 1 from Eddie Bauer. I got two jackets, one of those down jackets from Old Navy, and Christy got me a fleece jacket from Old Navy as well (you’ll see a theme developing here). I got 8 t-shirts, a few long sleeve ones as well, most from Old Navy. I got two pairs of pajama pants, one with Corona Extra symbols all over them. I got a few accessories for my Xbox 360, a wireless network adapter and a wireless controller (giving me two). I also received UAB season tickets for basketball (which I got about two weeks ago, the games started already). I got a new 12-cup coffee maker with timer on it, wireless headphones for the TV (which are OUTSTANDING, from Sharper Image), a few books, a new insulated travel coffee mug, 2 gift cards to Best Buy, one gift card to Old Navy (see, there’s that pattern again), a sweatshirt that says McLean University on it (love that!). I got one button-down shirt and two golf shirts that have Alabama script “A”s on them.  I got some chocolate candy in my stocking along with some microwavable nuts. I got a sweat-proof Alabama tumbler (a big one), and I got a cool Scotland calendar.

Okay, I think that’s it…again, I am extremely blessed, and thanks to my family for getting me all this great stuff!

Christy got a bunch of great stuff too…I mean to say we’re blessed in a way that’s hard to describe. But it was great fellowshipping with family these last two days.

So are you serious that I have to go back to work tomorrow? Ugh!

Basketball day did not suck…much beer, much basketball, much fun.

I did want to point out to all you gamers out there that one highly anticipated game release in 2007, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, has released a new site design which is pretty neat.  I liked the other one, but this one is more geared for how things will look upon release of the game, which they are saying is definitely slated for Spring ‘07.

Of course, that could be March, April or May…my guess is going to be April…why not be right down the center.

Check out the new LOTRO site by going to http://www.thelordoftheringsonline.com/.