It's not Fallen Angel Flonne, but oh well.

Happy Flonne. My new near-Summer wallpaper. Makes me smile every damn time I minimize everything to the Desktop. Also one of the select few pictures of the second batch that I'm truly happy with, the rest violate some of my minor tenants of picture choice but are well enough done for me to have said "aw hell" and saved anyways.

I'm fairly certain Diana is convinced I don't know how to navigate, but in my defense I only got lost twice, and both times it was because the lovely state of California decided that labeling cross streets wasn't a necessity so I don't find myself to be the guilty party here.

Okay, so the 90 minutes of packaging has set my schedule back a great deal, but I'm going to publish this regardless of what else ends up being poured into it. And I'll be damned if Flonne there doesn't cheer me up every time (that's the heart of a good wallpaper right there).

Not gonna blog California yet, though I have more of a weekend than I'm accustomed to and I've already burned most of the anime resevoir (I'll have to flip a coin to figure out what series dies off to make room for a Gurren Lagoon marathon in week or so, but till then I'm kinda low) since my return on Thursday. So just a few quick thoughts based on another 1-2 episodes (depending on if I read Jiaz's posts on the topics or not) of the series.

Idolmaster -- I really just want the records to show I made my post before Lawson made his. Other than that, I stand by my thoughts and I'll probably stick with this one till the end. I survived Tokyo Majin GK and that got pretty bleh after the inital awe value, plus I've still got hope, despite the addition of the twins.

Hayate -- I figured it out. Aside from the fact that it's a readily available show that is pretty easy to watch, this show is my Negima?! replacement. It's my supply of girl antics despite all other context, and it's not even very good at that. Negima?! really needs some more subs out, cause I enjoyed that. Hayate is just weak gags and a cast that is, for the most part, even weaker. I cannot believe they made a failure of a choker. That's a primary moe-element and I would've thought it impervious to fail, how wrong I was.

Lucky Star -- Lucky Star is awesome, Lucky Channel is not, the ED stuff is really hit or miss. And that's really all there is to it. Yui sucks, Tsukasa is swing, the rest are hits. It's 4Koma goodness and it fits the venue perfectly. Not a sleeper hit nor a wild success, but a solid victory with some extra polish anyways.

Darker than Black -- I wasn't kidding about the consistant cast thing folks, find one. Okay, so Hei's power is Electricity, that makes a hell of a lot of sense. Doesn't answer the Bulletproof Coat deal really, but the rest of it all falls into place now. Also, just 'cause it might scar someone else's mind I'm putting this concept out there. Could you imagine a relationship scene between Yin and Hei? Doesn't it just feel wrong mentally? Yeah, I got that stuck in my head for like 10 minutes, figured I'd share the pain.

Romeo x Juliet -- Tybalt is awesome, I'll be sad if he dies but I sorta figure they'll keep kinda related to the script, somewhat at least. Her and Hermoine would be a great couple, since they deserve better than the fates have ordained. I want to start a betting pool if Romeo and Juliet are both gonna survive the series run. (Actually Jiaz, that'd be a good poll one day if you run out of ideas).

Claymore -- SPOLIERS! Yeah, I put that there just in case, but I figure there's no way to dance the issue with all I want to say surrounding it. I probably won't spill it blunt, but putting 2 and 2 together isn't rocket surgery.

I don't know what to say. That wasn't what I expected in the least and I'm kinda shocked. I'm impressed that they had the nerve to do that, curious and anxious of the future because of it (hell, if the 5 strongest of the organization (a bunch of fucking racist jerks~) are downed by just one of these Menos-Grande parallels than everyone's in deep trouble). I didn't like Pris from the beginning, but the other 3 were pretty cool, variety of talents, decent synergy and relational work, fleshed out pretty well, better than any other show has done in that level of time investment. I always suspected that human-Claire was going to be a Claymore, I didn't expect it to come out of this though. It doesn't answer why she's not in the OP, but it did answer the other OP-centric question regarding imagery. Since it has a class, I can't help but wonder if we'll get a few more of these, not that I want them, that'd make this into DBZ-more, and uhh, they're all blondes already.

Part of me feels ripped, the rest confused. 10% power for the eyes and held her own, or did she? Was the entire thing a ploy to get her to a point for the strike without having to unleash the inner force, or was there actually a stalemate at that power point? I really feel that there's so much that I didn't get to see in terms of capability. It's like if Byakuya showed up for the first time back when he and Renji were collecting Rukia from the real word, but instead of just severing Ichigo's spirit link he instead just went Ban-Kai and Annhilationscaped him right out of the show then and there. We knew back then that Ichigo was capable of some pretty impressive output, given his schooling of Renji, but we hadn't seen anything but the tip of the iceberg. Same deal here, except I don't think we're going to have a Sunrise styled reset or revivial. Which might be a good thing.

EDIT: I just actually made sense of the spoiler I've seen everwhere about Claymore. Holy crap. That makes a shit-ton of sense in several respects. Also. O.o Rocking...

Mai Otome Zwei -- I'm not one to reject service. But can I have some more of the gritty and serious awesome, and less of the stupidly stupid? Service is fine, sillyness is not. For example. I loved Episode 2, with the exception of the banana peel. It didn't need to be there, and it really shouldn't have. Keep the intern or the little child away from the storyboard and deliver something that people will be proud of. The show gets enough abuse for bending the rules of anime drama with non-death deaths, don't give them an easier target.

Kiddy Grade 2 -- Hell yes. And that's all there is to it. Oldschool characters in oldschool action plus a fresh and full cast complete with rivalries and powers and a grand scenario to play it all out under.

Next time, California and the PSP game highs and lows (plus probably Odin Sphere, it looks amusing).

Edit's Edit: Fixed the spacing...go figure.

Scheduling Conflicts

And to think, I could've used a Cinqo de Mayo title.

I would have much rather have had a post last weekend to seperate what will now become back to back anime posts (the opening outlook of episode 2 and the deeper look of the episode 4), though since I'll have all of last week's stuff as well, perhaps it won't be as bad as I could fear.

As for last week, for those who don't know, I spent the entirity, or at least the overwhelming majority of the 5 hour reprieve from standard existence granted by my dead-as-all-get-out weekend job crafting a masterpiece of a Disgaea 2 self-reference sheet. Two pages laid back to back and laminated for my utilization as I climb the game's tiers. The link for those poor souls who might be interested. I'm sorta proud of it.

Speaking of Disgaea 2, Ian's started it up as well, he's got a bit more class diversity, and is already figuring out that the Geomancer class is a ton better than I give it credit. Decent caster with high Int / Res and immediate access to Star and Healing magic, with a plethora of abilities to ease and enchance Item World, totally awesome. As for myself I'm sitting in Chapter 1 of Cycle 2, just spinning my wheels trying to unlock LoC before I go and rip apart all of the Extra Stages available at the start, then tearing through for the end set of Extra Stages and Dark World completion.

The Slug, Beastmaster, Mage Knight, and Healer all hit their 6th tier, joining my Thief and Warriors at the top evolution. I finially promoted my Skull up to Prism so he can unlock Galaxy. Sluggy holds my highest levled skill at 22 for his Lightning Blast, since there's practically no reason to not use it. Ares is at some 240K odd hp at just under level 800. Did 100 floors of a Legendary Subpoena, ended up getting Ninja, Red, and Z Treasure Maps added to my collection, so I'm down to just about 3 more Pirate sets before Land of Carnage opens her gates.

Eureka Seven's last ep will be reairing today. I have no clue why the hell they cut out what they did (a few 3-5 second cuts within the episode covering stuff that was stupid -- the kids -- but also the entirity of the post-union ending involving the children and Grandpa). Actually, cutting out the kids might not have been all that bad of an idea, but I'd really prefer if they cut them out when they were annoying and ruining the show, instead of at the end where they become somewhat worthwhile. Either way, it's basically a lightshow of an anime for a finale, so worth the watch even if you've got no clue what's going on. Does emphasize one of the reasons I prefer Fan-Subs to DVD'd professionals, since I'm one of those people who has the ability to process something beyond the bland yellow text (I really think everyone does, and that arguement is a cop out on Answerman's part, but that's another story) and the fact that people (in this case Nanashi) actually translate words that aren't spoken. What a concept.

World of Warcraft has finially fallen through the cracks. With having about 2 hours a day that don't overlap with the rest of my schedule thanks to getting up earlier, going to bed sooner, and the end of my day-cycle being pushed up by later returns from work; I'm finding myself just getting what I can out of those scattered 120 minutes minus the time I need to get stuff organized for the next day.

Speaking of the job, it's pretty fun, not at all something I couldn't do, though I'm working as a QC / Tester rather than coding, which is for the best since the code system we're using as a repositoire just doesn't handle multiple editors very well, it kinda goes a bit fubar. I have an aged developer's laptop, non-reimaged, so after getting all the software I could ever possibly need I'm running about 1.5 eps worth of anime of space (not that I'd ever have anime on it, I merely find that to be a convienent unit of measure). Definately a COLA increase with my lunches, but the wages, especially on a 80 hour period instead of a 50 hour period more than accomodates that. I might have to revert to a bento or something once I get into the rhythm, but getting out of the office for lunch is sorta nice, even if it doesn't count towards my 8 hours at work.

Got my first paycheck, which started me, as I got it on a Tuesday of the week I was being paid through, not that I'm complaining, it just seemed odd to get pay for days that hadn't even occured yet.

Went with David to see Hot Fuzz last Saturday. I think that Shaun of the Dead was probably the slighty better movie, being a Zombie movie that didn't really have any down period, and a cast that was limited in scope of annoyances. That said, Hot Fuzz was still awesome, still funny, and a prime example of how to parody properly. Not quite subtle, some of it absolutely pre-alluded, but all of it very good. Their works have the feel of a series of Monty Python skecthes tied into a cohesive plot, works wonders. Running jokes and a hearty no-gag-left-behind style do wonders for the level of enjoyment I get out of it, even if some of the running jokes might level a little to be desired (MAD TV grade versus Whose's Line grade humor).

Tons of Card/Board game-age when David's around (OOTS, Hearts mainly), plus Symphony of the Night on XBOX Live Arcade (Just about done with the standard castle, though I've only got the Silver Ring, and got stuffed by Belmont the first time I visisted thanks to the Ring of Aires (Holy Water Rain for 5 * 35 on a 240 hp pool? Complete domination). Also a lot of Wario Woods, which is basically decided by whether or not my early combo goes off early enough to be a hassle and not an eventual crystal-return doom for me, and a fair deal of Wii Sports for Bowling and the occasional Baseball / Tennis. Tells me we could use a few more games in the rotation, but as the demo for whatever the hell XBox's answer to Mario Party is (I've forgotten the name), that game is annoying beyond belief, just play any game and you'll want to murder the announcer already, though that's just rationale to shut the game on mute and play the Radio / Ipod.

Speaking of musical diversions, the whole Internet Radio rate change thing has me running a little scared as DI / Pandora / Kawaii are still solid cornerstones in my musical getup, at least until I tear apart Rhapsody for the music to solidify my collection and finish the last 80% of the musical folder rebuild.

Quick fix for my desire not to back to back anime posts, run out of time and end up not making many mentions of anime. Not idealized, but works for me.

(Image) "Wish you out, out the west trail."

Current Wallpaper, though Moyism's latest post has given me new goals to strive for. I definately have some nice Kenji artwork lying around too.

I spent awhile debating between Marona and Ash's quotes (in case you don't know, the prior post is Walnut's battle phrase from Phantom Brave) but eventually decided that neither really has the ring of Psycho Burgundy.

Lots of cool stuff for the PSP sorta in the wings, so I'm thinking I might spend the tax refund + Christmas money pick one up (or maybe even a 60g PS3 depending on price drops). Definately going to put the first new paycheck towards a working computer, though the job will probably axe a fair chunk of my WoW time, so I may have to spend a portion on Command and Conquer as well (what a horror that would be, buying an awesome game).

As for the Title this week, that's what the fansubs (Umai specifically) are trying to convince me is the lyrics to Romeo x Juliet's Ending. Given that, I figure you all can guess today's topic. I think I've seen enough of the new stuff to lay down at least initial thoughts.

Before we get back into stuff I did watch, I did want to touch on something I'm following but not watching. Welcome back Ichimaru!

Got Shinsen's chunk of Venus Versus Virus (5 - 11), but haven't given it a watch, on the docket for the weekend though. Scanned a bit of it, looks relatively interesting, finally some forward moving plot. Didn't watch Ergo Proxy 18 yet though, I think I've lost hope. There's just not enough there to keep me watching, it was unique to begin with but now that's sorta gone.

Tokyo Majin GK is just all kinds of everywhere with the awesome. I'm sorta hoping that they bring in the 9th vein recovered and sane, though it'd help if I didn't think she was a Keroro Gunso character redrawn by a different Studio. The cutaway during Aoi's disrobing was particularly disturbing, since it give the implication that she wasn't stopping just to reveal the burn-scar. Here's to hoping we see some more action out of the one I thought was going to be the main character. He's cooler than the Golden Dragon anyways. I do wonder about the "Dark Law Chapter" stuff though, exactly how many episodes should I be looking forward to, given that the Chapter hasn't changed for 11 eps.

Hayate the Combat Butler -- I didn't finish Shana (Will watch it for second season though) and I didn't watch all of Zero no Tsukaima either, so that bodes sorta ill for Hayate and Nagi. That said, Nagi is incredible, and the show has a ton going for it on the humor side, plus the semi-competitive female with the lead isn't so much in the way (Unlike, say, Siesta et al). On top of that, I've got a plot that's unexpected and creative (if you overlook the Ouran similiarities. The parodies and sheer boggle randomness might be enough to keep my attentions. Good OP and an Excellent ED sorta seal the deal. Lose the stupid censoring of things that aren't even really drawn there though, keep the verbal blocks though, ***dam is funny. Also, the Narrator owns.

Heroic Age -- Okay, I'll admit I'm not a fan of the Soukyou no Fafnir animation team, the gundam-esce characters always feel a little "off" in my book. Can't explain it, just a nuance of my being I'm sure. The show had me fairly engaged, as a sort of Starcraft venue with Hercules themes, but the 12 Labors were fairly stupid. I mean, it's a stretch to get those to reach 12, and they basically boil down to make Mankind the rulers of the universe, and we'll grant you 1 wish. Seriously, there are easier ways to get a wish granted (Binding a contract C.C. style) than doing war with the Bronze and Silver Races. The Bronze are totally zerg though, right down to the Hydralisk armies. The Silver have Protoss-esce technologies from what I've seen so far, which is limited. The feral-boy as a savior and repositorie of ancient power sorta got used by Aquarion though, so I'm not really digging rewatching it again here. If they don't refine Age quickly, I think I just won't be able to stick with the show. The 4 way relationship with the Princess and her helper plus Age and the Captain's son being developed would a good way to go. Though I think that Iolas is doomed given that the Princess faints in the presence of any male other than Age. The OP was alot better than I expected, the ED is reasonable though not a standout against the rest of shows this season.

Claymore -- Another show where the art has me a little off, but still solid. The concept of half-demon, half-humans sorta has me wondering about origins, and the random male that plays doctor is sorta creepy. It's an unusual pairing but I can see it developping into something worth watching. Claire is complete and total awesomeness though, so I'll stick with it. OP and ED are nothing to write home about, but not every show can be a winner.

Romeo x Juliet -- I'm with Jiaz on this one. This show is fantastic. If you're getting hung up on the fact that it's a altered, reversed, fantasy world variant on the original story you need to get past that and see just how awesome this story of star-crossed lovers can be. The OP hints at great and tragic things while the ED just plain rocks. Alot of blood is going to be spilled in Neo-Verona and I expect to enjoy every last drop.

Darker than Black -- Ep 2 proved that they're willing to take the powers they're granting to the Contractors and make them unique and powerful. Tag on the program requirements as part of the contract granted and we've got a serious foundation for a show that could go several ways already. Add in a crap ton of mystery, the power to alter and erase memories, and a small cast of powerful characters and that's a recipe for success. As soon as they proved that Jean's power wasn't rock-based teleportation but instead matter transposition the inner-geek in me started pondering just how cool that could be, and when he used that power to rip someone's heart out of their chest, the writer's proved they could be just an devious and ingenious as I was hoping. Yin is awesome, Hwang probably is packing some serious power, the cat just speaks of the power of Yoruicihi, and now all I want to know is BK201's exact power and contract (the apartment number was a nice touch though). The OP is excellent and I'm extraordinarily intrigued by the C.C.-esce character at the end.

The question now is whether or not there is anything else I want to give a try. And Gurren Lagoon, while looking promising, I'm not sure I can handle a Head-only Mech.

Fires of Battle, Reveal my Heart

Psycho Burgundy!

Had to get that out of the way, too much fun.

The Good: Filing my Taxes for last year and realizing that the new job has slightly over triple the annual income.

The Bad: Also realizing that said new job will involve at lot more work, a lot harder (intellectually, not phyisically) work, and a commute.

The Ugly: Posting on the World of Warcraft Forums to not only indentify Popotan characters, but also to distinguish Lucky Star from The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi for those less eductated on the matter.

As a parting note. Tokyo Majin GK is incredible. I haven't been this addicted to full-blown awesome shounen in awhile. Gattai level awesomeness at times. Perhaps I shout too many Guilty Gear quotes while watching it though.

(Image Overload) And out like a Lamb

Happy Year of the Boar (Yeah, sure belated I know but I had to upload the next album to Photobucket before I could say it -- this one is sorta more impuslive, which means that more borderline NSFW images ended up in the batch, as well as some pictures that are more random than background worthy (though the arguement swings both ways for pedophile Link who is mutually creepy and awesome in his image))

Not my current background however, I've got a quaint Ashley (from Wario Ware) with a Wii Mote wallpaper instead at the moment.

Hmm, seems I managed to leave the prior post untitled, which I may literally edit in as the title, as much as that wasn't the intended title in the first place it's the befittingest title now.

So, Grandparents paid a visit for the Sunday dinner (Note the lack of a Holiday term, while that may be a pretext it's genuinely unspoked in the context of a non-theistic household) and we had a few rounds of "Is that new", my Grandmother's favorite game, you'll have to press David for details, he's much more enthusiastic in his description. If I haven't stressed it enough before, anything that ever gets said in my house can get taken, twisted, and run for a touchdown pretty easily (ie: Thanksgiving away or any of the various usages of my family embracing the fact that I'm not homosexual but would support it anyways). So the following (which actually continued for another dozen or so lines of equal build) conversation broke out after I spent a good minute solid trying to find a way to extract a cupcake from it's plastic container (the standard grocery store 6-pack) without having to get my hands covered in the butter cream frosting:

"In the land of the blind, you're still handicapped."
"Ooh, handicapped, does that mean I get a parking spot?"
"Sure, there's tons of them, no one else is using them."
"So, as empty parking spaces as far as the eye can see, or not as the case may be, then?"

Secured the new job, start it in two weeks with a full day orientation opener. Going to be looking into Night School to finish the education as a result, here's hoping this is the start of something good and at least survivably enjoyable. I'm daunted, but that's true of me and anything new, I need to do something celebratory, but I've not got the foggiest clue what. I figure the combo of work + commute, let alone the prospect of night school, will probably crush my WoW time and then I'll have need to find something else to play. Hopefully the PSP or PS3 will be down in price by then.

And a bit more talk of Anime, as time permits:

Venus Versus Virus-



The jury is still out on this one, after a mere 4 episodes. I've called it a Pokemon meets Bleach thing, since the Viruses seem to have "types" like "earth" which grant them various immunities, weakness, and abilities, but otherwise have pretty much the exact description that Bleach gives to Hollows. The OP/ED speak of a much stronger relationship than I think is going to be evidenced in the show, at least prior to the very end. I'm curious as to where they'll be taking this one, I figure they're gonna go destroy the source of all Viruses to save each other. Shinsen just put out 5 more episodes though, so I'll probably have something more concrete to say in a few weeks. Until then I think I'll just lament the fact that they choose should a quasi-loli age/appearance for the primary cast and hope for some new gimmicks for the battles beyond anti-body beserking.


Negima-



This is probably the cutest of the Negima images I could find, isn't it nice? I don't think I quite agree with the extraneous random that gets into the show (Chupacabra, Mots and company), but it's a very cute and very amusing romp in the Magical Academy genre with touches of dark. Suffice to say all solid points in my book. There's still quite abit of drama and whatnot to pass through before the end, but with the lovely ladies, and the generally high quality art of the show, I think I'll keep watching till that end happens.

And just a set of images to polish off this belatedly belated post, I'll give the remained a fresh hit in a new post, perhaps alongside thoughts on the new season.

Black Lagoon-




Otome / Otome Zwei-

To go, Lagoon, Zwei, Geass, FMP:TSR, Tokyo Majin GK.

Alright, we'll see if I can manage this. I don't think I've seen a customer in hours, though being here alone means that the instant I see one I'll get three, and they'll all want copies without knowing how to use the copier or packaging or speak English worse than most immigrants and take forever to ask what they want before I convince them to leave. Yesterday I didn't have a co-worker from when I showed up until about 75 minutes after I was supposed to be off the clock. But hey, I've forged my dedication in 6 years of service right? I get a $1 an hour raise, which would've been cool ... a few years ago. Now I'm faced with the prospect of cutting and running, since the ACS just asked for my application again and I seem to be told that they're going to make me an offer shortly. This leaves me sorta jaw-dropped, as I'm fairly certainly that I proved myself not only incapable but borderline incompetent with regards to the position I applied for, though I will say I was a pretty good conversationalist (but that doesn't really come as a suprise to me). Oh well, we'll see how things play out, and then figure out how the hell I adjust to night school and raiding (hint, I probably don't which will be uncool, but necessary) or just getting back into college in general (being out of HS ~4 year with over 50 credits is sorta a special case for most schools, and it's a pain in the ass to get them to be upfront about it so I can apply properly).

Ranting and mindblowing news aside, since the new season is practically at our feet I'm hoping I can get enough presence of self to talk about the few last seasons (and at this point, before that as well I guess). I've covered Ouran, and Eureka, and Haruhi already, which were 2 of the biggest hits and one of the nicer shows (should be very easy to pick which belongs in each category).

Well, mailman came, which was a distraction to my original actions. I'm sitting here holding a magazine (well, not a glossy cover, but still a magazine) entitled Mortuary Managment. On the back they advertise a "Death Care Web Store" with classic 1:18 scale 1920's and 1930's Hearses, Lapel Pins, Industry Books (Embalming: History, Theory, and Practice), and a few various other pieces. www.abbottandhast.com if you're morbidly curious (pardon the pun).

I checked back, seems that it's been awhile since I had a substancial post on the topic of anime (we're talking back to August here I think), but sadly thanks to the Hard Drive and Disc Space woes, not a ton has changed.

I have no clue how Coyote Ragtime ended, it got licensed and fell through the cracks. Ergo Proxy has stagnated to the point where I'm not certain I care how it ends anymore. GunXSword continues to impress me for insubstancial reasons, partially in amazement at how mundane and tripe things can be made into such annoyances, though they got literally 2 and a half casts worth of cliches running around the place, I don't really see any good way out of the mess.

Polished off the second season of Tsubasa. Gotta admit, for straying into wholly anime original territory they did great. Right up until "chaos". That name gets dragged through hell and back everytime someone parades it out. Nothing good has ever come out of it as far as I'm concerned, always just someone trying to pose an enigma and failing miserably. Kurogane's backstory was probably the highight of it all, hell he and Fye are really the only reason I keep watching, that and the glimses of Yuuko through the cracks. The Dimensional Witch is an amazing character on several levels, and honestly I'm just not comfortable with the idea of Syaoran surpassing either of them for some reason. Though I'll admit, for whatever reason, I can actually cope with Sakura being practically a god incarnate. It wasn't a bad season persay, there were some great moments, but eventually they just seemed to be leaning on them music way too heavily. Also, not enough Fye awesomeness.

(Picking back up a day later, having been waylaid by customers and plans)

I didn't manage to finish Zero no Tsukaima, nor watch the last run of Trinity Blood (which I think devolved into the exact same mess that befalls Trigun and probably GunXSword - too many villians and not enough time to flesh them out coupled with the addition of a random character with connection that was always subtly alluded to but never included). I watched all of School Rumble Season 2 that ended up getting subbed (for the love of god, someone finish this, I need more Eri), but got defrayed from N.H.K. before finishing it (that show just gets too ugly at times).

I did however finish Innocent Venus, though the less said about it the better. I could do everyone a favor and just spoil the single plot twist, but I'll do you one better and just spoil the whole series: stupid.

So let's talk Black Lagoon instead. The first season ended weak (thank god Legarch didn't get to stick around) and the second started about as bad (With the American ganster...), though once they got Greenback Jane out of the picture, especially using the Congress plot with the Church of Battle Sister, everything got good again. I'd have liked a bit more related to Rotten the Wizard and Shenhua, or at least more Shenhua in general, but we can't get everything we like. The whole epic battle in the Bowling Alley was incredible, as was the entirity of the subterfuge in the complete Japan arc.

To go more Lagoon, FMP:TSR, VVV, Tokyo Majin GK, Geass (In a future post though), and Otome: Zwei.

Boredom really kills the power to write.

Errata 1: Despite what the tutorial told me, Hammer Ons and Pull Offs in GH2 can occur on non-consecutive notes.

At long last I got together my skills and my reflexes and managed to play through the last 8 songs on Hard (Mostly 3'd with a few 4 star songs) only to be crushed by the madness that is Freebird. I can play everything but the Solo, which isn't really saying all that much, as everything before the solo is pretty amatuer level stuff. I can't do speed yet. You can throw pretty much any complexity at me, chorded or not, and I can decipher the pattern and play it, but getting speed where the tempo (aka the music) isn't easily listenable is my achille's heel. That and Orange -> Green runs because for whatever reason I mess up the double shift Red to Green, or I fail at Yellow if I focus too much on the Red to Green transition.

Errata 2: Not Kamisama Kazoku I was thinking of, I'll try and get a Radio Blog Club link to the song over there (on the left) so I can enlist some help in figuring out why the riff is so damn familiar.

On the musical front, I pushed forward to a reconstruction of my Pandora stations. I took Masterpiece and split in into 4 fragments, attempting to create 4 stations that rigidly maintain the songs I enjoyed on their parent, but in a way where I'm not sifting through the other 3 categories to get to them. Been good so far, though I find that age is very poor to stations, so we'll see how they're holding up after another few weeks.

On the video game front. Yay for the confirmation of a NIGHTs sequel, here's hoping they don't screw it up. SSX Blur not having a real song list = fail, so I won't be getting that one.

In like a Lion...

Just a little something for the recent heat (though today has gone back to a much frostier temperature far departed from the 70's of the Ides of March)


They're making a Live Action Speed Racer!? Why was I not informed of this atrocity against mankind earlier! And it's being produced by the Wachowski brothers?! How the hell do the makers of V for Vendetta and the Matrix Trilogy end up behind Live Action Speed Racer. May 9, 2008 US theater release date, I need to find some more info on this because the concept is really frightening.

The brother is off school for break this week. Which heralds the return of the PS2 and the 360. I'm back into the Guitar Hero 2, though admittedly progress is slow against the difficulty of the 7th song-set on Hard. Just like DDR I need to practice my running arpeggiation a bit and I should be fine. I think I'm getting good at Hammer-ons and Pull-Offs, though I haven't actually read about them so I can't be precisely sure. Having done the tutorial now, I think I'm just outpacing the motions, never would have noticed that they were restricted to adjacent notes on my own. That sort of thing just doesn't come up playing Bass, what with the whole 1 note at a time thing.

Played about 4 hours of Wario Woods against David last night. NES version via the Wii (wish it had been the SNES, the colors are better). Took a bit of getting used to the concept of immobile Crystals -- I'm fairly certain the SNES version let you move them all about. For those of you not familiar with the game, it's a fairly entertaining puzzle game, predating Tetris Attack (and about 10x more fun then Kirby's Avalanche, though that's a bit more colorful). Basically you have to make 3+ in a row of monsters plus at least 1 bomb to blow them up, triggering combos and whatnot.

In other news, I'm convinced that the opening riffs to 7 Minutes in Heaven (Fallout Boy's From Under the Cork Tree, Track 7) sounds exactly like the Kamisama Kazoku OP.

The 5th Season

Before I get into it, let me just say - the weather here this week has been fantastic.

Titular Action
The title is a reference to a brewery in the area, where I went with the 'rents for lunch a few weeks back. We (mostly my father and I) spent awhile pondering what the name could mean, which was ruined when my mother actually asked our server. The answer was Monsoon season, which was a whole lot less fun than some of our suggestions.

Shade of Aran laid to rest.
So once again it seems my Virtual Life's progression is outpacing that of my Real Life, though that's not for lack of effort. Colleges are still a bit odd about where exactly I fit into the scheme of things with applications, and finding the right person to ask that question seems to be the key. Of course, at the heart of all of that is still the question of what precisely I want to be doing, but I look at those around me and I don't think I find anyone who's really working their love just yet. But I have to start somewhere. I find myself a bit quixotic, professing a love of computers and code, numbers and math, words and grammar, yet disliking the implementation and commenting, the complex and imaginary, the research and the documentation. Whatever, School first, dreams and aspirations later. Fun in the meantime.

The Musical Expansion
List of CDs that I need to borrow from David for the purpose of importing to iTunes:
Franz Ferdinand
Shiny Toy Guns
The Postal Service
Cowboy Bebop OSTS -- At bare minimum, Digging and disc 3 of the 4 disc set.

On-Demand Anime sideline
Popped into On-Demand again to see what was running. Mostly oddities and promos, or more episodes of shows that I don't really wanna watch to begin with. Utawarerumuno (Not a clue or a care if I spelled that right) episode 2, Jinki: Extend 7, FMP 23 (First season was just 24 I think? Not that I remember how the penultimate episode went).

Comical Musings (Somewhere there's a pun / irony in this)
Ian and Matt of Mac Hall have, my words not theirs, with a new comic -- Three Panel Soul http://www.threepanelsoul.com/. Up to a whole 9 strips, 3 per 2 weeks rotation atm as they decide how and what they wanna do with it. Looks great so far though, good to have them back in action.

Aerie has teamed up with the Artist of Stripstease for a new series, not alot there yet either, but since QoW was mostly a read for the occasional amusing quote, I don't think I'm going to both linking it. Suprisingly Lucky Googling Queen Wands Striptease will actually work. I figure leaving off the Wands might get you someplace else entirely though.

I can't help but feel that the latest arc of Sam and Fuzzy would've been better placed as those moments occured in the storyline, but the almost slapstick chaining of them isn't bad either. Questionable Content again expands the feminine field without testorone infusion, so the tension should continue to mount there.

OOTS is coming to another climax, and I figure that something major is going to have to occur, else we'll just be back where we were 200 strips ago except with one more character in the against column. At least everyone's speaking the same language again. Titanium Elemental were amusing, but I felt that strip could've had a bit more development to it.

Battle for Gobwin Knob is oscilating between a captivating story and some of the best groaner-jokes I've seen in quite awhile. I'm curious to see where this one goes.

And just to avoid droning on too much, LFG is practically genius at times, very thankful he's moved to a twice a week schedule.


All I've got for now. Gotta give some consideration to what Jiaz said. I'd probably be totally down for it if I could find a way to make it actually add something worthwhile to the site. The "being fun"part of it is already a given.

Pancakes, Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon.

New RBC song of the moment. The Kill Bill OST is a real work, just wish I had a way to get my mitts on the mp3s themselves, but unfortunately my prowess and connections are still all tethered in the world of Anime/Game OSTs and Single albums. Battle without Honor... is totally epic combat music though, suitable for beating down Phantom doormen (more on that in a bit), otherwise it was a toss up between that and the Freezepop extra from Guitar Hero (original) which sounds like it'd be an obsolute blast on Insane.

In case the post title didn't give it away (it's a reference to foods that I'm in a serious hunger for -- I guess I need to hit up an IHOP) this one'll probably be all over the place, off the walls bizzare. Course, slow day at work that I'll probably be closing, so the looming premise of another 5 hours sitting here trawling Questionable Content Archives begins to get me thinking that I'm gonna run out of humor before I run out of time (given that we just reached Hannelore I think I'm right), and I'm not jiving with the prospect of starting up something big like Jerkcity, Wigu, Overcompensating, or similar.

So much for the post about the interview right? Let's just say that it was a great real-world experience, but when you show up and they tell you that you basically don't meet the core qualification and everyone else they have or are going to interview does, that bodes really really poorly. I wasn't expecting technical questions either, amplified by the fact that while I did do extensive coding for the project most featured for this interview, I didn't exactly study the nuances of how it interfaced with the Database or handled printing or whatnot.

Well, I've found a few manual labor tasks to keep me busy, so that's all for me for the day.

Oh, and no one tell the world that I'm partially responsable for Jiaz's current poll. Also, no one tell them that that partially is pretty much entirely.

A Tonic to soothe the nerves

Now that I've posted the Eureka post I have every intention of changing out Storywriter to something else. I've just gotta get on a computer with speakers so I can prove that I'm putting up a link to something that actually sounds like it's labeled and actually plays.

I figure that Blogging is a good way to take my mind off the impending interview. Mind you, I consider having an interview at all to be a good sign, no matter how far my actual resume may diverge from the notes on the job listing.

I did some shopping around this weekend, mostly looking for a few more USB Flash Drives for the family, but Microcenter had run flat out, and since their prices are roughly 4x the value I can find anywhere else, I didn't end up getting any.

Next stop was an adventure through Frye's with no actual goal, just browsing. I don't think their Music Selection compares to Best Buy's, at least in terms of my tastes (which are pretty much purely indie or obscure, if not outright foreign). No games really called out to my, I was tempted by Metal Slug anthologies for the Wii, but honestly who wants to play an Arcade game on a Wii controller (perhaps the only thing the system has going in it's disadvantage). There was no Rayman, and the DS hasn't had any monumental releases, though I've still got tons to do in Children of Mana. I'm starting to have a crisis of faith with the DS, mostly because the system is setup for two hands and a stylus, and the fear that at some point in time I'll need a third hand is kinda strong. The PSP still costs too damn much ($200) however between Valkerie Profile: Lenneth, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion's War, and the new remastered Castlevania (Symphony of the Night on a portable is like a piece of heaven) plus the half dozen minor RPGs of no noteworthyness and the occasional other standout: Metal Gear Acid, Portable Ops, and Lumines; I'm definately going to consider it should Sony drop the price. Which is seeming more and more likely as they continue to have difficulties elsewhere (see Monday's Penny Arcade for example).

Frye's was selling La Pucelle Tactics for a whole $13 though, a great price if I didn't already own the game.

Picked up Wario Ware for the Wii though, that game is bloody amusing.

Guess I'll report on the interview tomorrow, wish me luck.

*Image Overload* Even though 3 isn't really an overload.

So I've been browsing around my Pandora Profile, altering a few past decisions for station refinement, bookmarking a few more songs/artists for the hell of it. The flaws of the system are pretty evident from the straight facts at the top though. My most thumbed up artists: Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx are total runaways; but the next 3, Venus Hum, Andy Bell, and The Postal Service probably have at most 4-6 songs voted high each. And in The Postal Service's case, most of that is remixes. Which goes to say that creating a station from an artist is hardly any guarantee you'll get much of that artist, all seems to be at least a bit of sinister luck.

As for the thumbed down:

BT -- Give Pandora an inch and it'll take a mile. BT has a pair of really good songs, and the rest of his works are complete garbage. But apparently they still fit the genome profile so they keep showing up. And because I've upped something by him, he'll keep recurring beyond two downed songs.

Stereo Total -- Really a hit or miss artist for me. Foriegn language singing can be a plus but their songs oscillate between bizzare and nigh-painful at times. Same problem about elimination as BT.

Erasure -- I like Andy Bell, who works with Erasure, but most of their stuff is too almost-but-not-quite Chill. It's not really relaxing so much as boring and tepid, but some of the stuff Andy Bell did with them shows through on some songs, and those are keeping them in the mix.

The last two on the list aren't noteworthy, I think they just got 2 marks down as opposed to the vast array of singularly downed artists.

I'm still experimenting with station creation and evolution. The original station: Foundations(Daft Punk), is based solely on Daft Punk, using 107 upped songs and 371 downed to explore the variety of Pandora and set the basis for Masterpiece.

Masterpiece (Andy Bell, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, Daniel Bedingfield, The Mountaineers, United State of Electronica, Venus Hum) is my long playing station, having 155 upped songs and 957 downed songs to shape the flow of music. I've found that some of the upped songs are really slow to come back around, either because they're so fringe or because I've trimmed the genome around them.

I've got a pair of experimental stations I fall back to when Masterpiece is having a particularly sour run. Neither one has much expose yet, perhaps 25 songs total between up and down each at most. Panic! Shiny Fallout Service (exactly who it sounds like) attempts to isolate that new genre and it's work wonderfuly so far. Actually boasting more upped than downed songs for the time being. The other station Femmes Fatale (Sarina Paris, Tsunami Bomb, Venus Hum, Ian Van Dahl, Tori Amos, Girls Aloud, Ayumi Hamasaki) is attempting to see if I can teach Pandora along a gender-singular genome, brutally pruned within my purposes (ie: the denial of Madonna, Britney Spears, Lesbians on Ecstasy, and Chicks on Speed).

While it has been long enough for another post on Webcomics (especially with my recent re-acquisitions and drops), I'm hoping to at least get Eureka out of the way, if not more anime than that with today's post - much as the warm of the store and late nights playing in Alcatraz may try and deter that - but I did want to say that Megatokyo is doing well to win back my good graces (not to imply that I have any significance amongst his countless legion of readers).

When you enjoy a series, you like it to run long. I know I'd kill (metaphorically) for more of Suzumiya Haruhi or Sousei no Aquarion (perhaps not the ideal pick since it is getting an OVA, but the idea stands). Eureka kinda wonks that facet, simply because you don't need everything they decided to enclose to love the show. I don't know what Eureka's target really was, like who they were aiming for. Sure it's got Mechas and Explosions, but the LFOs are pretty basic and the explosions are pink and colorful. It's got Skyboarding, but they don't use it for any real tricks. There's not a ton of cute animals (Gulliver, Skyfish), but they are present. The tiniest bit of sex, some slice of life, epic struggle... it's kinda all over the place.









Alot of the show could've been about the dichotomy. Eureka/Anemone, Corelian messenger against her artifically created doppleganger. Renton/Dominic, which is actually more of the same person just caught on different sides. Holland and Dewey, Holland and Charles, Talho and Ray, Talho and Renton's sister. The show has a wider cast than that though, so it never fully falls down to those levels, even if it doesn't really need to give everyone a story. They live their lives: Matthieu and Hilda are married, Doggy gets his piloting spotlight even if he gets abused for half the show (I still laugh when Holland kicks the stool into his leg), Giget gets to educate Eureka about being a girl. All the minor characters have roles and parts and combine to make up something greater, Gekko State as a concept and a family, however dysfunctional.

For me the show really won when it was cheesy, musical, and raw. I couldn't stand the episodes where Renton meets people while wandering and learns to appreciate something better, or a life lesson. Nor did I deal well with Eureka learning about makeup, or the whole misunderstanding episode where everyone thought Renton was trying to make Eureka have sex with him (though, it was amusing how they all reacted to it, especially the guys smuggling him magazines). The children probably deserve their own rant, they barely redeem them from total loathing (omniloathe!) at the end, but the whole Eden stretch when they find true-Earth is pretty god-awful. What won was Ray and Charles, all the fights -- especially the one where Renton finally realizes he's killing people -- and, of course, the one couple I really did like.


While I wouldn't reccomend it, just watching the last 3 episodes of Eureka 7 would probably suffice to capture the core of the story. You'd miss out on alot of the story (which I'd certainly hope would be true given that there were 47 other episodes), alot of it good arcs: Ray and Charles, searching for a replacement for Anemone, Project Orange, etc.

I probably could choose something a bit before that, perhaps any point where Dominic is learning the truth about Anemone, or Anemone realizing the truth of Dewey's nature, but 48 is the solidifying episode of it all. Anemone's monologue in Ballet Mechanique is powerful, and the reaction from theEnd (Shame Nirvash wasn't some reversal of that name, for mirror purposes) really enchances the effect.

49 really demonstrates how planned Dewey was, and whether Great Hero Thurston's information was that good or not is unknown, but the fact that the necklaces are in place not only at the first episode, but also in the flashbacks predating that, is significant if odd (did they never think to take that off when she left the army?). The Compac Drive was probably part of Adrock writings, though I'm uncertain how he obtained it, given what Norbu had to go through to get his.

Episode 50 is just cheese. Though with casual Amenone they could've had Dewey's kids in a firefight with Maurice and I wouldn't have really minded.

Overall it's a really great series, if you can just make it past the kids and the attempts at what is essentially slice-of-life for the socially inept (at least N.H.K. had the concept as focal based on the intent of the episode). The music rocks, the characters are cool, and everybody loves rainbow explosions.


Closing note: I saw the box for the PS2 game the other day, it was scary. At least I guess I recoignized Holland, the rest seem just game-original generics. Dunno how many of the rest of the cast show up in the course of the game.

Henshin a go go baby!

Okay, so perhaps the phrase is both dated and way over the top, it definately gives me something to play since David decided that Guitar Hero 2 was worth taking the PS2 to college for a few months. Plus, the price was right: Viewtiful Joe 1 & 2 for a whole $16 combined. I'm almost tempted to see if trading in the second game would get me more than I paid for it in store credit at a Gamestop. Playing Gamecube on the Wii is pretty neat as well, though it irks me to have to use the Wii controller to start the game. Nothing major though, and as a major fan of backwards compadibility I definately applaud the inclusion the ability to do so, even if the Gamecube is 15 inches away from the Wii at the moment.

Paragon made the trek to the big seven zero finally. I've been through every instance except those up in Tempest Keep, but still have tons and tons of quests to go. Sitting on a whole 50 gold after purchasing 225 Riding and an Ebon Griffin for travel purposes, so I'll be using most of those quests to fund my quest for the an Epic Griffin. The alterations to the Reputation system basically caught me backwards, so Paragon is definately suboptimized relative to where his reputations could be, however it's nothing that cannot be accounted for with a few extra runs.

Also, I tried out Photobucket's new Share Album feature, as you can see below. Yoruichi happens to be the first image in the Album, thus why her form is featured. Plus, that picture is really styling. Working mostly solo today and I've found some more research/compile stuff to keep me busy for the day, so perhaps I'll get back to posting more tomorrow.

The Full Image Album

Photobucket Album

Hook Line and Sinker for myself as well.

...just to play off the Penny Arcade title in a similar venue.

I wonder if abject tedium combined with a strong dislike for customers can be considered a job hazard. Sorta a bi-polar mix anyways. Sidenote: I'm a little rusty on the topic, but is a singular pole necessarily possible under regular circumstances, like a peak of X subsiding to neutrality without an opposing (-)X. Just doesn't seem feasable but the idea of bi-polar wouldn't be there if there weren't a reason.

"Just Deserts" -- Learn something new every day eh. I really did think it referred to desserts as a epithet, and not some definition of desert (emphasis second syllable) that's rarely used.

Heh, I remember why I liked Striptease as a comic, and it has so little to do with the sex -- despite what prior posts on other topics might conjure.

Purchased Burning Crusade at long last. Halfway through 60 thanks in good part to Nefarian's Head. Friendly with Honor Hold, almost to 310 Herb (which is the magic number for Dreaming Glory if you've got Judgement Gauntlets of Herbalism +5, sacreligious as that may seem).

Update, 61 and 3/4ths after burning through my rested exp playing in the Citadel (Ramparts and Furnace, and I got my spiffy gloves I had in beta too). The minor changes to quests are disconcerting just because they aren't specifically what I expected, but no matter -- still totally doable if you bother to read the quest text. Advanced to 375 First Aid, 320 Cooking, and 320 Herb, going to use Transmute Heart of Fire to Elemental Fire to level Alchemy before I start wasting herbs on it.

Just another slice of random.

In gaming news
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade and Gears of War both go Triple Platinum (3 x 1 Mil).

Sadly the only thing in the currently slated Q1 Wii releases is SSX Blur though the Wii-Store offerings (Bomberman, Wario Woods, and Zelda) and the News Channel (goes live January 28th)) does have some high points. Wii Play get released on Valentine's Day with the extra Wii-mote to promote multiplayer, but I'm not really looking towards Billards, Fishing, and Shooting as amusment, it'll be a nice change from Wii Sports though I guess.

Random Quote:
"How about now, big boy? Do you still wish to penetrate me?... Or is it I who has penetrated you?" -- Argh, wtf is that from, it's gonna bother me cause I know I know the answer, it's just not coming to me. I can even visualize the damn sword.

Whatever, I'm gonna stop malglecting Foundry for a bit to get in a writing mood and extoll the virtues of Eureka sometime this week (I've only been saying that for 2 months now?)

Textual amusement

Video Game Quote-Storming

I see the president equipped his daughter with ballistics -- Resident Evil 4.

Your right hand comes off? -- Resident Evil 4

Please don't go. The drones need you. They look up to you. -- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

I dunno. I was just looking at it and I suddenly got this urge to get inside. No, not just an urge - more than that. It was my destiny to be here; in the box. -- Metal Gear Solid 3

We're going with my Pimp plan -- Tales of Symphonia.

Lloyd: "Colette...need cure for poison..."
Colette: "Oh, I'm not poisoned, Lloyd!"
Lloyd: "No...I mean...me..."

Lloyd: "Victory..."
Colette: "..belongs to..."
Sheena: "...the most..."
Zelos: "...Sexy! Dead Sexy!"

Colette: "Our weapons are love!"
Genis: "Justice!...and"
Kratos: "Ugh...Hope."

Genis: "I'll protect you, Presea!"
Presea: "And I'll protect you too, Genis."
Genis: "Uh...okay..."

Raine: "What was that enemies' name?"
Colette: "I like Poochie."
Raine: "No dear, I meant the species."

Raine: "This is not an inn, dear."
Sheena: "Be quiet you cold hearted witch!"
Raine: "Let's just leave her here."

Sheena: "Did you see my attack?"
Zelos: "Oh yeah, Baby. I was watching all right."
Sheena: "For some reason, I don't think that was what you were focusing on."

Regal: "We must protect..."
Presea: "...This world..."
Sheena: "...With our own hands."
Zelos: "And speaking of hands, I think I'll put mine..."
Sheena: "Ugh, idiot!"

Lloyd: Who was that girl earlier?
Colette: I hope we get to see her again.
Lloyd: What are you talking about? She's trying to kill you!
Colette: Yeah, once we become friends, I'll have to ask her why she was doing that.
Lloyd: Huh?! Are you kidding me? How do you plan on becoming friends with her?!
Colette: Hmm. What would you suggest?
Lloyd: Me? How am I supposed to know?
Colette: Try to come up with a plan before we see her again!
Lloyd: Wait, I have to come up with the plan?...

Lloyd: Where in Gaoracchia Forest is this Mizuho village?
Sheena: I can't tell you that. We'll be there soon anyway, so just be patient.
Zelos: I see you Mizuho people are as secretive as ever.
Sheena: It's to protect our unique culture. If you don't like it, you can wait in the forest.
Zelos: You've got to be kidding! I'll pass on being left behind in the Forest of Death!
Presea: The odds of surviving alone in Gaoracchia Forest...Twenty-five percent.
Zelos: Ouch. Don't say stuff like that, Preseaaaa....
Lloyd: You'll be fine. You look like the type that just won't die.
Sheena: I'll second that.
Zelos: What? You know what they say -- the pretty boys die young.
Presea: ...Incorrect usage detected. Correction necessary.
Zelos: Preseaaa!

Zelos: Exsphere mines, huh?...Riiiight...
Sheena: What? Something wrong with that?
Zelos: Surely you know about it, too. Exsphere mines in the vicinity of Altamira...What else is there besides the Toize Valley Mine?
Sheena: Ah, that one that's connected by tunnel to Moria?
Zelos: And if that's the one, think for a moment about who it is that owns the mountains in that area.
Sheena: ...I guess it'd have to be the Lezareno Company. But...so what?
Zelos: ...Oh, brother. Is your chest the only part of you that's well-endowed?
Sheena: You better shut up or I'll smack you!
Zelos: Don't say it after you've smacked me! Sheesh...

Lloyd: Orochi and Kuchinawa are brothers, right? Those are some interesting names.
Sheena: They're both old Mizuho words for "snake." But those aren't their real names.
Presea: Are they aliases?
Sheena: Not exactly... In Mizuho, we have a tradition of giving people an additional name, while hiding our real names.
Lloyd: Really? What are their real names?
Sheena: Beats me. Only they, their parents, and the Chief know. And whomever they marry.
Presea: Is your name a second name as well?
Sheena: Yeah, that's right.
Zelos: Presea, I know Sheena's real name.
Sheena: What?! How could you know?!
Zelos: Sheena's real name is Violent Demonic Banshee.
Sheena: ...Zelos!
Zelos: See? See? I told you she's a violent banshee!

Colette: What should we do if the Desian ranch is rebuilt?
Lloyd: Hmmm. We'll just have the Professor blow it up again.
Regal: ...Raine has that kind of power?
Presea: That's amazing. Not only can she heal, but she can destroy, as well.
Regal: So she's a human bomb.
Colette: No, Regal. She's a half-elf, so she's a half-elven bomb.
Lloyd: "Half-elven Bomb"? That's kind of long to have to say.
Presea: How about "HE Bomb"?
Colette: Wow! The Professor can make boy bombs?! She's amazing!
Regal: ...If the Professor heard that, I'm sure she really would explode.

Zelos: Did you see that? That was the Great Mysterious Masked Handsome Warrior Zelos at work!
Genis: Hey, can I ask you a question? Mr. Mysterious Masked Handsome Warrior?
Zelos: Certainly, young man. Ask me anything you like.
Genis: If you're wearing a mask, how can anyone tell that you're handsome?
Zelos: Well, it's obvious when you see my unmasked face, right?
Sheena: I'd like to ask something, too.
Zelos: Ah, Great-Chested Sheena. Ask me anything.
Sheena: If you're supposed to be mysterious, why are you still using your name, "Zelos?"
Zelos: Ah, well, that's...
Presea: May I ask something, as well?
Zelos: Wh...what is it, my dear Presea?
Presea: Are you hiding your face because that outfit is embarrassing?
Zelos: ...Ahh! You hurt my feelings!

Lloyd: What do you plan to do after this battle is over, Zelos?
Zelos: What else? I'm going to make use of my good looks and intelligence and make a harem assembled from all the cute girls in the world.
Lloyd: ...Even after coming back, you haven't changed a bit.
Zelos: What? If you're envious, I'll give you a special present, just for you.
Lloyd: What present?
Zelos: A year's worth of complimentary tickets to the Great Zelos Harem!
Lloyd: *Sigh*
Zelos: Or would you rather make the harem with me?
Lloyd: Don't drag me into it!

Zelos: That darkness beam was a lot of fun!
Lloyd: Really? All it does is make it pitch black. It's not any fun at all.
Zelos: You're an idiot, Lloyd.
Lloyd: What?! Why?!
Zelos: Darkness is great! It's the best chance to make your moves on a girl!
Lloyd: What...?
Zelos: You can do all sorts of things to them, as much as you like! Hehehehehe.
Lloyd: ...Hey, Sheena! Zelos just said he's the one who had his hand on your butt!
Sheena: ...Wh-what did you just say?!
Zelos: Whoa! Wait, stop, it's a misunderstanding! I haven't touched you yet! ...Aaaaah!

Zelos: I see...So Sheena's left and gone back to Mizuho?...Man, and I was so looking forward to gazing upon that voluptuous body again.
Lloyd: ...That reminds me, you and Sheena know each other, right?
Zelos: Know each other? Now, now, Lloyd, that's a great misunderstanding!
Lloyd: Then what's the deal?
Zelos: We're lovers. She's my hunny. ((musical note))
Lloyd: What?! Really?
Zelos: My future hunny.
Lloyd: Bah, so you were just joking.
Zelos: No, it's no joke! Half the world's girls are destined to become my servants of love!
Presea: ...The probability of that is...infinitely close to zero.
Zelos: ...

Zelos: Cooooooleeeeette! She really doesn't respond to anything.
Sheena: Hey! You aren't doing anything funny to her, are you?
Zelos: What?! Of course not!
Sheena: Cause it wouldn't surprise me at all if you did something like that.
Zelos: What do you mean by that?
Sheena: You tried peeking at me in the shower before!
Zelos: That was just natural curiosity toward the unknown.
Sheena: ...Oh, brother.
Zelos: ...This angel transformation definitely doesn't look like something I want to go through.

Lloyd: This "weightless" stuff is a little hard to handle.
Zelos: Once you get used to it, it's pretty fun, Lloyd. Just imagine inviting a girl you like up here. You could have fun in all sorts of ways that you couldn't normally.
Lloyd: Like what? Playing tag or something?
Zelos: *Sigh* You're a really boring guy, Lloyd.

Sheena: Seles, huh... I really don't like that girl.
Zelos: Oh? You've met before?
Sheena: A while ago, someone was stalking me. That stalker turned out to be Seles.
Zelos: Seles was stalking you? Why?
Sheena: That's what I wanna ask. She yelled, "You evil witch, I'll teach you to seduce my brother!" and she suddenly started attacking me. Mind you, I sent her packing, of course.
Zelos: Ah...well, you know what that is. She must think you're one of my sweet hunnies.
Sheena: How in the world would she possibly think that?
Zelos: Because I told her so.
Sheena: So it's all your fault!

//////

Rikku: Dr. P is in the house!
Paine: Stop that.

Rikku: I'm gonna kick you in the spleen!
Paine: Spleen?

Yuna: Give me a Y!
Rikku: Give me an R!
Paine: Give me a break.

Yuna: What's the password?
Rikku: How about, don't screw up?

Rikku: Scary.
Paine: Your point?
Yuna: Scary.

Rikku: Snake. Snake? Snake!!!

Yuna: Duck soup.
Paine: Duck what?

Paine: What a sloppy victory.
Rikku: Better than a sloppy defeat.

"Sadly, no trace of them was ever found"

Yeah. Beat Neverwinter Nights 2. Can't say I'm impressed at all by the ending, though the last fight, and the fact that your influence on your allies played a role was pretty cool. As with all D&D-centric games, the Paladin got sex. Somehow the fact that it's become a running trend for the man of virtue to get laid seems a bit on the far side of wrong.

GameFAQs is running a Video Game Quote Contest, so I get 10 submissions, I'll be pondering this for quite awhile. CJC posted up http://zanyvgquotes.com/ which is just...I mean, at least I'm not bored at work anymore although the site isn't really all that good...at all. As for what I'd like to submit, I'll have to dredge up all the good RPG text-dumps. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (Why can't I remember Sarevok's opening speech, or Irenicus' for that matter), Lunar 1 and 2, Final Fantasies, etc. Plus Metal Gears and that vein. And then there's the Starcraft/Warcraft quotes, grr. So many good ones and so few easily recalled. At least my submissions should be meme free, but more pondering on that later.

Bogged myself down with non-blogging activities and work today, so short post.

Allow me distract you with sex:

Wapsi Square
Sinfest

And I'm not even going to mask those links, not time-value effective. And with Geass not out, I'm not feeling generous.

Edit: Okay, so I lied because the links didn't linkify themselves. And removed most of them because they were primed and wouldn't even last the week, no big loss.

"Due to the physical limitations of the human brain, it is only possible to speak three different languages. Any language learned beyond the third will necessarily detract from proficiency in the others. In fact, there is a point - seven languages, on average - at which the mind's capacity for language is stretched to the breaking point. Those foolhardy enough to attempt to push this limit are often rendered incoherent in every language."

Second wave of gaming (Part 7 -- Extension of Gaming, Not the Anime Post)

I felt Image Overload was appropriate for a 4 Image post. This one might get similar treatment, I have enough Eureka + Black Lagoon images to pull it off if I opt to do so, though I'm not certain how well the mix of image and text went over with others. I can say that having two Images stacked at the top was a bad flow, so I'd be mixing images into paragraphs, which I'd rather not be doing.

Finished off Lost Planet, and all I have to say is... bleh. The game is awesome, the gameplay is fluid and beautiful, and the fun of dashing around in the middle of about 20 enemies worth of fire is indescribable. Some of the foundation concepts, like Thermal Energy fueling both health regeneration and ammunition for some weapons or the Grappling Cord are groundbreaking (I don't care if you say the Grappling Cord has been done before, this was a seemless intergration unlike anything before it). I definately ended wanting some ephemeral more, though not any more of the Flying-Mech or last battle. For whatever reason I end up hating the last battle in about 80% of games, just because they try and do something new and different and end up fucking it the hell up. So many games either take a winning routine and break it (Any Fighting game in the history of fighting games (See my DoA3 Rant specifically)) or decide to just compensate their AI by making the enemy the most powerful thing ever seen (Like Baldur's Gate 1. Listen to me Black Isle, You're gonna level cap me at 7th level yet give the last boss's minion the ability to cast Cloudkill (For the non-savvy, that'd require level 13 to do)). But enough of a tangent. Good game, perhaps not a great game, but I'll definately be giving it a replay, moreso for the fun of it than for the hunting of the medals. PS: Ending blows total goats, seriously.

Moved the PS2 back to the small TV and put in Valkerie Profile 2. A little over an hour and into Chapter 2. Rufus is a badass in the Balthier style, and I've already gotten over the fact that several of the heavy warriors have the same VA as Ichigo from Bleach (as well as Vash the Stampede and Renton Thurston -- let me give you a moment to have that sink in). Gameplay is spectactular, item linking is innovative as is the Skill system, and Alicia's Special Attack is jaw-dropping. They've got everything I could ever want to alter in the configs. Breaks, Combos, Item Acquisition, Overdamage, all enjoyable. The jumping puzzles are fun, if a bit tricky to get the hang of, but I'm not sure what else they're going to be able to throw at me to complicate things.

Read Gabe's rant about Guitar Hero 2 for the XBox, and really I'm not about to invest in another guitar to go to a console with essentially less options (the few tracks gained are much less than a whole other game on the system) and the new tracks that are confirmed or rumored have no bearing on me, though I'm suprised to see that Deep Purple got another track. The talk that Neversoft (makers of Tony Hawk and Gun) have taken over Guitar Hero III development aren't all to worrying for me, they're pretty much got a winning formula, they just need a good music crew and that's all I ask (It'd be patently unpossible to choose a tracklist where I couldn't get behind a few of the songs), I'm more interested in what Harmonix is going to do instead.

Sidenote: The NPD Data for Video Game sales for 2006 are quite interesting. (Strunk and White would like to add: Data are, Datum is)

One last shot of Webcomic-age. The Oracle Strip of Order of the Stick. Given that Roy's has been settled, can we count the latest developments as settling Haley's? (When you only know the answer and not the question it's hard to tell -- PS: 42).

I probably won't get through all of this, just because work tends to cause my writing ability to deteriorate after a few hours anyways, and I've been trying to write about Eureka for a month or two now to little avail. Planned intinerary for this trip: Eureka Seven, FMP:TSR, Black Lagoon, Venus Versus Virus, Code Geass + GunXSword and Ergo Proxy (though almost certainly not in that order). Actually, next post delays, work is trying to break my spirit and my soul again. Hate when they do that.