Tuesday, February 27, 2007

No story today, but there is this...
I made it myself...

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Friday, February 23, 2007

What I did today
Well, this about sums it up...

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

ARGH!
I'm beginning to think that html is eeevil, because there are a few problems that are beginning to annoy me and teh readers.
Ah well, since this is just an edit to the preexisting post, whatever.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

There's More than One Way to Write a Ninja's Tale

Time to post again

Hello readers. Today is the day that I reveal to you the next installment of
"unnamed story 1". Indeed it does not have a name. This is where I lack creativity, somewhere
so simple that it makes my brain want to explode. When I think about whats in a name it seems too
important to just throw together something entirely relevant, but that seems to be the trend with the
Smashing Pumpkins' music, not stories about ninjas. I've decided to keep the name Kai as it has
grown on me some, and as for the ninja in the fedora, i'll think of a few after writing this chapter,
then I'll fill you in on the recent adventures of myself.
maybe this link will work and show you all the first chapter?

---

"I'm sorry? Did you just say 'welcome home'? What makes you think that I'm even
willing to take you up on this offer?" said Kai.
The ninja in the fedora
leaned forward and looked Kai directly in the eyes. "To be honest, you have no choice in the matter
right now. We know you, Kai, and you will not leave here until we can be sure our secret village
is kept a secret."
"*sigh* A trap then? Fine, I'll play along."
"You choose wisely, Kai."
Kai's car now passed through the gate into the village, and as the gates closed,
the car was set on the ground. Kai and the fedora ninja then made their way to the center of the
ninja village.
"What's your name?" Kai asked.
"A time will come for you to know my name, it is
not now."
"You guys are just like the stereotypes I've heard of."
"Actually, there's
no such thing as a generic ninja, so kindly refrain from comparing our kin to what you've
seen in comic books.
"Ah, here we are Kai. This is the Karada building, where all our governing originates. Our leader
resides here and watches over our village. You are here to meet him."
"Why, may I ask, am I being delivered to your leader?"
"He will answer your questions."

At the main entrance stood two ninjas to either side. Their eyes went wide the moment they saw Kai
and the ninja in the fedora come up the grand stairway, they moved quickly to open the door for them.
Just inside was a throne room, where the village leader was apparently waiting for them.

"Welcome, Kai. You have returned home so long after your parents took you from us."

---

I know this one was short, but that's because I still can't decide on a name for the hat
ninja. It's your turn to help me decide:

1. First name:

a. Johnny
b. Greg
c. Booshi (hat in Japanese)
d. Anything but any of these names!

2. Last name:

a. Obake (ghost)
b. Jigoku (hell)
c. Mokuyoobi (Thursday)
d. I'm severely disappointed in you, I mean "Thursday"? And why are all the last
names Japanese if this takes place somewhere in America? All the names suck.

Thanks for helping me decide the name of the Fedora ninja by putting your choice in the form of a comment.

>

---

Now is the time where I tell you of my own adventures:

Yesterday was interesting, but not bad in my opinion. I came to work, fully expectiong to write
this very story I just wrote today, but the computer decided that right in the middle of me
composing my post was the most opportune time to run a program that would shut down my browser.
I lost what may have been an hours worth of thought process and creativity. Naturally I decided
to put aside my anger and frustration as well as utter disappointment, and read some more of that
Order of the Stick comic. Not more than another hour passed before the fire alarm started going off. Well, I'm used to alarms going off because I work in the Facilities offices at my school, so I sit there for about five minutes before the alarm starts to get on my nerves. I finally look out the door and see that the lights in the main office are out and noone is there to be seen. I leave the building and the entire student body is sitting in the parking lot waiting for the fire drill to end. I asked around and figured it was still just an odd campus-wide fire drill. When I saw people leaving, I knew it was more than that. After about 10-15 minutes of buzzing alarms, I came inside, clocked out, grabbed my stuff and left. On the way to my car, a professor of mine says hi, and I figure he must know whats going on, so I ask, "Is it some kind of bomb threat?"
"yep"

A bomb threat at my school, well, at least class was cancelled last night.

Krusty
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Sunday, February 18, 2007

More San Antonio

The Memorial Service

Hello again readers! Well, I went to the memorial service for my Grandmother today which was uneventful really. Anyhow, I wore my new black shirt and my black suit with a schnazzy white tie, i.o.w. I wuz stylin'. It ended up being a small service, and it was also short as a Methodist Church can make it (pretty short). I ended up just chasing my nephew around the church afterward trying to get him tired, which didn't seem to work quite the way I wanted it to. It was a nice service overall and there's no sad feelings anymore.

I'll make this a short post so some people can go to bed before tomorrow. Thanks so much for reading and don't forget that my ninja kid story will continue later this week!
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Friday, February 16, 2007

San Antonio
Well. I woke up at 6:00 this morning to head out towards Austin, TX. I know that the subject is "San Antonio", but I'll get to that later. Anyway, I'm packed and ready to go, although I was rushing to put everything in my bag, when I leave my nice new black shirt behind. Now I need the shirt for the Memorial service this weekend, so leaving that and taking my suit is kinda weird unless I'm going to somehow wear a t-shirt with a tie (I get the feeling that wouldn't go over well). Luckily, good 'ol dad hadn't left yet, b/c turning back now would be a major waste of gasoline. Another good thing about daddoo not having left yet is that he can not only bring me my shirt, but by sketchbook as well.
Anyway, my mom and I arrive in Austin (my second time in two weeks) to tie up loose ends at my grandmother's house (um, she passed away late January and there were some problems with her house). The guy from homevestors (the "we buy ugly houses" people), aptly named Tye Cobb, hit a home-run on helping us sell with a good, if not premium deal. The other guy, who was a complete *edit*, we did not allow to even show up since he just wanted to do illegal house-selling stuff anyway. After packing up a few objects and cleaning a couple of windows as well as moving some heavy boxes, the two of us headed off toward San Antonio.
While this sounds like an adventure, It's really quite a few hours on the road (not driving myself) and being extremely bored. Not only that, but I'm also having to listen to music I dislike (not too much of a pain unless you're trying to sleep). Anyway, we finally arrive in San Antonio and I'm all-of-a-sudden left alone in my aunt and uncle's house with nothing but me, the dog (her name's Maggie), and the HDTV.
Remote in hand, I begin to channel surf. Oddly enough for midday on a Friday, there's nothing on (even with 1,200 channels). I settle for a repeat of Mythbusters while I eat some Cooler Ranch Doritos. When my mom and my aunt left, I realized that this greatest development to ever occur on cable television was at my fingertips. My "genius" uncle (ow, that actually hurt my subconscious to write...) had invested in an advanced form of cable - an ON Demand form of cable - which allowed me to watch shows that weren't even on at the time, shows that contained lethal doses of anime in them. Terribly to my disappointment there were few listed that I had actually watched or had first episodes viewable, so I settled for Boys BE after I realized I had no idea what was going on in episode 20-something of Full Metal Panic (I watched episode 1 and thats as far as I got). Let me say this about Boys BE. It was better off as a manga alone. I believe some art styles aren't meant to move (and some voice actors need more acting experience), although I really have nothing against the storyline, I really have to hand it to them... I mean hand it back to them (I'm sorry, but it was 24 minutes of my life I may have been better off watching grass grow, and I get bitter when things get in the way of grass). I'm still itching to draw and create and pondering whether the outcome of taking a scanner to work to post my most recent drawings for all to see is really so bad. I've got writers block about the story of the Ninja kid (his name is temporarily Kai, until I decide that it really is the name I want to use for him), because it is on My fried noodle hard-drive. Expect new developments by next week!(not my computer - pht. I wish). The spoiler is that he's a ninja (or the untrained form of one - if I may).

I'll alert you all to any further developments of my weekend.

Krusty, Signing off.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Going Crazy

The Task at Hand

Well, I've gone three episodes of Evangelion with no other anime intervention since I finished Excel Saga and there appears to be an utter lack of change in my outlook. I'm starting to have my doubts about the concept. Perhaps a side effect is that I'm actually writing in "html", but this is just a side effect of finally using the tutorial at this site(that just wont hyperlink anyway I try).

There's Just NO Substitute for Good Comics

Now this is truly something to think about: Why would I post a comic page that I haven't even read? Well, it all boils down to... Gee...
Word of mouth?
Anyway, this is just something that I do (D&D), so I likely will enjoy this comic at least as much as 8-bit Theatre which also rocked my socks off.
Well, do enjoy my html code and don't forget to read the post as well.
Krusty
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Monday, February 12, 2007

Crazy Zany Wackiness....
I, Sam Banner (aka Krustyknuckles) have hereby personally earned a Master's Degree in Anime.
After finishing Excel Saga (my greatest DVD purchase ever), I have been shown the light. I now know that the perfect plae to conceal weapons is an afro. and that they also give you mysterious powers that can conquer That Man - the one who controls the Will of the Macrocosm.
I have also realized that it is perfectly reasonable for an immigrant worker from Ecuador to have a family who speaks Japanese as Well as he can. Tomato juice gives terminally ill people the ability to spew blood in all directions and you never know how much a dog can do for you before you use it as emergency rations. Now, more than ever I want to be a creator of a great story just so that my own characters can do away with me for the betterment of the world. For it is artists like myself who have gained the understanding of the enigmas of Excel Saga, and seen the gags for what they really are - HIGH ENTERTAINMENT VALUE.
This is no simple path of enlightenment. Nay, it takes a mind of utter flexibility and humor darker than that of a demon's fart to comprehend the entirety of Excel Saga in one go through.

I merely hold myself up to such a high rung because of the sacrifice I'm willing to make so shortly after by watching the entirety of Neon Genesis Evangelion starting the night after. While this has been done before, few have kept their sanity from such capacitous mental strain all from the one source that is pure unfiltered anime.

There are deeper depths of Anime that even I will not delve, though. As an average (and yet not so average) American male, I have a natural limit set for watching/reading shoujo*, and I also particularly am averse to anything containing or similar to Yaoi (unless it is at the expense of the main character(s) of a story as well as my own - Aoi House). Some seek to break these barriers and do not return the same as they were.
*shoujo - e.g. Crescent Moon (Edit *Full Moon*)

I only ask that my readers think of me while I attempt this dangerous journey in front of my television through the depths of the most difficult to understand epic adventure of Anime confusionism there remains to be seen again.

Godspeed Readers!
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Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Another Day Another Post
The more you do something, the better you get at it. I'm going to write like I mean it, so that I can "level up" my writing abilities. One thing I've wanted to do for a long while now is become a manga-ka writer and illustrator. While I lack the time to practice drawing, writing doesn't take as long.

Seeing as how I have no readers, I'll just go ahead and put down my ideas for a ninja story that could only be written by myself:
___________________________________

My main character, Kai (I may choose another name), is in his late teens (maybe 17 or 18), and his parents want him to go to an Ivy League College when he graduates from High School. One problem is that his grades are not good enough to make the cut and he runs away because he really fears his parent's reaction will be overly bad for him as it was before in another case.

Not knowing where to go, he drives miles and miles into the middle of nowhere. With no money and no place to go, he stops his car on the side of the road for the night. Kai awakens the next morning to find trees moving past his car and he gets the slight sensation that it is flying through the air about six feet from the ground. As he sidles against the window, a tree branch clips the antennae (or something that would scare the 5H17 out of somebody in this situation). He tries again and cant see anything beneath the car, so he rolls down the window to get a better look. He finds underneath the car nearly a dozen men clad in black holding up his car and walking through the woods. As he rolls the window back up and sits back in his seat, he feels a prescence behind him. He turns to find another ninja wearing a fedora over his hood in the back seat.

"Hi!" the strange ninja surprises him with.
"What is going on here?" Kai returned the most acceptable response.
"We are headed to our hidden village."
Kai takes a second to piece together the information. "Our hidden village? We are in the middle of Nowhere, USA and there's even a hidden village existing?!"
"Yep."
"Ninja are from Japan, right?"
"Yep."
"how the... what the..." Kai fumbles his words.
"I'll tell you when we get there," the mysterious and strange ninja said as he pointed ahead into the deepening forest.

After a small clearing, there stands two large carved doors surrounded by two walls of enormous trees that appear to shoot from the ground and end in spiny tips. The doors open to reveal a village that has buildings that rise up toward the center where a larger dome sits atop what looks like a town hall type of building.

"Welcome home," says the ninja in the fedora.
_____________________________________

That isn't all of what I've written, but I might as well rewrite it while I can lest it be lost to memory and my piece of 5H17 computer as well.

I try to base the architecture on Naruto, but everything else (abilities, etc. I'm basing off of a book I found titled "Ninja Mind Control". There is a book before it by the same author, but I have all the writing material I need with the one book. If the Energy is going to even have a name I'll call it Ki, like in Dragonball Z, otherwise I'll just try to call it energy or ninja power.

I'll try to write the next episode in about a week on this blog, but I really feel it slipping slowly away - no thanks to the crappy assembly of my previous computer's power supply.
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Monday, February 5, 2007

IKKICON
I'm so glad I dont have claustrophobia. If I did, this past weekend would have sucked more than ever. The halls were packed in that little hotel convention center, and the staff wasn't too good at keeping people from making out in the middle of it all.

Our free room was not meant to be, because someone must not know what a calendar looks like or how to see that February 2nd is indeed at the beginning of February. Alas, I was driven to stay one night at a hotel with many people that have great inability to meet new people or get along with others who aren't voice actors / good cosplayers. A great weekend was surely destined to fall to the category of a much lesser variety of weekend. Even so, with the artist alley (I call it artist hallway) packed with numerous immovable otaku waiting in line for the dealer's room (OMG! THAT was a line!), the tabletop gaming without tabletop games, the overall lack of MTG product, and the greater lack of non-panel events; there was one shining hour in which a new invention struck the convention like a mecha-babe with a 50-cal machine gun / assault rifle (yes 50-cal is huge power). That event was the Iron Artist 18+. The panel room was packed almost from the beginning and the topic suggestions were hilarious too (those poor pandas will never be the same, and Hello Kitty too). I wont go into detail, but if you need to know, I'm sure that you can find pictures on other blogs and the like.

I finally got to meet Steve Bennett at a con (I missed him at A-Kon last year after I met him at a comic book store North of Dallas (Madness Games & Comics). He drew quick sketches for me and critiqued some of my sketches. He liked one that I just preferred I hadn't brought with me (I cant write drama and the picture was dramatic). Anyway, my computer doesn't work still, so I'll have to not show you those pictures that I can't scan onto it, unless I can somehow sneak my scanner/printer into work and then sneak it back out.

SHWAG REPORT:
-Thin Pack Box of EXCEL SAGA
-Naruto Manga volume 12

Not much as you can see the entire list if you squeeze your fingers together and hold them up to one open eye. What I would have given to get a free run of ten minutes of free stuff from all the vendors in the room. With many plushies to be had and figurines galore, I had to settle for one volume of Manga and a good deal on a box set of anime. I'm sure to tell you that the box cover is what sold me on EXCEL SAGA.

The Past day (or so):
Saturday was a night/Sunday morning of playing Guitar Hero 2, and lots of Guilty Gear (which is really fun for button mashers like me). Not a drop of FULL THROTTLE or any other energy drink helped me drive home, but what might have been a full hour of sleep and the aid of the bumps in the left shoulder of the freeway saw me home safely (its also good that I can sleep with my eyes open if I focus enough). I do wish that I had a copilot who could drive stick, but I'm absolutely sure that what happened was alright in the end. When I got home, I actually tried to watch the first episode of EXCEL SAGA and I realized how dumb I am when I missed half of the first episode without moving from the couch. I went to bed at about Five O'clock and woke up this morning at about Six, then snoozed until seven. No breakfast so far, unless I go to my car where I conveniently left a box of pop tarts.

So I'm off to do that before I fall asleep in my office.

Krusty
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