Sunday, August 8, 2004

Solomon Grundy Want Pants Too
The last reference is from "Space Channel 5", one of the greatest and most unique games that were developed for the Sega Dreamcast. It was released during the beginning of the system's downfall (which isn't saying much, considering SEGA never had a huge percentage of the overall games market, anyway) so it was overlooked by the many people who were trading in their Dreamcasts for Playstations 2's or GameCubes. It's a shame, because some of the best titles for the console were released during it's last year or so.

If you're interested in "Space Channel 5", a Special Edition of the game was recently released for the PS2. It contains the original Dreamcast game, and it's Japan-only sequel. Perhaps the series will develop more of a following in the US now, hm, I sure hope so.

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I don't have anything in particular to post about today, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to random quotations by Groucho Marx... here we go...

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception."

"I remember the first time I had sex - I kept the receipt."

"Military justice is to justice what military music is to music."

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

"There's one way to find out if a man is honest - ask him. If he says, "Yes," you know he is a crook."

"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."

"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

"A man's only as old as the woman he feels."

"If you want to see a comic strip, you should see me in the shower."

"Paying alimony is like feeding hay to a dead horse."

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Wednesday, August 4, 2004

Morolian Invasion
The last header reference belonged to an episode of the WB series, "Freakazoid." In a time when tv animation was fairly traditional, this show pushed a lot of boundaries. Family Guy and the other Adult Swim series owe a lot to it's fast pace and completely insane plots.

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It's a very busy time for the Adventure Arena, and like I had predicted the forum isn't suffering from an lack of quality projects, it's actually the lack of quality members to participate in them. In the past week, I have seen six or seven fantastic RPGs that I would love to sign up for... if I wasn't already a part of four others.

With a full-time job and "real school" this Fall, I just don't have the time for too many RPGs at once. In between George Washington, hero, Cowboy and the Vending Machine I have bills to pay and dogs to feed and errands to run. A few members have spoken to me citing the fact that it's difficult for any "minor RPG" to gain a lot of attention; with so much other activity out many members might simply overlook what could be a potentially awesome idea. A few have asked for specific ideas in how to promote their RPG more, and while I will argue that quality will win out over flashy advertising, I see the need for flashy advertising these days.

With the exception of "hero" (which is so freakin' cool these days) every RPG that I have made has failed miserably. The original Anime Stereotype High School died after a couple of pages, and it was one of my more successful efforts. I think the only one I had created that lasted more than a handful of pages was a Pokemon RPG, but that survived due to Raiha's involvement. (That woman isn't willing to give up on a character very easily.) Everything I touch seems to burst into flames; and some of what I considered to be my best ideas never took off.

Once I get a spare moment (this depends on whether or not I have to show up for jury duty tomorrow) I'm going to start working with Team Hanzo to create a stronger sense of organization in the forums. One of the ideas being tossed around is the creation of a monthly thread, where members can talk about some of their favorite RPGs at the moment. Each thread would be accompanied by a poll, and at the end of the month some type of award for "Best New RPG" would be given out.

This would presumably bring a lot of attention to the RPGs mentioned in the thread, and even more attention for whatever project(s) won the monthly award.

A few cool members have already begun taking advantage of the Arena Underground to promote their newest RPGs, and I think that's an excellent place to build some excitement about what you are working on. Chances are I'll be turning the largely neglected myHero site into an Underground thread as well, since they basically serve the same purpose.

Speaking of which, Issue #3 for "hero" was dynamite, and issue #4 is looks like it will be just as awesome. I know Zidargh is very exicted about what he is working on, and ColourDeaf is still replying to my PM's.. so that's a good sign.

Apartment Building C is a bit slow these days. I enjoy the laid-back pace more, although the plot (or lack thereof) is difficult to follow. Once Shinmaru gets back from his vacation I'm sure he will straighten things out there.

Tori-ness has the very annoying task of following my Kill Adam post. Not that I'm a difficult act to follow, mind you, but I am building things up towards a very specific and very difficult to write conclusion for the chapter. I do not envy the poor soul who have to write a fight scene with six main characters, and their opponents. I deleted the fight scene half of my post, and just stuck with the dialogue -- I don't feel comfortable enough in my writing ability to undertake something like that. I'm not a very creative person when it comes to writing fight scenes.

I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position, Miss Tori. You rock, so I know you'll managed to make it much cooler than I could have.

And um... Anime Stereotype High School is launching soon. If you thought playing as George Washington was bizarre, just wait until you see me write for a sentient vending machine.
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Saturday, July 31, 2004

Candlejack
The quote from my last post belongs to an episode of "Clerks," which ran on ABC a couple of times. I became familiar with the show when it was released on DVD. Also, I think Tony mentioned how much he enjoyed it and instantly my piqued my curiosity. If Tony recommends something, you should probably go and check it out.

---

I just got back from seeing M. Night Shymalan's "The Village." This film had some of the most misleading marketing I have ever seen. This is a horror movie, it has very little suspense and action, but I enjoyed it. The audience's reaction to it was poor, though. I doubt this will be even have as successful as his previous efforts were.

On a positive note, "The Village" does come attached to the teaser trailer for "Batman Begins." Like most teaser trailers, this one shows very little footage from the movie, or more correctly, very little footage that anyone will find interesting. You can view the trailer by visiting the official site. I'm very excited about this movie, but it's basic premise annoys me.

My small concern with doing a Batman prequel film is that audiences will be forced to sit through his origin story again. My personal opinion is that "Batman" and "Batman Forever" covered the events of Bruce Wayne's past, and his transformation into Batman well enough. There is little reason to tread over this material for the 15th time, but the new creative teams finds it neccessary to do a "younger, sexier Batman" that will appeal to a larger audience. Batman has always appealed to a mainstream audience, just because you want 21 year olds to see your movie doesn't mean that the main character needs to be 21 years old.

"Batman Begins," "Ultimate Spider-Man," and "Baby Looney Tunes" prove there are evil forces in the universe who are quite unhappy with our current set of American Icons. Why remake a character for a mass audience when you could use that energy and creativity to enhance the original property? It's this type of laziness that has caused great characters like Superman and Mickey Mouse to lose any sort of appeal they once had. These characters weren't always as dull as cardboard, their personalities were taken away because people stopped taking risks with them, and focused more creative energies on newer characters (Donald Duck, Batman.) In Superman's case the editorial staff was so afraid of tampering with him that they kept his character completely in-tact while they destroyed and reimaginied the entire universe around him.

So when they finally did tinker with Superman in the early 90's, it was the first bit of change that he had seen since the 1940's, and readers had no idea how to react. They got frightened and stopped reading. Of course, most of them had already stopped reading decades earlier, so it wasn't a major issue. They were reading Batman comics, since the character had received a surge of creative interests in the early 1980's.

And Batman is the cool alternative to Superman, so why do they need to toy around with something that is already perfect?

Oh well. Any Batman movie is good. Good for Shy, good for America. Watch the trailer and see the movie or you are letting the terrorists win.
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Friday, July 30, 2004

"Glitter berries" was from an episode of the MTV cartoon, "Daria." With the huge amount of tv shows being released on DVD these days, I'm surprised that there aren't season-long boxed sets of it yet... maybe soon, I hope.

---

001) What time are you starting this?: 1:21pm, July 31, 2004.

002) Name?: Josh

003) Date of birth?: May 11, 1985

004) Sex?: Male

005) Height?: 6'3"

006) Eye color?: Hazel

007) Weight?: 160 lbs, I suppose.

008) Location?: Rancho Cucamonga, California

009) Where were you born?: Orange County, California

010) Have you ever failed a grade?: No, I haven't had to repeat a grade because I failed it.

011) If you have, what grade did you fail?: N/A

012) Do you have crush on someone?: Several people, actually.

013) Do you have a bf/gf?: No.

014) If so, what is their name?: N/A

015) How long have you been together?: N/A

016) What are you wearing right now?: A plain white shirt, plaid pajama bottoms, and white boxer briefs.

017) Would you have sex before marriage?: Already have.

018) Have you ever had a crush on any of your teachers?: Yeah, it happens on occasion.

019) Are you a virgin?: No.

020) Do you smoke?: No.

021) Do you drink?: Socially.

022) Are you ghetto?: No.

023) Are you a player?: Nope.

024) What are your favorite colors?: Black and white, and dark blue.

025) What is your favorite animal?: I don't know, um, Elephants?

026) Do you have any birthmarks?: Not that I can think of.

027) Have you ever gotten your ass kicked?: Nope.

028) Who are your best friends?: I don't have "best friends" things end up turning sour when I label a person like that.

029) Have you ever beat someone up?: My brother and I fight on occasion, we hit each other but it usually ends as quickkly as it starts.

030) Who do you talk to most on the phone?: My friend Ryan, perhaps, or maybe the scheduling office at my work. Heh.

031) Have you ever been slapped?: Not that I can think of.

032) Do you get online a lot?: Yeah.

033) Are you shy or outgoing?: At work, outgoing. In private and in my daily life I'm shy.

034) Do you shower?: Yes.

035) Do you hate school?: It can annoy me greatly sometimes.

036) Do you have a social life?: Sometimes. I tend to hang out with my friends from work an awful lot.

037) How easily do you trust people?: Depends on the person.

038) Have you ever lied to your best friends?: Yeah.

039) Do you have a secret people would be surprised knowing?: I don't know if anyone would be surprised by it.

040) Would you ever sky dive?: No.

041) Do you like to dance?: I'm a terrible dancer, but I enjoy it.

042) Do you like your handwriting?: Yeah, I think it's neato.

044) What is the compliment you get most from people?: I don't really know. I don't get an overwhelming amount of compliments or anything.

045) If a movie was made about your life, what would it be called?: The Adventures of Lost His Keys Man.

046) What's your biggest fear?: I don't know. Randomly dying without accomplishing anything in my lifetime.

047) Can you sing?: Nope.

048) You ever pretend to be someone else just to look cool?: Not really.

049) Are you a loner?: Not so much anymore, I used to be.

050) What is your number?: 2

051) If you were another person, would you be friends with who you are now?: Yeah.

052) Are you a daredevil?: Not at all.

053) Is there anything you fear or hate about yourself?: I dislike a lot of things about myself, bleh.

054) Are you aggressive or passive?: That depends entirely on my mood.

055) Have you got a journal?: Just a myOtaku site, which I don't tend to post really personal things on it.

056) What is your greatest strength and weakness? I don't know.

057) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be, why?: My last name is difficult to pronounce, that kind of annoys me.

058) There are three wells: love, beauty and creativity; which one would you drink out of?: Love.

060) Do you think you are emotionally strong?: I think I can handle a lot of emotional stress well.

061) Do you live in the moment?: I tend to live outside of the moment, looking at everything with a 3rd person perspective, even if I'm directly involved in it.

062) Do you have any bad habits?: Sure.

063) What is the most important lesson you've learned from life?: The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.

064) What do you like the most about your body?: I'm tall, and good things come in tall packages.

065) And least? How thin I am, perhaps.

066) Do you think you are good looking?: I think I'm mildly attractive.

067) Are you confident?: Am I confident in what? Not really.

068) Have you ever been out of state?: Yeah.

069) Do you like to travel?: I would enjoy my family vacations more if my family were not around.

070) Have you ever been expelled from school?: Nope.

071) Have you ever been suspended from school?: Nope.

071) Do you want to get out of your hometown?: Yes.

072) Are you spoiled?: I don't think so.

073) Are you a brat?: No.

074) Have you ever been dumped?: Yeah.

075) Have you ever gotten high?: No.

076) What's your favorite drink?: Minute Maid Fruit Punch, or a Shirley Temple.

077) Do you like Snapple?: Yeah, but it makes me thirsty.

078) Do you drink a lot of water?: Not as much as I should.

079) What toothpaste do you use?: Crest

080) Do you have a cell phone or pager?: I have a cell phone, yeah.

081) Do you have a curfew?: No.

082) Who do you look up to?: Oprah, heh, I dunno...

083) Are you a role model?: I don't think anyone looks to me as a role model.

084) Have you ever been to Six Flags?: Yeah.

085) What name brand do you wear the most?: I wear a lot of Rusty brand clothing, because there is a store near my house that sells everything very cheap.

086) What kind of jewelry do you wear?: Nope.

087) What do you have pierced?: Nothing.

088) What do you want pierced?: I'd rather not, it sounds painful.

089) Do you like taking pictures?: Nope.

090) Do you like getting your picture taken?: Nope.

091) Do you have a tan?: Not really.

092) Do you get annoyed easily?: Yes, very much so.

093) Have you ever started a rumor?: Sometimes things I say get blown out of proportion and become a rumor.

094) Do you have your own phone/phone line?: I have my own cell pehone.

095) Do you have your own pool?: Yeah.

096) Do you have any siblings?: A younger brother and younger sister.

097) Do you prefer boxers or briefs?: Briefs.

098) Have you ever been played?: I think so.

099) Have you ever played anyone?: Nope.

100) Do you get along with your parents?: A little bit.

102) How do you vent your anger?: Drawing.

103) Have you ever run away?: No.

104) Have you ever been fired from a job?: No.

105) Do you even have a job?: Yeah.

106) Do you daydream a lot?: Definitely.

107) Do you have a lot of exes?: No.

108) Do you run your mouth?: Not at all.

109) What do you want a tattoo of?: I don't.

110) What do you have a tattoo of?: I don't.

111) What are your favorite flowers?: I don't know enough about flowers to care.

112) What does your ex bf/gf look like?: N/A

113) What does your most recent crush look like?: I know and they know, that's all that matters. ;)

114) Have you ever been bitched out?: Yes.

115) When was the last time you bitched someone out?: I don't do that.

116) Are you rude?: Very rarely.

117) What was the last compliment you received?: "You're the best writer in the whole RPG!"

118) Do you like getting dirty?: Literally or metaphorically? Literally, no, metaphorically... maybe.

119) Is your bellybutton an innie or outie?: Innie.

120) Are you flexible?: Not really.

121) What is your heritage?: Irish, German, Hispanic, Mexican, Dutch and two American Indian tribes.

122) What is your lucky number?: I don't have one.

123) What does your hair look like right now?: It's very messy and kind of poofy.

124) Could you ever be a vegetarian?: Nope.

125) When was your last real heartbreak?: The end of last year, I guess.

126) Describe your looks?: I don't want to.

127) If you had to completely dye your hair it'd be what color?: Brown.

128) Would you ever date someone younger than you?: Sure.

129) Would you ever date someone older than you?: Most likely, within reason.

130) When was the last time you were drunk?: Months ago.. January, perhaps.

131) When was the last time you went on a date?: Last week.

132) Would you rather give or receive oral sex?: Receive.

133) Have you ever given?: What kind of quiz is this?!

134) Have you ever received?: Stop it!

135) Have you ever had an eating disorder?: Nope.

136) Do you have one now?: Not that I know of.

137) How many rings until you answer the phone?: One.

138) Have you ever been skinnydipping?: No.

139) If yes, when was the last time?: N/A

140) Do you look more like your mother or father?: My father.

141) Do you cry a lot?: I don't cry.

142) Do you ever cry to get your way?: No.

143) If you had to amputate one limb, what would it be?: My right arm.

144) What phrase do you use most when on the phone?: "Uh-huh."

145) Are you the romantic type?: I try to be.

146) Have you ever been chased by cops?: Nope.

147) What do you like most about your body?: I like being tall, as I answered before.

148) What do you like least about your body?: How thin I am, as I answered before.

149) Who did you last hook up with?: I'm not at liberty to answer that question.

150) When was the last time you threw up?: A few years ago.

151) In the opposite sex, do you prefer blondes or brunettes?: Brunettes.

152) What do the shoes you last wore look like?: My work shoes. They are solid black with black laces, kind of like a boot.

153) Do you ever wear shirts to show your belly?: Nope.

<154) What about cleavage?: You're kidding, right?

155) Is your best friend a virgin?: I don't have a "best friend."

156) Have you ever fucked someone up?: Nope.

157) Have you ever been fucked up?: I don't understand the questions.

158) What color are your underwear right now?: White.

159) What theme does your room have?: It's black and white with a bunch of random posters on the walls.

160) What size shoe do you wear? 11 or 12.

161) What jewelry are you wearing now?: None.

162) What is your screen name on AIM?: Shyguy51185

163) Would you pick a wedgie in public?: No.

164) How are you feeling right now?: I'm dirty, I need to take a shower.

165) When was the last time you were at a party?: A month ago.

166) Have you ever given a lapdance?: Nope.

167) What do you sleep in?: Pajama pants and maybe a shirt, depending on the heat.

168) Has there ever been a rumor spread about you?: Yeah.

169) What is one of your bad qualities?: I have no self-confidence.

170) What is one of your good qualities?: I like just about everyone.

171) Would you marry for money?: A lot of money? Doubtful.

172) What do you drive?: A 2003 Silver Jetta, "Jenna."

173) Have you ever given or received roadhead?: I don't know what that is.

174) Are you more of a mama or daddy's child?: Mom.

175) What's does your myOtaku username mean?: I'm a guy, I'm Shy. It works.

176) What's your favorite myOtaku to read?: I like myHero, when people bother to post.

177) When was the last time you cried in school?: Sixth grade.

178) Do you wear Chucks?: What are those?

179) For two million dollars, would you pose for Playboy?: I'm not sure. Make the offer and we'll see what happens.

180) What time are you finishing this?: 2:12.
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Thursday, July 22, 2004

Glitter Berries
Here's a new feature of myO. I'm going to use fairly obscure quotes or references for my titles, and it's up to you to figure out where they came from.

Just post your guess in the comments box, and if you are correct I'll post your name in the soon-to-be-created "Shy's Obscure List." If you get ten or more of them correct you win a free mocha, yay. I have a feeling this is the type of thing Manic and Tony are just going to dominate, but we'll see.

Yesterday I received another issue of "Sports Illustrated" in the mail. Why am I a subscribed to that? When I bought this wonderful laptop it came with a free 8 issue subscription. Of course I haven't actually read any of them, but it's still a nice break from the assorted bills and advertisements I receive in the mail these days. Sara's letters just don't come frequent enough, I guess. Sad.

At one point I was a devoted to Electronic Gaming Monthly, but since Dan Hsu became Editor-In-Chief I have found that my overall enjoyment of the magazine has lessened. I'm not sure if it's neccessarily his fault, but I do see a drastic change of focus from content and towards splashy graphics and artwork. That's the key difference I feel that separated EGM from it's competitors, like Gamepro. This is really just following trends in magazines and newspapers the world over. The pages are becoming filled with random images and blurbs, trying to appeal to the reader's short attention span. I spend most of my time reading a magazine's feature articles, as opposed to the random "news bites" and artwork that dominates the rest of it. So I cancelled my subscription the last time I needed to renew, I'm much happier now.

In other news, "hero" has launched with issues #1 and #2. I highly recommend you go into the Adventure Arena and read some of the excellent work that Arcadia and Ben have done. It's not self-promotion if I didn't write it, so there.
Comments (5) | Permalink

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Get Your Own Precious Moments
Threads in OtakuBoards' General Discussion, er.. Otaku Lounge follow a pattern of sorts. As such, it is only fitting that we go back to an old favorite -- threads about the boards themselves. With so little going on in the world around us, it makes sense that we use our message boards to engage in discussions about our message boards.

Of course, that's not the problem. I find these threads entertaining for a variety of reasons; a lot of it has to do with the fact that every members' experiences on the boards are different. While I was spending my days in the Digimon forum (it is weird to think that the forum not here anymore) other members were doing other things, talking to other people, creating an entirely different online life for themselves.

Enter: OB's Precious Memories thread. There are a lot of great memories here, but many are being told second-hand by members who weren't around to experience them, or had no connection to the events whatsoever.

I just find myself looking through the thread and thinking, "You weren't in Kill Adam," "You weren't around for Ginnylyn," "You just registered two months ago!" It's one thing to take an interest in world history, it's another to sit around and talk about your fond memories of Winston Churchill.

That's my complaint here; that some people in the thread weren't there for these things, and have no right to list them as "memories." The OB of today is much more conherent and "sterile" than it was when I was a n00b, but it's not as if people can't build great discussions and friendships on their own.

These are pretty much the same basic complaints I have with generic n00b-types: their posts aimed towards other members seem to come across more as kissing up than anything productive, especially when it comes to staff. *sigh* I appreciate the compliments, though. I just wish they were based on some sort of thought and not a half-brained scheme to win the hearts of Moderators and Team Leaders everywhere.

Case in point: The mind-blowing amount of praise that Kill Adam has received. Having some part in the creation of it, I'd like to be the first to say this is not the revolutionary RPG that many claim it to be. It was a wonderful attempt at a revolutionary RPG, but it failed in changing the ways RPGs are done in just as many ways as it succeeded. Sadly, it's most significant contribution to the Adventure Arena is not the Chapter System, or the great storyline -- it's the fact that you can curse in the Adventure Arena now. Had it not been Kill Adam, another great RPG would have come along and opened the doors for the high-profile things that are being developed in that forum today. "Kill Adam-mania" is a strong term. "Mania" implies that the entire board is swept up in it, I don't recall any sort of reaction to the RPG; other than the fact that a lot of us wrote about our posts in myOtaku, and we're established members... so new members read our posts and get the impression that if we are talking about Kill Adam, everyone must be doing it... now I see how this started!

James is cooler than all (well, most) of you, and if he wanted to create an RPG about canteloupe many would praise it as being the greatest thing since The Bible. That's just who he is, because he has been around for a very long time, and his history with the boards speaks volumes for his qualities as an individual. People respect and love and worship him for that.

These people don't have history of their own. The only thing more pathetic than someone trying to work their way to the top of an internet message board is writing a long post like this to criticize them.
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Tuesday, July 13, 2004

The Cold That Wouldn't Die
It has been well over two weeks since I first got this cold/flu/generic illness, and it only appears to be getting worse. I missed work today because I was feeling so bad; if this continues I won't be able to go to Critter Country Prom. I'm scheduled to be up at 5am the morning after to train some new hires on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh... not even Jebus himself will prevent me from attending my Prom, and teaching those new hires how to push the buttons.

On a lighter note, I announced the players for "Hero." They are an excellent group of writers, and I'm thrilled to have them on board for the project. I have never worked with a few of them before, so that is kind of exciting. These posts are gonna rock, assuming that I keep the story on track. Hm.

Go off and be well, you healthy monsters you... I'm so jealous.
Comments (7) | Permalink

Sunday, July 11, 2004

Another Accident?
It's my day off, and I decide to spend it at Disneyland. The former Porn Star wants to set me up with his friend (apparently I was too affectionate for a Porn Star, whee) and this is the most convenient place to do the meeting. I meet the guy, he's nice enough, but the last thing I want to do is spend my day off at Disneyland, so I'm fairly negative throughout the day. Something just seemed off; I can't really explain it. We wander around the California Adventure Park (conveniently located across the way from Disneyland) for a while, and then head back to the "Happiest Place on Earth" to enjoy some of our favorite rides.

After a few hours we come up to Big Thunder Mountain and notice that it isn't operating. Slowly we walk around to the entrance of the ride, and I notice several of my co-workers are standing out front and spieling to guests. This wasn't typical for a breakdown, something had happened.

Apparently two trains (full of guests) had bumped into each other in the loading area, and although nobody was seriously injured it was a big deal. This is the third accident to happen on the ride in it's 20+ year history, but all of those accidents have happened in the past 12 months. Disneyland is obsessive about their safety regulations, so it makes no sense to me on how these things can keep happening. I have spoken to a few people who worked during the latest accident, and they are blaming a combination of computer error and brake failure... I really don't know if I can believe them this time around.

News sources are blaming the people who were working the ride that day, and that also seems likely. There are a gazillion safety measures in place, but it's still possible to get hurt, or to hurt others. It all comes down to how well Cast Members are trained, and as a trainer-in-training, I realize how difficult it can be to cover every little detail. Is it possible that something out of the ordinary happened, and the person in control just didn't know what to do? I'll know when the police investigation is finished.

I feel just as safe going to Disneyland as a guest now as I did before this latest accident, or before any of these accidents happened. I hope that people don't get paranoid about their safety when spending a day at a theme park, but I guess it's too early to say what kinds of impact these things will have on the general public. Bleh.
Comments (5) | Permalink

Thursday, July 8, 2004

Fly Me to the Moon
It's been nearly a week and I haven't fully recovered from this flu, or cold, or whatnot. I didn't go to a single day of Anime Expo, which upsets me quite a bit. It seemed like Shinmaru and Co. had a lot of fun, so that only annoys me more. Next year I'm not pre-registering; you never know what kinds of random things will happen when you pay for your tickets six months in advance. I could have used that 40 dollars to make a payment on my Best Buy credit card, which I only got to pay for this laptop. Money is becoming more of an issue lately; I don't know how I managed to go this long without realizing how expensive everything is. Chances are I'll be getting a second job in the Fall to compensate for school and random life expenses.

Yesterday and today are days off for the week, and I have a lot of little errands to run. One of the more important onces is registering for my Fall classes, and ensuring that I don't have a repeat of this past Spring's "fake school" fiasco. It shouldn't be a huge issue, although I think I lost most of my scholarship information. Registering for classes is the biggest hassle, especially at a community college. 8 times out of 10 the classes are full, and they force you to take an unrelated course that fills the requirement anyway. I ended up with Archery because of that last year, and if I have to do anything like that again I'm going to cry.

"Hero" sign-ups are coming along at a steady rate. I haven't read every one yet, but it seems like people have been putting a lot of thought into their work. Like I said before, I'll probably close sign-ups after the weekend. That gives people plenty of time to come up with something fun and post it. Dragon Warrior is working with me on the companion myOtaku site, and he's doing a wonderful job. I can't thank him enough for doing this, especially since he had shown no real interest in actually participating in the thing, heh.

Who is the guy above, and what does he have to do with the Human Torch? Apparently he is the Human Torch; at least he's going to portray him in the new Fantastic Four movie. His name is Chris Evans, and he looks the part. I just wonder if the special effects wizards will be able to pull of the character. After seeing Hellboy, I have my doubts about it being possible to do such a thing without it looking ridiculous. A few other parts have been cast, but it's a good sign that they are going for relatively unknown actors, as opposed to filling the cast with "A" list talent. Remember Batman & Robin? Exactly.

I don't have a lot to say in this post, sadly. I figured any type of update is better than none at all.

Also, I wanted to mention something about the new MIDI. Apparently there are crazy people in this world who go out and produce remixes of NES game soundtracks, in MIDI format! I know I have too much free time, but they are just taking things to a whole new level. Enjoy the music, it's from one of my favorite video games of all time...
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Sunday, July 4, 2004

I Need a Hero
Spider-Man 2 was good -- not fantastic -- not the best movie ever, but it is in my "Top 5 Superhero Films of All Time" list.

I would write an in-depth review, but everyone is going to see the movie anyway, so who cares about my opinion of it? In short, I felt like it was a good effort, but they were just little things about the movie that bothered me. They probably won't bother the casual viewer, so it's not really my place to stand up in the movie theater and announce them to the world.

Above: Aunt May and Spider-Man fighting crime together, or something.

I didn’t get to watch Sky Captain, though. They had invited more people to the advanced screening than they had room for, so our group spent that part of the night elsewhere. Very lame.

In other news, "hero" is up and running. The concept has changed a bit since I first posted about it a month or two ago, but I think what I have now is more interesting, and will undoubtedly be more successful than the first 15 ideas I had for it. Dragon Warrior has been a great help in creating the graphics I needed: other people had been "commissioned" to do some work of their own, but it just looks like they are too busy at the moment to get anything done. I can completely relate, though. Because of that, I thought it would be better to launch it now while I have the time to work on it, as opposed to waiting for when everyone's schedules can coincide nicely.

In addition to what Dragon Warrior is doing for myHero, and the RPG itself, another artist may end up providing some key artwork for "hero." Their contributions would be greatly appreciated, and help push the concept beyond my expectations. I can't wait to read the sign-ups once they start rolling in; the few I have so far have pleasantly surprised me.

Ironically, I was discussing the abundance of quality RPGs in the Adventure Arena, and whether or not the membership base can support so many quality projects at once. Torment, Apartment Building C, O Fortuna, and Black Haven 2 are all examples of other projects in the Adventure Arena which have a lot of thought and effort put into them.

I don't want to take any sort of credit for it, but I must say that RPGs of this calibur were few and far between before Kill Adam: Volume 1 was created. Now there are many great projects going on at once, which is a vast improvement over the Adventure Arena of the past. For the most part, I moderate my forums because I'm interested in what is being written. By the time I was through with the anime forums, I just read each topic because it was my job. There's more creativity in something like this to keep me entertained, yay for creativity.

I'm not feeling very well right now, and I need to leave for work in an hour or so. This anoying illness is the reason I won't be attending Anime Expo this year, which really pisses me off. I paid for a four-day pass in davance, and unless I get better by tomorrow I won't be there at all. Bleh. At least I have OtakuBoards to keep me busy until my shift starts...
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