Reading time: 9 – 14 minutes

Unfortunately for me being lazy and unmotivated seems to be more the theme of my existence more so than any exhibition of energy on my part in my life. Despite my (I will not say best because who am I kidding?) efforts, I have seemingly given myself wholly unto the gods of procrastination and demons of lethargy. My list of projects that I would like to complete (even partially) goes every day while my finished projects list remains ever empty. I think a lot of that has to due with the sheer amount of gaming I like to do after work. Actually, first it’s TV. time then comes the gaming. Whether it is Street Fighter IV or Call of Duty: World at War, I will end up playing in to the late hours of the night. What I need is focus and discipline and maybe one day I will be able to complete something. Until then I will continue to enjoy my late night gaming sessions and revel in the joy that it brings.

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

I am what you might call an undead enthusiast.  I am enthused by the undead, from skeletons to zombies and everything in between.  I would only go so far as to say “enthusiast” because I am sure that someone could quiz me on some obscure literature or movie and I’d fail.  I do not go out of my way to read those stories and I do not exclude all other genres.  I enjoy them and that is about the extent of it.  In the end it is not just the undead that sets my heart a-fluttering, I think I am mainly fascinated by apocalytpic stories be they pre-, mid- or post-apocalyptic.

I just finished George Romero’s latest movie Diary of the Dead and while it was okay and I am sure I see what he was going for it just felt lacking to me in many areas especially in the acting department.  I am not sure if the actors were trying to act like someone that was not an actor would act in front of camera or if they were just not that good.  It is possible they were doing the best they could do with the material, which would be sad.  The other big let down for me, was that the effects were more like a poorly funded film school project (which would be getting a lousy grade) instead of a real movie.  No matter how much I tried I couldn’t suspend any disbelief and the zombies looked like actors instead of flesh eating denizens of the night bent on consuming the human race one person at a time. 

My question though is what is it about these invariably tragic stories that instills in me a craving to watch the horror unfold for the characters in it.  Is it the human suffering?  Could it be the struggle of simply living in the aftermath of a horrible catastrophe?  I will dig deep in my soul and try to figure it out and post more on that later.

-v- out.

Just FYI I know if I faced life in England in the Reign of Fire setting that I would be one of the first to succumb to even the most mentally challenged dragon.

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

With the advent of Street Fighter IV upon the world I am overcome with such feeling that it can only be described as divine exaltation.  Well it could also be described as good or awesome I suppose but if I don’t use the thesaurus at least once in my life it may never happen.

The game is familiar enough to the previous incarnations that it is not very difficult to perform the basics and get right to the fighting.  A fireball is a fireball is a fireball after all.   There are enough differences though that it makes for a fun (sometimes frustrating) experience learning all the new features of the game.  The super combos (not really new but coming directly from Street Fighter II, its newer to me), ultra combos and the focus attacks are all nice additions to the game in my opinion and add quite a bit to the depth of a match.   The challenge mode  and trial modes are fairly common fare for a fighting game these days but still enjoyable.  Unfortunately, like most good things, even the sublime feeling that washes over me when the theme music plays (yes I do like it) comes to an abrupt end when I actually play the game online.

It’s not even the mechanics of the game since out of all the versions I’ve played this one is pretty close to perfection.  It lacks a few features that would have been nice at release but there is always hope for downloadable content later.  Anyway, its not the game that makes me cry into my pillow at night but the utter deterioration of any skill that I possessed at the game.   My mighty fists and feet of fury can still special deliver a parcel of pain to my opponents but not as much as I feel I could have back in the day.  I’ve taken no names other than one.  My pride, or whatever it goes by these days.

P.S. The matchmaking could use some work.  A perfect victory over a person that has obviously never played a fighting game in their life does little to bolster my ego after being thoroughly  trounced by the next teeny bopper I have to face.

-v- out.

Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Experiencing the many vagaries of the unconscious mind that pass unwittingly through the night as I sleep, doesn’t seem to guarantee that such wild imaginings  will transcend from the ethereal nature of dreams to the tangibility of paper back to the intangible www. 

Basically I’m very lazy and don’t update regularly enough.  It just sounds better when you use a thesaurus to make excuses.

I’ve finally almost caught up on Y: The Last Man having just picked up trades 8 and 9 (both excellent if you’re wondering) and I’m now anxiously awaiting the arrival of number 10.  I spent most of Sunday reacquainting myself with the story by starting all the way from the beginning and reading it through the last trade, which likely a good thing since it was all unfamiliar to me. 

I was fortunate enough to pick up all issues for Angel: After the Fall (and yes I am current with Buffy season 8).  I’m not sure how much I like the direction they’re taking the story but it’s interesting enough to keep reading.  The problem I have with the Buffy and Angel comics is that you have a limited special effects budget when putting on the television series but when you move to comics you can make those effects as special as you like.  I like to compare it to when I finished my stint in basic training and the women were not allowed to wear make up the entire time but come graduation day they slopped it all over their faces because they could finally.  I like it but its not like the television shows which could be the effect they wanted to achieve, to differentiate themselves from it.  New media.  New format.  It’s just harsh ya know?

Next time: More information on the web comic!

 -v. out.

Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

    Depending on what I have to say this may or may not be a real post.  Let’s see shall we? 

    I’ll still be messing with some of the design of the site for a while, I’m not exactly sure what style to settle on but I will eventually.   I’ve tried several designs in the past that I’ve enjoyed but none have really been exactly what I’ve pictured in my head.  Unfortunately I just have the artistic chops to do that maybe someday, but definitely not now.

    Do you ever get the feeling, while doing one thing, that you should  be doing something else?  I got that feeling tonight while I was happily running around completing quests in the new Dustwallow Marsh in WoW.  Strangely enough that something wasn’t, as I thought at first, to go quest in another zone.   I went to complete a few quests in Alterac but I still felt there was something else I should be doing.   So I stopped playing entirely and came to keep working on globulous.

   Although I’m enjoying typing this post I still think there is something else I should be doing and I think it may be that I need to go watch some television. 

Reading time: < 1 minute

What could this topic be that would make me want to post? Well it seems that I'm so out of the loop on one of my favorite bands that I'm just now learning they have a new album coming out! And since you probably don't know me I'll go ahead and tell you that its Green Day! It’s true. Title of the album is goin to be American Idiot and it comes out Sept 24th. I’m too lazy to find the link but somewhere on their site you can listen to the title track.

If you like Green Day and want more of the same (and I do mean the same) give their new album a try! I know I will!

Reading time: < 1 minute

Well despite the fact I know of only about 3 people that actually look at this site I'm going to post a link to a friend of mine's webpage in hopes of spreading the news about her new book!

http://www.mycrapboss.com

I’ve pre-ordered my copy make sure to get yours ordered today too!

-vampy-

Reading time: < 1 minute

Not sure that anyone would really care but I've been testing the Coppermine gallery and decided to use it for putting up some screenshots of City of Heroes!

http://www.plasma-archer.com/coh

Reading time: < 1 minute

I figured a moment of silence in an already silent blog would be appropriate for the passing of one of my favorite shows to date.

Angel: The Series is no longer a series. =(

Reading time: < 1 minute

That's what makes superheroes fun! That and a fun MMORPG City of Heroes check it out!

Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Have you ever looked at something so perfect, so utterly sublime that just knowing you know how wonderful it is makes it just that much more beautiful to behold? When words that dance so close to your lips just don’t quite make it out because you know in your heart that to even try to describe it would seem a horrible injustice to attempt such an act of profanity. The feeling of being cheated out of so much in life because here, in front of you now, is something that should have been there all your life and everything before it dulls in comparison and fills you with so much joy and sadness that your heart can barely beat from the emotional intensity. You long with every part of your body to reach out and touch it and hope beyond words that it will fill you with as much love and pleasure that your life could end at that moment when you’ve crested the pinnacle of happiness and you would be at peace forever and ever.

That’s exactly how I felt about a week ago when we took the brownies out of the oven. Oh man were they deliciouso! We get this huge box of them at Sam’s Club for like 5 bucks and it makes 3 pans of pure pleasure. You may never want other brownies again after having these bad boys. I’ve had brownies from scratch and I’ve had brownies from mixes. I’ve had brownies of all types and I’ll have you know I’ve never had anything so wonderful as these thing.

I guess you can tell by now that I have nothing really worth writing but I figured I’d share that Brownie Moment(tm) with you guys just in case you wanted to know.

-v- out.

Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Bleh. Not much else to say really but I’ll try anyway. Other than stressing out majorly over quite a few personal issues which I wont go in to detail here (only because I’m way too lazy to actually type it out not because I feel some kind of need to keep my personal life to myself) nothing much has been going on of interest.

I would like to say a quick congratulations to my sister who just remarried yesterday. Here’s to having a wonderful marriage and a long happy life, Tess! You most certainly deserve it.

Anyhoo, lessee… Well watched quite a few movies in the theaters (at least quite a few for us):

Hellboy: Liked it but unfortunately too much exposition which is only to be expected since they have a bit to tell about this guy. Hopefully there will be a sequel. Ron Perlman rocks.
Dawn of the Dead: What’s not to like? Zombies? Good. Guns? Good. Horrible tragic hope-dashing ending? GOOOOOOD!

Hrmm I guess I can only remember 2 movies that we saw in a theater. Not as impressive as I first thought. I have watched quite a bit of Angel unfortunately now I have to wait till season 4 comes out on DVD and even sadder is that the series is ending.

Well if you’re still reading this I’m sorry. It’s been an interesting time since my last post but probably not too interesting for anyone but my and mine. =)

-v- out.

P.S. My shit’s phat like a sumo slammin that ass. – Cypress Hill

Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Ever watch a movie called Amadeus? Basically its a story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s life and his relationship with another composer named Salieri. Anyway the part I’d like to draw your attention to is when Salieri is looking over some of Mozart’s work and instantly recognizes how amazing it is etc. He says that God has cursed him with the ability to recognize beauty/talent what have you and yet deny him the ability to create the same things.

I think I’ve got that same curse. I look around and see all kinds of great things and say, “Golly gee, that’s some good stuff.” And, “I sure wish I could do that.” I could probably even envision something in my mind clear as day and what comes out is no where near what you picture. I can see a great picture or read a great story and can only wonder why I can’t do that. Unlike Salieri in the movie though, I do appreciate the fact that it takes a great talent to do some of the things I can only hope to even dream of doing and I also appreciate the fact that its wonderful that there are people that can do those things cuz it would be a pretty boring place without them.

It’d just be a much better place if I could do that stuff too. =)

-v- out.

Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

I had a lot longer post typed up initially on growing up and how corporate america sure does suck and it’s way different that what I grew up believing was how it should be. I scratched all that cuz everyone can see how bad it is just by reading the news.

I may post it up eventually just to get some thoughts down somewhere just to have them but I guess it was really just for me to get some of that kind of stuff off my mind.

I really should add this picture to the http://prose.plasma-archer.com page but I’d rather put it out here where someone may see it cuz this is updated with a little more regularity.

-v- out.