globulous.com

I’m very much a creature of addictive habits.  As an example if I like a song, I’ll listen to that song ad nauseam until I stumble upon something new.  Sometimes that takes a day and sometimes it takes a month, it just depends on how much wandering I do while I wear out the current flavor of the minute.  I do the same thing with other aspects of my free time (I don’t get addicted to work in any way, shape or form) be it a video game, or reading something new.   My most recent nectar to feed my insatiable appetite is FullMetal Alchemist on Netflix.

There are actually two series available for streaming on the service but in essence they are the same especially up to a certain point.  I watched the 51 episodes of the first series within a week (probably less but I won’t cop to a number just to save face).  Much like a good book, it was hard to put down and usually it was onset of sleep, or maybe blurry eyes that made me turn off the television and put down the remote.  Until the next morning at least.   What surprised me, even though it shouldn’t have, was the amount of adult themes that played along side the humor that seemed aimed more towards a younger audience.  The show is set in a fictional country named Amestris, but what really led me to pick this particular series was that it was supposedly a steampunk setting.  Unfortunately there wasn’t much steam in that punk although the time period is supposed to be early 1900s.  Anyway good show.  Watch it.

This main thrust of this post, in case you were wondering, was just to get something in before the year mark since my last post.  I have accomplished my goal so I’ll see you sometime 8-11 months from now with my next post!  Stay tuned.

-v- out.

Ha! I’ve finally imported the few entries I had from my old blog in to WordPress.  Not sure why I’ve taken so long to do it but its done and now I have a bunch more entries than I did before!  It would be more impressive it wasn’t so sad that its really just adding a few more posts.  I can see plenty of gaps in between entries so much hasn’t changed over the years in regards to the frequency of posts so at least in that respect I’m one consistent mofo.  Enjoy!

-v- out.

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.

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.

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.

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.

    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.