New Address
Mood:  accident prone
Please go here and redirect your bookmarks. I've set myself up a new home, and I don't plan on coming back.

My archnemesis Tripod...so we meet again...
For those of you who come here by way of the index page, you may have noticed some changes recently. Most notably, the fact that those evil bastards at Tripod have begun forcing sidebars onto the free Tripod sites with "helpful" links to other free Tripod member sites. Yeah. "Helpful" is the word I'd use for that monstrocity. For now, they've left the blog pages alone, so for the time being I've reinitiated the redirect page. Sorry about all this mess, folks. I swear--I'm not just saying this--someday, I shall get my own domain.

No, really. I swear.

I've gone back to playing some Metroid Prime, I suppose in preparation for the new one coming out. I'm not really quite sure what force motivated me to pull it back out, yet, there it is. More than anything, I think it's the quiet voice in the back of my mind that continually reminds me that--although I pre-ordered the game months in advance, and picked it up the day it was available--I have yet to finish it. I'm stuck in a particularly sticky point, and I can't get past it, and my failsafe failure mechanism in moments of crisis is to simply give up when the going gets too terribly tough. I'm trying, though. I need to get this game finished. It's now a matter of principle as it is the only remaining Metroid game I have yet to complete. Oh, wait - that's right. I haven't finished my missing Metroid Fusion, either. Argh. Oh well. On a completely unrelated note, can someone please tell me how to get to the power bombs?

A friend of mine signed up for the Matrix Online beta. If you are into torturing yourself, you might just want to do the same.

Cube IGN has a pretty good Baten Kaitos media 'blowout', whatever that's supposed to mean. Looks great, but it's far from a 'blowout' in my opinion.

On a related note, it looks as though IGN is redesigning itself. It looks like ass. Looking at my site, take that comment for what it's worth.

On a completely unrelated note, it looks like Microsoft really is out to take over the world. Naysayers, beware...

Later...

OK, a little more air time...
I sent Tycho the link I posted below for Sore Thumb's jab at PA's Child's Play, just to see if he cared. His response--and I'm quoting:

They're just not worth it. That statement bears meaning along a number of relevant axes.

It's hard to know exactly what point they're trying to make.

So, Kris and I aren't alone in feeling their lack of validity. Anyone else care to chime in? Posting comments is free, and hatin' on the haters is priceless.

A funny political comic featuring big-breasted manga chicks
The online comic Sore Thumbs in actuality has only one of the three qualities above. Can you guess which one? Don't hurt yourself thinking about it. To be completely honest, I've never been a big fan of Chris Crosby's work, though I do support his numerous empires. And this simply has to be a joke. It HAS to be! No one in their right minds--not even Chris Crosby--could possibly believe that a manga-style comic can feature big-breasted anime chicks AND thoughtful leftist political commentary together! Fortunately, there is a complete and total lack of thoughtful leftist political commentary within the confines of this online comic, which is just as well. As Kris Straub puts it, it contains nothing more than "anti-Republican straw man arguments". I thought that was a bit harsh, until I started reading the archives and slowly realized just how correct he was. It just isn't taking itself seriously, and I'm thinking it just has to be a big joke. If it isn't, well, then that's just sad that they actually think this kind of style can be anything other than completely and totally ineffectual. Now I'm having a dilemma of sorts. You see, there's some kind of audacious battling going on between the Sore Thumbs people, the Checkerboard Nightmare people (Kris), and some other comics, which is starting to make me believe this is all just an elaborate publicity stunt. I don't know what to think anymore, especially when I read the comic that appeared to be mocking Penny Arcade's Child's Play efforts. I mean, who mocks that? Almost $30,000 in cash and hundred of thousands of games for needy kids stuck in a children's hospital? If you can make fun of that and still look at yourself in the mirror every morning, you are a much bigger man than I. Or smaller. Whatever. I'm done giving them air time.

Speaking of online comics, I keep forgetting to mention Ctrl-Alt-Del by Tim Buckley. I have a very small set of comics that I read every week, and that comic recently made the upgrade into my list. I think it was the sentient Xbox that did it. Who knows for sure?

So, did I happen to mention that my nephew lost my copy of Metroid Fusion? I wasn't finished, actually I was at the last battle with the SA-X. It's gone now. I threatened to make him give me his allowance for the next couple of months to pay for a replacement, but how do you do that without coming off sounding like a bully? He's 10! "Gimmie your lunch money!" Ugh. To make it worse, his mom (my sister) is a single mom and a kindergarten teacher. She's sick about him losing my game, but I'm not about to demand her to give me a replacement. I'm just counting it gone. Alas, it was never meant to be. That's okay, I'm still knee deep in Battle Network and Mario & Luigi anyways. Who has the time, I ask you? Who has the time...?

I also managed to finish "Neverwhere" this past week. Excellent piece of fiction. I'd definitely recommend Neil Gaiman to anyone even remotely interested in scifi. It really brings out what I consider to be the absolute essence of scifi. Where most people think it's all about robots and aliens and spaceships, we scifi afficianados know better. It delves deeper into what is possible in the realm of the imagination. Truly inspiring stuff. "Neverwhere" is especially good because it makes me want to visit London, something I've never even considered previously.

Is Nintendo's purchase of Kuju going to pay off in the form of "Cube Wars"? Only time will tell. I thought Advance Wars was the most fun one could have playing a strategy game on the GBA. Let's see if Kuju can make the same magic come to life for the Cube, though rumors place the game as being more action-based, set within the Advance Wars universe. Like I said, only time will tell.

That's all for now, kids. But really, isn't that more than enough...?

MP to Feature MP
So, Metroid Prime 2 will evidently have multiplayer. Hey, you know what? That's fine. It really is. I, unfortunately, will not be able to get the most enjoyment out of the multiplayer portion of the game, but that's besides the point. I can't (or at least shouldn't) begrudge a game simply because I have no friends. However, if the multiplayer aspect in any way takes the focus of the game away from the solo adventure I am expecting to receive as well, then I can and will hold a grudge against Retro Studios for having ruined my game. You may argue that I can't do that either. Oh, but I assure you that I can. You see, they have set a precedent in Metroid Prime. An absolutely excellent single player adventure in first person view, with amazing visuals, sound, and gameplay. I love Metroid Prime, as do many other people. It's one of my favorite games. Metroid Prime 2 is already expected to be an excellent follow-up to its predecessor. So, I expect--and rightfully so--the solo adventure portion of the game to be just as--if not more--huge, engrossing, and expansive as the original. We can already see that the graphics are going to be absolutely stunning, on par or even completely topping itself. I'm only truly concerned with the gameplay. Only time will tell.

Sounds like the new 1.15 patch for Warcraft III should prove interesting, what with the addition of a new neutral hero. I enjoy using the Pandaren Brewmaster and the Pit Lord, so an extra neutral hero waiting at the Tavern is a promising thought. Especially with the abilities they have listed for him. Should be interesting.

Went to see The Passion of the Christ last night. Disturbing. The images of pain and suffering were more than even I could handle, and I laughed through the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. This stuff is serious. I must say, though, that it simply has to be the most accurate portrayal that ever was or ever will be of Jesus' last hours on Earth. It is realistic, painful to watch, and true to the Gospel, with the exception of some very minor conversations thrown in to complete the story on some aspects. Such as the part where Pilate says to his wife that if there is one more uprising in Jerusalem, Caesar would have his head. This was basically true, but this conversation with Claudia was obviously never documented anywhere. Stuff like that. I even noticed they threw in the Shroud of Turin, I suppose to collect those that believe in this (I suppose you would refer to it as a "traditional" story, since it isn't documented in any historical references?) story within the story of the Passion. Only they bring it up in passing, as it isn't the burial cloth, but merely a cloth someone used to wipe Jesus' face as he made his way through the city. Anyways, yeah. Disturbing. Be forewarned.

Later, kids...

Eclectic and challenging...
I had someone email me and tell me that I had a rather "eclectic" wish list. I would have to agree with this statement, to a certain extent. However, this particular person was pointing out--as examples, I would imagine--my listings for Tales of Symphonia, Mega Man X: Command Mission, and Paper Mario 2. Well, that changes things. I had the most fortunate task of informing this person that my list is actually far from eclectic with respect to the titles mentioned, and that each of those titles, in fact--despite what the names and history of the genres may suggest--is an RPG. Now, the Tales series has always been RPG-based, so that's a no-brainer. But when people hear the name "Mario", it is usually in conjunction with an image more or less similar to this, completely unaware of Mario's sojourn into the RPG realm with releases such as the SNES entry Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the N64's Paper Mario, and the more recent GBA game, Mario & Luigi: SuperStar Saga (one of my current obsessions, as well as a definite recommendation). And then there's Mega Man, which, honestly, has been fairly devoid of any distinct correlation to the RPG genre in its history, with the exception of the more recent Battle Network games, which, while having elements of RPG within them, they actually share more in common with games like Pokemon than they do RPGs. And don't start attempting to defend the argument that Pokemon is an RPG. It will only make me want to hurt you.

I'm overwhelmed with joy at the prospect of all of these potential RPGs hitting the Cube this year. There is a somewhat short supply, and it is my favorite genre to play, delegated for the time being to my GBA. I've actually been doing more adventure gaming on the Cube, lately, a genre that I think takes to the little black box more kindly than the other current consoles, as far as I'm concerned. I'm especially excited to witness so many different variations of RPG, such as those mentioned previously. We have the classic medieval fantasy in Tales, a futuristic robot hero in Mega Man, and a free-roaming plumber in (presumably) the Mushroom Kingdom in another. I like this kind of variance. It helps keep a genre fresh and interesting that many people find boring and repetitive. I look forward to more of the same, as I prefer it when developers choose to innovate along the already existing lines of games, blurring genres, so to speak, as opposed to innovating in new areas, creating completely new genres and gamestyles.

There is, genuinely, a rather eclectic nature to my wish list, but I would use the examples of StarCraft: Ghost and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow as enjoying an odd juxtaposition of space with the RPGs previously expounded upon. I garnered Splinter Prime for cheap in a game trade, and--being a huge Thief fan--the prospect of "stealth action" is obviously intriguing to me. Especially when those cheerful lads at Ubisoft are at the helm.

Did everyone enjoy Easter? We spent the weekend with my wife's family in Iowa City. My son searched for many an Easter egg, tossing them nonchalantly into a basket--as though they wouldn't break. Of course! What idea could ever cross the mind of 19 mo old that eggs could break? My plastic toys don't break [that easily]. I think his off-kilter mind comes from his mother's side. But I digress!

There was much in the way of ham, deviled eggs, potatoes, noodles, salads, etc., etc., etc. to be had. Easter just happens to be second only to Thanksgiving in the amount of food digested in a single sitting. Excellent.

By the way, the subject of this post is a fun little inside joke from my college days. A friend of ours named Audrey (I think everyone should have a friend named "Audrey", it really should be the rule as opposed to the exception, if you ask me) used it quite frequently whenever she encountered something that she absolutely hated (we had a lot of "artsy"-type friends, so it was usually something in the neighborhood of a semblance of "art"), but she wanted to be "nice" about it, should would refer to it as being "eclectic and challenging". Since we all knew the truth, it just became more hilarious and ridiculous every time she used it. It caught on quickly.

Later, all...

Caring is optional
If I'm consistent at anything, it's changing things up on you. I've decided to bring back the "landing page" index.html, and just posting links to the blog here. I had a couple of emails from people not quite liking the redirection script, and to be honest, though the traffic here has always been meager (but will soon get better, I'm sure of it! Spread the word, people!), I missed the traffic tracker. Plus, this gives me the added bonus of posting all the links to my many, many internet-based interests on the front page for all to browse my Favorites folder. Basically there's more arguments for this change than there are against, and that's--I suppose--a good thing.

A friend of mine commented that it seems like I've become a bit of a Ubiwhore lately. I suppose that's true, and I'm not about to apologize for it. What precious little Cube game time I get lately has been split between BG&E and Splinter Cell (which, since the announcement of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, I've been referring to as "Splinter Prime"). I've been wanting to pick up PoP ever since I played my friend's Xbox version. To be honest, a majority of my gaming time has been spent on Mega Man Battle Network 2, a game which causes another friend of mine to simply smile and nod when I speak of it, as he knows full well how similar the game architecture is to Pokemon, and it gives him great joy to point that out. I usually just kick him. Hard. Or beat him severely at HeroClix.

I won't be posting for a few days, as I will be off in another city enjoying Easter with someone else's family. All fine and dandy, sure, but it has become a bit of an annoyance that--as most of my wife's family considers me to be a more "religious" person than any they know, simply because I am the deacon chairman at my church--I am usually requested to give the prayer before eating. This wouldn't be a problem, except that my prayers are mini-sermons. People usually don't like that, especially when the food is just sitting there, waiting to be eaten, and some idiot is going off non-stop about the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. I picture them thinking to themselves how much they would like me to just shut up. They usually just kick me. Hard. Or beat me severely at HeroClix.

Happy Easter, all! Talk to you later.

2004: the year of Nintendo?
This is really strange. Strikingly odd. A couple of weeks ago, I posted what basically amounted to a rant in Nintendo's general direction about how they aren't listening to gamers, and I'm probably going to get an Xbox 2 before I even look at the GameCube 2, and miscellaneous other related musings. Now, within the past week or so, we've received nothing short of an onslaught of Nintendo news, from games, to aquisitions, to--you name it. We're hearing about it now. This is GREAT! Now, I'm not so naive as to think that my words had any influence on Nintendo's seeming change of focus. Duh. I'm not even going there. But I'm just amazed at how my prayers are gradually being answered. Nintendo IS responding to its user base. They're moving in a direction that's positive and not negative. GO NINTENDO! Let's see what's on the horizon, shall we?

They've announced a slew of new games coming up in the next year or so, including some that I'm especially looking forward to, like Paper Mario 2 and the Intelligent Systems tactical game Fire Emblem coming to the Cube. Bring it on! These games look great, and here's hoping they play great, too.

A huge surprise to anyone who's followed Nintendo in recent years, they've announced some acquisitions, but not of developers, as Nintendo has done in the past, but rather of key technologies in the electronics market, presumably in the hardware industry. Nintendo currently outsources design and manufacturing of their hardware, and snatching up some quality companies in these areas can bring costs down and allow them to have even more control over their hardware and stock inventory. This of course does not mean they will do away with their key partnerships. It's just that those partnerships will have less responsibility. Maybe they will simply work together on a mass market design, and then assist each other in production--who knows. At this point, it's not worth anything to speculate. But it is worth something to hope that this is a sign of good things in the future.

And I know this is really only on the periphery of Nintendo's 'realm', but it's been announced that action master director John Woo has optioned the production rights to the Metroid movie that was allowed to go untouched for so long. The original holders of the rights allowed them to expire, and Mr. Action Movie himself evidently couldn't pass up on the opportunity to realize the world of Samus Aran and the Metroid menace. Sounds good to me! Paycheck wasn't a bad flick, so who knows what John is capable of doing for Metroid. Maybe a visit to Hyrule is in order at some point in the future...?

Sounds like some great stuff for Nintendo--and Nintendo gamers!--is coming down the pipe this year. I'm now more excited for E3 than I was before, because I have a more hopeful outlook for Nintendo this year. Maybe we won't get the next Wind Waker this year. I'm still thinking 2004 could be the year of Nintendo. Who's with me?

In other news, I just installed SharpReader, supposedly one of the leading content aggregators available on the web. Now, I hardly ever open a browser window anymore. It's still a beta release (version 0.9.4.1), but it's seemingly stable and blazingly easy to use, if you already understand the fundamentals of rss/xml feeds, that is. Thankfully, I do. And I really like getting a pop-up message on my desktop saying Slashdot has a new article, and opening up my SharpReader to quickly scan it and realize that I don't care to hear about the most recent release of GNOME 4.1.3.2.8.9.3 or whatever. Mark read, get back to work. It's nice.

Evil Network has an rss feed available, not that there's anyone around to capture it. My little request the other day for people to stand up and be recognized resulted in 3 comments, one of which from someone who doesn't seem to like the Evil Network that much. No problem. I'm going to continue doing this anyways because it keeps me out of the streets.

Later...

Yeah, I know it's April Fool's Day. Get over it.
What with it being the day that it is, one should learn not to trust any news bits posted today. However, after so many months of complete darkness, I can't help but believe that the email I received today from Barry Smith telling me that InkTank.com was back up and operational was nothing but genuine. At least I really hope it is, because honestly Angst Technology is one of my favorite online comics.

Kurtz's news, however, is blatantly April Fool's.

Well, I'm on a roll--might as well continue talking about April Fool's Day.

So far, my favorite joke is at GameRankings. They're posting all of the worst scores, instead of the usual best. Nicely done, GR. Now that's an original use of the intended fun of April Fool's Day.

I thought IGN GameBoy's news of a forthcoming Shrek 2 video game was a better April Fool's joke than the Virtual Boy Game Boy Advance SP, though visuals and timeliness of the article made it good for a chuckle.

I don't even know what to think of Nintendojo's intended joke. I'll let you make your own assumptions, but something about it just seems wrong. Like you don't tread on areas like that because it could make far too many other people and organizations angry. I could be wrong. In fact, I usually am.

I would have bet money that Google's announced Gmail project was a hoax, but it turns out it's real. Which is great, because the second it's available, I'm snatching up an account. 1GB of storage space? I'll take that! I'll never have to delete an email again. I just wonder what the domain will be, @google.com, or @gmail.com. Hmmm.... Evidently this is Google's April Fool's joke.

And then, of course, there's the usual fake game news. Or, at least, I hope that's all fake.

Whatever. I can't trust anything today. I'm going back to bed. Later...

Hello? Anybody out there...?
In switching to this blog-based system, I've lost a vital element of my original site's design: the traffic tracker. I evidently can't insert any code into this blog page, so I have no real way of tracking who's still visiting my site. I used to get 30-40 unique visitors a day, and now...I have no idea.

So, just humor me a moment. Could you, in passing through my lovely site, take a second to put something in the comments to this blog post? It doesn't have to be...well, anything, really. You don't have to put in your name or email, just a simple "here" would suffice. I know it's not the most efficient or accurate tracking information, I'm just looking for an approximate head count.

Thanks all! Here's hoping I haven't lost many of my 30-40 daily readers!