Twitch Introduction
Jul. 4th, 2018 08:59 amAn official "About Me" post for the Twitch audience.
I'm a 37 year old lady living in Florida, in the USA. I work overnights as a Walmart cashier, and have been with the company for 16 and a half years.
My obsession with zombies began in roughly 2012-2013 when I discovered a browser game called the Organ Trail. Which happens to be a parody of the classic computer game The Oregon Trail. Since then, the devs have made a more "complete" game of it, adding its own elements.
Right now, the main game I play is 7 Days to Die, and it's a zombie apocalypse simulator come true. I have almost 5300 hours played since early 2016. While I have been branching into other games for streaming and recording purposes, I still gotta satisfy my 7DtD craving. The other game I've been streaming on Twitch lately is Stardew Valley. Other games in my queue are as follows (listed in no particular order, and haven't decided when to stream them yet...)
- Pinball Arcade and FX3
- LEGO Marvel's Avengers
- Resident Evil HD Remaster
- Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster
- Resident Evil 4
- Resident Evil 5
- Resident Evil 6
- Resident Evil Revelations
- Resident Evil Revelations 2
- The Typing of the Dead: Overkill
My favorite streamers/Youtubers for 7 Days to Die are Games4Kickz, MaxfoxGaming, and Fadewillow. I'm also getting into Neebs Gaming; they're funny. XD
Aside from games, I also enjoy the dragon pet site Flight Rising, and have been writing a story about my dragons (but I've been in such a rut with it lately, orz.) I've been listening to different cinematic background music composed by individuals on youtube. My personal favorites would be Adrian von Ziegler and Derek and Brandon Fiechter. (They have individual channels as well as their joint channel, so check them all out).
I'm a 37 year old lady living in Florida, in the USA. I work overnights as a Walmart cashier, and have been with the company for 16 and a half years.
My obsession with zombies began in roughly 2012-2013 when I discovered a browser game called the Organ Trail. Which happens to be a parody of the classic computer game The Oregon Trail. Since then, the devs have made a more "complete" game of it, adding its own elements.
Right now, the main game I play is 7 Days to Die, and it's a zombie apocalypse simulator come true. I have almost 5300 hours played since early 2016. While I have been branching into other games for streaming and recording purposes, I still gotta satisfy my 7DtD craving. The other game I've been streaming on Twitch lately is Stardew Valley. Other games in my queue are as follows (listed in no particular order, and haven't decided when to stream them yet...)
- Pinball Arcade and FX3
- LEGO Marvel's Avengers
- Resident Evil HD Remaster
- Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster
- Resident Evil 4
- Resident Evil 5
- Resident Evil 6
- Resident Evil Revelations
- Resident Evil Revelations 2
- The Typing of the Dead: Overkill
My favorite streamers/Youtubers for 7 Days to Die are Games4Kickz, MaxfoxGaming, and Fadewillow. I'm also getting into Neebs Gaming; they're funny. XD
Aside from games, I also enjoy the dragon pet site Flight Rising, and have been writing a story about my dragons (but I've been in such a rut with it lately, orz.) I've been listening to different cinematic background music composed by individuals on youtube. My personal favorites would be Adrian von Ziegler and Derek and Brandon Fiechter. (They have individual channels as well as their joint channel, so check them all out).
P.S. I Love OneNote
Jun. 23rd, 2017 01:35 pmOneNote is one of those programs that makes me think, "Why didn't I start using this sooner?" Lord knows I type a whole bunch of random notes in word processing documents with no organization whatsoever. I don't even know if most of the random stuff I type is even important enough to transfer to OneNote.
Before I get started, I should note that there are two versions of OneNote. There's the version that's a part of Microsoft Office, called OneNote 2016, and then there's a standalone Windows 10 version. I'm using the latter.
The Windows 10 version is said to have limited features compared to the 2016 version, but still more than enough features for what I need. The only thing I wish the Windows 10 version had would be the tabs across the top of the window like this…
Versus the Windows 10 app that puts its tabs along the left side like this…
Realistically, I could use either version, but the 2016 version requires the Microsoft Office subscription, which isn't something I really need, since I've found a decent alternative to MS Word, the most frequently used program in the suite. My other frequently used program, Excel, I've found a decent alternative via Google Drive.
For OneNote (either version), the purpose is to take notes, and it allows you to go crazy with it while still keeping it all organized. You start with a notebook, and then create sections, and then pages for each section. I used to use ColorNote on Android for note taking on the go (though I still prefer that for shopping lists). OneNote allows you to insert graphs, charts, drawings, photos, and even allows you to handwrite in it rather than typing, if that's what you prefer. The Windows 10 version stores all your notes in the cloud, so it can sync your notes across all your devices (that's the main reason I prefer this version). So between my computer, my tablet, and my phone, my notes (if you can call them that) are always accessible. I'm actually enjoying this program so much, I wish I could think of more uses for it. So far, all I've got is a notebook for my few reviews, and a notebook for my Flight Rising lore. I could probably add a 7 Days to Die notebook, too. XD
I have a section for Flight Rising story excerpts (which I was previously using Google Docs or an MS Word knockoff for). But now I can store these incomplete sections before using Google Docs for the publishing.
I believe I would recommend the Windows 10 version for syncing your notes across your devices. The Android versions even have a "OneNote Badge," which puts a little bubble on the side of your screen, where you can take a quick note without opening the OneNote app itself. I don't see myself taking notes on the fly like that, but perhaps it might be useful for some people.
Before I get started, I should note that there are two versions of OneNote. There's the version that's a part of Microsoft Office, called OneNote 2016, and then there's a standalone Windows 10 version. I'm using the latter.
The Windows 10 version is said to have limited features compared to the 2016 version, but still more than enough features for what I need. The only thing I wish the Windows 10 version had would be the tabs across the top of the window like this…
Versus the Windows 10 app that puts its tabs along the left side like this…
Realistically, I could use either version, but the 2016 version requires the Microsoft Office subscription, which isn't something I really need, since I've found a decent alternative to MS Word, the most frequently used program in the suite. My other frequently used program, Excel, I've found a decent alternative via Google Drive.
For OneNote (either version), the purpose is to take notes, and it allows you to go crazy with it while still keeping it all organized. You start with a notebook, and then create sections, and then pages for each section. I used to use ColorNote on Android for note taking on the go (though I still prefer that for shopping lists). OneNote allows you to insert graphs, charts, drawings, photos, and even allows you to handwrite in it rather than typing, if that's what you prefer. The Windows 10 version stores all your notes in the cloud, so it can sync your notes across all your devices (that's the main reason I prefer this version). So between my computer, my tablet, and my phone, my notes (if you can call them that) are always accessible. I'm actually enjoying this program so much, I wish I could think of more uses for it. So far, all I've got is a notebook for my few reviews, and a notebook for my Flight Rising lore. I could probably add a 7 Days to Die notebook, too. XD
I have a section for Flight Rising story excerpts (which I was previously using Google Docs or an MS Word knockoff for). But now I can store these incomplete sections before using Google Docs for the publishing.
I believe I would recommend the Windows 10 version for syncing your notes across your devices. The Android versions even have a "OneNote Badge," which puts a little bubble on the side of your screen, where you can take a quick note without opening the OneNote app itself. I don't see myself taking notes on the fly like that, but perhaps it might be useful for some people.
So I got a new car...
Jun. 23rd, 2017 08:33 amSo, I got my new 2014 Honda Civic to replace my 2003 Ford Focus that lost the serpentine belt. (Interestingly enough, that was the same thing that happened to the Plymouth Breeze that led to me buying the Ford Focus.) Also interesting is that the Focus was still running after losing the belt, whereas the Breeze broke down right then and there. However, driving without the belt could lead to an engine explosion, or so I'm told, so I was fortunate to already be in Hilliard when it happened, and I was able to slowly drive the rest of the way home. After that, however, yeah, I wasn't going to drive it to work like that. So I had to borrow my brother's Focus for a few nights while my grandmother drove him to work. My Focus had many other minor issues that weren't serious enough/didn't affect the overall performance, so yeah, it was time for a new car.
Anyway, about the Honda Civic itself. Of course it had most of the features of the Focus that were actually working (i.e. cruise control, power windows, air conditioning, interior lights). I had to recharge the AC on the Focus every year because it had a leak. I don't know why we couldn't just have the leak fixed. Even after this last recharge last month, the AC performance seemed wonky. It would still have periods of blowing hot air before blowing cold air again. So hopefully that issue will be a thing of the past.
As for entirely new features, the dashboard is all digital. The mph shows a digital number, so you know *exactly* how fast you're going. The fuel gauge and mpg (miles per gallon) shows little bars rather than a needle pointing to the number. Next to the mpg meter is a display that either shows the clock, music playing, or other alerts (door open, seatbelt off, etc.). The Civic is also equipped with a rear view camera that displays on the screen when the car is in reverse. It also has an "economy mode," which adjusts your AC and other settings for maximum fuel efficiency.
This is also the first car I've owned that actually has an auxiliary jack for plugging in your phone or other music players. Before now, I've had to use an adapter to play it through the tape player. And the tape player in the Focus was another thing that was broken, so I've had to use a portable bluetooth speaker for the past six months. And since getting my smartwatch for Christmas, the bluetooth connection between the devices has been divided, leading to choppy music playback on the speaker.
Strangely enough, the aux cable doesn't seem to work with my phone; however, the Civic does have a bluetooth feature, allowing you to connect your phone and do hands-free calling and such, including music playback. So the music on my phone plays through the bluetooth connection, and thankfully does not suffer the chopping issues that the portable speaker did. So that was a relief. Being able to control the music and other things with the steering wheel buttons is a plus as well. A lot easier than trying to use my phone or smartwatch to adjust the volume or skip to the next track. And did I mention that the music sounds great?
I also read in the manual that the Civic also has Pandora, but that's a feature I have yet to explore. That'd be nice to have as well, because I do have different musical moods, and I may want to listen to something different than what's on my phone.
As for cons? So far, the only con I have is the lack of remote. When I asked the salesman about it, he said he would try to get me one, but there was no guarantee.
And of course, I gotta show you what the car looks like...
Anyway, about the Honda Civic itself. Of course it had most of the features of the Focus that were actually working (i.e. cruise control, power windows, air conditioning, interior lights). I had to recharge the AC on the Focus every year because it had a leak. I don't know why we couldn't just have the leak fixed. Even after this last recharge last month, the AC performance seemed wonky. It would still have periods of blowing hot air before blowing cold air again. So hopefully that issue will be a thing of the past.
As for entirely new features, the dashboard is all digital. The mph shows a digital number, so you know *exactly* how fast you're going. The fuel gauge and mpg (miles per gallon) shows little bars rather than a needle pointing to the number. Next to the mpg meter is a display that either shows the clock, music playing, or other alerts (door open, seatbelt off, etc.). The Civic is also equipped with a rear view camera that displays on the screen when the car is in reverse. It also has an "economy mode," which adjusts your AC and other settings for maximum fuel efficiency.
This is also the first car I've owned that actually has an auxiliary jack for plugging in your phone or other music players. Before now, I've had to use an adapter to play it through the tape player. And the tape player in the Focus was another thing that was broken, so I've had to use a portable bluetooth speaker for the past six months. And since getting my smartwatch for Christmas, the bluetooth connection between the devices has been divided, leading to choppy music playback on the speaker.
Strangely enough, the aux cable doesn't seem to work with my phone; however, the Civic does have a bluetooth feature, allowing you to connect your phone and do hands-free calling and such, including music playback. So the music on my phone plays through the bluetooth connection, and thankfully does not suffer the chopping issues that the portable speaker did. So that was a relief. Being able to control the music and other things with the steering wheel buttons is a plus as well. A lot easier than trying to use my phone or smartwatch to adjust the volume or skip to the next track. And did I mention that the music sounds great?
I also read in the manual that the Civic also has Pandora, but that's a feature I have yet to explore. That'd be nice to have as well, because I do have different musical moods, and I may want to listen to something different than what's on my phone.
As for cons? So far, the only con I have is the lack of remote. When I asked the salesman about it, he said he would try to get me one, but there was no guarantee.
And of course, I gotta show you what the car looks like...
Selling some stuff...
May. 4th, 2017 09:48 amOkay, so my brother has gotten himself into a financial bind, and we need to get rid of some old stuff we're not using anymore. So we've gathered these games and movies that we're willing to sell. Each item is $5, unless otherwise noted next to the item. If interested, please contact my brother at kitmishima@hotmail.com.
Without further adieu, here is the list...
Games for sale
PS3
- Dragon Age Inquisition
- Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk
- Atelier Escha & Logy ~ Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
PS4
- Uncharted 4
PC
- Star Wars: The Best of PC (Includes Empire at War, Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, and Republic Commando)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
Xbox 360
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Alice: Madness Returns
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- Armored Core 4
- Medal of Honor: Frontline
- Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
- Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
- Destroy All Humans!
- Crackdown
DVD Anime
- D.N. Angel Volume 1
- D.N. Angel Volume 2
DVD Movies
- The Chronicles of Riddick
DVD/Blu-Ray combo
- Deadpool
HD DVD's
- Backdraft
- Waterworld
- Lara Croft Tomb Raider
- 12 Monkeys
- Blazing Saddles
- Feast (Unrated)
- The Bourne Ultimatum
- Zodiac 2-disc Director's Cut
- Goodfellas
- Scooby-Doo (2002)
- Shooter
- The Mummy
- The Frighteners
- Serenity
- Mission: Impossible (Special Collector's Edition)
- Constantine
- Lethal Weapon
- Disturbia
- Mallrats
- Hot Fuzz
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- The Perfect Storm
- M:I-2
- Top Gun
- Van Helsing
- M:I-3
- The Chronicles of Riddick
- Superman Returns
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- An American Werewolf in London
- The Bourne Identity
- Flags of our Fathers
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Smokey and the Bandit
- John Carpenter's The Thing
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Sleepy Hollow
- Pitch Black
Regular DVD's
- The Abyss: Special Edition
- Dracula (Frank Langella as Dracula)
- 007: Goldeneye
- Every Which Way but Loose
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
- Hostile Hauntings (6-movie horror collection, includes H.P. Lovecraft's The Shunned House, The Woodland Haunting 2, The Somnambulists, Hellbound: Book of the Dead, The River: Legend of La Llorona, and Sleep Disorder.)
- Horror Classics (includes 4 movies: Don't Look in the Basement!, House on Haunted Hill, The House on the Edge of the Park, and Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory.)
Without further adieu, here is the list...
Games for sale
PS3
- Dragon Age Inquisition
PS4
- Uncharted 4
PC
- Star Wars: The Best of PC (Includes Empire at War, Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, and Republic Commando)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
Xbox 360
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Alice: Madness Returns
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- Armored Core 4
- Medal of Honor: Frontline
- Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
- Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
- Destroy All Humans!
- Crackdown
DVD Anime
- D.N. Angel Volume 1
- D.N. Angel Volume 2
DVD Movies
- The Chronicles of Riddick
DVD/Blu-Ray combo
- Deadpool
HD DVD's
- Backdraft
- Waterworld
- Lara Croft Tomb Raider
- 12 Monkeys
- Blazing Saddles
- Feast (Unrated)
- The Bourne Ultimatum
- Zodiac 2-disc Director's Cut
- Goodfellas
- Scooby-Doo (2002)
- Shooter
- The Mummy
- The Frighteners
- Serenity
- Mission: Impossible (Special Collector's Edition)
- Constantine
- Lethal Weapon
- Disturbia
- Mallrats
- Hot Fuzz
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- The Perfect Storm
- M:I-2
- Top Gun
- Van Helsing
- M:I-3
- The Chronicles of Riddick
- Superman Returns
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- An American Werewolf in London
- The Bourne Identity
- Flags of our Fathers
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Smokey and the Bandit
- John Carpenter's The Thing
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Sleepy Hollow
- Pitch Black
Regular DVD's
- The Abyss: Special Edition
- Dracula (Frank Langella as Dracula)
- 007: Goldeneye
- Every Which Way but Loose
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
- Hostile Hauntings (6-movie horror collection, includes H.P. Lovecraft's The Shunned House, The Woodland Haunting 2, The Somnambulists, Hellbound: Book of the Dead, The River: Legend of La Llorona, and Sleep Disorder.)
- Horror Classics (includes 4 movies: Don't Look in the Basement!, House on Haunted Hill, The House on the Edge of the Park, and Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory.)
Asus Zenwatch 2 Review
Dec. 26th, 2016 04:32 amWell, I had a fun Christmas. My gift haul was small, but I did get some money to spend. I'm not entirely sure what to buy with it, though...
My biggest prize this year was the Asus Zenwatch 2, a watch I've been wanting for several months now. At this time last year, I didn't really know what smartwatches were capable of. But as I asked my dad, who owns the original Asus Zenwatch model, and did some research of my own, my desire for the watch grew exponentially.
( And now for the actual review... )
So obligatory pros and cons of the Zenwatch 2...
Pros
- Affordable
- Fast and reliable
- Great battery life and bluetooth connection
- Fast charger
- Size and color options for watch and straps
Cons
- Just about every review I've seen online has noted the large bezels around the display as a negative, but it's not such a big deal for me. I often don't notice it when I'm using the watch.
- WI-FI must be on to control music with watch. Might be an Android Wear issue rather than a Zenwatch 2 issue...
And that's pretty much it. I'll probably share more impressions or cool uses I find as I go along. But hopefully this'll inspire you to get a Zenwatch 2 of your own. =D
My biggest prize this year was the Asus Zenwatch 2, a watch I've been wanting for several months now. At this time last year, I didn't really know what smartwatches were capable of. But as I asked my dad, who owns the original Asus Zenwatch model, and did some research of my own, my desire for the watch grew exponentially.
( And now for the actual review... )
So obligatory pros and cons of the Zenwatch 2...
Pros
- Affordable
- Fast and reliable
- Great battery life and bluetooth connection
- Fast charger
- Size and color options for watch and straps
Cons
- Just about every review I've seen online has noted the large bezels around the display as a negative, but it's not such a big deal for me. I often don't notice it when I'm using the watch.
- WI-FI must be on to control music with watch. Might be an Android Wear issue rather than a Zenwatch 2 issue...
And that's pretty much it. I'll probably share more impressions or cool uses I find as I go along. But hopefully this'll inspire you to get a Zenwatch 2 of your own. =D
7 Days to Die Alpha 14
Apr. 24th, 2016 09:39 pmWell, 7 Days to Die just released a massive update. In fact, it was so massive that I actually had to start a new game. Probably because the default world of Navezgane was changed and expanded to twice the size.
Thankfully I was able to locate a nice neighborhood to set up my base. I picked the first house, and set up my sleeping bag and storage boxes in the basement of the house. I just built a wall around it yesterday. I had a few mishaps where zombies would break in through the wooden walls, but now that I have a wall around the house itself, I should be safe in there.
7DtD now has a quest feature, where you find notes among the loot, describing certain tasks. It even starts you out with a tutorial quest to help you learn the basics of survival. This would really be helpful for new players who are just starting out. Once you read the quests, you either accept or decline them, and successfully completing the tasks will reward you with skill points to spend.
The update also introduces perks to go along with your skills that'll make surviving a little easier. I purchased some perks to make looting a lot faster, and what a difference it made! I can loot like twice as fast now! I also learned the trick to move items into storage with a single click as I had seen on various youtube videos, but couldn't figure out how to do myself. Just hold shift as you click on the items, and it'll automatically move to the first slot in the box. It makes for much more effective inventory management. Just that part alone makes me excited to keep on playing. Idek why, I'm just weird like that.
I also learned how to farm. While that's not a new feature, I'm just learning how to do it. The major downside is that the crops only grow when you're nearby. So you can't go looting and stuff while waiting for the crops to grow. The players on the forums speculate that it's because having to load all of the regions would lead to lag. But still, it makes me question whether farming is worth it. I guess if I really want corn, potatoes, or blueberries, it would be. Those are kind of rare to find via looting. Corn and potatoes are needed to make meat stew, probably the best food in the game. Blueberries are mainly for blueberry pie, which is another good food for filling you up and raising your wellness.
I watched some videos of other players on youtube, and watched them discover underground bunkers. I thought it was such a cool idea, so I decided to look for one myself. From what I understand, the bunkers only spawn on a random gen map. What I didn't expect was to find one so quickly! Needless to say, I moved my base there. It's such a neat thing.
Thankfully I was able to locate a nice neighborhood to set up my base. I picked the first house, and set up my sleeping bag and storage boxes in the basement of the house. I just built a wall around it yesterday. I had a few mishaps where zombies would break in through the wooden walls, but now that I have a wall around the house itself, I should be safe in there.
7DtD now has a quest feature, where you find notes among the loot, describing certain tasks. It even starts you out with a tutorial quest to help you learn the basics of survival. This would really be helpful for new players who are just starting out. Once you read the quests, you either accept or decline them, and successfully completing the tasks will reward you with skill points to spend.
The update also introduces perks to go along with your skills that'll make surviving a little easier. I purchased some perks to make looting a lot faster, and what a difference it made! I can loot like twice as fast now! I also learned the trick to move items into storage with a single click as I had seen on various youtube videos, but couldn't figure out how to do myself. Just hold shift as you click on the items, and it'll automatically move to the first slot in the box. It makes for much more effective inventory management. Just that part alone makes me excited to keep on playing. Idek why, I'm just weird like that.
I also learned how to farm. While that's not a new feature, I'm just learning how to do it. The major downside is that the crops only grow when you're nearby. So you can't go looting and stuff while waiting for the crops to grow. The players on the forums speculate that it's because having to load all of the regions would lead to lag. But still, it makes me question whether farming is worth it. I guess if I really want corn, potatoes, or blueberries, it would be. Those are kind of rare to find via looting. Corn and potatoes are needed to make meat stew, probably the best food in the game. Blueberries are mainly for blueberry pie, which is another good food for filling you up and raising your wellness.
I watched some videos of other players on youtube, and watched them discover underground bunkers. I thought it was such a cool idea, so I decided to look for one myself. From what I understand, the bunkers only spawn on a random gen map. What I didn't expect was to find one so quickly! Needless to say, I moved my base there. It's such a neat thing.
7 Days to Die
Feb. 18th, 2016 01:57 amSo the other day, I bought a game from Steam that I've been wanting to buy for quite a while now. It's called 7 Days to Die, and it's an open-world crafting and survival game. And what are you surviving from? The zombie apocalypse, of course. XD It was on sale for 50% off, so I figured I'd better snag it before the price went back up.
It seems to be a nice and realistic take on survival. You're out in the middle of nowhere, crafting tools and weapons from junk (wood, metal, grass, etc.). It's pretty interesting, once you figure out what to do. I had no idea what to do, so I kept getting killed within a few minutes of spawning. However, I watched a few tutorial videos on youtube, and it helped clarify some things, so hopefully I'll do better next time.
The only thing that isn't quite as realistic is how your player starts out only wearing underwear. I mean, srsly, no one ever goes out in underwear on a normal day (unless they've lost their minds). So starting out in underwear makes no sense.
The game primarily uses keyboard + mouse controls. Some say it's not that bad if you're used to it, but I...just can't get used to it. I have never played videos games with a keyboard and mouse in my whole life. So I used a program to map the keyboard/mouse commands to my controller, and that helped out a great deal.
What really annoys me (and this is why I despise first-person shooters in general) is how enemies can sneak up on you and kill you without warning. Sure, that's part of the realism, but I have times when I hear zombies snarling and stuff, and I'm looking around like crazy, but see nothing. Other times, I hear nothing, and I get murdered. Kinda makes you go WTF, you know? Sometimes I just die out of nowhere...from what I assume are natural causes. I.E. overheating, freezing to death, dehydration, etc. Because yeah, running around in the frozen tundra in your underwear is probably a bad idea.
Ultimately, I think I could get to enjoy this game once I get a grip on the resources and crafting. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a grip on it, which can get frustrating pretty fast... =(
And of course, no review would be complete without images.
( Cut for images )
It seems to be a nice and realistic take on survival. You're out in the middle of nowhere, crafting tools and weapons from junk (wood, metal, grass, etc.). It's pretty interesting, once you figure out what to do. I had no idea what to do, so I kept getting killed within a few minutes of spawning. However, I watched a few tutorial videos on youtube, and it helped clarify some things, so hopefully I'll do better next time.
The only thing that isn't quite as realistic is how your player starts out only wearing underwear. I mean, srsly, no one ever goes out in underwear on a normal day (unless they've lost their minds). So starting out in underwear makes no sense.
The game primarily uses keyboard + mouse controls. Some say it's not that bad if you're used to it, but I...just can't get used to it. I have never played videos games with a keyboard and mouse in my whole life. So I used a program to map the keyboard/mouse commands to my controller, and that helped out a great deal.
What really annoys me (and this is why I despise first-person shooters in general) is how enemies can sneak up on you and kill you without warning. Sure, that's part of the realism, but I have times when I hear zombies snarling and stuff, and I'm looking around like crazy, but see nothing. Other times, I hear nothing, and I get murdered. Kinda makes you go WTF, you know? Sometimes I just die out of nowhere...from what I assume are natural causes. I.E. overheating, freezing to death, dehydration, etc. Because yeah, running around in the frozen tundra in your underwear is probably a bad idea.
Ultimately, I think I could get to enjoy this game once I get a grip on the resources and crafting. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a grip on it, which can get frustrating pretty fast... =(
And of course, no review would be complete without images.
( Cut for images )
20th Anniversary Pokemon
Feb. 2nd, 2016 03:06 pmSo...as a lot of you know, this is the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon games. To celebrate, they're distributing the legendary Pokémon from each generation throughout the year. This month, February, is the month of Mew. If you go to Gamestop, they'll give you a card with the download code. (I was under the impression that I'd need to bring my system and download the Pokémon at the store.) I think it's awesome that they're doing this, because before now, there was virtually no way of (legitimately) obtaining these Pokémon. Next month will be the month of Celebi. You can find the info on the Pokémon and which month and location to obtain them on this website.
I went to Gamestop to obtain my Mew, and of course found a shit ton of neat stuff, it was hard to resist the urge to buy it all. At least it gave me an opportunity to take some awesome photos with my awesome HTC RE camera. =D
( Cut for images... )
I went to Gamestop to obtain my Mew, and of course found a shit ton of neat stuff, it was hard to resist the urge to buy it all. At least it gave me an opportunity to take some awesome photos with my awesome HTC RE camera. =D
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Blu Studio X Plus
Dec. 30th, 2015 03:39 amThe last, but definitely not the least of my Christmas presents, I got the Blu Studio X Plus smartphone.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
$79 Tablet
Nov. 28th, 2015 08:22 amSo, I bought an RCA Pro Viking tablet with keyboard from yesterday's Black Friday sale. I wanted it, because I really wanted a keyboard to go with my tablets, but I couldn't find one that worked. So I had to buy a whole new tablet with the included keyboard. And this one was only $79, just within my budget. I wasn't quite desperate enough to get in early and fight the crowds, so I just hoped there would be some left when I came in at my normal time. Lo and behold, there were plenty left. So I snagged it. XD
I opened it right away and played with it, and works very well. The keyboard works like a charm. I thought (and had been told) that it was connected via Bluetooth, so I thought, "What if I connected the keyboard to my phone and use that instead?" So I went into the Bluetooth menu only to find that the Bluetooth was turned off. Meaning that the keyboard wasn't running off the Bluetooth. So I'd just use this tablet for word processing purposes, which was the original intent of it anyway.
As for the tablet itself, it has 32GB of internal storage...larger than any of my older tablets, and about as large as the micro SD card that it would support. So I decided to go ahead and install all the games and apps I owned on the older tablets into one. So I guess my older tablets will just sit and collect dust now. There was the original 7" tablet that I got, which I do have a case with built-in keyboard, but the keyboard's flaws make it virtually impossible to type properly. I found it was really only good for playing Fire Emblem on the Gameboid emulator app. The HP tablet I inherited when my mom passed away, I had Caesar's Casino, Hit it Rich, Organ Trail: Director's Cut, DraStic (Nintendo 3DS emulator). I also had Netflix and Vudu installed on it, and Google Newsstand for magazines. And then I have a Kindle Fire, which I play Slotomania on, and is also good for reading Kindle digital magazines. So having everything on one tablet will make it more convenient as I won't have to haul multiple tablets everywhere to carry all my apps. (And of course I plan to buy a 32GB microSD card next chance I get.)
The keyboard includes a touchpad, which I personally find to be unnecessary...but I guess if you feel the need to use a stylus (which I can never keep up with) and don't want finger smudges on the screen, it could be your lifesaver.
Internet connection is very nice, very responsive. Almost like having a real laptop. So this tablet makes a great alternative, and definitely lighter and easier to carry around. Overall, I'd say this is the best tablet I've owned. But of course, it's not without its flaws.
Sometimes the keyboard keys feel slightly smushed together, but still workable with the proper keyboarding technique. You've got a nice wide left shift key, while the right shift key is small and all the way to the right. So I have to stretch my pinky quite a bit to reach it. It just interrupts the flow of my typing. I also think that the ".com" key is unnecessary. Also, the touchpad sometimes gets in the way, as I accidentally touch it with my thumb as I'm typing, causing the cursor to jump to a random point (or wherever I last left your arrow cursor) when I hit it. So then I'd have to correct whatever I typed at said point, and then return the cursor to the end of the text.
The other annoyance is that my computer will not recognize it as a removable storage device when I connect the USB (though it will charge it). This makes it all but impossible to transfer files back and forth. Thankfully I didn't have many files to transfer...just the Gameboid app and ROM files. The workaround I used was to attach the files in an e-mail to myself. Another workaround would be to transfer the files to the SD card via another device, and then move the SD card to the tablet. But again, I don't plan to transfer files too often.
So yeah...I'm very happy with this tablet. And you know what? This tablet also has an HDMI port. What on Earth am I going to do with that? I suppose that was how my dad managed to play movies from his Kindle Fire on the TV when we took the trip to the cabin in May 2013.
I opened it right away and played with it, and works very well. The keyboard works like a charm. I thought (and had been told) that it was connected via Bluetooth, so I thought, "What if I connected the keyboard to my phone and use that instead?" So I went into the Bluetooth menu only to find that the Bluetooth was turned off. Meaning that the keyboard wasn't running off the Bluetooth. So I'd just use this tablet for word processing purposes, which was the original intent of it anyway.
As for the tablet itself, it has 32GB of internal storage...larger than any of my older tablets, and about as large as the micro SD card that it would support. So I decided to go ahead and install all the games and apps I owned on the older tablets into one. So I guess my older tablets will just sit and collect dust now. There was the original 7" tablet that I got, which I do have a case with built-in keyboard, but the keyboard's flaws make it virtually impossible to type properly. I found it was really only good for playing Fire Emblem on the Gameboid emulator app. The HP tablet I inherited when my mom passed away, I had Caesar's Casino, Hit it Rich, Organ Trail: Director's Cut, DraStic (Nintendo 3DS emulator). I also had Netflix and Vudu installed on it, and Google Newsstand for magazines. And then I have a Kindle Fire, which I play Slotomania on, and is also good for reading Kindle digital magazines. So having everything on one tablet will make it more convenient as I won't have to haul multiple tablets everywhere to carry all my apps. (And of course I plan to buy a 32GB microSD card next chance I get.)
The keyboard includes a touchpad, which I personally find to be unnecessary...but I guess if you feel the need to use a stylus (which I can never keep up with) and don't want finger smudges on the screen, it could be your lifesaver.
Internet connection is very nice, very responsive. Almost like having a real laptop. So this tablet makes a great alternative, and definitely lighter and easier to carry around. Overall, I'd say this is the best tablet I've owned. But of course, it's not without its flaws.
Sometimes the keyboard keys feel slightly smushed together, but still workable with the proper keyboarding technique. You've got a nice wide left shift key, while the right shift key is small and all the way to the right. So I have to stretch my pinky quite a bit to reach it. It just interrupts the flow of my typing. I also think that the ".com" key is unnecessary. Also, the touchpad sometimes gets in the way, as I accidentally touch it with my thumb as I'm typing, causing the cursor to jump to a random point (or wherever I last left your arrow cursor) when I hit it. So then I'd have to correct whatever I typed at said point, and then return the cursor to the end of the text.
The other annoyance is that my computer will not recognize it as a removable storage device when I connect the USB (though it will charge it). This makes it all but impossible to transfer files back and forth. Thankfully I didn't have many files to transfer...just the Gameboid app and ROM files. The workaround I used was to attach the files in an e-mail to myself. Another workaround would be to transfer the files to the SD card via another device, and then move the SD card to the tablet. But again, I don't plan to transfer files too often.
So yeah...I'm very happy with this tablet. And you know what? This tablet also has an HDMI port. What on Earth am I going to do with that? I suppose that was how my dad managed to play movies from his Kindle Fire on the TV when we took the trip to the cabin in May 2013.
New smartphone keyboard
Oct. 25th, 2015 01:59 pmI downloaded a new keyboard app for my smartphone. Within seconds, I was already in love with it. The word suggestion menu seems smarter than the default keyboard, mainly because it displays more words above the keyboard. And the more functions within reach, the better.
I also like the placement of the punctuation keys better. Some are displayed above the keyboard, and are also accessible by holding down the key with the appropriate symbol above it. That will take some getting used to for me.
This keyboard also supports different layouts, which can make it easier to type. The split keyboard layout allows for thumb typing. It may suit tablets more than smartphones, but it seems to be workable. I especially like how the split keyboard displays the arrow keys, which makes it easier to move the cursor and correct single letter typos. I'm not sure which layout I'll be sticking with. Either way, I'll forever be in awe of the intelligence of this keyboard versus the default. It even allows you to delete whole words at once, which is a habit of mine on the computer. So that makes correcting errors even easier still. It only cost a mere $2.49, but it sure is worth it. =D
I also like the placement of the punctuation keys better. Some are displayed above the keyboard, and are also accessible by holding down the key with the appropriate symbol above it. That will take some getting used to for me.
This keyboard also supports different layouts, which can make it easier to type. The split keyboard layout allows for thumb typing. It may suit tablets more than smartphones, but it seems to be workable. I especially like how the split keyboard displays the arrow keys, which makes it easier to move the cursor and correct single letter typos. I'm not sure which layout I'll be sticking with. Either way, I'll forever be in awe of the intelligence of this keyboard versus the default. It even allows you to delete whole words at once, which is a habit of mine on the computer. So that makes correcting errors even easier still. It only cost a mere $2.49, but it sure is worth it. =D
Don't really need all this...
Jul. 24th, 2015 05:08 pmLooking at some of these magazines I've subscribed to? I really don't need this many, period. The magazines that had dropped to $7 went back up to their original prices, and I find it hard to tell if I'll still be charged $7 once the trial period ends, or end up paying the regular price. And if it's the latter, I'll be in a real financial bind. So I'd better let them go, at least for now. I've already mentioned that Southern Living focuses on home décor. All You and Real Simple pretty much deal with a mix of home, health, recipes, financial advice, etc. Just like Woman's Day, which I'm sticking with. Woman's Day is just $5 for a year, so yeah, that's a good deal. And just like with the movie and video game magazines? How many women's health/finance/home/recipes/etc. magazines do I need? So, eliminating those three, I have...
- Woman's Day (Woman's Lifestyle)
- GameOn (Video Games)
- Empire (Movies)
- Total Film (Movies)
- TV Guide (TV/Movies)
- Entertainment Weekly (Movies)
Yeah...that's plenty. Two of those magazines are weekly. And that's not counting the magazines I haven't tried yet. More lifestyle magazines I like, and those outdoor ones. So the ones I still want to try...
- Good Housekeeping
- Outdoor Life
- Family Circle
- Better Homes & Gardens
- Backpacker
- Field & Stream
- Food Network
- Game Informer
- Living Ready
- Shop Smart
- Off Grid
And of course, I'm still searching for more, lol.
- Woman's Day (Woman's Lifestyle)
- GameOn (Video Games)
- Empire (Movies)
- Total Film (Movies)
- TV Guide (TV/Movies)
- Entertainment Weekly (Movies)
Yeah...that's plenty. Two of those magazines are weekly. And that's not counting the magazines I haven't tried yet. More lifestyle magazines I like, and those outdoor ones. So the ones I still want to try...
- Good Housekeeping
- Outdoor Life
- Family Circle
- Better Homes & Gardens
- Backpacker
- Field & Stream
- Food Network
- Game Informer
- Living Ready
- Shop Smart
- Off Grid
And of course, I'm still searching for more, lol.
Moar digital magazines
Jul. 22nd, 2015 09:54 pmOkay...I think I've made a good selection of digital magazine subscriptions now. I've filtered out most of the ones I was initially interested in, that I could do without. I don't want to have too many magazines that I can't keep up with, after all. But I didn't want to run out of mags to read either, lol.
I'm trying to keep most of my magazines via the Kindle app as much as possible because, after comparing that with Google Newsstand, the Kindle app is the superior digital magazine app. Mostly because of the ease of reading the magazines offline. While I can download magazines in Google to read offline, they take up too much space on my internal memory. Hell, even reading them online seems to make my smartphone scream at me about running out of storage space, so I have to periodically clear the app data.
I wanted a weekly magazine or two to keep me occupied while waiting for the monthly magazines to release the next issue. I was interested in Entertainment Weekly, but that one's not compatible with the Kindle app. It only works for the Kindle Fire tablets and the Fire Phone. Several others I was interested in were also Kindle Fire exclusive. So initially I decided I would bear with Google Newsstand for those. But after some time, I decided that trying to read magazines with my 3G data wasn't really worth it. I'm not too worried about running out of 3G data at this point (because I recently got an e-mail from Straight Talk saying I would have 5GB of high speed data instead of 3GB starting with my next airtime renewal). But I don't like sucking up the battery life either.
So, after several of those Kindle Fire exclusive magazines dropped to $7 per year instead of $20-$25 for a year, I couldn't pass it up. So I subscribed to Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, All You, and Southern Living. The EW magazine I had already used the free trial, so I was billed for that one right away. The other three won't charge me for 30 days. I might cancel Southern Living, though. The images are nice, but the content isn't really my thing. Not sure what it is, though. Maybe I'm just not interested in the home décor that it seems to focus on.
Another weekly magazine I subscribed to was TV Guide, if only for the fact that it was cheap and compatible for the Android and iOS Kindle apps. And since it's a monthly bill, I can cancel anytime if I lose interest. More magazines I've subscribed to...Empire on the Google Newsstand, because it's only available there. I don't really like the yearly bill, so I've opted for the monthly bill. One of Google Newsstand's few advantages over Amazon is the ability to choose between monthly or yearly subscriptions. Their only other advantage is the ability to purchase back issues....which I'll lose interest in once I get all the back issues I have my eyes on. I may not keep the Empire subscription for long either, because I also have a subscription to Total Film magazine on Amazon. Because srsly, how many movie magazines do I need?
For video game magazines, I've subscribed to GameOn. It's a cheap monthly magazine, so why not? There are several more I've tried, but again, how many video game magazines do I need? It's probably the only one that's available on Amazon and pretty cheap. Most of the video game magazines I've noticed are either Google Newsstand only and/or too expensive ($40 a year, no thank you). Game Informer isn't too bad, as it's $20 on both sites. But I think GameOn will be enough. Any material that interests me in any magazine category, I can just purchase the single issues.
There's another category of magazines I'm curious about that I haven't tried yet. Several "outdoor" magazines, like Backpacker, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, etc. But I'll wait until my current payments clear before trying those. Thank goodness for free trials, so I can cancel if they don't hold my interest.
Yeah, as you can tell, I'm having a great time looking at all these magazines. I may never get to the books that I've been meaning to read forever...
I'm trying to keep most of my magazines via the Kindle app as much as possible because, after comparing that with Google Newsstand, the Kindle app is the superior digital magazine app. Mostly because of the ease of reading the magazines offline. While I can download magazines in Google to read offline, they take up too much space on my internal memory. Hell, even reading them online seems to make my smartphone scream at me about running out of storage space, so I have to periodically clear the app data.
I wanted a weekly magazine or two to keep me occupied while waiting for the monthly magazines to release the next issue. I was interested in Entertainment Weekly, but that one's not compatible with the Kindle app. It only works for the Kindle Fire tablets and the Fire Phone. Several others I was interested in were also Kindle Fire exclusive. So initially I decided I would bear with Google Newsstand for those. But after some time, I decided that trying to read magazines with my 3G data wasn't really worth it. I'm not too worried about running out of 3G data at this point (because I recently got an e-mail from Straight Talk saying I would have 5GB of high speed data instead of 3GB starting with my next airtime renewal). But I don't like sucking up the battery life either.
So, after several of those Kindle Fire exclusive magazines dropped to $7 per year instead of $20-$25 for a year, I couldn't pass it up. So I subscribed to Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, All You, and Southern Living. The EW magazine I had already used the free trial, so I was billed for that one right away. The other three won't charge me for 30 days. I might cancel Southern Living, though. The images are nice, but the content isn't really my thing. Not sure what it is, though. Maybe I'm just not interested in the home décor that it seems to focus on.
Another weekly magazine I subscribed to was TV Guide, if only for the fact that it was cheap and compatible for the Android and iOS Kindle apps. And since it's a monthly bill, I can cancel anytime if I lose interest. More magazines I've subscribed to...Empire on the Google Newsstand, because it's only available there. I don't really like the yearly bill, so I've opted for the monthly bill. One of Google Newsstand's few advantages over Amazon is the ability to choose between monthly or yearly subscriptions. Their only other advantage is the ability to purchase back issues....which I'll lose interest in once I get all the back issues I have my eyes on. I may not keep the Empire subscription for long either, because I also have a subscription to Total Film magazine on Amazon. Because srsly, how many movie magazines do I need?
For video game magazines, I've subscribed to GameOn. It's a cheap monthly magazine, so why not? There are several more I've tried, but again, how many video game magazines do I need? It's probably the only one that's available on Amazon and pretty cheap. Most of the video game magazines I've noticed are either Google Newsstand only and/or too expensive ($40 a year, no thank you). Game Informer isn't too bad, as it's $20 on both sites. But I think GameOn will be enough. Any material that interests me in any magazine category, I can just purchase the single issues.
There's another category of magazines I'm curious about that I haven't tried yet. Several "outdoor" magazines, like Backpacker, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, etc. But I'll wait until my current payments clear before trying those. Thank goodness for free trials, so I can cancel if they don't hold my interest.
Yeah, as you can tell, I'm having a great time looking at all these magazines. I may never get to the books that I've been meaning to read forever...
Google Newsstand vs Kindle magazine
Jul. 9th, 2015 02:19 pmSo, I've known that a lot of magazines are also published in the Kindle format. I initially thought that they were only for the Kindle Fire devices. But I discovered that most of them will work with the Kindle app for Android and iOS as well. Even better? A lot of the subscriptions on Amazon are cheaper than the Google Newsstand. So I decided to try a magazine on the Kindle app for my smartphone, to see how it looks compared to the Google Newsstand.
I have to say that I do like it. Like the Newsstand, the Kindle app allows you to switch to lite format for easier reading. It's actually simpler to do so, in comparison to the Newsstand. All you do is double tap the article. With Newsstand, you tap the screen once to bring up the menu, and then tap the button to switch the format. I actually found it legible in the print format as well, but that might just be the particular magazine I was reading.
The lite format between both apps is slightly different. The Kindle app's lite format has multiple pages for its articles. With Newsstand, each article is one page, and you scroll down. The Kindle app lite format also retains the images along with easier-to-read text. The Newsstand's lite format wipes out most of the images, except for the top image in each article. How boring.
Another advantage of the Kindle app is the ability to turn the page by tapping the edge of the screen, whereas with Newsstand, you have to swipe your finger across the screen. The Kindle app's page turning animation in the print format is a nice touch as well.
The Kindle magazines download automatically, while the Newsstand magazines just appear in your library where you can read them online. At least the Newsstand does allow you to download your magazines as well, but I have no idea where it downloads to. With Kindle, it should go on the SD card along with the books. And I understand that magazines are rather large files. But downloading is rather essential if you want to stay under your data limit. At the same time, you need to consider your storage space. I have a 32 GB SD card, but a lot of downloads like to go to the internal memory by default. And my internal memory is severely lacking.
Many magazines support the Kindle app, but there are a few that don't. (I'm looking at you, Entertainment Weekly.) So I'll have to use the Google Newsstand for that one. So far, Entertainment Weekly and Woman's Day are the magazines I definitely want to subscribe to. I'm still exploring the others, doing free trials or buying single issues. I think the main deciding factor will be whether I actually read the magazines, or just look at the pictures. Both are equally fun, but if I'm just going to look at pictures, I don't really need a subscription. That's how I look at it.
Overall, I would favor the Kindle app over the Google Newsstand. But the newsstand isn't a bad app at all. The Newsstand allows you to choose monthly or yearly subscriptions, whereas the Kindle Store mostly only offers yearly subscriptions. A few are monthly only.
I like being able to read free news articles on a variety of topics and sources on Newsstand. So I guess I'll always have that if I run out of magazines to read. =P
I have to say that I do like it. Like the Newsstand, the Kindle app allows you to switch to lite format for easier reading. It's actually simpler to do so, in comparison to the Newsstand. All you do is double tap the article. With Newsstand, you tap the screen once to bring up the menu, and then tap the button to switch the format. I actually found it legible in the print format as well, but that might just be the particular magazine I was reading.
The lite format between both apps is slightly different. The Kindle app's lite format has multiple pages for its articles. With Newsstand, each article is one page, and you scroll down. The Kindle app lite format also retains the images along with easier-to-read text. The Newsstand's lite format wipes out most of the images, except for the top image in each article. How boring.
Another advantage of the Kindle app is the ability to turn the page by tapping the edge of the screen, whereas with Newsstand, you have to swipe your finger across the screen. The Kindle app's page turning animation in the print format is a nice touch as well.
The Kindle magazines download automatically, while the Newsstand magazines just appear in your library where you can read them online. At least the Newsstand does allow you to download your magazines as well, but I have no idea where it downloads to. With Kindle, it should go on the SD card along with the books. And I understand that magazines are rather large files. But downloading is rather essential if you want to stay under your data limit. At the same time, you need to consider your storage space. I have a 32 GB SD card, but a lot of downloads like to go to the internal memory by default. And my internal memory is severely lacking.
Many magazines support the Kindle app, but there are a few that don't. (I'm looking at you, Entertainment Weekly.) So I'll have to use the Google Newsstand for that one. So far, Entertainment Weekly and Woman's Day are the magazines I definitely want to subscribe to. I'm still exploring the others, doing free trials or buying single issues. I think the main deciding factor will be whether I actually read the magazines, or just look at the pictures. Both are equally fun, but if I'm just going to look at pictures, I don't really need a subscription. That's how I look at it.
Overall, I would favor the Kindle app over the Google Newsstand. But the newsstand isn't a bad app at all. The Newsstand allows you to choose monthly or yearly subscriptions, whereas the Kindle Store mostly only offers yearly subscriptions. A few are monthly only.
I like being able to read free news articles on a variety of topics and sources on Newsstand. So I guess I'll always have that if I run out of magazines to read. =P
Plurk Customs
Apr. 20th, 2015 09:39 pmSo yesterday, my plurk timeline shared a Google Chrome Extension called Plurk Customs. However, Opera users can download the Download Chrome Extensions extension, which allows you to install Chrome extensions in the Opera browser. I'm going to ramble about it and show off its features using another extension called "Awesome Screenshot," which allows me to screencap parts or all of the browser window and add annotations and such.
( Here's how it works... )
( Here's how it works... )
Pokemon SoulSilver Nuzlocke Pt. 1
Mar. 12th, 2015 07:26 pmSo I've been playing a Pokémon SoulSilver ROM. And there's an Action Replay code that allows any random Pokémon to appear anywhere. At least the first 493 of them. Idek how many there are now, orz. And so I decided to play a Pokémon Nuzlocke with these. Because the Pokémon team you get will be completely random every time. Will you encounter a Mewtwo instead of a Rattata? Who knows?
I found a decent DS emulator for my Smartphone, and I've been taking screencaps of my progress. Here goes...
More to come another time. =D
I found a decent DS emulator for my Smartphone, and I've been taking screencaps of my progress. Here goes...
More to come another time. =D
Catching Fire
Feb. 25th, 2015 02:00 pmSo I finally watched The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I bought it on the day it came out on DVD, and I just now watched it. Hard to believe that it was almost a year ago. But I knew I had to watch it, because Mockingjay comes out next week. And also because I lent both the Hunger Games and Catching Fire DVDs to my grandmother, and I needed to see Catching Fire before she did.
Why did I wait so long? I'm not sure, really. Perhaps I wanted to be kept in suspense, wondering what would happen. Because once you watch a movie, it would no longer be new. It's a weird reason, I know. Another reason might be because a part of me doesn't want to see the sad scenes. Even though those kind of emotions are necessary to make a movie good. Yes, that's another weird reason.
So now I'm really excited about Mockingjay Part 1. I have been excited about it ever since I heard the Hanging Tree song. That song is just so powerful, & I haven't even seen the scene yet. You know they did a good job when you don't even need to see the movie to feel its power. I told my grandmother about the hanging tree, and let her hear it, and that got her interested in The Hunger Games series. So I'll take that as an accomplishment. :-D
Anyway, Catching Fire was good. It was about what I had expected, given that I had seen several clips on YouTube already. I really shouldn't let myself get spoiled like that. I'm also glad I held off on reading the book until I saw the movie. But I still have another book after the one I'm reading now before I could read the other Hunger Games books. And here I thought I was going to finish reading the Inheritance cycle after finishing the duology I'm reading now. But it looks like I might finish the Hunger Games series instead.
I found it interesting that in the ending credits, Jack Quaid was credited as Marvel, just for that brief flashback at the beginning. I suppose it's because they filmed an entirely new shot of his death, rather than reusing the shot from the first film. You see Thresh and Rue in the video screens in District 11, but their actors don't get credited. I believe those pictures are reused from the first film.
Now what to do about Mockingjay. I can buy it and watch it now on Vudu if I wanted to. But I think I'll end up waiting for the DVD release next week. I don't know, there's just something satisfying about owning the disc. And the DVD will likely come with a free digital copy anyway.
Speaking of digital movies, I found some sites that sell Ultraviolet codes for cheap prices. I bought The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug for $4.99. I would say that was a pretty good deal. I think the DVD is still $15 at Walmart.
I need to build my movie wish list again. So I'm going to browse around the stores and scan the movies with my app. It's a pretty fun thing to do, actually.
Why did I wait so long? I'm not sure, really. Perhaps I wanted to be kept in suspense, wondering what would happen. Because once you watch a movie, it would no longer be new. It's a weird reason, I know. Another reason might be because a part of me doesn't want to see the sad scenes. Even though those kind of emotions are necessary to make a movie good. Yes, that's another weird reason.
So now I'm really excited about Mockingjay Part 1. I have been excited about it ever since I heard the Hanging Tree song. That song is just so powerful, & I haven't even seen the scene yet. You know they did a good job when you don't even need to see the movie to feel its power. I told my grandmother about the hanging tree, and let her hear it, and that got her interested in The Hunger Games series. So I'll take that as an accomplishment. :-D
Anyway, Catching Fire was good. It was about what I had expected, given that I had seen several clips on YouTube already. I really shouldn't let myself get spoiled like that. I'm also glad I held off on reading the book until I saw the movie. But I still have another book after the one I'm reading now before I could read the other Hunger Games books. And here I thought I was going to finish reading the Inheritance cycle after finishing the duology I'm reading now. But it looks like I might finish the Hunger Games series instead.
I found it interesting that in the ending credits, Jack Quaid was credited as Marvel, just for that brief flashback at the beginning. I suppose it's because they filmed an entirely new shot of his death, rather than reusing the shot from the first film. You see Thresh and Rue in the video screens in District 11, but their actors don't get credited. I believe those pictures are reused from the first film.
Now what to do about Mockingjay. I can buy it and watch it now on Vudu if I wanted to. But I think I'll end up waiting for the DVD release next week. I don't know, there's just something satisfying about owning the disc. And the DVD will likely come with a free digital copy anyway.
Speaking of digital movies, I found some sites that sell Ultraviolet codes for cheap prices. I bought The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug for $4.99. I would say that was a pretty good deal. I think the DVD is still $15 at Walmart.
I need to build my movie wish list again. So I'm going to browse around the stores and scan the movies with my app. It's a pretty fun thing to do, actually.
Movie Challenge 22: Divergent
Sep. 27th, 2014 01:22 pmMovie 22: Divergent
Yet another movie about a corrupted government that uses twisted methods to "maintain peace." In this case, society is divided into factions, and people take personality tests to determine which faction suits them best. The main protagonist, named Tris, turns out to be a Divergent, as her personality doesn't fit any one faction. Divergents are considered dangerous to the faction system. You'll just have to watch the movie (or read the book) to find out why, ha ha.
As for me, I had my usual, "Meh, it was all right," reaction. It's one of those movies with a strong female lead, if you're into that sort of thing. I can't think of anything overly awesome or terribly bad about it.
Now let's see if I can pick my pace back up for this movie challenge...
Yet another movie about a corrupted government that uses twisted methods to "maintain peace." In this case, society is divided into factions, and people take personality tests to determine which faction suits them best. The main protagonist, named Tris, turns out to be a Divergent, as her personality doesn't fit any one faction. Divergents are considered dangerous to the faction system. You'll just have to watch the movie (or read the book) to find out why, ha ha.
As for me, I had my usual, "Meh, it was all right," reaction. It's one of those movies with a strong female lead, if you're into that sort of thing. I can't think of anything overly awesome or terribly bad about it.
Now let's see if I can pick my pace back up for this movie challenge...
100 Movie Challenge #21: Eragon
Aug. 28th, 2014 02:48 pmAnother one of those movies I had been interested in since it came out (way back in 2007) and just now got around to seeing. Wow...
Eragon is a simple, naïve farm boy who is chosen to be the new dragon rider, after dragons had long been eradicated by the evil King Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, lead the rebels, a group calling themselves the Vartan, to fight Galbatorix's army.
When the evil shade named Durza first appeared, my first thought was, "Wow, that looks just like Rumpelstiltskin from the Once Upon a Time series!" Well, that's because it's the same actor, Robert Carlyle.
Anyways, the movie was fun. I don't get why people say it sucked so much...but then again, I wasn't spoiled by the book either. I was disappointed that the movie ended in a cliffhanger, King Galbatorix was still alive, and no sequel was made in the past seven years. But I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for it if they ever do make one.
I have to say I had my eye on Murtagh as well. He was just that cute but mysterious boy, wearing the shady cloak at first, so you couldn't tell if he was friend or foe...or whether some twist might happen in the future.
Eragon is a simple, naïve farm boy who is chosen to be the new dragon rider, after dragons had long been eradicated by the evil King Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, lead the rebels, a group calling themselves the Vartan, to fight Galbatorix's army.
When the evil shade named Durza first appeared, my first thought was, "Wow, that looks just like Rumpelstiltskin from the Once Upon a Time series!" Well, that's because it's the same actor, Robert Carlyle.
Anyways, the movie was fun. I don't get why people say it sucked so much...but then again, I wasn't spoiled by the book either. I was disappointed that the movie ended in a cliffhanger, King Galbatorix was still alive, and no sequel was made in the past seven years. But I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for it if they ever do make one.
I have to say I had my eye on Murtagh as well. He was just that cute but mysterious boy, wearing the shady cloak at first, so you couldn't tell if he was friend or foe...or whether some twist might happen in the future.
100 Movie Challenge #20: How to Train Your Dragon
See, I knew I would end up watching this one! But anyway, the movie was just too cute! Who knew that dragons could behave like domestic pets?
The movie's about a scrawny little viking named Hiccup who initially wants to become a cool viking and be able to slay a dragon. But when he meets Toothless, he has a change of heart. They become fast friends, and then the vikings and dragons have to team up to beat this huge monster thing. (A queen dragon, I think they called it?) A huge dragon who eats other dragons if they don't bring the stolen food to her.
I love Toothless' personality. He can be cute when he wants to be, but he also has that "My Way or the Highway" attitude. The film also shows us that one shouldn't be so quick to judge. You might think of dragons as vicious beasts who just want to steal your food/gold/princesses/etc., but these dragons had other reasons. Hiccup began to understand this as he mingled with the dragons.
See, I knew I would end up watching this one! But anyway, the movie was just too cute! Who knew that dragons could behave like domestic pets?
The movie's about a scrawny little viking named Hiccup who initially wants to become a cool viking and be able to slay a dragon. But when he meets Toothless, he has a change of heart. They become fast friends, and then the vikings and dragons have to team up to beat this huge monster thing. (A queen dragon, I think they called it?) A huge dragon who eats other dragons if they don't bring the stolen food to her.
I love Toothless' personality. He can be cute when he wants to be, but he also has that "My Way or the Highway" attitude. The film also shows us that one shouldn't be so quick to judge. You might think of dragons as vicious beasts who just want to steal your food/gold/princesses/etc., but these dragons had other reasons. Hiccup began to understand this as he mingled with the dragons.
100 Movie Challenge #19: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Finally getting back to this after taking a week off due to feeling like death. And this is why I watched all those movies day after day, to get ahead of the game, so I'd be covered in bad weeks like last week.
This was one of those movies that I knew I probably wouldn't enjoy that much, but I just watched out of curiosity. So I took advantage of it when it came up as Vudu's 99 cent rental of the day. Sweeney Todd was a barber who was unjustly locked away, so he swore vengeance on the judge. And of course, he got carried away, slitting throats of all his customers, while his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, used their flesh to bake meat pies. Yeah...not a pretty plot.
What made it weird was that it was a musical. I'm not too crazy about musicals, but this one was certainly unique. It wasn't your happy ending kind of thing. Somehow, I had hoped that Todd would have some kind of happy ending, but given all he's done throughout the film, it wasn't realistically possible. There was no way he wouldn't be found out. I at least hoped for a happy ending with Anthony and Johanna, and I can only assume they did. It would have been nice to actually see Anthony arrive with the coach to get her out of that town and to start a new life together. That was perhaps my biggest disappointment.
Finally getting back to this after taking a week off due to feeling like death. And this is why I watched all those movies day after day, to get ahead of the game, so I'd be covered in bad weeks like last week.
This was one of those movies that I knew I probably wouldn't enjoy that much, but I just watched out of curiosity. So I took advantage of it when it came up as Vudu's 99 cent rental of the day. Sweeney Todd was a barber who was unjustly locked away, so he swore vengeance on the judge. And of course, he got carried away, slitting throats of all his customers, while his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, used their flesh to bake meat pies. Yeah...not a pretty plot.
What made it weird was that it was a musical. I'm not too crazy about musicals, but this one was certainly unique. It wasn't your happy ending kind of thing. Somehow, I had hoped that Todd would have some kind of happy ending, but given all he's done throughout the film, it wasn't realistically possible. There was no way he wouldn't be found out. I at least hoped for a happy ending with Anthony and Johanna, and I can only assume they did. It would have been nice to actually see Anthony arrive with the coach to get her out of that town and to start a new life together. That was perhaps my biggest disappointment.
Movie 18: Underworld Evolution
The movie in which the vampire heroine Selene and her partner Michael, the vampire/werewolf hybrid, must stop the head vampire Markus from freeing the most powerful Lycan, his twin brother William.
Selene is pretty unique; she has that beautiful but creepy look to her. But she's awesome. Lots of dark, creepy action...yeah, the good stuff. It's a good movie, I think.
The movie in which the vampire heroine Selene and her partner Michael, the vampire/werewolf hybrid, must stop the head vampire Markus from freeing the most powerful Lycan, his twin brother William.
Selene is pretty unique; she has that beautiful but creepy look to her. But she's awesome. Lots of dark, creepy action...yeah, the good stuff. It's a good movie, I think.
100 Movie Challenge #17: Speed Racer
Jun. 21st, 2014 11:39 amMovie 17: Speed Racer
This will seem weird, because I despised the old cartoon as a kid. But the movie trailer looked cool, so I bought this one for cheap at Walmart's Black Friday sale some years back. And I just now watched it. Yep...
Speed Racer is about the guy who turns down a racing contract at Royalton Industries, so Mr. Royalton gets pissed and tries to ruin the family with scandals and what not. So Speed joins another racing team to get back at him.
Anyway, the movie was a pretty wild futuristic ride. It was pretty cool in some parts, and then insanely wacky in other scenes. Namely Spritle and the monkey were the wacky parts. Especially the ninja scene. Whoa. It's funny how they talk about how Speed is incapable of thinking of anything other than car racing...but with a name like Speed Racer, how are they so surprised? Speed's family is pretty amazing, too, how they support him and cheer him on all the way. And they're so proud of him for sticking up for what he thinks is right. Some pretty touching moments right there.
Overall, it was a good flick. I've gotta make an AMV of that one. XD
This will seem weird, because I despised the old cartoon as a kid. But the movie trailer looked cool, so I bought this one for cheap at Walmart's Black Friday sale some years back. And I just now watched it. Yep...
Speed Racer is about the guy who turns down a racing contract at Royalton Industries, so Mr. Royalton gets pissed and tries to ruin the family with scandals and what not. So Speed joins another racing team to get back at him.
Anyway, the movie was a pretty wild futuristic ride. It was pretty cool in some parts, and then insanely wacky in other scenes. Namely Spritle and the monkey were the wacky parts. Especially the ninja scene. Whoa. It's funny how they talk about how Speed is incapable of thinking of anything other than car racing...but with a name like Speed Racer, how are they so surprised? Speed's family is pretty amazing, too, how they support him and cheer him on all the way. And they're so proud of him for sticking up for what he thinks is right. Some pretty touching moments right there.
Overall, it was a good flick. I've gotta make an AMV of that one. XD
Movie 16: The Expendables 2
I was excited to see this one for a number of reasons. One, the sequel to an action-packed film. Two, a girl joining the Expendables team. And three, Liam Hemsworth also joining the team. I went into the movie already feeling sad that one of them was going to die, and I didn't know who. I was even sadder when Hemsworth's character turned out to be the one. One of the new members, and Barney said he deserved to live more than any of them. I was hoping it wouldn't be Yin Yang or Caesar, or pretty much any of them.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis had a larger role in the action this time. And Jean-Claude Van Damme played the villain, oddly named Vilain. Weird. But he was an interesting villain, explaining his plans with a cool head, and even ordering to kill his slaves with no remorse. I don't think I've ever seen Van Damme in a villain role. The movie also featured Chuck Norris, another well-known action star. On the other hand, Jet Li was only present for the mission at the beginning, and then he wasn't seen again. That was kind of disappointing, too.
Overall, the movie was just as action-packed as the original. I think I might have enjoyed the first one more, though? I'm not sure why.
I was excited to see this one for a number of reasons. One, the sequel to an action-packed film. Two, a girl joining the Expendables team. And three, Liam Hemsworth also joining the team. I went into the movie already feeling sad that one of them was going to die, and I didn't know who. I was even sadder when Hemsworth's character turned out to be the one. One of the new members, and Barney said he deserved to live more than any of them. I was hoping it wouldn't be Yin Yang or Caesar, or pretty much any of them.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis had a larger role in the action this time. And Jean-Claude Van Damme played the villain, oddly named Vilain. Weird. But he was an interesting villain, explaining his plans with a cool head, and even ordering to kill his slaves with no remorse. I don't think I've ever seen Van Damme in a villain role. The movie also featured Chuck Norris, another well-known action star. On the other hand, Jet Li was only present for the mission at the beginning, and then he wasn't seen again. That was kind of disappointing, too.
Overall, the movie was just as action-packed as the original. I think I might have enjoyed the first one more, though? I'm not sure why.
Movie 15: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The continuation of the Unexpected Journey, where Bilbo and the dwarves reach Erebor and encounter the dragon Smaug. It was just as exciting. I really liked the scenes with Smaug. Once again, the dwarves put on an impressive teamwork display throughout the film. It really was a visual treat in more ways than I had imagined. So yeah...I'll definitely have to add this one to my collection.
The continuation of the Unexpected Journey, where Bilbo and the dwarves reach Erebor and encounter the dragon Smaug. It was just as exciting. I really liked the scenes with Smaug. Once again, the dwarves put on an impressive teamwork display throughout the film. It really was a visual treat in more ways than I had imagined. So yeah...I'll definitely have to add this one to my collection.
Movie 14: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
One of those super popular movies, and it was pretty good. I'm sure everyone knows the story. Gandalf and the 13 dwarves recruit Bilbo Baggins to help them on their journey to Erebor to reclaim it from Smaug the dragon.
I thought it was kind of slow at the beginning, but once the journey started, the excitement really picked up. There was just trouble at every turnjust how exciting movies should be. Now the question is, did they do even better with the sequel? We'll find out soon, eh?
One of those super popular movies, and it was pretty good. I'm sure everyone knows the story. Gandalf and the 13 dwarves recruit Bilbo Baggins to help them on their journey to Erebor to reclaim it from Smaug the dragon.
I thought it was kind of slow at the beginning, but once the journey started, the excitement really picked up. There was just trouble at every turn
100 Movie Challenge #13: The Expendables
Jun. 16th, 2014 03:33 pmMovie 13: The Expendables
When I first saw the trailer for this movie back in 2010, I was instantly intrigued. All of these top action stars together – Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. It's like every action movie fan's dream! And look how long it took me to actually see it.
Anyway, the movie was just as I had imagined it to be. Plenty of gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, wild chases and explosions. Just how I know my dad likes his movies. And that tight-knit ragtag group concept? I like those kinds, too.
So definitely will be watching the sequel sometime soon in this challenge...not sure when. And I hear there's a third movie in the works as well. Yay!
When I first saw the trailer for this movie back in 2010, I was instantly intrigued. All of these top action stars together – Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. It's like every action movie fan's dream! And look how long it took me to actually see it.
Anyway, the movie was just as I had imagined it to be. Plenty of gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, wild chases and explosions. Just how I know my dad likes his movies. And that tight-knit ragtag group concept? I like those kinds, too.
So definitely will be watching the sequel sometime soon in this challenge...not sure when. And I hear there's a third movie in the works as well. Yay!
Movie 12: Wrath of the Titans.
The sequel to the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, where Perseus is needed to save the world again. Hades and Ares plot to help Kronos escape from the Underworld by capturing Zeus and draining him of his power. Perseus seeks the aid of another demi-god named Agenor, the son of Poseidon. They battle all kinds of creatures, like cyclopes, minotaurs, and of course, Kronos himself. It was pretty exciting. Now I just need to own the Clash. I've already seen it; I just don't own it.
Yeah, I don't have anything original to say. There was plenty of action and suspense. Overall, it seemed kind of short, particularly when they're in that labyrinth leading to the Underworld. Short but suspenseful, so not bad. Yeah...
The sequel to the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, where Perseus is needed to save the world again. Hades and Ares plot to help Kronos escape from the Underworld by capturing Zeus and draining him of his power. Perseus seeks the aid of another demi-god named Agenor, the son of Poseidon. They battle all kinds of creatures, like cyclopes, minotaurs, and of course, Kronos himself. It was pretty exciting. Now I just need to own the Clash. I've already seen it; I just don't own it.
Yeah, I don't have anything original to say. There was plenty of action and suspense. Overall, it seemed kind of short, particularly when they're in that labyrinth leading to the Underworld. Short but suspenseful, so not bad. Yeah...
Movie 11: Dracula: The Dark Prince
The movie about a small group of crusaders, one of whom Dracula is smitten with because she resembles his long-dead love. So he has her kidnapped and tries to win her heart, while the others set out to rescue her. The crusaders carry a sacred weapon called a Lightbringer, which only responds to Cain's blood, or a descendent's blood. One descendent happens to be a common thief who wants nothing to do with the quest at first.
One thing that struck me was how much Dracula resembled Hector from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
Overall, the movie struck me as another average movie. The ending was something I hadn't expected there, so that was a surprise.
The movie about a small group of crusaders, one of whom Dracula is smitten with because she resembles his long-dead love. So he has her kidnapped and tries to win her heart, while the others set out to rescue her. The crusaders carry a sacred weapon called a Lightbringer, which only responds to Cain's blood, or a descendent's blood. One descendent happens to be a common thief who wants nothing to do with the quest at first.
One thing that struck me was how much Dracula resembled Hector from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
Overall, the movie struck me as another average movie. The ending was something I hadn't expected there, so that was a surprise.
Movie 10: The Hungover Games
As the title suggests, it is yet another spoof of the Hunger Games, and also part of the Hangover movie series. I haven't seen the other Hangover movies, but I only watched this one because of the spoof.
So the four guys are drinking and partying before heading to a gay wedding. They wake up and one of them is missing, not realizing that they had volunteered to compete in the Hungover Games. They compete against the superhero district, featuring Thor. A Johnny Depp district, featuring Jack Sparrow, the Lone Ranger, and Willy Wonka. Desperate Housewives, the Gratuitous Nudity district. And of course, a Katniss spoof named Catnip Evelyn. And the one running the games was President...Snobama. Nice. XD
But this movie is filled with the sick humor that one would expect from comedies like this. Not the kind of humor I enjoy at all.
Unfortunately, I had some technical difficulties while watching it. It turns out that the movie didn't rip properly. Shortly after the game begins, it jarbled a bit, and the audio and video fell out of sync. It made the film hard to follow, but I tried to endure it anyway. But later on, it jarbled again, rendering the rest of the movie unwatchable.
So yeah, I'll have to rent it again just to see the audio and video synced properly. Even so, I'll consider this movie watched for the challenge, and I'll add any further thoughts to a future entry.
As the title suggests, it is yet another spoof of the Hunger Games, and also part of the Hangover movie series. I haven't seen the other Hangover movies, but I only watched this one because of the spoof.
So the four guys are drinking and partying before heading to a gay wedding. They wake up and one of them is missing, not realizing that they had volunteered to compete in the Hungover Games. They compete against the superhero district, featuring Thor. A Johnny Depp district, featuring Jack Sparrow, the Lone Ranger, and Willy Wonka. Desperate Housewives, the Gratuitous Nudity district. And of course, a Katniss spoof named Catnip Evelyn. And the one running the games was President...Snobama. Nice. XD
But this movie is filled with the sick humor that one would expect from comedies like this. Not the kind of humor I enjoy at all.
Unfortunately, I had some technical difficulties while watching it. It turns out that the movie didn't rip properly. Shortly after the game begins, it jarbled a bit, and the audio and video fell out of sync. It made the film hard to follow, but I tried to endure it anyway. But later on, it jarbled again, rendering the rest of the movie unwatchable.
So yeah, I'll have to rent it again just to see the audio and video synced properly. Even so, I'll consider this movie watched for the challenge, and I'll add any further thoughts to a future entry.
100 Movie Challenge #9: Lone Survivor
Jun. 12th, 2014 01:16 pmMovie 9: Lone Survivor
Normally I'm not into war movies, but I've heard about how phenomenal this one was. Then again, most movies that are based on true stories are considered that way. And as far as war movies are concerned, they're not meant to be entertaining anyway.
As for this one? Some scenes were quite difficult to watch. This one's about four Navy SEALs in the mountains trying to stop an terrorist. After releasing some prisoners, they get ambushed by the enemies. This movie is gruelingly realistic and intense. You see each shot that the SEALs take. And when they tumble down the mountains, you see in slow motion all the bumps they take. And the slow motion sequences of their deaths add a whole lotta drama. Seeing the closeup of the wounds just made me cringe. Yeah, in some scenes, I was just curled up in a ball on the couch because they were just that gruesome.
In fact, the only reason I even bothered seeing this movie was because Alexander Ludwig had a role. And that role was...quite appropriate for him, as a rookie, and the other guys make fun of him. All of his scenes made me smile. Particularly the dance scene, lol. XD
Normally I'm not into war movies, but I've heard about how phenomenal this one was. Then again, most movies that are based on true stories are considered that way. And as far as war movies are concerned, they're not meant to be entertaining anyway.
As for this one? Some scenes were quite difficult to watch. This one's about four Navy SEALs in the mountains trying to stop an terrorist. After releasing some prisoners, they get ambushed by the enemies. This movie is gruelingly realistic and intense. You see each shot that the SEALs take. And when they tumble down the mountains, you see in slow motion all the bumps they take. And the slow motion sequences of their deaths add a whole lotta drama. Seeing the closeup of the wounds just made me cringe. Yeah, in some scenes, I was just curled up in a ball on the couch because they were just that gruesome.
In fact, the only reason I even bothered seeing this movie was because Alexander Ludwig had a role. And that role was...quite appropriate for him, as a rookie, and the other guys make fun of him. All of his scenes made me smile. Particularly the dance scene, lol. XD
100 Movie Challenge #8: Heavy Metal 2000
Jun. 11th, 2014 06:40 amMovie 8: Heavy Metal 2000. The sequel to the original Heavy Metal film from back in the 80's. Unlike the first film, which was more of a series of short stories, this one has one full story about a woman seeking revenge against a tyrant who destroyed her planet. The tyrant had gone insane because he had touched a key to some holy waters of immortality.
Since this movie was made in 2000, I kind of expected improved animation, but they more or less stuck with the same style as the original. There was some nice CGI animation in the space travel scenes, along with a rockin' soundtrack to accompany those scenes, as well as the fight scenes. Surprisingly, there was less sex than the original, which is a plus in my opinion. I just wonder how that woman could stand to wear that battle outfit in the end, yeesh...
Meanwhile, I've got a pressuring watch list ahead of me. I got an e-mail from M-Go with a $3 credit towards any purchase, so I used it to rent Lone Survivor. And then The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug came up as Vudu's 99 cent rental for today, so I had to snag that one too. And I still have yet to see the first Hobbit film. I was hoping to avoid making more than one movie entry in any given day. Perhaps I can skip watching a movie at work tonight. I should space them out a bit, otherwise I'll run out of DVD's to watch.
Since this movie was made in 2000, I kind of expected improved animation, but they more or less stuck with the same style as the original. There was some nice CGI animation in the space travel scenes, along with a rockin' soundtrack to accompany those scenes, as well as the fight scenes. Surprisingly, there was less sex than the original, which is a plus in my opinion. I just wonder how that woman could stand to wear that battle outfit in the end, yeesh...
Meanwhile, I've got a pressuring watch list ahead of me. I got an e-mail from M-Go with a $3 credit towards any purchase, so I used it to rent Lone Survivor. And then The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug came up as Vudu's 99 cent rental for today, so I had to snag that one too. And I still have yet to see the first Hobbit film. I was hoping to avoid making more than one movie entry in any given day. Perhaps I can skip watching a movie at work tonight. I should space them out a bit, otherwise I'll run out of DVD's to watch.
100 Movie Challenge #7: The Nut Job
Jun. 10th, 2014 07:43 pmNumber 7: The Nut Job. Again, I took advantage of Vudu's 99 cent movie rental of the day. And the Nut Job is a new release, and it's rare for the new ones to come up as the rental of the day. So why the heck not?
The Nut Job is about a wily squirrel named Surly who's banished from the park to the city, where he discovered a whole shop full of nuts. He was banished because he destroyed the critters' home while trying to rob a peanut cart. The critters were low on food for the winter, and now they're out. Some of the other critters venture into the city in search of food, and also find the nut shop. Meanwhile, the nut shop is a hideout for some crooks. They're planning to rob the bank across the street, while the critters are planning to rob the nut shop.
The movie was...rather disappointing, as it wasn't quite as zany as it was made out to be in the trailer. But Surly had a nice development throughout. And of course, there is that twist that I can't talk about, lol. So while it was disappointing, it wasn't terrible.
The Nut Job is about a wily squirrel named Surly who's banished from the park to the city, where he discovered a whole shop full of nuts. He was banished because he destroyed the critters' home while trying to rob a peanut cart. The critters were low on food for the winter, and now they're out. Some of the other critters venture into the city in search of food, and also find the nut shop. Meanwhile, the nut shop is a hideout for some crooks. They're planning to rob the bank across the street, while the critters are planning to rob the nut shop.
The movie was...rather disappointing, as it wasn't quite as zany as it was made out to be in the trailer. But Surly had a nice development throughout. And of course, there is that twist that I can't talk about, lol. So while it was disappointing, it wasn't terrible.
100 Movie Challenge #6: Watchmen
Jun. 9th, 2014 04:44 pmMovie #6: Watchmen. What a long movie, about a group of retired superheroes reuniting to solve the murder of their colleague, a "superhero" known as the Comedian. I hadn't even realized how long it was until I was about an hour and a half in, and virtually no action at that point. Still, I bore through the superheroes' sob stories, waiting for the big showdown with the villain at the end. Well, I was quite disappointed. I'm not sure how to describe it without spoiling it. But it was probably the most "WTF" outcome I've ever seen.
So in a list of movies that were "interesting", not bad, but not fantastic either, I can safely say that Watchmen is one movie that I seriously did not like. Boooo. =(
Well, not-so-satisfying story aside, it does deserve a few props. They sure chose the right music for the scene. Even in the beginning, they somehow managed to make Frank Sinatra's "Unforgettable" an appropriate track for the fight scene leading to the Comedian's death. Not sure why that is...it just made it seem eerie.
This was definitely a darker film compared to other superhero flicks I've seen. Batman was pretty dark, but at least he made it a point to not kill anyone. These heroes? They don't care. They break bones, slice and dice, and in Dr. Manhattan's case, make people explode in a bloody mess with just a wave of his hand. Yeah, Dr. Manhattan was the only one who had actual powers.
This DVD ripper that I mentioned earlier? I'm loving it now. It rips movies fast, and in a better quality than any programs I've used before. Even though the PS Vita format takes almost all day to convert, I think I'll take the AVI format from now on. And I do have a converter to convert those movies into PS Vita format if I want to. But again, it'll only be my absolute favorite movies that will be transferred to the Vita. I figured out that you can customize the profile settings after all. I like how you can double the volume of the ripped movies. I'll actually be able to hear the dialogue!
So in a list of movies that were "interesting", not bad, but not fantastic either, I can safely say that Watchmen is one movie that I seriously did not like. Boooo. =(
Well, not-so-satisfying story aside, it does deserve a few props. They sure chose the right music for the scene. Even in the beginning, they somehow managed to make Frank Sinatra's "Unforgettable" an appropriate track for the fight scene leading to the Comedian's death. Not sure why that is...it just made it seem eerie.
This was definitely a darker film compared to other superhero flicks I've seen. Batman was pretty dark, but at least he made it a point to not kill anyone. These heroes? They don't care. They break bones, slice and dice, and in Dr. Manhattan's case, make people explode in a bloody mess with just a wave of his hand. Yeah, Dr. Manhattan was the only one who had actual powers.
This DVD ripper that I mentioned earlier? I'm loving it now. It rips movies fast, and in a better quality than any programs I've used before. Even though the PS Vita format takes almost all day to convert, I think I'll take the AVI format from now on. And I do have a converter to convert those movies into PS Vita format if I want to. But again, it'll only be my absolute favorite movies that will be transferred to the Vita. I figured out that you can customize the profile settings after all. I like how you can double the volume of the ripped movies. I'll actually be able to hear the dialogue!
Sleeping Beauty. The title sounds familiar, yes? But no, it's not the Disney flick that we all grew up with. This one's kind of a cheesier take that was just released. It initially caught my interest, because it was supposed to be one of those epic fantasy quests, where a group of guys make their way into the castle to wake the sleeping princess. The other thing was that Casper Van Dien was in the movie. Yeah, his name will always catch my eye, because I love him to bits. And he's hot. But alas, rather than playing the main hero, he plays King David, the father of the Sleeping Beauty, named Princess Dawn. So he doesn't get much action. I very much prefer him in the lead protagonist roles. Which apparently, he doesn't have very many.
And the prince who decides to go to the cursed castle is a jerk. He's just greedy. He wants his castle, his kingdom, his princess. It's never about love. And he cares not if he displeases his king, because the whipping boy takes the punishment for him. But in the end, said whipping boy becomes the victor. Now who didn't see that one coming?
What I hadn't realized when I got the film was that Casper Van Dien was also the director. Or that his real life family had roles in the film. His wife, Catherine Oxenberg, plays Queen Violet, the wife of Casper Van Dien's character. His daugher, Grace Van Dien, plays Princess Dawn, the daughter of the royal couple. Another daughter, Maya Van Dien plays a young girl who helps the whipping boy through the castle. And yet another daughter has another role, but I can't seem to recognize her.
But the Van Diens actually do this a lot, play roles in movies together. I think that's pretty cool. In the Thrill Seekers, Catherine Oxenberg makes an appearance as a TV reporter. In The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, at the end of the movie, Casper Van Dien's character had his family visit...and they were played by his real life wife and daughters. Isn't this amazing?
"And they lived happy ever after...or perhaps not." – Narrator
And the prince who decides to go to the cursed castle is a jerk. He's just greedy. He wants his castle, his kingdom, his princess. It's never about love. And he cares not if he displeases his king, because the whipping boy takes the punishment for him. But in the end, said whipping boy becomes the victor. Now who didn't see that one coming?
What I hadn't realized when I got the film was that Casper Van Dien was also the director. Or that his real life family had roles in the film. His wife, Catherine Oxenberg, plays Queen Violet, the wife of Casper Van Dien's character. His daugher, Grace Van Dien, plays Princess Dawn, the daughter of the royal couple. Another daughter, Maya Van Dien plays a young girl who helps the whipping boy through the castle. And yet another daughter has another role, but I can't seem to recognize her.
But the Van Diens actually do this a lot, play roles in movies together. I think that's pretty cool. In the Thrill Seekers, Catherine Oxenberg makes an appearance as a TV reporter. In The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, at the end of the movie, Casper Van Dien's character had his family visit...and they were played by his real life wife and daughters. Isn't this amazing?
"And they lived happy ever after...or perhaps not." – Narrator
Movie #4 was Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Apparently we can't just call it Madagascar 2...but I'm going to anyway. I wonder why they even call the series "Madagascar." It's only the first film when the animals are really stranded there. In the second film, they leave Madagascar and crash in Africa. In the third film, they leave Africa and travel across Europe, and then finally make it back to New York. Maybe they should call it "The Zoosters," since that's what the four main animals are called collectively.
Anyway, Madagascar 2 picks up where the first one left off, when the animals take off to head back to New York in a junky plane that the penguins built. However, the plane doesn't get very far when they run out of fuel and crash in Africa. There, they encounter animals of the same species, Alex reunites with his biological parents. Marty hangs with the other zebras, who are all pretty much...exactly like him. Melman becomes a witch doctor, and then the giraffes see a brown spot on him, leading him to believe he'll die in 48 hours. Gloria chills with the other hippos and meets a particularly well-sculpted hippo guy named Moto Moto. He takes an interest in Gloria because she's "huge" and "chunky." Meaning, he's only interested in her body.
Anyway, the movie was pretty interesting. I liked seeing Melman and Gloria's relationship develop. Melman finally reveals his love, and Gloria dumps Moto Moto for him, because unlike Moto Moto, Melman loves Gloria for who she is. And the penguins...you gotta love their style. Despite their small sizes, they get stuff done quickly and efficiently. And that old lady that beats up lions...she's crazy, I think. She was almost as bad as Dubois from the third film.
Still, I liked the third movie the best. Yeah, the third movie really spoiled me. But with this, I've watched all the Madagascar films now, so I'm satisfied.
Meanwhile, I downloaded another DVD ripper from a "Giveaway of the Day" site. It's a site that gives away different software programs for free for a day. Today was the day for uRex DVD Ripper Platinum. Unlike the other ones I have, this one is supposed to bypass protected DVD's and be able to rip them. Yeah, I have some DVD's that the other rippers wouldn't rip. The coding doesn't allow them to play properly on these programs, so the ripped movies would look like crap. No one wants to watch movies like that. I have yet to really try ripping a protected movie with uRex. I did try ripping Watchmen. The good thing is, it has a bunch of pre-made formats available, like PS3 format, PSP, PS Vita, Zune, iPod/iPhone etc. formet, etc. Those profiles apparently can't be customized like they can on my other program. I ripped Watchmen with the PS Vita format, and while it looks clear, the resolution is small. On the tablet, it looks nice, except for the huge letterbox. Oh well, I guess I can deal with that, and try different format profiles.
Anyway, Madagascar 2 picks up where the first one left off, when the animals take off to head back to New York in a junky plane that the penguins built. However, the plane doesn't get very far when they run out of fuel and crash in Africa. There, they encounter animals of the same species, Alex reunites with his biological parents. Marty hangs with the other zebras, who are all pretty much...exactly like him. Melman becomes a witch doctor, and then the giraffes see a brown spot on him, leading him to believe he'll die in 48 hours. Gloria chills with the other hippos and meets a particularly well-sculpted hippo guy named Moto Moto. He takes an interest in Gloria because she's "huge" and "chunky." Meaning, he's only interested in her body.
Anyway, the movie was pretty interesting. I liked seeing Melman and Gloria's relationship develop. Melman finally reveals his love, and Gloria dumps Moto Moto for him, because unlike Moto Moto, Melman loves Gloria for who she is. And the penguins...you gotta love their style. Despite their small sizes, they get stuff done quickly and efficiently. And that old lady that beats up lions...she's crazy, I think. She was almost as bad as Dubois from the third film.
Still, I liked the third movie the best. Yeah, the third movie really spoiled me. But with this, I've watched all the Madagascar films now, so I'm satisfied.
Meanwhile, I downloaded another DVD ripper from a "Giveaway of the Day" site. It's a site that gives away different software programs for free for a day. Today was the day for uRex DVD Ripper Platinum. Unlike the other ones I have, this one is supposed to bypass protected DVD's and be able to rip them. Yeah, I have some DVD's that the other rippers wouldn't rip. The coding doesn't allow them to play properly on these programs, so the ripped movies would look like crap. No one wants to watch movies like that. I have yet to really try ripping a protected movie with uRex. I did try ripping Watchmen. The good thing is, it has a bunch of pre-made formats available, like PS3 format, PSP, PS Vita, Zune, iPod/iPhone etc. formet, etc. Those profiles apparently can't be customized like they can on my other program. I ripped Watchmen with the PS Vita format, and while it looks clear, the resolution is small. On the tablet, it looks nice, except for the huge letterbox. Oh well, I guess I can deal with that, and try different format profiles.
100 Movie Challenge #3: Madagascar
Jun. 6th, 2014 03:31 pmThe third movie in my 100 Movie Challenge is Madagascar. Yeah, watching Madagascar 3 kind of spoiled me. But I couldn't help it when Walmart had that movie playing over and over on their display TV's for over six months straight. Probably wore out the disc. They recently changed it, however. Now they're playing How To Train Your Dragon on the display TV's. So I'll probably end up including that one in my challenge as well.
Madagascar is about four zoo animals. Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo. Marty gets bored of his zoo life and wants to see the outside world, so he sneaks out of the zoo. The other three sneak out to find him, and when they get caught by animal control, they get shipped off into the wild.
Madagascar is a comedy more than anything, with all kinds of zany chain reactions. Like when Alex is stumbling through the jungle, he jumps back, hits a branch, stumbles forward, trips on something, jumps up, hits his head again, etc. etc. Can't say I enjoyed it as much as the third one, but that's not surprising. Usually the latest one in a series is supposed to be the best one (even though I know that's not always the case). And it's just not the same without Stefano. But I did have quite a few laughs with this one. I hope they make more Madagascar movies (or even those short episodes) featuring the Fur Power Circus.
The good news? I found a decent video player for my tablet, and the same format used for the PS Vita also works here. So I can rip my DVD's once, and transfer them to either device. This makes me happy. I think I'll only store the movies temporarily on my tablet – just long enough to watch them at work – and then keep the ones I really like on my PS Vita. Such a movie would be Marvel's The Avengers back in 2012. And of course, Madagascar 3.
Madagascar is about four zoo animals. Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo. Marty gets bored of his zoo life and wants to see the outside world, so he sneaks out of the zoo. The other three sneak out to find him, and when they get caught by animal control, they get shipped off into the wild.
Madagascar is a comedy more than anything, with all kinds of zany chain reactions. Like when Alex is stumbling through the jungle, he jumps back, hits a branch, stumbles forward, trips on something, jumps up, hits his head again, etc. etc. Can't say I enjoyed it as much as the third one, but that's not surprising. Usually the latest one in a series is supposed to be the best one (even though I know that's not always the case). And it's just not the same without Stefano. But I did have quite a few laughs with this one. I hope they make more Madagascar movies (or even those short episodes) featuring the Fur Power Circus.
The good news? I found a decent video player for my tablet, and the same format used for the PS Vita also works here. So I can rip my DVD's once, and transfer them to either device. This makes me happy. I think I'll only store the movies temporarily on my tablet – just long enough to watch them at work – and then keep the ones I really like on my PS Vita. Such a movie would be Marvel's The Avengers back in 2012. And of course, Madagascar 3.
100 Movie Challenge #2: The Running Man
Jun. 4th, 2014 08:56 amThis movie was made way back in 1987, and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cop framed for a massacre and sentenced to compete on a violent game show called The Running Man.
Sound familiar?
To see the movie now, one can't help but compare it to The Hunger Games. The concept is strikingly similar in many ways. Only in Running Man, it's the criminals and traitors that are sent onto the game show to "get exactly what they deserve." Of course the government is twisted, so not everyone they send onto the show is a criminal, such as the aforementioned cop, Ben Richards. They have the ability to alter video footage to broadcast on television. They can paste your faces on top of someone else's, and have them act out the crime they intend to frame you for.
The Runners (the contestants) make their way through four quads in their underground game area. They send super-tough guys known as Stalkers to kill them (kind of like the Hunger Games' Careers). Only the Stalkers are meaner, bulkier, etc. And like in the Hunger Games, the audience is inspired by the protagonist. And The Running Man was also based from a novel. How about that?
As for how I liked the movie? It was good, I suppose. I don't have any real complaints or anything that really stands out. Just another movie watched and probably will never watch again.
BONUS: Beetlejuice
I wanted to watch this one again, even though I have seen Beetlejuice many times as a kid, so it wouldn't count for the challenge. But since I was just a kid, I wasn't really comprehending what was going on, other than that this couple died, and they wanted to scare out the family that moved in. Never did I comprehend that the Deetzes actually wanted to "sell" the ghosts and make a museum out of the house...or whatever they were doing. And never did I comprehend that the note Lydia was writing was a suicide note. And I never comprehended that Lydia was the "little girl" that Barbara kept referring to. She didn't look like a little girl to me. Of course, watching it as an adult, it's like, "Duh!" Yeah, my mind couldn't comprehend shit when I was a kid.
Even now, Beetlejuice talks way too fast, and I still can't understand half of what he says. I can't understand half of Delia's dialogue either.
I wonder where Lydia's "strangeness and unusual-ness" came from? Delia seems a hell of a lot weirder with her hideous sculptures. You would think that Lydia picked up her gothic lifestyle from Delia in some ways, and yet it's clear that they don't get along. I don't really like Delia either. Bleh.
In other news, I discovered that I can download movies to my tablet with the Vudu app and watch them offline. So I have a few movies downloaded that I can watch at work. Kind of like how I did with the original PSP when I first got it. I was mostly buying movies, watching them once, and then trading them into Gamestop for other movies. And then I signed up for an online video game rental site and went on renting PSP movies from them. But anyway, it'll be good to watch some Vudu movies at work. Now if only I knew why the headphone jack doesn't work...
And yes, I know you can put movies on the tablet by other means, which I might do for some of them. I just don't know what format the movies need to be in. And I can't have too many movies on the tablet due to storage capacity limitations. Apparently I can't put SD cards in it. The settings menu shows an SD card storage thing, but apparently it has its own card that's different from the standard SD cards and can't be removed from the tablet. That's a shame, because I'd buy a bigger SD card. It's hard enough maintaining space for my Android apps.
Sound familiar?
To see the movie now, one can't help but compare it to The Hunger Games. The concept is strikingly similar in many ways. Only in Running Man, it's the criminals and traitors that are sent onto the game show to "get exactly what they deserve." Of course the government is twisted, so not everyone they send onto the show is a criminal, such as the aforementioned cop, Ben Richards. They have the ability to alter video footage to broadcast on television. They can paste your faces on top of someone else's, and have them act out the crime they intend to frame you for.
The Runners (the contestants) make their way through four quads in their underground game area. They send super-tough guys known as Stalkers to kill them (kind of like the Hunger Games' Careers). Only the Stalkers are meaner, bulkier, etc. And like in the Hunger Games, the audience is inspired by the protagonist. And The Running Man was also based from a novel. How about that?
As for how I liked the movie? It was good, I suppose. I don't have any real complaints or anything that really stands out. Just another movie watched and probably will never watch again.
BONUS: Beetlejuice
I wanted to watch this one again, even though I have seen Beetlejuice many times as a kid, so it wouldn't count for the challenge. But since I was just a kid, I wasn't really comprehending what was going on, other than that this couple died, and they wanted to scare out the family that moved in. Never did I comprehend that the Deetzes actually wanted to "sell" the ghosts and make a museum out of the house...or whatever they were doing. And never did I comprehend that the note Lydia was writing was a suicide note. And I never comprehended that Lydia was the "little girl" that Barbara kept referring to. She didn't look like a little girl to me. Of course, watching it as an adult, it's like, "Duh!" Yeah, my mind couldn't comprehend shit when I was a kid.
Even now, Beetlejuice talks way too fast, and I still can't understand half of what he says. I can't understand half of Delia's dialogue either.
I wonder where Lydia's "strangeness and unusual-ness" came from? Delia seems a hell of a lot weirder with her hideous sculptures. You would think that Lydia picked up her gothic lifestyle from Delia in some ways, and yet it's clear that they don't get along. I don't really like Delia either. Bleh.
In other news, I discovered that I can download movies to my tablet with the Vudu app and watch them offline. So I have a few movies downloaded that I can watch at work. Kind of like how I did with the original PSP when I first got it. I was mostly buying movies, watching them once, and then trading them into Gamestop for other movies. And then I signed up for an online video game rental site and went on renting PSP movies from them. But anyway, it'll be good to watch some Vudu movies at work. Now if only I knew why the headphone jack doesn't work...
And yes, I know you can put movies on the tablet by other means, which I might do for some of them. I just don't know what format the movies need to be in. And I can't have too many movies on the tablet due to storage capacity limitations. Apparently I can't put SD cards in it. The settings menu shows an SD card storage thing, but apparently it has its own card that's different from the standard SD cards and can't be removed from the tablet. That's a shame, because I'd buy a bigger SD card. It's hard enough maintaining space for my Android apps.
100 Movie Challenge #1: Megamind
Jun. 2nd, 2014 11:48 pmOkay, as I've mentioned before, I'm beginning the first movie in my "100 movie" challenge with Megamind. I'm starting with this one because it was featured as Vudu's 99 cent rental movie of the day on Sunday, and I was curious about it, so I figured it would be as good a movie to start with as any.
Now what did I think of it? The hardest part is always coming up with comments about it beyond "It was interesting." But it was indeed interesting. A superhero and a supervillain dueling it out over and over, and getting bored with it. Well, Metro Man had gotten bored with it. Megamind only got bored after he conquered the city. And then what? Most villains probably never think past that stage, because they never reach it. The bad guys always lose.
It was indeed interesting how Megamind's plot to create a new superhero had backfired, and said new superhero actually became a supervillain, and thus Megamind had to become a superhero himself to stop him. That's definitely a twist on the old superhero movie cliché, eh? So now that Megamind has become the new defender of Metro City, and no more supervillains to fight, what's he going to do now? Since there's no more supervillains (for the moment), perhaps he could live the normal life, dating Roxanne and all.
Other random things I liked? Megamind's brilliant use of his gadgets to do what Metro Man had done with his super strength. Even when he disguised himself as Metro Man, he used his gadgets to mimic Metro Man's abilities. So yeah...Megamind was brilliant. He just wasn't good at being a bad guy.
And I liked the music that played. "Bad To The Bone," "Welcome To The Jungle," "Crazy Train," and then ending with Michael Jackson's "Bad."
Now who's bad?
Now what did I think of it? The hardest part is always coming up with comments about it beyond "It was interesting." But it was indeed interesting. A superhero and a supervillain dueling it out over and over, and getting bored with it. Well, Metro Man had gotten bored with it. Megamind only got bored after he conquered the city. And then what? Most villains probably never think past that stage, because they never reach it. The bad guys always lose.
It was indeed interesting how Megamind's plot to create a new superhero had backfired, and said new superhero actually became a supervillain, and thus Megamind had to become a superhero himself to stop him. That's definitely a twist on the old superhero movie cliché, eh? So now that Megamind has become the new defender of Metro City, and no more supervillains to fight, what's he going to do now? Since there's no more supervillains (for the moment), perhaps he could live the normal life, dating Roxanne and all.
Other random things I liked? Megamind's brilliant use of his gadgets to do what Metro Man had done with his super strength. Even when he disguised himself as Metro Man, he used his gadgets to mimic Metro Man's abilities. So yeah...Megamind was brilliant. He just wasn't good at being a bad guy.
And I liked the music that played. "Bad To The Bone," "Welcome To The Jungle," "Crazy Train," and then ending with Michael Jackson's "Bad."
Now who's bad?
Cruise 2014
May. 4th, 2014 07:43 pmHere are all the deets from my cruise. Warning, it's long. And has some pictures within. And there are many more pictures and videos where these came from.
( Lots and lots of deets... )
( Lots and lots of deets... )
Movies watched
Mar. 19th, 2014 08:54 amOkay, so I actually made progress on watching movies this week! I watched three movies, all of which I'd been meaning to watch for a long time.
Queen of the Damned - Yes, I finally got around to watching this one. M-Go had sent an e-mail, informing customers that there was a $5 credit in their account. A few hours later, they sent another e-mail, saying that the previous message was sent in error, and was only intended for a small group of customers. A few more hours later, they sent another e-mail, offering a complimentary rental to make up for the error. At least they owned up to their mistake. So Queen of the Damned was the movie I rented with it.
Anyway, the movie was...interesting. I couldn't imagine anyone else other than Tom Cruise playing Lestat, but Stuart Townsend's performance was pretty good. But then again, he was in a totally different setting, thriving on being a rock star. I couldn't imagine Tom Cruise doing that. And then there was Aaliyah, playing the queen of the vampires herself. She had her sensual movements, all while setting vampires on fire with just a wave of her hand. And it was interesting to see the music from the soundtrack played in the film. Yeah, I liked that a lot. Of course, you can easily tell that it was Jonathan Davis from Korn doing the singing and not Stuart Townsend, with Lestat was supposed to be the one singing. It's a shame Jonathan Davis couldn't do the singing on the soundtrack album, though. But I enjoy it regardless. That perfect, creepy music... /chinhands
Hellbinders - I initially rented this one because it stars Johnny Yong Bosch. This was the first time I'd seen him in a live action role since his Power Ranger days. What I didn't know was that the movie also stars Dan Southworth, who played the Quantum Ranger in Power Rangers Time Force. Anyway, Bosch played an assassin named Ryu, fighting people who were possessed by demons. Southworth plays Tetsuro, a swordfighter who was possessed by said demon. Two other heroes joining Ryu in the battle were named Max and Cain, all with completely different backgrounds and abilities. Ryu was skilled with a katana, Max had the guns, and Cain fought with bare fists. What made the battle difficult was that whenever they killed people who were possessed, the demonic souls would just fly out of their bodies and find new hosts. Max, Cain, and Ryu were immune to possession for different reasons. Max was immune because he had died once before and thus had no soul. I don't think they explained how he came back to life. I can't remember why the other two were immune either. There were a lot of WTF moments, but I won't spoil them. The heroes managed to stop the ritual that would open the gates of hell, but Tetsuro never showed for that battle, so he still remains at large. Ryu still has unfinished business with him. Which means there definitely needs to be a sequel. I don't see it happening, though...
The Dragon Warrior - I spotted this one in Walmart and immediately had to have it because it stars Jason David Frank! He stars as a character who is only known as "The One Warrior," destined to battle the evil warlord Shoutaka. He was traveling with just one man named Brutus. There were fight scenes around every turn, where he battled flying swords, a giant, six samurais, cave dwellers, wizards, ghosts, etc. You can definitely tell that the movie was loosely based on a variety of videos games, lol. One thing I was curious about was, since the movie was in a fantasy setting, how it would affect JDF's fight scenes. I mean, I wouldn't think that karate would be a thing in that type of setting, so I wasn't counting on him using his awesome martial arts moves and stuff. Then again, there were samurai's in the movie, so karate could have been a thing after all. Still, JDF's karate moves were kept to a minimum, and of course, there were none of his karate yells that we've heard throughout the years as a Power Ranger. And the ending left me with, "What kind of ending was that!?" But again, I won't spoil it.
While I'm on a Power Rangers roll, I should mention this. Some time ago, I saw a video on youtube where ALL of the Power Rangers, past and present, teamed up to fight this huge alien invasion. This isn't the same exact video, but this one is similar, I think. The one I saw before was all Japanese, so I'm betting this clip was from Japanese footage as well. Well, I'm hearing that the final episode of Power Rangers Super Megaforce will have a huge Ranger team-up like this. According to the Wiki, it won't exactly have all the previous Rangers, but two or three from each of the previous teams. This is something I'll definitely want to see. XD
Queen of the Damned - Yes, I finally got around to watching this one. M-Go had sent an e-mail, informing customers that there was a $5 credit in their account. A few hours later, they sent another e-mail, saying that the previous message was sent in error, and was only intended for a small group of customers. A few more hours later, they sent another e-mail, offering a complimentary rental to make up for the error. At least they owned up to their mistake. So Queen of the Damned was the movie I rented with it.
Anyway, the movie was...interesting. I couldn't imagine anyone else other than Tom Cruise playing Lestat, but Stuart Townsend's performance was pretty good. But then again, he was in a totally different setting, thriving on being a rock star. I couldn't imagine Tom Cruise doing that. And then there was Aaliyah, playing the queen of the vampires herself. She had her sensual movements, all while setting vampires on fire with just a wave of her hand. And it was interesting to see the music from the soundtrack played in the film. Yeah, I liked that a lot. Of course, you can easily tell that it was Jonathan Davis from Korn doing the singing and not Stuart Townsend, with Lestat was supposed to be the one singing. It's a shame Jonathan Davis couldn't do the singing on the soundtrack album, though. But I enjoy it regardless. That perfect, creepy music... /chinhands
Hellbinders - I initially rented this one because it stars Johnny Yong Bosch. This was the first time I'd seen him in a live action role since his Power Ranger days. What I didn't know was that the movie also stars Dan Southworth, who played the Quantum Ranger in Power Rangers Time Force. Anyway, Bosch played an assassin named Ryu, fighting people who were possessed by demons. Southworth plays Tetsuro, a swordfighter who was possessed by said demon. Two other heroes joining Ryu in the battle were named Max and Cain, all with completely different backgrounds and abilities. Ryu was skilled with a katana, Max had the guns, and Cain fought with bare fists. What made the battle difficult was that whenever they killed people who were possessed, the demonic souls would just fly out of their bodies and find new hosts. Max, Cain, and Ryu were immune to possession for different reasons. Max was immune because he had died once before and thus had no soul. I don't think they explained how he came back to life. I can't remember why the other two were immune either. There were a lot of WTF moments, but I won't spoil them. The heroes managed to stop the ritual that would open the gates of hell, but Tetsuro never showed for that battle, so he still remains at large. Ryu still has unfinished business with him. Which means there definitely needs to be a sequel. I don't see it happening, though...
The Dragon Warrior - I spotted this one in Walmart and immediately had to have it because it stars Jason David Frank! He stars as a character who is only known as "The One Warrior," destined to battle the evil warlord Shoutaka. He was traveling with just one man named Brutus. There were fight scenes around every turn, where he battled flying swords, a giant, six samurais, cave dwellers, wizards, ghosts, etc. You can definitely tell that the movie was loosely based on a variety of videos games, lol. One thing I was curious about was, since the movie was in a fantasy setting, how it would affect JDF's fight scenes. I mean, I wouldn't think that karate would be a thing in that type of setting, so I wasn't counting on him using his awesome martial arts moves and stuff. Then again, there were samurai's in the movie, so karate could have been a thing after all. Still, JDF's karate moves were kept to a minimum, and of course, there were none of his karate yells that we've heard throughout the years as a Power Ranger. And the ending left me with, "What kind of ending was that!?" But again, I won't spoil it.
While I'm on a Power Rangers roll, I should mention this. Some time ago, I saw a video on youtube where ALL of the Power Rangers, past and present, teamed up to fight this huge alien invasion. This isn't the same exact video, but this one is similar, I think. The one I saw before was all Japanese, so I'm betting this clip was from Japanese footage as well. Well, I'm hearing that the final episode of Power Rangers Super Megaforce will have a huge Ranger team-up like this. According to the Wiki, it won't exactly have all the previous Rangers, but two or three from each of the previous teams. This is something I'll definitely want to see. XD
Roku Discovery
Mar. 18th, 2014 03:31 pmSince I got the Roku, and the online video libraries (particularly Vudu), I had told myself that I would refrain from buying DVD's unless it either included a free digital copy, or if it was compatible with Vudu's disc to digital program.
Now I don't have to be so selective.
I had merely wished to be able to watch Youtube on my Roku. Unfortunately, Roku's Youtube channel is only compatible with the Roku 3. I only have the Roku LT. I found one workaround, called Videobuzz, that allows me to watch Youtube videos. And then there's a channel called Plex, that allows me to view videos, photos, and music on my computer. It even has channels within, including a Youtube channel. The other channels aren't that great, but the Youtube channel alone is worth it. Anyway, any movies I can't convert to Vudu from DVD's can be ripped to my hard drive, and watched on Roku via the Plex channel.
This isn't to say I won't use Vudu and such anymore. The digital movie online library has better quality, and I don't exactly have infinite hard drive space. When I do rip DVD's, I try to choose a setting that conserves space but still has decent quality. I have yet to find that perfect setting. So I'll still stick with Vudu and the Ultraviolet library whenever possible.
This has been me being a geek.
Now I don't have to be so selective.
I had merely wished to be able to watch Youtube on my Roku. Unfortunately, Roku's Youtube channel is only compatible with the Roku 3. I only have the Roku LT. I found one workaround, called Videobuzz, that allows me to watch Youtube videos. And then there's a channel called Plex, that allows me to view videos, photos, and music on my computer. It even has channels within, including a Youtube channel. The other channels aren't that great, but the Youtube channel alone is worth it. Anyway, any movies I can't convert to Vudu from DVD's can be ripped to my hard drive, and watched on Roku via the Plex channel.
This isn't to say I won't use Vudu and such anymore. The digital movie online library has better quality, and I don't exactly have infinite hard drive space. When I do rip DVD's, I try to choose a setting that conserves space but still has decent quality. I have yet to find that perfect setting. So I'll still stick with Vudu and the Ultraviolet library whenever possible.
This has been me being a geek.
OMG, fuck yes! I just found a Firefox addon called LJ Hook. The one thing I missed about LJ was the ability to use LJ Addon, which allowed you to wrap your text with an html tag with a single click. Unfortunately, the addon wasn't compatible with DW, so I was stuck typing in html tags manually. Or my personal shortcut was to use the autocorrect on MS Word.
First, download LJ Hook from here.
Then, you'll probably need to enable it to be compatible with Dreamwidth. Here's how you do that:
1. Sign into an LJ account
2. Click comment to any post/reply to any comment in any post, doesn't matter where.
3. Right-click inside the text window
4. Hover over the LJ Hook > Preferences > Clones Manager
5. Type dreamwidth.org into the text window and click "Enable." Then close.
Now you should be able to use LJ Hook for Dreamwidth.
To use LJ Hook for Dreamwidth, follow the steps above in a DW comment box. Click within the window, hover over LJ Hook. You'll see a list of common html tags (bold, italic, underline, etc...). The "Insert" menu will have others, like LJ Cut, LJ Username, etc.
However, there are some useful html tags that are not included. Such as the ever-helpful "small text" tag that most RPers use. But we can add them manually. Here's how to do that:
1. Right-click in comment box > LJ Hook > Custom > Manage Customs
2. Click "New Item."
3. Type a name and description for your custom html tag, and then type the code in the "code" box.
4. To make it wrap around selected text, type [selection] in between the tag. i.e. < small >[selection]</ small > (minus the spaces of course).
5. Do the same if you want it to apply the tag with text from your clipboard. Just replace the [selection] with [clipboard].
6. And then, to use the custom tag: Right-click in comment box > LJ Hook > Custom > your html tag.
7. Repeat for any additional html tags you may want to add.
I think that should be it. Now I should have an easier time roleplaying without messing up html tags, lol. XD
First, download LJ Hook from here.
Then, you'll probably need to enable it to be compatible with Dreamwidth. Here's how you do that:
1. Sign into an LJ account
2. Click comment to any post/reply to any comment in any post, doesn't matter where.
3. Right-click inside the text window
4. Hover over the LJ Hook > Preferences > Clones Manager
5. Type dreamwidth.org into the text window and click "Enable." Then close.
Now you should be able to use LJ Hook for Dreamwidth.
To use LJ Hook for Dreamwidth, follow the steps above in a DW comment box. Click within the window, hover over LJ Hook. You'll see a list of common html tags (bold, italic, underline, etc...). The "Insert" menu will have others, like LJ Cut, LJ Username, etc.
However, there are some useful html tags that are not included. Such as the ever-helpful "small text" tag that most RPers use. But we can add them manually. Here's how to do that:
1. Right-click in comment box > LJ Hook > Custom > Manage Customs
2. Click "New Item."
3. Type a name and description for your custom html tag, and then type the code in the "code" box.
4. To make it wrap around selected text, type [selection] in between the tag. i.e. < small >[selection]</ small > (minus the spaces of course).
5. Do the same if you want it to apply the tag with text from your clipboard. Just replace the [selection] with [clipboard].
6. And then, to use the custom tag: Right-click in comment box > LJ Hook > Custom > your html tag.
7. Repeat for any additional html tags you may want to add.
I think that should be it. Now I should have an easier time roleplaying without messing up html tags, lol. XD
State of the RP 2013
Dec. 31st, 2013 09:07 am@ ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
luceti
character:
Saleh
series: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
tagging priority: ■■■□□: With only two game characters, it's hard to say that one's tagging priority is greater than the other.
muse strength: ■■■□□: Sadly, Saleh's muse seems to be weakening. If only slightly. I can easily look at his supports to get his voice back, though.
cast strength: □□□□□: N/A
plotting capabilities: ■■□□□: He's...available? He hasn't been doing nearly as much since most of his CR is gone. And since he has no real close CR anymore, that makes it difficult/impossible to participate in player plots.
general fun level: ■■■□□: Sometimes he can be fun. When I follow through with the things I plot, that is.
likelihood of drop: ■■□□□: Yeah...I fear he's getting stuck in the rut that Jay fell into. Most of his steady, long-term CR is gone now, and playing him just isn't the same anymore. All he has is Eleytheria now, and Spock on occasion. I've been having great difficulty building new CR, so he's just threading with characters here and there just to make AC these days. And he pretty much failed last AC, so that's not a good sign at all.
character:Karla
series: Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword
tagging priority: ■■■■□: She seems to get pinged more often.
muse strength: ■■■□□: I guess she's all right? Her voice seems kind of bland, but it seems that way in canon, too. Barely any emotion coming across when she speaks.
cast strength: □□□□□: What are castmates?
plotting capabilities: ■■■□□: Anything that involves fighting, she's game for. She's supposed to be playing bodyguard for Effie Trinkett (and one day I hope to actually do something with that instead of enemies/creepers getting to Effie when Karla's not around).
general fun level: ■■■□□: If she can get awkward, she can be fun. I have yet to do anything serious with her, though.
likelihood of drop: ■□□□□: Not likely. I'm just getting started, still. I've only had her since May...wait, that long already? O.O
Hopefully Luceti app
character:Stefano
series: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
tagging priority: ■□□□□: When he has a tag to respond to, I try to get to it ASAP. I still need practice.
muse strength: ■■□□□: He's still in development.
cast strength: □□□□□: N/A
plotting capabilities: ■■■□□: For things he could possibly do in Luceti? I imagine he'd want to gather all the talented Lucetians and starting his very own circus. Otherwise, he'll want to perform smaller circus acts at every birthday party he can get to.
general fun level: ■■■□□: Again, he's still in development.
likelihood of app: ■■■□□: Apps open again tomorrow, but my app isn't finished yet. His strengths and weaknesses need fleshing out, and his personality could use some tweaks. And then he needs samples. His Training Wings post is sitting there gathering dust, so it'll be pretty useless. I may either delete it and try a new one, or try to come up with my own first person sample. Or if there is a 4th wall event in Luceti, perhaps I can use that? Maybe? Anything to avoid the Q&A...
luceticharacter:
Salehseries: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
tagging priority: ■■■□□: With only two game characters, it's hard to say that one's tagging priority is greater than the other.
muse strength: ■■■□□: Sadly, Saleh's muse seems to be weakening. If only slightly. I can easily look at his supports to get his voice back, though.
cast strength: □□□□□: N/A
plotting capabilities: ■■□□□: He's...available? He hasn't been doing nearly as much since most of his CR is gone. And since he has no real close CR anymore, that makes it difficult/impossible to participate in player plots.
general fun level: ■■■□□: Sometimes he can be fun. When I follow through with the things I plot, that is.
likelihood of drop: ■■□□□: Yeah...I fear he's getting stuck in the rut that Jay fell into. Most of his steady, long-term CR is gone now, and playing him just isn't the same anymore. All he has is Eleytheria now, and Spock on occasion. I've been having great difficulty building new CR, so he's just threading with characters here and there just to make AC these days. And he pretty much failed last AC, so that's not a good sign at all.
character:
Karlaseries: Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword
tagging priority: ■■■■□: She seems to get pinged more often.
muse strength: ■■■□□: I guess she's all right? Her voice seems kind of bland, but it seems that way in canon, too. Barely any emotion coming across when she speaks.
cast strength: □□□□□: What are castmates?
plotting capabilities: ■■■□□: Anything that involves fighting, she's game for. She's supposed to be playing bodyguard for Effie Trinkett (and one day I hope to actually do something with that instead of enemies/creepers getting to Effie when Karla's not around).
general fun level: ■■■□□: If she can get awkward, she can be fun. I have yet to do anything serious with her, though.
likelihood of drop: ■□□□□: Not likely. I'm just getting started, still. I've only had her since May...wait, that long already? O.O
Hopefully Luceti app
character:
Stefanoseries: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
tagging priority: ■□□□□: When he has a tag to respond to, I try to get to it ASAP. I still need practice.
muse strength: ■■□□□: He's still in development.
cast strength: □□□□□: N/A
plotting capabilities: ■■■□□: For things he could possibly do in Luceti? I imagine he'd want to gather all the talented Lucetians and starting his very own circus. Otherwise, he'll want to perform smaller circus acts at every birthday party he can get to.
general fun level: ■■■□□: Again, he's still in development.
likelihood of app: ■■■□□: Apps open again tomorrow, but my app isn't finished yet. His strengths and weaknesses need fleshing out, and his personality could use some tweaks. And then he needs samples. His Training Wings post is sitting there gathering dust, so it'll be pretty useless. I may either delete it and try a new one, or try to come up with my own first person sample. Or if there is a 4th wall event in Luceti, perhaps I can use that? Maybe? Anything to avoid the Q&A...
Flight Rising Journal 2
Nov. 11th, 2013 05:33 pmOnward I go, rambling even more and more about Flight Rising. This particular entry will focus mainly on my main three.
So what makes Usha, Grim, and Qubine my main three? They're the ones I work the hardest on. They're the ones I level up in the Coliseum. They're the ones I bother to decorate with apparel and familiars. All the other dragons just sit there and look pretty. Of course, certain dragons (like Ecliptor) don't need any kind of apparel to look cool.
( Familiars )
( Clothing and Skins )
So what makes Usha, Grim, and Qubine my main three? They're the ones I work the hardest on. They're the ones I level up in the Coliseum. They're the ones I bother to decorate with apparel and familiars. All the other dragons just sit there and look pretty. Of course, certain dragons (like Ecliptor) don't need any kind of apparel to look cool.
( Familiars )
( Clothing and Skins )
Flight Rising Journal 1
Nov. 11th, 2013 03:22 pmI joined Flight Rising on September 3rd, 2013. At the time, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into. I just saw a bunch of Plurk friends bragging about pretty dragons, and so I was curious enough to explore it myself. And to this day, I have not been disappointed.
( My Main Three )
( Other permanent dragons... )
( Long-term dragons... )
( Mating dragons... )
WHEW! This is a lot of rambling. In fact, I think I'll stop here and make a whole new entry for tomorrow, because I have so much more rambling/showing off to do, lol. XD
( My Main Three )
( Other permanent dragons... )
( Long-term dragons... )
( Mating dragons... )
WHEW! This is a lot of rambling. In fact, I think I'll stop here and make a whole new entry for tomorrow, because I have so much more rambling/showing off to do, lol. XD
Flight Rising - In Loving Memory
Sep. 30th, 2013 08:18 amThis is a post in remembrance to the dragons who formerly resided in my lair, who have moved on to serve the clan's elementary god, the Gladekeeper (nature).
( Flight Rising: In Loving Memory )
Olympus - Son of Qubine and Gia. Sold in Auction House and then exalted by buyer.
Steelwind - Daughter of Qubine and Gia. Same story as Olympus.
Manny
Cojiro
^ The other two offspring of Qubine and Gia.
Eurys - Daughter of MadHatter and Mocha.
Soiree - Had to exalt him for lair space. T_T
Gia - Qubine's mate. She's been good, but now that Usha has a tiger gene, I don't need any more Mirror tiger girls.
( Flight Rising: In Loving Memory )
Olympus - Son of Qubine and Gia. Sold in Auction House and then exalted by buyer.
Steelwind - Daughter of Qubine and Gia. Same story as Olympus.
Manny
Cojiro
^ The other two offspring of Qubine and Gia.
Eurys - Daughter of MadHatter and Mocha.
Soiree - Had to exalt him for lair space. T_T
Gia - Qubine's mate. She's been good, but now that Usha has a tiger gene, I don't need any more Mirror tiger girls.
