So if you read my last post, you might remember that I said I was going to visit my cottage this past weekend. Well I did, and it was pretty great. The weather was really nice, so I had a pretty good time just sitting and relaxing with all the nature surrounding me. My Mom has some hummingbird feeders up, and there were hummingbirds around them for a fair bit of the time, which was cool. They were really cute. There was one that was really surly and chased the other birds away from the feeders, even if he didn't want to actually go on them himself. Pretty funny.
I also saw a WILD TURKEY. This is the first time I had ever seen one, actually in the wild. Unfortunately I was in the car at the time, so I couldn't follow my manly instincts to go hunt it with nothing but a sharp stick and mud camouflage. And, as science tells us, the urge gets stronger the closer we are to Thanksgiving, so it was pretty hard to resist. Count yourself lucky this time, TURKEY!
Other than that, I went on a couple of rides in my Dad's boat and visited some family that I haven't seen for a while, so that was good. And I think I might have gotten at least a small creativity boost from the change of scenery, which was mainly what I was looking for. I got an idea for a new story, and after thinking about it for a while, I actually had an idea for like, kind of a different form of storytelling. I'll have to think it out a bit more, but hopefully I'll be able to nail it down and start posting it on this blog. If so, I think it would be kind of like a multi-part shortish story. Can't promise anything, of course, since everything I've promised so far hasn't really happened yet.
Anywho, I also saw Elysium while I was up there, and it was pretty good. The sci-fi stuff was cool, and I really enjoyed Sharlto Copley, and especially Jodie Foster. I thought she did just an amazing job. I also laughed at the shape of the space station...nice Halo ring there, guy. Not that that was bad though, it was actually pretty cool looking. That's not to say that there was nothing wrong with the movie, of course.
I guess some spoilers might follow, but nothing really too specific.
So, my big issue with Elysium was how many stupid movie cliches were in it. You know, that kind of thing that makes you go 'aw, come on, really?' when something works out juuuust right. Also how the main character seemingly has like super-hero level endurance, even after being stabbed. How everyone is at the right place at the right time, and how the guy's computer is just magically able to interface with all of Elysium's stuff.
It's the same problem I had with Pacific Rim, which could have been just a cool story about giant robots and monsters, but for some reason they stuffed in a terrible love story too. I mean it was just awful. There was nothing that bad in Elysium, but it's still disappointing to see these lazy storytelling methods being used so heavily in mainstream movies. Like, I feel like we could do without the magically-best-in-the-world-at-what-he-does protagonist who always knows what to do. Maybe that's just what people want to see though, I dunno.
Anywho, as I said, I still enjoyed Elysium, but yeah, I felt it could have been better. So I guess that's it for today, sorry it's not really much again. Hopefully I'll be able to get things straight and get to work on something again soon.
Monday, 12 August 2013
Friday, 9 August 2013
On Magic the Gathering
Is there supposed to be a colon in there? I don't know. Anyway, no post yesterday unfortunately, as I really haven't had any ideas on anything to write about lately. I guess I'm still going through a bit of an uninspired period. So, for a change of scenery, I'm probably going to go up to our cottage this weekend. Dunno if it will help any, but can't hurt. Hopefully.
Anyway. Yesterday later on in the day I decided to start playing Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, which is a Magic the Gathering game on Steam. I'd bought it a while ago in a Steam sale, for a couple of dollars. The reason I got it is that I'd been introduced to some of my friends to Magic a little bit, and always thought it looked pretty cool, but it seemed like it would be a bit hard to get into. So I thought that getting the game might be a good way to learn the game better, since I don't really have anyone locally that I could play regularly with. So yesterday I FINALLY decided to give it a try, and so I thought I'd talk a bit about how that went.
First off, I should just point out that I know playing Duels of the Planeswalkers is a bit different from playing the game with actual cards. Not super different, but the game does things like gives you pre-made decks, highlights cards when you can play them, and stuff like that. So it's clear to me that you'd need a LOT more knowledge and experience to play the card game as well, like knowing when you can play what cards, and more importantly, when you SHOULD. But still, I feel like this is a good way to learn and get used to the more basic mechanics and dynamics.
So in playing the campaign, I chose the black zombies deck. I feel like I tend to be drawn to the black, white, and to a lesser extent, red colours. Just because I like dark stuff, and angels, and red has some vampires in it too. But yeah, the zombies are just really fun to play with, because if you get the right cards, you just get an overwhelming force. I feel like I should be trying some other decks to learn about some of the other colours' mechanics, but I just have too much fun with the zombies. I suppose there's plenty of time to learn the other colours, though, and I can do so by fighting against them. So let the zombie hordes reign for now.
Then there are the little challenges that you can do in between battles in the campaign. Basically they put you in a very specific situation, usually with you being on the ropes, and you have to figure out a way to fend off your opponent's attack, and beat them in the next turn. The beginning challenges were easy enough, but once it got into the medium challenges, I got stuck as hell. There are just sooo many little rules and subtexts and crazy strategies, that it's easy to see how one would be able to get engrossed in the game for years. I actually ended up having to look up the solutions to the medium challenges, online, which I am not proud of...but I still felt like I learned from each one. I definitely felt stupid after a couple of them, which seemed to have really obvious solutions that I just missed, but at least I know some more things to look for now.
So yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I think when Duels 2014 goes on sale I'll probably pick it up. I actually have some real cards too, but I don't know how invested I'll get in the real game, just on account of how expensive the cards are. It might be cool to just become a casual player, though. We'll see what happens!
Anyway. Yesterday later on in the day I decided to start playing Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, which is a Magic the Gathering game on Steam. I'd bought it a while ago in a Steam sale, for a couple of dollars. The reason I got it is that I'd been introduced to some of my friends to Magic a little bit, and always thought it looked pretty cool, but it seemed like it would be a bit hard to get into. So I thought that getting the game might be a good way to learn the game better, since I don't really have anyone locally that I could play regularly with. So yesterday I FINALLY decided to give it a try, and so I thought I'd talk a bit about how that went.
First off, I should just point out that I know playing Duels of the Planeswalkers is a bit different from playing the game with actual cards. Not super different, but the game does things like gives you pre-made decks, highlights cards when you can play them, and stuff like that. So it's clear to me that you'd need a LOT more knowledge and experience to play the card game as well, like knowing when you can play what cards, and more importantly, when you SHOULD. But still, I feel like this is a good way to learn and get used to the more basic mechanics and dynamics.
So in playing the campaign, I chose the black zombies deck. I feel like I tend to be drawn to the black, white, and to a lesser extent, red colours. Just because I like dark stuff, and angels, and red has some vampires in it too. But yeah, the zombies are just really fun to play with, because if you get the right cards, you just get an overwhelming force. I feel like I should be trying some other decks to learn about some of the other colours' mechanics, but I just have too much fun with the zombies. I suppose there's plenty of time to learn the other colours, though, and I can do so by fighting against them. So let the zombie hordes reign for now.
Then there are the little challenges that you can do in between battles in the campaign. Basically they put you in a very specific situation, usually with you being on the ropes, and you have to figure out a way to fend off your opponent's attack, and beat them in the next turn. The beginning challenges were easy enough, but once it got into the medium challenges, I got stuck as hell. There are just sooo many little rules and subtexts and crazy strategies, that it's easy to see how one would be able to get engrossed in the game for years. I actually ended up having to look up the solutions to the medium challenges, online, which I am not proud of...but I still felt like I learned from each one. I definitely felt stupid after a couple of them, which seemed to have really obvious solutions that I just missed, but at least I know some more things to look for now.
So yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I think when Duels 2014 goes on sale I'll probably pick it up. I actually have some real cards too, but I don't know how invested I'll get in the real game, just on account of how expensive the cards are. It might be cool to just become a casual player, though. We'll see what happens!
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Some Music I Like
So I haven't done any posts about music in a while. I've always been kind of hesitant to get involved in conversations about music, because I find that my taste in music is a little weird. For one thing, with a few exceptions I generally don't attach myself to any specific type of music, I just like things if I like how they sound. So, for example, I generally don't like rap and hip-hop, but there are some hip-hop songs that I really like. So when people ask me what kind of music I like, I don't really know what to say, since there are songs from pretty much every kind of music that I like. I also don't really attach myself to bands for the most part, so when people get into talking deeply about certain groups and albums, I don't really have anything to say. It kinda sucks sometimes, haha.
But, as I said, there are SOME exceptions. One of my favourite types of music right now, and has been for at least a little while, is liquid/melodic Drum and Bass. Liquid is a term that can be applied to electronic music that means it's more like, chill and smooth. At least that's my interpretation. I also like some liquid/melodic Dubstep, but MOSTLY because some of those songs tend to have really nice Drum and Bass in between the wub wub parts. Then if I find the wub wub parts at least tolerable, I like the song. Anyway, you can find a collection of these types of songs on my Youtube playlist here, if you like.
Next, I want to talk a little about a group that I just learned about recently, Walk off the Earth. They are an indie band from Burlington Ontario, which I thought was pretty cool. I actually found out about them from hearing one of their songs in an HMV, and liking what I heard. I used Shazam on my phone to find out what the song was called, which turned out to be this.
So the thing that I really liked about it at the start was the deep harmony that was in the chorus. I realllllly like harmony like that. But the drums and bass were really cool too, and so I decided to do a little more digging into some of their other videos to see what else I might find. There were a few that were just alright, but I also found some really good ones. The one below is just soo nice and chill, and features a ukelele prominently, so, like, it's automatically good.
Another thing that I really like about this band is the girl's voice. It's one of those voices that somehow sounds so effortless, like singing for her is as easy as talking. The guys in the band have nice voices too, but hers is the one that stands out to me the most. Then I found the video below, which is a capella (for the most part), which is another thing I really like, probably mostly due to the harmony of the voices. It's of a Taylor Swift song, but don't let that push you away.
Honestly, pop music these days is kind of weird for me. There are some songs from people like Taylor Swift, KeSha, and Katy Perry that have really beautiful melodies in some parts, but then just have generic sounding noise in the rest, and ridiculous, vapid lyrics. It just confounds me how these minds can be capable of creating really nice music, but don't do it for the whole song. Ahh well, to each their own, eh? I suppose if I'm able to find at least a small thing that I like in those songs, it's better than nothing.
Anywho, yeah. I haven't done a huge amount of looking into Walk off the Earth's discography, because I'm lazy, but it seems to me like they're worth looking into. Check them out if you like what you hear up there.
But, as I said, there are SOME exceptions. One of my favourite types of music right now, and has been for at least a little while, is liquid/melodic Drum and Bass. Liquid is a term that can be applied to electronic music that means it's more like, chill and smooth. At least that's my interpretation. I also like some liquid/melodic Dubstep, but MOSTLY because some of those songs tend to have really nice Drum and Bass in between the wub wub parts. Then if I find the wub wub parts at least tolerable, I like the song. Anyway, you can find a collection of these types of songs on my Youtube playlist here, if you like.
Next, I want to talk a little about a group that I just learned about recently, Walk off the Earth. They are an indie band from Burlington Ontario, which I thought was pretty cool. I actually found out about them from hearing one of their songs in an HMV, and liking what I heard. I used Shazam on my phone to find out what the song was called, which turned out to be this.
So the thing that I really liked about it at the start was the deep harmony that was in the chorus. I realllllly like harmony like that. But the drums and bass were really cool too, and so I decided to do a little more digging into some of their other videos to see what else I might find. There were a few that were just alright, but I also found some really good ones. The one below is just soo nice and chill, and features a ukelele prominently, so, like, it's automatically good.
Another thing that I really like about this band is the girl's voice. It's one of those voices that somehow sounds so effortless, like singing for her is as easy as talking. The guys in the band have nice voices too, but hers is the one that stands out to me the most. Then I found the video below, which is a capella (for the most part), which is another thing I really like, probably mostly due to the harmony of the voices. It's of a Taylor Swift song, but don't let that push you away.
Honestly, pop music these days is kind of weird for me. There are some songs from people like Taylor Swift, KeSha, and Katy Perry that have really beautiful melodies in some parts, but then just have generic sounding noise in the rest, and ridiculous, vapid lyrics. It just confounds me how these minds can be capable of creating really nice music, but don't do it for the whole song. Ahh well, to each their own, eh? I suppose if I'm able to find at least a small thing that I like in those songs, it's better than nothing.
Anywho, yeah. I haven't done a huge amount of looking into Walk off the Earth's discography, because I'm lazy, but it seems to me like they're worth looking into. Check them out if you like what you hear up there.
Sunday, 4 August 2013
A Final Word on Dragon's Crown
So I don't really have anything to write about today, but there is one small thing I want to mention. Dragon's Crown is coming out this coming week, which means that reviews are starting to pop up. If you're not aware, this game has been very controversial for its art style, which you can easily read about with a quick Google search. Now, if you think that the art style is just silly, or you don't really like it, that's fine. You're wrong, but you're entitled to your wrong opinion (lolol). But I have also seen comments where people are talking about how it's actually a 'problem'. And that's where my understanding ends.
To those people, I say: if you are offended by a piece of art or media, that's your fault. Like, sorry if that's a tough truth to swallow, but it doesn't make it any less true. You can control the way you react to something. Do you really think that if something doesn't make you feel good about yourself, it shouldn't exist? Are you really that self entitled?
*drops the mic*
To those people, I say: if you are offended by a piece of art or media, that's your fault. Like, sorry if that's a tough truth to swallow, but it doesn't make it any less true. You can control the way you react to something. Do you really think that if something doesn't make you feel good about yourself, it shouldn't exist? Are you really that self entitled?
*drops the mic*
Friday, 2 August 2013
Boring Friday Post
Well another boring day with nothing really to write about. I guess it's kind of just that summer drought of everything. Meh. Well, I had a cool dream last night. I was Spider-Man, actually swinging around on webs and jumping on rooftops, and fighting crime. And I was part of some secret council or something, though it was never clear what it was for. Or I just don't remember. But yeahh...
Anyway, I worked on another drawing to keep practicing on my tablet, this time it's Omega Red. He's another one of my favourite Marvel villains, which kind of sucks because he's not really in anything recently. And I realized one reason why my drawings aren't that good is cause it's just line art, I don't know how to do any shading or lighting or anything. So that's too bad.
Anyway, I just did kind of like a new version of his costume based on what I remember and what I thought might look neat. And also put a belt cloth. I guess that's kind of like my signature. I don't know why I like them so much, haha. I don't even know what the proper name for them is. I just think they look cool! The next idea I have is for Green Goblin, but the picture in my head might be beyond my abilities to actually make. So maybe I'll post it if it's good enough. Though I suppose my standards can't be too high as it is, lol.
Anyway, I worked on another drawing to keep practicing on my tablet, this time it's Omega Red. He's another one of my favourite Marvel villains, which kind of sucks because he's not really in anything recently. And I realized one reason why my drawings aren't that good is cause it's just line art, I don't know how to do any shading or lighting or anything. So that's too bad.
Anyway, I just did kind of like a new version of his costume based on what I remember and what I thought might look neat. And also put a belt cloth. I guess that's kind of like my signature. I don't know why I like them so much, haha. I don't even know what the proper name for them is. I just think they look cool! The next idea I have is for Green Goblin, but the picture in my head might be beyond my abilities to actually make. So maybe I'll post it if it's good enough. Though I suppose my standards can't be too high as it is, lol.
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| Gotta grow the BRAND. |
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