I have just realized that I never wrote a book review for the Dragonlance book I read in February. I'll have to get on that. I mostly listened to the audiobook, must be why I forgot. I finished Dragon Age II with my Anders game. I was a little shocked, mildly disappointed... and I desperately want whatever's next to happen (DLC, DA3? Who knows). Going to have to finish Fenris when I have the time. I started reading the Song of Ice and Fire series. I am enjoying Game of Thrones. It's pretty long, and I haven't had the chance to continue reading, but it's okay. I can't wait to finish it.
I was working on a presentation for one of my classes and I can't seem to convince myself to finish it... Oh lack of motivation, you pain me so... Guess I better get back to it.
*The Sky is over...*
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
You'll never survive 3005...
Been listening to Scars on Broadway a lot lately. I can't help but feel like the line in 3005 where he says "While you are sinking in the ocean I'll be in my spaceship still alive" is a Portal reference... Even though I know it's not. My stomach's been standing on a ledge threatening to jump lately. Quite horrible. I've sent some people down there to talk him out of it, but he's not listening. Stomach suicide is a serious problem. Stayed home today, I'll probably catch up on some homework and play more Dragon Age II. I'm pretty sure I'm almost in Act III. I'd probably already have beaten the game if I didn't insist on searching every little corner and playing several simultaneous games. It's so enjoyable though.
I continued to work on the outline for that story. It's become quite massive and has reached a much larger scale than I imagined. Pretty crazy. And I still don't have an end in sight. I wonder if I'll actually be able to write it? I'm pretty excited about it now, but for how long? I also found an old story I'd started a few years ago that I'd like to revamp a little. I don't know what to do with it though. It's a good beginning, it just lacks a reason. I think I am going to make sure I do more writing and less trolling the internet. Not that I don't love spending hours on my google reader or Reddit or Cracked filling my brain with useless knowledge, I just think I'd rather be spending that time writing or reading, or drawing for that matter.
She's changed a little since then, and the picture's focus was redirected but I kind of like it. I should spend more time with my tablet.
Man, I could really use a lot more time in my life. Maybe when I finish school. Maybe never. We'll see. I'm kind of glad I'm getting back into the habit of blogging. I think it helps my writing when I write a lot, even if it's just garbled mess about things that don't matter all too much.
*The sky is over...*
I continued to work on the outline for that story. It's become quite massive and has reached a much larger scale than I imagined. Pretty crazy. And I still don't have an end in sight. I wonder if I'll actually be able to write it? I'm pretty excited about it now, but for how long? I also found an old story I'd started a few years ago that I'd like to revamp a little. I don't know what to do with it though. It's a good beginning, it just lacks a reason. I think I am going to make sure I do more writing and less trolling the internet. Not that I don't love spending hours on my google reader or Reddit or Cracked filling my brain with useless knowledge, I just think I'd rather be spending that time writing or reading, or drawing for that matter.
I was sketching with my tablet for the first time in a looonggg time yesterday and this is what happened:
Man, I could really use a lot more time in my life. Maybe when I finish school. Maybe never. We'll see. I'm kind of glad I'm getting back into the habit of blogging. I think it helps my writing when I write a lot, even if it's just garbled mess about things that don't matter all too much.
*The sky is over...*
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Who knows...
I started working on an outline for a "short" story the other day and so far it has left short story territory and entered novelette lands armed with only a short sword and some rations. I rarely do the "outline" thing but I am always so busy lately that I do not always have the time to just sit and write for hours and days, so the outline helps me remember where the story was going and such. It seems to work with other some stories in the past, so I figured it couldn't hurt. I am a little irked that I can't think of an ending for this. I usually have the ending before I have anything else, I tend to work backwards. But this story is jut taunting me. Maybe my beginning and middle are not so well defined that it leads me to a proper ending. I am hoping it will come to me.
I was inspired to begin this story while playing Dragon Age II. I really love that game so far. I have two simultaneous games going (I couldn't decide whether to romance Anders or Fenris so I figured both would do). Listening to Fenris' voice I decided I wanted to write a story where someone had that voice (does that make sense to anyone but me?). That deep, manly voice thing makes me swoon (like Rammstein's Till). I was the giddiest creature in existence when I first started playing it and Anders showed up... And then I found out he joins your party and I almost died of excitement. I was quite disappointed you couldn't romance him in Awakenings (wow, I'm really lame, aren't I?). I am really enjoying the game and wish I had more time to just plow through it. I love how much the little dialogue differences change the mood of the whole game. My first game was with a female rogue that generally goes for the "good and just" answers, my second game was as a male mage with the more humorous Hawke. It really does change the experience even if it's somewhat the same sequence of events. Also, these differences change what quests become available. I really like it. I'm as enthralled as I was with the first one.
I really like Serj Tankian's Peace Be Revenged. I can't stop listening to it. My lastfm is a bit of a douche though. It seems to not like scrobbling anything I listen to continuously so even though I listened to it upwards of 30 times the other day it seemed to only scrobble 6 or so of those plays. Oh well.
*The sky is over...*
I was inspired to begin this story while playing Dragon Age II. I really love that game so far. I have two simultaneous games going (I couldn't decide whether to romance Anders or Fenris so I figured both would do). Listening to Fenris' voice I decided I wanted to write a story where someone had that voice (does that make sense to anyone but me?). That deep, manly voice thing makes me swoon (like Rammstein's Till). I was the giddiest creature in existence when I first started playing it and Anders showed up... And then I found out he joins your party and I almost died of excitement. I was quite disappointed you couldn't romance him in Awakenings (wow, I'm really lame, aren't I?). I am really enjoying the game and wish I had more time to just plow through it. I love how much the little dialogue differences change the mood of the whole game. My first game was with a female rogue that generally goes for the "good and just" answers, my second game was as a male mage with the more humorous Hawke. It really does change the experience even if it's somewhat the same sequence of events. Also, these differences change what quests become available. I really like it. I'm as enthralled as I was with the first one.
I really like Serj Tankian's Peace Be Revenged. I can't stop listening to it. My lastfm is a bit of a douche though. It seems to not like scrobbling anything I listen to continuously so even though I listened to it upwards of 30 times the other day it seemed to only scrobble 6 or so of those plays. Oh well.
*The sky is over...*
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
It's always the little things...
I mentioned in the book review I posted just a few moments ago that I bought a Kobo Wifi reader from a Borders that was going out of business. I got it for a nifty $70. It is absolutely WONDERFUL. I don't care about the disparaging reviews or those who upturn their noses at it for fancier models because it does exactly what it needs to do, and that is to give me books to read. I am so excited. I read Coraline on it, as well as five volumes of a manga (Ai Yori Aoshi) I threw on there in pdf format. I was also able to buy an e-book copy of one of my textbooks and put it on there as a pdf. I'm very amused and happy with it.
I had a nice time relaxing all day at a Starbucks. I got a chance to read and play Okami-Den. I just got it (for the DS) and it's a lot of fun. So far it doesn't have that wonderful feeling that the original Okami had, but it's fun and very nostalgic in a lot of ways. Chibiterasu is adorable and very much like his mother. Although I agree that it is fun to draw with the stylus versus the PS2 controller, I don't like the game when it's not on a console because it loses a lot of its depth. It was just plain fun to run around Nippon painting trees in the ground and chopping down everything you see. I loved swimming around and trying to make lilypads just in time to not drown. It was those little extra things that really made me love that game. Feeding the animals, the expansive scenery (and don't get me wrong, Okami-Den is in the same art style) is just compressed and a little more bland. I hope it does well though. I would like them to continue making games in this art and writing style. I miss Issun and Ammy, but Chibi and that kid (I can't remember his name for the life of me) are a cute duo. I hope I can continue to enjoy the game all the way through.
I applied to my first graduate program the other day, two more to go. I'm a little worried, but also just kind of 'meh' about the whole thing. Not sure what I mean by 'meh,' just that I don't expect much. Maybe I'll get in, maybe I wont. I have little expectation. I'm kind of (very slightly) excited at the prospect of getting accepted at Old Dominion. I would really like it if I had a chance to move down to Virginia and experience life outside of NJ for a little while. I just want to try something new, fresh. I like to try new things, see things outside of my realm of comfort. I guess we'll see what happens. I think I'd feel too guilty to just up and move somewhere if I don't get accepted to a program, so I'll probably be stuck here in NJ for awhile until I find a viable excuse to go out and explore.
Sydney's sick again. Poor little guy has an infection. At least we caught it early on. The vet gave us needles with antibiotic, I couldn't bring myself to even look so my beloved does it instead. We gave her a bath the other day and she drank the water then pooped in it. Pretty gross. If I ever have children they're probably going to kill me of disgust, I'm quite squeamish.
Going to see Rammstein again in May. Looking forward to it.
*The sky is over...*
I had a nice time relaxing all day at a Starbucks. I got a chance to read and play Okami-Den. I just got it (for the DS) and it's a lot of fun. So far it doesn't have that wonderful feeling that the original Okami had, but it's fun and very nostalgic in a lot of ways. Chibiterasu is adorable and very much like his mother. Although I agree that it is fun to draw with the stylus versus the PS2 controller, I don't like the game when it's not on a console because it loses a lot of its depth. It was just plain fun to run around Nippon painting trees in the ground and chopping down everything you see. I loved swimming around and trying to make lilypads just in time to not drown. It was those little extra things that really made me love that game. Feeding the animals, the expansive scenery (and don't get me wrong, Okami-Den is in the same art style) is just compressed and a little more bland. I hope it does well though. I would like them to continue making games in this art and writing style. I miss Issun and Ammy, but Chibi and that kid (I can't remember his name for the life of me) are a cute duo. I hope I can continue to enjoy the game all the way through.
I applied to my first graduate program the other day, two more to go. I'm a little worried, but also just kind of 'meh' about the whole thing. Not sure what I mean by 'meh,' just that I don't expect much. Maybe I'll get in, maybe I wont. I have little expectation. I'm kind of (very slightly) excited at the prospect of getting accepted at Old Dominion. I would really like it if I had a chance to move down to Virginia and experience life outside of NJ for a little while. I just want to try something new, fresh. I like to try new things, see things outside of my realm of comfort. I guess we'll see what happens. I think I'd feel too guilty to just up and move somewhere if I don't get accepted to a program, so I'll probably be stuck here in NJ for awhile until I find a viable excuse to go out and explore.
Sydney's sick again. Poor little guy has an infection. At least we caught it early on. The vet gave us needles with antibiotic, I couldn't bring myself to even look so my beloved does it instead. We gave her a bath the other day and she drank the water then pooped in it. Pretty gross. If I ever have children they're probably going to kill me of disgust, I'm quite squeamish.
Going to see Rammstein again in May. Looking forward to it.
*The sky is over...*
Book Review - Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Book: Coraline
Author(s): Neil Gaiman
Read: March 2011
**All reviews I write may contain spoilers, read at your own discretion**
Coraline was a book that Gaiman began writing for his 5-year-old daughter. It began as a short story and after time escalated to becoming a short novel. Although the entire story carries an inherent creepiness to it, I expected a little more from him. This was the first book I read on my Kobo e-book reader and I was excited both by the story and the gadget. I read it all in one go, taking maybe two and a half hours. The beginning seemed a little slow, but it picked up as the pages passed. Gaiman does a wonderful job of setting up the characters and the atmosphere. When considering the target audience, it seems to have that little more that I expected. I found the use of the beldam both as a comfort (in the beginning where she is giving Coraline the attention that she is deprived of) as well as a point of incongruence (something is very obviously off about her from the very beginning).
I had seen the movies some years ago and found it to be somewhat creepier (maybe due to the visual effects), but not as well put together as the book. I found it strange that Wyborn was not a character from the original book and a little disappointing that the fairy child was replaced in the movie by another child. The cat had a more prominent role in the book (which I appreciated) taking on his and Wyborn's role in the movie as Coraline's friend, protector and guide. Although her parents grow on you in the movie, they seem to be colder and more displaced in the book, never quite giving you the feeling that they truly care about their daughter. This is distressful because it leaves you in the quandary of which is worse, being alone or being lost? Yet, there are moments where you realize that her parents are just jaded and lost in the world of adulthood.
It was an interesting read and I am excited to expand my Neil Gaiman internal library. Maybe I'll finally finish Good Omens and put that up.
Author(s): Neil Gaiman
Read: March 2011
**All reviews I write may contain spoilers, read at your own discretion**
Coraline was a book that Gaiman began writing for his 5-year-old daughter. It began as a short story and after time escalated to becoming a short novel. Although the entire story carries an inherent creepiness to it, I expected a little more from him. This was the first book I read on my Kobo e-book reader and I was excited both by the story and the gadget. I read it all in one go, taking maybe two and a half hours. The beginning seemed a little slow, but it picked up as the pages passed. Gaiman does a wonderful job of setting up the characters and the atmosphere. When considering the target audience, it seems to have that little more that I expected. I found the use of the beldam both as a comfort (in the beginning where she is giving Coraline the attention that she is deprived of) as well as a point of incongruence (something is very obviously off about her from the very beginning).
I had seen the movies some years ago and found it to be somewhat creepier (maybe due to the visual effects), but not as well put together as the book. I found it strange that Wyborn was not a character from the original book and a little disappointing that the fairy child was replaced in the movie by another child. The cat had a more prominent role in the book (which I appreciated) taking on his and Wyborn's role in the movie as Coraline's friend, protector and guide. Although her parents grow on you in the movie, they seem to be colder and more displaced in the book, never quite giving you the feeling that they truly care about their daughter. This is distressful because it leaves you in the quandary of which is worse, being alone or being lost? Yet, there are moments where you realize that her parents are just jaded and lost in the world of adulthood.
It was an interesting read and I am excited to expand my Neil Gaiman internal library. Maybe I'll finally finish Good Omens and put that up.
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