Samurai Chris's B-Side Blog!

2009-03-09T07:57:00.004-04:00

Famitsu's Gamer's Dictionary Part 3!

Remember to have the page set to Japanese encoding (preferably Shift_JIS).

な　行

ナンバリング　Numbering (for sequels)

ニンテンドーWi-fiコネクション Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

ネットワークゲーム Online Game/Network Game

ノンプレイヤーキャラクター Non-Playable Character (NPC)

は　行

バージョンアップ Version Update

バーチャルコンソール Virtual Console (Wii)

パーティー Party (as in an RPG)

ハードメーカー Hardware Producer/Maker/Company

ハイスコア Hi-Score

ハイデフ Hi-def (Hi-definition)

バグ Bug (as in programming error)

パスワード Password

バッドエンティング Bad Ending

波動コマンド Wavedashing command (The book uses the example of characters like Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, however the first part translates to "moving wave". Considering I used to be an avid Melee player, I think this is what it could translate to.)

バトル Battle

パブリッシャー Publisher

ハメ　(技)　(When your partner runs away during an action or shooting game. Usually this results in players fighting with each other. Maybe one definition of a douchebag).

美少女ゲーム Love Simulation Game (also see ギャルゲー）

ヒットポイント Hit Points

ピヨる To be knocked unconscious (used in fighting games after a character takes massive damage and the player loses control of the character for a few seconds)

ファーストパーソンシューティング First-Person Shooter (FPS)

フィールド Field

ふっかつのじゅもん During the days with storing saved games with passwords, games such like Dragon Quest I and II used them. Players had trouble remembering the passwords to go back to their games. This refers to a password system that is very difficult to recall or input correctly.

フラグ　Flag (or quest item). I am sure this can also mean "Frag" as they are spelled the same in katagana (the alphabet for foreign words).

パラットフォーム Platform

ブルーレイディスク Blu-ray Disc

フレーム Frame

プレイヤー Player

プレイステーション　ストアー Playstation Store

プレイステーション　ネットワーク Playstation Network

プルデューサー Producer

ボイスチャット Voice Chat

ポップ Random Encounter

ボブゲー Boys Love Simulation Game (where the main target is the female gamer)

ボム Bomb (Used in classic shoot 'em ups where one destroys all the enemies on screen at once)

ポリゴン Polygon

2009-02-27T11:02:00.005-05:00

Famitsu's Gamer's Dictionary Part 2:

This is a continuation of part 1. Remember in order to read Japanese fonts correctly, you must have the character encoding set to a Japanese font (preferably Shift_JIS).

さ　行

サードポーティー Third-party

ザゴキャラ　Mini-boss

残機　（ざんき）　Remaining Lives

CPU (シーピーユー）　Computer Character

次世代機　（じせだいき）　Next-Generation Consoles

16連射　（１６れんしゃ）　Someone that can press a button 16 times in 1 second. Apparently according to Famitsu, someone in the eighties was famous for his fast button-pressing skills. This word doesn't relate to button mashing, which is random button presses versus this which is a skilled burst of pressing a button.

昇竜券コマンド　（しょうりゅうけんこまんど）　Linking Command/Combo (in fighting games, it is an extra combo that when used after another normal combo, deals more damage)

ジョブ　Job

ジョブチェンジ　Job Change

処理落ち　（しょりおち）　Lag (due to your computer)

据え置きゲーム機　Console

スキル　Skill

スコア　Score

スタンドアローン　Offline Mode/One-player Mode (Can mean either depending on the game mode/game)

ステージ　Stage

ステータス　Status

セーブ　Save

ソフトリセット　Soft Reset

た　行

ターン　Turn

タイムラグ　Lag (due to internet or server problems)

ダウンロードコンテンツ　Downloaded Content

高橋名人　The name that refers to the person that could hit a button 16 times in one second. This seems to be used by famitsu and maybe not among gamer's themselves.

ダンジョン　Dungeon

チュートリアル　Tutorial Mode

中ボス　（ちゅうぶす）　Mid-way boss (In RPG's, it's the boss battle that takes place in the exact middle of the entire game)

ＤＳ　ステーション　DS Station (the wi-fi spots for the DS)

ディレくター　Director

テクスチャー　Texture

デベロッパー　Developer

デバッグ　Debug

ドラルエ　Dragon Quest

東京ゲームショー　Tokyo Game Show

ドット　Sprite (refers to 2D graphics)

Stay tuned for part 3 (of four!)

2009-02-27T09:10:00.007-05:00

Famitsu's Gamer's Dictionary Part 1:

Always wanted to know what a certain word used in gaming is in Japanese, but don't have the necessary skills to yet read the character systems? Well look no further than this post.

I am going to translate a "Gamer's dictionary" that was found in Weekly Famitsu No. 1034 for the week of 10/10/08. I will only add the words at first, as most of the terms when translated an average American player knows, but the average player in Japan has to learn because it may not be a Japanese word that is used. A foreign word can be written in the alphabet in Japanese used for borrowed foreign words, but usually the meaning is sometimes changed to a completely different meaning, but that's for another topic altogether.

For the best results, make sure the character encoding to view this page is actually set to a Japanese style font. I am particularly fond of Shift_JIS, but that's because 80% or more of Japanese webpages are encoded in that format.

(The list is organized according to the Japanese character alphabet, not necessarily our own)

"Gamer's Dictionary"

"These words are used normally throughout the gaming industry and also used by us (famitsu). Have you never heard of some of these words before? Then, this dictionary should be suitable. We chose words with detailed descriptions that even the newbies would be able to understand. If you never heard any of these words, today is your lucky day! Please thoroughly exhaust this guide."

あ　行　
-アーケードゲーム　Arcade Game

-RPG (アーピージー） Role Playing Game

-アイテム　Item

ーアナログスティック　Analog Stick

-アビリティー　Ability

-安地　（あんち）　Camping Spot (literally, "safe spot" in Japanese)

-HP (エイチピー）　Hit Points

-ＦＦ　（えふえふ）　Final Fantasy

-ＦＰＳ　（エフピーエス）　First Person Shooter

-MP (エムピー）　Magic Points

ーＮＰＣ　（エヌピーシー）　Non-Playable Character

-エンカウント　Encounter

-音ゲー　（おんげー）　Music Game (like Rock Band and Guitar Hero)

-乙女ゲー (おとめげー）　Female Love Simulation Game (where the main character is a female trying to fall in love with a guy)

-オプション　Option

-オンライン　Online

ーお使い　(This doesn't have a clear translation in English gaming[or I forgot, which might be the case], but I'll explain from what I know. It's basically a type of event in a game [typically RPG] that if you have a certain item you can trigger something to happen that usually results in a reward. This word is typically negative in the Japanese gaming world, usually a game with too much of this type going on relies more on chance on what items you have than leveling up on the field.)

-落ちものパズル　（おちものぱずる）　Falling Block Puzzle (like Tetris, pyo pyo, and Meteos)

か　行

ーカーソル　Cancel (also used in Computer lingo)

ー会心一撃　（かいしんいちげき）　Lucky Blow (Used among fans of Dragon Quest, but has same meaning as a lucky critical strike against an opponent in battle)

-格ゲー　（かくげー）　Fighting Game

-隠しコマンド　（かくしこまんど）　Hidden Command/Secret Code (The article mentions the famous Contra Code)

-カセット　English word: Cassette; Gamer's Meaning in English: Carts (as in cartridges like DS games)

-家庭用ゲーム機　（かていようげーむき）　Console (and cellphone) games (the opposite of arcade games in Japanese Gamer speak)

-カンスト　 Interrupt/Counter interrupt (short for "counter stop" in Japanese)

-キーアイテム　Key Item (Item important for the story)

-ギャルゲー　Love simulation game (1 male char with many females). Also used in a game that isn't a love simulation that has many female chars.

-キラーソフト　Fan-Favorite game (Japanese: "Character software[game]") - A game that spans sequels based on characters from another very fan-base heavy game or a game where the game's storyline and/or characters are well-known (such as FFVII).

-グラフィック　Graphics

-クリエーター　Game Creator

-クレジット　Credits

-携帯ゲーム機 (けいたいげーむき）　Cell-Phone Game

ーコマンド　Command

-コンシューマーゲーム　Consumer Game/Home Consoles

-コンフィグ　Configuration

-コンボ　Combo

2008-12-28T02:51:00.005-05:00

"Anime and You"

I have been browsing many things about Japan or dealing with Japan on the internet for the past few days(seeing how it's winter break, and I have nothing to do), but I found an amusing group on facebook dealing with Anime in general.

http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=2218249813&page=3&hash=34ebc0e6d010986cf91376b0587258e0#/group.php?gid=2218249813

"Anime is not a valid reason to learn Japanese"

Now, this group's title is misleading. Very misleading. After reading comments on the group's wall, I have come to find out that it doesn't mean that anime isn't a valid reason to learn Japanese, but that anime should not be the ONLY reason to learn Japanese (that, and to bitch and complain about all those American otaku that put "kawaii" and "sugoi" into every little sentence). My opinion is mainly with the group, but I want to comment on some of the comments and other things members have said myself.

When people start learning Japanese today, the majority have seen anime, read manga, or have played some type of video game (the last one being the most done). I admit, when I found out I could take Japanese before the freshman year of high school, I wanted to take it to be able to translate video games. At that time, I really wanted to work at Nintendo and translate games and such. But, as I further progressed into Japanese, there was much more to be found with the culture and history (history in general I like all around, unbeknown to me) which I became interested in. With most people that take and continue with Japanese, they realize this too. I found a lot of the people that took Japanese (especially in high school) where heavily into video games, anime, and manga. But, I felt because they didn't continue to press their ability in Japanese and learn to appreciate other parts of the Japanese culture, they soon come to realize that they just couldn't learn the language (and not surprisingly, all either dropped out of the class or failed it). You have to find many things to enjoy about the country's culture before you can enjoy learning the language that you're studying. This goes past Japanese and can be applied to any language.

It's not just American otakus (Ataku was the word that I gave them a while back, but never quite carried on) that see Japanese as only a way to understand Naruto or Bleach, but I think this also applies to the obsessive fans of J-Pop and J-rock singers too. But, Japanese songs in J-Pop and J-Rock deal more and more with mainstream Japan, so this group of people that want to study Japanese to be able to understand and translate the latest Hamazaki Ayumi or Gackt song actually are slightly different, but if they only study Japanese for that reason, then they are on the same boat as these Atakus. However, if both groups realize that there are more things about Japan and Japanese than their own interests and take an interest in other things, then there is no problem.

With Japanese, the way you study should be something you enjoy. The easiest way to probably to study like that is through either anime/manga, video games, or songs. Other ways include watching sumo matches, practicing Kendo, Judo, or Kyudo, watching Japanese dramas such as "Hana Yori Dango" and "Lost Friends". It is generally good that you should find something you enjoy about the language or something that uses the language and go with that when you are practing/studying. This does not counteract the previous argument that your hobby should not be the only reason for studying Japanese or wanting to go to Japan.

That being said, another comment comes from the fact that people thing Japan is full of anime/manga/video game stores and cat girls run the streets. Quite a misconception.

Truth behold that there are quite a bit of stores selling anime/manga and video games here (even outside of akibahara) and almost all bookstores I've been to sell manga. But, these things are like pop-culture to Japanese. The average Japanese young person has probably watched Dragonball when they were a kid, but outside of that (and saying things like "nazukashii" when something relating to that is brought up in conversation to them), they aren't obsessive or really into the series as some ataku are. They're used to it. There are Japanese people here that are really into TV sitcoms and American movies here, but to me I don't really think too much about them unless I really enjoy them too. Basically, if you're used to a culture and such, don't be expected to be shocked that people from another country like parts of your culture. The same thing is true with the Japanese culture. Don't expect everyone to be as obsessive or knowledgeable as you are with your anime/manga/video games. Or, don't expect everyone to care about your anime/manga/video games as much as you or even at all. Remember, everyone is different in Japan, and even if they have heard of something you might bring up in conversation, they might not know or care about it.

Anime is a great look into Japanese culture, but it shouldn't be your only window (dramas, music, movies, chatting online with a real Japanese person living in Japan, reading books are more alternatives as well). A lot of times, anime is also wrong on the culture it's portraying. Things that happen in anime DO NOT NECESSARILY HAPPEN in Japan. Catgirls are fiction.

2008-09-30T12:14:00.004-04:00

Quick entry for tonight: Videogames

-It has come to me from the internets in America that Nintendo plans on releasing a new DS version with a camera, better WIFI, SD-card storage ability and ~~dual~~ touchscreens. Nothing is set in stone, but we should hear more news as time goes by. A note to Nintendo (if these rumors are indeed true), I call BS on a holiday release date in Japan. Your track record of releases is horrible.

- As you may or may not know, soon is fast approaching the date of the Tokyo Game Show which will take place in the second week of October. I'm ~~skipping class~~ going on ~~Friday (10/10)~~ Saturday (10/11) to go and I'll write a report of what to expect in the coming year from Japan (hopefully more information about the new DS lite will be present at the convention).

- I looked up the date for the official release of the new PSP (version 3000) here in Japan and it appears to be on Oct 16th. Wow, this is the second release I've experienced so far here that is behind the US release (the first was the new Kirby Super Star Ultimate that was released last week in the US). It looks spiffy and I was holding out buying a used 2000 model just because I already didn't have one and the improvements are worth ~~paying the normal used price (around 160 dollars here)~~ paying for a new one instead of an older one.

-I recently went to my local Bookoff and bought a first-generation Japanese PS2. And when I mean first-generation, I MEAN first-generation. It has a PC card slot instead of the drive bay the later "thick" ones have and requires you copy the DVD player software to the memory card because the DVD playback wasn't included in the original 1.00 OS. Bought some games (I can find titles like "Tales of" and FFVII over here for non-ridiculous prices) and have to say that there's nothing too entirely bad with owning this particular PS2 (it was half the price as the other "thick" model, the last model of the "thick" PS2s), but sometimes when I go to turn the power switch off on the back of the model, if I press down the power plug, it makes hissing noises. It's strange, and probably should avoid accidentally putting pressure on the plug connector. Other than that, nothing is particularly wrong with the system.

Anyway, that's all for tonight.

2008-09-12T03:16:00.004-04:00

Aya Hirano's Bio Translation:

(The original can be found here: http://www.hiranoaya.com/html/biograhy.html).

Japanese (original):

00歳生まれる。
02歳アメリカに旅立つ、ディズニーワールドに行く。
　　ベッドから落ちて脱臼する。
03歳アリスのコスチュームでハロウィン銀メダルをとる。
帰国。
04歳初めて神輿を担ぐ。
05歳東京に来る、猿蟹合戦で子蟹役をやる。
06歳スーパーファミコンの初代セーラームーンを買ってもらう。
07歳小学校入学。　近所の写真屋に無断で写真使われる。
08歳歯磨き名人に選ばれる。
09歳顔面からすっころぶ。その時の一言「こんな顔じゃお仕事いけなぁ～い」
10歳音楽祭で一人着飾る。
演劇部に入る。
11歳生徒会書記に選ばれる。
12歳運動会で副団長をやる。
卒アルの将来の職業調査で「探偵になりそう」に選ばれる。
13歳めちゃくちゃ優等生にする。あだ名は「綾波レイ」
14歳文化祭で演じた役で感動の嵐。
15歳初めてルーズソックスを履く。
16歳高校入学　畑を耕す。⇒高校がものすごく広大な土地を持っており、畑を耕すことが日常的にある。
17歳高校の礼拝のお祈りで演説することになり、愛について語る。感動の嵐。
番組制作で学年１位を取る。監督、音楽、脚本、主演全て自分でやる。
18歳写真部で入選。
卒業式で泣く。
今！！

English Tranlation:
0 Years Old: I was born.
2 Years Old: I went to America and went to Disney World. I fell from my bed and dislocated a bone(it is unsaid/specified).
3 Years Old: My Alice costume from Halloween got a silver medal. I returned to Japan.
4 Years Old: My first time carrying a portable shrine (a mikoshi in Japanese).
5 Years Old: I went to Tokyo and participated on the side of the crab in the Monkey-Crab battle (I assume this was a festival, though I must look into it).
6 Years Old: I received for the first generation Super Famicom (known as the SNES in America) a Sailor Moon game.
7 Years Old: I entered Elementary School. A neighborhood photo store used my picture without permission.
8 Years Old: I chose my dentist.
9 Years Old: I fell on my face and at the time I said "With this face, I can't get a job!"
10 Years Old: For a music festival, I dressed up. I entered (my) theater production club.
11 Years Old: I was elected student council secretary.
12 Years Old: I was vice-captain at a athletic meet. In my school graduation album, I was voted most likely to become a detective in my future occupation.
13 Years Old: I was a crazy/nonsensical honors student and this led to my nickname being Ayanami Rei.
14 Years Old: I performed in the school's cultural festival and gave it my all (she literally uses the word 感動の嵐　or "A tempest of feelings". This basically means she felt pretty passionately I think to what she did.)
15 Years Old: I wore my loose socks for the first time. (A popular image tends that the sign to being a highschooler in Japan is wearing the mini-skirts and/or the loose socks. This seems to be a universal sign of a girl in high school and moving onto the future.)
16 Years Old: I entered High School. I also plowed fields. The school had extremely huge fields and one plowing them was an everyday thing. (Strangest thing on the list yet...)
17 Years Old: I gave an address about my feelings (love) at a school prayer service and I was deeply moved. (She uses "tempest of feelings" again here.) I took first place on a TV program. Direction, Music, Script, and the lead role I all did.
18 Years Old: The picture club chose my picture in an contest. I cried at my graduation ceremony from high school.
Now: ! (Nothing is stated here obviously, her role as a voice actress started making her busy right here.)

The translation sometimes is a little shaky, but hopefully it sheds some light into Aya Hirano's life.

2008-09-12T02:17:00.004-04:00

Aya Hirano's Profile Translation:
http://www.hiranoaya.com/sozai-ori/jacket/riotgirl-jacket.jpg

(her latest CD cover for Riot Girl)

So, begins with this blog's first mini translation project. I am sure elsewhere this probably exists somewhere (like her Wikipedia page probably or something), but I am going to translate regardless (and I don't really check on other translations unless I want to check how close it was to a translator better than I (or more prolific than I, whichever comes first) and I rarely do that so I don't get contaminated ideas (i.e. that replace my own ideas for a particular translation).

As you probably don't know, I have really only two favorite singers/idols in Japan. They are YUI (more about her in a later article) and Hirano Aya. Hirano Aya is a prolific voice actress that has had lead roles in many anime (She was Misa Ayame in the Japanese version of Death Note and Konata Izumi in Lucky Star), but her main rocket to fame was that she was the main female lead in a series called 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱　(Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu) or the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This series is the ONLY series ever that has captured my attention by its music alone. The story of how I discovered this anime was that I went to a friend of a friend's myspace page and it had a youtube video of "God Knows..." which was sung by Hirano's character Haruhi Suzumiya in the 12th episode of the series. It kicked so much ass that I said that I had to find the name of this anime and watch it. It took me a while because no description was said for the video on the profile page and it took me a while to find a link back to the youtube page, but not much was had of the description on that page. So I finally used "God Knows" (took me a while to figure out the title of the song) and found exactly what I was looking for.

Anyway, the reason why I like Aya Hirano is that she has a unique ability to do many types of voices (her real voice is actually much higher than the saucy Haruhi's voice). She can't play the guitar that well (or not at all, as seen in many of her live performances of "God Knows" and "Lost My Music"; she has a guitar, but it is not plugged in and she's only air strumming to the beat of the songs), but that doesn't detract any value from my opinion of her. Her knew image (of her latest CD riot girl) seems to be of a Japanese version of Avril Lavigne, which is fitting, because in Hirano's profile (at http://www.hiranoaya.com/html/profile.html) she states her as her favorite artist.

Anyway, so here is the first translation project of the B-Side blog, her profile page on her website.

Japanese:
名前平野綾（ひらの　あや／Hirano Aya）
　　　
生年月日 1987年10月8日
　　　
血液型 O型
　　　
星座てんびん座
　　　
出身地愛知県
　　　
趣味読書
　　　
特技予知
　　　
声優的特徴可愛い子供から、艶っぽい大人の女性まで幅広く対応可能。
性別問わず、男の子の演技も可能。
　　　
好きな色赤、白、黒、ピンク、紫
　　　
好きな食べ物オリーブ
　　　
好きな言葉「存在するということは自分を創造することだ」
　　　
好きな作家宮部みゆき
　　　
好きなアーティストアヴリル・ラヴィーン
　　　
好きなブランド VIVIENNE WESTWOOD、Royal Order、patorick cox、CHROME HEARTS、KING BABY
　　　
嫌いな食べ物無し
　　　
休日の過ごし方寝る
　　　
好きな映画

SLEEPING BEAUTY、シザーハンズ、ナイトメアー・ビフォア・クリスマス
　　　
好きな本蒲生邸事件
　　　
所属事務所スペースクラフト・エンタテインメント（株）
　　　
レコード会社（株）ランティス

English Translation:
Name: Hirano Aya
Date of Birth: 10/08/87
Blood Type: O
Astrological Sign: Libra
Hometown: Aichi Prefecture
Hobbies: Reading
Special Talent: Intuition/Precognition (either one seems to work with this tranlsation)
Voice Actress Special Talent: She can play cute kids, or the romantic lead female, but she can also do male roles.
Favorite Colors: Red, White, Black, Pink, Purple
Favorite Foods: Olives
Favorite Line/Phrase: "To exist is up to one's own creation" (Now checking, this differs SIGNIFICANTLY from the Wikipedia aricle's translation).
Favorite Writer: Miyamoto Miyuki
Favorite Artist (as in singer): Avril Lavigne
Favorite Brands (clothing I assume): VIVIENNE WESTWOOD、Royal Order、patorick cox、CHROME HEARTS、KING BABY.
Disliked Foods: None
How you like to spend vacation days: By Sleeping
Favorite movies: Sleeping Beauty, Edward Scissorhands (in Japanese it's just shortened to Scissorhands, so I can only assume it means this movie as it's the only one within the reach of the word), The Nightmare Before Christmas
Favorite Book: Gabunama-yashiki-Jiken
Company: Spacecraft Entertainment
Record Label: Lantis

For the next translation (probably later today) I'll translate something that hasn't been translated before by most of the mainstream online, her bio page. It's pretty strange, but has interesting points about events in her life. Anyway, here's to more ramblings from the B-Side Blog!

2008-09-12T01:58:00.005-04:00

This is now the Side-B blog of http://samuraikurisu.blogspot.com.

Sorry it's been a while folks, but I decided to open up a new account to talk about my Japan experiences and leave this one open to other news, translation projects, and what not.

I don't update my Japan blog that much (writing a lot takes time and effort), and the same might be the same about this blog. But, I think this one will be for side adventures into my other hobbies.

Anyway, this blog will be for miscellaneous items and translation projects. Hopefully, the blog renders Japanese pretty well for it to be relevant. I would like to translate songs, but that being said, they are a pain in the ass because the Japanese language likes to shorten things and drop nouns, which leads to the "who did what?" situations or "whom is the singer talking to?" types of questions. I just don't like translating songs, but I can try my best (and by leaving up here, you can comment on them). Translating manga (where I can at least have a picture of the context of said words) is a whole lot easier than songs. At least for me.

Also, this will talk about other things than just daily life in Japan (perhaps political commentary?). So look forward to it.

Anyway, I am off to go change some items and come back with content. Welcome to the new B-Side (I assume this word is more or less associated with spin, or a different side than normal.

2007-11-27T01:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a while folks.

As of now, I reopen this blog to all things Japan and such. My interview for the study abroad trip to Tochigi Prefecture in Japan is in a week, and the fellow two gals I am traveling with are meeting with me this week to discuss and practice for the interview which will not be in our first language(obviously in Japanese).

So, I wanted to let all you readers know that expect more news entries from me in the future! I might have a separate blog for writing entries in Japanese (Beth gave me the idea), but for the most part, I'll keep them here so all of my family (and potential viewers) might get to know what's happening behind the scenes and the around my daily life.

SutekiBakaGaijin is the official Youtube account for when I start production of "Subarashii Gaijin no Jikan" or simply known as "Subarashii Gaijin" or in English "Wonderful Foreigner (hour)". I'll also upload video blogs to show you a nice up to minute (well...not exactly, but you know what I mean) view of the area I am at in Japan.

Well...I got to get more stuff done and go off to bed, so see you all later!

2007-04-02T02:59:00.000-04:00

Late night post for the win.

This year at Indy's GenCon, I am probably cosplaying as Urahara from Bleach. I gots the hat and hair (actually, it needs to be blonde....O.o), but I just need to get a better silk men's kimono (the one Brittany and Katie got me from Kyoto is a tad bit small for a guy my height).

Anime: Got done with reading Fruits Basket finally. Good ending despite the fact that the very last chapter hasn't been fan scanlated into English, so I had to actually use my Japanese skills. I got the jist of what was going on. The ending was uber cute. My favorite characters: (Shock, not the main ones!) Ayame and Shigure, Kakeru and Kimi (both of the latter two being only in the manga) {all of formentioned are the only "preverted" characters in the anime. However, I voted for them because of the interactions between them}. I have to admit though, Arisa and Hanajima went really far up my list of favorite characters by the end.

Spoiler: (Skip over quote if you don't want to know final pairings)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Basically, everyone was paired in the end except for Kagura, Ritsu, and Momiji (my zodiac representation X( ), and Hattori. Hanajima is rumored to be into Kyo's Shishou (teacher/father figure), but that seemed more like comedic relief than actual fact. One does wonder though. I infered though that Momiji and Kagura ended up together in the sense of that in the final chapters, Momiji and Kagura play a trick on Kyo and Momiji snaps a picture of Kagura fawning over Kyo playfully. After that, they head for the main part of the house as Kyo looks in a bit of a shock (that she was doing what she used to before Kyo turned her down) and Momiji turns around and says "Don't worry" as to say "Don't worry about Kagura['s feelings], I'll watch after her." Also, Hattori seems to have gone off with Kane's friend that had a crush on him and that Shigure kept prodding both along in that aspect. Anyway, official pairings:
TohruXKyo,YukiXMachi,HatsuharuXRin,ArisaXKureno,ShigureXAkito,AyameXMine(his assistant),HiroXKisa.

Good ending. This being my first Shojo manga read completely through, I can't really say how much Natsuki-sama (manga-ka or artist) broke some traditional Shojo rules (as plenty of sites have commented on that), but I liked the fact that almost everyone was paired in the end. I have read similar harlem anime (Love Hina...which is on the OPPOSITE end of the scale compared to Furuba{Fruits Basket}) and I notice that not everyone has a defined or even a happy ending (Love Hina). Of course, it being read mainly by males and such...some people may like that some of the girls not being paired because they want them all to themselves. (Hahaha) Yuki's pairing in Fruits Basket with Machi (his assistant with the Student Council) I felt was kind of rushed. Yuki was well on his way to healing, so perhaps he didn't need much help. Also, Machi...in some aspect once she loosened up was kind of like Tohru. Anyway enough of this quote text...

------------------------------------------------

Yes, I like reading some Shojo anime...and I am a guy. XD I sometimes feel like I am a sad representation of males...but maybe a unique one. (Hahaha)

Anyway....I shall be off to bed! To another day of school, anime, and.....sleep?!

~ Closet Shojo lover Baka Suteki Gaijin.

2007-03-19T01:38:00.000-04:00

Subarashii Gaijin. (Wonderful Foreigner)

You heard it here first.

Assulting the waves of youtube in Spring 2008!

Also, the ideas for the Anime convention is pretty productive. I have so many that want to help me in some sort of fashion. I won't get around to really pulling for it until AFTER I get back from Japan. Hopefully by then, I'll increase my base and my connections to actually pull this off.

Oh, and hello again! It seems I have abandoned this blog, but I haven't really. This blog is just in waiting until I go to Japan next Spring. Just....if I can maintain a high enough GPA to go when I want to. Oh well, Summer classes seem to be my retribution then.

Edit: Wow, this new blogger is interesting.....it actually put half of my blog in Japanese! Erm...anyway....quick translations for all those that are visiting... (Note: In order to view the text, you should have the encoding on the page set to some Japanese font.)

Upper Right Corner: 自己紹介 (Self Introduction-Basically "About this Profile")
名前 (Name)
場所 (Address or location)
詳細プロフィールを表示 (More information about this person~ "View the profile")

In the back logs (in months):
3月 2007 (March 2007 ~ The 月 is the counter for months)
午前 (AM)
午後 (PM)

Well....that's about it! See you all about next week!

~Ultimate slacker, baka suteki gaijin.

2007-02-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

Shame on you Nintendo.

Supply and demand are such harsh mistresses.

If you may haven't guessed, I am on the quest for the exclusive Wii...only to be found....randomly in stores. And....nothing tells these stores that they can only sell them during store hours either. My favorite tactic is (that I see online a lot) is that suppliers that sell Wiis will make them bundled....which can backfire if you only have the money for the Wii itself. Being slightly poor for just more than a Wii is probably a harsher mistress.

I have currently called:
Meiyer
Target
Walmart
Toys R' Us
Gamestop
Disc Replay
Best Buy
Fry's Electronics

And so far nothing. Fry's didn't respond to a call, Meiyer was getting more in exactly a week, Target was out, Walmart (the notorious online store that had unseperatable bundles with the Wii) was out, Toys R' Us and Gamestop both allow early buys before store hours, Disc Replay is a sad, sad store right now, and Best Buy is pranked by the UPS often...and gets Wiis in at random times on random days. E-bay....Wiis go for about $50 more than the recommended $250. That in MMORPG terms makes a great sell when you get a newbie that buys the thing...not realizing that he could have gone to an NPC store and bought it for less.

So...I can wait a week....or until Sunday when Gamestop will have some in. This week has no meaning to me now.

Oh...and since I haven't made a new post in forever, here's the recap:

-Snow, lots of it.
-I am in college now.
-I hate the things leading to my major, forcing me to change it. To what....I don't know yet. I still want to do something with technology.

2006-08-14T01:22:00.000-04:00

GenCon 2006 Indianapolis, Indiana Post 1

It's time for the official start of my GenCon post......basically a rambling of everything that I experienced at my biggest Convention yet!

Saturday:
10 AM to 12 PM
So, I got a ride with my pals Mitchell, Richard (Richie) and James (Gumby), and Megan to GenCon. They all three were working for the Robotics Team. We arrived and help with diagonsing the robots already there. After Megan and I received our free passes (4 day passes with discounts xD), we prowlled the exhibition hall for different items and free 'swag'. I misread the game tourament sheet, and most of the events were on Sunday, so I was screwed for that part. Mitch went around looking for a Gi (a suit used by martial artists), but insisted on getting a pendant (The one worn by Leon in the Final Fantasy series) and I bought a replica State Alchemist pocketwatch from Full Metal Alchemist.

I met up with Kaleigh, Chelsea, and Brian (aka Dr. Otaku) and talked with them in the main food court for a while. Brian gave me his present from Japan, two Japanese volumes of 'Rabu Hina' (Love Hina). We lamented on the fact that we didn't get together sooner and talked about plans for next year's GenCon when we'll reveal the main plans for Nerucon.

12 PM to 3 PM:

Mitch and I walked back into the main exhibition hall looking for more swag...and just observing other touraments going on. We both went to the Pokemon booth for giggles, and acquired two blow-up poke balls. Mitch planned to go out and find the giant walking Pikachu and try to "capture" it. Walking around in the halls with my authentic Japanese Robe and hat on, I did look like I was 'cosplaying' (the closest I would have been to a character would have to be 'Hat-and-clogs' from Bleach). A random idea of mine at the time was a 'spoof' movie of Dungeons and Dragons. The scene is two warriors are deciding the fate in a battle. A huge 20-sided dice is present with a man inside of it, about 6 ft. in height.

Warrior 1: We must decide the outcome! -kicks the dice because of it's massive size-

Warrior2: Ah, HAH! It's a 7! You lose!

-The man in the dice 'rolls' over again with 20 face up-

Warrior1: A natural 20!

Warrior2: The dice favors you! No fair!

-------
That's all I really had planned for the DND spoof. I really need more material. xD

Several people from the Mythbusters show came to our demostration wiht the robots, but I along with Mitch, Richie, Gumby, and Megan were not present for it. They said that they would eventually return around 5:30 though.

3 PM to 5:30 PM:
Somewhere around this time, I found out that in the gaming 'free play' you needed to play 6 dollars for 1 hour of gaming. Unfortunately, I didn't have that amount, but so would have pwned Melee players.

We ate lunch around this time. This involved going into Circle Center Mall. I got a ton of strange looks in my gear as we were well back into the normally dressed population. We sat down in the corner with several other attendies.....and....for some odd reason...a girl came up...took a picture of me (and our table) and left. She wasn't that bad looking either. (xD) It was probably the first and only time at GenCon that I was filmed in some way. Except for being on G4 (in the background). And the other misc. photographers at the show. xD

That's it for part 1. Part 2 of GenCon (Saturday) and Part 3 Misc. adds and pictures coming soon!

2006-08-02T23:26:00.000-04:00

"Let me beat off to my own drum!" (no innuendos here....or intended.)

It's actually been quite interesting this entire week. In...the sense that nothing really of importance has occured this week. However, I am sure that all weeks previous have not been complete without the zany contraptions that I have played with this week (No, it's all clean folks. xD). A friend of mine, for no appearent reason other than the fact that he wanted me to have one, bought me a Taiko Drum Master. Now, at first I was quite intrigued, as huge arcade versions of this game exist in Japan....and I've heard that it was a ball. So, still in a state of curiosity, I actually picked it up and started playing. Oh boy, does this even begin to be awesome. The choice of licencing the songs on it was the best I've ever seen for a "music" type game. I really enjoy the music....and the fact that my drumming skillz hasn't been any better. However, I only had a few quips with the game. They licenced so many good songs, but DDR has like 70 freaking songs in each version of their games. What does Taiko have? 32? My my......it get's things so limited really fast. Though, I like still playing the game.....and stuff....it lost it's novelty within three days. THREE DAYS. Normally, my poor ass plays a game repeatedly end on end just for the sole fact that I usually cannot obtain more games so rapidly like someone with an income can, but I still somehow find many ways to amuse myself while I play that game. I'd say....if Namko releases a "mix" for Taiko.....spend more time with licencing more songs...and less on the actual "proprietary" programming used for the controller.

Hands down though, this game still rocks to all other music games. Also, my friend happened to pick up beatmania on his shopping adventure. That game is a bit different, but it has many of the same great songs from DDR. Just think....if I had Beatmania......and Guitar Hero......along with my DDR pad and Taiko drum......that would make one awesome one man band.....or gamer...or something. That would also make one hilarious youtube video. I bet Japanese gamers are already on it right now....with their skills of rememberizing video games and other useless crap just in the same way a geek can memerize the exact location of all the keys in Zelda.

It makes me wonder with the Taiko drum.....compared to the actual Wii controller. I felt the novelty went down with the Taiko drum within a certain amount of time....and how long could that be with the Wii's controller? I mean, if we can use the traditional gamecube controller with the Wii...then....did Nintendo just screw themselves over? I mean, the Wii's going to suck in terms of graphics compared to its rivals (I am not a graphics whore by any means. I don't go with a console purely on processing polygons alone. I am just stating a true fact compared to stats.). If Nintendo is relying on a wireless controller that has motion sensors and a built-in speaker and expecting it to dazzle the gaming world.....they better spend quality time designing games that are refreshing and do not really ever lose novelty or enjoyment. I don't want to play the next Zelda and think about the 100th or so time launching an arrow "Omg, just kill me now....this is so redundant." Nevertheless at this commentary, I think the Wii does have protential of introducing old gernes and other games into the fray that couldn't have been brought back under any better circumstances. For instance, games like Time Crisis and House of the Dead actually have a good selling point with the Wii's controller. This is also producing a innovative approach to making games among game designers. Who knows....it could just be another wild card among consoles. Or worse...it could become like Sega....

Yeah....this blog has been mainly video games. I'll see what I can do about the next entry being about anime....

This week's link of the week is...well...actually...in one of the four links to the side. I mention that this site (and....assumedly...its content) is awesome in the terms of hearing and actual blog from a former JET and his adventures in Japan. I hope that you have as much fun as I did reading his inciteful remarks on the Japanese and the culture. (Mine you that I do not inforce his views or anything, but his writing style is awesome and the site is purely "for kicks and giggles." Also, do not let his views come across as "Are all Japanese really like this?" because he just likes to dick around....but be brutefully honest at the same time.)

In case you have no clue what the link is due to the vagueness the provided text has gotten you, here it is.

See ya all next week!

2006-07-28T01:16:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, commrades.

I've been busy this past month without a new post(despite the fact that I spent most of the day watching tv and playing video games, but don't let that trick you into that I am actually not busy with better things to do).

So, let's recap in a short amount of time my month of absance.

Well, as I previously stated earlier, I went on a trip with Katie and her family. Before we left the next day and before going out and seeing PotC:II (notice how I abbreviate when I don't want to spell with my terrible skills?) I asked her out...and her reply was with a well-awaited yes. So, in essence...I am taken again. (Sorry ladies... ^_*)

Maine was such a blast. No wonder that general area is home to several anime conventions. xD I'll have pictures someday uploaded on a photobucket account.

After I got back, there's not much to do. Brian (aka Dr. Otaku) is being a hermit, and well....I need to discuss plans for the anime convention that is currently in the idea stage. So, hopefully...before JenCon (I misspelled that in an earlier retarded post) I can meet up with co-conspirtors....seeing how I already got a support group of 10 interested individuals in Greenfield. W00t. Now, only if my leadership skills aren't totally awakward and lenient like it was during my presidency in Japan Club in high school.

So that's currently on my mind. I have the asperation of creating an anime convention that will (hopefully) be HUGE in Indiana and it will force all west and east coasters to flock to our state of corn and boredom once a year. Mwahahahahah! Oh and..another thing on my mind....I terribly miss Katie...seeing how she's on a mission trip. xD

"Reviving old habits": As the now-dead website I used to run, I would have a link of the week feature that I would shamlessly advertise my favorite haunts on the web. Now....I am going to revive it...with a new twist....it'll be organized. Yes. You heard it straight now. xD

The first (of perhaps many) link of the week is Keichi Anime Forever. By this title, you can obviously see that it'll be in an anime category. This website has tons of fansubbed anime of many different series (some licenced.....sorry hard-core fansub fans that don't like websites that have licenced materials). They have a massive (but limited) list of anime that you can watch online...for free. That's right....your hard drive and sanity about virus protection can be saved...curtesy of youtube.com. You can see this site here.

Thanks and see ya next week!

2006-06-24T03:00:00.000-04:00

Wooo..and...umm....tiredness prusues me.

Yeah, for the next few weeks...I'll be doing stuff with my friends that I haven't seen in ages.

And when July 8th rolls around, I'll be with Katie and her family on their trip to Niagra Falls, Vermont, and Maine....camping. And that will be fun and nice.

*sigh* College life will seem a lot more tough than I previously gadged. I already invisioned it difficult, but it could be a lot more for a engineer. xD Orientation was boring. Got to meet some great people though. Not only will I be able to meet people from around the world, but I'll have tons of chances to travel (particularly, Japan). So, in a way....I am going to give it my all.

I am really happy right now and I told a certain person how I felt. ^^ She knows whom she is. xD

Gaming: Nothing much. Goofing off in Perfect Dark and GTA:SA.

Anime: Finished all of Full Metal Panic. It is deemed a great series. I bet there's a spin off of the series, seeing how there's an manga that is a continuation of the same type out and around. I never saw the first episode of Gundam Wing, however, I see the great potential of a mech anime series. With awesome machinery, rememberable characters and an interesting plot, mech anime is one of the greatest (and earliest) forms of anime.

As for this, I must be off; Katie's house tomorrow. Shessh...I am going to be tired.

More info on Nerucon coming soon!

2006-06-20T03:18:00.000-04:00

Ahhh..welcome back my comrades!

Yeah, so the gang got back from Japan today, but I wasn't able to get in contact with anyone. Bad weather pursued the entire day, and they were stuck in Detriot for hours. xD Later today, I can feel much more sane now than the past 20 days have proven to me. I know the gang so well (because I should have been on the trip) that I called Brian (Dr Otaku) and his grandmother knew who I was. That is scary. Oh well, they've probably brought something back for me....or something.

Gaming news: It's so difficult to play a typical fighting game. There's so much involved and so much potential moves and crap one can do, but it's too much time into some really terrible thing. I guess, regular fighting games require more patience than I actually have. Oh wells, doesn't stop me from not trying though.

Thought of the week: Perhaps, they should make a game where the programmers intended you had to cheat in. Of course, Battletoads doesn't count ( My friend Mike and I played co-op and nearly beat that game btw).

Anime: As for now, I am bored out of my mind, thinking weather I should watch my Saiyuki now and turn it in later today (Yes, I've heard of the manga series before, I just wanted to see what all the hype was about). I also have some Full Metal Panic that I have yet to get around to.

Randomness:For you love hina fans out there, I'd suggest the Christmas special. It followed the manga pretty well, but towards the end....it became better than I had expected. A good look for all you shonen (a type of manga/anime that has lots of action and fighting) fans that happen to also be closet shojou (basically the opposite of shonen, but it deals with love storylines) lovers.

Enough of this...I am off to play some FFR. ( http://flashflashrevolution.com) G'night...and don't let the Ninjas stalk you in the dark alleys!

2006-06-19T02:02:00.000-04:00

A new name and misadventures soon to follow!

Ah, I am now officially known (or my blog anyway) as Baka Suteki Gaijin (Stupid Handsome Foreigner for those of you that don't know Japanese). I am considered by Atakus ( A made up word that I use, A stands for American and the taku part comes from the Japanese word Otaku) to be a various otaku myself.

I happen to love video games. I've been playing video games since I was 4. Every now and then, I become bored and disinterested in them, but I always somehow fall back on them.

I am also interested in Anime, but I am not an otaku, wotaku, or ataku in that sense. I have much to learn...and I am learning the skillz I need in Anime from DrOtaku.

This journal will highlight various random points in my adventures though life....which will also include many trips to Japan. Indeed.

So, stay tuned for more news!

~

ﾎｩXeLOl

2006-06-17T04:19:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah, having DSL rocks massively.

As my first test, I went on Flashflashrevolution.com. The game was still kinda choppy, but it's a MAJOR improvement over dialup. Pictures and movies take less time to load. I am actually finding myself bored of not having to wait during something to load. My second test was an mini-preview of Densha Otoko. ZOMG.....it buffered incredibly fast, and I was able to play it without having it stop once. The school has a T1 line, but it still stopped after the bar caught up with the buffering. xD

IUPUI finally sent back the financial aid report. I got 5,000 dollars that I don't need to pay back. Unfortunately, it doesn't automatically add scholarships and crap, so now I have a 2,400 dollar Stafford flipping loan. I worked my ass off in high school so I wouldn't have to pay for college. This pissed me right off. I knew that I would be getting several scholarships, but they haven't been added yet. It pissed me off even more because I can't take off the damn loan in my onestart thing. Mothereffering indeed.

Spent most of Thursday and Friday with Matt. He hasn't really changed much.

Now for gaming news: I bought Sonic Adventure 2:Battle, GTA:SA, and Soul Caliber 2. I haven't played SC yet, but I been having fun with SA2 and GTASA. GTASA is more ebonics related, but I think that cheats defeat the purpose of that game. I played 30 minties into the game until I came across a barn or something. I immediately got four stars, and I was being shot at. That fucking pissed me off. I had no clue what was going on. I eventually lowered my wanted level, locked my wanted level at 0 (something you couldn't do without a cheat disc in all the other GTAs), gave myself infinite ammo (another thing you couldn't do in the other GTAs), and gave myself weapons. I had an all out war. The ability skillz are pretty awesome. I think being able to swim defeats the whole purpose of blocking off the other islands in the beginning of the game, since I can just swim to them with no problems at all. SA2:B surprised me in the sense that it's not the version I was used to. Needless to say, I am having a ball with that game.

As for now, I can't wait until the 18th. I can see Katie again. (and chill with Brian...lol)

As for that....see ya...

2006-06-12T03:42:00.000-04:00

This will probably be the last blog post....on dail-up! YEAH BABY! I am going HIGH SPEED! Yeah. It's about fscking time.

In other news: I got the call back call and I am invited to the seminar. I can't believe that I actually got that...or maybe it was because I had soo much in common with Josh...the guy that did the first interviews. Now, I don't know much about this job, since it's a little abstract with the rest of the world's thinking...but maybe it's something I could do on the side. That would be nice.

Gah, I am sooo jealous of Brian's adventures in Japan. It really sounds like the gang is having an awesome blast there. I am hoping that I can go next summer with Andy, Jewell, and Matt....just so the fact I can have fun without having my first experience in Japan to be of one of studying and interning. xD

My friend Matt, that I haven't seen in 3 years, is comming back to teh Naptownz! Like zomg that rox!

You really don't know someone, until they've spilled their guts and interworkings on a myspace blog....

I'm about to get my own taste of medicine soon...but that's okay with me.
/vague & ambigious
----

And now the crap you might have an inkling for....GAMING NEWS!

Nothing new with me. I unlocked a new arena in Perfect Dark....and it was a pain in the ass to get too. Despite the fact I didn't lose either match, both were with perfect simulants. All I could do....was camp with proximity mines and hope they chase me. Lmao. If I had better, precise aim...I would be equliviant to a perfect sim. xD Now that's saying something...

Other news: I thinking about starting an Anime convention with a few friends in the state of Indiana. I've looked around the nation and every single significant convention is in California, Texas, or Maryland. The closest thing we have here is "GenCon" which is a gaming/sci-fi/anime convention that happens every August. However, I wanted something more.....JUST an Anime Convention. And.....I would want it so popular that it would attract big names in Anime/Webcomics/Comics....such as Fred from Megatokyo, the creators of Gaia online, VGCats, Ctrl-Al-Del, 8-bit theatre and whatnot. It would be totally awesome. However, I can't really give much detail of it, but I'll be in contact with my co-conspirtors (namely the first three people really interested in it Brian, Jewell, and Josh) and we'll see all interested parties at GenCon in August in Indianapolis for further details.

2006-06-10T02:14:00.000-04:00

Who knew so much could happen in a week?

While similtaniously waiting for my AP test results, my placement test results, my orietation, and my friends (particuarly Katie and Brittney) to come home, I've had much to do these past week. My friend Jerome recommended me to this guy which could be a potential employer, I just won't get a call back call until Sunday. Meanwhile, I picked up an application to GameStop, just cause the fact that I feel that it should be my first job....something I am interested in. However, they're only accepting applications right now...not directly hiring.

Who knew that it would be a bitch just to be a dual major in College? At Purdue, I wouldn't have to deal with such things, but I was turned down (for those whom don't know me, I get into the story later) so I enrolled and got accepted into IUPUI. I had to visit three different chairs at IUPUI just to try to get the program I am interested in. Computer Engineering and Japanese seems like a practical and logical choice, but it's never been done at IUPUI. The reason? All those interested are at Purdue. And I am the effing loser...that if I stay at IUPUI, I'll be the gueina pig in the first Japanese Engineering program at IUPUI. It would be quite interesting....but I hate being put into the spot...where my every move is watched....as if I am playing a sadistic version of chess against the raining champion of the world.....a supercomputer. lol

As always, I try to keep this a random journal....inclined towards gaming. So....

Not much in terms of my gaming life....the game that I play constantly....and the fact is I never really play single player...is Perfect Dark. I've gotten extremely good and that was all from the multiplayer mode. Funny thing is I played Goldeneye with the same skills...and it seems CPU can aim away from you and still hit you. omghax. rofl.

A few more days until "I gotta get a job" is an old saying and should have been carried out by now. In a few days is when I'll begin my character creation in morrowind. Oh dears, this will be interesting....

Note: If you haven't already noticed, the time is in Japanese. I just thought you all should know. My blog is Wotaku approved....

2006-06-01T02:20:00.000-04:00

Today. A rather uneventful day. If I would have been more consistant with my motivation, I would be on a plane to Japan right now. Ugh. Nothing is worse than kicking yourself in the ass because you didn't raise funds to send your broke-ass self to Japan with your friends. I am sure I am going to go in the future (perhaps, for free through the normal tuition....^^),but it won't be the same.....ya know? I mean, the next opportunity comes around, I may not get a homestay experience, and I'll probably have to look for a job within the first week because I will probably be bound to spend much money on gatcha gatcha balls with figurines. xD Perhaps, when I can go....I can somehow recreate the experience by sending some of my pals with me as well. In a way....I am half jealous at the missed opportunity and half kicking my own ass. Of course, then again.....with some of my friends from orchestra that missed out on the awesome New York trip last summer....yeah....I know exactally how they felt. It seems 10 times worse with me....seeing how I had the perfect opportunity to get to go......and being let down...by financial ties. If I ever have children, and I am well off....and am going to send them to a public school....but I won't skip out on the trips I never had during my childhood/early adulthood.

I know I have plenty of opportunities to go....and my efforts to seize them will be increased infinity fold. I already figured this out through scholarships....you have to search and work for money. Unless you're a millionare's son or something, money is never really free.

Now, seeing how this is mainly a random rambling center of thought control, I thought I should get that out of the way. Therefore....more crap can be said about other things. /emo

You don't know how sick and twisted one's creativity is.....until you see him making transgender bots in a first person shooter and naming such multiplayer senarios as "pimp wars" and crap. -points to himself-

Other than that....nothing much going on in the world of gaming for me. I currently am playing Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, and Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Gawd....with each title....I am a effing loser. Most of these titles stopped being played years ago by most gamers. Don't worry, I felt like this for years. My age of playing games long out of style really hit me when I was shopping in Disc Replay about a weekago. This couple (obviously from college) came in and where looking for specific SNES games. The sad thing is...I was able to help them find some carts of various games. I am really showing my expertise when it comes to games. Games...for consoles.....already dead. xD I partically blame this on being poor...and not affording the latest consoles or games. Hell...it took me 3 years to get all three "next generation" consoles....and about two years later...Bam!....the XBox360 comes out. Hahaha....how lame I am. XDXDXD Of course, I am not complaining, when I go to rent a game, I really have no real limitations.

Current titles that I hope I can find at disc replay:
KirbySuperStar (SNES)
Mario Kart 64
Super Mario 64
A gold cartridge of Ocrarina of Time
Fable: The lost chapters
Soul Caliber III

2006-05-29T02:06:00.000-04:00

May 24, 2006. A day that will live in history. The day I got my high school deploma.

Honestly, I feel alright. It's the start of my life, and it just seems the same. Game in.....Game out.

After reading an article in Game Informer Magazine some time ago about Steven Kent (No...for you Warren kids out there reading this, this is not the Mr. Kent) the author behind Press Start to Continue and other video game related history books (btw, it's out of print. You can only find it online. It's a good read if you're a hard-core gamer that happens to also be a history buff.), I've felt some emptiness from games....and the future of them. Why? Because....Kent, whom was enfatuated with video games for many years (agh....he's even met Shiregu Miyamoto) now is stepping away from video games as they slowly fade away from the sunlight of his life. Why did he become so disilliusioned with playing video games? He remarked, "As I gotten older, I've found less time for them. Plus, my life had already picked up."

That article kinda bugged me. No, in fact, it fscked me over. Now, as a hardcore gamer, I find myself asking, "Is video games worth the time when I am just going to eventually stop playing?" , "Is it weird for the tips of my thumbs to be really that flexable?", or "I just spent a large sum of my graduation money on games for a ten year old system, does that make me sane?" The first question however, is importance to this entry. I feel like I am going to regret all the money I've spent (or will spend) on video games. For a kid that is approaching College and is no longer the shy boy he used to be.....video games.....were my saving grace. Getting away from them...will be hard.

I've always admired the simple things people do to amuse themselves. I mean, I just hope that I can study Japanese the entire time without being disinterested or becoming bored in my current area (For those of you that actually know me, no...I am not bored with Japanese, I am talking about studying in general). I try to find ways to amuse myself....without actually having friends near me. It's just that video games take up probably about 80% of all downtime.

Dunno....what the above sentence had to do with the whole picture, but what I meant however is that I will soon be abandoning a once major aspect of life, once my life begins in College.

And now...for I hope that will be a regular segment on the blog.....RANDOM GAMING CRAP AND FACTS TIME!

Most random (odd too) piece of advice from a gamer: "You know....turning on that rumble feature makes things a lot better. Mmm indeed. ~ A friend joking about the rumble feature built into the Gamecube controller.

IoD's favorite gaming gizmo (I try to be updated): Wavebird Wireless Controller. The first ever wireless controller that I bought (that wasn't a DDR pad) and it is total kick ass. If the Wii's wireless controllers are as much kickass as this baby, well....then.....that will be one awesome controller.

Most annoying thing during gaming (for me anyway) #1: When someone is asking you a question in the mist of a boss battle.....while you're losing poorly.

Blunder of the week: Disc Replay not having a v.1.0 (aka the gold cartridge) Ocrarina Of Time . X(

2006-05-29T01:57:00.000-04:00

Ahhh..the start of another webjournal of my travels. Oh...hello. Even though my title may be weird and have nothing to do with my name. Anyway. Hello again....I am IdiotbyDefault, the second most used pesudum that I use (the other being Kirbz, but of course, that happens to be quite a popular name). This webjournal was established much for a random space for blogging. Hell with four other blogs that I have used/use (yes sadly this includes a myspace one) why in the heck would I even need another? Dunno. Anyway, a friend of mine that is using a blogspace account to track his trip to Japan got me wondering about making a blog....for my future travels. xD

So.....for my 0 audience readers out there.....I introduce you to the blog! (Soon to be filled with many ramblings and other crap...)