Damn I am a sexy pirate.

I've Friends Locked my journal since January of 2009.

If you'd like to read my entries since then, just post a comment here asking to be Friended, and if I decide to bless you with my thoughts and writings, I'll add you as a Friend.

Oh, Christian Bale, I can love you again!

Just wanted to say that I love you guys, and I thank God I have you all for friends.

MAH ICONS.

default	oldest	newest
saddest	happiest	angriest
cutest	sexiest	funniest
fave ship	fave fandom	fave animated
best quote	best textless	best stolen idea
use the most	favorite

HOW MANY ICONS DO YOU HAVE: 15
OUT OF HOW MANY AVAILABLE ICONS SPACES: 15
IF YOU COULD BUY SPACE FOR MORE, WOULD YOU: Nah, it's not that serious.
DO YOUR ICONS MAKE A STATEMENT: That I'm a neeeeeeeeeeeeerd?
WHAT FANDOM DO YOU HAVE THE MOST ICONS OF: Batman/Comics.
AND THE SECOND MOST: Anime.
WHAT SHIP DO YOU HAVE THE MOST ICONS OF: I don't have any icons of ships. Does not compute.
ARE YOUR ICONS MADE MOSTLY BY OTHER PEOPLE: Mostly, yes.
DO YOU MAKE ICONS: Some of them.
ARE THEY ANY GOOD: Well, I like them, obviously.
ANIMATED ICONS ARE: Great when kept to a few frames.

DO THE MEME.
Coding can be found here

At the cabin now, which does, in fact, have internet, so I may be available for chat or video shit tomorrow evening if you're at Kristie's party.

Also, I don't see what the fucking big deal is about driving someplace you've never been before in the dark. Everyone questioned my judgment about driving up here tonight instead of tomorrow, even though I knew I'd be totally fine, and I was. I love driving at night, so that didn't worry me one bit. And mountains? Psh. I've played enough "GTA," "Burnout," and "Gran Turismo" to understand car physics well enough to know not to race around corners and stuff. I was in 2nd or 3rd gear most of the way on the mountains, never going above 40, and I had a blast.

These mountains are beautiful, even at night, and I'm super excited to be here. I'll take pictures for you guys.

It's also pretty damn cold up here. It's fantastic. Really makes me want to own a cabin in the mountain someday.

Well, looks like I'll be in the Dahlonega mountains for New Years.

I should be in Athens sometime New Years Day, though.

Almost every year, my family has gone up to north Georgia in order to celebrate New Years with my Dad's cousin in a massive party. I absolutely love them to death, and they're my favorite people in the world. Unfortunately, though, I only get to see them once a year.

Last year, we didn't meet up, because of whatever reason where there wouldn't be enough room for us to stay with them or something. Because I was afraid of the same thing happening this year, since my Dad is terrible at communicating plans on a good day, I decided to call up two of my cousins, Darryl and Stacy, two of the greatest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I made plans with them to meet and have dinner at Atlantic Station.

We met, and after discovering that a few of the restaurants were closed, because it's Sunday and Georgia fucking sucks, we went to a little restaurant called Sotto Sotto, which was some of the best Italian food I've ever had. And to top it off, Darryl and Stacy surprised me by covering the bill as an (extremely) belated graduation present.

So I had some fantastic food, some good wine (still sorta buzzed), and got to spend time with my favorite people, who told me that I may be invited to the New Years thing this year. Unfortunately, the plans are still sort of nebulous to me, so all I can say is I'll either be in Athens or the mountains for New Years. I just don't know which at the moment.

I also got a haircut today, which, the more that I look at it, the more I like it. I'll have to figure out how to use "product" to keep it looking nice, but I'm ok with that at this point.

( To spare your friends page. )

I love you all, and I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases.

Really. I wish I could share a bottle of 'nog with you all, and perhaps open-mouth-but-no-tongue-kiss you each.

...

...Ok, that last part was definitely the 'nog.

Merry Christmas!

The time before last that I was in Athens, for Cathie's exit show, we went out to dinner at Doc Chey's, where I had a bit of sake with my dinner.

Later that night, we played "Rock Band" at Chris and Nicole's apartment, with myself on drums. Now, I'm decent at the drums on Hard. My only real problems are drum rolls, and the bass pedal. I don't always hit it on the beat, and where there are multiple pedal kicks, I tend to fuck up.

Until that night. While I was drunk on sake, something clicked. I was making most, if not all of the pedal kicks on songs I had screwed up before, regardless of the frequency of the kicks. (Granted, I had trouble holding onto the drum sticks, and they'd go flying out of my hands mid-song, but that's irrelevant. IRRELEVANT, I SAY.)

Last night I decided to play "Rock Band" again, since I hadn't in awhile and I found out they released essentially all the good No Doubt songs (shut up i like them ok). I downloaded "Don't Speak" and "It's My Life," even though the drums are pretty easy for those two songs, and proceeded to play them. After I was done with them, though, I saw how many downloaded songs I've never touched on drums, so I played through them.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pretty good at Hard drums.

I managed to four- and five-star songs that have killed me in the past ("Hysteria," "Rock Rebellion," "Perfect Drug," "Working Man"), and passed some songs that I thought impossible ("Laid to Rest"). I then blew through two tiers of the single player, five-starring "Green Grass and High Tides," a song which used to scare the shit out of me, with a 667 note streak (I AM THE NEIGHBOR OF THE BEAST).

So, in conclusion, sake is capable of unlocking unforetold drumming powers. Give it a try sometime. OSU!

As I've stated several times before (most recently five minutes ago in the previous entry, lulz), Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love almost everything about it, except for the morons who want it to last two months long and batter and assault people in a desperate attempt to shop at the last minute. However, those few grievances aside, I look forward to Christmas every year.

I also enjoy my job as a trivia host, namely because it's easy, fun, and I get to play whatever music I want, within reason. For the two shows I'm hosting this next week, I've made a playlist entirely out of Christmas music, incorporating my personal favorite versions of some songs alongside the mainstays of the holiday season, while trying to keep the songs varied enough to be interesting while nostalgic.

I am sharing this A) because I'm bored, and B) because sharing is caring.

( The Pre-Show )

( The First Round )

( The Second Round )

( The Bonus Round )

( The Post-Show )

...Well, that killed an hour.

I do enjoy my booze.

Though it makes me talkative, loud, and handsy. (read: absolutely no different than normal.)

But then, it also helps me to mentally block out John's ass. So I've got that going for me.

Thanks for a fantastic party, and for the gifts as well. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and you guys definitely made this one special for me. So thank you.

( Yup, more needless bitching. And I've been drinking. A little. )

I just really fucking hate assholes who think trying to intimidate me will get them what they want when they're flat-out wrong, and I hate not being my own boss so I can tell them to go fuck themselves if they want to get upset over something as ridiculous as one question in a free game.

Fuck assholes. That's the lesson to be learned here.

P.S. - And thanks to my wonderful sister I had a free glass of wine, free Texas Toast, and a sympathetic ear right after I got off work. Just what I needed.

Feeling pretty good today, thanks to actually exercising for the first time in a month. I'd slacked off to concentrate my free time on my grad school applications, and, in true procrastination style, kept putting it off "one more day," until I'd done so for two and a half weeks. Thankfully I'm back on the horse as of today, though.

I also got called to fill in for two shows this week, which is awesome. One show's tonight, the other's Saturday, and I'm hoping someone bails on a Thursday show just so I can get in another night of work.



Am I the only one who feels that the word "lore" shouldn't be bandied about in reference to some video game's backstory? To me it feels like the word has too much weight to pertain to a bunch of made-up shit, regardless of whether or not the setting is supposed to be in the past or something. I've only heard it used in regards to two games that I've had experience with, "World of Warcraft," and "Star Wars: The Old Republic." I feel that using the word "lore" might make the people who enjoy the game feel like they're dealing with something more important than it is, but I feel absolutely silly when I say, "It's well documented in 'Star Wars' lore that Darth Vader was a total douche."

On the other hand, I'm completely fine with using the word "mythos" in a discussion about video games, because, hey, "mythos" means "made-up shit" (it's in the Oxford Dictionary, look it up).

I guess my point is that using "lore" is supposed to make the subject matter more serious, legitimate, and deep, but instead it just sounds silly. KNOCK IT OFF, NECKBEARDS

I think it's a bit odd that I'm not as good with the Scout or Demoman when using a mouse and keyboard, but I'm stil just as good with the Pyro and Heavy. Probably because A) I'm not used to mouse/keyboard, and B) There's some lag for me when there's a ton of people onscreen.

we should definitely set up a game sometime guyz

( Cut for bitching about work. )

I came home smelling like cigarettes, with a headache, and incredibly pissed, mainly due to the overwhelming disappointment I had in the experience.

I guess now I'll drink and watch "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - Director's Cut."

P.S. - Big Thank You to Mr. Jon for encouraging me to look into The Sword. Nothing like listening to some new awesome music after a shitty night of work.

P.P.S. - Jesus Christ, "AVPR" is an absolutely terrible movie.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post, even if it was emotionally and drunkenly charged. I still meant everything I said, though I was a little iffy about posting it. Hence going back three times or so to expand the wording on the lj-cut text. I sometimes feel guilty about posts like that because I know my situation could be worse, but I needed to vent that shit out of my system so I could move on, which I'm now trying to do.

I'm having spicy meatballs and a Hot Toddy that my sister made for me (which is more like bourbon with a dash of tea), while she watches "The Hills." I started The Regulators today, which is already more action-packed, though its bending towards silly because of the villains. Read it and you'll see.

I'm gonna try and play "Fallout 3" or "Rock Band" after I finish my Hot Toddy, and then try and get some sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to call my schools to make sure they got everything, as well as a guy I was talking to last week about grad school.

I feel like making an update, so I will.

I abused the shit out of Chris's "Alien Quadrilogy" boxset, watching the theatrical cut of "Alien," which I'd never seen before, the Director's Cut of "Aliens," which I've seen countless times, and the "Assembly Cut" of "Alien3," which I'd only seen once before. I still maintain that "Aliens" is the best, thanks to its memorable dialogue, intense action, and tight storytelling, but I have to give "Alien3" its due. The "Assembly Cut" is actually pretty damn good, if different from its two predecessors. One can only wonder how good it would have have been had the studio backed the fuck off and let Fincher make his film. "Alien" is still good, as usual, but that's not surprising; it just doesn't effect me the way "Aliens" does.

I beat "Gears of War 2," and can safely say, "Don't believe the hype." The gameplay is still fun, if repetitive, but the story is shit. It raises questions without answering any of the ones raised in this game and the first one, and it very blatantly creates subplots to tug at one's heart strings. Unfortunately, the subplots are so contrived and awkwardly shoehorned into the story that they slow the pace of the story to a crawl. So rent it, if that's to your liking, but be prepared to get annoyed as shit at companies trying to force a trilogy down your throat when all you want is a game that finishes the story it began ten hours ago, even if they want to leave the possibility of a sequel open. For examples of how to do this, see "Metal Gear Solid," and "Mass Effect."

I'm just really tired of game companies deciding to start with a trilogy, and telling a story that remains so open that you don't feel like you've accomplished anything. It honestly makes me not want to play the game, since I don't see the point; I play video games a lot of the time because I want to enjoy a great story, and I can't do that if I know that the main plot threads begun in the beginning of the game won't resolve themselves by game's end. It has to feel stand-alone enough to be enjoyable and worth playing even if the next game won't come out in the next two years. And I guess a guy dumb enough to call himself "Cliffy B" wouldn't understand that.

Don't buy "Gears of War 2." It's just not worth it.

Then again, neither is "Left 4 Dead."

On the console, it is not worth the $60. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun to play, but the content is so minimal when you compare it to other games today that it just doesn't stack up. (Four 2-hour long campaigns, no story. Repititious FPS gameplay with a neat adaptive A.I., but don't believe the "different game every time!" bullshit. They all feel the same, it just changes at which points you 'rinse,' and at which points you 'repeat.') Maybe it would be worth $60 on the PC, where you can have mods out the ass for it, but on the console all additional content will most likely come out with a price tag (or not at all, considering Valve's abysmal treatment of the console versions of "Team Fortress 2"), which I just don't believe I should pay for if the game costs $60 to begin with, with so little content.

I'm thinking to save money I'll be looking into getting DS games next, instead of console games, since I haven't touched my DS in months, just because I forget about it. There are still so many games I want for my neglected handheld console: "Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin," "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia," "Contra Fucking 4," and now "Chrono Trigger," which I've never played before.

I finished reading Desperation, which was a big ol' "Meh." It dealt with a lot of the same themes as The Stand, but with a lot less finesse and engrossing storytelling. Then again, I read it pretty much as an excuse to read The Regulators, which is written by Stephen King's pseudonymous Richard Bachman (which most likely means the story will be more gruesome and depressing), so I guess I got what I deserved.

So, after reading through the Let's Play thread on Something Awful devoted to the "Aliens Versus Predator" games, I got a huge hankering to go back and play through "AvP 2," which I barely even touched when I first got it. I was so happy to find that I still have the discs to install it, thanks to Jason, and have put it on both my G5 and my laptop.

It's great knowing I have the third most fun game on the Mac.

(the second being "world of warcraft," and the first being photoshop.)


EDIT: Aaaaaand it turns out "AvP2" doesn't work in Leopard. FUCKING SHIT

It's been awhile since I made an update that wasn't me begging for revisions of my work.

How about I fix that?

( Grad apps! )

( You are cordially invited! )

This past week I also saw "Quantum of Solace" again. I still haven't decided if I'm getting my hair cut like 007, but I'm thinking I'll try it, since I won't be attempting to impress anyone during the month of December. I really like the dialogue and characterizations in the film, but Jesus do I hate the cinematography and editing during the action scenes. You get a sense of what's happening, but all the shots are so tight and shaky you never know for sure what precisely is going on. Still a fun movie, though.

I also saw "Twilight" on Friday.

It should have been called "Twilight: A Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie."

It was absolutely terrible, and somehow found a way to make the story from the books worse. The cinematography was fucking stupid and amateurish, the acting was a lame attempt at being "realistic" by having them stammer over their lines without holding eye contact, the music was sparse and uninteresting, the plot had absolutely no tension or mystery, and some of the lines from the book were absolutely laughable when heard in the film.

So, no surprise, the movie sucks.

What also sucks is Georgia losing to Tech. But what was hilarious was my cousin's apparent Tourette Syndrome. He would shout, "NERDS!" at any bad play or call, scaring two Tech fans sitting in front of us. It was absolutely hysterical.

Now I think I'm going to get some lunch, and play some "Fallout 3" or "Rock Band." Yay fun!

I'm thinking of getting my hair cut like Daniel Craig's in "Quantum of Solace." The only drawback is I'm not sure if it'd make me look like I was 24, or 14, because, frankly, I'm not Daniel Craig.

WHAT SAY YOU, INTERNETO?

( The revisions for each piece of the FSU Application rest behind this cut. )




i don't know if dedication can be described as "vast" but whatever

( School app moping, mushy. )



I've also been making some progress on Operation Creditor's Delight, as I was approved for two credit cards, a MasterCard through CitiBank, and a Visa through the Delta Community Credit Union. As soon as I double-check with my inside sources (read: Chris' Dad) about how best to rack up a good credit score (e.g., using it to buy something several times a month, then immediately paying it off the day I use it, making one payment a month, how frequently or infrequently should I use it, etc.), I'll finally buy some things I just decided to hold off on 'til I could use a credit card to buy them, such as more shaving cream (Lavender or Rose scent? Anyone? Sandalwood, maybe?), some undershirts, and some more boxer-briefs, as well as groceries.

That's about all for now. I'm gonna go to bed in a bit, before hopefully hitting the ground running tomorrow morning.

Dear millertimemotherfuck,

Your video "UGAnime Presents "Gurren Lagann: Fandub'd"" has been identified by YouTube's Content Identification program as containing copyrighted content which Starz Media LLC claims is theirs.

Your video "UGAnime Presents "Gurren Lagann: Fandub'd"" is no longer visible in some locations, because Starz Media LLC has chosen to block it.

Claim Details:
Copyright owner: Starz Media LLC
Content claimed: Some or all of the visual content
Policy: Block this content.

Applies to these locations:
Canada, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States Virgin Islands

Starz Media LLC claimed this content as a part of the YouTube Content Identification program. YouTube allows partners to review YouTube videos for content to which they own the rights. Partners may use our automated video / audio matching system to identify their content, or they may manually review videos.

If you believe that this claim was made in error, or that you are otherwise authorized to use the content at issue, you can dispute this claim with Starz Media LLC and view other options in the Video ID Matches section of your YouTube account. Please note that YouTube does not mediate copyright disputes between content owners. Learn more about video identification disputes.

Sincerely,
The YouTube Content Identification Team


Looks like they finally found my fandub video. OH NOES.

I guess my fandub threatens their potential airing of "Lagann" on the Sci-Fi channel? Or something?

Meh. 2,500+ views at five stars. We had a good run. DOOOOOOON'T STOP. BELIEEEEEEEEVIN'.

1. Stop talking about politics for a moment or two.
2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.
3. Include these instructions, and share the love.

I give you a few of my favorite images:







and

Honestly, I don't know how I feel. While, yes, I am extremely happy that Obama won, I had guarded myself against hoping too much that he'd win, since having Democratic leanings in Georgia tends to make you feel like your vote isn't worth shit sometimes (see also, Saxby Chambliss).

But I'm not ecstatic about Obama's win, simply because now his work begins, now I can see whether or not Obama was blowing smoke up my ass, or whether my faith and hope were not in vain.

Ever since his speech last year, when he almost entirely won my vote, I knew that I needed to be careful. I knew then what I know now: should Obama fail to deliver on his promises, if he is unable to bring about the change we want so desperately, I'll almost entirely lose my faith in the USA political system. I can't disregard my cynicism, I can't earnestly believe in a candidate's possibility every four years, only to have my hopes dashed once the candidate is in office.

For now, though, I remain hopeful.

Good luck, President-Elect Obama. Work begins at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, sharp.

You Scored as HOUSE MARTELL You hail from House Martell. Your house seat is Sunspear in the Dorne. You love the sun and heat, even enough to make your home in the desert. You are independent, strong willed, and can survive no matter what happens. The underdog. You may be different from everyone else, but who said that was a bad thing? Your house motto: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. Picture is Copyright © RMB HOUSE MARTELL 70% HOUSE TULLY 65% HOUSE BARATHEON 60% HOUSE TYRELL 60% HOUSE GREYJOY 55% HOUSE ARRYN 55% HOUSE STARK 50% HOUSE TARGARYEN 40% HOUSE FREY 40% HOUSE LANNISTER 40%

( goddammit... )