chibiforte

Been playin' a little o' Mario Kart Wii.  I'm doing pretty well, actually.  I've raced a few online matches against Ted and beat him a few times.  I'm actually getting fairly adept at playing with the Wii Wheel.  I'm still better with the Gamecube controller, but the Wheel helps make it feel more real, if you can call kart racing while throwing shells and dropping banana peels "real". :P

I received my Myself; Yourself OP CD Single, yesterday.  Along with the anime's opening theme, it also had the opening theme for the visual novel.  Both are actually really engaging songs, and I'm glad I made the purchase.  I still haven't received my H20 ~footprints in the sand~ OP CD single, but I expect to get it tomorrow.

I'm also thinking of purchasing the 2006 "LEGEND OF DRAGONWORLD" CD set, which contains a lot of songs from the Dragonball anime.  It seems to have a lot of songs, and when I was listening to the Daizenshuu EX Podcast, the hosts agreed that it was the CD set that you want to get if you're just looking for the main movie themes, OP and ED themes, insert songs, image songs, etc.

Speaking of Dragonball, I actually just finished reading the series last night.  42 volumes worth, as a matter of fact.  It was nice to just get through the entire series in a non-stressful, easy go.  Reading it was the best choice, since it would be extremely expensive to get all the DVDs right now.  I easily breezed through dozens of episodes worth of material in only a few hours each night.  Now, I have the entire series fresh in my mind, and that's nice to have.

Still don't have the pictures of little Matthew.  I'm hoping they'll send them sometime tonight.  I actually talked to my brother on the phone today, and he held the phone up to the baby while he was making noise.  It was so cute! <3

 Can't wait!  Hopefully it all goes smoothly... I just have a nervous feeling for some reason...

I picked up my copy of Mario Kart Wii, yesterday.  It's actually a lot more fun than I thought it'd be.  The online mode is pretty awesome and flawless, and you actually get to see the Miis and names of the people you go against.  While I don't particularly care for a few of the Miis I saw, overall, the experience was great.  I'll probably start all the different rank-mode things sometime either later today or tomorrow.  Maybe I should just bypass 50cc and just go for 100cc for the time being?  That'd help me get better, since it's tough for me to adjust to the Wii Wheel.

I also laid down a preorder for Wii Fit.  That stupid game's going to be $90, but it's going to be so much fun!  And to think, all it does is help you exercise...

I need to get those recommendation letters sent out...

I received my true tears OP CD single, earlier today.  It's pretty good.  I enjoy "Reflectia" the most, obviously, but I didn't particularly care for "elekta".  Maybe I'll have to give it a few more listens.  The piano in the background was obviously nice to hear, but the vocals didn't really catch me.  Maybe because it's slow?

My nephew should be born on Monday, at the latest (since he was due last week, they are going to induce her on Monday if he isn't born till then).  His name will be Matthew Jr., after his Dad.  He better be cute as a button.  I wonder how Sarai will take not being the only baby anymore?

I'm picking up Mario Kart Wii, tomorrow.  I actually wasn't really planning on picking this game up until the summer, but my Dad ended up preordering it for me, so I don't really have an excuse.  I was wanting to pick up The World Ends with You for the DS, but eh, it can wait.  This is kart-racing with Mario, and I hear the online is fantastic, so I'm looking forward to it.

I just had an idea a little bit ago, while vacuuming the living room.  I think it'd be really neat to have a remix album of, what else, but Haruhi Suzumiya music.  Not just any remix album though, but a PIANO album.  Where all of the songs are done on the piano, without vocals or anything.  I think it'd be pretty easy to fill up an album with music from the series and games.  The OP and ED for the anime, obviously, but you could also branch off and do songs from the character albums, or use the BGM for the anime, or even do the OP/ED from the two games they have out.  Even Mikuru's Love Legend!  I could see it being done... maybe being distributed using Bittorrent... I'd need to buy the albums, though, just so I can hear all the music that can be done... and I'd need to find someone else who can play the piano with me... hmmm...

I just turned my head to the left and sneezed, but it caused me to jerk my head to that side even further and hurt my neck momentarily. Ouch. x_x

Anyway, it's feeling better now.

I found not only three of the Petra CDs that I wanted, but I also found two of the dc Talk CDs that I wanted. They were in the CD cases in my parent's room, amazingly. Unfortunately, the "Welcome to the Freak Show" CD is scratched up due to so much use in the past ten years, so it didn't rip properly. It didn't even rip "Time Is" or "It's the End of the World", and I can't find them to complete the album. The torrent's not working properly, seeing as it's stuck at 98.2%. Maybe I can find it for cheap on the internet someplace. Or maybe someone nearby has a CD cleaner I can use.

None of the Petra CDs had "No Doubt", though. That kind of frustrated me. I KNOW we had the CD before, but I have no clue where it's at or whether we stil have it or not. "Alas My Love" sounds like it might be a good song, though. I'll have to listen to that later tonight.

I read past the Saiyan arc last night, and now it's heading into the Namek arc. That'll be fun to read, since I don't remember that arc very well (aside from the endless amounts of Naruto-esque filler material). Should be good.

I started playing Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology earlier today. It seems fun, but it's definitely something I'm going to have to get used to. Maybe I'll set that aside and try my hand at Pokemon Pearl again. That reminds me, I need to sell my white DS Lite and purchase a new DS that actually has a touch screen that works. It's so annoying not being able to play my favorite games because my touch screen is terribly messed up.

One last thing: this is a video of somebody drawing a picture of what Kristin Kreuk ("Lana" from Smallville) will probably look like as Chun-Li in the newest Street Fighter movie (wearing the signature blue-and-gold qipao and odango hairstyle). It looks awesome seeing the whole time-lapse deal of somebody drawing the thing completely in some kind of paint program, and the final product doesn't look half-bad.  She BETTER look like this in the movie!  Check it out. :3

 

I finally finished Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII earlier today.  I put about... 30 hours into it?  Almost there, at least.  I think I finished it at about 29 hours and 45 minutes or so.  And this is only the FIRST time I have to beat it.  I have to go through it again and unlock all of the crazy missions and the DMW stuff and whatnot.

Let me tell you, this game was absolutely fantastic.  Sure, there were some flaws in it, like the loading times and the somewhat tiring missions you have to finish, but all in all, it was a solid game that was made even better because of the Final Fantasy VII label.  This really helped reinvigorate my interest in the FF7 series.  I actually feel like going back to beat the original PS1 game now, just so I can relive the original story.  I didn't really care for the game the first time I played it, but I actually really like the series now that I can see how all the entries relate to each other.

This game, in and of itself, is a great game.  The graphics are top-notch for a PSP game... the gameplay, while being repetitive at times, is engaging... the story is original on its own but still connects nicely with the main FF7 story... the main character, Zack, is such a funny and well-rounded and well-developed main character... man, I just can't say enough good things about this game.  Anybody with a PSP does themself a disservice if they don't pick this game up, even if they don't know the FF7 story.

I'm hoping that they remake FF7, now.  If they can fix the glaring graphical flaws and glitches that the original had (and the horrendous translation), I could see myself dedicating dozens of hours into it.  And even buying a PS3 just so I can play it.

I'm thinking of starting Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, now.  Or maybe I'll go back and play Final Fantasy VII as soon as possible.  Or Final Fantasy VIII.  Or Chrono Cross.  Or Chrono Trigger.  Or Xenogears.  Or Breath of Fire III.  Or Brave Fencer Musashi.  Or Yu-Gi-Oh Forbidden Memories.

...Wow, I really am going to have to bring that Playstation with me to college...

Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology was purchased, today.  I have never played through a Tales game in my life, I just heard that they were fantastic.  Hopefully I'll enjoy it, seeing as how you have to put in... 60+ hours just to finish it once through?  Somewhere around that amount.  This will help me decide if I really want to get into this series.  I'll need something to do in the off-hours at college.  And I just wanted to find what is considered a really good PSP RPG.

Man, I've been buying games left and right for that system... I have, what, six games for it, now?  Crisis Core, Harvest Moon, Patapon, MegaMan Powered Up, Maverick Hunter X, Jeanne d'Arc... yep, that's six.  My poor DS has been neglected, but if the touch screen wasn't so terribly calibrated and messed up, I might actually put some time into some games, but alas, I need to buy a new one if I plan on playing regularly.  I still need to finish Phoenix Wright 3...

And... I can't think of anything else to say.

Oh yeah, the first Eyeshine album came out just the other day.  I bought that, as well.  I have to support the awesomeness of Johnny Yong Bosch and his cohorts, obviously.  Indie-music isn't really my thing (if it can be called that), but I've enjoyed the few songs I've heard of theirs.  If I had iTunes, I'd buy their EP, but it doesn't seem to want to install on this computer (plus, I don't have an iPod to put it on).  Oh well.

I received the two CD singles for my favorite Tokusatsu programs, today.  Yep, I got the CD single to Kamen Rider Kiva, which is called "Break the Chain", and the opening and ending theme single for Engine Sentai Go-onger.  I even got a neat poster and a single trading card for the "Break the Chain" CD, both of which feature Kiva in all his Fangire awesomeness.  I'm wondering as to whether or not I should hang the poster up now, or wait until I move so it's in pristine condition (and so my roommates can get a good laugh).

I also watched a new Toku last night, called Tomica Hero Rescue Force.  It's basically a Super Sentai-esque show, but it revolves more around actually saving people from natural disasters instead of fighting a rubber monster that can grow to gigantic sizes.  It was interesting, and while the budget for the show is obviously more than most Tokusatsu programs, something about it felt... strange.  I think it was the framerate that the show is broadcast in, as the camera seemed to look more like it was filmed by college students than professionals.  But that's just a minor gripe, because the special effects are fantastic.  I loved the police car's look, and I wouldn't mind having one, myself.

I think I understand my recent uncertainties about this whole novel deal.  I feel as if I need to know absolutely everything about the world in which these characters interact, and that I have to disclose so many unnecessary details about the characters and their families and school.  But I know that this isn't necessary, since even Haruhi Suzumiya didn't even name the teachers, or the main character's families, or even what they learn, really.  And look how great that series is doing in commercialization.  Surely nobody expects much from a random guy on the internet, right?

And yes, I still have writer's block, although the ideas are slowly coming together, piece by piece...

Also, does anybody have any ideas for new names?  I'm not sure if "Law/Grace" is going to cut it, given its source material... I mean, it's not copyrighted or anything, but I don't want the companies to be unknowingly affiliated with me because I use their terminology or anything.

I've been downloading sooo many Overclocked Remixes, lately.  I literally have about 1,139 remixes from their website, give or take.  I'm pretty sure this is legal, since they've become such a huge site and Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft would have shut them down a long time ago if this was illegal.  It's nice to hear all of those old songs I listened to in chiptune format as a child reimagined in ways I never thought possible.  It just gives me such a sense of nostalgia that's been unrivaled for years, now...

I've been playing Crisis Core, since I bought it the other day.  A very, very engaging game.  Makes me appreciate the FF7 series a bit more, since I didn't really care for it originally.  Hopefully I'll be able to actually finish it, given that I haven't been very dedicated to RPGs, as of late.

I'm not feeling very well, at the moment.  Kinda feeling... sickish...

 Still pondering that particular transition in the novels that I have to figure out.  Hopefully I'll be making some headway on that soon, since I want to finish up these summaries.

This upcoming Spring Anime Season doesn't look all that special.  Allison & Lillia looks really interesting, as well as Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, Nijuu Mensou no Musume, Itazura no Kiss, and especially kure-nai, but that's pretty much it.  I really doubt I'll even watch much else besides Allison & Lillia, but we'll see how it goes.

We forked Ben and Jay's yard, last week.  And just earlier tonight, my older brother and sister-in-law placed hundreds of post-it notes on both Gabe's and Jeremy's trucks.  It looked awesome.  This'll show everybody at the Youth Group that our family is not meant to be messed with. :3

I read today that the Ben Stein movie is going to definitely be airing at our local theater, which is a huge plus for me, seeing as how I didn't think the subject matter would be accepted by the theater's owner (seeing as how he aired the Al Gore movie thing), but it turns out that he's just in these things for the money, and if he can make money from a movie, it doesn't really matter what the subject matter is about.  And considering this is a small town, it'd probably be more accepted than all of these big cities.  I'm predicting that there will be at least one boycott of the movie in at least one state, probably here in California in certain cities.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least, considering the terribly hypocritical patrons of this state who think they're open-minded, but are far more bigoted than the things they fight against. xD

I haven't been playing as much Brawl, lately, but that's because there's not much more for me to do on it.  We've unlocked pretty much everything we can, except for the Boss Battle challenges, which are horrendously difficult and something that I don't want to partake in.  I want to try to get into some RPGs again, like Earthbound, but I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and play it.  If nothing else, then I'm certainly going to have a giant backlog of video games that will finally be completed once I'm in college with free time on my hands.  I predict weekend marathons will be taking place with my roommates.

Speaking of roommates, I'm really hoping that I get some cool ones.  I think the current allocationg per room is about four people, so I'll have three roommates.  I want at least one of them to be a chef of some sort, so they'll constantly make food and ask me to taste-test it.  I'm also hoping that another one of them is a computer genius who can help me with tech stuff.  And I hope the last one is an artist or musician of some sort, who can draw or help me with music stuff.  It'd be awesome if that happened.

I downloaded at least two gigabytes of OCRemixes, today.  I decided that it was time I go through what that website has and just enjoy what they put out.  So far, I'm impressed by these remixers.  They really know how to take chiptunes and rework them into a completely new creation.

Six words:

Our Copy Of Brawl Is Dead.

My brother and I were messing around in the living room while getting ready to play a match, and my brother accidently knocked over the Wii, causing the laser to burn a line into the disc.  Which caused the copy to stop working properly, and now we can't play the game at all.

I called K-Mart, the place we bought it from, but the electronics worker had no clue as to when they'll be getting more copies, nor did they have a waiting list to be put on so we can be notified that they have more copies.

So we probably won't be able to play Brawl again until sometime next week.  And I'm extremely angry right now.

Phooey. ;_;

One word:

Brawl.

It's fantastic.  To the max.  I'm killin' everyone with Ness.  I've put 22 hours into the game since Sunday morning.

Too.  Much.  Fun. 

 This isn't really an update, but I'm just going to put this out there.  It's a video that showcases the vocal version of "Bein' Friends" from the Mother/Earthbound series.  It's just a nice little song, with cute lyrics and whatnot, so I thought I'd put it up as an entry. :3

Here's the lyrics:


BEIN' FRIENDS **vocals by Catherine Warwick**

When you are happy
With laughter to spare
Fun is twice as fun
With someone to share
When you are lonely
And full of despair
Things aren't half as had
When somebody cares

Maybe now you have figured it out
That's what bein' a friend is about
When you're lookin'
For someone you can rely on
Don't you ever doubt me
I'll be there someway, somehow
That's what bein' friends is about

When you are restless
And want room to breathe
I will give you all
The space that you need
And when you're ready
For my company
I will come around
Just call on me

Maybe now you have figured it out
That's what bein' a friend is about
When you're lookin'
For a shoulder you can cry on
Won't you think about me
When you're looking
For someone you can rely on
Don't you ever doubt me
I'll be there someway, somehow
That's what bein' friends is about

I'm your friend till the end
Count On me
In the sunshine and the rain
Paradise and back again
Count on me
Let me be a friend in need
Let me be a friend indeed
Count on me

And if you ask me
You know that it's true
There is not a thing
That I wouldn't do
I'd follow you
To the ends of the earth
That's how much I think
Our friendship is worth

Maybe now you have figured it out
That's what bein' a friend is about
When there's something
That you just don't understand
Won't you think about me
I'll be more than glad
To lend a helping hand
Don't you ever doubt me
I'll be there someway, somehow
That's what bein' friends is about
I'll be there someway, somehow
That's what bein' friends is about

Tell me all your secrets
I will swear to keep them
Let me know your problems
I will help you solve them
When your heart is aching
I will stop it breaking
Whet you are in danger
I'm your guardian angel
I will stand beside you
Be the one to guide you
When your dreams are crumblin'
Call me I'll come runnin'
That's what friends are all about

I forgot to mention this, but I finished up all the translated parts of Clannad that I was able to, which includes all the main routes.  It was a good game, and I hope I can continue on and start the After Story once they release a full translation patch.  It'll be fun, I'm sure.

I've actually downloaded about four visual novels that I plan to play.  The ones I snagged are Narcissu, true rememberance, planetarian, and Gadget Trial.  Out of those four, I'm most interested in planetarian and Narcissu, as the former is supposed to be a really sad story, and the latter is supposed to be some kind of story about hospital patients and what the patient's who have contracted fatal illnesses (and are without hope) have to go through.  I'm almost scared to finish these novels, since I'm not an emotional person and I'm not sure how I'll react if the ending's are shockingly sad... but I'll make sure to talk about them in the future.  planetarian keeps freezing up my computer as I make my way through the story, though, and it's driving me bonkers.

I've been listening to a lot of Earthbound music, lately.  I downloaded all the "Rock Candy" remix albums from starmen.net, and I'm now in the middle of the fourth album.  And, I gotta say, I'm really impressed by how well these Earthbound fans remix their favorite game's music.  There are some tracks that I don't particularly appreciate, but for the most part, it's pretty good stuff.  I really want to try playing that game again, though.  I have every game in the series, but Mother 1 through 3 are in Japanese, and Earthbound is on the SNES (and I can't find time to play console games right now).  I'll have to figure something out.

I seriously cannot wait until Super Smash Bros. Brawl comes out.  I know I've said it before, but I can't help myself.  This game is going to be the best thing since sliced bread, and trust me, I like sliced bread.  I've been dreaming about it, listening to the music rips from the Japanese version, planning on sleeping over at my cousin's house so that my friends and I can play it all night, figuring out how quickly we can get back from the Gamestop in the next town so I can play it as soon as possible, etc.  I can't help that I'm addicted to it... and it's not even out, yet!

I'm still in the planning stages of my novel series.  I'm not sure whether I should keep the name or not ("Law/Grace").  It's a bit of a rip-off from WOTM Radio, since that IS their catchphrase, and I wouldn't want to make it seem as if I'm plagiarizing them or that their whole organization was involved in the production of my novels or anything.  I may not understand business matters, but I can at least figure out that unintentionally associating their name with mine is not a good idea for either of us.  They don't put that forward slash in how they present the entire concept, though, so maybe I'm safe.  It's kinda like Fate/Stay Night, in a way, so maybe there won't be too much confusion.  I'll have to send them an e-mail, just to be safe.

I got my new CD in the mail today, the Dragonball one with the long title.  I'm enjoying it very much, and I am surprised it took me this long to buy it.  I guess I just didn't have a chance, before.  But it's good.  A few too many slow songs, but that's okay, they'll grow on me.  The last track is the best, though. <3

I'll post up an entry of the Kotomi route either later tonight, or sometime tomorrow (if it doesn't get lost in the shuffle).  If I tried to post it up now, I'd cry, because it was that sad, yet also very, very happy.  I love her story so much...

I need to make some new icons.  I'm not really sure what to make one of, though.  Maybe Harvest Moon?  Or perhaps one of Vegetto?  Or, maybe, a Forte related icon (considering what my journal name is...)?  I'm not sure, yet.  But I know I'm getting kind of tired of the normal ones.

I can't wait until my Brave Heart CD single gets here, but WHEN is it getting here?  I ordered it either last week or the week before, and I don't even know if they sent it out, yet.  I can't find anything in my Dad's e-mail...

I'm trying to do all this college financial aid stuff, but it's hard when my Mom can't find the time to help me.  I'm not a number person, so I can't say for sure what our income is, nor can I explain anything related to tax information.  This is getting dull.

I haven't been playing much besides Clannad, lately.  I don't know, I just can't find the time to delve into a game.  I'm going to waste all of my video game time once Smash Bros. Brawl comes out anyway, though.  That game is going to rock so hard.  I'm waiting for these people at a website to live stream it, tonight.  It's at 7:00PM, and I'm totally excited to see how the game works out.  The soundtrack is fantastic, I know that much.

It turns out that the theater here has some advanced screening privileges, seeing as how they invited their e-mail subscribers to a free advanced screening of a new movie I knew nothing about.  It's called "Inhuman", and it stars actors from 24 and Prison Break, so I'm excited to see it.  I can bring along four guests, as well, which will obviously be Steven, Ben, Jay, and probably Zach.  We get to have a Q&A session with the filmmakers after the movie, as well, and hopefully some actors will make an appearance.  I'd like to meet Tony from 24, seeing as how they cancelled the seventh season.

So, late last night, I was browsing around the MegaMan Network  website, when I noticed the posting about a rap variation of the MegaMan music from the NES games.  Obviously, this is something I jumped on as soon as possible, considering that I love the old MegaMan music, and I'm actually somewhat fond of rap music, in some respects.

Now, you see, most people don't know this about me, but I was rather heavily influenced by old rap music from the early 90s.  My oldest brother was actually the one into it more, obviously, so he would buy the CDs of artists he liked.  And from there, whenever I was in his room or he was driving me around, I would obviously hear the music.  I never cared for how loud he had it, nor did I care for the lyrics, but there was something about the beat and the rhyming that I enjoyed (which is probably why I really like 10:31 Sermon Jams and Relevant Revolution as much as I do).  So, you see, when I saw that post, I was actually intrigued.  And so I downloaded the album he had available, since the artist gave it to the website to allow them to post it (considering they had an interview with him and all).

And I couldn't be more disappointed.  It was, as I thought it might be, typical rap music.  It didn't have as much cursing as mainstream songs, but it was still there, and there were even sexual overtones to one of the songs I heard, which is really a shame, considering that he used the chiptunes from the NES games as background music.  I really wanted to overlook some of the things he said, but I can't.  I really wanted to like this, but it seems that it's not going to happen.  I'm hoping that I was just not listening correctly, but I don't know how I could mistake what they were saying, since my rap lyrics filter, while rusty, is pretty good at discerning lyrics that sound almost unintelligible.  So, that's sad to hear...

However, I also have good news concerning video game music.  It seems that some enterprising hackers were able to dump the game image of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and rip out all the music tracks in the game (which is, give or take, about 300 tracks, which is amazing!).  I torrented the file for a good bunch of hours, and while it took over a gigabyte in space, it was well worth it.  I'm enjoying the Mario music sooooo much... it takes me back to my younger days, when I would fake being sick just so I could go home and play video games on my SNES, NES, and Sega Genesis.  Not that I'm advocating doing such a thing, since I realize I was very wrong in doing so, but the nostalgia of hearing this redone music is just so nice and peaceful... even when the tracks have a heavy emphasis on the electric guitar.

And the best news is that this soundtrack will more-than-likely never be released, and since I'm going to be owning the game this March, there shouldn't be any moral, ethical, or legal issues pertaining to me downloading the soundtrack.  However, if they decide to release the soundtrack, I will buy it up for whatever price they deem worthy, even if it's over $50.  This music is just THAT good.  Don't think I'm pirating this simply so I have to get out of paying, because I would love to plop some money down at Play-Asia in order to have an official soundtrack.  It just seems that if they follow the past trends, they won't actually release a soundtrack, because as far as I know, they didn't release one for Melee, and while I believe they did release one for the original N64, it's completely unavailable and can't be found anywhere.  But if a legal alternative shows up, I'll pounce on it quicker than my little brother on a new military FPS.

And I forgot to mention this, but I ordered the Dragonball Z: Best New Remix 2006 1/2 Special CD off of eBay, the other night.  It contains redone versions of some classic Dragonball songs, like "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" and "We Gotta Power!", which is absolutely fantastic.  I'm looking forward to getting that CD and listening to it like there's no tomorrow. :3

 I can't believe I never mentioned that I got my hair cut.  I was really starting to look shaggy, so I had it cut.  It's the first haircut I've had since the end of July, actually, so it was fairly long, at least according to male standards.  I was starting to adopt the Solid Snake look. xD

It seems up-in-the-air as to whether we're going to Las Vegas, this weekend.  We were thinking of heading over there to see our little niece, but Dad has to be back by Monday in order to go to work, and going down there for only one night seems a bit wasteful.  Not to mention the fact that Las Vegas is nothing more than a teeming pit of debauchery and greed, but that's another post, altogether.

I'm really enjoying watching H20 ~Footprints in the Sand~.  I find it interesting that they used the Footprints in the Sand poem (or at least, the first part of it, without giving away the ending) at the beginning of the first episode.  I'm not too sure of all the theological implications of the poem, but it doesn't seem to be heretical, as far as I can tell.  I'm sure they will actually give the ending to the poem at the end of the final episode, where the poet states that "at the times when there is only a single set of footprints, that's when God is carrying you".  It's definitely something you don't expect to see in an anime these days, even if the anime itself has enough fanservice moments to kinda nag at me.  I'm sure it was just a stylistic choice of the makers of the original game that the anime is based on to design the scenarios and title around that poem, and I'm fairly certain there's no deeper meaning than that (but then again, I very well could be wrong).

I'm totally loving Digimon Adventure, again.  It's just such an engaging show for me, even if it is designed for children.  I just finished the first arc, surrounding around Devimon and the Black Gears, as well as Angemon's evolution.  I read that they originally planned to end the show after Angemon killed Devimon, which could've totally worked, but they kept going because the show got popular.  But they managed to make a good, interesting show out of the 51 episodes they made, so I'm happy they continued.

I think I'll wait to try and play Clannad after they release the Full Voice Version in February.  I heard that the patch is being postponed until that version comes out, and since it's nigh impossible to find the original version anywhere on the internet (to download or purchase), it's better to wait.  It'll be a good thing to have when I start college, since I won't be able to buy many games during that time (which is why Smash Bros. Brawl will be played to death).

I might be getting all of those library books I ordered, tomorrow.  I believe I ordered them last Thursday, so they have had plenty of time to get here, therefore, I conclude that they will be here tomorrow.  I'm really looking forward to waking up in the wee hours of the morning, sitting on the couch with some coffee or hot chocolate, and just reading and studying away.  I ordered big books, too.  There are a few about science, some about history, others about politics, but mostly ones about theology and apologetics.  I'm so ready to tackle those subjects, because, as Michael Ramsden alluded to from his Biblical studies, we have to be ready to give a coherent answer when asked, but the answer must be given with grace and patience.  I believe I can give answers, but I must work on the grace and patience with which I give them, since C.S. Lewis stated that apologetics are like a violent weapon in the hands of the youth (if I recall correctly; I believe the wording is different, but that's all I could remember).

I bought myself a new library card, today.  I figured that since I couldn't locate my previous card, I'll just buy a new one.  And right after I did that, I went straight to the library catalog and put twenty-five separate books on a request list, so they'll deliver each and every one of them to my local library for me to pick up.

Ain't libraries fantastic?  This will save me hundreds of dollars, and I'll only end up buying the books that I really need for my continuing research.  Yes, it will be difficult to read all of these books before I have to return them, but hey, I get a little carried away, alright?  If worse comes to worst, then I'll just renew them, no biggie.

This will really help me get into reading steadily, again.  I've kind of slacked off on reading anything serious for the last few years, so by ordering all these smart people books (ranging from politics, to science, to everything else I'm interested in learning), I'll be able to discipline my mind and stick to reading seriously.

Well, anyway, aside from the library news, it turns out that I might be able to spend the night at Ben and Jay's house, this weekend.  This all depends on what their parents say.  This is big news to me because it'll be the first time I've actually been inside their house, and actually spend the night there.  This'll be great if I can, since I can bring the Wii, or we can just watch movies, or we can play the Xbox, or something fun, I'm not sure yet.

Oh, and I'm planning on seeing Cloverfield when that comes out.  I hope Steven will be able to go, since we don't really see him, anymore...

 I bought Chrono Trigger, today.

You know, that one game for the SNES?  The one that's super-rare?  The one that's going for $60-100 online?  The one that nobody initially bought, but now everyone wants to try?

Yes, that one.  And I own it.  The original cartridge version for the Super Nintendo, itself.

My Dad and I were out of town, where he welds, when we stopped in a pawn shop.  And what game do I see sitting on the shelf, in plain view?  Why, it's obviously Chrono Trigger!  The owner tried to barter with us, but it's obvious that he had no idea what he had in his possession, so we were able to get the game for a mere FIVE DOLLARS!  That's pure insanity...

I win.

I totally love my PSP.  It's a glossy white color, and it has Darth Vader on the back.  Here's a stock picture of it, since I don't feel like getting out the camera and snapping a shot of it.

 

Fantastic. :3

I also got MegaMan: Powered Up for it.  It's such a great trip down memory lane... since it's a remake of the first MegaMan game, it holds so many memories for me.  And it's such an appropriate, clean game, it's just awesome.  It's just so hard to play the game without saving, though, since the Memory Stick my parents ordered for me didn't arrive yet in the mail. xD

I don't know what I'm going to do with Star Wars: Renegade Squadron, though... it's really not that fun, and I'm not a shooter-fan, nor am I a war game-fan.  I'm thinking about trading it in, but everybody else seems to like playing it, so I don't know what to do.

I also got a good bunch of clothes, as well.  Two coats, which are just great-looking.  The button-up shirt and it's companion T-Shirt are green, too, so that's another color I can add to my wardrobe.  And some socks, underwear, and various other T-Shirts were given to me, in addition to some audio books from my Grandma.  She's also buying me another actual book, or so my Mom tells me.  Hopefully it's the Randy Alcorn book ("Heaven"), because I was seriously wanting that book above all the other books.

And my brother received an Xbox 360.  Which rocks.  And he has a bunch of free trial games from yesteryear, like Pac-Man, Galaga, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Street Fighter: Hyper Fighting, and various others.  This is going to be a fantastic video game system.

Harvest Moon DS... looks to be the stupidest Harvest Moon game available.  I mean, the visuals are so kid-oriented, it's embarrassing.  I definitely prefer Harvest Moon 64's visuals, which, while still looking kiddy, actually had some redeeming value to them, while the visuals for the DS game look like super-chibified versions of the characters, with ugly looking faces and huge chins.  Like the 2002 version of Kanon.  Ugh.  I'm not putting any time in THAT game.

The wait for Rune Factory 2 is going to be a long wait, indeed... x_x

It seems like many of the Fall anime shows I'm watching are coming to an end, soon.  Goshushou-sama Ninomiya-kun ends in one episode (giving it twelve episodes), Kodomo no Jikan does as well, ef -a tale of memories- also follows suit, and I believe Myself; Yourself ends in two episodes, bucking that trend (giving it thirteen episodes).  I think I'm correct in the numberings, but I'm not entirely sure.  It seems that, out of all the series I'm watching right now, only Clannad will keep going, since it will go to twenty-four or so episodes.  I'm wondering as to whether I should watch Minami-ke as well, but I'm currently undecided.

...this leads me to a question: when is the second season of Haruhi Suzumiya going to air?  It feels like I've been waiting forever...

I had no idea that this Resident Evil movie existed, but it looks fantastic.  Kinda like Advent Children, but better.  Yay for Leon and Claire! :D

Oh yeah, I'm no longer at "The Farm".  I'm now... uh... on the Thousand Sunny.

Yeah.

Now that the previous answer thing is submitted...

I finally completed Rune Factory, tonight!  Well, at least, according to what I'd consider it "finished".  I consider it finished when I defeat the final boss and get married to one of the village girls, and considering the fact that since there are no more story events after you get married, short of the five minute sequence where you have the baby, there's no reason to continue playing.  I already accumulated over 500,000 gold, there's no reason to upgrade the weapons besides bragging rights, and there's nothing else to work for.  I can finally say that I'm done and finished with this latest iteration of Harvest Moon.

I would definitely recommend this game to anybody with a Nintendo DS.  If you like Harvest Moon, but don't mind a little deviation from the tried-and-true series' formula, then you will enjoy it.  If you even like playing RPGs, you'll enjoy this game.  Just be prepared to spend several hours just sitting there, fighting monsters, growing crops, wooing girls, all the normal stuff you do in these games.

I am now anxiously awaiting the sequel, which comes out in Japan in February.  Since it comes out then in that country, I would assume that it would be a late spring or early summer release here, in the States.  Then again, since summer usually brings a gaming drought, they might wait until early Fall to actually release it here with all the localizations, including English VA's and the like.  Hopefully there will be better translations and a larger role for the VA's, since I really like hearing voice acting in my games.  Make it happen, Natsume!

And now, I think I'll move on to my sub-par translation of Dragon Quest IV... or maybe Luminous Arc, I haven't quite decided, yet.  Awww man, and I still need to finish ASH... x_x

...I'm reading this entire entry completely differently in my head.  Since I spent the better part of the day listening to Ravi Zacharias, in my mind I'm hearing everything I read in an East Indian accent... xD