Random Code

I finished playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village look for my review over at Gamestooge soon. I enjoyed the game but you won’t find it sneaking onto my top 10 DS games. I’ve picked up Etrian Odyssey mostly on the recommendation of everyone at Toastyfrog. I haven’t gotten into it yet so I can’t tell you my thoughts on it, I know that when it came out there was no fanfare and that it still sold out of its initial run and can only be found at a high price on the second hand market, apparently its a sleeper hit.

Finished my two applications for the government fellowships and mailed them out just in the knick of time. I’m not getting my hopes up, if I get it fantastic if not I’ll live. I have heard back from the graduate programs I applied to sadly I did not get into any graduate school. I have my internship which starts in March it goes until August, what happens after that? I couldn’t tell you. I’m living for today, or for the next few months.

EDIT: The review is up now! Follow th HTML! Link

Finding Groove

What do I mean when I say that? I’m talking about getting into whatever it is you get into you. Groove is that weird place where things happen on almost a subconscious level, you’re in charge but everything is nearly automatic and without perturbing yourself. You can find groove in sports, writing, working, exercise, meditating, anything. So how do you find it, that’s the 1000 dollar question. Is it something you slip into naturally or do you have to work at it? Does it take repetition? For myself the only times I’ve been able to slip into groove is in water polo and swimming, during competitions or games, there were times where you’re body automates itself and you just knew where to go, what to do and when to do so. I imagine that this happened only because for 4 years of my life I did nothing but live, eat and sleep water polo.

When it comes to writing and finding groove it is much more difficult for me, I find that I have to spend anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours writing “junk” before I hit my groove, and then once I do I slip into the groove and writing comes much more easily. I sometimes suspect that if I spent as much time writing as I did practicing and playing water polo I’d find myself grooving much more easily…

So let me know, how do you find groove? What helps you slip into it and how do you sustain it?

Reading terrible books…

The Secret History of the World is a terrible book. A terrible 512 page book. I knew it was terrible by page 5, I continued to read it until I was 30 pages from the end. I really wanted to finish the book, despite how bad it was, when I pick up a book I intend to finish it. But I can only take so much, the mind can only handle so much garbage before it revolts and vomits into your brain pan…

So why would I pick up such a terrible book? Well, because the people who work at Borders don’t actually read the books they classify, yup they have no idea what the books are about when they decide what section of the store it belongs in. I imagine that  the people in charge of this just read over the promotional material and then make their best guess as to where it goes. I found it in the World History section, and if you just look at the cover that makes some sense, the words “world” and “history” are in the title of the book. But you just have to read the dust jacket and the 2 odd page introduction to know that this is not a book about the actual history of the world. No, no this book is about the author’s delusions… which means that the book belonged in General Metaphysics or Speculation, next to such gems as Zecharia Sitchin, Sylvia Browne, and J. Douglas Kenyon.

I thought the book was going to be about the history of various real secret societies and the mythologies of those socities and how it related to their contemporary environment.  But nope, that isn’t what you get instead Mr. Booth’s book just rambles on about things he doesn’t seem to know much about, pushing and cramming and jamming all sorts of mythologies and history together to make it fit his agenda. All using an obscure lingo and vocabulary that doesn’t make much sense. Oh, and he gets all sorts of history wrong… *sigh* He doesn’t seem to understand literature or art, but that doesn’t stop him from making things up to fit into any piece of art… *sigh*

I don’t even like talking about how bad this book is, so this is the end of the post.

P.S. Don’t read this book!

Thoughts on Atheism and being Alone.

I’m an Atheist and so I believe that the universe and this planet were not created especially for us humans, and that it moves on unaware of us and uncaring. Indeed it can’t do either as it isn’t a person and doesn’t have any intelligence. I was raised a Christian and I sometimes miss the wonderment and mystery that theology brought me, feelings I believe every faith brings to its followers. Let me explain:

I’m going to talk about Christianity first as it is the most popular religion in the USA, the modern Church doesn’t talk about it much, they like to play down the supernatural parts of their religion, for some reason they’re still trying to compete with Science which is a game you can’t win, but anyhow. There is all sorts of magic and mystery to the Christian faith. All types of angels, legions of demons, lesser gods, demi-gods, earth spirits, witches, the mystery of blood sacrifice, the mystery of communion, saints… On and on. A Christian world is one full of invisible and powerful forces working for and against you, forces that can be controlled or turned to your will! That’s pretty amazing! The same goes for the worlds that Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and every other theistic or supernatural inclined person lives in. The world I live in is empty, vast and completely indifferent to my struggles, furthermore it is indifferent to the struggles of everyone and everything. Humanity is alone in it. If we are not alone we are separated from anything else by such vast lengths that we will never know them and they will never hear from us. So yeah, a materialistic view of the universe can be full of wonder and mystery but it is a distant, uncaring one.

As a human I instinctively want the world and the universe to care about me. Narcissistic? Yeah, but that’s Humans for you. Religion answers that need, it makes you feel safe and cared for… I miss that sometimes…

Random Code – Previous Post

So the previous post, the piece of poetry… It looks better over at my DeviantArt account. They let you use text formating over there that WordPress seems to be ignoring. If you want to see how the poem is suppose to look please follow the link below. If you want to hear how it sounds, you’ll have to wait for me to do a reading, or read it out loud to yourself and those three lines after “three” pause, breath out and sigh. Then return to the litany of the poem.

So why write a poem about OCD? Well, you write what you know Seriously though, it seems funny and cliche that someone would sit in front of a door turning their key in the lock over and over, and of course it is funny, it is ridiculous actually. Makes for great comedy on the television, except for the person stuck there doing it. They’re stuck in a loop, if you know something about code you can say their stuck in a bug, a bad “if…then” statement. But for some reason they’re brain much like a computer can’t break the loop. Not without a lot of anguish on their part. If you know someone with OCD or suffer from it yourself please look into it, there are a lot of ways to deal without. Many don’t require any drugs at all. Oh, and give that person a hug and let them know you’re there for them.

DeviantArt Link 

Inside, I’m Screaming

turn the key

back

and again

pull it out

breath

walk away

one step

two step…

three.

put the key in

turn the key

back

and again

pull it out

breath

walk away

one step

two step…

three.

put the key in

turn the key

back

and… wipe the

tears out of

my eyes…

again

pull it out

breath

walk away

one step

two step…

three.

put the key in…

An Artist’s Pen

I lost my pen,

Maybe it doesn’t

matter

but it was mine!

and I need it

what is this?

A BIC!?

What the Fuck!

I’m a fucking artist

I need my fucking

fountain pen

this ink

does not inspire

the feel of this

pen is wrong

I’m sure

I’ll have a blister

after writing

this…

I’ve been patient

so I’ll say it one

more time nicely

where is my god-damn

Christ loving pen,

you bourgeoisie pieces

of shit!?

Gameboy Advance games you should have and might be able to find, too!

The Gameboy Advance is a dead console at this point and Nintendo has moved on to greener pastures (The DS). There are doubts we’ll ever see another iteration of the first handheld console… But, you can still play the games from the last version of it on your new DS.

I don’t know if this is going to be a ten list or not, I don’t have very many GBA games as my taste tend to cut out a lot… Anyway here are my recommendations for GBA games.

In no particular order (I really mean this!):

10. Final Fantasy – It seems you can get this game for just about any system, just about anywhere… It might just be the most ported game of all time. Why should you get this one? Simple, you can take it with you. Play a little, grind a little, and shut the lid and continue later when you have a few more minutes. If you don’t like JRPGs and if you can’t handle old-school gameplay (trans. grinding and lots of it) don’t bother instead pick up this next one…

9. Final Fantasy 6 – The last FF made on the SNES, many consider it the pinnacle of the series. The original cart can cost you a bundle on Ebay or Amazon, thankfully you can get it for the GBA at a decent price (P.S. I didn’t check this before I posted so it might have changed).

8. Metroid: Zero Mission – A re-make of the 8-bit original, Metroid is the definitive exploration action adventure game on consoles. This re-imagining of the Metroid storyline adds more weapons, new areas, new story and most thankfully a map function, which was always my biggest problem with the NES original which required you to use lots of graph paper or memorize the map.

7. Gunstar Super Heroes – You think Shootem ups would be a no brainer for a portable system, but the GBA was missing good ones, You can find MegaMan games on the system but at this point the folks at Capcom are mailing it in.

6. Yoshi Island: Super Mario Advance 3 – You’ve played as Mario dozens of times before… It gets boring, right? I love the Nintendo’s Italian plumber as much as the next person, but you know it’s nice to see the story from a different point of view. Yoshi’s Island does just that. You play as Yoshi the lovable green dinosaur who made his debut in Super Mario World, who has to protect baby Mario on a journey to retrieve Luigi who has been kidnapped. Not that the back-story matters much, this is a Mario game and what counts is the gameplay. I’m happy to say that Yoshi’s Island has it in spades! eat baddies, turn them into eggs, and throw said eggs at more baddies. All while not getting hit, if you do Mario flies off your back and starts floating around you have a limited amount of time to catch him before he is kidnapped as well. Lot’s of fun here one of the best games on the SNES and definitely one of the best on the GBA

5. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow – If you’ve been reading here for any length of time you know I’m a fan of this series. So, you had to know something was going to show up here. The first two GBA castlevania games leave a little to be desired, it seems they were still trying to figure the system out. Aria of Sorrow is probably the best game in the series since the iconic Symphony of the Night, so pick it up and introduce yourself to Soma, who is apparently the future of the series (I’m going to miss the Belmonts).

4. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance – This game is a controversial choice but It’s the best turn based strategy I’ve played on the GBA, it’s a little more customizable and fun than Advance Wars and I’ve never been able to get my hands on Fire Emblem or Ogre Tactics (or is it Tactics Ogre?). This game has nothing to do with the original Final Fantasy Tactics though it somehow relates to the world of Ivalice… Nerds can argue over it. What is important for you to know is that you get to make a party and customize and train it as you see fit as you explore the existential predicament of the protagonist, for a taste of it check this out.

3. Pokemon: Leaf Green/Fire Red – a re-release and graphical update of the original Pokemon Red/Blue cartridges for the Gameboy. See where the madness started, sadly you’ll never be able to collect them all, it’s impossible to get your hands on Mew, I believe. Also new is a help feature and the wireless combat capabilities… I don’t know if these will work on your DS? Also after you beat the game you can visit new areas with pokemon from later games like sapphire and ruby. If you don’t know what Pokemon is all about this is the place to start.

2. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap – Play as Link again on another quest to rescue the princess, this story never changes but the world does. This time Link was be shrunk down to mini size and tromp through dungeons inside everyday objects, the size puzzle are clever and fun and you’ll find classic Zelda gameplay here. Nintendo is very much a fan of “If it isn’t broken don’t fix it”.

1. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga -Remember Super Mario RPG for the SNES? Probably not, because not very man people played it. Anyway this is another adventure/RPG in that same vein. The story takes place in a neighboring Beanbean kingdom where an evil witch has stolen the voice of Princess Peach while posing as ambassadors visiting the Mushroom Kingdom. So Mario and Luigi are off to save her voice. While the game has traditional RPG elements the battles have a heavy emphasis on participation, as pushing buttons at key times can decrease the damage you take and increase the damage you deal. Also different is how puzzles are solved as they’ll often require you to split two brothers up in order to turn switches, open gates, etc, etc. This puzzle solving element is the real joy of the game which is a fun light hearted RPG that doesn’t bog down in grinding… Give it a try if you like it there is a sequel for it on that DS you recently bought

Finished Advance Wars:Days of Ruin!

Read my review of it here at Gamestooge.com, so go there and read it then come back here….

Back? good here are some final comments on the game. If you have a DS and you read my last post on it, replace Advance Wars: Dual Strike with Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. I need more people to play against on-line now! This is what makes Days of Ruin so great. The computer is only a challenge when the odds are stacked against you, in a fair fight the AI tactics are only so-so. But against real people, you never know what you’re going to get. Also the storylinne brings up all sorts of situations that make you sit back and ponder the roll of all sorts of things in a society falling apart. Anyway. You read the review, now go pick up the game!

Habit Update and Random Code

So, here we are in the middle of February and my meditation habit forming goal lies in tatters around me. I’ve done it a grand total of 5 times since Jan. 20th which isn’t a stellar performance, and definitely not enough to form an actual habit. So where do I go from here? The important thing is not to get disappointed and give up. Self Improvement is a good thing and we all should be working on ourselves… If religion has given us anything good, it is the desire to better ourselves and those around us. Back on topic! What do I do now then? I’m not giving up on the Zen meditation, I’m going to continue trying to do it in the morning, but I’m thinking it will go on the back burner while I finish some other important things, and work on easier habits to form…

So what does that mean for you my beloved readers? it means expect more writing here, or less. One of the habits up on the block is writing daily. This can take the form of blog posts, creative writing, or professional writing. Another is waking up at the same time everyday. I’m thinking 8:30 AM or 9:00 AM. But that might need to be earlier I also need to do a test run on taking the train to Sacramento and how I’m going to do this commute for the next several months.

The writing goal is going to be at the top of the list, as I have 3 projects that have to get done before the 27th of this month, 1 that needs to be done before the 15th and several that have been sitting around for far too long. So those are a priority.

In other news, I’m done filling out all the paperwork for my internship, which makes it very real, I’m sure I’ll be getting anxious soon enough. I’ll share it all with you.