It's the last day of the month when I regularly take stock of my achievements, accomplishments, and--no, not really. It's a day like any other, well, that's not true either. It's a Thursday, and I generally dislike Thursdays because these are the days I go running. Anticipation is always much worse than the actual event, because every time I finish my run, I feel pretty damn good--invincible even. The only time I feel like this is when I'm trying to sleep. It's like all my inhibitions break down and the only thing left is wild ambition. Maybe I should start running all over the place or sleep everywhere to maintain this endorphin drip.
Perhaps it's because the only thing I can do in these situations is think. Anything to keep the mind off the body. When my brain wanders, strange things begin to happen. That conscious barrier that prevents us from acting because of embarrassment or any other illusive social obstacle, evaporates from the sheer heat of my intense thought. On the way home, I called out to a stranger below me when I was crossing a bridge. "Hey!" And I waved. He waved back. I don't do random stuff like that, but because I was high on the moment, I went ahead and did it. I skipped past the hesitation and Nike'd it--just do it, baby.
When you think about it--what is there to lose? What is the price of embarrassment? Nothing. Maybe it's a bad memory, but it'll fade, because nobody will remember it, and even if they do, you'll just be a fragment in someone's else's imagination. With the world laid bare under my post-run euphoria, all the things we get hung up on become ridiculous and trivial. If I could capture that feeling for all the moments that mattered, I'll be a beast of outlandish proportions. There's no limit to what I can achieve.
Maybe that's why when I got home, I cranked up my production. I shot off a few job applications and finally finished my post about my time at ImagingBiz on my professional website. Then I uploaded a bunch of old work, including all my stories from college. I have to be proud of them. I have to be willing to show it off because it's evidence of my skill. There's still more I have to do, but I know I can do it. That's the kind of guy I am. Slowly but surely, I'm getting to where I want to be.
Once I let go of the idea that everything I do has to be meaningful or successful, I was liberated from my own expectations. I do what I do because I want to and because I have to, not because I'm forced to. There's a distinction there, an important one.
As to the actual activities of my day, I continued watching A-Channel. I started it last night on my phone. It's a breezy little anime that follows in the vein of Yuri Yuri. Just a slice of life for a bunch of schoolgirls. It's a perfected formula at this point. There's always a dark-haired, sensible, and easily embarrassed girl in these shows/manga. I'd say more but I'd be exposing myself to scrutiny I'd rather avoid. It's not like I have a whole collection of figurines in my closet or anything, I swear!
I'm in a lull right now. I'm not in any particular cycle. Usually, I'm either:
1. In a manga kick
2. An anime addiction
3. A TV show marathon
4. A movie run
5. Deep in gaming
I think I just started a new cycle:
6. Oozing productivity
Benchmark Alert: This is my 400th post! Go me.
/eventlog
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Event Log: 7/30/14 - Boot Scan
Every once in a while, it's a good idea to run a boot scan on your system. You never know when something nasty is hiding in your system folders. The reason I initiated one was because my browser was hijacked by those sites that refuse to let you escape with an endless loop of prompt windows that pop up again and again. Whoever created this technology deserves to be punched in the face repeatedly. This kind of cyber terrorism is truly heinous in my mind. I can't think of anything more sinister, aside from those viruses that hold your harddrive ransom for bitcoins. That stuff is next level villainy, I swear.
With my laptop out of commission, I was forced to improvise. I started up Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse on PS3. I beat the tutorial mission and discovered that I didn't have the unlock key. So I downloaded it and was forced to replay the tutorial mission again. What a hassle. I don't know if it's the heat, but Telltale games do not agree with me. Maybe I've been playing too much Destiny where the only thing I had to think about was how to shoot things in the face. Knowing I have another four chapters like this waiting doesn't make things any easier. I tried my best to advance but ended up hitting a wall. I saved and turned it off.
Luckily, my boot scan completed and I could use the computer again. I decided to watch this anime called Kasimasi - Girl Meets Girl, about a guy who turns into a girl. An alien ship accidentally barrels into him and they reconstruct his body with one slight side effect--the sex change. Even though it sounds like a hilarious shounen set up, it's actually a fairly dramatic and serious shoujo ai. At this point, I'm just watching it because I already started it, not because it's incredibly compelling or anything like that. My completionist streak takes me to a lot of places I wish I hadn't looked at.
In the evening, I went to Hometown Buffet with family and relatives. Buffets are definitely not my thing. My current diet is based on frequent meals but smaller portions. It's like feeding a small furnace. You can't put a whole lot in at once, but I burn hot and fast. In a buffet though? We'll have what's called a "logjam." Your standard America-sized portion in any restaurant far exceeds my capacity. That's why when I go out, I rarely clean up my plate. I think I'll exclusively order appetizers from now on. Those actually fill me up.
I enjoyed my food. It's not stellar, but I'm no foodie. My palate isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate fine cuisine. I've been to several expensive restaurants before, and all I can say is that I'd rather have eaten something cheap and filling instead. I know what I like, but what I like sometimes ain't worth the cost of admission.
Tabletop conversation mostly revolved around washing cars since my two brothers got new cars of their own. It's kind of annoying since I don't care about my car's appearance. Yeah, I'm one of those guys. There's actually a lot I don't care about that I probably should start caring about, like my wardrobe. I think I've got my priorities straight. I shouldn't really care about it since I can't afford to. I should be trying to, you know, get a job first.
/eventlog
With my laptop out of commission, I was forced to improvise. I started up Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse on PS3. I beat the tutorial mission and discovered that I didn't have the unlock key. So I downloaded it and was forced to replay the tutorial mission again. What a hassle. I don't know if it's the heat, but Telltale games do not agree with me. Maybe I've been playing too much Destiny where the only thing I had to think about was how to shoot things in the face. Knowing I have another four chapters like this waiting doesn't make things any easier. I tried my best to advance but ended up hitting a wall. I saved and turned it off.
Luckily, my boot scan completed and I could use the computer again. I decided to watch this anime called Kasimasi - Girl Meets Girl, about a guy who turns into a girl. An alien ship accidentally barrels into him and they reconstruct his body with one slight side effect--the sex change. Even though it sounds like a hilarious shounen set up, it's actually a fairly dramatic and serious shoujo ai. At this point, I'm just watching it because I already started it, not because it's incredibly compelling or anything like that. My completionist streak takes me to a lot of places I wish I hadn't looked at.
In the evening, I went to Hometown Buffet with family and relatives. Buffets are definitely not my thing. My current diet is based on frequent meals but smaller portions. It's like feeding a small furnace. You can't put a whole lot in at once, but I burn hot and fast. In a buffet though? We'll have what's called a "logjam." Your standard America-sized portion in any restaurant far exceeds my capacity. That's why when I go out, I rarely clean up my plate. I think I'll exclusively order appetizers from now on. Those actually fill me up.
I enjoyed my food. It's not stellar, but I'm no foodie. My palate isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate fine cuisine. I've been to several expensive restaurants before, and all I can say is that I'd rather have eaten something cheap and filling instead. I know what I like, but what I like sometimes ain't worth the cost of admission.
Tabletop conversation mostly revolved around washing cars since my two brothers got new cars of their own. It's kind of annoying since I don't care about my car's appearance. Yeah, I'm one of those guys. There's actually a lot I don't care about that I probably should start caring about, like my wardrobe. I think I've got my priorities straight. I shouldn't really care about it since I can't afford to. I should be trying to, you know, get a job first.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/29/14 - Fudged
I woke up a lot earlier than usual to help my dad out with a delivery. I was supposed to drive in my own car, but my brothers were blocking the driveway. I hitched a ride with my oldest brother who regularly helps out at the shop. Considering I've been going to bed at around 4 these nights, I wasn't in the best of condition. We were delivering a table top and metal base to San Clemente. Riding in the back of a pickup, tired and hungry, with bad seating was a killer combination. The nausea gained on me quickly. When we arrived at the house, it was pretty spectacular. Just see for yourself.
The view behind the house was even better. It was a balcony that overlooked a deep valley. There were a line of homes on the other side. It was a gorgeous, luscious, green ravine. Damn rich people. The customer works in Hollywood. Guess that explains it.
 |
| That's the ocean in the horizon. |
It was a simple task. Carry the stuff in. The only difficult part was the weight, but with three people, we were able to handle it. The job was finished in less than twenty minutes.
I got home in time to catch an email from a prospective employer. He wanted a phone interview at 3. I tried to cram in as much knowledge as I could, but when the time came, I knew I wasn't prepared. I wish I could take back that interview. Phones are just not my thing. I need a stage to show off my best. It's hard to get a read when I all have is a disembodied voice.
If I'm lucky, I secured an additional interview for next week, but after that dreadful performance, I'm not so sure. I've already thought up a storm of things I can literally bring to the table, but I need to know whether or not I should work on something to show off. If I get a polite rejection letter, then that's that. No effort wasted. But if I get another chance, then I'm gonna have to work overtime. Let's see how things will turn out. I'm not going to put all my eggs in one basket. That's just irresponsible.
I went out to run because there was hazy cloud cover. It was still hot as hell outside, but it could've been a lot worse. I might as well take advantage of it. I was a little out of sync. Near the end of my walk, I really had to hold it in. I made it eventually.
I tried to lull myself to sleep via a stream of The Last of Us Remastered on Grounded difficulty, the hardest mode in the game. I really wanted to get it but I'm waiting on a good deal. I've already played it on PS3, so I can afford to be patient. I just want to maximize my Target Gift card.
/eventlog
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Event Log: 7/28/14 - SHAREfactory
I would normally write off today as a loss since I didn't do anything conducive to getting a job, but I can't say I wasn't productive. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I powered up my PS4 and checked out SHAREfactory for the first time. Behold, the results of my work:
And there's more where that came from. I went through my archive from NBA2K and made videos of that too. I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the tools. It's a surprisingly robust editor with intuitive controls. I thought it would suck using the PS4 controller to edit, trim, and operate other functions, but it works well.
I watched my work over a dozen times already. I haven't edited videos in a long time, so I haven't felt this satisfaction in a while. Videos are the content of choice of these days. People make a living off of Youtube. For a writer like me, I feel outclassed. This experience reaffirms to me the importance of quality from the source. Despite all the fancy transitions and effects SHAREfactory offers, the most compelling part of the package is the video content itself.
I take pride in my work because it offers a little bit of everything. You got infantry action, grenades, vehicles, shotguns, killing sprees, and great snipes. The first kill you see in the video is actually my first kill ever in BF4. Can't think of a better way to kick off my reign of terror. Everything is cleanly edited, seamless, and it goes well with the music. This is my style. Too often, amateur auteurs get caught up in filters and useless effects. I always keep it simple. It's the best way to do things.
I also wrote a lot of stuff for Tumblr. It's been a famine of Likes lately, so I wanted to increase my content production. I don't know how long I can keep it up, but as long as I get an interesting idea, I'll post it.
/eventlog
And there's more where that came from. I went through my archive from NBA2K and made videos of that too. I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the tools. It's a surprisingly robust editor with intuitive controls. I thought it would suck using the PS4 controller to edit, trim, and operate other functions, but it works well.
I watched my work over a dozen times already. I haven't edited videos in a long time, so I haven't felt this satisfaction in a while. Videos are the content of choice of these days. People make a living off of Youtube. For a writer like me, I feel outclassed. This experience reaffirms to me the importance of quality from the source. Despite all the fancy transitions and effects SHAREfactory offers, the most compelling part of the package is the video content itself.
I take pride in my work because it offers a little bit of everything. You got infantry action, grenades, vehicles, shotguns, killing sprees, and great snipes. The first kill you see in the video is actually my first kill ever in BF4. Can't think of a better way to kick off my reign of terror. Everything is cleanly edited, seamless, and it goes well with the music. This is my style. Too often, amateur auteurs get caught up in filters and useless effects. I always keep it simple. It's the best way to do things.
I also wrote a lot of stuff for Tumblr. It's been a famine of Likes lately, so I wanted to increase my content production. I don't know how long I can keep it up, but as long as I get an interesting idea, I'll post it.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/27/14 - Au Revoir
All good things must come to an end. The Destiny beta is officially over. I put in about 46 hours. For something I downloaded for free, that's some quality playtime. It's a foregone conclusion that I'm buying the full release. I haven't bought anything from Activision in years, but I'm gonna have to shell out for Destiny. The game is just that good. Not only that, but I'm gonna spring for the Digital Guardian Edition, which costs almost $100. I paid a bit more for BF4 and Premium and I almost got 200 hours out of it, so I'm not worried about the dollar to hour ratio. If I get a job in time, it's all moot anyways.
Fortunately, I was able to squeeze in some last minute gameplay before the servers went kaput. I was in the middle of a three-kill streak. Not a bad way to go, especially after shotgunning someone in the face. Good times. I almost burned myself out on the beta, so this break is definitely welcomed. Hopefully, I'll be able to cross out a few games in my backlog before September 9th.
With Destiny out of the picture, I hit up my friend for some Dragon's Teeth gnashing action. It was weird. Aside from the first game, we won everything. All the matches were really close though. I would call them uncomfortable wins. I mean, yeah, we got the "W," but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. They weren't satisfying. I was more stressed than anything. I was also playing out of character, trying to do things I normally wouldn't like sniping or using the shotgun. Sometimes, you gotta fall back on old reliable. I did criminally average. By the end, I unlocked the bulldog assault rifle that I keep getting killed by. Not today, but soon enough, I'll be able to see what this bad boy is capable of.
I watched a past broadcast of Ninja's stream to wean myself off. There are still traces of Destiny flowing through my veins. Gotta get purged.
/eventlog
Fortunately, I was able to squeeze in some last minute gameplay before the servers went kaput. I was in the middle of a three-kill streak. Not a bad way to go, especially after shotgunning someone in the face. Good times. I almost burned myself out on the beta, so this break is definitely welcomed. Hopefully, I'll be able to cross out a few games in my backlog before September 9th.
With Destiny out of the picture, I hit up my friend for some Dragon's Teeth gnashing action. It was weird. Aside from the first game, we won everything. All the matches were really close though. I would call them uncomfortable wins. I mean, yeah, we got the "W," but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. They weren't satisfying. I was more stressed than anything. I was also playing out of character, trying to do things I normally wouldn't like sniping or using the shotgun. Sometimes, you gotta fall back on old reliable. I did criminally average. By the end, I unlocked the bulldog assault rifle that I keep getting killed by. Not today, but soon enough, I'll be able to see what this bad boy is capable of.
I watched a past broadcast of Ninja's stream to wean myself off. There are still traces of Destiny flowing through my veins. Gotta get purged.
/eventlog
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Event Log: 7/26/14 - It's All Connected
It has come to my attention that my Event Logs may be reaching more people than I anticipated. I mean, sure, Blogger has tools that tell me how many views each post has, but I've always attributed those numbers to crawlers. I'm just occupying my own little pocket in this vast online universe. I don't know how to feel about that.
One of the reasons I have no problems spelling out the little details of my insignificant life is because I know that nobody's paying attention. If that's the case, you're probably wondering why I don't keep this private. That's because I'd like to leave something for someone to discover off the beaten path, and let me tell you, you'd have to stray pretty damn far to find me.
Unfortunately, it's all connected. That's the thing about using Google; it shoves all of its services down your throat. All my accounts are linked together. I throw a pebble in the pond and it'll make some tree five miles away fall down because of that butterfly effect. Imagine my surprise when my friend, having gotten his new phone and now fully invested in the Android ecosystem, has full access to my Event Logs because of that Google+ connection.
On to my actual day, I can't really say much. There was a special event in the Destiny Beta. A story mission on the moon was opened up for our pleasure. Logging in during this time period also rewarded me with a special emblem for use in the full retail version. I don't put too much stock in these trinkets. I'll probably replace it with something cooler in the real game anyways. I spent some time exploring the moon map after beating the mission a couple times. I didn't want to dig too deep. Gotta save some of it for the real thing.
Then I watched Ninja's stream of Destiny to pass the time until my friends and I could go hit some pizza place in Fullerton. They sure took their sweet time. I almost fell asleep waiting for them. So we went out and ate the pizza. Thing cost me twenty bucks. It was good, but I think I'd rather KBBQ that twenty bucks instead. I made an impromptu decision to get ramen for my birthday. I've been looking up this Shinsengumi place and I like what I see. Anyone who's ever seen Rurouni Kenshin knows who the Shinsengumi are.
Slay. All. Evil.
Afterwards, we went to a friend's place and drank and then watched YouTube videos on the horrible interface that is the Xbox One. It was slightly more fun than it actually sounds. Then again, anything's more fun when you're drunk. I tried my best to convince my friends to throw caution into the wind and dive into the definitive Vegas trip that we're all holding our breaths for. Don't think about it too much, man. Just do it.
When I got home, I played a couple matches in Destiny. My winning percentage wasn't that bad, considering I was playing with randoms. You lose some, you win some, but in all cases, I carried my team. It's frustrating when you're the best one. Like I said earlier, my comfortable spot is in second place, because it means that there's someone much better than me, and since I carry most times, me plus one other professional might be enough to ensure victory.
The Destiny Beta will be ending soon. When it does, it'll finally be time to get back into business. I'm gonna go crazy next week. No time for dawdling. I'm pulling out all the stops. The world best prepare itself, because I'm not gonna back down.
/eventlog
One of the reasons I have no problems spelling out the little details of my insignificant life is because I know that nobody's paying attention. If that's the case, you're probably wondering why I don't keep this private. That's because I'd like to leave something for someone to discover off the beaten path, and let me tell you, you'd have to stray pretty damn far to find me.
Unfortunately, it's all connected. That's the thing about using Google; it shoves all of its services down your throat. All my accounts are linked together. I throw a pebble in the pond and it'll make some tree five miles away fall down because of that butterfly effect. Imagine my surprise when my friend, having gotten his new phone and now fully invested in the Android ecosystem, has full access to my Event Logs because of that Google+ connection.
On to my actual day, I can't really say much. There was a special event in the Destiny Beta. A story mission on the moon was opened up for our pleasure. Logging in during this time period also rewarded me with a special emblem for use in the full retail version. I don't put too much stock in these trinkets. I'll probably replace it with something cooler in the real game anyways. I spent some time exploring the moon map after beating the mission a couple times. I didn't want to dig too deep. Gotta save some of it for the real thing.
Then I watched Ninja's stream of Destiny to pass the time until my friends and I could go hit some pizza place in Fullerton. They sure took their sweet time. I almost fell asleep waiting for them. So we went out and ate the pizza. Thing cost me twenty bucks. It was good, but I think I'd rather KBBQ that twenty bucks instead. I made an impromptu decision to get ramen for my birthday. I've been looking up this Shinsengumi place and I like what I see. Anyone who's ever seen Rurouni Kenshin knows who the Shinsengumi are.
Slay. All. Evil.
Afterwards, we went to a friend's place and drank and then watched YouTube videos on the horrible interface that is the Xbox One. It was slightly more fun than it actually sounds. Then again, anything's more fun when you're drunk. I tried my best to convince my friends to throw caution into the wind and dive into the definitive Vegas trip that we're all holding our breaths for. Don't think about it too much, man. Just do it.
When I got home, I played a couple matches in Destiny. My winning percentage wasn't that bad, considering I was playing with randoms. You lose some, you win some, but in all cases, I carried my team. It's frustrating when you're the best one. Like I said earlier, my comfortable spot is in second place, because it means that there's someone much better than me, and since I carry most times, me plus one other professional might be enough to ensure victory.
The Destiny Beta will be ending soon. When it does, it'll finally be time to get back into business. I'm gonna go crazy next week. No time for dawdling. I'm pulling out all the stops. The world best prepare itself, because I'm not gonna back down.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/25/14 - The Deadliest Zones
The Dead Zone marathon.
I damn near completed the entire second season today. It takes a lot to disrupt my activity cycles. For a moment there, I thought I was gonna dive back into my manga kick, but no. The Dead Zone won out above all. I like the show, but it's probably because I like the premise more than the actual content.
You know when you watch something and the idea is amazing but the execution is just a few steps shy of greatness? It's like The Walking Dead. The raw material is there, but rarely does everything come together the way you want it to. Even if it falls short of true greatness, it's still a worthy watch. It's just too bad the series ended on an inconclusive note. I hate ate cliffhanger series finales. I suppose I'll just use the movie as a substitute ending. That was where things were trending anyways.
I have, if nothing else, a grand imagination. So even if things are left unresolved, my mind will take care of the rest.
/eventlog
I damn near completed the entire second season today. It takes a lot to disrupt my activity cycles. For a moment there, I thought I was gonna dive back into my manga kick, but no. The Dead Zone won out above all. I like the show, but it's probably because I like the premise more than the actual content.
You know when you watch something and the idea is amazing but the execution is just a few steps shy of greatness? It's like The Walking Dead. The raw material is there, but rarely does everything come together the way you want it to. Even if it falls short of true greatness, it's still a worthy watch. It's just too bad the series ended on an inconclusive note. I hate ate cliffhanger series finales. I suppose I'll just use the movie as a substitute ending. That was where things were trending anyways.
I have, if nothing else, a grand imagination. So even if things are left unresolved, my mind will take care of the rest.
/eventlog
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Event Log: 7/24/14 - Renewed Vengeance
I finally received a rejection from my interview last week. I'm sick of that patronizing text where it says despite your strong qualifications, it just ain't enough. Why not tell me directly why I didn't get the job? That's the problem with rejection. It's not feedback. It doesn't tell you what you need to improve. It simply states, "No." All this means is that I have to up my game significantly. I will have to invest significant time and effort into developing advanced strategies. Despite failing the last interview, the experience was valuable. I got a taste of what it was like to try hard again. I haven't tried hard in a long time.
Since it was too hot to do anything like play games, I decided to post a story that's been sitting in my drawer. It feels good to get writing again.
Then I watched The Dead Zone movie starring Christopher Walken. He's a little too offbeat to be playing a plain-named character like John Smith.
After the movie, I decided to jump into the TV series. I watched it a lot as a kid, but episodes tend to blur into commercials. Ironically, watching on TV isn't the best way to watch TV shows these days. It's all about marathons. TV has changed. And we all have Netflix to thank for it.
/eventlog
Since it was too hot to do anything like play games, I decided to post a story that's been sitting in my drawer. It feels good to get writing again.
Then I watched The Dead Zone movie starring Christopher Walken. He's a little too offbeat to be playing a plain-named character like John Smith.
After the movie, I decided to jump into the TV series. I watched it a lot as a kid, but episodes tend to blur into commercials. Ironically, watching on TV isn't the best way to watch TV shows these days. It's all about marathons. TV has changed. And we all have Netflix to thank for it.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/23/14 - The Transition
I regret not writing down today's events earlier. Certain days are so uneventful, they might as well not exist. I played Destiny with my friend. After that, I surfed the web. I eventually got around to finishing God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand. This prompted me to catch up on more manga. That's how I successfully kicked off a new cycle of activity. First, it was the Destiny cycle, now I'm riding the manga wave.
/eventlog
/eventlog
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Event Log: 7/22/14 - Stretched Thin
The day started easy enough. I woke up and watched a little bit of Ninja's stream. In the background, Ninja's brother was watching Wedding Crashers. It's one of those movies I hear about that some people love but it turns out to be just okay. Having watched it, I'll say it's alright. Some people love to overrate those Frat Pack movies, though.
Things started to get intense when the beta came back earlier than expected. I sent out feelers to play with some friends and went on a walk. The walk lasted longer than expected. As soon as I got back, I played some Dragon's Teeth in BF4. We actually ended it on a good note this time. That map knowledge finally catching up with my skills...probably. Then, I tried to play some Destiny with one of my writer friends. Unfortunately, she did not have PS+. So I played with my other friend on the PS3.
The friends and I made tentative plans for the weekend but nothing's solid yet. For the moment, I am tired as hell. That walk was more epic than I thought.
/eventlog
Things started to get intense when the beta came back earlier than expected. I sent out feelers to play with some friends and went on a walk. The walk lasted longer than expected. As soon as I got back, I played some Dragon's Teeth in BF4. We actually ended it on a good note this time. That map knowledge finally catching up with my skills...probably. Then, I tried to play some Destiny with one of my writer friends. Unfortunately, she did not have PS+. So I played with my other friend on the PS3.
The friends and I made tentative plans for the weekend but nothing's solid yet. For the moment, I am tired as hell. That walk was more epic than I thought.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/21/14 - Maintenance in Progress
Today is not worth talking about. All I did was watch a recorded stream of Ninja playing Destiny. That's it. In the absence of Destiny, I filled it with Destiny. I followed the beta thread on GAF too, but for the most part, I was watching videos. Hopefully, I can incorporate some of his tactics into my game.
/eventlog
/eventlog
Monday, July 21, 2014
Event Log: 7/20/14 - Last-Minute Frenzy
Since the Destiny servers are going into maintenance tomorrow and Tuesday, I wanted to squeeze in as much playtime as I could. I ended up doing Strikes over and over for better gear. There's something addicting about getting a green weapon, seeing it's cool secondary ability, and leveling it up as soon as possible.
A lot of people are whining about the level cap, but the gear is where it's at. I'm spending a lot of time upgrading these guns, and they're only green! There's two levels above green: blue and purple. I can't even imagine what those skill trees look like, especially for the legendary's.
I didn't run with a party this time. I mostly played solo. Actually, I blocked two guys from my friends list last night because I didn't want them to know I was on when I was running Strike solo, but with PSN acting up, they somehow got deleted. Since one of them was really good, I resent a Friend Request so we can party up in the future. Here's the kicker though: every time I clicked on his name, he was doing Strikes. It seems like he was doing them all day long, even during the Iron Banner event. Yeesh. Talk about overkill. He must be addicted like me.
Remember the friend I sent my PS3 beta code to? We were finally able to play together. We played all the story missions, did a little explore mode, and ended it with a Strike. We talked through Skype since PS3's chat set up is iffy. Good times. By the time we finished, I had to eat dinner. My parents were out on date night at the Indian casinos, so I had to scrounge up leftovers--fish and eggs. It wasn't too bad. I'm just happy to clean those up since they were getting old.
I gave away a beta code to one of my online friends and she was having a hell of a time trying to download the Destiny beta. I get the feeling she's making it a lot harder than it has to be. Either that, or her internet is really bad.
I did some more Strikes at the end of the day. I consistently get the top number of kills during each session. I'm used to it. I've already got all my tactics in place, with all the sweet spots and strategies. It varies since I try to level up my guns at the same time. I was also trying to farm glimmer in explore mode by following this one YouTube video. You basically run in a loop in the Rocket Yard for loot chests. You kill enemies along the way. I probably got a couple grand just doing that. And just so I could say that I squeezed everything that I could out of the game, I found the five golden chests and unlocked my special speeder.
As if I couldn't add more Destiny to my plate, I got an invite after brushing my teeth and I joined up with a party. We won all of our matches and I was top place in all of them. I even got some gaudy ratios, which included something above 5. Late at night is when all the scrubs come out to play, I guess. I'm usually not this good, honest!
I'm sort of glad for the maintenance days. It means I can finally do something NOT Destiny, like apply to more jobs. I'm hoping my last interview was a hit, but you know how these things go. Even when you do your best, it's sometimes not enough. I just have to keep trying.
/eventlog
A lot of people are whining about the level cap, but the gear is where it's at. I'm spending a lot of time upgrading these guns, and they're only green! There's two levels above green: blue and purple. I can't even imagine what those skill trees look like, especially for the legendary's.
I didn't run with a party this time. I mostly played solo. Actually, I blocked two guys from my friends list last night because I didn't want them to know I was on when I was running Strike solo, but with PSN acting up, they somehow got deleted. Since one of them was really good, I resent a Friend Request so we can party up in the future. Here's the kicker though: every time I clicked on his name, he was doing Strikes. It seems like he was doing them all day long, even during the Iron Banner event. Yeesh. Talk about overkill. He must be addicted like me.
Remember the friend I sent my PS3 beta code to? We were finally able to play together. We played all the story missions, did a little explore mode, and ended it with a Strike. We talked through Skype since PS3's chat set up is iffy. Good times. By the time we finished, I had to eat dinner. My parents were out on date night at the Indian casinos, so I had to scrounge up leftovers--fish and eggs. It wasn't too bad. I'm just happy to clean those up since they were getting old.
I gave away a beta code to one of my online friends and she was having a hell of a time trying to download the Destiny beta. I get the feeling she's making it a lot harder than it has to be. Either that, or her internet is really bad.
I did some more Strikes at the end of the day. I consistently get the top number of kills during each session. I'm used to it. I've already got all my tactics in place, with all the sweet spots and strategies. It varies since I try to level up my guns at the same time. I was also trying to farm glimmer in explore mode by following this one YouTube video. You basically run in a loop in the Rocket Yard for loot chests. You kill enemies along the way. I probably got a couple grand just doing that. And just so I could say that I squeezed everything that I could out of the game, I found the five golden chests and unlocked my special speeder.
As if I couldn't add more Destiny to my plate, I got an invite after brushing my teeth and I joined up with a party. We won all of our matches and I was top place in all of them. I even got some gaudy ratios, which included something above 5. Late at night is when all the scrubs come out to play, I guess. I'm usually not this good, honest!
I'm sort of glad for the maintenance days. It means I can finally do something NOT Destiny, like apply to more jobs. I'm hoping my last interview was a hit, but you know how these things go. Even when you do your best, it's sometimes not enough. I just have to keep trying.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/19/14 - Enter the Dragon's Mouth
I played Destiny. What else is new?
Bungie introduced a new wrinkle with the Iron Banner event. All gear stats are NOT normalized. I didn't realize this until the middle of the first match. It's a good thing I was mostly geared out--at least in armor. I had to use a Galahad Auto-Rifle because the other guns don't really cut it for me.
In PvE, I can own with any kind of weapon (except for pulse rifles, and the Sahara), but in PvP? I have to use ARs, no question. I rolled with a party again and it was games all day long. It really messed with my diet. I ended up eating two donuts, a big cup of noodles, and spaghetti. Not a balanced meal, but time flies when you're killing Guardians.
I called it a break and finally played some Dragon's Teeth with my friend in BF4. I don't know how I feel about these new maps. It might because we lost a lot, but I'm not a big fan at the moment. Obviously, I need to up my map knowledge, but the games have been stupidly one-sided so far. Maybe once Dragon's Teeth is opened up to non-Premium members, I won't get killed by level 100+ douchebags running with this gun called a Bulldog that kills me super-fast. That thing needs to be nerfed immediately. I still haven't even unlocked those guns from previous expansions. Maybe once I sink my teeth into this dragon, we'll be tearing it up in no time. But for now? I'll be raging like a demon on steroids.
/eventlog
Bungie introduced a new wrinkle with the Iron Banner event. All gear stats are NOT normalized. I didn't realize this until the middle of the first match. It's a good thing I was mostly geared out--at least in armor. I had to use a Galahad Auto-Rifle because the other guns don't really cut it for me.
In PvE, I can own with any kind of weapon (except for pulse rifles, and the Sahara), but in PvP? I have to use ARs, no question. I rolled with a party again and it was games all day long. It really messed with my diet. I ended up eating two donuts, a big cup of noodles, and spaghetti. Not a balanced meal, but time flies when you're killing Guardians.
I called it a break and finally played some Dragon's Teeth with my friend in BF4. I don't know how I feel about these new maps. It might because we lost a lot, but I'm not a big fan at the moment. Obviously, I need to up my map knowledge, but the games have been stupidly one-sided so far. Maybe once Dragon's Teeth is opened up to non-Premium members, I won't get killed by level 100+ douchebags running with this gun called a Bulldog that kills me super-fast. That thing needs to be nerfed immediately. I still haven't even unlocked those guns from previous expansions. Maybe once I sink my teeth into this dragon, we'll be tearing it up in no time. But for now? I'll be raging like a demon on steroids.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/18/14 - Aftermath
I decided to add some extra to my workout routine yesterday. I'm glad I waited until the end of the week to do so, because today, I was absolutely wrecked. I was barely able to get through my workout, but I did it somehow. At least I have the entire weekend to recuperate.
Since I'm writing this from the future, let me warn you: the next three days have been nothing but Destiny. I partied up with some guys from NeoGAF, and I'm so glad I did. Playing in a full party is great. There's actual teamwork! I mostly found myself in second place, and this is the spot I like the most. It means that there's someone way better than me that I can rely on, but I'm no slouch myself. I'm not the best player, and although I can get hot sometimes, you gotta appreciate a guy whose consistently excellent. In my experience, if I'm the best guy on the team, we lose.
Sony was generous enough to offer me an extra beta code, so I gave it to my friend. When I thought about it, I could play with him too, so I got another beta code from GAF. I tried it out and man, it is really blurry compared to the PS4 version, but it's surprisingly solid. It's awesome that the characters transfer between PS3 and PS4 too. There's no cross-platform play, but the characters carry over. I played some PvP and got a ridiculous 22-1 record. How you like that 22 ratio? Of course, I've seen gaudier online.
If I'm good at a game, I like it. Considering how well I do in Destiny, I can safely say: I like this game. In the eternal words of Big Boss: I want some more!
/eventlog
Since I'm writing this from the future, let me warn you: the next three days have been nothing but Destiny. I partied up with some guys from NeoGAF, and I'm so glad I did. Playing in a full party is great. There's actual teamwork! I mostly found myself in second place, and this is the spot I like the most. It means that there's someone way better than me that I can rely on, but I'm no slouch myself. I'm not the best player, and although I can get hot sometimes, you gotta appreciate a guy whose consistently excellent. In my experience, if I'm the best guy on the team, we lose.
Sony was generous enough to offer me an extra beta code, so I gave it to my friend. When I thought about it, I could play with him too, so I got another beta code from GAF. I tried it out and man, it is really blurry compared to the PS4 version, but it's surprisingly solid. It's awesome that the characters transfer between PS3 and PS4 too. There's no cross-platform play, but the characters carry over. I played some PvP and got a ridiculous 22-1 record. How you like that 22 ratio? Of course, I've seen gaudier online.
If I'm good at a game, I like it. Considering how well I do in Destiny, I can safely say: I like this game. In the eternal words of Big Boss: I want some more!
/eventlog
Friday, July 18, 2014
Event Log: 7/17/14 - Beta Believe It!
Whenever something highly anticipated is released on PSN, there's a high tendency for servers to overload and crash. Fortunately, not only was I able to grab my code from Bungie's monkey mess of a website, I was also able to enter the code into PSN before it crapped out. I watched some Love Live! and Need For Speed (the movie) while it downloaded. When it completed, that was it. My day was gone.
I jumped into the games of people on my Friend's List. Most of them were Friend Requests from GAF. I still haven't found out the proper etiquette to initiate voice chat, but I was able to talk to two of the guys. They seemed pretty cool. One was from San Diego, and the other was from Utah. They weren't very good in PvP. I found myself at the top of my team often. I think I've got an affinity for Destiny PvP.
I tried to play with a reader from FF.net, but he had a friend over and there was too much background noise. Just as well. It was the perfect time to take a break and do my weekly run. I've still got a vestigial cough from my sickness (can you believe it?), but by breathing through my nose, I've been able to negate it. It's been a long time since I went the full distance. In the last two weeks, I just sprinted, stopped, and walked the majority of the route. Today, however, I jogged the entire damn way like I used to. My midsection was cramping up bad, but I did it.
Then I heard it, "Leave it all on the court." I can sort of imagine how it feels for a professional athlete to play their absolute hardest. Even if they didn't win, you can't fault them for their effort. Not only did I push myself to the absolute brink today, but I left all in that office yesterday during my interview too. Then I realized, as long as I do my best, no matter the outcome, I'll be satisfied. The prospect of failure scares most of us from even trying, so this is a lesson I'm going to take to heart from now on.
My friend rang me up for some of that Dragon Teeth, the latest expansion for BF4--except he forgot to download it. D'oh! So we played some China Rising. We forgot that "sticking together" strategy we blazed in the past, but it didn't seem to matter. We swapped wins and losses for every game. The weird thing? It was always one-sided domination. I'm talking about 500 tickets to none. Near the end, however, we managed to string together some victories.
And since we always have to end it on a good note, we called it a night.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/16/14 - Execution
Miraculously, I was able to get up in time, although it was thirty minutes later than I wanted to. There was really no choice. I needed as much sleep as possible. The only time I can wake up, guaranteed, is either by going to sleep very early, or going to sleep very, very late.
Back in college, there were nights when I literally went to sleep a couple hours before I had to go to school. When I woke up, it felt like I barely closed my eyes. That's probably how I was able to stay awake. Of course, I crash really hard later in the day. At least I woke up in time, right?
Anyways, I woke up, copy and pasted my 50 interview question and answers into Evernote so I can consult them before the interview, and drove through morning traffic to arrive at their office. When I checked Evernote to prepare, I got screwed over. Apparently, it didn't sync before I left, and since I have no data, I had to prepare by memory. I was devastated at the moment and cursed my carelessness. In hindsight thought, it didn't change much.
I went in and did my best. Practice really does give confidence. This was one of the few times I walked out feeling like I did my best. Usually, I would go through the interview in my mind and "revise," so to speak. I should've said this or that--whatever. But this time, I was satisfied. I did what I set out to do, and if I don't get the job, it's because they found someone better. That's it. No more, no less.
On the way home, I bought a caramel frappuccino from StarBucks. When I got home, I ate a sandwich. Then I went out to watch 22 Jump Street. It's the best comedy of the year. It was just me and one other couple. Kinda wished I watched it with a crowd for that contagious laughter. After that, I went home and napped away the entire afternoon.
I didn't want to rest on my laurels. Although I had a successful (in my opinion) interview, I needed to apply to more places. I did some random apps, but there were a couple of ones I wanted to apply seriously for. Too bad I never got a chance. I got wrapped up in the Destiny Beta hype and registered for DestinyGAF West.
My little brother borrows my car to go to work, but since I had an interview this morning, he had to borrow my older brother's car. Imagine my surprise when he comes home in a newly bought Honda Fit. Damn. I knew he was talking about getting a car of his own ever since the accident, but that seems a little rash. Oh well, it's his money. He can do whatever he wants. At least I have the car all to myself now. Hell yeah.
I watched Wednesday Night Fights where Snake Eyes won. It was close to the finals when ChrisG went against Smug. It's funny, because ChrisG won all the best to ten sets on Tuesday, but Elena got blown up by Smug. Guess the counterpick turned out to be a Dud (ley). He did, indeed, find answers for her.
The night wasted away with another game of Cards Against Humanity and Skype video chat with my online friends. Oh, in case you guys didn't know, I Am Alciousness.
/eventlog
Back in college, there were nights when I literally went to sleep a couple hours before I had to go to school. When I woke up, it felt like I barely closed my eyes. That's probably how I was able to stay awake. Of course, I crash really hard later in the day. At least I woke up in time, right?
Anyways, I woke up, copy and pasted my 50 interview question and answers into Evernote so I can consult them before the interview, and drove through morning traffic to arrive at their office. When I checked Evernote to prepare, I got screwed over. Apparently, it didn't sync before I left, and since I have no data, I had to prepare by memory. I was devastated at the moment and cursed my carelessness. In hindsight thought, it didn't change much.
I went in and did my best. Practice really does give confidence. This was one of the few times I walked out feeling like I did my best. Usually, I would go through the interview in my mind and "revise," so to speak. I should've said this or that--whatever. But this time, I was satisfied. I did what I set out to do, and if I don't get the job, it's because they found someone better. That's it. No more, no less.
On the way home, I bought a caramel frappuccino from StarBucks. When I got home, I ate a sandwich. Then I went out to watch 22 Jump Street. It's the best comedy of the year. It was just me and one other couple. Kinda wished I watched it with a crowd for that contagious laughter. After that, I went home and napped away the entire afternoon.
I didn't want to rest on my laurels. Although I had a successful (in my opinion) interview, I needed to apply to more places. I did some random apps, but there were a couple of ones I wanted to apply seriously for. Too bad I never got a chance. I got wrapped up in the Destiny Beta hype and registered for DestinyGAF West.
My little brother borrows my car to go to work, but since I had an interview this morning, he had to borrow my older brother's car. Imagine my surprise when he comes home in a newly bought Honda Fit. Damn. I knew he was talking about getting a car of his own ever since the accident, but that seems a little rash. Oh well, it's his money. He can do whatever he wants. At least I have the car all to myself now. Hell yeah.
I watched Wednesday Night Fights where Snake Eyes won. It was close to the finals when ChrisG went against Smug. It's funny, because ChrisG won all the best to ten sets on Tuesday, but Elena got blown up by Smug. Guess the counterpick turned out to be a Dud (ley). He did, indeed, find answers for her.
The night wasted away with another game of Cards Against Humanity and Skype video chat with my online friends. Oh, in case you guys didn't know, I Am Alciousness.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/15/14 - Actual Preparation
I finished Gento's UFC series and I found it a little boring. If I wasn't so insistent on distracting myself, would it be able to stand on its own? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it. I was able to successfully purge it from my system.
I read some more Nisekoi and finally focused enough to do some actual damn research. I ended up typing a document, a sort of advanced cover letter that demonstrated my understanding of the job position and its duties.
Interviews are not my best area. Since my strength is in writing, it only makes sense that I write something and give it to them during the interview to show off that particular aspect of my skill, right? I put genuine effort into that article. It was around 400 words on a single page.
Next, I had to polish my presentation skills. My presentation is only as good as my preparation. I visited my friend and practiced. I gave him a list of 50 common interview questions and I tried coming up with good answers for each one. I think it helped a lot. We went to eat at Jack-in-the-Box afterward.
When I returned home, I intended to write out memorable answers to all fifty questions. I wasn't able to do it. I got sidetracked by the ChrisG show, featuring special guest, Smug. Elena made Dudley look so free. The best part was when they went online with shenanigans. That's always a blast. It was so bad, I took a shower at 1 in the morning.
Considering my interview was tomorrow at 9:30 in the morning, I was staying up way too late. I went to sleep at around 5.
Yeah, I know.
/eventlog
I read some more Nisekoi and finally focused enough to do some actual damn research. I ended up typing a document, a sort of advanced cover letter that demonstrated my understanding of the job position and its duties.
Interviews are not my best area. Since my strength is in writing, it only makes sense that I write something and give it to them during the interview to show off that particular aspect of my skill, right? I put genuine effort into that article. It was around 400 words on a single page.
Next, I had to polish my presentation skills. My presentation is only as good as my preparation. I visited my friend and practiced. I gave him a list of 50 common interview questions and I tried coming up with good answers for each one. I think it helped a lot. We went to eat at Jack-in-the-Box afterward.
When I returned home, I intended to write out memorable answers to all fifty questions. I wasn't able to do it. I got sidetracked by the ChrisG show, featuring special guest, Smug. Elena made Dudley look so free. The best part was when they went online with shenanigans. That's always a blast. It was so bad, I took a shower at 1 in the morning.
Considering my interview was tomorrow at 9:30 in the morning, I was staying up way too late. I went to sleep at around 5.
Yeah, I know.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/14/14 - Preparation
Before I get started on a task, I always, without fail, distract myself. It's a twisted ritual I go through no matter how important the task. I must have ADD or something. I'm supposed to be preparing for my interview on Wednesday. Instead, I purposely distract myself by taking an interest in things that didn't interest me before. Procrastination is the worst.
I caught up in Naruto and Nisekoi. In between reading manga, I tried to do as much research as I could about the company I was interviewing for. I was able to get some interesting information, but I was too distracted to make much sense out of it.
YouTube ended up distracting me. I finished Chris Smoove's Sniper Elite 3 series. His next video after that series was UFC. I decided to check out another YouTuber, Gento, and found out that he did UFC too. I basically stayed up the entire night watching him complete career mode. I have a new-found appreciation for the UFC now.
/eventlog
I caught up in Naruto and Nisekoi. In between reading manga, I tried to do as much research as I could about the company I was interviewing for. I was able to get some interesting information, but I was too distracted to make much sense out of it.
YouTube ended up distracting me. I finished Chris Smoove's Sniper Elite 3 series. His next video after that series was UFC. I decided to check out another YouTuber, Gento, and found out that he did UFC too. I basically stayed up the entire night watching him complete career mode. I have a new-found appreciation for the UFC now.
/eventlog
Monday, July 14, 2014
Event Log: 7/13/14 - Return of the King
That phrase has been getting a lot of work lately. First, in regards to the PS4, and secondly, with Justin Wong in Evo 2014. I was rooting for him and I couldn't be any happier that he took it in MAHVEL. He had to clear out the best in the biz on his run, including last year's champion, Flockr, the villain, FilipinoChamp, and the favorite, ChrisG. I feel like this Evo crown is more impressive considering how mature the game is.
That's why I can't say I'm impressed with USF4 grand finals. The game is too young. Not to take anything away from Luffy's achievement, but it's like winning the championship during a lockout season. Yeah, you won it all, but I'm putting an asterisk on there just because. The base game is fundamentally the same, but the finer details change everything. Maybe I'm just bitter SnakeEyes got eliminated. You know everybody's gonna be working on anti-Fei, anti-Rose, and anti-Gief tech after this.
I connected with my online friends again for another game of Cards Against Humanity. A new wrinkle was thrown in when randoms entered our game. It didn't matter, because I won 4 times out of 6. What can I say? I'm a beast.
I caught up with Taiyou no Ie. I thought I had 20 more chapters, so I was disappointed when I reached the end. I feel bad for Daiki, probably because I relate to him. When will he get his day in the sun?
/eventlog
That's why I can't say I'm impressed with USF4 grand finals. The game is too young. Not to take anything away from Luffy's achievement, but it's like winning the championship during a lockout season. Yeah, you won it all, but I'm putting an asterisk on there just because. The base game is fundamentally the same, but the finer details change everything. Maybe I'm just bitter SnakeEyes got eliminated. You know everybody's gonna be working on anti-Fei, anti-Rose, and anti-Gief tech after this.
I connected with my online friends again for another game of Cards Against Humanity. A new wrinkle was thrown in when randoms entered our game. It didn't matter, because I won 4 times out of 6. What can I say? I'm a beast.
I caught up with Taiyou no Ie. I thought I had 20 more chapters, so I was disappointed when I reached the end. I feel bad for Daiki, probably because I relate to him. When will he get his day in the sun?
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/12/14 - Dawn of the Best Summer Movies
This summer has been exceptionally solid for blockbusters, but I'm ready to crown Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as the king of them all. There's really no weaknesses aside from minor quibbles. Amazing how great a movie appears with a solid functional script. As long you don't screw up, you'll have a good movie. I won't say much and for fear of raising your expectations too high, I'll just say it's a good watch.
Instead of going out to eat, I had to ferry my friend to work afterward. I was curious how his workplace looked. It wasn't anything special. I got myself excited for nothing.
When I got home, I watched Marvel. Since UMvC3 hasn't changed at all, I'm not surprised to see who's in the top 8. It's the usual suspects.
/eventlog
Instead of going out to eat, I had to ferry my friend to work afterward. I was curious how his workplace looked. It wasn't anything special. I got myself excited for nothing.
When I got home, I watched Marvel. Since UMvC3 hasn't changed at all, I'm not surprised to see who's in the top 8. It's the usual suspects.
/eventlog
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Event Log: 7/11/14 - EVO 2014
Evo, baby!
I watched Ultra Street Fighter 4 pools from noon to night. I checked some of the other games, but USF4 was definitely the main event. It was upset city. I'm sad my boy Daigo got bumped off so early.
It's like the Wild West out there. Everybody's still trying to figure Ultra out. But true warriors never go away, they adapt. I bet the favorites will be back next year once things settle down. I just don't want a Fei Long to win it all again. Get lost, Fuudo! Incidentally, I was at Evo when Fuudo won how many years ago. It was the same year Poongko blew up Daigo.
Most hyped match of the night definitely goes to Xian and Snake Eyes with the epic timeout. I almost died at the end. That was amazing. Glad to see Wednesday Night Fights spank the East coast. West coast is too strong in Street Fighter.
I chatted on Skype with my online friends. We ended up playing Cards for Humanity, which is a name I absolutely hate for a game that is basically AdLibs but without the ad libs. We each won a round. I didn't care too much. Sometimes, I deliberately picked the unfunny choice to troll.
/eventlog
I watched Ultra Street Fighter 4 pools from noon to night. I checked some of the other games, but USF4 was definitely the main event. It was upset city. I'm sad my boy Daigo got bumped off so early.
It's like the Wild West out there. Everybody's still trying to figure Ultra out. But true warriors never go away, they adapt. I bet the favorites will be back next year once things settle down. I just don't want a Fei Long to win it all again. Get lost, Fuudo! Incidentally, I was at Evo when Fuudo won how many years ago. It was the same year Poongko blew up Daigo.
Most hyped match of the night definitely goes to Xian and Snake Eyes with the epic timeout. I almost died at the end. That was amazing. Glad to see Wednesday Night Fights spank the East coast. West coast is too strong in Street Fighter.
I chatted on Skype with my online friends. We ended up playing Cards for Humanity, which is a name I absolutely hate for a game that is basically AdLibs but without the ad libs. We each won a round. I didn't care too much. Sometimes, I deliberately picked the unfunny choice to troll.
/eventlog
Friday, July 11, 2014
Event Log: 7/10/14 - Riding the Wave
This marks the fourth consecutive day that I've updated one of my stories. Am I on a roll? Maybe. The key is to start the next chapter as fast as possible. There was more urgency with Sora's Epic Journey since I wanted it done, pronto. With Mister Cinderella, I finished what I already had. I don't know if another update for MC will follow, but I'll try my best. I must admit, I'm in an unusual writing mood.
One of the reasons I don't update often is that writing a chapter takes up a whole day, even if the chapter is short. I read over my chapters out loud when I revise, and reading out loud takes up a lot more time than reading with my eyes. I'm able to catch most mistakes with this method, but it doesn't catch everything. I'm all about flow. If it doesn't come out of my mouth smoothly, then I have to change it up.
I spent some time writing up another story. It's nothing long and I probably won't post it. It's one of those "how does this look on paper?" situations. A friend of mine is writing a new story from the perspective of a girl with a liberal approach to sex. I read the first chapter and it stirred up some ideas for one of my own stories. I jokingly titled it "Sluts Are People Too," but that's just a placeholder. It's an Larxene x Sora story. It's equal parts "stop slut shaming" and "hey, I can make this crack couple totally work!" It's hard to bust out new stories when I'm in the process of getting rid of all my old ones. I'll keep it on file. Maybe I can work on it piece by piece. I promised myself that I wouldn't post anything new unless it was done from start to finish.
/eventlog
One of the reasons I don't update often is that writing a chapter takes up a whole day, even if the chapter is short. I read over my chapters out loud when I revise, and reading out loud takes up a lot more time than reading with my eyes. I'm able to catch most mistakes with this method, but it doesn't catch everything. I'm all about flow. If it doesn't come out of my mouth smoothly, then I have to change it up.
I spent some time writing up another story. It's nothing long and I probably won't post it. It's one of those "how does this look on paper?" situations. A friend of mine is writing a new story from the perspective of a girl with a liberal approach to sex. I read the first chapter and it stirred up some ideas for one of my own stories. I jokingly titled it "Sluts Are People Too," but that's just a placeholder. It's an Larxene x Sora story. It's equal parts "stop slut shaming" and "hey, I can make this crack couple totally work!" It's hard to bust out new stories when I'm in the process of getting rid of all my old ones. I'll keep it on file. Maybe I can work on it piece by piece. I promised myself that I wouldn't post anything new unless it was done from start to finish.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/9/14 - Another Chance
It was a strange night. I woke up much earlier than I was used to. It was a conscious thing. I needed to call someone early. My strategy paid off, and I finally managed to get a hold of that someone who contacted me about a position. I only called to see what was up but it turned into an impromptu interview. Since I wasn't prepared for it, I blustered my way through. It didn't leave me feeling confident about my chances. She said she'd let me know next week.
Later in the day, I got a reply for another job application. I've secured an interview for next week. When a door closes, a window certainly opens. Now, it's just a matter of improving my sneaking through the window skills.
My online friends were peculiarly chatty today. It was getting annoying since I have an app that reads my Email out loud when I receive them. I was trying to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel and I had to pause every so often because they kept emailing me. Speaking of the movie, it was very good with a distinct style that borders on cartoony. It's refreshingly quirky and Ralph Fiennes totally kills it. The narrative framing is also Inception-esque. I highly recommend it.
On the fanfiction side, I renamed Sora's Epic Journey Through Fanfiction into Sora's Epic Journey. I felt the original title was tacky. I even changed the cover photo to reflect the title change. It wasn't hard. I already had the photoshop file on hand. It was a simple editing job. Although I formally closed the story, I wrote a followup just in case. Next time, I'll be dabbling in fantasy-adventure.
I finished Is the Order a Rabbit? and watched a few more episodes of Love Live. I think I've successfully weaned myself off horror using moe. It feels good to be free from ghost, monsters, and all manner of monstrous concoction!
/eventlog
Later in the day, I got a reply for another job application. I've secured an interview for next week. When a door closes, a window certainly opens. Now, it's just a matter of improving my sneaking through the window skills.
My online friends were peculiarly chatty today. It was getting annoying since I have an app that reads my Email out loud when I receive them. I was trying to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel and I had to pause every so often because they kept emailing me. Speaking of the movie, it was very good with a distinct style that borders on cartoony. It's refreshingly quirky and Ralph Fiennes totally kills it. The narrative framing is also Inception-esque. I highly recommend it.
On the fanfiction side, I renamed Sora's Epic Journey Through Fanfiction into Sora's Epic Journey. I felt the original title was tacky. I even changed the cover photo to reflect the title change. It wasn't hard. I already had the photoshop file on hand. It was a simple editing job. Although I formally closed the story, I wrote a followup just in case. Next time, I'll be dabbling in fantasy-adventure.
I finished Is the Order a Rabbit? and watched a few more episodes of Love Live. I think I've successfully weaned myself off horror using moe. It feels good to be free from ghost, monsters, and all manner of monstrous concoction!
/eventlog
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Event Log: 7/8/14 - Closing the Book
I tried calling the number again--two times, actually. The first time, she was busy on the line. The second time, she was in a meeting. I left my number again, but with absolutely no expectation of a callback because they've established a pattern of not calling back despite leaving messages and numbers. Yeesh, if you want me to stop, just tell me so I can stop wasting my time already. I'll give this one more shot tomorrow. Today and yesterday, I called in the afternoon. I might have to attack earlier in the day at around ten o'clock or something.
To add insult to injury, I got a reply for my phone interview last Thursday. REJECTED. At least they had the courtesy to tell me, unlike those folks at Contract Services Group. So my job hunt is in the dumps at the moment. I'm gonna have to bolster my personal website. I've been holding off on updating it because of laziness. Desperate times demand action, however.
So that today wouldn't feel like a total waste, I worked on the next and final chapter of Sora's Epic Journey Through Fanfiction. Once I finished the rough draft, I made a final pass in the Doc Manager and changed the ending. It's more appropriate now. Originally, Sora and Olette are supposed to be in the hallway and they have to decide whether or not to open the door to Kairi's room. He opens it because YOHO (you only horror once) and the story ends ambiguously. But in the revision stage, I found an opportunity to make things even worse, and I can't resist making things worse! The story, more or less, followed my grand design. I'm satisfied.
/eventlog
To add insult to injury, I got a reply for my phone interview last Thursday. REJECTED. At least they had the courtesy to tell me, unlike those folks at Contract Services Group. So my job hunt is in the dumps at the moment. I'm gonna have to bolster my personal website. I've been holding off on updating it because of laziness. Desperate times demand action, however.
So that today wouldn't feel like a total waste, I worked on the next and final chapter of Sora's Epic Journey Through Fanfiction. Once I finished the rough draft, I made a final pass in the Doc Manager and changed the ending. It's more appropriate now. Originally, Sora and Olette are supposed to be in the hallway and they have to decide whether or not to open the door to Kairi's room. He opens it because YOHO (you only horror once) and the story ends ambiguously. But in the revision stage, I found an opportunity to make things even worse, and I can't resist making things worse! The story, more or less, followed my grand design. I'm satisfied.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/7/14 - An Opportunity?
I woke with an interesting email. It was a message from LinkedIn. Apparently, someone wants to discuss a position with me. I gave the number in the message a call but the person I wanted to talk to wasn't in. I left my number and waited anxiously for the callback.
It never came.
I juggled the four different manga from last night, Chaosic Rune, Taiyou No Ie, God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand, and Book Club. I managed to slay the last one, but the other three are still in play. I updated an old story of mine, Sora's Epic Journey Through Fanfiction. I haven't touched it in almost a year. I just felt the urge, I guess.
As soon as I uploaded the chapter, I started the next one. They're kind of like two parts of the same chapter. I split it up to make it easier on myself. Smaller bite-sized updates before I start going hog wild. I need to get back into the groove. When midnight came, I uploaded the second part. I made extensive revisions when it was in the Doc Manager. I expected reviews overnight but only got two. Whatever. I'll be done with the story soon enough.
/eventlog
It never came.
I juggled the four different manga from last night, Chaosic Rune, Taiyou No Ie, God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand, and Book Club. I managed to slay the last one, but the other three are still in play. I updated an old story of mine, Sora's Epic Journey Through Fanfiction. I haven't touched it in almost a year. I just felt the urge, I guess.
As soon as I uploaded the chapter, I started the next one. They're kind of like two parts of the same chapter. I split it up to make it easier on myself. Smaller bite-sized updates before I start going hog wild. I need to get back into the groove. When midnight came, I uploaded the second part. I made extensive revisions when it was in the Doc Manager. I expected reviews overnight but only got two. Whatever. I'll be done with the story soon enough.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/6/14 - Sinking Deeper
I finished up Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. It's ongoing, but the last couple chapters were a spin off set in the past. Next was Portus, about a game that kills people. I hate it when the ghost is a kid. Makes me wanna punch 'em in the face. Then I read this really lame story called Lie. After that was Kijin Gahou, which I dropped immediately because it was straight up guro. I wanna be horrified, not disgusted. I opened up Plastic Girl, which was...interesting, I guess. I have no idea what the hell is going on in there, but I'm sure it's all bunch of figurative imagery for the sexual exploitation of a little girl. It always is.
I checked out Panorama of Hell which appears at first glance to be a literal gallery of hellish pictures. Sorry, but I need to chew on narrative if I'm gonna read something. Next was Warau Kyuuketsuki, but I bailed out early. I draw the line at jacking off with a severed finger. The world in that story was really messed up too. I mean, it's easy to criticize the world when you make it as shitty as possible.
The Tumblr list was running out of steam. I had to go back to some Junji Ito with Black Paradox to actually enjoy something. The stories after that got a little better. Goth wasn't bad, but too short and a little scattered for my taste. I also got confused because I mixed up the characters. Bad art at work. This time, I decided to go back and forth between two different stories: God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand and Book Club. The former is another Kazuo Umezu classic. It's quite violent for such an early work. The horrific content really clashes with the relatively cartoony art. His insistence on child characters really does highlight that gap in awareness. Horror is a whole different beast between child and adult. The latter, Book Club, is about a book that kills people. Yawn.
I had saturated myself to the point of super paranoia. I was jumping at shadows and expecting pale-faced ladies to jump out of my closet. I could barely work up the courage to visit the bathroom when I had to. So I jumped on a shoujo called Taiyou No Ie. It's really cute. I love it. I love the main character and I like the entire cast. Something light and fluffy like this is just what the doctor ordered.
Then I remembered an old manga I read but never finished called Chaosic Rune. I loaded it up and quickly caught up to where I last left off. So I tried to wean myself off the horror by switching between Chaosic Rune and Taiyou No Ie.
As soon as I closed my eyes, monsters everywhere.
/eventlog
I checked out Panorama of Hell which appears at first glance to be a literal gallery of hellish pictures. Sorry, but I need to chew on narrative if I'm gonna read something. Next was Warau Kyuuketsuki, but I bailed out early. I draw the line at jacking off with a severed finger. The world in that story was really messed up too. I mean, it's easy to criticize the world when you make it as shitty as possible.
The Tumblr list was running out of steam. I had to go back to some Junji Ito with Black Paradox to actually enjoy something. The stories after that got a little better. Goth wasn't bad, but too short and a little scattered for my taste. I also got confused because I mixed up the characters. Bad art at work. This time, I decided to go back and forth between two different stories: God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand and Book Club. The former is another Kazuo Umezu classic. It's quite violent for such an early work. The horrific content really clashes with the relatively cartoony art. His insistence on child characters really does highlight that gap in awareness. Horror is a whole different beast between child and adult. The latter, Book Club, is about a book that kills people. Yawn.
I had saturated myself to the point of super paranoia. I was jumping at shadows and expecting pale-faced ladies to jump out of my closet. I could barely work up the courage to visit the bathroom when I had to. So I jumped on a shoujo called Taiyou No Ie. It's really cute. I love it. I love the main character and I like the entire cast. Something light and fluffy like this is just what the doctor ordered.
Then I remembered an old manga I read but never finished called Chaosic Rune. I loaded it up and quickly caught up to where I last left off. So I tried to wean myself off the horror by switching between Chaosic Rune and Taiyou No Ie.
As soon as I closed my eyes, monsters everywhere.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/5/14 - Post-Independence Day
I've been slacking off on my Event Logs. The only thing I can remember is chicken for dinner. I'm not even sure about that. My days are mostly uneventful. I had to dig deep into my history to figure what I did. Chrome's tracking is a pain in the ass, especially if you read manga. I have to click "Older" about fifty times to reach yesterday since it logs each page individually.
I was still deep in my horror kick. I read Mail, a horror manga about a guy who banishes spirits with his gun. At this point, it was starting to get to me. I normally wouldn't blink at the stuff that happens in each chapter, but having absorbed multiple night's worth of horror imagery, I was a little more affected that usual. I also threw in a new episode of Sailor Moon on Hulu because of a Tweet. Was it just me or is the voice acting exaggerated?
When I finished Mail, I moved onto Fuan no Tane and Fuan no Tane +. I really like these. They're the manga equivalent of creepypasta. They always end at the most critical point. There's no need for explanation. It's just a series of creepy incidents. Some of the drawings are legitimately frightening. It's like the author tapped into my mind and pulled out the scariest looking thing possible.
I read some more Junji Ito with Shin Yami no Koe. Next was Fetish, which had some pretty good ideas. Junji Ito again, with Mimi's Ghost Stories. I notice Ito has a long chin for some of his male characters. Then Manhole, which is about a parasite infestation. It was gripping from an epidemic containment and criminal investigation perspective. These kinds of stories usually rely on ick for entertainment, so it's refreshing to see a procedural. From the same author was Duds Hunt, which is another variant of the death game genre, except the protagonist is an unrepentant piece of shit who receives his just desserts.
I read a little bit of Screaming Lessons but dropped it. I'm not interested in moralizing horror at the moment. I moved to Hakaijuu, which is about a sudden invasion of giant monsters. It's a little light on explanation but heavy on wanton destruction and death. The author's reticence regarding the monsters' origins is a little annoying. You can only rely on chase scenes for so long before the reader demands answers.
To finish off the night, I started Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which is authored by the same person who did Mail. It started off slow but got real interesting due to a mix of comedy and really horrific circumstances. The cases are a little dark for something so light in tone. I feel like it would make a great HBO series.
/eventlog
I was still deep in my horror kick. I read Mail, a horror manga about a guy who banishes spirits with his gun. At this point, it was starting to get to me. I normally wouldn't blink at the stuff that happens in each chapter, but having absorbed multiple night's worth of horror imagery, I was a little more affected that usual. I also threw in a new episode of Sailor Moon on Hulu because of a Tweet. Was it just me or is the voice acting exaggerated?
When I finished Mail, I moved onto Fuan no Tane and Fuan no Tane +. I really like these. They're the manga equivalent of creepypasta. They always end at the most critical point. There's no need for explanation. It's just a series of creepy incidents. Some of the drawings are legitimately frightening. It's like the author tapped into my mind and pulled out the scariest looking thing possible.
I read some more Junji Ito with Shin Yami no Koe. Next was Fetish, which had some pretty good ideas. Junji Ito again, with Mimi's Ghost Stories. I notice Ito has a long chin for some of his male characters. Then Manhole, which is about a parasite infestation. It was gripping from an epidemic containment and criminal investigation perspective. These kinds of stories usually rely on ick for entertainment, so it's refreshing to see a procedural. From the same author was Duds Hunt, which is another variant of the death game genre, except the protagonist is an unrepentant piece of shit who receives his just desserts.
I read a little bit of Screaming Lessons but dropped it. I'm not interested in moralizing horror at the moment. I moved to Hakaijuu, which is about a sudden invasion of giant monsters. It's a little light on explanation but heavy on wanton destruction and death. The author's reticence regarding the monsters' origins is a little annoying. You can only rely on chase scenes for so long before the reader demands answers.
To finish off the night, I started Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which is authored by the same person who did Mail. It started off slow but got real interesting due to a mix of comedy and really horrific circumstances. The cases are a little dark for something so light in tone. I feel like it would make a great HBO series.
/eventlog
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Event Log: 7/4/14 - Independence Day
Happy 4th of July! It's a celebration of freedom with barbecues and fireworks. I went to visit my cousins in Fontana with my two brothers, sister, and niece. I sat in the back with the baby. She was in a rear-facing cradle. For some reason, she couldn't stop blowing raspberries during the ride. Her neck was wet with spit.
It was good fun. I ate a cheeseburger, chicken, hot dog, KBBQ, and I topped the night off with a drumstick--the ice cream. The neighbors were lighting illegal aerials all over the place. Someone screwed up because an aerial was shot off sideways and blew up in a nearby intersection. They could've seriously hurt someone with that. I've seen so many fireworks that it's an old hat for me. I was content to sit back and watch. Buying fireworks is almost burning money.
I brought my DS in case I got bored but I left it in the car. I mostly played with my cousin's kids. I'm sort of amazed by the advances in toy technology. They had battery-operated squirt guns that fired streams of water in burst fire with the trigger held down. They were even loaded with water clips. So much for manual pump Super Soakers. My little brother discovered a semiautomatic Nerf gun. Damn kids, these days. Isn't it enough that y'all got iPhones? Next thing you know, they'll have self-transforming Transformers toys. One button push and voila! Transformation sequence initiated.
Then again, I got a PS4. I guess everything balances out.
/eventlog
It was good fun. I ate a cheeseburger, chicken, hot dog, KBBQ, and I topped the night off with a drumstick--the ice cream. The neighbors were lighting illegal aerials all over the place. Someone screwed up because an aerial was shot off sideways and blew up in a nearby intersection. They could've seriously hurt someone with that. I've seen so many fireworks that it's an old hat for me. I was content to sit back and watch. Buying fireworks is almost burning money.
I brought my DS in case I got bored but I left it in the car. I mostly played with my cousin's kids. I'm sort of amazed by the advances in toy technology. They had battery-operated squirt guns that fired streams of water in burst fire with the trigger held down. They were even loaded with water clips. So much for manual pump Super Soakers. My little brother discovered a semiautomatic Nerf gun. Damn kids, these days. Isn't it enough that y'all got iPhones? Next thing you know, they'll have self-transforming Transformers toys. One button push and voila! Transformation sequence initiated.
Then again, I got a PS4. I guess everything balances out.
/eventlog
Event Log: 7/3/14 - Recoil and Gasp
I found this tumblr page with a list of 50 horror mangas. I'm still on a horror kick, so I dived right in, reading the ones I already haven't. The first was Homonculus, which started off real interesting, but then just sort of meandered into meaninglessness. It's pretty gross too, and not in a gory way, but in a "that's not what you're supposed to do with your bodily fluids" kind of way. Disgusting. I still can't shake off the image in my mind. The second half sinks into morass of third-rate psychobabble. By the end, I was left with that empty feeling of having wasted all my time.
Next, I read Kazuo Umezu's "The Drifting Classroom," which is everything I wanted from Psyren before it turned into a hodgepodge sci-fi shounen. The funny thing? This was published in the 70's. Aside from the artwork, it holds up extremely well. I wouldn't have guessed it to be forty years old. It must've been really original at its time of release, but today? It feels ridden with cliches, even if it paved way for them. The most notable influence is Lord of the Flies. There are power struggles within survivors that you see so much is post-apocalyptic fiction or even zombie apocalypse fiction. Demand for limited resources turns people against each other. How mass hysteria manifests in witch hunts and the rise of religions with cult-like devotion to false idols.
I can pretty much cherry-pick these elements from disparate modern works, so it's a testament to its originality. Even the struggle between the alpha and beta male mirrors Rick and Shane from The Walking Dead, although the end to this relationship is a lot more optimistic in The Drifting Classroom. The ending as a whole is subversive but with a kernel of hope. I can confidently call this work a masterpiece.
By the time I finished it, it was late at night. It wasn't exactly a purebred horror tale, despite tons of horrific deaths. It felt more like an adventure. The next story I read, pretty much scared the shit out of me. It was Bongcheon-Dong Ghost, and for anyone who's read it before, they know exactly what I'm talking about.
Considering I spent the entire day and night reading static images, I was not prepared for the comic to suddenly move, or more accurately, for the ghost to twist its neck and stare at me. I literally let out a yelp of terror and closed the window immediately. I haven't shat my pants like this since the original screamer, and by original screamer, I refer to the car commercial.
I tried to shake it off by reading Gyo but that didn't work. I went to sleep that night with my head swimming in nightmarish imagery: rotting faces, monsters, and ghosts.
/eventlog
Next, I read Kazuo Umezu's "The Drifting Classroom," which is everything I wanted from Psyren before it turned into a hodgepodge sci-fi shounen. The funny thing? This was published in the 70's. Aside from the artwork, it holds up extremely well. I wouldn't have guessed it to be forty years old. It must've been really original at its time of release, but today? It feels ridden with cliches, even if it paved way for them. The most notable influence is Lord of the Flies. There are power struggles within survivors that you see so much is post-apocalyptic fiction or even zombie apocalypse fiction. Demand for limited resources turns people against each other. How mass hysteria manifests in witch hunts and the rise of religions with cult-like devotion to false idols.
I can pretty much cherry-pick these elements from disparate modern works, so it's a testament to its originality. Even the struggle between the alpha and beta male mirrors Rick and Shane from The Walking Dead, although the end to this relationship is a lot more optimistic in The Drifting Classroom. The ending as a whole is subversive but with a kernel of hope. I can confidently call this work a masterpiece.
By the time I finished it, it was late at night. It wasn't exactly a purebred horror tale, despite tons of horrific deaths. It felt more like an adventure. The next story I read, pretty much scared the shit out of me. It was Bongcheon-Dong Ghost, and for anyone who's read it before, they know exactly what I'm talking about.
Considering I spent the entire day and night reading static images, I was not prepared for the comic to suddenly move, or more accurately, for the ghost to twist its neck and stare at me. I literally let out a yelp of terror and closed the window immediately. I haven't shat my pants like this since the original screamer, and by original screamer, I refer to the car commercial.
I tried to shake it off by reading Gyo but that didn't work. I went to sleep that night with my head swimming in nightmarish imagery: rotting faces, monsters, and ghosts.
/eventlog
Friday, July 4, 2014
Event Log: 7/2/14 - Waffling
It's the middle of the week and even though I planned to apply to more jobs, I chose to read manga all day. Giving a summary of what I read wouldn't be terribly interesting. I reread Psychic Detective Yakumo. The art style totally gives away that the illustrator is a woman. Yakumo is too beautiful. I looked her up. Only older than me by two years. Damn. When it comes to drawing, it's all about talent, huh?
Then I read some more stuff, including 6000, which gave me some heavy Event Horizon vibes, except in the middle of the ocean instead of space. I let the day drift away in stories of unspeakable violence. I've been trying to pinpoint the elements that constitute horror.
I've already identified some important elements: the inexplicable, the invisible, and the institutional. The last two go along together They refer to everyday horrors, the events unseen but facilitated by a society that leads to situations where, say a woman gets raped and the man remains free because the woman never says anything about it. Terrible, isn't it? But it happens more often than not, simply because of the shame in a culture that further victimizes victims for being victims. It's invisible. But the worst part is that it's institutional. You can't attack it as an individual. It's a systemic infection. It's not something that can be solved neatly.
Horror is a very personal thing. I'm aware these elements may not be as horrifying to other people. For instance, I don't find ghost stories very scary simply because ghost don't exist. And if they do exist, then it's proof of the afterlife, which isn't something to be scared about. It's a concept tinged in hope. Conversely, some people don't find murderers scary because they can be killed, unlike ghosts. So, the good approach is to pull the readers into your nightmare. They may not be scared by the concept, but they can still be drawn into your web. It's all about perspective.
As for the inexplicable, what scares me most is when things don't make sense. When events occur without rhyme or reason. It's a type of horror that takes advantages in the gaps of logic, in the painful realization that there is no answer in a sea of questions while we suffer meaninglessly. Horror must be formless, shrouded, and unexplainable. When the mind is confronted with something that can only be described as impossible, that conflict, the friction between reality and fantasy, is where horror is born, and it never more plainly expressed than through the inexplicable.
Not knowing is the true terror.
/eventlog
Then I read some more stuff, including 6000, which gave me some heavy Event Horizon vibes, except in the middle of the ocean instead of space. I let the day drift away in stories of unspeakable violence. I've been trying to pinpoint the elements that constitute horror.
I've already identified some important elements: the inexplicable, the invisible, and the institutional. The last two go along together They refer to everyday horrors, the events unseen but facilitated by a society that leads to situations where, say a woman gets raped and the man remains free because the woman never says anything about it. Terrible, isn't it? But it happens more often than not, simply because of the shame in a culture that further victimizes victims for being victims. It's invisible. But the worst part is that it's institutional. You can't attack it as an individual. It's a systemic infection. It's not something that can be solved neatly.
Horror is a very personal thing. I'm aware these elements may not be as horrifying to other people. For instance, I don't find ghost stories very scary simply because ghost don't exist. And if they do exist, then it's proof of the afterlife, which isn't something to be scared about. It's a concept tinged in hope. Conversely, some people don't find murderers scary because they can be killed, unlike ghosts. So, the good approach is to pull the readers into your nightmare. They may not be scared by the concept, but they can still be drawn into your web. It's all about perspective.
As for the inexplicable, what scares me most is when things don't make sense. When events occur without rhyme or reason. It's a type of horror that takes advantages in the gaps of logic, in the painful realization that there is no answer in a sea of questions while we suffer meaninglessly. Horror must be formless, shrouded, and unexplainable. When the mind is confronted with something that can only be described as impossible, that conflict, the friction between reality and fantasy, is where horror is born, and it never more plainly expressed than through the inexplicable.
Not knowing is the true terror.
/eventlog
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Event Log: 7/1/14 - A Pirate's End
I used a FAQ for all of Chapter 5. Game woulda been a wild goose chase without one. I was too far gone past the point of caring. I just wanted it done. In hindsight, without the FAQ, I have no idea how I could have solved any of it on my own. No big loss. The actions to advance became progressively more annoying to achieve, especially when you toss in warp points. The hint system is also completely useless. I'm glad I can cross that series off my list. The only Telltale game left in my backlog is Sam and Max. Let's hope they fare better.
I waited too long to go on my walk but I did it anyways. It was after 8 by the time I got home. I didn't think it was a particularly outstanding walk. My cough is getting better though. At this point, it's all mental. I'm only coughing because I'm used to it. I don't actually need to cough. Bad habits die hard.
I caught up on some old mangas. One of them was Ousama Game. I first read it almost four years ago (or even longer) but it finally finished. It ended up being 25 chapters long. It's a horror manga but halfway through, life is devalued by so many deaths, I just wanted it end. There were no stakes since I didn't care anymore. The ending is trash. The reason for everything is stupid and the ending makes no sense. In the absence of hope, there's no reason to continue. It's true for characters trying to survive and for audiences sticking with a story.
/eventlog
I waited too long to go on my walk but I did it anyways. It was after 8 by the time I got home. I didn't think it was a particularly outstanding walk. My cough is getting better though. At this point, it's all mental. I'm only coughing because I'm used to it. I don't actually need to cough. Bad habits die hard.
I caught up on some old mangas. One of them was Ousama Game. I first read it almost four years ago (or even longer) but it finally finished. It ended up being 25 chapters long. It's a horror manga but halfway through, life is devalued by so many deaths, I just wanted it end. There were no stakes since I didn't care anymore. The ending is trash. The reason for everything is stupid and the ending makes no sense. In the absence of hope, there's no reason to continue. It's true for characters trying to survive and for audiences sticking with a story.
/eventlog
Event Log: 6/30/14 - A Dog's Progress
I finally beat Braid and wrapped up Chapter 4 of Tales From Monkey Island. I solved 70% of Braid on my own and walkthrough'ed the remaining 30%. Puzzle games are a no-win proposition. I'll have to trade the satisfaction of solving things on my own for not wasting time. I reach a certain point where the idea of waste outweighs any sense of accomplishment. I bought Braid for a buck. I already got my money's worth. Let's just beat it and move on already.
I obsessed a little bit about the story--or lack thereof. I'm forced to make the conclusion that the narrative is derived from the school of DMA Design--in order words, it doesn't mean anything. Okay, I'm sure it means something, but the elements are so disparate and obfuscated that there's no point in digging deeper than I already have. A great narrative is layered with both easy and difficult to understand concepts. Braid is just esoteric. No need to bother with it.
At night, I beat Chapter 4. I'm so close to wrapping up the whole season I can taste it. I usually play an hour on my own before I get tired of clicking things and consult a FAQ. Like I said, I don't feel too bad about it because I only spent a dollar. I already got my money's worth on the very first episode, which, ironically, I beat entirely on my own. The puzzles are getting more and more obtuse. In the words of a great woman, "Ain't nobody got time for that."
/eventlog
I obsessed a little bit about the story--or lack thereof. I'm forced to make the conclusion that the narrative is derived from the school of DMA Design--in order words, it doesn't mean anything. Okay, I'm sure it means something, but the elements are so disparate and obfuscated that there's no point in digging deeper than I already have. A great narrative is layered with both easy and difficult to understand concepts. Braid is just esoteric. No need to bother with it.
At night, I beat Chapter 4. I'm so close to wrapping up the whole season I can taste it. I usually play an hour on my own before I get tired of clicking things and consult a FAQ. Like I said, I don't feel too bad about it because I only spent a dollar. I already got my money's worth on the very first episode, which, ironically, I beat entirely on my own. The puzzles are getting more and more obtuse. In the words of a great woman, "Ain't nobody got time for that."
/eventlog
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