New PMV: Caffeine!

http://youtu.be/q-d5-uEzP8c

To The Internet....

LEARN TO SPELL!        That is all.

How Old Are You.... Really?

Is age just a number? Sure it is...In theory.

     We live in a world where sixty-five year old's are having kids, grown men dress up in diapers and demand to be treated like babies, and beauty pageant children play adult dress up to fulfill the twisted obsessions of their mom's.

    I spent a lonely, and lazy Saturday playing one of the most manly, violent, crude and yet enjoyable video games. The game is "Gears of War." It is celebrated and criticized for it's vulgar and bloody presentation but also celebrated for the same reasons. The age range of "Gears" players is said to be 18-40, but most of us who play online know this is incorrect.

    I have had the sometimes horrific yet astounding privilege to play Xbox games online with a headset. I have played alongside 8 year old kids, sixty year old dads, young married couples and college students. I've even played "Gears" with four people from Mexico.

    One of my online acquaintances and I were involved in a game when he had to stop because "The Cops are Outside." I also had to listen to a 14 year old tell me what fooling around sexually with a woman is like. The ESRB says that Online interactions are not rated for content. No kidding.

    Today almost anyone has access to the internet and can go online with their phones, computers, and game consoles. We are more interconnected then ever, right? Online interaction has opened up a can of worms. Now there are almost no barriers between people of different social class, nationality and most importantly age.  

Just playing a single game like "Gears" and being exposed to the online world has made me realize that age is just a number. The important thing is maturity, regardless of age.

    Maturity is defined by: How a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate manner and being aware of the correct time and place to behave and knowing when to act appropriately, according to the situation and the culture of the society one lives in.
    An online world who's environment is ever changing blended with a melting pot of cultures and societies makes defining what is mature very difficult. Maturity by itself is not the solution.

    True Maturity comes down to listening and understanding. No matter what age we are or what our culture is, we need to listen. We also need to accept the things that make the other person different. We need to accept that what another person says may be wrong to us. It may be immature in our circles. Having respect for someone is not the same as agreeing with them. We can; as my mom used to say, "Play Nice."
 
    As online, family and interpersonal communities. We finally have a chance to join together as a global community. We can be connected with anyone anywhere. Let's not waste this opportunity!





 

Stuffed!

I am taking out the newspapers for recycle and sitting in the recycle dumpster in boxes were various stuffed animals. There were at least 50 of them. They ranged in size from little bears as big as my thumb, to a two and a half feet tall "Cat in The Hat."

I found a Hello Kitty, 6 care bears, 3 ponies, a knuckles plush from sonic the hedgehog, an Eeyore and a Minny Mouse, a pink gorilla, and a praying bear among them.

I will be donating them to a Charity for our Military Veterans and their families.

The more Valuable ones I will sell to make some extra cash, and the rest are up for grabs until Wednesday.

I will be keeping the pink seahorse.

Updates 9/19/2011

Tonight is Gears of War 3 release night. I will be wearing Gears' Pajama bottoms and taking frequent naps to prepare for the evening.

I have pre-ordered a Japanese RPG in Japanese and will have to tread across the language barrier.

I have a new Tuesday night bible study that just started up with new friends to be made.

There was no Supermarket Strike this year so I wont have a job with Albertsons.

My family is obsessed with football but doesn't like my obsession with games.

I am now officially a Brony. Rainbow Dash in ma' house Bitch!

That is all.

This Pony Thing 2

Yep I'm at it again. This time a tribute to rainbow dash. This video is about 20% cooler than the last one.

What if I Don't Want to Know my Meme?

    A visit to the website. (knowyourmeme.com) will drown the unexpected viewer in a sea of nonsense, not from an internet perspective but from a real world one.
  
    Anyone remember the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2008. The parade wasn't anything special but the appearance of a certain someone was. Singer, Rick Astely appeared on a float with some puppets and sang his popular hit from the 80's. "Never Gonna Give You Up." which wouldn't have had much meaning on it's own.
   
    Rick Astely's magnum opus was recently abused by internet tricksters who used a hyperlink to direct the unsuspecting to a Youtube video of Astley's music video instead of whatever it was they wanted to watch on the internet. The joke was supposed to be brief, but in a online society that thrives on blowing things out of proportion, this was the joke of the decade.
 
    The practice of hyperlink redirection to Astely is now known as "Rick Rolling." This strange phenomenon is no longer limited to the 4chan anime image-board. It has gone beyond viral and into the global mainstream media. As the puppet said at the end of the parade performance, "I love rick-rolling."

    It's no doubt that the collective internet conscience loves rick rolling, but the average person who works for 40 hours a week, and then goes drinking on the weekend, has no idea that this elaborate and growing phenomenon exists.

    Rick Rolling is but one instance of what is known as a Meme, an internet phenomenon. The website, Know Your Meme, is now a centralized database for every random internet sensation that is currently in use on the world wide web, and even those that might be. On the site you can get detailed information on the origin, history, current use, and even spinoff's of internet trends.

    As a geeky, internet savvy professional, I have indulged in more than a few Meme's. I get a kick out of going on the site and watching the state of chaos that is the ever changing internet.

    I recently asked two people if they knew about a popular internet Meme. One was a church going, fellow bible study group member and the other was a mid twenties secular college student with a wife and kids. Neither of them had any idea what I was talking about, even after I explained it to them.

    It was then that I realized how much the general public knows about the virtual world; almost nothing. The problem is that a lot of the Meme's originate from 4chan; a site used mainly for posting images of anime and obscure popular culture. 4chan has grown over the years to include posts about almost anything. Since most who flock to 4chan are internet savvy, anime and game loving, geek culture aficionados, it only makes sense that most of the Meme's would be created and enjoyed by them.

    Shout out a well known Meme at a game or anime convention, and everyone can get in on the fun. Sometimes fellow attendees will be irritated at you because they are already sick of hearing about that particular Meme, having become bored by seeing it on their favorite internet sites, message boards, or other associations. I remember being introduced to a Meme involving cats recently by my friends, only to see the vary same Meme prominently featured at a convention the very next week.

    Meme's seem to have a shelf life however. The Rick Roll is old news now and other more popular Phenomenon have sprung up to take it's place. No matter how popular a given Internet sensation is, most of them tend to grow old about as fast as they grew up. Even the most popular Meme's tend to dwindle into internet obscurity.

    What was the point? None of the internet trends I have been involved with have ever really stuck with me and no one around me, at least in the real world apart from my fellow internet savvy geeks has cared. In twenty years, are we still going to be falling for the Rick Roll relocation trick, or singing the Double Rainbow song?

    In conclusion, I believe that Meme's have their place in internet culture and that they are good to share with others and even indulge in as a temporary exercise in entertainment. In this world of economic troubles, war, natural disasters, and even the good things like relationships with our families and children, Meme's will always take back seat. If any person ever uses a Meme to take the place of something that really matters, then that person has just lost The Game of reality.

http://knowyourmeme.com/

My Personal Favorite Meme's:

RickRoll
The Game
Bronies
All Your Base are Belong to Us
Over 9000
Youtube Poop

Fanime Con 2011: Eat, Sleep, Game, Repeat (Part 2).

    Host’s girlfriend who I will call “Fairy,” had left early to room with friends and would not be the lone woman in the group this year. We were joined by a new X chromosome.

The door opened and a woman in her twenties entered. She had very bright red hair, a tattoo on her chest, and many piercings on her face and apparently in all the taboo areas. She was going to share a bed with Host, who was already taken and was deemed trustworthy. I will refer to the lady in bed as “Red.”

We proceeded to the convention center to pick up our badges to gain entrance to the Famine’s many events and services. Ranger and Roll where dropped off to fend for themselves. The line for badge pickup was 5 lanes of people. The line didn’t move forward, it just became more convoluted as more people saved spots for friends. Red and Trance were going mad and Animal’s 3DS ran out of batteries. I was level grinding on my PSP, which is about the same necessary evil as waiting in line. After two and a half hours, we received our badges.

At most conventions, day 0 was only for registration. At Fanime, it was an extra half day of the convention. Host took his sale items and went to the upper level exhibit hall to meet Fairy in a joint venture of money making.

Exhibit hall number four was the location I spent almost all of my time in. It housed the arcade, console game room, table top game room, and the swap meet. The swap meet was a regular occurrence at Fanime. Attendees brought all of their items to sell. Some sellers even made cash to pay for their trip or to facilitate their small businesses. Host was selling many items including two X Arcade Joysticks and Fairy was selling Glow Sticks for those who would be attending the dance/rave later. They ended up making over $200 in profits.

That night I ran into some friends that I only see at the convention. One had his own booth, and two helped run the game room. My oldest convention acquaintance sold small plushies of the Touhou (shrine maiden girls) variety for 40 bucks a pop and made over 1600 dollars during the two swap meets. I will call him “Money.” The 2nd had Japanese import games for old systems and knew people who could translate them. He is “TV,” Due to his constant strains from moving of Televisions for the game room staff. The third one was studying to be an engineer and made his own custom Joysticks while running arcade games on custom hardware. He is “Supergun,” named after the custom arcade machine itself.

The swap meet continued on in the evenings for two days. The game room and its arcade ran 24 hours a day. My friends and I not wanting to waste any time were up until 1 am for day 0 festivities.

As almost always with conventions, I slept on the floor taking the green blanket off of the Xbox and using it as a cushion along with two comforters from the beds. Trance and Animal shared the first bed, the Host and Red, the other. Since my first Fanime, I had gone from sleeping on a hotel bed, to an air mattress on the floor, and now enjoyed the simple pleasure of sleeping on the floor. It didn’t matter really where I slept. I knew that I wouldn’t get much sleep anyway; my excitement would be the driving force during the convention.

Fanime Con 2011: Eat, Sleep, Game, Repeat.(Part 1)

Fanime Con 2011: Sleep, Eat, Game, Repeat

Disclaimer:

This is a true chronicle of real events that occurred at the Fanime 2011 Anime Convention in San Jose. All of the names have been changed to protect those involved. I will be using nicknames that I have created for each person to keep their identities secret. Some of the events may not be exactly at the correct times they occurred, but rest assured, the events are all true and they happened.

1. Leading and Following

It was 5 am. I had just finished filling a suitcase with unmentionables, socks, shirts, new jeans, old sweats, pajamas, and a Japanese region Xbox 360 console wrapped in a fuzzy green blanket. An old backpack was sitting on top of the case. I grabbed both in my aching hands as I slowly made my way to the front door trying not to wake my parents. I knew they heard me anyway, they always did.

My car was parked in the usual spot in front of the dumpster. I let the car warm up for about 3 minutes while I put my belongings in the trunk. The car was a 2001 Honda Accord. It had become my Second home as I recently had adjusted to a new job with a long commute.

Today my “Commute” was to a house In the Mission Viejo area where my friend with a more lucrative job was loading up his two Mercedes in preparation for the 8 hour journey to San Jose. He would drive the black one, and be in charge of the route, hotel stay, and gas distribution. He is called “Host.”

A second addition was going to be riding with Host. He was the youngest of our group and a party animal that was known for staying out late. He will be called “Animal”

I was a little irritated that both of the sporty luxury cars didn’t really have enough trunk space to accommodate the large amount of luggage. Since Host was business minded, a lot of space had been allocated for things that he would sell at the convention’s swap meet. To my half asleep horror my suitcase was the biggest one, and I would be contributing to the storage problem myself. After a luggage re-alignment, we began the trek.

The black Mercedes lead the way followed by a silver one. I was a passenger in the silver with another friend at the helm. Some early LA traffic greeted us with a middle finger as we neared our first destination, Carl’s Jr.

During our first meal together I gave each member of the party a “Slim Jim” for later use, in honor of the recently deceased wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage, who used to advertise for the delicious beef snack. I mentioned that I had small snack packs of trail mix and peanut butter crackers at the ready. Animal ate his burger in less than 3 minutes. When asked about it he replied.  

“I just can’t stop eating once I start,”

Since I had made a vow not to eat fast food for breakfast, I had a protein nutrition shake. I was on a diet plan and had lost 20 pounds in several months. I thought I would keep it up during the convention.

After our first meal we made a stop in Ventura to pick up two more individuals. One was in his twenties but looked much younger. He will be referred to as “Ranger,” due to his fascination with live action Japanese shows like “Power Rangers,” and his desire to pose dramatically at random periods. The other looked like he just rolled out of bed so I will call him “Roll.” To our surprise they had packed a very little amount of luggage. We loaded up some things and were off again.

I was not really enjoying the mix of CD’s Playing in the car. Every disc was the same club dance track that would drive a normal person to insanity after an hour. For some reason the driver could sit there and enjoy the same repetition for hours on end. I will be referring to the driver as “Trance.” The CD’s got better as the trip progressed, finally finishing on the sixth disc in the changer featuring ending in the trance music of DJ Tiesto, which I enjoyed. The Daft Punk fueled Tron movie soundtrack on disc four was enjoyable too.

It had been 4 hours of Driving. We stopped at a small but very famous Inn that was known for its waterfall Urinal called The Madonna. It had been featured on the travel channel. The Inn itself was very gaudy and frou frou, but had a definite style. A wedding and honeymoon spot for sure.

Host decided not to fill up outside the Madonna so he was running low on gas. I watched as the black Mercedes pulled over to the side of the road. Trance got out of the car to assist. They figured out that he might have enough gas after analyzing the car intensely. It was 12 miles to the next destination. By a miracle we had arrived at a gas station that looked very familiar from our past convention trips. Host also discovered that he had gone over his gas limit, but because he had topped it off at the last fill up, he was in the clear. If he had to drive one more mile he would have been stuck.  

The rest of the journey went as planned, with occasional stops to get supplies. We were ahead of Schedule.  

Finally after 8 hours, 4 stops, 2 snack packs, 3 “Slim Jims,” another shake and many gallons of gas, we had arrived. Fanime Con 2011 was ready to begin. We were all hungry. We had a short dinner at “Del Taco,” and then went back to the “Motel 6.”

Radiant Silvergun, Finally! but.....

About 3-6 months ago (I've lost count now) Game developer Treasure announced that they would be bringing the acclaimed Sega Saturn and Arcade Shooter "Radiant Silvergun" to Xbox Live Arcade with all of the Saturn and arcade modes intact and an HD graphic overhaul. 

It was delayed or at least everyone thought it was. Game journalists and fans alike were irritated, or maybe just me. It may have been problems with Microsoft's online firmware or some technical error. Either way the game was taking way to long.

Finally it has been announced that the game will have a September 14 release. That is wonderful news but viewing the early screen shots has provided me with more questions.

Everything from the original game is here. On the right side there is a chart showing what buttons fire what weapon. This is probably the best for someone playing on a controller but most of the arcade crazy purists prefer to play these kinds of games on arcade sticks with six or more buttons. The one thing that no professional site has mentioned, is if the buttons will be custom configurable. Many have arcade sticks that work for the Xbox and many will want to play with the traditional controls. I know this is an extremely small demographic of dedicated players, but they will want what they have grown accustomed to. The game is mostly marketed to them in the first place.

I know that I can't expect a company to adhere to the wishes of hardcore gaming nuts, but remember that the game itself is a traditional two dimensional shooter with the entire game set around scoring and leveling up the various weapons. It takes months to years to achieve any kind of success on the game. This game was made by the hardcore for the hardcore gamer who will spend the time on it. I don't think the average 15 year old who plays games casually with friends online will fully enjoy this game. I know because I've played with the young gaming masses. I've beaten their high scores!

To me, this little detail of button configuration will mean the difference between a company that is focused on opening up the doors of nostalgia to old and new alike or just wanting to make a quick buck. I hope they keep the current fans in mind while making new ones. Don't let me down Treasure!

So updates:

• Xenoblade is awesome and makes me want abandon my friends and family.
• Bud light is horrible and it makes me feel bad for those who "Settle" for it at sporting events.
• I am totally off the grid for never having a bud light til now.
• It's over 9000, that is all.

This Pony Thing

The My little pony cartoon resurgence has inspired upon me the following video.

I made it because it is entertaining and my friends sort of pushed me into it.

Things that annoy me on Facebook

1. People who don't respond to messages, pokes, friend requests (The word Pending gets really old after a month)

2. People who post all of their Farmville or Mafia Wars stats. I don't care if you killed Guido in the brothel.

3. People who post pictures of their kids and nothing else.

4. The posting of incomplete statements.  Example: "I'm just livid." forcing me to ask, "About What?" If I even care at all.

5. Those who post quotes from others who are more interesting than they will ever be. Sorry buddy, you're no CS Lewis, give it a rest.

6. People who invite me to events that are many hours away or in a different country.

7. Anime fanatics who want me to know what stupid j-pop song they are listening to. 

8. People who post horoscopes.

9. Friends that change their name and profile pictures all the time.

10. When users connect their facebook to every other social networking site on the planet, so their stream of crap never ends.

It's time to block some bitches!

Review #4

My fourth review is up. A retrospective of the violent, gory, and epic Splatterhouse game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E6W4z7S1d0&feature=channel_video_titleseries.

Nintendo WTF!

Nintendo is a legendary company but for some reason they have suddenly become stupid. The company that once gave us Mario, Zelda and the myriad of other classic game characters is apparently becoming senile in their old age. They are ignoring fans, making strange hardware and game release decisions, and not releasing games that a few years ago would have been a no brainier release.

First they decide to almost ignore their core fan-base by only releasing Zelda Skyward Sword and nothing else of note, making them wait for the Wii U, whose future is uncertain. The three games that could give fans something to do like Xenoblade, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower, are released in every country but north America.

To make things worse they have released a slim version of the Wii only in Europe of course, but that console isn't compatible with Gamecube games. Nintendo sacrificed their dignity just to make the wii smaller? I can understand Sony pulling that kind of crap but not Nintendo. They wonder why the 3DS didn't sell very well and why they have had monetary losses. It's called Karma.

Nintendo: Stop making stupid business decisions that cut corners, stop agreeing to give a license to half-ass game developers, stop screwing over your fan-base that put you where you are today, and stop nickel and diming the consumer. We want Nintendo back!

No company is perfect but Nintendo can do a lot better than this. When the crap hits the fan, the shovelware playing, casual, non gamer sheep will scatter, It's the core gamers that will decide your fate. Don't piss on us, you'll regret it!

Retro Rare Review #2

Here is a link to my second review I did on contra and mastering difficult games.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np62SvRQ0kc&feature=channel_video_title

Old at 30?

I was playing an old shooter game today and realized that I don't seem to respond as well to the game as I used to. I don't notice the small details, I die a lot, and I seem to react slower to fast paced sections.

In my 20's I was able to focus on a difficult section of the game for long periods of time. Now it seems Like my attention span and my gaming abilities are going down the proverbial tubes.

In professional drum corps, they won't allow anyone to join who is over 25, because of the physical demands on the body and the reaction time needed to march around and perform.
an extreme example but a real one.

I feel that gamers that are even 10 years younger, are faster, adapt quicker, and have more attention to detail. at least the ones who play games regularly. At 30 I am an elder in the video game community. It doesn't help that almost all of the people I play with online are in their teens still.

Most people at 30, have families and Jobs. I don't see my career happening anytime soon, or a family, even though I desire them. Plus I don't have a clear goal in mind.

I can see how most adults don't worry about "keeping up with the younger generation when it comes to video-games. They worry about their kids, marriage, and the mortgage. 

I have plenty of spare time to play games, and I have some very successful accomplishments. I have unofficial world records and game play videos to show off my skills. Being off my game is a concern when I am at a semi-professional level of play.

I am not really concerned yet, but It is just an observation. Don't mistake me for some ranting internet Emo person wanting attention. I am very confident in myself and see a bright future in my real life and my gaming life. It's too early for a midlife crisis anyway.

Famly from the heart

So my grandparents are coming over to visit this week. both are amazing women who are widowed. They have connected with a friendship that stands the test of time. I am lucky to come from a family that is known for longevity. I had two great grandmothers who died in their 90's. My grandfathers only got to their 80's but one of them survived Kimo.

Our family members tend to be very alert into a very old age, which is very fortunate. However There is always a time when a stroke or similar problem will provide a turn for the worse. My 93 year old great grandma was still living by herself when she had a stroke. She then was almost comatose for the rest of her life. She didn't even make it to 100.

I don't show a lot of concern for my aging grandmothers on the outside except through a cliche, friendly and loving respect. I just don't think about how I would react if one of them died. I feel cold at times, detached. When my mom recently mentioned that my Grandma on my dad's side was starting to forget short term memories, I quietly nodded on the outside but began to have a little panic attack on the inside.

I feel more emotional about these particular grandmothers. Maybe because I recently hit 30 and have finally gotten out of the self centered attitude that had resided in my teenage years. I don't want to not be able to talk to them. I feel that I have taken a lot of time with them for granted. That's not how it is, I see them annually but that's just how I feel.

They will arrive soon and I will be spending as much time as possible with them. Not to make up for lost time but to enjoy their company, so when that time comes I will be able to respond with my heart not just me. 

My first episode of my show. The Japanese Version of Xenoblade.
Nintendo of America needs to localize this. Now!

First Post

It is around July 2011, I am unemployed. My job has screwed me and I am sick of working in front of the same cubicle in the same office, feeling bad about choosing to take a temp agency contract. I like to fancy myself a creative person. Thinking outside the box has got me absolutely nowhere. I am a jack of all trades without any real trade to call my own. I can write so here I am.

I have been involved in the world of Videogames for as long as I can remember. No matter how many different things I get involved in, games are the constant. I have invested more time in games than anything. Now 30, as I wait to see what the future holds for work, love and gaming.  This blog will focus on game reviews, especially the older kind, from my childhood and more obscure titles.

Being a well rounded human being, This blog will also be random. Because Predictable is boring. 

 I have been stuck in Limbo for too long, wishing to carve a new path for myself.  It all starts with a blog, and the hope of something better. I am Daniel Taylor and this is Retro / Rare / Reviews.