maiku84

Mmmm, joblessness.

So, I'm doing commissioned artwork. Furry and human are both okay. If interested, feel free to comment and/or email me.

Yeah, I updated my journal to beg for work... Haha. I need to get a client and start using my LJ again!

So uh, I didn't quit that job.

Just figured you'd want to know!

I'm busy drawing skunk chicks right now, but I'll try and update this more often.

Maybe I'll get a twitter and twit all the time.

well, more than likely I am going to quit as of Sunday.

I understand that "THINGS CHANGE," Amanda, but I cannot open AND close. Especially not on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. And especially not so you can get a three day vacation.

You'll get Saturday and Sunday, oh yes. But you're going to have to figure SOMETHING out for Monday because I'm probably going to be gone.

Barring that, I'm going to the DM and reporting this. I'm sick of schedules being done to benefit the person doing the scheduling and screwing over the other two people working for this store.

I have no car. I have to get up at 6 AM to go to class at 8 AM via cab (that costs 10 dollars), then hopefully catch a bus at 9:15 AM to get to work in enough time to open it up at or around 10 AM. And then, I'm expected to stay until 10 PM--although, since I have NO knowledge of how to close, I'm actually going to probably be there until 11 PM with an hour of unpaid time there--and then take ANOTHER cab home because the buses stop running at 7 PM (regular) and 10 PM (job access, which only services small areas of town and has very limited transfer options), which costs another 10 dollars.

And then I collapse on the floor because I don't have enough in me to make it to my bed.

Yeah, fuck that shit. This job honestly isn't worth the effort or the drama. I'm probably going to fax my letter of resignation to my DM on Thursday--I'd rather have a job closer to home and relatively free of the chaos that has characterized my job for the past 2 months. The ONLY thing that will keep me from leaving will be if the new manager comes on board THIS WEEK, and that seems very unlikely.

Minimum wage is standard for these game store jobs, but honestly these last two months--and especially the past month, since this same coworker who is finagling a three day weekend for herself also faked being DEATHLY ILL and was probably going to quit--have been the type of hell that would only be justified by a much greater hourly wage than what I get now.

So... I'm 24. Uh, hooray?

It's funny, but even though I'm happy I'm not really showing it externally. Maybe because of the fact that I still have to go to calculus, and then to work? :P I wish I could skip both.

Also, for once America chose the right leader. It's the first time in my life that I can say, "I'm proud to be an American!"

I really like Ashita ni Ikiro, Baldios in SRWZ.

I need an mp3 of it.

Yasashii kaze wa Atsumatte
Sora no BURUU ni narun desu
Hageshii nami ga Kasanatte
Umi no BURUU ni narun desuuuuuuuu~

It's quite possible that I need to GTFO of Victoria.

Is there anyone with whom I can stay? Ike isn't something to fuck with.

It appears to me that Suddenlink has chosen to black out Countdown and the Rachel Maddow Show here in Victoria, TX. MSNBC now shows dead air from 7-8pm, followed by two MSNBC documentaries at 8 and 9.

Suddenlink insists nothing is wrong. This is certainly A MSNBC feed but not THE MSNBC feed, though, and I tuned in for THE MSNBC feed.

I know that this is not a particularly conservative area, but this really bothers me if this isn't some kind of mistake. I want to see if this continues--if it does I think I should do some kind of protest, or at least expect some equal censorship--black out O'Reilly and Hannity too, or something.

Fuck you Ike

FUCK YOU IKE

You'd better decide to change paths tomorrow morning or else Ill be spending the week in constant hand wringing

Go Great Aether my dad in Harlingen or something, shit

Is it wrong that I can't wait to play Chop Suey! on vocals?

Stop using the term weeaboo, you stupid shits.

How many of the people even using it as a term for "lol japan loving faggot" know about Perry Bible Fellowship??

How to get 30 achievements without Tower of Lost Souls or online play!

( The ones gotten through normal play. 33 total here. )


( The rest )

Pros:
+ Amazing graphics.
+ Great soundtrack.
+ Solid controls, even with the default 360 d-pad. I didn't have any misfired commands that could be blamed on the controller--it's all my fault if that's the case. :P
+ Versus play is always fun.
+ LOTS of possibilities for customization with character creation.
+ Good pacing; the higher focus on attacks and guard impacts versus excessive blocking makes for a more offense-oriented game than before.
+ Other than Ivy and a couple of others, I'd have to say the 1P costumes look pretty keen in action. In 3D, Siegfried's crystallized armor is actually really cool looking!
+ When you manage to get off a Critical Finish (and against humans it's going to be fairly rare) they are mostly pretty keen.
+ Almost all of the 2P costumes are really cool, PLUS you can use the parts in CAS (in case you want your avatar to have Elvis hair like Maxi)
+ Yoshimitsu's new voice: NORIO WAKAMOTO. I swear it's him, those rolling r's and screams are unmistakable.
+ XBL versus play, from what very little I played, is pretty good. There's a little lag but when the connections are good, they're REALLY good.

Cons:
- Single player is a tad sparse. Tower of Lost Souls is kind of a pain, but I'm sure there's some cheap way of doing some of these challenges. :P
- Yoda and Apprentice are sort of cheap, the former FAR more than the latter (although Apprentice's B throw flings the opponent a ridiculous distance across the ring). I'm betting one or both will get soft-banned or hard-banned from tourneys if this game catches on.
- I kind of miss the Greave Edges and stuff. There's quite a few default characters, but those extra movesets were a nice novelty.
- Story mode is a disappointment, with only 5 stages per story, no branching paths, and no input endings (Yeah, I miss 'em). The endings themselves are sort of lame too. On the bright side it's a nice way to make an easy 10+ thousand gold to buy shinies.
- English voice acting is an abomination. Totally awful, with the exception of Yoda. On the bright side, the Japanese voices are still pleasing to the ears, even Hoshi (since he's not using his whiny Kira voice as Kilik). Ichiro Nagai as Yoda is really awesome. :D
- I have no problem with fanservice, but Cassandra's Critical Finish is embarrassing to watch.

Overall: A good fighting game, albeit one that won't have THAT much lasting value in single player. When friends are over, or when you're online, the actual lasting value of the game becomes clear.

Assuming there's no major glitches (There had BETTER not be, Namco), this could be what SC3 wanted to be--a solid fighter with features that attract non-fighting game fans.

A list of games I need to get. Some good, some bad! All currently out in Japan or America.

Playstation 2:
Arcana Heart
Persona 3 FES
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1&2
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
Kingdom Hearts II
Mega Man: Anniversary Collection
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
GrimGrimoire
Odin Sphere
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001
Super Robot Taisen Original Generation Gaiden
Super Robot Taisen IMPACT
The 2nd Super Robot Taisen Alpha
SD Gundam G-Generation Spirits

Xbox 360:
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Rock Band
Ninja Gaiden II
Ninja Gaiden BLACK (XBox Originals)
Guilty Gear XX #RELOAD (XBox Originals)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (XBox Originals)
Soul Calibur (XBL Arcade)
Civilization: Revolution
Battlefield: Bad Company
Dragonball Z Burst Limit
Ninja Gaiden 2
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One (XBL Arcade, also... best title ever)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Game of the Year Edition)
Alien Hominid (XBL Arcade)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBL Ar(ry)
Ikaruga (XBL A(ry)
Pac-Man C.E. (ry
Rez HD
TMNT Arcade

Wii:
No More Heroes
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (and a GC memory card)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon
Dr. Mario: Online Rx
Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Sin and Punishment: Successor of Earth
Zack and Wiki
Super Paper Mario
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
LostWinds
Defend Your Castle
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Trauma Center: New Blood
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Mario Strikers Charged
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Castle of Shikigami III
Bully: Scholarship Edition

DS:
Brain Age or Brain Age 2
NEW Super Mario Bros.
Final Fantasy III
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2
Izuna
Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon, Time/Darkness
Etrian Odyssey 1&2
The World Ends with You
Contra 4
Phoenix Wright 2&3
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
Front Mission

GBA:
Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green
Final Fantasy V Advance
Final Fantasy VI Advance
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Fuck LJ-cuts, I'm lazy tonight. :|

It's been six years, and Archie Andrews is still an insufferable moron who spouts off without knowing a damn thing (never mind that I do the same thing), judging by a thread from the past couple of days on a locked post on ori's LJ. Rotty was laughing about the idea of Green Party candiate Cynthia McKinney choosing Rosa Clemente--a journalist, community organizer, and "hip-hop activist"--as her running mate, especially about how Ms. Clemente is apparently *so* obsessed with the "trappings of black underclass culture" that she cannot express her grievances in an appropriate style like a "smart activist" would. Never mind that she *does* express her grievances in other ways, since hip-hop activism is a term for activism related to the African-American community, political and cultural issues. She has denounced the materialistic and misogynistic culture created by other rappers and record producers while also railing against the perceived inequalities between whites and blacks, such as the outrage when Kanye West posed as Christ for Rolling Stone and the comparatively VERY high degree of outrage about this magazine cover vs. traditional white portrayals of Jesus (even though Jesus was historically not a caucasian man). But that doesn't matter to him, she's a hip hop activist so she is on the same level as Fitty and whoever the fuck else he thinks of as true representatives of hip-hop music.

It's great that you've decided to try and blend into Indian culture and religion or whatever you have decided to do since you were outed as the sleazebag you really are, but guess what, Rotty? You can't use that as an excuse to use cute little code words to hide a more overt form of racism! "Underclass culture" and "underclass music?" Why not just be slightly less subtle (since this particular term is not very well-chosen at all) and just call it what you intended to call it, "nigger culture" and "nigger music?" You're avoiding that word as if that's the only way someone can call you out on bigotry, and then you cry foul when someone actually DOES call you out on it and go on that Indian acculturation spiel as if that means you're a paragon of social equality--never mind that you can do that and STILL hate another, unrelated ethnic or religious group. Racism can manifest itself without the use of slurs. Why do you think people react to the painfully backhanded compliment used for Barack Obama and other successful black politicians and activists--calling them "articulate" and other such words--with anger? It's because it's a code word or a loaded word--"articulate for a black man," basically. "Underclass" makes it sound like you're establishing superiority over the African-American community.

As I said in the thread, "Way to sound like an ignorant fool who is mocking something about which he knows absolutely nothing, Rotty!" Perhaps I should have gone farther and outright called him a bigot, too.

Nah fuck that post. I'm going more juvenile.

I hate:
- The DNC
- The RNC
- The liberal wing of my party
- The centrist wing of my party
- Anyone conservative
- Ralph Nader
- Whoever the fuck is representing the Libertarians, as if they stand a chance

OBAMA'S A COWARD LOL

Vote Ron Paul!

So, pictures of the Castlevania: Judgment character designs by Takeshi Obata (Cyborg Grandpa G, Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Blue Dragon Ral Grad) have been leaked to the internets care of jeuxfrance. The results...


Not so good.


Light YagamiSimon Belmont - Simon had a redesign a while back by Ayami Kojima, the most prolific of the CV character designers from SotN to Aria of Sorrow, and it looked pretty all right really. It was pretty flamboyant and his face was feminine--as is typical of Kojima's style--but the outfit looked like something out of the 15th century to a degree and so it was pretty inoffensive. It had the characteristic breastplate and leather skirt of Simon's old design too. Simon by Obata looks like Light Yagami with a red mullet (or maybe Mello's lackey Matt, again with a mullet) and much worse fashion sense. Gone is the leather armor of old, replaced by an open PVC vest that comes up to his ribcage (that's what it looks like to me), hotpants, shoulder armor, and gloves and boots that look like they came from Hot Topic.
Misa AmaneMaria Renard - Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh. I fucking hate this redesign. What's wrong with it? Oh, let me count the ways... Her hair and face are the EXACT SAME as Misamisa's from Death Note, so no points for originality there. The stupid high collar. The belt-corset. The heartless logo on her chest. The un-skirt that wouldn't even be considered sensible in the 1980's. The baggy sleeves. The garter belt that connects to skin-tight latex stockings that inexplicably go over unusually puffy, non-form fitting, frilly stockings that look like they'd probably have a few pounds' worth of wire to maintain their shape. The fact that female = hot fucking pink. It looks patently ridiculous even by animu standards.
Alucard - Not terrible but it doesn't really feel like Alucard. I know that it's probably a little petty but I prefer Alucard to look like he does in Symphony of the Night--cape, trousers, vest, overcoat, cravat, frilly cuffs, high boots, etc. He looks a little too much like some kind of holy crusader in the redesign, which would be fine were it not for the fact that he's based on Alucard, son of Dracula.
Count Dracula - ahahahahahahah wtf is this shit, why is Dracula dressed in a veiny, skintight bright fuckin' yellow body suit with big-ass nozzles all over his body? He looks like Mr. Sinister's canary yellow buddy Sir Malevolent, or something. Bleah.

AAAAAAAAAAGGGG

EVEN THROUGH THE DARKEST DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYS

THIS FIRE BURNS

ALWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYS

THIS FIRE BURNS....

ALWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYS!!!!

Today marks a year since the news that Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their Atlanta suburban home, and the quick torrent of news surrounding the circumstances thereof in which it was found that Benoit was the person who killed Nancy (known in wrestling by the ring name Woman) and their son Daniel, in the middle of the WWE's impromptu retrospective of Benoit's life and career. The WWE, realizing that the truth of the situation was more gruesome than anticipated, began downplaying Benoit's accomplishments during their broadcast, and promptly began a process of cleansing their records of his existence.

It was the day, for me, that a man I admired and respected as a performer was obscured and overshadowed by a man for whom I had no compassion, for committing the unthinkable crime of murder not only on his wife for seven years but also of his youngest son. It's been a year since I went from denial to anger, as news began leaking to the public that the deaths were no accident.

It's hard to reconcile the real Benoit, who was a modest, quiet, serious, but nonetheless friendly person who was a friend and mentor to the likes of the Guerreros, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, Chris Jericho, and others, to the murderer he suddenly became on Friday, June 22, 2007. Theories surfaced in the following weeks--was it roid rage, even though roid rage comes in short bursts and the actions of Benoit were a three-day event? This was latched onto by the news and trumpeted by sleaze peddlers in disguise as TV journalists, like Bill O'Reilly and especially Nancy Grace, and the fact that Benoit had only recently injected testosterone into his bloodstream did nothing to stop the media circus of this theory. Meanwhile, former pro wrestler and author of "Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis," Christopher ("Chris Harvard") Nowinski, supposed the theory that it was the result of multiple concussions suffered through his career, a theory corroborated by the evidence of his stiff working style, his use of the somewhat dangerous Diving Headbutt (in the style of his idol, Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington) and multiple chair shots taken to the back of the head. Indeed, forensics scientists reported that he had the brain of an 80-year old Alzheimer's patient at the time of his death, and likely suffered from a dementia similar to that of NFL players who killed themselves or harmed others after repeated concussions. The same day that the results were announced--September 9, 2007--Nowinski's efforts in researching the prominence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (Punch-Drunk Syndrome) in the NFL were chronicled on ESPN's Outside the Lines. The WWE has not embraced this theory, although a number of fans use it as justification for absolving Benoit of his crimes in their hearts.

A year later and things have mostly moved on. The WWE is slowly acknowledging that Chris Benoit existed, although his legacy remains a black mark on their own legacy, a wrestler who--without a shadow of a doubt--killed his own family, unlike the controversy surrounding the Jimmy Snuka incident. Two of the WWE's top wrestlers, Triple H (Paul Levesque) and Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom), remnants of the so-called "Clique" that played a major role in the formation of the WWF's late-1990's image, began using Chris Benoit's trademark submission move in matches in a move that some consider to be an attempt to make it an acceptable move without one signature user in the US. The WWE's ban on Benoit's footage has been relaxed slowly but surely, though the acknowledgement that he was involved in a number of events from 2000-2007 is still mostly nonexistent on the WWE's website. His name is still listed in the title history, but short of that there is very little left of his presence. The Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame--run by Dave Meltzer, the long-time author of the premier pro wrestling newsletter, is holding a vote on whether to recognize Benoit's in-ring merits any further, in light of the double murder-suicide.

Since it happened, I admit to making tasteless jokes because I'm not a very tactful person online. But in all honesty I am still angry about the crime, and not very forgiving of Benoit despite that revelation of Benoit's possible suffering of CTE. A lot of people I know who enjoy wrestling were quick to forgive him because of the effects of steroids on his mind, or the effects of the concussions he suffered over the years, but it's all not enough to me. Murder's murder. It takes more than being the best wrestler of his generation and one of the best wrestlers of all time to make up for it all. It takes more than the dementia of punch-drunk syndrome or the effects of roid rage (which is bullshit--nobody roid raging would commit murder in the calculating way in which Nancy died, arms and legs bound and strangled with a cord around her neck) to turn a criminal from a villain to a tragic figure. And in my mind, even though I admit to enjoying his work objectively, subjectively he is still a despicable person to me and the crimes have fully overshadowed his accomplishments otherwise.