Tag Archives: Blog

Vacationing 101

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Hello, class, and welcome to Vacationing 101. Since I was a young boy, I’ve been driving down to the Florida Panhandle to vacation with my mother’s side of the family. Nowadays, most people just take the plane and make things simple, but not my family! No, we pack up our car and drive the 16-hour drive it is from my house to Perdido Key, Florida, and that’s what we did last Thursday, which inspired me to write about this. So, for all of you out there who take long road trips (and even short ones!), here are some tips and tricks to become a pro!

Section 1: Entertainment

This is probably the most important aspect of the trip because it gives you something to do. Phones, MP3 Players, handheld video game systems, etc… all of these are important items to bring with so you can kill time easily. Being a gamer, it’s very easy for me to kill a couple hours playing a video game. Books are also great, but only if you can read in the car without feeling sick (unlike me).

And that leads me to the second point of this section: power supply. My family uses an inverter that allows us to utilize the car’s battery to charge our devices. This is great for long trips where your service for your phone may drop a couple times and kill your battery or when your MP3 Player is running low on power. They’re relatively cheap, so the investment is definitely worth it. It is absolutely essential for the next part of this section: computers and roaming Internet.

If you’re someone who enjoys to write or have some games on your laptop, then by all means, bring it. However, it’s not that useful if you’re not big on writing or using it to listen to music instead of your MP3 Player or play games, so why else would you bring it? For the Internet, of course! You see, if you root your phone, pay for a wi-fi hotspot service, or have an Internet card, you can enjoy the pleasure of driving along the highway whilst on Facebook and YouTube, watching videos and liking statuses for no reason other than to like them. It’s a great way to kill time – probably one of the best ways since you can spend hours and hours on the Internet. Just make sure your computer and your phone (if you’re using your phone as a hot spot) are plugged in so they don’t run out of battery too quickly.

Section 2: Drinks, Snacks, and You

When it comes to long trips, you’re bound to get hungry and thirsty when you’re on the highway and nowhere near a place to stop for food. When that time comes, it’s good to be prepared; pack non-perishable foods such as granola bars and trail mixes. It’s also good to bring a small cooler filled with some water and other beverages you might want. I wouldn’t pack perishable foods in the cooler because even if you stick a a ton of ice in it, that ice is going to melt and become warm and your perishable food will perish. And try not to pack too much food and drink – unless you’re not planning on stopping for food, of course.

Section 3: Stopping

Everyone has to stop after a few hours in the car to stretch, go to the bathroom, eat, etc…but how much is too much? Well, that depends entirely on when you leave, how much food and drink you’ve packed, and where you’re headed.

As a general rule for long road trips, plan to stop for gas if your car doesn’t have the greatest MPG. You can plan times to eat meals (if you haven’t packed any), stretch, and go to the bathroom around when you think you’ll need gas, which will save time if you’re in a hurry. If you’re making great time, it’s not a bad idea to make separate stops and enjoy some time to eat. And always make sure you have an idea of rest stops along your route so you can stop in case of an emergency. If you’ve packed food and drink for eating meals instead of simply snacking, you don’t really need to plan to eat and focus on when to get gas and go to the bathroom.

Also, I recommend stopping at some of the more scenic rest stops: they’re a great way to keep a road trip interesting!

If you’re taking a short road trip, a lot of this doesn’t really apply because, well, you’ll be at your destination in a few hours, anyway. Of course, if you leave mid-morning, you can stop for a small lunch once it hits noon or 1, and there are always times when you have to stop for something.

Section 4: Sleeping

This is a big one for longer road trips, but the dynamics of it change a little depending on when you leave. If you leave super-early in the morning like me (I left at 4:30 AM for this year’s trip), get some coffee if you’re driving first and switch off every few hours so everyone who has to drive gets some kind of sleep. If you’re the only one driving, get a 5-hour energy or something so you’re not dead by noon. If you leave later in the day and drive through the night, definitely stock up on more than just caffeine, no matter what – you and the others who are driving are going to need it to get through the night.

To actually fall asleep for a reasonable amount of time is somewhat of a challenge. Listening to some soft music is nice, but the crucial part to falling asleep is to become immune to the many sounds and the shaking that comes with driving on the highway. You also have to find a good position that won’t kill your neck, arm, or back when you wake up. This is not easy for some, and very easy for others. For me, it’s a skill I’ve developed over the years of going on this trip. I consider myself a pro. The only tip I have for you is syrup. Every time I eat syrup I get a good 2-3 hours of restful sleep because of the sugar crash that comes with syrup.

Section 5: Packing

Packing. The one thing people love and hate to do. Packing for a road trip is hard because you don’t want to pack too much and you don’t want to pack too little for the actual part where you’re not driving. For clothes, I suggest packing an outfit for every day and a few for going out, and that’s it. No more, no less. If you want to bring some electronics, pack a small backpack for that with all of your little gadgets, books, etc… so you can keep it nearby. Don’t pack too much food and drink, either. It’s important that you have enough room to fit all of your stuff, so once you find that perfect balance and fit everything in, you’re golden.

That’s it for today, class. There’ll be a quiz next Monday before we go over what to do when you finally arrive!

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: Legend of Korra (Season 1)

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Back when Avatar: The Last Airbender was airing on Nickelodeon, I always enjoyed an episode or two when I could catch it, but I never fully invested myself into following the series. That was then. A year ago, I watched the entire series and loved it, so when I heard about Avatar: Legend of Korra, I was very excited for it! As it happens, the two-episode season finale of the 1st season (consisting of 12 episodes) was a couple weekends ago, which means that I can finally review this awesome show! So let’s jump right in!

Background:

For those unfamiliar with the show and its world, you don’t have to worry about knowing too much about it – the show does an adequate job of providing those who are unfamiliar with the bare basics and facts of the world of Avatar. With that being said, Legend of Korra is definitely more rewarding if you’ve seen The Last Airbender. Many references are made to The Last Airbender that make Legend of Korra that much more immersive for those who have seen the former show.

I won’t try to spoil too much of the plot, but I will give you a very brief overview: Korra, the new Avatar after Aang, has finally completed her fire bending training, meaning she can now bend Earth, Fire, and Water, and is now ready to begin her air bending training with Aang’s son, Tenzin. Unfortunately, Tenzin cannot stay to teach her where she is currently located, and so she follows Tenzin to Republic City, a hub for benders and non benders to live in harmony. There, she becomes involved in a war between benders and non benders whilst learning how to air bend.

Animation/Art:

Right away, in the very first episode, you can see how the world has changed from The Last Airbender; Republic City is very steampunk and modernized compared to the rural nature of The Last Airbender – you see cars, boats, and other various forms of technology, and alongside that you can see how much the team has improved in their animating. The environments are gorgeous, and the animation is much more fluid, especially when it comes to combat. There is no loss of production when it comes to Legend of Korra; each episode was pretty consistent when it came to its animation, and it was cool to see a different style of bending in the pro-bending matches.

Score: 9/10

Music:

The music is fantastic. I actually was able to get enough points on Korra Nation, an advertising campaign for Legend of Korra, for an exclusive soundtrack, and it’s great. While I enjoy the music for combat, I think my favorite pieces are the ones with violin during the more somber moments of the series. It really hit me during those moments. The ending theme is also great. All in all, the music fits each scene wonderfully, and its soundtrack is definitely one I could listen to again and again.

Score: 8/10

Plot Direction:

This is the show’s weakest point for me, but by no means is it bad. It’s great! I like how they play with how Korra is a much more physical Avatar – she relies on her bending to be an Avatar, and her difficulty learning Airbending lends itself to her difficulty connecting with her past lives spiritually, so to see her struggle through that was an interesting perspective for an Avatar. The whole “revolution” from non-benders (calling themselves Equalists) is also really interesting because you could see that in The Last Airbender where benders always had power over non benders. It was never addressed, but being able to see that as a sort-of foreshadow made the Equalist revolution a sensible direction because of how technology can bolster non-benders. The themes of revolution and corruption ran rampant throughout the series, but it is that very concept that we can relate so easily to thanks to the many movies and other shows that address these issues, as well as what we know from history in the past and currently.

Despite the predictability of the show’s plot progression, there are a lot of surprising twists thrown in there, and I was pleased with all of them. And to be honest, some of the predictable points were necessary, in my opinion. The ONLY thing I thought was kind of weak was the inevitable love triangle (square, maybe?) between Korra, Mako, and Asami, but to be honest, how they acted wasn’t too bad considering they’re all teenagers, but all of them had rushed feelings, I think, but that’s because the season was only 12 episodes.

A very solid plot, nonetheless, and definitely one worthy of the Avatar series. Oh, and the flashbacks with Aang, Toph, and Sokka was amazing!

Score: 7/10

Character:

I loved the characters in this series. Sure, some of them didn’t really get fleshed out, but Korra, Tenzin, Lin, Amon, Tarrlok, and a whole host of others were very fleshed out. I really enjoyed watching them grow as characters, despite how rushed some of it had to be because of the 12-episode limit. However, that can be forgiven because of the revolution and how that can cause more drastic change in characters. There was a lot of conflict between many of the characters, and I enjoyed seeing that many of those conflicts came to a resolution.

Score: 9/10

A lot of Legend of Korra’s criticisms, for me, stem from how short the first season was. But, it’s important to keep in mind that this was supposed to be a mini-series with two seasons of less than 20 episodes, so you can’t expect what The Last Airbender provided. With 12 episodes, Legend of Korra is very impressive, and if you haven seen The Last Airbender, you will enjoy Legend of Korra. Even if you haven’t seen The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra is sure to impress.

I will eagerly be awaiting next season, where I hope a lot of my criticisms are put down.

Animation/Art: 9/10

Music: 8/10

Plot Direction: 7/10

Character: 9/10

Final Score: 8/10

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

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On my birthday last week, my friends and I went to go see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which was released that night at midnight. I went in there expecting a horror/action film, and what I got was probably one of the best comedies I’ve seen all year. So let’s jump in and see why this film is so funny!

Plot:

I think this is probably one of the best parts. As you can probably take from the title, this is a movie that takes place during the time Abraham Lincoln was alive. We see him grow from boy to young man to our 16th president, and during the latter two periods he hunts vampires. Yes, you get to see Abraham Lincoln, as president, hunt down superhuman creatures with an axe. If you’re smiling and laughing after reading that sentence, go see this movie – you won’t regret it!

Really, the plot is Abraham Lincoln’s rise to becoming the president along with the civil war, and it all includes vampires, where the vampires are aiding the South in their desire to conquer the North in battle and keep slavery as a practice. What’s striking is how vampires are weaved in. It’s almost ridiculous how they just end up in the south and feed on slaves, and then aid the South in the civil war.

And Henry, Abe‘s mentor, being a vampire was such a twist…except it wasn’t, but I wasn’t expecting great twists from this movie considering it’s supposed to be part-historic.

Acting:

Honestly, the acting is good. That’s why it’s funny. These actors are legitimately trying to convince you that this could have happened – that Abraham Lincoln was, indeed, a vampire hunter. I don’t know exactly who the actors and actresses were (nor am I interested enough to look them up because none of them astounded me), but they were good, and I enjoyed their acting, especially the interactions between Abe and Henry, his mentor (and also a vampire).

I can’t really comment much on the characters – they’re ones you know, and since it’s made out to be like history, you kind of know where each of them is headed in terms of arc progression.

Music:

The music was pretty standard. Nothing really to comment on because I wasn’t too engrossed by it. It wasn’t bad, just not stellar.

Fighting:

This was the best part. To see Abraham Lincoln with bloodlust eyes as he hacks away at a vampire ind killing them in gruesome/badass ways was, simply put, amazing and hilarious, especially once he becomes the president. I really don’t want to go into too much detail, but believe me when I say that it’s gory, although the blood looks kinda fake, but maybe that’s because vampires have a different kind of blood…yeah, I’ll just go with that.

Anyway, the war scenes are also pretty cool, especially once the vampires come in. The battle of Gettysburg is hilarious because of the vampires!

——

Really, the movie isn’t too bad. I mean, it’s a movie about our 16th president hunting vampires, so take that as you will, but I very-much enjoyed it because of how serious the presentation was. It’s movies like this that present a hilarious concept seriously that I love to watch, and I find these kinds of movies funnier than most movies that are actually comedies. If you’re not against seeing some gore and vampires, and want to watch Abraham Lincoln be a complete badass, do go and watch this move – you won’t regret it!

Rating: 3 out of 5 (stars)

Just sayin’.

REVIEW: Limbo

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Another review! Since school’s ending (my finals week is this week!!), I’ve had a lot more time to play games, so I’ve actually been getting around to playing some of the games in my backlog. Today, I’ll be reviewing a game I purchased during Steam‘s Christmas Sale last year – Limbo.

Plot:

Let’s dive right in with me saying this: I don’t like open-ended and subtle narratives. I hate them. I like to have my narratives laid out in front of me with character as the more subtle element. That aside, Limbo’s plot is fairly simple: you know that you play a boy who is seemingly in Limbo (at least, that’s what I thought), who is looking for his sister. Although simple, that’s enough for the game to be enjoyed.

You do see a few things – a giant spider, dead humans, and even ones that are alive and hostile. What they mean, I have no idea, and this is my problem with subtle narratives – it’s all up to interpretation, and I don’t like that. The ending is the same way (and it’s rather abrupt), so you never actually find out what the story is – you’re supposed to interpret it for yourself. But, despite my distaste for these kinds of narratives, Limbo does do a really nice job setting its world and narrative up, and it really adds to the replay value for those who enjoy these kinds of narratives.

I don’t like it, but Limbo does it very well.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

This is by far my favorite part of the game. Everything’s laid out to you Noir style, so you’re given only black and white, and it is stunning. The faded out backgrounds in grey, the lights and darkness at the end of puzzles, the lighting effects with blurs and shadows – all of it is simply fantastic! It really sets and maintains the mood of the game throughout the entire experience. I especially loved the character model. The few musical compositions are great, and they really invoke emotions when you do hear them since they’re during critical narrative parts of the game. Throughout most of the game, all you hear are sound effects, but those are fantastic background noise, especially once you get to the more city-like areas and you hear the gears and crackling of electricity. It was a game that I felt benefited greatly from the quietness of not really having a soundtrack.

I really can’t say anything more – you simply have to experience it yourself. I think this right here is enough of a reason to replay (and buy) the game.

Gameplay:

I was looking up plot details to see if anything official had been released (there hasn’t as far as I know), and I came across “trail and death” as a style of game, and I think this was a good way of categorizing Limbo. Some of the puzzles I died multiple times just to get the timing right, but while some may find this kind of game frustrating, I enjoy it. The checkpoints where nicely set, so I never felt like I had to do something I had just done over and over, and the difficulty wasn’t even bad – many of the puzzles were thought-provoking, and I enjoy that in a puzzle-oriented game. It definitely has replay value, but knowing the puzzles already does detract from it unless you enjoy time attacking.

Overall, Limbo delivers an excellent experience for those who enjoy puzzle games and a more subjective narrative. I would recommend it to anyone, especially since it’s so cheap! It’s indie games like this that I will continue to buy because they’re always good!

Score:

Plot: 4/10

Atmosphere: 10/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Overall: 7/10

Just sayin’.

P.S.: Limbo is currently part of the newest Humble Bundle that is out right now. It’s for a limited time, so I suggest you go get it – it’s got a ton of great games PLUS Limbo, and you get to name your price!

Go here to get it! — http://www.humblebundle.com/

The Mass Effect 3 Rageathon

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From what I remember, it all started with hype. Y’know that feeling that you get when a new game’s coming out or something truly incredible happens; yeah, that hype. It swept over them, causing songs of joy and excitement to be played and heard all across the world.

But, it was only a matter of time…

The hype eventually turned into disappointment. It wasn’t what they thought it would be. They thought it was going to be great, but it turned out subpar. They were promised an ending, but instead were given a bad ending. This disappointment planted its seeds, growing with each passing minute until they saw the ending and it sprouted into hatred. This hatred blossomed into rage, and here we are, now filing federal complaints because of the ending to Mass Effect 3.

I didn’t know about the apparent “rageathon” until earlier this week when I decided to peruse the Mass Effect 3 thread on ACen’s community forums. It was there that I saw the shadow of doubt and the seeds of disappointment being woven into the hearts and minds of those hyped people. I almost shed a tear, knowing what was going to happen next.

And yesterday, as I tried to decide what to write about, an article on Kotaku answered my plea for a subject – a user on Bioware‘s forums filed a federal case because of how disappointed he was. According to Kotaku, user “El_Spiko” went to the Federal Trade Commission‘s website and filed a complaint for false advertising because of how Electronic Arts and the Better Business Bureau advertised Mass Effect 3. According to him, they promised a stellar ending, so I dug into the Internet and wanted to see exactly what the fans were being told, and I actually did find a thread that has a rather comprehensive list of quotes from interviews about the ending and the game itself (complete with links to these interviews).

So, I read through a lot of them, and as an outsider (I’ve never played the series. I’ve never really been interested), they looked like really big claims. From what I gathered from reading some of the comments in the thread, I’m guessing that the ending is roughly the same for everyone, no matter what choices you make, and Bioware specifically promised them that each ending would be unique based on how you played.

Now, a lot of comments are saying that the guy is going overboard, that this lawsuit is frivolous. I don’t think the lawsuit was a wise decision; in fact, I think it’s hilarious that this guy is really getting this worked up over an ending, but hey, if the guy’s pissed about being lied to, then there’s nothing actually wrong with him filing the complaint. Bioware did promise a lot, and from what I’m looking at, it seems like they didn’t keep a lot of those promises, and that is false advertising, so El_Spiko is not in the wrong.

If anything progresses from this, you just have to hope that El_Spiko knows what he’s doing.

Just sayin’

LINK TO THREAD:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886

REVIEW: Howl’s Moving Castle

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This movie is good for ONE REASON ONLY:

Christian Bale Bird Man!

Bird Man - played by Christian Bale

Oh yes, Christian Bale becoming bird man. It’s the only explanation!

I lied, there’s two reasons:

BA scarescrow

The most bad ass scarecrow to have ever existed...

But, seriously – continuing the Miyazaki trend, I recently watched Howl’s Moving Castle. Did you know that Miyazaki throws in sub-themes as casually as strolling into a party where jeans and a t-shirt at a business casual event? Neither did I, and because Arrietty was my first of Miyazaki’s films, I was under the impression his other works would be a little more sensible.

Now, I can take chaos. The movie’s premise of a girl who feels old, ugly, and incompetent and being cursed to reflect her mood is an enchanting premise, and I was really enjoying the movie for a while as we explored Howl’s gigantic moving ‘castle’ and its ability to warp doorways was awesome.

Then came war.

Now, a funny little note here is every single time (and I mean every. Single. Time.) the characters talked about war or we saw war happening, my friend would turn to me and say, “Hey, Kappy, did you know this movie’s about war?”

As annoying as that may seem, it was funny to me because it felt like the concept of war was literally shoved into the movie as a skeleton to the plot being driven by Sophie (I think that’s the spelling) and Howl. Was war really what the movie was about? It shouldn’t have been, but in the end it was.

I applaud Miyazaki for trying to weave a story of two who belittle themselves and are cowardly and, in the end, confront their problems head-on with war being the wrong solution to problems, but was that supposed to be a metaphor for how we as people need to confront our problems head-on with discussion instead of duking it out? Maybe, but if so, it was executed poorly.

We would go from a scene with Sophie to towns and villages being destroyed and Howl just flying around destroying battleships. Um, OK, great. Why? Why was the war even there? How did it start? Why was Howl summoned by both sides?

Let’s move onto something a little more positive: the voice acting and characters. Here’s where this movie really shines. Disregarding any lines about war, the characters develop wonderfully. Being able to actually see Sophie come to terms with her feeling old and weak was incredibly powerful. The supporting cast really helps move things along, and that living scarecrow is easily the greatest character in film history. There, I said it. I loved that scarecrow. It was funny, but really helped Sophie grow, and I thought that was awesome.

Talking of characters, let’s talk about the voice acting. Since I watched it on Netflix, I listened to the english dub, and I was once again impressed by it. Especially Howl, who was voiced by none other than Christian-fucking-Bale. That’s right, Christian Bale voiced Howl in this movie, and damn does he sound good when not talking like Batman!

And how can I forget the gorgeous visuals? The animation and art were, simply put, stunning. Panning across the sky or an open lake was 10-12 seconds of delicious eye candy, and a few of the scenes (specifically when they ‘moved’) were animated really nicely.

All in all, this movie was good. There were some things I think it could have done much better concerning execution and the development of their sub-themes, but other than that, everything was great. I’m excited to watch more of Miyazaki’s work!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Also the concept of Christian Bale turning into a bird man is hilarious.

And credit to the photoshopped photo of Christian Bale goes to my friend Jacob (Xyless)!

Just sayin’.