After writing my previous blog and after looking back at a couple of older posts, I realized that I had pictures of my dogs which I took back in January.
Now up first is Brindy, who is a rascal of a dog even in her old age. Unlike before, she remembered me right off the bat this time and so there wasn't any growling or barking.
I found out the tumors she had on her legs (which we saw when we visited in January the year before) had been taken off successfully. That was great news! But sadly, after the operation she seemed to have lost a lot of the spunk she once had. I guess it is just time catching up to the old girl.
It was so sad and disheartening to see that she couldn't even chew up her cookies (dog biscuits) anymore. The look in her eyes and the crying just didn't help at all. I wanted to take her back to Oahu with me and baby her (I'm a sucker for dogs)!
And here is Tiger, the smart ass, who actually didn't really run from us this time around. I guess we smelt familiar enough to her.
Despite the fact that I thought this dog would have bolted from home once she got a little older, she still remains to being a tried and true momma's girl.
And she, just like her mother, are suckers for dog biscuits. Tiger, however, developed a tactic to get exactly what she wants. Some times.
From around 6am, she will start to pace around on the deck (pictured above, with Tiger herself or at least the backside of her) and whine and cry when ever she thinks she hears someone. She'll do it to everyone, but she'll especially turn up the whine factor when my mom appears. Needless to say, more often then not she gets the cookie (as does Brindy too).
It takes just one off chance that I happen to run into blogs from Kona that set off what I haven't felt in all these years being away from home: being home sick. Well, it isn't nessessarily home that I am missing (not saying I hated being home), but maybe more the atmosphere and peace of being in Kona.
To this day, it is the only place that I ever experienced absolute silence. Ok, more like silence in the way of hearing no cars or people. And when you look around, all you see is the hills, the mountain, the sky, sun and clouds. No huge buildings, no freeways, nothing!
On the flip side, I know the Kona that I grew up in is slowly fading away. The last time I was home (this past January), there were a lot more houses and a lot more businesses. Slowly yet surely the place is all changing.
What I am happy to see is that my home town hadn't changed at all. Now that place is still exactly like I remembered it from back in 2002, with the exception of a couple of new houses here and there.
Aw man, just thinking further about my memories of home is making me sad in a way. Back in Kona I was able to write a lot more then I can here. Over here my brain is just hectic all the time and these days there just seems to be no peace at all.
Now I remember writing about this (Final Fantasy IV: The After Years) a few months back and even while knowing that it was released, I have not made any effort in trying to get or play it.
I think part of the reason being is that I am still not caving in on the whole Wii is full of you know what stance. But then this is a Final Fantasy game and not just any FF game, but a sequel to the very first one I ever played.
And the other reason being is just the fact that I don't have that system set up and ready to go like my Xbox 360 or PS3.
Anyway, that was then and today is today. Or something to that effect...
Today, just out of a strange curiosity that managed to wrangle my brain into wondering something randomly stupid: What were the four elemental fiends again? And for the life of me, I could not remember what those sons of bitches were!
So after finally conceding, I went ahead and looked up the answer on the Final Fantasy Wiki site.
Now it didn't take very long before I started to browse through the pages of the various characters. The thing is, each of those pages has bios for the character from Final Fantasy IV AND what happened during the time of "The After Years" game as well.
An hour later and after having read through ALL of the character's bios, I fell in love with the story of the game I haven't even played. It just sounds so very interesting to me now, more then it ever did a few months back. I mean this isn't just a sequel that takes place a year after. Oh no, this is seventeen years after the ending of FFIV and so the world is entirely a different place. Hell, pictured above is one of my favorite characters from that particular game, Rydia!
How much longer can I possibly ignore this game?! Well, the answer is simple really. How long does it take to hook up a Wii? Yup, I'm going there...
While I can't say the trailer for the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra movie exactly won me over as being an "awesome" movie, I will admit to saying that both Snake Eyes (Pictured to the left here) and Storm Shadow both look equally bad ass! And by the looks of things, both of these ninjas will cross swords during the course of the movie and so that looks to be a definite point of interest for me.
The thing that gets me is this: What's up with the power suit stuff? Is this GI Joe or Power Rangers? Now unless I've hit my head a few too many times over the years, I don't remember any power suits as being a major factor in the story.
At the end of the day, however, I'm just hoping this movie is at least decent. By that I mean I'm hoping the movie has a decent story and the characters aren't obscenely cheesy.
Yes I know those types died down back in the 90's, but recently cheesy has found its way back into our world (Charlie from Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li was just brutal!).
Honestly, with all of these series from the past getting their second (or third, or fourth) chance at life, I have to wonder aloud here. Given that these are based off of cartoons from the 80's, I have to ponder on this...
Where the heck is a He-Man remake? I remember reading rumors about it some years back, but I haven't seen anything further about it since. Personally, I grew up idolizing that cartoon as a kid and I think it could potentially be AWESOME to see what kind of insanity can be brewed up in this day and age.
I can't lie... I'd totally mark out to hear this...
What else can I say? At the time, to me, this was only the single greatest cartoon I had ever seen! And that fact remained so until it disappeared and was replaced by a certain bunch of turtles...
And apparently, this game was recently released on WiiWare! What surprises me must is the fact that I am actually feeling pretty interested in playing this game. Considering how I haven't had much joy or fun with much of anything related to the Wii, this is a rarity for me obviously. Anyway, maybe I may have to take another look into the games over there...
Or at least that is the general feeling I'm having these past few days. Maybe its been ongoing for a few weeks now? Perhaps maybe even a month or two? I cannot say for sure yet, but man is my brain going here, there and everywhere.
Its been tough for me, at least to an extent. I've been debating whether or not keeping a second job is a smart idea. Granted, this second job was meant to replace my present one and that idea failed epically.
What hurts more is my girlfriend was recently informed or rather, she was told a few days ahead that the company would be shutting down her department. So imagine building around a set schedule and suddenly... TA-DA! No more set anything! Factor in that she is going back to college in under a month, that leaves her in a position where she may have to cut her work hours drastically.
And the thing of the matter is my boss (from my second job) just keeps trying to talk me out of leaving. I'm telling him now basically everything is going to shit and he chimes in with "so how does your girlfriend's situation affect you?"
Huh.
I guess us living together and if one of us goes down, our whole life goes down with it. Ok, ok... maybe that choice of wording is a bit too dramatic. But then, it is true in the fact that if one of us can't make up our end, we are in a world of hurt folks. And it just feels like my boss does not get it! And it frustrates the shit out me!
So maybe I'm not thinking so much as to "if" I will give up the second job, but maybe more like "when" I will give it up. It is just too much pressure on my brain to having to try and balance a pair of jobs at this point. And the bottom line is I am just not making that much money in my present situation.
And blah, blah, blah... I'm afraid this post is as scattered about as my brain is right now. I'm hoping to eliminate all of this extra headaches in the coming weeks. I surely don't want to begin developing white hairs at the tender old age of 25...
There are a number of reasons that come to my mind whenever I think about why I love Sundays. Don't need to wake up early, don't need to work and generally don't need to do anything at all. That alone should be more then enough to comprise a perfect day for anyone or at least a pretty damn good one in my book.
But you see, there is just more to life then just being able to be lazy. I like the simple things and one such thing is Sunday comics. You know, the ones that come in the newspaper? Surely they do arrive on every other day of the week. But Sundays, oh Sundays are the days when these buggers show up in force!
Some favorites include: Mutts, Zits, Prickly City, Get Fuzzy, Pickles, Over the Hedge (the movie was awesome!), Pooch Cafe, Garfield and Agnes too!
What I miss is reading Peanuts, Family Circle (go figure) and just a lot of others I have not seen in some years. I guess it has to do with the newspaper I'm reading (Star Bulletin) and not what I read back in high school (West Hawaii Today). Maybe the Advertiser has some of these missed comics?
I like these comics simply because they are simple. There isn't a deep and complex plot, not crazy galaxy spanning conspiracy and usually these comics are just plain and simple fun to read. I especially like to read these if I'm ever feeling stressed out, because these usually do the trick in making me feel better, smile a bit and maybe even laugh (Over the Hedge, Get Fuzzy and Garfield are the drug of choice there).
Another good time for these is just before starting a new work week. Even while the enjoyment lasts for only a few minutes, in those few minutes I forget the troubles of life and the world. In those few precious minutes, the world ceases to matter and all that consumes me is just the colored panels before my eyes.
And really, what's life without a smile and a little bit of laughter?
So yesterday, my girlfriend and I made another trip to the movies. This time we went to see the newest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
Now as it has always been, I absolutely did not read this book or any of the others before it, nor have I read the book after this. So I cannot say if anything seemed at all out of place or chopped. To me it felt like a pretty total movie, meaning it just felt like it was the way it was meant to be. Does that make sense?
What I enjoyed so much about this one, in comparison to the other movies, is the fact that it surely feels like the story and all of its characters have finally turned that corner. No longer does it feel like a wondrous kids movie, full of mysteries and discoveries. Rather, it finally feels like a story where the world is moving forward and being much more grounded in the real world. The characters are growing up, getting older and the world is increasingly becoming a darker place.
And the movie portrays the chaos rather well. I mean the Death Eaters are running rampant across both the Muggle and magic worlds and no one and nothing is safe with them on the loose. Even the Order of the Phoenix appears helpless in the face of this malevolent threat.
But it isn't all doom and gloom, I mean the characters begin to experience romance. Love even. It makes things different, maybe more so with this story because of the fact that the previous movies were more focused on solving a mystery and fighting off the creeping dark which crept back into the lives of everyone in the magical world.
Another plus for me is the filling in of the back story, which helped shed some light on certain questions, as well as flesh out the characters further. It was especially interesting to see Draco Malfoy, who, up to this point, appeared to be nothing more then a snotty, asshole kid of a Death Eater.
But really, to me the real story of this movie is all in how it ends. Now if you are like me and have not read the book and haven't seen the movie and don't know how the story goes, skip ahead!
Last chance!
It strikes to the heart of Harry, seeing Snape, the man he and his friends suspected for many a school term to being an dark and evil bastard, murder the man whom trusted him the most (Dumbledore) was just too much. Believing Snape to be nothing more then a traitorous murderer, gives chase to the escaping and seemingly victorious Death Eaters. When he finally catches up, Harry is soundly and easily defeated by Snape.
It was in this moment that the mystery of who exactly the Half-Blood Prince was solved. It was Snape all along.
And all that shit just boils my blood because now that just leaves behind far more questions then there are answers. What also does not help matters is the fact that the final movie is rumored to being two parts. I may have to cave in and read the last book...
All in all though, I did enjoy this movie because it was a lot more story driven this time around. It gave a bit more character to the main core group and it filled in the gaps of information from the previous movies. And with how this movie ends, it clearly set the tone for the grand finale.
One interesting and somewhat disappointing no show was the Dark Lord himself. Where the heck was Voldemort? I would have thought he'd at least make another appearance here, but I suppose that is being saved for the next and final movie.
And one final thought here: With the death of his parents and Sirious Black and now Dumbledore, how in the bloody hell is this kid holding his shit together? Practically everyone Harry has ever loved and/or trusted is dead. All he really has left are his friends, but come on. I would have thought he'd be going off the deep end by now, but I guess that kind of stuff doesn't end up into stories like these.
It is rather interesting to me, to read just how badly a lot of people seem to hate "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Worst movie of the decade? Wow, ouch. That is hurtful words considering the decade isn't even over yet.
Actually, that part doesn't really interest me all that much. I know not everyone will enjoy everything, but then a movie like this would be a tough one to make I'd imagine. I mean people have their own expectations and considering a person's expectations never have budget limits, it is so easy to demand every known Autobot and Decepticon ever conceived.
What interests me is the fact that, while this movie is apparently so very hated by fans and critics alike, according to Wikipedia, it still manages to fall just behind "The Dark Knight" on its Midnight release earnings and its first five day earnings. I don't... I think that is a sign it is doing well for itself.
One common complaint I've read is the movie is just too long for its own good. I guess not everyone feels the same way, but I hate movies that are too short (Eragon, I still hate you). It feels butchered to me, like there was meant to be more and yet it was tossed aside for whatever reason there might have been. As mentioned, "Eragon" was a movie I think could have been better if it had gotten a little more time in the length of its movie. On the other hand, a movie like "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" got the time and told a hell of a story in my opinion.
And this movie, while it felt a little reminiscent of the original, told quite a story too. Besides that, it kind of leans towards being more of a back story type movie, telling the tale of the Fallen and painting a sense of just how important Optimus Prime is. And after the fighting is all said and done, both sides seem to be back to where they started off in the first. Both sides have their leaders again and it surely appears as though that a third Transformers is inevitable. Personally, by the end of the movie I was happy knowing that I felt content, rather then saying to myself 'I feel ripped off.'
If there is one thing I've learned over the years, you can't really base a movie off of fan and critic responses. It really has to be about the individual person's tastes, which apparently a lot of these movies are not all that well favored with the old movie critics. Huh. Imagine that?
Now one more thing before I shut up and start enjoying my Sunday off. Of all the new Autobots and Decepticons joining in on the movie, my favorite of the new crowd is easily Arcee (pictured to the left). This Autobot is of a single mind and yet she is comprised of a total of three seperate motorcycles. I've seen them transform into individual bots, but I wonder if they can join together as a whole? You know, like power ranger, megazord style?
Hmm... maybe in the third...
The sad thing to me is Arcee, along with the majority of the Autobots, don't really have much presences in this new movie. Again, maybe next time?
Oh okay and one final, FINAL thought before I leave this post behind, this movie really does an excellent job of exploiting Megan Fox. Or maybe it capitalizes on the popularity she garnered from the original? I guess someone figured it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a wildly popular actress and stick her in short shorts while straddling a motorcycle. Either way, this is how her first appearance in this new Transformers looks.
Yesterday promised to be a fun day/night and potentially more interesting then the years prior. However, the clusterfuck began the moment I got to work yesterday and the entire idea of "fun" was lost with each passing minute.
It started with my starting work earlier, which as I found out after I had clocked in and worked for a while, that I was not suppose to start when I did. And the other idea that I had was it would be a short night and guess what? I was wrong on that count too. So now there I am, working an hour earlier then my time and now knowing that I could possibly be working until one in the morning, yeah my night was going sour and fast.
The work was finished in an hour or two, which means the stores were slow and hey! Maybe salvation was yet to be had! Needless to say, I was getting happier and happier by the minute! But you gotta know, there always needs to be a tragedy in nearly any tale.
Basically, while there was no work to do, the boss did not want to allow anyone to leave! Why? Because the work was indeed coming, it would only take it 3-4 HOURS to be ready for us to get our hands on! Did I want to stand around from 6pm to 10pm, doing nothing at all? Surely it is free and easy money, but I had much better ideas of how to be using my time on a 4th of July!
So there I was, again, feeling my heart sick and my mood souring faster then milk sitting out on a hot summer day. I felt defeated and hopeless at this point and really, what else could I do?
Anyway, a little past 8pm my boss finally gives up and just says 'go home.' Was I one to argue? Hell no! The unfortunate thing about it was, my girlfriend wanted to get down to Ala Moana to see the fireworks and it started at 8pm. Blah.
The point I'm trying to get across here is I hope everyone had a better 4th then I did and hopefully it was safe enough where no body got hurt. I think one of the guys I work with said it best: "Why are we still here? Man, it looks like we'll be here all night... Cancel 4th of July, there is always next year!"
Shortly after writing my previous post, a revelation became apparent to me. My destiny was not to follow in the footsteps of another, but rather, to set forth on my own road. And so I at last broke away from the legendary GuanYu and set out to forge my own faction. And after viciously attacking one of my old masters (can't recall his name offhand at present), I now have a pretty decent stake amid the power struggle.
What made things much more interesting is having declared my character as Emperor. So rather then just being a mere ruler, I am now the head honcho! The big kahuna! And while I'm not quite a "king," I practically rule the world already! I just have to take out the numerous other factions that stand in the way of my undisputed rule over the land.
Do I even need to mention that I'm actually enjoying this game? While it certainly isn't the deepest strategy game out there, it sure is fun nonetheless. It is fun to call the shots for a change, rather then having to go mission after mission, listening and being a dog to everyone else. Now everyone else is MY dog! Ha!
Having spent a few days with it, I have to say that I am generally liking Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires. The differences between Empires and the regular series is enough to make it feel like a more complete game to me.
Rather then playing through the normal time lines (which I've played through more then enough times in my lifetime), I opted to go with the fictional one instead. There I began my march towards my destiny, whatever that might be.
I've bounced around to several different factions thus far, usually each time because my "ruler" decided to trash talk me after a difficult battle. Did I need to take that shit? Hell no! So I stepped down and went back out into the world, seeking a new leader.
Two factions later, I had a chance battle against the infamous GuanYu. The battle was brutal and as it progressed, it became increasingly apparent that I was basically the only one left that was making a dent in the enemy's forces. All of the officers on my side would pop back in and get routed in no time.
Now I had a choice to make: Do I stick around and get wiped out? Or do I defect?
Before this battle, I had offers to overthrow my lord and even assassinate him (apparently by order of the Emperor himself). Each time I turned it down, feeling almost a sense of loyalty.
But during this fight, things for me were very, very different. Should I remain the beast, trapped by a weak leader? Or do I side with a warrior I know will set the world ablaze? Oh you know my choice was obvious...
So without a second thought, I choose the option to defect and just like that, I am now a part of GuanYu's army. Within moments I decimate the opposition with ruthless proficiency. Yesterday these men were my brothers, my allies and I fought my heart out for them. But today a new sun rose and now I ripped their hearts from their chests.
Since then, I've stayed sided with Guan Yu for the simple fact that I know I do not have the means to successfully support my own faction at this point. After trying earlier on in the game, I've learned it will take much more then just a few supporters to rule China. So for now I will sit back and bide my time. Sooner or later, the viper will strike again...
After writing my previous blog and after looking back at a couple of older posts, I realized that I had pictures of my dogs which I took back in January.
And here is Tiger, the smart ass, who actually didn't really run from us this time around. I guess we smelt familiar enough to her.
