Scrappin' Paint From Our Bones

Instead of a vacation...

2009-01-22T19:55:30Z

I think I'm going to buy myself something nice.

Canon Rebel EOS - $600

HP tx2-1020us Tablet PC - $1100

Wacom Intuos3 6x11 - $370

New MacBook - $1300

The other option I have is, of course, to invest in a new(ish) car. It'd be nice to have, but it would be a pretty large investment to get a decent car.

And I really don't want to deal with car payments and paying for gas.

Ain't Been Around Much Lately.

2007-10-23T22:01:47Z

Srsly.

Ugh. A lot of stress. A lot. I think that's why my skin is breaking out so bad, from all the stress and the worrying and the lack of being able to do anything about it.

I have a whole bunch of personal issues that I'm dealing with that I don't want to go into (but you'll know what I'm talking about if you know about said issues, and if you want to know more, let me know), but that's not even nearly so bad as my financial situation.

I'm seriously at rock bottom, so far as money goes. If I didn't have my parents to lean against, I'd be living in my car. And my car would not be moving, since I'd have no money to put gas into it.

I need to find another job, but the prospect of actually getting out there and doing what I need to do to get a new job is kind of ... intimidating. It's just something I'm not looking forward to. It would have been so much easier just 3 years ago. -_-

I was thinking of re-applying at UPS, but for some reason their website won't let me re-apply, even though it was about a year ago when I applied last. I'll call them up.

The good news this week?

Scrubs!

The seventh and final season starts on Thursday, and I'm going to be making a point of having Scrubs Night, which also doubles as Firefly Night, and there are going to be as many people there as want to come.

It'll be fantastic. :D

Musings on Coheed and Cambria and Anathema Complex

2007-10-13T16:19:09Z

There are some new Coheed and Cambria songs posted on their MySpace page which are, overall, totally and incredibly fantastic.

The new CD is called Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV: Volume 2 - No World For Tomorrow.

(This is, of course, contrasted with Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV: Volume 1 - From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness.)

Anyways, unless they've changed it since I last looked, there are the two on MySpace (The Running Free and Gravemakers and Gunslingers) but there's also a third song called The Hound (Of Blood and Rank) that has been floating around the torrent sites and I think the original version is on YouTube.

So, these songs being as awesome as they are, they have -- like many Coheed songs before -- inspired me to brainstorm, and this time I'm drifting back towards Anathema Complex.

(Though there is a steampunk-themed space adventure in the works, but that will be discussed at length after I've come up with some more stuff.)

This isn't going to be any organized layout -- this is going to be me thinking up some interesting points and ideas to put into the comic.

Hoyle (Christopher's original partner when he was a cop, the guy who gets "sucked into" LA after Christopher ascends, wearing full body armor, carrying a sub machine gun) is going to play a much larger role than I originally thought.

The climax of the story is going to involve Hoyle and Cael allying with the Innocents in the city and taking on the Church and the Angels --
- The Angels will be under the jurisdiction of the Church, which is controlled by the Nephilim.
- A small contingent of Angels will remain to help Hoyle and Cael -- most likely it will be survivors of the Inquisitional purging at the beginning of the story.
- Jonathan will be part of the Nephilim that controls the Church, though in the manner of Nephilim in AC, he will be completely insubordinate to the head of the Church, who is, in fact, a Nephilim.

The ending scene will involve Hoyle and Cael rushing through the Church itself in very much a Run-and-Gun style scenario
- At this point, it will be a cluster-fuck of a time -- Angels defending the Church, the Nephilim trying to retain control and to stop Cael and Hoyle, and the Real Angels (Demons) descending upon everyone as they are attracted by the power of The Door.

The Door
- This is something that needs to be elaborated on, definitely. I was inspired by the lyric "We'll keep marching to the top of this tower \\ As God isn't at home, No \\ There?s nothing in the way that could stop us"
- Basically, within the Church itself -- the building of which is going to be intimately tied to Christopher's life, before he ascended to the Akashic -- will house a Door. Just a normal door, but it's a door that opens to the Akashic Record.
- I'm still trying to decide if I want to have the door just open straight to it, or to create an intermediary kind of world -- a bridge, maybe, or a tower, stairs that have to be climbed. Something like that.

Hoyle will survive to breach the Akashic.

Sira will not.

Chasing Winter

2007-10-08T19:30:19Z

Something I wrote up for my creative writing class. It's inspired by a story I'm storming up in my mind.

I've got to run to class now, so I'll write more about it later.

Chasing Winter

The boat was rickety,

The old tramp, its hull rusty with sea salt.

The captain smiled with wrinkles in his eyes.

Across the water I fled, into the glow of the rising sun.

That ancient empire, long broken in the talons of the eagle.

And as my boot touched soil, the smell of fish touched my nose.

“This is not home.”

The bullet tore across the countryside, carrying me through the months.

Neon samurai, digital geisha.

And sake.

Across the island, after Winter I chased.

The Bear welcomed me with iron arms.

Soil to water to soil. Across the sea I left Winter.

Into the wasteland I fled, and summer came.

And summer went; across the land, Winter again I chased.

--

In Moscow the snow was falling. I hadn’t seen the sun for three weeks.

The vodka burned slowly in my belly, holding firm against the chill of Winter.

My boots were worn through; my scarf hung tattered around my neck.

With a few raw threads my bag sat heavy on my back.

Miles and miles I had come, walking, never stopping.

Chasing.

And here I glimpsed the telltale signs of a young love, of an innocent affair.

I take another drink from my bottle. The snow is falling in Moscow.

I turn to walk.

Winter is waiting.

anathematically @ 2007-10-07T11:35:00

2007-10-07T16:37:37Z

Bad news, everybody!

Hot Asian Girl is apparently a huge whore who has cheated on everyone she's dated.

And currently, even as she was dumped by her ex-boyfriend for cheating on him, she wants to get back with him ... yet she's still sleeping with some other dude.

Man.

I'm staying far, far away.

we conquered paradise just to burn it to the ground

"By the Emperor's Will, we are here."

2007-10-05T16:30:27Z

Always Sunny in Philadelphia is kind of a fantastic show. Thank you DVR for letting me partake. :D

It's a bit cheesy -- and really? That's fine. Part of the appeal, I suppose. There are some parts that just kind of kill me. Could it be my replacement for Scrubs?

Possibly. Possibly.

Oh, also: I had posted what I thought was my latest version of my Kasrkins at first glance, but then I realized I didn't have the latest version at work.

So now that I'm at home, here's the latest version:

did somebody take your tongue?

Tagged by __pandem0nium_

2007-10-05T14:07:12Z

List ten things that have recently made you happy, then tag ten people to do the same.

1. Friends from the Cafe.
2. Wonderful, hilarious drama at school.
3. Wonderful, hilarious drama on The Real World (I have a problem, alright?)
4. New DVR -- it's a little fantastic.
5. Halo 3
6. Finding out that Hot Asian Girl is now single. (\o/)
7. A full tank of gas.
8. Buying a new, fresh sketchbook.
9. Exercise.
10. Finding the ability to -- for a short time -- disconnect myself from the world around me and live as myself, not worrying about what others think of me and finding solace in my solidarity.

(PS: I could probably pretty easily make a list of things that make me sad, as well.)

I tag....

1. archeon
2. carpe_jugulum
3. happymrlocust
4. hawkstudios
5. i_am_molochai
6. kuroloki
7. lacrimawanders
8. lady_nikola
9. livingdeadcrizl
10. not_a_girl
11. recoveringjock

it's the last hour of the last day
don't fall so far behind now

anathematically @ 2007-10-03T23:51:00

2007-10-04T05:10:39Z

I don't really feel like making this lengthy narrative, so I'm going to make a list.

Lists are more fun, anyways.

Beat Halo 3. Too short, but good. Things were resolved.

Steampunk for Halloween. It's going to be fantastic.

Related: Can't get enough Abney Park.

We have DVR now. Which means I can record a ridiculous amount of television, which I will happily soak in. 'Twill be the end of me.

Cigarette consumption is down, though it sucks. I'm going to give tomorrow a try and not smoking ... Though right now I really feel like I need at least one.

Exercising is leveling off at every other day, as opposed to every day. I think that's better overall, and plus -- it's too easy to let myself down if I commit to doing it every day, since I know I won't do it every day.

Still single. Details on that ... ? Outlook hazy. I suppose it'd help to decide what it is exactly that I want.

Debating between getting money and buying a new computer, or saving for my global trip I want to take next spring.

Anathema Complex still in limbo. Chasing Winter ... still in limbo.

Going to start committing 1 hour a night to drawing a comic. One night to Anathema, one night to Winter.

Hormones control my actions. I need to find that part of my body and cut it out, with extreme prejudice.

I need more Apoptygma Berzerk.

the ruined remain of an ancient city deep underwater
all the myths are true

Things to do, things to do ~

2007-09-26T18:40:36Z

I want to go to Chicago this weekend. Probably on Saturday. Just for the day, maybe leave early afternoon, come back, oh, around 8-ish?

Anyone interested in meeting me up down there or going with? :D

Also, I need to get on the whole comic thing. I'm not sure what's going on with my domain name. I need to smooth that out and find my PHP script again, and make sure it all works like it's supposed to.

Then I need to register www.chasingwinter.com.

Finally: I need to get as good at drawing as this guy.

no mother ever dreams that her daughter's going to grow up to be a junkie

anathematically @ 2007-09-22T09:46:00

2007-09-22T14:46:32Z

43%

100% Free Personals from JustSayHi

Mwahaha ~

Take that.

Erm. Actually, in retrospect, 43% ain't so hot odds. xD

So

2007-09-21T05:25:34Z

This girl I never met before at the cafe just gave me her phone number and invited me to LARP with her.

She's really cute. She has a 10 month old son, though?

Proper advice would be to run. Run far away.

When have I ever listened to proper advice, though?

Too much coffee ~ X_x

2007-09-21T03:39:48Z

I'm sitting at the cafe right now, and I think I've had too much coffee to be able to draw a straight line.

X_X

anathematically @ 2007-09-20T02:29:00

2007-09-20T07:29:52Z

"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sun glasses."

"Hit it."

Man.

I do love me the Blues Brothers.

so when ambition turns into competition
i'll never be the better man

"Kasrkin squad, ready for war."

2007-09-18T04:48:01Z

Here's the in-progress of the Kasrkin fanart I've been working on.

I think I may try painting this, actually.

anathematically @ 2007-09-16T13:32:00

2007-09-16T18:30:59Z

Oh yeah.

I need to do some Halo fan art.

Because my god I'm buying into Microsoft's ad campaign.

Halo might be consuming everything American.

I fucking love it.

Alright, I'll fucking admit it.

2007-09-14T22:22:57Z

I wanna do some Kingdom Hearts fan art.

>.>

Does this impact on my gamer cred at all?

<.

A List of Fanart to Draw.

2007-09-14T03:33:49Z

I've got a few things that I've been meaning to draw, some fan-arty stuff.

Big Daddy/Little Sister, from BioShock
Kasrkin Squad, from Warhammer 40,000
Link, from Zelda
Ken and/or Ryu, from Streetfighter

My list is kind of short right now.

Any suggestions?

Chasing Winter

2007-09-13T06:18:44Z

I've come up with the name of my new comic -- Chasing Winter.

This is a comic I'm going to be running in my friends' publication -- a small local affair, just something for me to do for this semester. It's called The Glass House. It was around before, and I think it was a political thing.

This version is going to be more art and literature oriented.

Anyways, I don't really want to elaborate on any of the story at this point, mostly because I've only got a sense of the direction it's going to be heading in, not the specific plot.

These drawings are done in the style that I want to do the whole comic in -- black and white line art, with some black fills in there.

PlayStation 3 Release Anniversary

2007-09-08T18:03:49Z

I just realized that it's just over 2 months until the PS3 release anniversary.

C'mon Sony.

Give us a Gears of War.

Because if you don't, I'm afraid you're probably fucked.

Proper fucked.

Art art art!

2007-09-07T20:27:51Z

Thought I'd post this really quick.

Obviously not finished, but it's getting there.

Decided to go back with a cel shaded style. When it's finished, I'll post a bigger version so you can see the details.

The Prizefighter Inferno

2007-09-03T19:04:29Z

Wow.

WOW.

I knew about the band, but I had never listened to them. [edit: as the Wikis have told me, The Prizefighter Inferno is not a band, but only Claudio]

As a little info for people who have no idea what I'm talking about, The Prizefighter Inferno is Claudio Sanchez's side project, Claudio Sanchez being the lead singer and front man of Coheed and Cambria. It's softer -- it really reminds me a lot of The Postal Service meets Coheed and Cambria -- the important connection being that content of The Prizefighter Inferno songs is all having to do with the story of Coheed and Cambria.

But...

Man.

This is more than just a little amazing.

Projekt Revolution

2007-09-03T04:19:03Z

What's to be said?

Revolution Stage

Madina Lake -- Decent set, but a bit generic.

The Bled -- Loud, screaming, great angry music, Bob didn't like 'em too much. I've not much of an opinion.

Saosin -- A bit disappointing. I'm a big fan of their CD, but their live show wasn't the greatest.

MSI -- Didn't stay in the pit, but what I saw from a distance was really quite good.

Main Stage

Julien-K -- Apparently they used to be Orgy. Not bad, though the lead singer wasn't there -- Chester Bennington, from Linkin Park, sang. He did a good job.

Placebo -- I really, really enjoyed this show. Made me remember how much I like them. Too short, though.

HIM -- God, they really kind of sucked. Bob was convinced Ville Valo was drunk. He smoked during the whole set. His vocals were kind of drowned out by the music.

Taking Back Sunday -- I was busy buying a Placebo shirt during this set. Don't care for them too much. Didn't pay too much attention.

My Chemical Romance -- They put on a great show. Lots of pyrotechnics, and Gerard is a great front-man. Great entertainer.

Linkin Park -- Really a kind of amazing performance. Probably best of the night. I think they played about 90% of their songs. Breaking the Habit and In Pieces were the highlight. Breaking the Habit had a piano intro which was pretty awesome, and the build up into the heavier, studio version was really fantastic.

--

Overall, I'm sunburned and a bit bruised. I wasn't a huge fan of the crowd-press at the Revolution Stage. There were too many people in too small an area. I might have a concussion. Oh well. Decent day.

anathematically @ 2007-08-31T16:26:00

2007-08-31T21:24:27Z

Ugh.

I was hoping to get some relaxing tonight before people show up.

Now I've gotta run as soon as I get home (or shortly afterwards). Then I have to mow the lawn. Then I should run up to the Cafe. Maybe get a cigarette (it'd be my first and only for today!) to hold me over.

And I really don't want to do anything.

It is really nice, though, to have a nice run.

well who would wanna be, who would wanna be, such an asshole

BioShock -- A Review

2007-08-31T15:06:32Z

I figure it's about time that I actually make a halfway decent BioShock review, what with it being one of the most fantastic games I've played in a long, long time.

So, without further ado, I give you...

Summary

Bioshock begins with a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean next to a remote lighthouse with no other land in sight. With no other options, you swim towards the lighthouse, and find a bathysphere. You enter the bathysphere, pull the lever, and you are introduced to Andrew Ryan and his underwater city of Rapture.

Rapture is a city created, Ryan explains, to escape from the restraints of the modern world -- he rallies against the teaches and dogma of the Vatican, the Communism of the Soviet Union, and the corrupt capitalism of the United States. He introduces this all to you in a scripted bathysphere ride between the towering "skyscrapers" of Rapture, past many tendril-like tunnels spanning between towers, even past a lumbering whale as it navigates the maze of the city.

You are eventually brought into a bathysphere bay and contacted by Atlas, the enigmatic yet friendly and helpful character who helps you through most of your stay in Rapture.

The style is everything. The entire city just drips with its own unique atmosphere. Art deco stylings, typical Ayn Rand-ish themes (hell, a character named Atlas?), music from the '20's playing all around, wonderfully hilarious cartoony posters much in the spirit of Fallout, demonstrating the use of different Plasmids, BioShock's answer to spells/magic, or in the case of SystemShock, of Psychic Powers.

But I'll be getting to all that in due time. :D

Gameplay

I'm going to say this up-front, but the truth of the matter is that BioShock plays exactly like SystemShock and SystemShock 2, except that it's a bit... shootier. Ammo is much easier to come by, and the game encourages you to shoot shoot shoot!

I've constantly been comparing BioShock -- even since before it was released -- to SystemShock, SystemShock 2 in particular. And I think it's a fair comparison, though it needs to be qualified in several regards.

Probably the largest difference in gameplay comes in the form of the Plasmids. They are slightly analogous to the Psychic Powers you can get in SystemShock 2 if you go the PsyOps route, with the exception that in BioShock, they are in no way optional. You need them. The first Plasmid you recieve, Electro Bolt, is required to proceed in the game, and they get more and more useful as the game goes on.

HOWEVER.

There are far too many Plasmids in the game. I can understand the angle that 2K Games took in regards to making lots and lots of plasmids -- I have friends who played through the game using some Plasmids that I never touched. Myself, I went through the game using the Electro Bolt and Incinerate (the fire-based Plasmid), and I only used one other -- Hypnotize Big Daddy -- once, maybe twice. The same can be said about the weapons; I rarely used the Grenade Launcher or the Chemical Thrower. They are good weapons, however, and much like the Plasmids, I've talked to people who used nothing but, say, the Chemical Thrower once it was recieved.

I don't think any BioShock review is complete without at least a cusory mention of the Little Sisters and Big Daddies. The triumverate of BioShock is really made of Rapture, Big Daddies, and the Little Sisters. Those are the three things that make BioShock what it is.

Little Sisters carry ADAM, the analog to System Shock 2's Cybernetic Modules, and Experience Points in other games. ADAM allows you to buy skill upgrades and Plasmids, things quite necessary to furthering yourself in the game. It is found nowhere other than the Little Sisters.

The game gives the player the ethical decision of either saving the Little Sisters, or Harvesting them and taking all of their Adam. If you save them, you still get ADAM, though not as much. A character in the game promises you that it will be made up to you for saving the Little Sisters.

The truth of the matter is, the game doesn't give a fair inclination towards saving them or killing them. It becomes quickly apparent that saving the Sisters is the way that it was meant to be done, as a) for every 3 Sisters you save, you only get 40 more ADAM for killing them, and b) even with saving the Sisters, I didn't use up all my ADAM by the end of the game.

It would have been nicer -- and much more interesting -- if the benefits of the two paths was much more clean cut and defined. If it would have actually mattered if you went one way or another. There is no difference in gameplay -- you're still saved by the Little Sisters at the end, even if you kill every one you see. The only difference is the ending cinematic.

A greater effect on gameplay would have been nice.

Aaaand we're back. :D

Story

When analyizing the storyline for BioShock, I can't help but once again go back to System Shock 2. All of the elements from SS2 are there, they're just arranged in a slightly different way, dressed in a new coat of paint and the finer details tailored to this game and this setting.

Not that this is a bad thing, by any means. It means that The Studio Formerly Known As Irrational Games has a formula that works, and if they use it for one more game, who am I to complain? The fact remains that this game is engrossing, the storyline continues to please and -- even if some of the plot twists were pretty obvious to me (with the exception of one) -- it entertained.

I'm choosing to talk about the graphics in the Story section because, in my opinion, the use of the Unreal Engine 3.0 is really instrumental in providing the atmosphere and feel of the game. The gritty, dystopic environment of Rapture is framed brilliantly with the Unreal Engine, and the water effects are simply stunning. It makes sense to have such attention put to something that's so pervasive... though honestly? I would have thought the water would play a greater role in the game than it did.

The method they used for telling the story is tried and true -- they have the audio logs that made such an impression on me in System Shock 2, and even in such a game as Doom 3. Learning of the story after-the-fact, piecing things together through a seiries of journals, really just kind of does it for me. Whether it's the gradual descent into insanity of the Head of Surgery in the Medical Wing that you hear through his audio logs, or the excitement of picking up a log that, maybe -- just maybe -- will reveal some secrets of Rapture ... it's really some of the best storyteling I've heard in a game.

One thing that strikes me interest is that BioShock can even be seen as something of social commentary. The blind rush for a resource that everyone wants, the insanity that the addiction creates ...

Conclusion

While BioShock is perhaps one of the best games I've played, I hesitate to say that it is the best. It's really quite amazing, and all things considered, the Good that was done with this game can eclipse the Bad. However, I don't know that it's fair to say that BioShock represents a new milestone in video games as art, as some have said.

A comment like that does a dis-service to all the games that have led up to BioShock.

anathematically @ 2007-08-31T08:34:00

2007-08-31T13:31:46Z

Sweet! I have $1,000 dollars in my bank. :D

... unfortunately, about $700 of that goes straight to school. >.<

Also related: I need a new MP3 player. Seems I can find neither my PSP nor my Creative Zen.

They were either stolen or I fatally misplaced them. I opt for the latter.