Thursday, September 17, 2009

Review: Tales of Earthsea


Laputa on the left... Tales of Earthsea on the right.

I just finished watching Laputa: Castle in the Sky for the Xteenth time, and I will start off my review of Earthsea by saying this:
If you are considering watching Earthsea, instead rewatch the first 5 minutes of Laputa instead. It is far better. Laputa represents everything that is missing from Earthsea!

For starters Laputa was animeted/directed by Hayao Miyazaki... a director so amazing that people go out of their way to watch the episodes of Lupin he was involved in. A story writer so impressive that even a story of a girl and a panda aimed at 3 year olds blows away most of what Hollywood has to offer. Earthsea was directed by Goro Miyazaki. I can never say too many good things about Goro Miyazaki, but I will promise you this: I will never show another of his works site unseen at an anime party again. Where Hayao Miyazaki's work has magic and charm, Goro felt like a low budget old school TV show. (Hayao directed a low budget old school TV show, Future Boy Conan... that felt more like a 12 hour movie than a TV show. The artwork is probably of similar quality, but the character designs were all better in Conan.)

Laputa has a little girl with magical powers, Sheeta... Earthsea has a little girl with mysterious magical powers, Theruu... but while Sheeta is being pursued because she has magical powers, Theruu just sort of happens to fall into the plot, twice. Okay, I'll buy that Arren just happens to bump into the magical girl at the square, but what are the odds that he will run into the same street rat miles and miles away in the country. Small world I guess.

Laputa has really cool pirates, with pink hair!! Earthsea has Gandalf, er Sparowhawk. Sadly, Sparrowhawk was the only character in the movie I really felt any connection with, but he really did feel like a Gandalf ripoff and did not seem that interesting, and he really never did any impressive magic.

Laputa has SS agents running all over the place... I hated them, especially the way they destroy everything. Hating the bad guy is a good thing! In Earthsea, the bad guy (girl?) was a bit too wimpy to really take seriously.

Both stories are told from the point of view of a male protagonist... Laputa has Pazu, who is only slightly less awesome than Porco Rosso and Conan, a good strong kid with an amazing work ethic, amazing drive and energy, and he really does save the girl instead of the other way around. I wish I could be more like Pazu! Earthsea starts out with Theruu... who is a cowardly rich prince boy who never really does anything for any reason that makes any sense. I am assured by my friend Stefan who has read the Earthsea Novels that the Theruu in Miyazaki's Earthsea is not representative of the novels.

The best thing I can say about Earthsea is the music is decent, and the dragons and "horses" look pretty cool.

My Rating: 1 out of 10 ... this was the most disappointing anime movie I have ever seen. Not the worst, but not worth watching. I recommend downloading a high resolution scan of the poster for the movie and watching anything else Miyazaki instead Laputa, Nausicaa, or even Panda Ko Panda...

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Things I Hate



This post is rather negative. Someone asked me a question I don't know the answer to, so I decided to try to order my list of things I hate... then if anyone asks me a similar question in the future, I can just point them here and they will know how to torture me best:

Things I hate, organized from least annoying to dai Dai DAI KARAI! (really Really REALLY HATE):

+ Asking the neighbor to leave the dog at their house. Not sure why I hate this so much, maybe just that I feel that I'm building up a debt I will one day have to repay by watching her 3 giant dogs one day...
+ Walking the dog at a rest area/restaurant. Traveling with a crazy dog is hard work.
+ Installing Car Seats. Latch connectors why are you not in my car?
+ Packing for trips... I guess I hate to leave home.
+ Eating at a bad restaurant. (Especially if I'm paying and the occasion prevents me from telling the Waitress she is a Sloth and the Cook he is an imbecile.)
+ Getting my Teeth Filled.
+ Packing light for an airplane trip.
+ Getting a Root Canal.
+ Getting a Crown.
+ Driving Long Distances. Say more than 3 hours.
+ Shopping in towns/malls that offer very little (if anything) that I couldn't buy easier and for less money on the internet.
+ Driving At Night. I feel like I'm about to run into a Moose.
+ Driving Through the Night. Afraid I'm going to fall asleep and kill everyone.
+ Wasting 2 vacation days traveling on a trip.
+ Sleeping At a Hotel/Condo. I just like being at my house.
+ Sleeping At Someone Else's House (say an aunt or parents). Slightly better than a hotel. But still weird.
+ Sleeping at the wrong house/hotel with children. The only reason I drive through the night is I dread moving into a hotel for the night!
+ Flying on an Airplane.
+ Flying on an Airplane with children.
+ Wasting 4 vacation days traveling on a trip.
+ Surgery.
+ Recovery after Surgery.
+ Dying because I did not have the surgery. (Not sure about the order of these last two.)


To summarize. 旅と比較されて、私は根管をベスト愛する。 Compared to traveling, I love root canals the best.

Anyway, that concludes my whining for the day.

Here are some things I like to balance out the list above:
+ Walking/running where I am going.
+ Unicycling where I am going.
+ Yoyoing/juggling whereever I am at.
+ Playing with Jonah and Zachy.
+ Playing board games or computer games with Dawn.
+ Playing computer games online with friends.
+ Watching Anime.
+ Traveling a short distance to a friend's house... especially if they have kids who will distract my kids for a while.
+ Eating Great Food. (El Tepehuan has the best food in Denver...)
+ Camping.
+ Taking a Vacation Day at home in my house.
+ Taking a Vacation Day at home in my house with the kids at school/with Dawn...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Tekkon Kinkreet


Plaid "Tekkon Kinkreet" OST

(Click on the Playlist link above to hear the full versions of each song.)

Well, anyone who is an anime/manga fan may be expecting an anime review at this point... but while I am tempted to wait until I've seen the movie to do this review, this is just a music review!

Those of you who know me well (all 3 of you who read this blog) know that Orbital is may favorite "band", but Plaid is my favorite band that still makes music. They are kind of Jazz Fusion crossed with Techno. I love Plaid. Every album, almost every song. Just warning you so you there will be no unbiased review here. I listen to Plaid at work, driving in my car, driving on long trips. I think Rest Proof Clockwork is the greatest non-orbital album ever! My sister hates plaid, she said of Restproof Clockwork something along the lines of: this is the most boring music ever.

I may actually like the "Where?" song on Tekkon Kinkreet album more than New Bass Hippo. I'll have to listen to it another 100 times to know for sure. I have not dropped the $40-$60 it costs to import it currently, but I have had it playing from imeem since I discovered it trying to buy Plaids other new album.

The opening track "This City" is amazing, in a style similar to "not for threes". It starts and ends with fairly minimalistic synth, with layers and layers and layers of haunting melodies and bass with constantly changing drums... dragging you forward deeper and deeper into its spell as the music swirls away back into minimalistic synth/guitar.

Brothers Chase reminds me a bit of Rob Dougan's Chateau from The Matrix Reloaded. Nice orchestra staccatos with a driving drum and base foundation. Helps me keep moving.

Where? This is the best song in the album. Driving beat, layered samples and melodies, organ, and amazing bass make my coworkers think I'm some weird freak twitching and spinning around in my chair. (Yes, I'm a freak and I love organ, real or synthesized. Don't worry, there is not much here.)

White's Dream: Starts out slow, but one of the more fun songs on the album. Rolling Piano layered with music box melodies and lively drum and bass.


Bottom Line: I like the album enough I bought the Blu-Ray from amazon knowing nothing more about it than that Dawn had previously put it on our Queue and it costs 1/3rd the price of the soundtrack. If I like it maybe I'll pick up the manga and read that while I listen to imeep. I wonder if the Japanese version has furigana?

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Unicycle Ho!



I have almost mastered the art of going around 90 degree corners by flailing my arms all over the place. Yesterday I made it 90% of the way around the block, through 3 corners and most of the street. I actually fell off due to being tired more than anything. Yes, sadly I am tired after riding around the block once.

I managed to ride down the curve without falling, but I think I will need to learn to hop a bit to go up the curve. To get ready to learn hopping, and to improve balance, I rode around the block again holding onto the saddle with one hand most of the way. I can't quite go in a straight line without waving both hands occasionally, but I'm getting close.

Saturday, April 04, 2009

New DNA

IMG_5985

IMG_5995

Well, I've been wanting another yoyo for some time. I have been tempted to buy a few of the YoYoFactory yoyos I've seen since I got my Higby 888, but I really have not been able to justify the cost. But when I saw the nice orange 888s, I had a hard time not picking one up. Then I saw that they had an even bigger 888, the DNA, and that it came in Orange, and I couldn't resist the temptation any more. Plus my parents just gave me enough for my birthday to cover the cost!

So I have a nice orange yoyo that is a lot like my 888s. I find it is even easier to learn most tricks on the bigger yoyo, and tricks like Kamikaze and And What seem easier to do on the bigger yoyo also. Plus it just spins and spins and spins. I thought the gap was huge on my 888, but it is even wider on the DNA, which is probably why Kamikaze is easier, more room for the yoyo to be crooked without the string touching the edge and causing it to start going crooked!


Anyway, the DNA is lots of fun to throw. There is just enough gap between the hub and the rim of the yoyo that I can catch it on my thumb and do a grind transfer. While I'm sure it was possible on an 888, I never had much luck with either. (Both are trivial on a Pyro) Also, when I put my T-Stacks on the DNA, it is stable enough to play with! My 888 would wobble and vibrate like crazy with a hard throw with the T-Stacks, but the DNA is just a bit more noisy. When you grab it after doing a trick, the stacks continue to spin for 20 or 30 seconds. (Note: I replaced the stock white ones with transparent yellow... but I'm sure the same is true of the stock hubs.)


I have been learning some slack tricks with it that always gave me trouble on the 888 (since it was small) and my Dark Magic (because it was too responsive) or any of my other yoyos. Most amazingly, after practicing a few whips, I can do them with my other yoyos now too.

If you are considering spending $120 on a yoyo, I would definitely consider getting a DNA over an 888.

Here is a review from someone who takes their yoyoing a bit more seriously than me:
http://www.yoyoskills.com/?p=275

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Out of Shape!

Well, it appears that sitting around playing Wii, XBox and PS3 for 2 months does NOT improve your endurance or physical strength, even if you do lots of running in the game running from wolves, terrorists, giant bugs and aliens.

I managed to make it 750 feet today on my unicycle, and then stopped because I couldn't pedal any more. There is a fence that is right next to the path at about 300 feet I've been using to remount and ride back the other way. I am not having any difficulty getting back and forth between the bridge and that fence today. A few times I made it past 500 feet. At least two times I rode from the bridge, down the 3" drop to the path and kept going without touching the fence or the pole-to-keep-cars-off-the-bridge.

So since it seems to be an endurance thing, I decided to start running. My hernia operation was 9 weeks ago (I think). I ran around the block today, I had some sharp pain the first block and considered stopping, but it became less and less and was gone by the end of the block. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and consider getting in shape for the Bolder Boulder... that will hopefully be good enough shape to unicycle up much steeper hills than the path I'm practicing on!


On a yoyo related note: I got my DNA yesterday. It seems more stable than the 888, I can even put T stacks on and throw it hard without it going crazy! I'll try to post some pictures and my impressions of it later this week. I definitely think I like it more than my Pyro... but I'm wondering if I shouldn't have got a Superstar or Peak just to have something a bit more different than my 888. I really was starting to not like it, but then I took off the green highlight string it came with and put on a lemonade gString and I successfully did white budda for the first time on my first try. (Except the weird magic trapeze bind thing at the end, which I'm not convinced is possible with a DNA or 888 because of their wide gap.)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Unicycling



Dawn gave me a unicycle for Christmas, but I have not really commented on it here yet. Basically I spent the first week I had it learning to not fall on my head while getting on, then I found out I had a hernia (probably not from unicycling, but I did have one nasty fall before I learned to fall off). While waiting for my surgery, I learned to go along a wall or fence and not fall on my head. Then I took a couple months off and I did not ride again until a week ago.

I have been practicing on a small 60 foot bridge over the emergency drainage ditch about 2 blocks from my house. The fence is maybe 4 feet high, perfect for holding onto while learning to mount and pedal. A week ago I managed to go 3 full rotations of the wheel without touching the fence. Then 4 rotations. Then Monday I managed to make it a full 8 rotations, which is about 40 feet. Since then I've been busy and we had lots of snow.

Today I went out again and managed to go 8 rotations several times, then 12 a few times, then I started running out of room on the bridge. At one end of the bridge is a steep drop off, and the other end has a pole to keep cars off and I'm afraid I'll fall off and impale my head on it like in some B movie. Plus there is about a 3" drop on either end, which wasn't really noticeable on a bike or walking... Anyway I made it the full 60 feet of the bridge a few times and even had a few PDs (Planned Dismounts) once I gave up trying to go down the hill.

Then I started at the bridge just past the 3" drop and started riding down a path that runs about 1500 feet along an easement between two rows of houses. I've been doing that all along, I just usually only made it about 2 rotations before falling off. The tricky thing was I immediately had to turn right to not run out of path, and then left again... oh and it was down hill... oh and there is still melting snow all over. Anyway today I made it 240 feet down the path, a ways past where it starts going back up and past lots of little pockets of ice where the snow that melted was refreezing.

My next goal is the end of the path... then I need to learn to free mount. I'll try to post some newer pictures soon.

Monday, January 26, 2009

What makes a good video game?

I have had lots of time to play video games the last few days, and I've gotten to wondering why I like some games so much, and really disliked other similar games. Obviously what makes a good video game is rather subjective, but I will compare two games to maybe find out more about what I am looking for in video games.

I'll consider three games that I finished in the last day: Fallout 3, Gears of War, and Braid.

I loved Fallout 3. It was just the right mix of humor, gravity, role playing, first person shooter. It required no reflexes... maybe I'm getting old, but I thought VATS was amazing. Even when I had The Drifter's sniper Rifle, I was using VATS to target super mutants and Talon assassins alike. It felt a lot like Fallout 2, which I also loved. The game was a bit too easy, I had it turned up to the hardest setting at the end, and the only time I really came close to dying was when 4 or 5 Enclave solders would flank me when I was out in the open and I would fail to get a critical on one in VATS mode on the first couple. But then again, I focused on all good Perks, no silly ones like "Here and Now" or "Daddy's Girl". Maybe I would have been less overpowered if I didn't have like 75 points in VATS with Grim Reaper Sprint? It was fun playing as a good person in a wasteland of evil. It was awesome that I could do whatever I wanted and could ignore the storyline for a good 40 hours before I decided to go looking for my dad.

I love love loved Braid. That game was amazing. I don't want to say too much about it, but it was the best $15 I've ever spent on a game. I beat the game (no speed runs yet) in probably 4 hours with no hints or help from the web. I had to sleep on one of the puzzles, but came back in the morning and instantly saw how to do the puzzle. The last level was just twisted an was a better ending than 90% of games out there. (Bioshock, *cough* *cough*) Why did I like Braid? It was not stressful, you can rewind most things away. It was unique, it felt totally fresh and I don't think I've liked a puzzle game that much since The Adventures of Lola. (I bought that new.) The controls were spot on. At first it is weird not being able to run faster or jump higher, but once I got used to rewinding time, it was second nature.

I hated Gears of War. I'm not sure why, I really wanted to like Gears of War. It is not that I hate first person shooters... I thought CoD4 was the best game last year, and Halo 3 was lots of fun too (but maybe only multiplayer). Was Gears of War was maybe just too hard for me? The last game I hated this much was Code Veronica... I have never met a Resident Evil game I liked. I borrowed Gears of War from my cousin Adam, and his brother Brody has been trying to get me to buy Gears of War 2 to play multiplayer with them online... but the first game was just so frustrating and tedious that I can't see myself plunking down $60 for more frustration. I hear the sequel is better in multiplayer.

But what exactly do I dislike?

The controls are irritating. This can be said for Halo 3 and CoD4 too, but it is really annoying when a monster runs past me, and I just want to turn and shoot him with my Shotgun but I turn so slow that I can watch him take 4 bites out of my back before I die. Okay, so it is a console and you can't turn on a dime like you can with a mouse... well why can the monsters turn around and eat my head faster than I can turn and shoot them in the head?

I don't like cover systems? I actually like cover, that was a neat part of the game. But every so often you would get flanked and instead of diving for appropriate cover, you are stuck moving from cover to similar cover until the new enemy blows you up because you are not hiding from threats in his direction. This is probably the main reason I hated Metal Gear Solid 4... bad control. But GoW controls are easily 10 times better than MGS4, so I'm not sure that is it. And 95% of the time Fenix picked the correct cover.

The weapons are hard to manage. I really only liked a couple of the weapons in the game, but I had to keep putting them down to pick up a Hammer of Dawn or a Torque Bow for certain tasks... and I wouldn't get the weapon I like back afterward. I got stuck going through an entire chapter with no chain saw on my gun since I accidentally swapped out my main gun for a stupid Shot Gun just before a checkpoint. I would have loved a torque bow against the last boss, but I dropped it to pick up a hammer of Dawn and never thought to get another.

The bosses are random and not fun. I love good boss battles. Lately most games have wimpy bosses that fall over dead if you sneeze at them wrong (Zelda, I'm looking at you)... but the final boss in GoW was just silly. He had these bat things all over him so you can't hurt him, and he randomly sent them to attack you, and only then could you hurt him. But they could not hurt you if you were in the light. So you have to stay in the light. But the boss will walk towards you and eventually blow your head off with a Torque Bow or something point blank if you don't run away for cover... but if he releases the bat things while you are running for different corner you just die, they eat you. Oh, and there are other things randomly flying by that will occasionally kill you if you don't take cover from them too. It felt like when I finally won, I just got lucky and had him send his bats at me more than usual. No sense of accomplishment.

Why was CoD4 fun on Veteran while GoW was tedious on Casual (I beat half the game on Hardcore, then decided I didn't care)? I'm not sure. Maybe CoD4 just looked and felt happy while GoW feels ugly and sad? I seriously disliked my Black and Yellow Lynn Fury yoyo... but I love my Yellow and Green Lynn Fury Yoyo, and 50% of it is exactly the same yoyo!

Maybe I would have liked GoW if I could have saved like in Fallout 3 or had twice as many checkpoints like in CoD4? I think I'm just getting too old and slow to play newfangled first person shooters that require reflexes?

Oh well, at least I still have games like Fallout 3 expansions and the next drug induced game like Braid or Space Giraffe to look forward to.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cholesterol 2009

Had my checkup Monday! My cholesterol levels are even better than last year (well, really almost 2 years ago, May 2007 was my last checkup).

Total Cholesterol = 123 (down 14)
Triglycerides = 67 (Down 24)
HDL = 32 (down 2... but I have not been running)
LDL = 78 (Down 8)


A couple years ago I was running to raise my HDL, but I have only run 3 or 4 times in the last 3 months, so I was expecting to have considerably worse cholesterol than I did. I was on a strict Candida Cleanse until Thanksgiving, and the Candida Diet except for some sugar from Jelly, Pamela's bread and Cheerios since Thanksgiving. So I guess having very little sugar is more helpful to my cholesterol than running like crazy!