Stuff you LOVE, baby

[tushantin]

http://soundcloud.com/peteatlas/apiento-co-she-walks-pete-herbert-remix-leng

Heaven.

Gaddammeet! That's catchy! 

THAT'S IT! I declare Lassi to be the greatest drink mankind has ever created! Pepsi and Coke can give up the pendant.

Anybody want recipe? There's a variety: Punjabi, Bengali, Royal, Pakistani mint, Maratha Masala, etc.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I love the way Japanese storytelling makes me feel. I swear, somehow the Japanese have a way of evoking such an emotional response from me. Films like Spirited Away and 5 Centimeters Per Second, in addition to video games like Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon make me feel so... alive. They make me appreciate the beauty in life - in sadness, in tranquility, in growing up.

I want more. Recommendations?

[FaustWolf]

I love the way Japanese storytelling makes me feel.

Totally. Japan was the first country with a novel, in the form of The Tale of Genji, right? Is there some current in Japanese culture that makes their storytelling skills so rich?

After reading essentialist articles like this, I really worry about what's going to happen to traditional videogame storytelling as Japan loses its leading edge in the industry, with people proclaiming things like "the death of the JRPG", etc. True, not every Japanese game storyteller is a Tetsuya Takahashi, Masato Kato, or Yasumi Matsuno, but there's no doubt that Japan enjoyed a certain heyday of grand storytelling in videogames. With new cultural influences rising in the industry there's sure to be innovation, but I can't help but have the perception that a dilution of the importance of game storytelling has also occurred. Games like Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Front Mission 3, Vagrant Story, Suikoden...these were what I read instead of novels back in grade school and high school. Since professional-level writers and translators were behind these works, I believe I benefited from them just as much as if I'd been a super novel buff all my life. Heck, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed reading in English class at all had JRPGs not seized me first.

That's not to say that good videogame stories can come only from Japanese minds. I'm really impressed with some of the works that came out of China during the early 2000s, before their offline console-style market seemed to suffer some kind of collapse (and I'm totally not talking about the pirated hacks either, but bona-fide original RPGs!). I'd probably be impressed with Charles Cecil's games if I had a chance to look into them more, too. It all gives me faith that the torch of great traditional storytelling that the JRPG started can be passed on to those who were first inspired by them.

[tushantin]

Made my own Gmail theme. Sure, it's got flaws, but I still love it!  Got the background from nik.bot.nu (aka, 4Chan wallpaper collection). I got the best wallpapers from there! Zoomed out a bit so you guys can see it too. (Note: I've no problems giving my email address to people who want it, but I had to blur it out for the fear of circulation)


Here's what my Netbook's desktop looks like, for those who are curious.

[Licawolf]

Nice  and I like your wallpaper. I see I'm not the only person who uses the name "Crap" for computer folders n_nUU

The weather was cloudy today in my town, a nice change after many weeks of dry weather and burning sun, and I can smell rain in the air. I hope we have rain tonight 

[Shee]

http://soundcloud.com/peteatlas/apiento-co-she-walks-pete-herbert-remix-leng

Heaven.

Every now and again I come across a jam that is simply absurdly delicious.  It's moving, storytelling, etc.  Few and far between.  To reach THAT level.  Bout 6 years ago it was When The Water Breaks.  Then it was Andy Mckee and the other awesome acoustic guitarists like from Candyrat etc.

And then there was this.  Opened up a whole new can of worms.  Simply epic.

[Licawolf]

I was talking with my brother yesterday about the last book... dammit, I can't wait for this movie! 
[youtube]1mgidaTobQE[/youtube]

[tushantin]

I was talking with my brother yesterday about the last book... dammit, I can't wait for this movie! 

Wasn't really a fan of the last book (was boring and predictable), but I love the way the movies are directed! Can't wait for it either.

I really wonder why Bartimaeus Trilogy is being held up. The series would make excellent films! Though I did find an equally excellent artwork from dA. 8D

[tushantin]

Only three good friends in this world know in-depth about the novel I'm writing; one helps me proofread and offer suggestions thus helping me improve, one provides feedback based on what he felt, and the third had been in Hyderabad working hard on engineering studies.

But now the latter is back, just as good natured and twice the crazy. So far I've only been thinking rationally about things, often paranoid and worried, and making sure things are as logical as possible. But all that will change. With the guy's help, we can plunge the whole story into a new depth of madness.

And with all four powers combined, we WILL cure every sane person on this planet!

But first: ice cream and pizza, please!

[Licawolf]

And with all four powers combined, we WILL cure every sane person on this planet!

Wow! xD that makes it sounds like your novel is going to be seriously great. Glad to hear your friend is back, the crazier the better 


My nephew asked his dad to buy him Chrono Trigger, my brother warned him "I'm not going to buy you a game you're not going to like, so I want to know if you were actually paying attention when you were playing the game with your aunt", and he asked him to tell him the story of the game... My nephew then proceeded to tell the most hilarious rendition of some weird mix of the CT and CC's plots xD It was so funny. I wish I could remember it all. He said something about Lavos being some sort of dream-eating dragon(plant?) from space, created by fusing other multi-colored dragons, that was devouring Earth from inside. At some point Serge became Lucca’s brother, and he gets Kid and Marle mixed which causes some hilarious confusions.

... though I kind of liked how he compared Lynx stealing Serge’s body to enter the Project KID facilities to Jafar manipulating Aladdin to enter the Cave of Wonders.

But frankly, we were not actually expecting him to tell that much, we thought he was just playing for the sake of playing, and not that he actually cared about the plot.

[tushantin]

And with all four powers combined, we WILL cure every sane person on this planet!

Wow! xD that makes it sounds like your novel is going to be seriously great. Glad to hear your friend is back, the crazier the better  

It will! Provided you're into Young-Adult fiction, with some Mystery, Comedy, Sci Fi and Fantasy blended in. Once I finish this, I've plans for mature Surrealism, and right after that, Epics.

ROFL at your nephew! 

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Tushantin, ice cream and pizza? You're so Westernized! (Just kidding.)

[tushantin]

Tushantin, ice cream and pizza? You're so Westernized! (Just kidding.)

xDDD That's because I rarely have Pizza, and I friggin LOVE Ice Cream soda! Whether or not I'm westernized, I'd say you guys rock!

When you're bored, Google Maps is your best friend. It's fun finding things you've never seen before, islands you've never known that existed and animals / civilizations so intriguing you're like in a whole new world.
 
I know this might sound weird, but it feels like I'm playing Pokemon Emerald / FF6 again! The battles and quests themselves didn't really intrigue me as much as exploring (I guess I'm the Setzer type). I feel adventurous going for newer, exciting places and seeing things never seen before. New, hidden lands that have nothing to do with quests. Untouched, real life forests far away from civilization and gruesome, unique animals we've never seen.

[Thought]

I love the word "ordeal" for an entirely geeky reason.

That being, every time I hear the word I think of Mt. Ordeal from FF II/IV. The music from it (which I also love) starts playing through my head, and it is just an all round wonderful sense of nostalgia.

[Shee]

I hated Mt Ordeal simply because I liked Black Knight Cecil more.

I was gonna create a guilty pleasures thread but I figured this would work just as well.


I do love me some tough enough though.  Pro Wrestling is great, for a few hours a week I can totally shut down and laugh my ass off at the hilarity of it all.  Dudes in their underwear pretending to fight.  Plus the other 10% spent yelling "HOOOOOOLY SHIT!  What was that?/Who is that?/I haven't seen him in forever!!!"

But WWE brought back Tough Enough recently, and it is my favorite hour of television every week.  It revolves around something I love and grew up with, but combines it with feeding a PASSION.  You can tell who's there for show and who really fucking wants it.  You also see just how physically demanding it all is.  Really is incredible.  

ESPECIALLY if you think wrasslin' is DUMB (which it is, quite frankly) I suggest you check it out.  It really good stuff and ol' Stone Cold has waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more Springtime Of Youth in him than I thought.  EASILY my fave part of each episode is his Bottom Three, and he grills them for shitting away an awesome opportunity.
Really the only stuff I don't like is the more reality based house stuff, which thankfully does not get a lot of screen time.  Not that it's over the top, just not neeeearly as interesting or inspiring.

I can't even help nodding my head with the horrendous intro theme.  I do dig the chorus, don't hate...

Some clips, I hope you watch not only to make me feel special and appreciate "the biz" but REALLY just to get INSPIRED!!!  GET FIRED UP:

A Bottom Three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwShcyS6Ec0&feature=related

A LEGEND and ring training: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkH4JAhxK24&feature=related

Another Bottom Three...you cantell the guy Matt wants it.  But he needs to GRAB IT!!!  GRAB IT!!!!  You can just tell Stone Cold made up his mind as soon as dude said "Permission to speak."  He was good and he wanted it, but you gotta GRAB IT:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWCdiHbL8yk

Opening theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sf4uhC43Rw


In the middle of all my boo-hooing lately I still managed to get immediately booked for two more shows even with the biggest and most  beautiful and ongoing distractions of the last couple years staring me in the face, laughing at the jokes I wrote about them and how they shat on me.  Wait, did I just get mini-pissy about someone laughing at my jokes???  Now go be a champion.