ReadingLirael, As You Like It, The English Patient, Heart of Darkness, Suikoden III, Candidate for Goddess
Watching House, Rick Mercer's Monday Report, Gilmore Girls, Scrubs, Corner Gas, Aishiteruze Baby, Prince of Tennis, Hikaru no Go
Playing The Bard's Tale, Katamari Damacy, Curse of Monkey Island, Final Fantasy VI, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Pretty Barbie Dressup Party Final Fantasy X-2(group gaming)
Back-burner Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, Planescape: Torment, Final Fantasy VII
Obsessing Firefly, Erik and Ray, Impulse/Bart Allen, Ford Prefect, Monkey Island, Nostalgia.
Upcoming Things of Importance January 5 First day of classes January 14 Birthday party January 16 Jaryn and Matt Are Old Day
layout
Is by Meimi, that wonderful Goddess who brings joy and happiness to the hearts of Ingrids.
This time, Meimi brought joy by doing a layout of Isumi Shinichirou and Waya Yoshitaka, of Hikaru no Go. It is full of wub.
.
Music, Fuji, Bad Teeth, and Alphonse Elric
3/20/2004 10:08:28 PM
"Sh. No words, my rose blossom. No sexy female spy will take me from you. I'll be back as soon as my mission is completed." - Padma, Friendly Hostility.
I finally got around to uncompressing Fuji's latest album - Breath - and, because the music Gods like to laugh at me, the first thing I heard was Fuji singing "Amazing Grace".
No, this isn't some crazy J-pop song that just happens to share it's name with a well-known religious song like "Joy to the World" does. It's the actual singing of "Amazing Grace". In Engrish. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me~" and all that.
I feel traumatized that Fuji's apparently become a born-again Christian while I wasn't looking.
Also, I'm hurt that Jinxer wasn't traumatized like me.
In other Prince of Tennis news, Kimeru apparently replaced Yanagi Kotaroh as Ryoma in the second musical (Eiji's been replaced too, and they've gotten a new Fuji, of course, but it looks like Moriyama Eiji's still around, yay!). This saddens me, because Yanagi-kun is utterly adorable and challenges my asexuality, while Kimeru has bad teeth, and can't dance. Yanagi-kun does that precious break dancing, too.
I'm hurt that no one -told- me about this. Sheesh, people, keep me informed.
Randomly, all of Andrew Lloyd Weber's music sounds the same.
I also watched episode twenty of Full Metal Alchemist this morning/afternoon (slowly, slowly catching up). I only have one thing to say: If it had been anyone other than Al despairing over something a convicted murderer told him about whether or not he really exists and suggesting that Ed's just using him, I'd beat them with a stick for being so stupid. But then I remember that Al's, like, fourteen years old, and poor kid, I think he can be excused a little doubt. He spends so much time being strong and putting on a brave front for Ed, he deserves his moment of doubt. What a sweetie.
I still prefer the old ending, btw.
As random as trees falling in the forests, Almighty Ingrid, Signing Off
Final Fantasy X: Electrocution is Love
3/20/2004 12:46:23 AM
"Tightass, looking across the dark expanse of land filled with towers and flashes of lightning, wants to know how the hell they're going to cross it. I have an idea, and it involves Tightass being the tallest object in any given area." - Jeanne, Final Fantasy X Part 11, Videogame Recaps.
Well, it's been a while since I popped in the Final Fantasy X disk, since I've actually been doing -work-.
Join me as I leave Djose temple and wait wistfully for Tightass to stop being a wanker.
Tightass wakes up and goes to wake up Yuna . . . There's this scene afterwards where everyone comments on how messed up Yuna's hair is, even though it looks exactly the same as usual.
Look, game designers, I appreciate the effort, but maybe next time you should put in some effort to making the hair actually look different, or not bother at all.
It reminds me of that scene in Suikoden III where Sasarai says that he, at least, looks like he's over thirty years old, and the universal response from -everyone- who played the game is "No you bloody well don't, you delusional little git!" Well, minus the British slang.
There's Wankese, we encounter the chocobo knights for some expositiony conversation that basically tells us that we're going to the Moonflow next. Even though the pointless little dotted map thing will shortly tell us the exact same thing.
This game hurts me.
On the path to the Moonflow (which I think everyone can agree sounds like a hippie-word for the menstrual cycle) we encounter fucking annnoying monster, and the even more annoying Shelinda, who's all full of fuzzy warmth and happiness over the HORRIBLE GRUESOM DEATH OF THE CRUSADERS.
God, the Yevon-worshippers are a bunch of -assholes-.
There's this weird bit of foreshadowing involving the asshole Ronso who pick on Kimahri that really makes absolutely no sense but reminds us, in case we've forgotten, that Summoners are disappearing.
Have I mentioned my hate of cutscenes lately?
When we reach the Moonflow, we find out it's not a river of blood at all, but a happy river with shiny bugs flying over it. Unfortunately, we need to ride something called a 'shoopuf' to cross it.
Shoopuf is a stupid name.
Everyone and their dog has a stupid story about the shoopuf, one of which causes Tightass and Wakka to do this weird embarrassing bonding thing that disgusts Lulu. The only interesting one is from Auron, though, about how Jecht was drunk and tried to attack the shoopuf.
Alcoholism is funny.
The riding of the shoopuf leads to the most painful scene since the scary laughing scene back in Luca - Wakka -gloating- over the destruction of a city built over the river with machina. He spouts a lot of bigotted stuff that makes -Tightass- look smart.
Wakka, with every passing moment I'm forgetting why I like you.
We also find out that the people of Spira -can- use machina for important and good things. Like blitzball. Ah, self-serving religious hypocrisy.
Yuna is briefly kidnapped again by a giant machina, Wakka and Tightass beat it up, and things continue on as usual, because the main female character in a Final Fantasy game getting kidnapped is perfectly normal.
We leave the Moonflow and head to Guadosalam to visit the Farplane. On the way, we find Rikku! Rikku! Another character who reminds me how horrible Tightass and Yuna's voice actors are! Hi Rikku!
Somehow, despite the fact that Tightass says that Rikku's an 'Al Bhe ...' Wakka fails to notice that Rikku's an Al Bhed, so for the moment, everything's happy and good.
Rikku was also the person who kidnapped Yuna back on the shoopuf, but we aren't actually told -why-. Yet.
Now that Rikku's here, Yuna wants -her- to become a guardian too.
Good lord, how many guardians does this girl -need-? Hey, how about we ask Shelinda to be a guardian? And O'aka? And the guy who gives us random world building info?
Getting to GUadosalam, we find out that Seymour the Pedophile wants to meet with Yuna about something important. And those guys travelling with her get to come along, too. But first, of course, I wandering around the village, finding out that the Guado are damn ugly, and that the old Guado language sounds like the bad crap people sound at Ren Faires.
I get bored talking to people who tell me nothing, even if they are blessedly free of voice actors, and I go to meet the doom that is Seymour. But no, no, we can't get on with the plot, first, I have to wait around, and find out about Seymour's mother, who was actually a human. I guess the result of a human mating with a guado leads to a hideously ugly pedophile like Seymour.
Seymour eventually makes his appearance, whines about the pain of his popularity, and proceeds to do this weird hypnotizing thing that takes everyone back to Zanarkand, just so he can propose to Yuna.
Ten points for style, minus one million for the thought of Yuna and Seymour having sex.
Yuna can't answer right away, although apparently the people of Spira would be delighted if Seymour and Yuna got married. I think the people of Spira remind me of Americans who adore the Royal Family.
To think, Yuna heads off to the Farplane, which is where dead people go. Rikku and Auron stay behind. In the Farplane there's, like, clouds and shit. Wakka and Lulu see Chappu, who -does- look like Tightass if you kind of squint. He doesn't have the horrible gravity defying hair of Wakka. He's actually rather better looking than both Wakka and Tightass.
I wish that we could have Chappu instead of Tightass. Everyone would be happier.
Yuna sees her parents . . . and Tightass sees his mother (and he doesn't see his Dad because JECHT. IS. SIN). We find out that Tightass hates Jecht because, when Jecht was actually home, Tightass' mother would pay attention to Jecht instead of him.
Great, an Oedipal complex ontop of everything else.
When we leave the Farplane, Seymour's Daddy tries to follow us. I wonder if he -died- under less than lawful circumstances that might mean Seymour's -evil-?
Maybe I'm just talking crazy talk.
Yuna goes to talk to Seymour and give him whatever her answer is. While she's gone, Tightass gets a lecture on how he shouldn't fall in love with Yuna, and we find out Seymour's actually gone.
Tightass makes a stupid joke, we collect Yuna, and proceed to the happiest part of the game thus far. It's the Thunder Plains.
Every time Tightass takes a few steps, he gets hit by lightning.
I love so much right now, that I go back to the save point and save the game so I can watch this all over again.
I almost want to play this again soon, just so I can replay this beautiful scene over and over again.
Really, don't waste time with the 'tutorial', Almighty Ingrid, Signing Off
My Old English class yesterday was cancelled, and I'm miffed because we were supposed to have a quiz, and I'd -studied- and now I'm going to have to study again and . . . blah.
I also have to clean my hard drive off, desperately, so I can play catch up with Full Metal Alchemist and Prince of Tennis and Peacemaker Kurogane . . . To do that, I'm going to need to find more blank cds. Plus, I -still- haven't sent Stephen the Hikaru no Go and Princess Tutu cds.
I'm a bad, bad person.
I desperately need to go to future shop and just buy and assload of cds, but the walk is long and I have to go to the library today . . .
My inability to drive hurts.
On a completely different note, I'm living in paranoia of rats. Every day I go downstairs and there's a new report on the maintenace sheet about someone's apartment being invaded by rats.
The reports are getting closer to my own apartment - now they're just down the hallway.
I have all my food in the fridge, now, but still. I don't need to deal with this kind of shit.
I can't believe the residence office is charing five hundred dollars for appartments with -rats-. I wonder if this happens every year? If so, I think someone should have Words with the people who work at the residence office that maybe they shouldn't be raising the rent unless they do something about the goddamn rats.
The same goes for the maple bugs, but at least they don't eat your food. They're just . . . annoying.
Plotting to unleash doom on the residence office, Almighty Ingrid, Signing Off
Storytime with Ingrid
3/14/2004 11:07:21 PM
"I mean, wasn't it sucking on Lindsey's finger? That's like baby-foreplay. It'll be disapointed without at least a goodnight kiss." - bell on Climbing the Corporate Ladder
And, because I'd hate to make a post just for the sake of announcing an update, and because I still have some tea to drink before bed, I'm going to relate a story to you all. It is the Story of Ingrid's Hats.
I think I'm always very much identified with wearing a baseball cap. I have professors who know me as 'Atkinson in the hat', people can recognize me in a crowd because of my hat, and the man who runs 8th St Comics remembers me because of my hat. I've worn hats for a long, long time.
I can't remember how old I was when I got my first hat, but since it was neon pink and black, it's not hard to guess it was when I was young and the eighties were almost over. It wasn't much of a hat, but it was a -hat-.
It was later replaced by purple hat that said 'Ghost Lake' on it when I was six or seven after the one and only summer visit made to my aunt, uncle, and cousins in, well, Ghost Lake Village.
Alas, the purple hat did not live long - on a trip to Saskatoon to go to the children's festival the clasp at the back fell off in a busy intersection and I couldn't go back and get it. The hat was retired, and it's presence is still missed to this day.
After that I wore a lot of too-big hats my mum got from the Beavers Walk in the Forest thing that she helped out with every year. I borrowed a baseball cap of Jared's that had some sports team on it when I was playing the lead in our class play (which happened to be a boy . . .) in grade three, but other than that, it was forestry/weyerhauser hats until junior high.
When I was eight I lost one of these hats, a white one, at a Dairy Queen my then-Uncle Mark took me to in North Bay, in an attempt to distract me from the numerous funeraly things that took place after my grandfather's death.
That was a good hat.
In grade eight, for Christmas, I got a black X-Files hat which I loved for many years until Saskatoon claimed it in grade twelve, when we went to the University of Saskatchewan for a tourish thing.
Damn Saskatoon, it's a curse on my hats.
I went hatless for many months, until after graduation I ended up with -two- hats (due to several parties knowing I needed a new hat). A black one from the Stratford Festival for 'The Merchant of Venice', which I had seen the previous year, and a black one from Thea that says 'I See Dumb People'.
Thea and I are no longer on speaking terms, because I'm an asshat and a fucktard, but damn do I love that hat. It's the one I usually wear.
A green hat reading 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' also fell into my possession recently because for some reason, Dad bought it when he was in Ontario last summer.
Why, we don't know, except Dad likes to buy Stuff.
It's a good hat too. Provides lots of face coverage.
And that, children, is the Story of Ingrid's Hats.
It was a good story and you damn well liked it.
Evil and becapped, Almighty Ingrid, Signing Off
A Musical Interlude
3/14/2004 01:10:32 PM
"They're gone. I want my money." "You were s'posed to tell 'em I died. No dead Rafi, no cash, Princess." - Fatima and Rafi, Friendly Hostility.
Old school gamers of the PC variety may or may not be interested in taking a look at Quest Studios, a site devoted to offering soundtracks of old school Sierra games, back when they . . . didn't actually suck. Far be it from me to deny that Lucas Arts was funnier, fresher, and more innovative, but I've been playing Sierra adventure games since before I was in school, and they'll always have a special place in my heart. Listening to some of the music brings back nice memories.
Plus, you could die at any moment. That's pretty sweet.
Continuing on that musical note, the load up your mp3s and put 'em on random, write down the first twenty that come up meme thing.
1. Song of Healing Demo - Koji Kondo (Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)
I really like the Zelda music, even though I've barely ever -played- a Zelda game. I feel shame.
2. Legend of Mana - Title Theme - Yoko Shimomura
I've never played Legend of Mana either, but someone put a few tracks up on their livejournal, and I'm a sucker for video game music. Pretty stuff.
3. Tatoeba - Seki Tomokazu (DNAngel)
Seki Tomokazu as Satoshi will always be infinitely better than Ishida Akira. He sings well, too, when he wants to (I'm not too fond of the stuff he did with Weiss).
4. Puni Puni Densetu Ppoi - Yumiko Kobayashi
. . . I have no idea, really.
5. Rocket No. 4 - ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
I remember liking whichever of the themes they did for Naruto . . .
6. Anniversary of Angels (Wish)
I like the stuff from the Wish cd, even if it is ultimately forgetable. It's still pretty.
7. Jumping Up the Nations - Toby Ash (Initial D)
Look, I like the music for Initial D. It's upbeat. Stop staring at me, dammit!
8. Who are You? - Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy VII)
I'm a sucker for Nobuo Uematsu, that's all Ihave to say.
9. Interrupted by Fireworks (Final Fantasy VII)
I feel it necessary to point out that I only have the FFVII soundtrack on my harddrive right now - really, it's sheer coincidence that a song from it turns up twice.
10. Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls
Finally! I swear, I do have good taste sometimes!
11. Victory Road - Karaoke (Tachibana Kippei's Image Song, Prince of Tennis)
. . . I'm obsessive about collecting the Prince of Tennis mp3s, okay? And I like Tachibana.
12. Birthday - Aruki Hajimeta Hi - Aozu (Prince of Tennis)
I can't listen to this without thinking of the Band of Princes video - OH GOD MY BRAIN!
13. Christmas Alone - Impmon (Digimon Tamers)
You know what I realize the Prince of Tennis marketing reminds me of? The Digimon marketing! All those singles, man . . .
14. You're Aging Well - Dar Williams
Yes, another one for the 'Ingrid Listens to Real Music' list!
15. Zombies! - Kim Justice (Megatokyo)
You wish -you- had an mp3 called 'zombies'.
16. Kyuushuu City - Oku Keiichi (Peacemaker Kurogane)
. . . Why do I have the Peacemaker Kurogane soundtrack? Oh, right, the dancing pig ending.
17. Naturally - Ayumi Hamasaki
Mmm. Random J-pop.
18. White Illusion - Kawamura Takashi (Prince of Tennis)
I blame Prince of Tennis, not my own poor taste.
19. Continue? - Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy VII)
Three - this is just freaky.
10. I Love You Like You Are - Valentina (Inital D)
Tastes like racing.
I swear I don't listen to as much video game music as the random songs make it look like. I have taste, dammit!
