The Art of Efficient Aggression

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-12-17T13:34:00

2009-12-17T20:34:28Z

Finished finals, now onwards toward winter class!

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-12-03T14:19:00

2009-12-03T21:19:18Z

Science is not for pussies.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-11-30T21:50:00

2009-12-01T04:50:54Z

Finals, fo'real dawg.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-11-06T17:26:00

2009-11-07T01:15:50Z

And again, the people of the world show me that I have put too much faith and hope into them. I should stop assuming that people have the best intentions, and instead just assume the worst until I've been shown otherwise; I'll fit right in with everyone else.

I'll probably begin to phase myself out, figure I'd save people the trouble of excommunicating me.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-11-04T15:04:00

2009-11-05T00:04:55Z

Broke down and bought T6, I don't know why this game is so enjoyable. Lars definitely feels like the character i should be playing, flashy, brutal, and does hella damage. Then I'll probably pick up Devil Jin, maybe Heihachi.. maybe Raven.

Also, if anyone cares at all, I'm completely over Jenica. I'm really disappointed that she saw fit to throw away everything, but I guess in the end its just one more mistake she can add to the pile. I'm just glad I don't have to waste any more time or effort on a person who could care less. I could write at length on this, but I figure the sooner its over, the better. I'm done, and I could care less about what she does next.

Now that thats done, I'm off to get some outfits for Lars.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-11-01T17:11:00

2009-11-02T00:28:28Z

So I've recently become acquainted with my latent ability to be an asshole, and successfully alienate myself from others. Through the breakthrough discovery of untapped veins of 'assholery' (req. 450 mining), I've become quite well versed in the refining of the raw ore harvested from these sites. Its an interesting and possibly useful ability to have, especially when in the hands of an individual such as myself. I fully intend to shock and awe those lucky enough to witness my prodigal use of this commodity.

I also just noticed that latent and talent are anagrams. Crazy, no?

Halloween passed by largely unnoticed by this particular viewer, I was aware of the holiday only because my Ecology professor told me to "Have a nice Halloween," and the sudden appearance of Kit-Kats in my freezer. "Why would they be there?" I wondered. "Ah," I told myself, "Halloween must be this weekend."

Tekken 6 is fun, and while I want to buy it so I can customize Lars and make him look ridiculous, I can't think of any particular time where I'd use any other mode besides training mode. The online is unplayable, and when I do play fighting games with other people, It isn't at my house.

Perhaps later I'll make mention of the red queen hypothesis, or maybe why psychologists keep studying the ovulatory cycle.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-10-27T09:57:00

2009-10-27T17:06:56Z

Not a whole lot to report here...

Recently modded my SE stick, so it looks, feels, and even sounds better than it did out of the box. Picked up a number of dumb tricks in SF4 (which still sucks). And I got rid of a number of things.

Saw Where The Wild Things Are, which I still sort of have a mixed opinion on. It was a coming of age tale that basically felt like 2 hours of pure nostalgia to me. It was good, but I'm not sure how good just yet.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-10-20T23:01:00

2009-10-21T06:15:09Z

Oh world, you sure are a funny place. Maybe someday it'll make sense.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-10-14T16:01:00

2009-10-14T23:23:12Z

So I'm glad Pepperjack Doritos are back, but past that... life is pretty whack, y'all. I don't even know whats going anymore.

Though... watching videos of Joe's C. Viper makes me want to drop the ex-seismic hammer.

C'mon C'mon

2009-10-08T23:50:32Z

My dad is currently in the hospital, possibly due to fluid loss (either internal bleeding or dehydration). Hopefully it turns out to be something minor.

So while I'm normally not a big fan of folk sayings or folk wisdom.. if bad things come in threes, then I can only imagine what the next malicious event will be.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-10-07T17:44:00

2009-10-08T00:58:33Z

Quoted from Stanovichs' book, How to Think Straight about Psychology

"Illusion of Control : The tendency to believe that personal skill can affect outcomes determined by chance."

"We long to believe that good things happen to good people and that bad things happen to the bad. Chance, though, is completely unbiased. It operates on a completely different priniciple, one in which the frequency of good and bad chance events is equal for all types of people."

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-09-30T17:55:00

2009-10-01T01:02:01Z

Ixnay on the movie night idea, not feeling up to it, actually. Of course, if people still want to have a movie night, then you shouldn't let my backing out of it prevent you from holding one!

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-09-28T00:57:00

2009-09-28T08:43:52Z

I wanna set up some sort of weekly movie night, if anyone's interested, comment here or let me know somehow. My idea is to watch 2 movies, each related by some sort of common theme (possibly by actor, genre, or really any trait that that is shared by both films). We'll come up with a theme for the week, we'll all bring/suggest a film for the film night, and then vote on which 2 to watch.

Now I know theres a pretty high chance we won't be able to include everyone in this due to differences in schedules, but I'd like to aim for a time that is convenient for as many people that are interested as possible. We can change up who's going to host so that its not always the same people driving around and so it doesn't force someone to be the host if they don't want to host. Unless, of course, someone wants to be the dedicated host.

So yeah, just let me know if theres any interest in this sort of thing so we can get it rolling.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-09-21T22:59:00

2009-09-22T07:02:56Z

I have an urge to post, but nothing to post about. At this moment I'm more or less just going through life, not doing anything meaningful or useful, and I'm even having a hard time enjoying any sort of liesure activities. I feel somewhat detached from the events I observe.

Anyway, finished with Death Note, Ritz crackers are delicious, tuna sandwiches are delicious, and homework is not delicious.

Eaten by a Grue

2009-09-19T00:25:27Z

I'm now perma-single.

Through the dirt and the thick mud, I'll tunnel like dig-dug

2009-09-01T03:23:11Z

Started up WoW again, for better or worse. If you'd like to join me, hop on Skywall, alliance side. I'm currently playing a draenei pally named Osmose, and possibly a Draenei Death Knight named Azunyan (of K-On fame).

The plan is to just play casually; run 10-man instances, do battlegrounds, etc. I don't plan to get hardcore into any of it, so hopefully that should keep it relatively fun.

Also, placed 13th in an SF4 tournament using C. Viper and Guile.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-08-24T16:21:00

2009-08-24T23:24:05Z

First day of school is done, and its hella hot outside.

My first class was a music class, and since there's no TA, I apparently don't really have to do any work.

Which I suppose is a good thing, since Chinese is gonna kick my ass.

Also, while the Depot may not have been the liveliest place, it was good fun at the same time; karaoke with plenty of jaeger

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-08-16T13:40:00

2009-08-16T20:41:44Z

I guess we have a treadmill now?

This'll be the third untouched exercise machine we've had

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-08-10T14:56:00

2009-08-10T22:01:45Z

I got a pretty cool Leona figure!

And it looks like KoF XII was dead in the water, R.I.P. sweet prince.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go fly my stuntplane into a billboard.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-08-04T14:34:00

2009-08-04T21:43:49Z

Bought Demigod yesterday, and it seems pretty solid so far. I kind of want to do a sort of game diary thing for it (much like Tom Chick does for various games), chronicling each of the eight characters... but I'm not sure just yet. Or I could just extol the wonders of Kid Icarus unto those non-believers.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-07-28T13:57:00

2009-07-28T21:00:51Z

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-07-21T14:00:00

2009-07-21T21:17:36Z

Currently in Vegas, doing whatever, mostly. Caught some of the finals at EVO, and talked to Roch and Marvin while I was there. I was pretty surprised to see that Afrolegends took first in ST:HDR, I was expecting more rape from the Choi-boy, but he couldn't stop afro. The BlazBlue 3v3 exhibition finals were terrible, Heartnana's team got OCVd by some rushdown Noel player. For the love of God, block high. I also caught the Marvel finals, where Sanford beat J. Wong and took first. And thats it for my EVO adventures.

Team !SoS! lost their second L4D match by a landslide, which is not in the least bit surprising. Sucks that Jeremy never got to play, but maybe it was for the better, you got to keep an extra hour of your life while I unsuccessfully tried to convince the rest of the team to just forfeit the match.

Starcraft is whack.

Suzie is awesome.

Zach is slowly becoming the crazy cat guy, and there's a cat here that rivals Psychic in weight, i'mma take a picture

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-07-16T16:51:00

2009-07-16T23:53:10Z

I wish I had a PSP so I could buy Kenko Bancho (coming to America as "Badass Rumble").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ueXwspBnw

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-06-25T13:39:00

2009-06-25T21:35:15Z

After playing through The Path, I figured I'd give a slightly more in-depth look at it.

The game basically breaks down into three different sections. The first, where you're looking at a room with six different girls, and you select one of them for the second part. Next, the girl you selected is set on the path, where you are given instructions, "Go to grandmother's house. AND STAY ON THE PATH." The final section is grandmother's house, where you basically just walk through the house and look around. While you're in grandmother's house, you can only move in one direction.

Now, what you see inside of Grandmother's house changes depending on which girl you are, and what you've seen and done while on the way to grandmother's house. Some events have a somewhat small effect on grandmother's house, for example, say you find a flower, now inside of the house you might find a flower lying about. However, some items open up rooms that you previously didn't have access to, adding a great deal more to grandmother's house than just a flower.

Of course, this wouldn't be little red riding hood without a wolf, but I don't want to spoil anything. Let's just say that every girl has a different experience.

I think The Path is probably the most artistic game on the market, and it's really only something you could experience through a game; no film or book could create the same feeling. Everything that happens in the game is dictated by the player, and every action has a consequence. If any video game could be considered art, I think this would be the one.

Considering how rich and confusing the imagery of The Path is, I don't know if one person could ever actually 'finish' the game, as I've so far been unable to completely understand even a single character. However, I don't think that any work of art is "open for interpretation," that's just a cop-out to make people feel ok about not understanding something. The author of The Giver once claimed the end of the book was open to interpretation. That's just ridiculous. And here in The Path, I'm not buying that either. The creators put way too much work into making sure that every character was given specific recurring images and themes, and then they try to downplay their own work. That's silly. Every single character in The Path is unique, memorable, and full of color and character, downplaying such excellent attention to detail is almost an insult to the players and to the people at Tale of Tales; this is one grand, cohesive tale that shouldn't be missed or glossed over.

In any case, the game is only 10 dollars and will not only make you feel uneasy, but it will force you to think.

d_the_bagheart @ 2009-06-17T16:16:00

2009-06-18T00:06:13Z

Just some quick thoughts on various things.

The Path: Intelligent, clever, charming, and frightening. Perhaps one of the most interesting games I've had the pleasure of playing, it's an incredibly well done experience that plays itself out beautifully.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: A cute and clever series, but I really don't understand the hype. It felt like an amalgam of previously used ideas and archetypes, complete with a great Pheonix Wright reference.

Code Geass: I wasn't sure what to expect from this (aside from Pizza Hut) when I first saw screencaps of it, but I have to say, it really impressed me. There was one important plot point I'm still not sure about because it felt really out of character, but thats pretty much my only complaint.

Lucky Star: I don't think I need to say much here, but Lucky Star is great. I don't recall a single episode where the humor fell flat, but I suppose it's case dependant. On top of being funny, it's cute, so there's something for everybody.

Punch-Out!!: It's Punch-Out, for the Wii. Need I say more?