Don't You Know Blackmail Is Waaaaay Uncool?
25 December 2007
Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas! Or is that Happy Christmas? I'm not so sure any more. I always thought it was 'Merry' since it's 'Happy New Year' but all I've heard this year is 'Happy Christmas' from everyone. It's probably another casualty of Political Correctness gone mad. In any case, it's not been a bad Christmas Day this year. I spent a lot of it at home watching TV, the best way. 'Finding Nemo' and 'Shrek 2' were on this afternoon, and then we had 'Doctor Who' on in the evening. Right now I'm chilling out playing Shenmue. I've timed it so that it's also Christmas Day in the game as well. It was a white Christmas in Yokosuka. Shame it didn't snow in real life though, it never seems to these days. In fact it's actually quite warm today. Must be that pesky global warming we keep hearing about. I should move to Finland, I'd get lots of snow then. Christmas Eve was pretty good too. I watched all three 'Bourne' films in one sitting; a total of just under six hours. I'd always wanted to watch these films, they're the type of action I like. They didn't disappoint. I think 'Bourne Supremacy' is my favourite. It has a nice balance of action and story with some great stunts. 'Identity' had a nice, low budget action-espionage feel about it while 'Ultimatum' was a political thriller with a very similar story to the 'Hitman' series. I've heard people complaining about the shaky camera work but I didn't really notice it. It's more common theses days to use hand-held cameras. I think it gives the film a more gritty, real life feel about it. People just need to get better hand-eye coordination! They're superb films, nuff said. Innit!
With the passing of Christmas it's almost the end of 2007. I'm looking forward to the new year. There's the New Year episode of Haromoni@, which looks really funny from what I've seen from the preview, the new Horie Yui album at the end of January, loads of new dramas, and of course, university in September. There's also the Olympics in China, Euro 2008 in Switzerland/Austria and it's also a leap year so we'll see 29th February again. It's going to be a good one, I can feel it in my bones. I've got to start thinking about some resolutions soon. I've managed to fulfil one of them this year. Onwards and upwards I say!
Posted byHocchan at 10:31 pm 5 comments
And Thus, The Saga...Begins.
21 December 2007
Every year around this time I get the urge to play a certain game. That game is probably the most famous RPG released for the Sega Dreamcast. If you've never heard of Shenmue then shame on you! It was the most creative game of it's kind when it was released (on my birthday no less, the sequel too) and brought forth a plethora of new and exciting ideas. But it didn't forget to include a compelling plot that had you hooked from start to finish. The only regrettable thing is that they never actually finished the story. Suzuki Yu (producer) had planned to make it into a multi-chapter story spanning several games. Unfortunately, due to the poor sales of both the sequel and the Dreamcast, they never released any other parts. This travesty is on the same scale as the Shining Force III series in the UK. I'm still praying for Sega to come to their senses and let Suzuki make one last game to finish the story off. It's not looking very likely at the moment, but there's always hope. After all, they brought back NiGHTs after a decade so it's not an impossibility. Hope was raised when the released the games on the XBOX a few years ago but alas, more poor sales meant Shenmue III was a no go. There were even plans for an online game but I'm not sure what's happened to that. Only time will tell if we'll ever see the final chapter of Ryo's adventures...
In spite of all this, I'm still having a lot of fun playing through the games again. Yes, the controls do feel very clunky and yes, the English dubbing is horrible (seriously, who wrote the translation and hired the actors?!) but it's still one hell of an experience. The sheer amount of freedom you have is amazing. You don't even have to progress the main story at all if you don't feel like it. You could visit the arcades and play Hang On all day, and spend all your allowance on toys if you really wanted. But to do so would deny the joy of tracking down the villain, Lan Di, and avenging your father. The best thing to do is take your time and play some of the mini-games available. Then, when you've grown slightly bored of playing Darts for the 1,289th time, go talk to some town folk (though they tend to be a bit gormless) and continue the plot. It's brilliant. I couldn't recommend it more, if only for the amazing quotes like this one:
"Huh!? Shut the hell up! Who in the hell are you, eh? If you don't shut the hell up, I'll make you wish you had".
Shakespeare eat your heart out.
Posted byHocchan at 3:25 am 0 comments
Mata Au Hi Made, Saraba
19 December 2007
Congratulations! 2007 will go down as one of the worse years of my life. Hope you're happy with yourself, whoever the crap decided to make my life hell. Pretty much anything that can go wrong has gone wrong, and done it with a vengeance. That includes this piece of shit wireless connection I have right now. It's been pissing me off for the past few days by constantly dropping my signal. It's doing it right now as a matter of fact. Sometimes it'll refuse to connect to the router for hours. It's really made my blood boil. I don't know if it's a problem with the network card or the router. At the next available opportunity I'm going back to a wired Ethernet connection because, quite frankly, wireless connections are total and utter bullshit. Screw radio waves! Give me my copper wires back, you bastards.
As of a few minutes ago I also decided to leave Guardians Reborn for awhile. I've left several times before so it probably won't be a permanent departure but I can't rule it out. It's partly to do with the whole situation with one of the members that arose weeks ago. I don't really want to deal with it right now so I'm going to run away from the problem like I always do. I've gone back to Kuroneko Doumei for the time being. Shame things had to come to this but I just don't want to be around them anymore.
Sigh... another depressing post. Only 12 days until 2008 at least. I can't wait to get this goddamn year over with...
Posted byHocchan at 1:27 am 8 comments
Lovely New Desktop
17 December 2007
Posted byHocchan at 1:08 am 0 comments
23-sai Ni Narimashita!
15 December 2007
(^_^)/ Greetings from the latest year in my life. This is the first blog entry since I turned 23 years old. Hurrah!... I think. To be honest birthdays haven't really been a big deal for me in most of my life. It's mainly just another day in the year. I'm simply another year closer to the horrible end. Perhaps that's quite a morbid way of looking at it. But there'll be many more birthdays to come (touch wood) so it's not too big a deal. When I do finally come to celebrate on properly, I'm going to make sure it's worth celebrating. Right now, I don't really feel like that... But no matter! It's now only 10 days until the day they call Christmas. I'm quickly running out of time to finish my play list. Salvation has come in the form of a Christmas song collection that I downloaded via torrent. All I have to do now is go through them and pick the best songs. There are quite a few of them in there so I've got a lot of listening to do in the next few nights. It's a joy to hear all the festive tunes. I'm even looking forward to the annual Christmas shopping bonanza. It'll be cold, it'll be packed, but damn, it'll be some fun! "Bah! Humbug"? I don't think so. More like, "Bah! Shut your face Scrooge!"
Not much else to write for this post so I'll leave you with some fun facts about the number 23:
- 23 is the ninth prime number, the smallest prime which is not a twin prime;
- There are 23 letters in the Latin alphabet;
- William Shakespeare was born and died on 23rd April;
- It takes 23 seconds for blood to circulate through the human body;
- Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times;
- 23 is the atomic number of Vanadium;
- And finally, 23 is how old I am!
Posted byHocchan at 4:57 pm 2 comments
Kurisumasu Nante Daikirai!! Nanchatte
14 December 2007
Hmm... perhaps I was lying when I said that I didn't enjoy winter anymore. I'm getting into the festive spirit a little more now it's closer to the big day. I still have other things on my mind which detracts a little from the enjoyment factor but hopefully they won't spoil it too much. In order to enhance the experience this year, I'm borrowing a friend's idea of creating a Christmas play list, only with a twist. It's going to be composed of entirely Japanese tracks rather than the traditional English pop affair. I've been having fun hunting down songs to put on this custom album. I'm not sure how many songs I'm going to limit it to but so far I have six definite tracks. It's a bit of a race against time at the moment but I think it'll become a lot easier after this torrent has finished downloading. It's not that there aren't plenty of Japanese songs released at this time of the year, it's that half of them don't really 'feel' like winter songs. I like to hear lots of bells and twinkly sound effects in my Christmas song, cheesy as they are. I don't want some damn Mariah Carey or R'n'B crap ruining everything. So I've kept it quite traditional in regards to the overall feel. One thing's for sure, if this play list doesn't put me in the mood for Christmas then nothing will!
One thing I saw recently was a programme done by Horikita Maki for Japanese TV. In it she did a 200KM bicycle tour of Europe going through Switzerland, Germany and France. It looked a lot of fun and she met some really cool people along the way. There were some brilliant sights and nice places that she visited along the way. It kind of reminded me of 'Long Way Round' but a much shorter version, bit like 'Mini Way Round'. The programme got me thinking. I wouldn't mind doing something similar sometime next year when it gets a bit warmer. I'm not sure how I'd cope with the language barrier (I've forgotten all the two years of French that I've learned) but I wouldn't think it'd be too big a problem. It's something I'll think about in the coming months.
Posted byHocchan at 1:15 pm 0 comments
This Will Be An Angry Post: The Revenge
11 December 2007
I guess the title is a little misleading. I'm not so much angry (actually I am, it's just bubbling below the surface) but rather despondent. It's all about that KSNM incident again on FFXI. It was weeks ago but I still haven't been able to let it go. It's been getting on my nerves every time I log into the game. No one seems to give a damn about how I'm feeling lately. I haven't been able to talk properly to anyone since then. I've been reduced to some rather one-sided conversations with a friend who's listened to my grievances. I feel sorry for him. It can't be much fun talking to someone who's as enthusiastic as a mouldy sponge. I'm beginning to develop a grudge against someone who used to be a friend. This incident has messed that relationship up though. I no longer feel that I can talk freely to them again. I haven't got the guts to confront them about it because it'll probably end up with an argument where I'll be made to feel it's all my own fault. The whole thing makes me wonder if I really made the right choice to leave my end game linkshell. Not sure if I wrote about that on here but I was basically asked to choose between linkshells. I made the choice to stick with Guardians Reborn rather than ditch it in the pursuit of items. Now I'm coming to regret my decision...
Posted byHocchan at 3:27 pm 2 comments
Mugon Iroppoi
08 December 2007
I used to really love Winter. There were many great memories of previous Winters where I enjoyed myself a lot. I loved the way it got dark really early and how the lights would all be lit up as people did their shopping in the town centre. I loved the fact that both Shenmue games were released on my birthday and I spent so much of December playing it. I loved all the festive films that were shown on television. But those things are so far away now. Recently, all that Winter reminds me of is misery and despair. It all feels very different from years ago. Now I long for Spring to arrive as quickly as possible, and then for Summer to swiftly follow. The joyous sunshine, the warmth of a Summer day. It's fair to say that I've now switched my season of preference. I also wish September would roll round quicker. I'm eager to start university and get my life out of this pit of misery. All I can do for now is to endure it and hope for the best. I guess it's up to me to make the best of things in the current situation. I just don't know if I've got the ability or willpower to do so. I'll try my best...
I've started watching 'Nodame Cantabile' again recently whilst I wait for new episodes of 'Galileo' and 'Mop Girl'. I should never have dropped this series. It gets really good after only a few episodes. The plot is really funny and the cast works really well together. It's filled with lots of classical music which I've always admired but never really delved into. Just from watching this my knowledge and appreciation of classical music has increased tenfold. There's something about an orchestral piece that touches your soul. It's going to be a great series to watch.
Posted byHocchan at 7:27 pm 0 comments
Always San-Choume No Yuuhi
05 December 2007
Wow... just wow, is all I can say. Spent the last two hours watching 'Always San-Choume No Yuuhi'. If ever something could be called truly beautiful then this film would surely be it. You would have to have a heart of stone and the darkest of souls to not be moved by the storyline. The ending in particular is perhaps the purest and most magnificent closing to a film I've ever seen. The framing is so perfect and the colours just fit so well. A truly exquisite piece of film making. The story centres around a small neighbourhood in post-war Tokyo. In the background there is the construction of Tokyo Tower which symbolises the hopes of the people for a brighter future. During this time there is an influx of people from all parts of the country hoping to find a better life in Tokyo. Amongst them is Hoshino Mutsuko (played by Horikita Maki) who comes to serve as an apprentice at Suzuki Auto. Things aren't quite as grand as she'd hope though, as she discovers that Suzuki Auto is simply a small auto repair shop as opposed to a large automotive company. However, after a massive argument over a small misunderstanding, she begins to enjoy her time at Suzuki Auto. She soon becomes part of the family and experiences all the new delights of the era, such as a black-and-white television and refrigerator. This is probably my favourite story arc within the film (I'm a bit biased though /laugh).
Also within the story is the amateur novelist, Chagawa Ryunosuke, who gets coerced into looking after a young boy whose mother has abandoned him. At first their relationship is strained but after finding out the boy idolises the stories he writes, Ryunosuke slowly grows to like him, even treating him like his own son eventually. There's also the doctor who is regarded as a demon by all who are on the receiving end of one of his injections, but is in fact a kind and caring person who lost a lot during the war. All the minor characters contribute to the feeling of a community trying its best to rebuild. The feeling of nostalgia throughout is strong and makes you yearn for years gone by. There are many light-hearted moments throughout that prevent the film from ever being too heavy and dark. Though that's not to say there aren't some moments that'll have you reaching for the tissues to dry your eyes with. It's certainly very sad in places. By the end, however, it all works out for the best - just how happy endings are meant to be.
I would urge anyone and everyone to watch this film. Nostalgia always makes you feel as though everything was better back then, but I do believe that we could learn a thing or two from the people who lived in those times. I also believe there's a sequel to the film which was released in November. I'm going to have to try and get a hold of it. It would bring me great pleasure to be reunited with the residents of San-Choume once again.
Posted byHocchan at 6:06 am 0 comments
This Will Be An Angry Post: Part II
03 December 2007
This has been driving me insane for the whole of Saturday night and most of Sunday. I was absolutely livid at the time, now I'm not quite so angry but I'm still fairly pissed off about it. The whole thing started on Saturday when there was a KSNM run organised by a friend of the linkshell. This had been announced days prior and I'd specifically asked if there were any restrictions on orbs you could bring. I know some groups only do certain ones. The answer I got was, no there wouldn't be any restrictions, you can bring whatever orb you like. Great, I thought, I'll go get a Clotho orb. I've tried Lachesis in the past and it always gets me rubbish drop items. Clotho tends to have a more consistent treasure drop rate. I traded my 30 Kindred Seals to the NPC and got my Clotho orb. I was ready for the KSNM. Then at 1 hour before the run, it's suddenly decided that the Clotho orb KSNM would be too risky. I couldn't use this job or that job. No, in fact, here's a better idea; we'll not do that run at all! I mentioned I'd already gotten a Clotho orb but nothing, no reaction. Nooooooooo. It's too dangerous with four Black Mages... Despite the fact that I've done this KSNM with other groups of four Black Mages and even gone as Samurai. There have never ever been any problems. It shouldn't be any problem for a group of competent players. But no, I wasn't allowed. So I'd wasted my 30 seals on an orb I couldn't use or exchange. Great. Fantastic.
But here's the best bit. I logged off for awhile, not wanting to sit around hearing what great drops everyone was getting on their other orbs while I sat there like a prat. When I came back, my friend mentioned he'd got some great items from the KSNM. I asked what orb he used. Guess what? CLOTHO! The same pissing orb that I'd been told I wasn't going to be able to use. What the fuck is that all about? They were intentionally trying to exclude me from the group? What the hell is the problem? I'm not important enough for them? I'm not allowed to make any money for myself? WHAT?! I feel betrayed. Most of all I feel really, really goddamn ANGRY!!
Posted byHocchan at 7:03 am 0 comments
Joukyou Monogatari
02 December 2007
Osu. Had another lazy month in November. A grand total of three posts! Don't think I'll be breaking any records with that pitiful effort... But no matter! December is a new month. Plenty of time to get this blog back on track before the year ends. It's really flown by quite fast. I'll probably do a proper end of year review in a January post but for now I think 2007 has been a turbulent year, that's for sure. November wasn't bad though. Despite a total mess up by GAME in delivering my copy of 'Wings of the Goddess' it's been quite a fun month. I spent a lot of the latter half playing the new expansion. I've been levelling Dancer a lot and I'm currently up to level 37. I'm having a lot of fun with the job. It's everything I was expecting and a lot more besides. There's a lot of depth to the job and it's very adaptable in a variety of different situations. Everyday I discover something new to Dancer that makes me even more impressed with it. I'm hoping they'll release the Artefact armour for it soon. I can't wait to see my character wearing that. The rest of the expansion is a lot of fun despite there being a slight lack of overall content. The campaign mode is good for casual play and it doesn't require massive amounts of time to achieve things. I'm sure it'll get a lot better as the game is updates in the coming months.
Also in November I started to watch a couple of new dramas. The first is 'Mop Girl' starring Kitagawa Keiko as Hasegawa Momoko. Also in it is Tanihara Shosuke from 'Deru Toko Demasho'. The drama is about Momoko who has special powers which enable her to go back and change the past by touching the belongings of a deceased person. This is made all the easier by the fact that she gets transferred to the funeral services department of her company. It's a very unbelievable plot but it doesn't matter as this is primarily a humorous drama. I especially like Tanihara Shosuke's acting. He has a brilliant comic timing which works well with the script. I'm only up to the second episode so far but I can't wait for the rest to be subbed.
The second new drama is 'Galileo'. This one is a more serious affair but it doesn't mean there aren't plenty of funny moments in it. It stars Shibasaki Kou of 'Battle Royale' fame, and Fukuyama Masaharu, who is apparently an extremely popular singer songwriter. The plot is about Kou's character, Utsumi Kaoru, who's a young rookie detective that enlists the help of a genius professor to solve various intriguing crimes. It's a bit like CSI in a way, but not quite so serious. The cases in each episode are very cleverly worked out by the professor and I've enjoyed watching as clues are uncovered. This is probably -the- drama to be watching this season and it's not hard to see why. It has some major stars as guest actors in each episode and has attracted large viewing figures. Definitely a drama you don't want to miss.
I think that's about it for this update. Just have time to say a Happy Birthday to my friend Tamara. O-tanjoubi Omedetou!Posted byHocchan at 10:40 am 0 comments
