Shinzantetsu's Ramblings

New ED

2009-08-07T21:36:42Z

I wasn't a big fan of the second ED the first time I watched it, but now I'm starting to dig it. However, "You Make Me Happy!" edges out "Happy Together!!" as a better song in my opinion. Only slightly though.

Wheel of Time

2009-08-02T04:15:29Z

It's been two years since Jordan passed away and I started re-reading the series last week since part 1 of the last book will be coming out in November. I'm making some pretty good progress and I'm nearly done with book five. I'd forgotten a lot of things; character quirks and places, so the refresher is serving its purpose.

Farewell to Eas

2009-07-14T02:09:33Z

I'm a little sad since I won't get to see Eas again. She was such an awesome villain. ;_; I will especially miss the times when she ran around as Setsuna and she'd get that evil look on her face and mutter about destroying her enemies when they weren't looking.

On the plus side it looks like my pairing of Setsuna x Love isn't too far-fetched. From the previews of episode 24 it looks like Setsuna will be living with Love now that she's on the side of Justice. As the Japanese fans have been saying Eas/Setsuna is Love's wife.

Dog

2009-06-30T22:43:26Z

My housemate just got a dog. Which initially didn't please me because I HATE animals. Cats, dogs, birds I pretty much hate all pets. This doesn't mean that I'm cruel or go out of my way to terrorize or hurt them because that sort of behavior is unacceptable. They just make me really wary for some unknown reason.

It's kind of funny how that works out since when I visit people's houses their pets always flock to me. Even if I'm in a group, the cats or dogs will ignore all of the other strangers and make a beeline towards me. When I try to move away from them to another part of the room or another room altogether they also follow me. -_-

My roommate has a little nine month old shih tzu poodle mix. He's one of the most well behaved dogs I've ever seen too. He follows me around sometimes but I don't mind as much since he actually respects my space and is extremely quiet. So far I haven't heard him bark once and all of these factors added up result in me kind of like him. What is the world coming to?

Tatsunoko vs Capcom

2009-02-25T14:37:18Z

This game almost makes me want to buy a Wii and mod it so I can play import games since this game will probably never see the light of day in the US. Because of all the licensing rights with the Tatsunoko characters and series.

One of the main draws for me is the fact that Karas is a playable character and I could never say no to a hero inspired by ninja and Kamen Rider.

I'll just have to settle with playing Street Fighter IV for the time being.

Where does the time go?

2009-02-22T03:26:06Z

On Monday I received recognition for ten years of service. It doesn't feel like I've been with the company for that long but, wow... Ten whole years.

I received a plaque for being with the company for five years. And Ten? A plaque and a pen.

Something amusing from the 3rd Marimite drama CDs

2009-01-28T22:41:09Z

This is probably the most awesome official artwork of Yumi I've seen to date. Mainly because she's parodying a character I'm extremely fond of. The Magical Girl Shimako tracks on the CDs are a lot of fun too.

Also getting over a foot of snow in a single day isn't fun. Especially when one has to drive in it.

Thank goodness

2008-11-15T12:49:59Z

Two weeks of vacation. Going back home on Wednesday and won't be back until after Thanksgiving. Suck on that work. Go me.

Comics and how I can't really escape them

2008-08-17T21:14:32Z

Though my faith, and on some level my love of American comics, was shattered by the One More Day storyline in Amazing Spider-man I keep finding myself being pulled back to them in some shape or form. While I haven't bought a single comic since that horrible storyline, the lure of Heroclix was just too much for me to resist.

The irony is that I said that I wouldn't by anymore Clix after the Crisis set since I and just about everybody on the internet was denied a limited edition mail away World's Finest piece. At first I really wasn't too interested in the Secret Invasion set that came out until I learned that they would be making a Spider-girl figure for the set. Since I have almost every Spider-man clix ever made I figured I might as well try and obtain one of Pete's daughter just for completion's sake. (The only Spider-man heroclix I'm missing is the Ultra rare Zombie Spider-man from the Supernova set and I really don't feel like shelling out upwards of $100 for him.)

I've always had freakish luck when it comes to Heroclix so I bought three boosters of S.I. I didn't get a Spider-girl BUT I did end up with some of the rarer and more powerful figures. They have the figure rarity set up that you're almost guaranteed either a Rare or Super Rare figure in each booster but I had a booster that had both. Rare Doom and Super Rare Sentry = awesome. I also ended up with some figures that I really like. The newest incarnation of Punisher and Iron Fist have very good stats and are extremely affordable at less than 100 points. Seeing as how lucky I was I decided to take a better look at the whole Secret Invasion set, and for the most part it's one of the best sets and dial designs I've seen.

This of course means that I'll probably end up buying a couple more boosters in the small hope of getting Spider-girl and I'll probably be getting some of the DC Arkham Asylum set when it comes out in a couple of months. There's a very good chance that they'll be putting Bane in the set and we haven't seen any versions of Bane since the very first Hypertime set that came out more than five years ago. As for the comics themselves I don't really see myself spending any money on individual issues for quite some time if ever again, but I would like to find out what happens in some of the books like the Ultimate line and Ed Brubaker's Captain America so it looks like the collected graphic novels are fair game. Like I said: sucked back in.

Super Robot Wars Z

2008-07-06T06:02:26Z

Videos of the PV are starting to make their rounds. I have to say that the game looks flat out gorgeous. As much as I love Alpha 3, this game is definitely a step above that. They've taken the techniques they learned from Original Generations and OG Gaiden and applied them to a SRW game that involves other properties.

Notable first appearances in a Super Robot Wars console game for Big O, Gundam Seed Destiny, Eureka Seven, Sousei no Aquarion, Overman King Gainer and Gravion. Surprisingly Gundam ZZ won't be in this game but highly probably in the next installment since Amuro, Camille and Judau are kind of the Holy Trinity of the U.C. Gundam universe.

The PV also has a certain scene which my little sister will absolutely hate. If you've ever heard me speak about her and certain robot anime you'll know which one it is.

Posting because I can

2008-04-29T21:36:08Z

Because Shura-ou Alkaid is Raoh with Ooishi-san's voice. And for those who doubt, the falling star at the end is a definite reference to Hokuto no Ken.

It's been over a month

2008-04-21T11:45:08Z

I've been playing Super Robot Wars Alpha 2 again. Only Zengar's route left and then I can go about finishing up Alpha 3. The unfortunate side effect of playing said game is that it resparked an interest in robot anime again. It's the main reason I picked up the 1st Gundam Wing collection (They didn't have the 2nd one in stock or I would have picked up both). My sister has also expressed an interest in watching Wing as well since she was like five or something when it was being shown. I'd also like to track down the complete Brain Powerd series since it is featured prominently in the second Alpha game. I've never seen it before so I didn't realize how much nudity the OP had... (Thanks Youtube) It's not sexual nudity, but still. I may end up buying the Evangelion Platinum collection as well since End of Eva is featured in the 3rd game and I'll probably be in the mood to get reacquainted with the series when I start playing it. Bandai is also re-releasing the Zeta Gundam series in two collections and I'll probably end up buying them at some point since Camille is a major character in the Alpha series. Plus I'd like to see the anime with one of the most infamous Bad Ends. (Though it got retconned in the trilogy of Zeta movies they showed last year)

Naturally one of the anime I'm watching right now is Macross Frontier. I'm liking it so far though I can't believe the seiyuu for Sheryl also does Miyuki's voice in Lucky Star. Also watching the second season of Code Geass though I still have an intense dislike of Lelouch. I watched the Daughter of Twenty Faces and I really enjoyed what I saw. It seems quite promising and I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be one of those sleeper gems. Allison and Lillia looks like it might be interesting as well.

Snow Day

2008-02-26T23:36:50Z

We had six to seven inches of snow today. The drive back from work was pretty thrilling and dangerous. I don't know what possessed me to, but as soon as I got back home I spent an hour and a half making a snowman because we had the perfect snow for it. Thick and wet and easy to pack. The last time I made a snowman was fifteen years ago. So odd...

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T23:40:41Z

A belated Happy New Year to everybody. Didn't do much for the holiday except sleep. I did get a nice New Year's present today in the form of the 2 Gigs of RAM I ordered last week. I can already see an improvement in speed when accessing programs and playing games. More RAM in time for some Dark Crusade and possible Unreal 3K on Saturday.

This week's haul

2007-12-28T22:00:21Z

Made a side trip to Best Buy before picking up my comics today. Saw a 500 GB external on sale for less than $120 so I had to pick that up before they were all gone. I'm currently in the process of transferring all of my manga/doujinshi, Type Moon and Maria-sama folders to it. 100+ GB takes just a wee bit of time to transfer. (And in case some of you are wondering the only adult content being transfered is in the Type Moon and Maria-sama folders. I have another ridiculously big external dedicated to only H manga and doujinshi. I won't tell you how big because it just made me realize how much H I have on it since it's almost full. <_<)

Today's Comics

Hulk vs Fin Fang Foom
Captain Marvel #2
Giant-size Avengers
Marvel Zombies 2 #3
Amazing Spider-man #545 - They actually went through with it and Pete and MJ's marriage is now officially gone through one of the stupidest methods ever. I'm still a bit upset over this so I don't want to get into it right now. Happy 20th Anniversary Pete and MJ! -_-;
Avengers The Initiative #8
Thor #5
Ultimate Power #9
Ultimate Fantastic Four #49
Ultimate Spider-man #117
Captain America #33 - The fight we've all been waiting for: Winter Soldier vs Iron Man. Possibly one of the best books Marvel has out at the moment. And the new Cap is who everyone expected. It's not too surprising considering it actually makes sense. He'll be debuting next issue to kick some Red Skull @$$.

Kamen Rider Kiva seems to be aimed at younger audiences. The fact that he has a cutesy mascot and lives in a weird dragon/mansion with movie monsters seems to support it. However the director of the show is Ryuta Tasaki (Kamen Rider Agito, Ryuuki, Faiz and The Next) and the main writer for the show is Toshiki Inoue (Agito and Faiz). With these two on board it could actually be good since I enjoyed Faiz and Ryuuki. Agito is possibly the best KR series I've seen to date. I know that Inoue is also the head writer for the LA Cutey Honey series so I might have to check it out as well. And even though Kiva has a cheesy/cutesy mascot to help him transform the fact that his unsealed Rider Kick has the power to level a city block balances it out. The main site http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kiva/ is up and we have a fairly young actor playing the Rider in the series. You can see the bat mascot and his Rider Kick looks like it's of the over-head drop kick variety.

Yesterday's rewards

2007-12-20T20:21:27Z

I actually did go to my comic shop yesterday but I was too lazy to post the list.

Comics

Marvel Holiday Special
Captain America The Chosen #5
Mighty Avengers #6
Superman/Batman #44
Incredible Hulk #112
What If Civil War - The take on what would have happened if Tony's side had lost was interesting. For once things were resolved by talking and the outcome, unlike most What If stories, was actually quite bright and optimistic. In other words a very happy ending. What I wouldn't give if Civil War had actually ended this way.

Misc/Manga

Annihilation vol 2
Toyfare #126
Gunsmith Cats Revised edition vol 4

I also checked the Wizkids site yesterday to see if they finally put anything up about the Crisis set since it's being released in February. Holy crap was it some news. http://www.heroclix.com/brick This is probably one of the most heinous pieces ever created. Granted you can't field them unless you play a game of 500 points or more but wow... Their stats aren't too godlike but that they have built-in willpower that can't be outwitted and a duo figure that can make ranged attacks even when being based is huge. The fact that they're only making 5000 of these means I'll have to buy a brick on the first day and send in the 10 bottoms on the same day too. -_-; Honestly though, if I'm going to play a 500+ point game I'd rather field a team with the holy trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The fact that I'd get 3 very powerful characters to one figure is a bonus in terms of tactics.

Overdue update?

2007-12-14T19:18:41Z

I haven't posted anything in 4 weeks. But I can chalk it up to a combination of laziness and working a lot of extra shifts thanks to the holiday season. Just six more work days of Package Hell until the peak season is over! My body hurts from moving literal tons of freight for 11 hours straight but the huge paycheck makes it all the worthwhile. I just finished enrolling in out new health plan and I looked over all the terms of it last week. I've got to say that we definitely got a major upgrade to our plan. We are covered 100% for almost everything. Medical, dental, vision and prescriptions. There's a $10 copay for some of the medical stuff but paying ten dollars and having our insurance pick up the rest of the bill is awesome. Definitely an upgrade over our previous plan and the company still pays for everything. The pay and the hours may not be the greatest but UPS has some of the best benefits in the business so I think it balances out nicely. Good news for me indeed since I'll probably have to get glasses sometime soon. -_-;

In no particular order

Comics

SPIRIT #11&12
CAPTAIN AMERICA #32
CAPTAIN AMERICA CHOSEN #4
INCREDIBLE HULK #111
WHAT IF ANNIHILATION
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER #8
SUPERMAN BATMAN #43
MARVEL ATLAS #1
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #2
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #116
WORLD WAR HULK FRONT LINE #6
TRANSFORMERS DEVASTATION #3
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #11
AVENGERS INITIATIVE ANNUAL #1
ULTIMATES 3 #1
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH
AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #15
MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #4
NEW AVENGERS #37
WONDER WOMAN #15
SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #6
SPIDER-MAN RED SONJA #5
ULTIMATE IRON MAN II #1

New Avengers Vol 5 & 6
Annihilation Vol 1
Street Fighter vol 3 & 4

Manga

Rozen Maiden vol 6
Rave Master Vol 24 & 25
Sakura Ganbaru Vol 2
Genshiken Vol 9

Misc

Kaleido Star New Wings Thinpack Collection

Vacation

2007-11-16T09:31:42Z

I'm off for vacation. Time to regain my sanity and be without internet for more than a week. (Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.) Be back the weekend after Thanksgiving.

M&M list

2007-11-14T21:06:35Z

Somebody managed to get ahold of a promotional poster for the Mutatations and Monsters set coming out later this month. It has several figures that I really really want and one figure that I can do without. Figures are color coded like a stop light so it should be fairly simple to understand. I would really like all of the Hulks from this set (four of 'em!) since the ones I have are pretty outdated and, for a lack of a better term, sucky.

1. Marvel Girl - 40 pts (First Class)
2. Cyclops - 50 pts (First Class)
3. Beast - 50 pts (First Class)
4. Iceman - 60 pts (First Class)
5. Strong Guy - 124 pts
6. Pete Wisdom - 33 pts
7. Brood - 49 pts
8. Box - 125 pts
9. Cuckoo - 40 pts
10. Maverick - 63 pts
11. Dazzler - 48 pts If she's wearing her old 70's disco outfit that makes her even better.
12. Colossus - 158 pts
13. Agent Brand - 44 pts
14. Bishop - 100 pts
15. The Hood - 28 pts
16. Miek - 60 pts
17. Hulk - 143 pts (Gray with tattered shirt. First Apperance?) Hulk #1
18. Korg - 82 pts
19. Absorbing Man - 184 pts
20. Morph - 90 pts
21. Mimic - 148 pts
22. Gorgon - 110 points
23. Cyclops - 75 pts (AoA)
24. Shatterstar - 57 pts
25. Zaxx - 126 pts
26. Chamber - 45 pts
27. Beast - 73 pts
28. Giant Man - 97 pts (Zombie, and he really is eating the Black Panther)
29. Iceman - 100 pts
30. X-23 - 35 pts
31. Professor X - 131 pts
32. Gambit - 90 pts
33. Green Scar - 230 pts This is THE Hulk I want from the set Hulk #2
34. Archangel - 95 pts
35. Ahab - 68 pts
36. Fabian Cortez - 61 pts
37. Jean Grey - 90 pts (AoA)
38. Omega Red - 124 pts
39. Danger - 124 pts
40. Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy - 151 pts I'd like to get them mainly for the WTF?! factor
41. Spiderman - 41 pts (Zombie) A must have since I'm obligated to get every Spider-man figure
42. Unus the Untouchable - 90 pts
43. Black Tom Cassidy - 55 pts
44. The Leader - 116 pts
45. High Evoloutionary - 143 pts
46. Arcade - 86 pts
47. Super Adaptoid - 143 pts (Classic Look)
48. The Wrecker - 230 pts
49. Cassandra Nova - 142 pts
50. Hulkbuster - 165 pts
51. Silver Savage - 96 pts
52. Mastermind - 117 pts
53. Emma Frost - 107 pts
54. Living Monolith - 104
55. Iron Man - 70 pts (Zombie)
56. Wolverine - 148 pts (Zombie)
57. Storm - 100 pts (Mohawk and black leather version)
58. Warskrull - 110 pts
59. Apocalypse - 250 pts Most expensive figure in the set and a Super Rare to boot. From what I've been reading this is the remake that everybody has been wanting. Including me.
60. Maestro - 195 pts Hulk #3
61. Dark Beast - 69 pts
62. Rampaging Hulk - 128 pts Hulk #4

shinzantetsu @ 2007-11-14T14:45:00

2007-11-14T19:41:23Z

Just got back from the comic shop a couple hours ago and I have to say that it was a good week for stuff.

Comics

Marvel Comics Presents #3
The Ultimates Saga
Ultimate Fantastic Four #48
Captain Marvel #1
Thor #4
New Avengers #36
Avengers: The Initiative #7
Amazing Spider-girl #14
spider-man/Red Sonja #4
World War Hulk #5 (Probably one of the better Summer Events I've read in a long time. The ending was satisfying and you get to see that Hulk really can live up to the title of World Breaker)
Superman/Batman #42
Wonder Woman #14 (I know what you're thinking but since Gail Simone is writing WW I thought I'd give it a try. I was very pleased with her first issue)

Misc

Toyfare #125
Twisted Toyfare Theater 1-3 (Presents for my sister)
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days vol 6

Weirdness

2007-11-13T19:13:08Z

I've been having some really odd dreams the past couple of months. Last night involved me in a Warhammer-ish Fantasy setting I think. I remember being sent to a village to investigate the disappearance of all the people with no backup with only a cloak and a sword as my only tools. Armor of some sort would have probably helped out, but thanks whoever sent me!

Anyway upon reaching the village I discovered that it was empty of people and animals and a thick fog was covering everything. There were also weird vines with jagged thorns growing around most of the houses. (I do remember pricking my arm on them after getting too a bit too close) Like the bright fellow that I am, I decide to camp out in one of the abandoned houses for the night to see what happens.

I soon get my answer just before midnight when I hear this sinister giggle/howling coming from outside. I go to take a look and this foul stench just hits me as soon as I open the shutters of the window. I can see a pack of four strange dog creatures searching or patrolling outside. Calling them just dogs is like calling a saber tooth tiger just a cat because these things are about as tall as an average person at the shoulder and they have these huge misshapen limbs that bend at too many places and have what I'd describe more as talons than a dog's claws.

The next thing I know I'm running for my life because they've managed to crash through the wall like it was tissue paper. I do try to fight them off with my sword but it breaks after the third hit. (Imperial steel sucks something fierce) I think I managed to kill at least one of them but the others chased me around the village and the surrounding woods for the remainder of my dream. I guess I was kind of scared when I woke up but I personally wouldn't consider it a nightmare. The terror level just wasn't high enough.

A week ago I dreamed I was Superman again and trying to stop this massive doomsday cannon from obliterating a city. I managed to save the day because my methods are definitely not Superman's methods. He doesn't freeze the hands and guns of the goons and smash them to prevent them from being troublesome. In past Superman dreams I have been known to just vaporize the baddies with my heat vision just to save time and energy. The cannon was fairly easy to disable since I basically just flew through it and destroyed it entirely.

So far I've had about seven dreams where I've been Superman and only one where I was Spider-man and the Spidey one was a bit terrifying because you don't really realize how high in the air you are when you're web-slinging through the skyline. I mean it was kind of cool but I distinctly remember gravity pulling at me while I was doing those acrobatic tricks hundreds of feet in the air. Still not sure why I have more dreams where I'm Superman than Spider-man even though the Webhead is my favorite...

Last Month's stuff

2007-11-08T21:59:53Z

I haven't updated this in over a month. Oh well. That tends to happen when you get lazy.

The list will include everything from last month to this week. In no particular order:

Comics

Mighty Avengers #5, Avengers: The Initiative #5, New Avengers #35, Marvel Zombies 2 #1, Spider-man Family #5, Marvel Comics Presents #2, WWH: Frontline #5, Captain America: The Chosen #1-3, Captain America #31, Illuminati #5, WWH: Gamma Corps #4, Ultimate Power #8, Ultimate Spider-man #115, What If? Featuring Planet Hulk, WWH: X-Men #3, Spider-man/Red Sonja #1-3, Amazing Spider-man #544, Incredible Hulk #110, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man #24, Amazing Spider-girl #13, New Avengers/Transformers #4, Howard the Duck #1, Ultimate Fantastic Four #47, Justice Society of America #10, Superman/Batman #41, Transformers: Devastation #1&2, Transformers Beastwars: The Ascending #1, Transformers Beastwars Sourcebooks 1&2, Transformers Origin: Megatron #3&4, Transformers Spotlight: Ramjet

Manga

Excel Saga vol 16, Vagabond vol 26, Street Fighter II vol 1

Misc

Toyfare #124
Kung Fu Hustle Axe Kicking Edition
Karas vol 2

Also picked up several Heroclix Avengers and JLA boosters over the past month. Through some strange bit of luck I managed to obtain all four Batman figures (If you count Batzarro) from the JLA set. Batman 1 Million is a Super Rare and I managed to get two of him so I might throw the extra one up on ebay for a quick $25. I haven't been quite as lucky with the Avengers set though I did manage to pull the Rare Winter Soldier figure who is among my top three most wanted from the set. (YES! YES! YES!) I've managed to snag two of the three but the Super Rare Ultimate Hulk still eludes me. I may have to use the money that Batman 1 Million will garner me to help fund an Ultimate Hulk purchase from ebay.

Also 600 point games are Hell. Especially between three people. Trust me on this.

Random Things

2007-10-06T22:08:42Z

So I finished watching Lucky Star and Darker Than Black. In the end I have to say that I really enjoyed both series.

I know a lot of people are saying Lucky Star isn't that good compared to Azumanga or Haruhi, but that's the problem. It's in its own little genre. Where Azumanga Daioh can appeal to just about anybody, Lucky Star was made for the otaku culture. People who aren't familiar with certain aspects of the pop culture definitely won't understand some of the references or the jokes. Even though it was certainly Konata's show, I think that each of the other three main characters was given enough screen time and sometimes episode focus. I think the series really became endearing to me when they introduced Yutaka and Minami, the "Takarazuka Couple." I especially enjoyed the instances when Hiyori would look at them and her imagination would take over. I thought it was a fun series and I'll definitely miss watching a new episode every week.

Darker Than Black was just a very awesome series in general. I like how they broke it into story arcs that lasted no more than two episodes too. While we had these little stories there was still the deeper ongoing story arc involving the Syndicate which sometimes made its presence known in big or little ways. I don't want to spoil the end, but to me it was definitely bitter-sweet. I've stated before that most of the DTB stories don't necessarily have a happy ending and I guess you could apply observation to the end of the series. The explanation of Hei's power and its origin was actually pretty neat and by the end of the series I really did feel a certain empathy and admiration for him once I understood some of his actions. DTB is one my picks for best series for the season and I'm glad Cruzz convinced me to watch it.

Heroes is starting off a bit slow but I'm not too worried since Tim Kring and Jeph Loeb have my complete confidence. I'm sure things will start to pick up once the villain of the series appears in episode four or five. Sci-Fi fans should hopefully be pleased when another alumnus from the original Star Trek joins the cast this season. Smallville has upped the ante yet again by introducing Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl this season. I've seen a picture of something she's wearing in an upcoming episode which is definitely a tip of the hat to her superhero costume, more-so than our blue shirt and red jacketed main character's outfit. I really do like Erica Durance's portrayal of Lois which is surprising since I'm not that big of a Lois Lane fan. The fact that Lois and Clark have this weird love-hate relationship in the series is great because ultimately we, the viewers, know how everything will end up. I still don't know how Clark can ever put on the Superman outfit in the Smallville series. It's diverted a bit too much from canon continuity for me to see that ever happening.

I'm currently halfway through 'Eldest,' the second book in the Inheritance trilogy by Christopher Paolini. It's been a long time since I read 'Eragon' but thankfully was a synopsis of the first book in the beginning to help refresh my memory. I keep having problems because Saphira is actually smaller than my mind says she is, so she's able to be in rooms or densely wooded areas when I don't expect her to be. I have to keep reminding myself that she's still a young dragon and not a colossal behemoth like she'll eventually become.

Today's picture of the day is a somewhat naughty Xenosaga picture from a CG set I forgot I had.

This week's stuff

2007-09-28T17:00:53Z

Got a haircut and picked up this week's comics as well today.

Comics

Avengers The Initiative #6
Ultimate Spider-man #114
Ultimate Fantastic Four #46
The Spirit #10
All Star Batman and Robin #7 (More Goddamn's than you can shake a stick at. Still a surprisingly good read though.)

Manga

Negima vol 15

Catching up

2007-09-26T20:45:41Z

I finally read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I finished it in only a single day and I thought maybe something was wrong since I would usually take longer than that to complete a book that size. I opened up Knife of Dreams since that and Deathly Hallows has approximately the same page count and figured out why it seemed like I zoomed through that last Harry Potter book. Deathly Hallows has a bigger font which equals less words per page. Anyway, I thought that everything considered, the last book was satisfying. I wasn't quite expecting that many character deaths though. Two chapters in and the first couple of characters bite it.

Got to catch up with my gaming group this weekend too. We haven't played in months because Steve, our GM, is in Florida for work. It also seems that he'll be moving down there to take a regional supervisor position so it looks like our Warhammer Fantasy Campaign will be on hold for a while. He plans on flying up once a month since he can get five and six day weekends quite easily. Since Steve wasn't here we played some Heroclix. Since we limited the game to 200 points nobody was able to whip out any powerhouses like Superman, Thanos or the Silver Surfer. My team consisted of Veteran Ultimate Captain America and Sinister Experienced Spider-man. I was doing okay until the other two players decided to team up on me. It was pretty crazy for a while since we had three different Spider-men and a Venom duking it out on a rooftop. James' Experienced Ultimate Wolverine WOULD NOT DIE. Every time we'd hit him he'd make his super senses roll. Every single time. Eleven times in a row he rolled a five or a six on the die. It's one of those things I read on the forums but never believed...

After the Heroclix massacre we played the Cthulu based board game Arkham Horror. We actually did really good this time around since the Terror Level never rose above two. It also helped that I drew a shotgun as one of my starting items and I had "Ashcan" Pete, the hobo/drifter with one of the highest fight scores in the game. Evertime a non physical immune monster popped out I'd head over to it and kill it to try and protect everybody else. This was one of the few times we managed to win since we sealed six portals before Yog Sothoth came out to kill us all. I'd recommend Arkham Horror to anybody who wants to play a board game with your buddies where there's only a slim chance you'll actually win. It's still fun though.

Picked up my comics last week.

Superman/Batman #40
World War Hulk #4
WWH Frontline #4
Marvel Comics Presents #1
Captain America #30 (Brubaker managed to dodge the question in a recent interview but it gets answered in this issue. Yes, Sharon is pregnant. Just like all of us thought. Brubaker's Cap is one of the best books being released right now. The writing is excellent and all of those seeds he's been planting in the first couple of issues are finally starting to see fruition. If you go and pick up the Omnibus or some back issues you won't be disappointed.)

Watched the season opener of Heroes on Monday. Many of our favorites characters will be returning. The scary man that Molly can see from last season is mentioned again and makes his presense known. According to Kring he's supposed to be extremely powerful and very very scary. He's promised that we'll get to learn more about him and possibly see him within the first five or so episodes. Also Hiro in medieval Japan makes me laugh. Especially since his childhood hero, Takezo Kensei, isn't what he was expecting.

Today we have some translated Sea Star comics. The second one has a slightly nws flavor to it. 1st and 2nd