Okay, I'm tossing out a quick Game of the Week to make up for last week, which will have me completely caught up for the time being. This GotW will come later, so it is its own post.
Also, I played lots of DDR today, got a few lightbulbs, but most importantly, got two Diana Wynn Jones books, an Isaac Asimov book, and Half Life 2 for the Xbox.
I've rented Enchanted Arms, its pretty good so far. I'm worried that Makoro is a steriotypical homosexual, which is annoying. Hell, he seems to be taking the steriotype to the next level :sweat:.
*sigh* I've been way to busy since Saturday. I haven't touched any of my projects since Friday :(. I want to at least start my Star Wars Fan Fiction soon and I need to get the final preparations done for my campaign in PnPI.
Also, despite all my hard work I'm still behind in school work :(.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
@Nai: That must've been a very interesting shopping list...
@KK: Good luck with all of that... it sounds like too much for me to do so I'm glad you have the enthusiasm for it all!
BTW - to those of you who actually read my blog - Very few of you will probably be able to see my latest entry. Decided to actually make a private one. It was kinda important that I did... Just thought I'd give fair warning as its a FAR cry of what I intended to do with it... Lots of feelings were expressed tonight with me.
@KK:
Yeah, I noticed that when my brother rented the game a while back. I found it kind of annoying as well. I mean, he has an attack that makes hearts go all over the screen, for the love of everything. WTF.
Well, anyway, no AotW tonight. I'm too tired, and I don't have an idea ready. Or rather, I should say, I have too many to choose from, and I'm too tired to pick one. I may see if I can get up and do it in the morning, but I doubt it. I want to get up to WSU relatively early tomorrow, and it's a 2 hour drive.
My posting here is likely to be severely retarted, because my sister has decided it would be a good idea to go off of her Bi-Polar meds. I will be spending increased time with my family, trying to sort this all out.
This week's Regular is strongbad56. Yes, he asked to be it last week. No, that's not why I picked him. I already had him in mind last week.
strongbad56, or Strong Bad, as he should be called, or SB, s-bro, or the more mysterious "56", came to MTGSalvation in September 2005 from MagicDeckVortex.com--he loved its visual spoiler, and came to the forums like a moth attracted. He didn't post for a long time until he replied to a Limited article. The 56 in his name is his favorite number since 5th grade. It seems random, but I assure you--it is everywhere. Just like the other 8 numbers out there that pair up 100 ways. Look! Even more numbers!
To be more serious, Strong Bad's name is obviously frome Homestar Runner. If you have never been, I HIGHLY recommend it. I cannot recommend Homestar Runner any higher than saying it is the best flash cartoon web site on the internet. Period. If you're curious, start here and wander around the site. Strong Bad is his favorite character. I like Homestar more, and the Cheat. But I digress.
When he's not doing infinite damage or checking his sbemails, Strong Bad is into Cross Country and Track. He doesn't like to brag, but check his records:
1 mile - 4:56
1/2 mile - 2:12
Strong Bad with the ladies-- current status: They all still want him. No seriously folks, he's been playing piano for 9 years, he's 16 years old, a junior in high school, and he lives in the Bay Area of good ol' California. I wonder if he goes to a lot of free tapings of shows. He IS in the Bay Area. He loves baseball, the Yankees being his favorite team. He pleads with those of you out there who also like baseball to not kill him.
Regarding his future, SB hopes to get that mural he commissioned the Cheat to paint on the fence. Slowbie. Also, he hopes to go to college, get a good career, have a family, etc etc, and most importantly, change the world in a small way. Dude, I got a t-shirt with you on it. Everything you do changes the world. Good thing you won't die. He's also in the rough draft stage of designing a set with a friend. We'll be seeing previews soon enuff.
Regarding MTGS, Strong Bad loves to visit the Coffeehouse most, followed by the CS&C/C&G forum, or the Custom Cards Games forums. He hopes to win one more FCC!
The Coffeehouse is his favorite place to be though. Lets him relax with a few cold ones (remember, a One that is not Cold is scarcely a One at all), and really express his feelings without worry. He can confide in us a lot more than his friends. Considering Strong Mad can't even say Douglas and Homestar is, well, Homestar, and the Cheat doesn't trust him, I think we should consider ourselves lucky.
He also demands ice cream on the menu of the Coffeehouse. Hear hear!
He has a few words to say to some of his select favorite regulars, though he does appreciate you all:
- Alacar Leoricar, for being an awesome Coffeehouse assistant, giving great advice on FCC cards, helping with avatars and banners, and just being an overall great member of the ‘House. - kevinliu2333/Cecilia, for being one the nicest member in the ‘House, imo, and being a good friend to me, and I’m assuming everyone. - Mamelon, for obvious reasons. She also is one of the nicest members of the ‘House, and I have had great discussions with her about all kinds of things. Mamelon always seems to care for everyone and respects everyone’s viewpoints. - Joyd, for offering to show me around his college, and also my top choice at the moment, Carleton College later during spring break. And for just being an all-around great guy. - Kraj, for also giving good advice for the FCC, and always contributing something helpful in the discussions here. And of course there are many others who are great contributors in the ‘House, but I can’t name everyone. The above are the ones that I have grown to enjoy being around the most.
That's it for this week's Regular, strongbad56. Truly awesome.
(and for those of you following the links--This is where his avatar is from. My baby got stole...by A BEAR HOLDING A SHARK!)
Geek Mp3s
Of course there's gonna be music, and you should all know what to expect.
Okay, it's time for Complaints and Grievances -- Er, Game of the Week. And this week is...
Bullet Witch. A game hyped beyond belief. Well, if you are a gamer that is. I'm not sure if there were any commercials, non-gamer magazine ads, or otherwise. But if you were a gamer, this was one of the supposed 'Games of the Year'. You know, games that are supposed to be awesome and contend for that coveted title.
Let's rewind to half a year ago, or more. I'm reading my Game Informer magazine and I see the review for the demo of this game. "Cast magic while shooting enemies!" it said. "Use destructive magic to take down a city!" it said. Well, these are pretty cool statements that would make a rather interesting game, should they hold true.
Unfortunately, they didn't. And that's why Bullet Witch is getting my 'Dissapointment of the Week' title, the first I've done. Let me explain why.
Quick rundown of my standard spiel, so you know I'm giving Bullet Witch a fair shake. Graphics? Pah! You could have run this thing on the PS2 or original Xbox and, with a minor hit on the graphics of the surroundings, you'd still have the same thing. While the surroundings look semi-good, they also get really repetative and don't really hold up to expectations. Alicia, the main character, is a VERY stereotypical witch, and her hair is the same sort of thing that you see in Yuna in any non-cutscene section of Final Fantasy X. FFX was several years ago, I expect hair to flow in today's graphics, thank you. Here's a screen shot. You may think it's decent, but... Ugh.
Next is sound. Blegh. That's really all I need to say. Music is more or less a no-show, the voices, quite frankly, don't do the characters justice, and every sound effect is as blah as you can get in a game. I mean, the bullets all sound the same, from where I stand.
Story? Lack thereof, as far as I could tell in 3 hours. In 2013, several problems (one each year) has cost humanity somewhere around... 1.5 billion humans. And for some reason, which they don't explain in 3 hours of gameplay, demons that look like zombies are overrunnin the earth. AAAAH! Humanity is down to 1 billion in population and the situation is hopeless. Then, all of a sudden, this witch comes on the scene for no particular reason and starts shooting the zombies. Whee! Yes, that's as far as I got in story by the 3 hour point.
Are you starting to see why this is a dissapointment? "But Nai!" you say, "Graphics, Sound, and Storyline do not a game make! What about the gameplay!" I'm so glad you asked, because that's my major rant.
Let's look over the mechanics before I rant, shall we? The basic idea is this: A 3rd-person shooter between you and zombie soldiers involving four different guns and a handful of different spells over long levels, at the end of which you get graded on your performance and are able to upgrade stats. Sound familiar? Yes, my dear reader, this IS a lot like a female Devil May Cry! Save they didn't include ANY platforming aspects whatsoever.
Okay, so you have the gyst. It's time for my reasons why this is a contender for Worst Game of the Year. My complaints fall into four categories: Guns, Magic, Enemies, Surroundings.
Guns? You technically only have one. Which is, for some reason, a broomstick that has a gun as part of it. Apparently, the designers heard of the Gunblade and thought the Gunbroom would be just as cool. (Here's a hint: not.) You are given a machine gun to start (80 bullets, decent damage, decent accuracy). You can unlock a 'cannon' (read: sniper with around 25 shots per clip and SUCK accuracy), a shotgun (16 shots, second best to the machine gun) and a gatling gun (which I never unlocked. Why get a gatling gun when you have a machine gun?). Apparently, each gun can be upgraded twice after initial unlocking. I never did this, since they cost too much. I'm assuming a damage upgrade, and you have to HOPE that there's an accuracy upgrade involved for the cannon. Oh, did I mention that reloading your gun consumes MP?
Gun fighting, by the way, is the basic form of combat. You have one melee move, so that's really only for if you get surrounded, in which case you are dead anyways. You either get the third person view, or a directly over-the-shoulder view for 'precise' aiming. Accuracy supposedly gets better if you kneel, but I didn't notice. Did I mention that the 'cannon' gets no scope whatsoever? Whoever invented the scopeless sniper rifle needs to be dragged out into a street, drugged, and shown what a sniper with a 12x scope does, and why gamers like them.
Next is magic. The word "meh" describes magic in a nutshell. Your MP bar is in the upper right of the screen. It fills up with MP naturally when not using MP, up to a point called the "max MP bar", which starts at roughly 1/3rd the total bar. Killing enemies pushes this limit along until the very end. So you kill enemies to gain more potential MP. Cool idea. This idea becomes suck very, very fast. I'll explain why in a minute.
Magic spells are very, VERY stereotypical. Your initial two spells are "Ancient Wall", which basically makes a wall in front of you to take (very little) damage instead of you, and a spell that's the equivalent of Force Push, which throws anything not nailed down at enemies (and generally doesn't kill them). You can unlock other spells, like Raven Frenzy, or something like that, that makes ravens go ape and 'attack' enemies, which does no damage but stops enemies from moving. My favorite spell was "Rose Lance", which has you toss a rose like a grenade and causes around 10 spikes to come up and impale any enemy that didn't move five feet away and, thus, out of the damage zone. It was at least a cool idea.
So why does magic suck, you ask? Well, any spell costs mana, that's obvious. But any spell you WANT to use not only costs mana, it also reduces your maximum MP bar. Let me reiterate: If it's worth casting, the game makes darn sure you won't cast it again.
As an example, you have the "Lightning" spell, which you gain the first level. The game actually tells you that this is the most powerful spell in the game. Whose idea was it to give you the super-spell within the first ten minutes, anyways? In any case, the Lightning spell is the only way to kill tanks, which show up every 20 minutes or so. The spell also reduces your maximum MP to half the total bar, regardless of if you hit anyone or not. The spell requires an almost full MP bar. So, to sum it up, it makes sure you won't cast that spell again any time soon. Why is this bad? Well, basically, enemies don't 'pop', so you have a limited amount of people to kill to max out your MP bar. Enemies are also few and far between, but you'll hear about that later. So you have to save your Lightning spell for when you REALLY need it.
To rephrase why magic in the game sucks: If it's worth casting, you'll only ever cast it when you HAVE to cast it, otherwise you're screwed.
With me so far? Enemies is my next rant. By the middle to end of the second level, I only found 3 types of enemies, the first of which has several subtypes (which are obvious). The enemies? Zombies, Tanks, and "Walnut Heads". Yes, that's the actual in-game name.
Zombies are your typical enemy. They stand in groups, they have guns, they shoot at you. They're stupid, take too long to die, and do too much damage on normal difficulty. They fall into several subtypes, each of which exactly the same except for their gun. These types? Machine Gun, Shotgun, Grenadier, Sniper (rant on this in a second), and possibly bazooka.
Why the rant on the Sniper? Simple. The game even tells you the majority of it. A Sniper will NEVER miss. If their red laser falls upon you, you have only one recourse, and that's to use "Ancient Wall" to take the shot. If you don't do so in time, or if you have no MP, guess what? Game over. I'm not kidding. Extremely broken choice of enemies, and for a good reason. Wait until you hit 'surroundings' in a minute.
Tanks have rocket launchers and machine guns, and will only die (so far as I played) if you use the Lightning spell. And since they're relatively common, you will only ever use that spell to kill one. They help make magic suck, in other words.
Walnut Heads... Not only are they a stereotypical zombie (look at the picture below), they're also very useless. Basically, they're a gigantic brain with a body hanging beneath, just floating in one spot in mid-air. They use telekinesis to toss cars and other things susceptible to your Force Push spell at you, which generally kill you instantly if they connect. But, usually, you can waste a full clip or two of your machine gun into them to kill them before they throw a single item.
The surroundings are a big issue in this game. Your levels are huge, which is usually a good thing. However, when you walk slowly and can't jump worth anything, the game gets boring. In addition, the enemies are generally 5-10 minutes between groups, which makes things double boring. Checkpoints only come around once every 10-45 minutes, which makes things annoying if you die after walking around for that long doing almost nothing. Are you seeing where I'm going with this?
I think I've hit all of my issues with this game. I'll be honest: this game isn't even really worth renting. You'll spend your entire time walking around, finding enemies once in a blue moon, walking around more, cast a cool spell once every fifteen minutes, and get bored. Then you'll eat it from an attack that shouldn't have killed you and have to do forty-five minutes of mind-numbing gaming all over again.
If the game designers had fixed a few fatal flaws (spells not being good enough/cast enough, sniper missing 1/3 shots and needing at least 2 to kill anyone, enemies being so spread out/doing so much damage), the game would be playable at the least, and enjoyable beyond that. However... They didn't.
This game deserves a slightly fair shake for a cool idea, so I'm giving it a 3/10. Sorry guys, this deserved a lot more time in beta, and probably much more time in programming. Either that, or less media hype.
hello everyone i just got back from work. Ill be on aol messenger and msn tonight if anyone wants to talk to me.
@mamelon: I wish you a great day as well tommorrow and today work was fine i had fun working. I don't work tommorrow though. See you soon! *hugs* @}----
@sakura: thanks sakura have a great day as well and take care.
@strongbad: congrats on rotw keep up the good work!
Well i am going to go relax for awhile this will probably will be my last post for tonight in the coffeehouse. Ill be on aol and msn if anyone wants to talk to me but if not see you all later. Take care and best wishes to everyone. *hugs and blows kisses to everyone*
I've been reading the posts but don't have the time to comment.
I'm a bit really selfish right now. I've been having a ton of emotions going through my mind and my heart lately. I need to take a break from heavy interaction with forums until I can sort through all this. Please don't take any offense or tell me to stick around. I'll definitely read and I'm up for IMs and what not. I just can't add anymore emotion to what's already going on. I've been having serious conversations already to help get some of these resolved or out into the open and they're helping. Most of them are quite personal and hard to explain to those who don't know anything about it. It's a bit overwhelming for awhile, so I'm sure I'll be quiet for several days. If all goes well, it'll be over sooner.
I thank each of you in advance for any support, feelings, comments, whatever may be said. I also apologize for being so selfish since other things deserve commenting as well.
Aw, good luck Dreia! I hope you come back soon and talk to us some more. Luckily, you have someone to talk to, so you have support. Please return to us sooner rather than later.
I won my 3rd round in the 54 player legacy tournament yay! I was 2-1 against countersliver man that deck can get really savage in a hurry. I am 2-1 for rounds in the tournament overall too.
See you all soon! *hugs and blows kisses to everyone*
Wow, the 'house got jumpin' again while I was away.
@Enchanted Arms: I've heard terrible things about Makoro. Things which, even if I had a 360 (*shudder*) would probably make me stay far from that game. I hope his English voice isn't as offensive as his Japanese one.
Congrats on the RotW, strongbad! You deserve it.
@Tanthalas: I think the Woebringer would be a bomb in limited, myself. He's a little on the pricey side, but when played at the right time he can devastate the opponent's creature base. Also, I hope you get that promotion! It sounds like a wonderful opportunity.
@Bullet Witch: Ya know, with a name like that I was really hoping the game would be something fresh and different - maybe a kind of MegaTen-inspired shooter or something with an innovative system. But after reading all the articles on it I was sorely disappointed. It really is a sorry excuse for a Devil May Cry rip-off.
@Dreia: I hope you return soon, and that everything works out okay. I understand how you feel and how overwhelming it can be.
WELL. It's 10:30 and I've just edited my PCL deck in a big way (not really). IF anyone's up for a game, lemme know.
@Strongbad: Congrats on ROTW! Did you think of writing it up that way or was that Alacar's idea?
@Nai: I'll be honest I stopped reading when you called Bullet Witch "Disappointment of the Week." First, I don't have a 360 and aren't interested in getting one so just giving it a big fat flop was enough for me to see where it was going. LOL.
@Dreia: I dunno how I forgot about you but I'm ninja editing this in - feel free to take some time and sort everything out hun... *smooches*
PCL: I'll be up for some games today. Just PM me if anyone is interested!
I'd play you guys, but my deck is on my computer at work, and I forgot to PM it to myself once again. Arrgh.
I'ma head out to WSU now. I called my friend, and it seems he's gotten sick, and so might not be able to hang out as much. There are other people I can hang out with up there, but it's a shame he's not feeling well.
Also - for only the second time ever I have a quote in my sig. I thought it was funny, anyway.
It seems like today is going to be a good day.
I got a call today and got the test results back, no rabies. I gave Nezumi a huge hug and kiss and a pretzel then aplogized for her having no social time.
I went to HR and had my meeting. Getting a month of personal time will likely not be an issue...but the loss of income will suck something fierce. I cannot get medical leave until I actually find a therapist or a doctor. I am concidering maybe just switching to part time so that I can have an extra weekday off each week to take care of things I need.
I came up with the idea (warmly received by Kathy, the HR person I was speaking with) of starting a BGLT commitee and support group here at Stream. There really is alot of BGLT people here and it would be a major benefit.
@Gunbroom : ???? I hope the team who created that game were beaten with mad snakes tied to sticks.
I'm feeling up to another game if anyone's interested. Just got showered and have some white tea in me, and my deck seems to be coming together nicely. I seriously wish I had some Death Denied, though. Blah =P
From where I'm sitting in the apartment, a far-off ambulance sounds like someone in the next room playing Q*Bert. This is...strange.
Mornin' everybody. I know its been 3 days past the tiem I initially said I'd post.... however there's been some health issues cropping up.
So, my right leg/hip has seemed to give out.. I am 22 years old and for some reason, my hip just doesn't seem to work... feels like its out of joint, tho the doctor says it isn't... Also accompanying this, is a severe set of muscle spasms.. Yesterday I literally was laying on the couch, unable to control my leg... it was spasming all over hte place... Ryan had to literally hold down my leg so that it wouldn't kick him, myself or slam into the couch....
So yea... that's been going on since Sunday. I'm on crutches now, the doctor recommended 3 advil 3x a day, and a muscle relaxant.. i haven't taken the muscle relaxant yet.. haven't had a chance to get it.. but yea... its aggravating in more ways than one. I can't walk nearly as much as I normally can, bc my hip sometimes just randomly gives out.... i've been using crutches yesterday... it was a pain ni the ass... but i was glad i had them for a backup.. for the most part i can walk okay on my own but itis really pretty risky bc my legs are extremely weak and i don't feel like I can control when it gives out..
Anyway that's kind of why things over here are kinda slow... ryan's been taking good care of me.... Really am trying not to impose on him too much but God, last night, if he hadn't been there, I would have slammed myself in the teeth and probably had a broken leg by now....
Doctors say it may be because of my sledding accident two years ago and/or perhaps some nerve stuff.. I don't know why but yea they recommend an MRI after a back specialist checks me out.... the MRI is gonna be a lot of money.. not looking forward to it, but it may not be required if the back specialist sees something else is up....so yea i see him on Monday..
Wow Omna that is awful. I am here for you if you need someone to vent at...just slip me a PM. I hope it is something fixable. I trained as a Nurse, there are a large number of benign and not so benign conditions which share those symptoms...I am hoping for the better of the bunch, or at least if it is major they catch it fast
This makes me very happy to here. It's always hard to hand someone a loss (well, unless their card really is awful) but knowing that win or lose you had fun playing makes a world of difference to me. That's what the game is supposed to be about.
I agree For me, the FCC isn't about winning or losing, it's about seizing the opportunity presented to create something (and thus having fun) That said, I will (of course) always try to make the best card I can, both as a sign of respect to my opponent and as a personal challenge.
As said, it was a good round. It's just a shame that I (and many others) will have to wait a while for the next one to begin
yummy thanks for the cake janus! I'm sure my day will turn out alot better today then yesterday and as always best wishes to you janus and your relationship. Have a great day as well janus!
You're welcome, and thank you Have a great day as well Kevin!
I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Pom Pocco, the Miyazaki film where the tanuki (raccoon dogs) try to save their forest from being destroyed or something. It's been out for a good while.
Yep, that's the one Unfortunately, when something has been out for a good while, that's likely to mean that it hasn't even been released here yet
Have you seen the film? And if so, is it good?
@ ShinSakura:
I'm glad to hear that your test results came back negative
@ Omna:
Sorry to hear about your leg, I hope that everything will turn out all right
* Janus gives Danica a hug
@ All:
I'll be back later this evening, I'm going away to train for a bit. Swordfighting. Please wish me luck
* Janus sings softly as he leaves the 'House, his sword slung over his shoulder
Moments lost though time remains,
I am so proud of what we were.
No pain remains, no feeling,
Eternity awaits.
Grant me wings that I might fly,
My restless soul is longing.
No pain remains, no feeling,
Eternity awaits.
Mornin' everybody. I know its been 3 days past the tiem I initially said I'd post.... however there's been some health issues cropping up.
So, my right leg/hip has seemed to give out.. I am 22 years old and for some reason, my hip just doesn't seem to work... feels like its out of joint, tho the doctor says it isn't... Also accompanying this, is a severe set of muscle spasms.. Yesterday I literally was laying on the couch, unable to control my leg... it was spasming all over hte place... Ryan had to literally hold down my leg so that it wouldn't kick him, myself or slam into the couch....
So yea... that's been going on since Sunday. I'm on crutches now, the doctor recommended 3 advil 3x a day, and a muscle relaxant.. i haven't taken the muscle relaxant yet.. haven't had a chance to get it.. but yea... its aggravating in more ways than one. I can't walk nearly as much as I normally can, bc my hip sometimes just randomly gives out.... i've been using crutches yesterday... it was a pain ni the ass... but i was glad i had them for a backup.. for the most part i can walk okay on my own but itis really pretty risky bc my legs are extremely weak and i don't feel like I can control when it gives out..
Anyway that's kind of why things over here are kinda slow... ryan's been taking good care of me.... Really am trying not to impose on him too much but God, last night, if he hadn't been there, I would have slammed myself in the teeth and probably had a broken leg by now....
Doctors say it may be because of my sledding accident two years ago and/or perhaps some nerve stuff.. I don't know why but yea they recommend an MRI after a back specialist checks me out.... the MRI is gonna be a lot of money.. not looking forward to it, but it may not be required if the back specialist sees something else is up....so yea i see him on Monday..
EDIT : Congrats to Strongbad on RotW
That is pretty awful omna. I am very sorry that happened to you. I will pray that you will be able to get through this though. I also hope that you will be alright as well. We will all be right behind you omna!
@janus: your welcome janus and thanks!
See you all soon! *hugs and blows kisses to everyone*
Hey everyone! I just got home from work not to long ago and took a shower to relax a bit. Which is plan on doing for rest of the day. It went better than yesterday, but I'm still thinking of looking for employment elsewhere still. I'm not sure yet though.
Well, I'm gonna sit here, eat my chunky soup and finish checking my stuff. See you all later!
Classic Science Fiction of the Week : Battlestar Galactica
I decided after the string of serious and deep media I have presented that I would review something a little more light hearted. Most people do not realize that Battlestar Galactica was released theatrically, since it was only ever released as such in Canada, Australia and parts of Europe and Latin America in an effort to cash in on the success of Star Wars. This may be why Battlestar was and still is far more popular here in Canada and in Europe.
The movie is basically the series Pilot and second episode woven together into one film and with certain aspects which were edited from the televised version left in. The two most notable changes are as follows; 1) Baltar is executed by the Cylons. For the telivision version the networks wanted them to keep Baltar and make him a Cylon leader so that people would have a villain to relate to. Networks of the time tended to be very wary of what they thought viewers would relate to and believe. While Baltar in all incarnations has always been an amazing and memorable character, having the Cylons hand him a Basestar and send him hunting humans was kind of corny. 2) The Cylons are organic. Another change by the networks. With the amount of Cylons killed in the series this worried the networks and they told the producers to remove all indication that they were organic, and the Supreme Leader scenes were editted. They left the dubbed over synthetic Cylon voices in the movie version. The advisor type Cylons of the series were added after the networks asked for more robot Cylons.
The movie starts out with us being informed that mankind has been at war with the Cylons for about a thousand years and that they have suddenly sued for peace. It becomes obvious quickly to the viewers that this is a ruse built with the help of Count Baltar in his own greed, and in a bid for power he has sold out and condemmed mankind. Apollo and his brother Zac are on the latter's first patrol when they come accross a battalion of hidden Cylon Raiders poised to strike the peace convoy (which includes all of the Colonial Council, the President, and all of the Colonial Battlestars. Zac is killed but Apollo manages to return to the fleet at the last minute, though it is too late.
During the battle, Adama (Council member and Commander of the Galactica, also Apollo and Zac's father) deduces that the attack is being used to distract the fleet while the Cylon Basestars attack the colonies directly. The Galactica withdraws but is too late and the Colonies are in ruins. Adama scrapes together the last of humanity in whatever ships are available and they run, chasing an old myth of a lost 13th colony known as Earth.
From here we pick up into what is actually the second episode (which is where the deleted scene of Baltar's execution would be). The fleet is low on food and Tylium(fuel), so a desperate and blind flight is orchestrated by Apolo to clear a path through a nebula filled with Cylon mines in an attempt to reach a world which is suspected to have both. They arrive at the world and discover it is being run by an alien race as a resort and a large number of Colonials are already there and completely unaware of the loss of the colonies. The resort/casino seems to have unbelievable odds in the patrons favour and the fleet is granted leave on the world. The aliens also agree to help the fleet and supply food and Tylium.
This all proves to be too good to be true as it seems that not only are the aliens working with the Cylons, but they are also using the patrons as a food source.
Importance :
Battlestar Galactica paved the way for Science Fiction television as we know it. Yes there had been Sci Fi shows before it, many succesful. But something about Galactica always stands out in the mind of anyone who watched it. The show was ultimately cancelled because the networks missjudged its target audience. Most of the viewers of the series were bewteen 18-30 and an unprecidented number were female, while the networks felt the sci-fi target audience was adolescent males and tried to aim the show at them. After the first season the show was retooled for a younger audience at an earlier time frame and more juvenile writing and it died. The success and death of Battlestar Galactica is important because it taught the networks that Sci-Fi can be presented in a more adult setting and be even stronger and succesful than if it was aimed at a youth audience, and thus paved the way to some of the best shows we have had on Television. If we did not have Battlestar, we would not have had Star Trek return to TV or had such shows as War of the Worlds (another show that was amazing until the networks felt they needed to dumb it down and killed it) or Babylon 5.
Larson was dead on on what would be succesful and made a very mature show with characters people truly cared about. Most of the characters in the series are seen as being among the most memorable Sci Fi characters of all time. Oh, and Starbuck is frakking god.
Galactica also brought this level of growth and excellence in Science Fiction full circle. The new reimagined series is a direct result of the impact the original had, and is arguably the best show on television period (as backup to that claim, it was listed as the best show on TV period by Time Magazine last year.)
I won't go into detail on the parralels on Larson's Mormon beliefs and in the Galactica storyline. It is unimportant here, and has little impact from the movies context. It is very common for writers and creators to use sci-fi and fantasy to explore their own religeous beliefs.
I definately recommend tracking down the movie version of this classic.
Mornin' everybody. I know its been 3 days past the tiem I initially said I'd post.... however there's been some health issues cropping up.
So, my right leg/hip has seemed to give out.. I am 22 years old and for some reason, my hip just doesn't seem to work... feels like its out of joint, tho the doctor says it isn't... Also accompanying this, is a severe set of muscle spasms.. Yesterday I literally was laying on the couch, unable to control my leg... it was spasming all over hte place... Ryan had to literally hold down my leg so that it wouldn't kick him, myself or slam into the couch....
So yea... that's been going on since Sunday. I'm on crutches now, the doctor recommended 3 advil 3x a day, and a muscle relaxant.. i haven't taken the muscle relaxant yet.. haven't had a chance to get it.. but yea... its aggravating in more ways than one. I can't walk nearly as much as I normally can, bc my hip sometimes just randomly gives out.... i've been using crutches yesterday... it was a pain ni the ass... but i was glad i had them for a backup.. for the most part i can walk okay on my own but itis really pretty risky bc my legs are extremely weak and i don't feel like I can control when it gives out..
Anyway that's kind of why things over here are kinda slow... ryan's been taking good care of me.... Really am trying not to impose on him too much but God, last night, if he hadn't been there, I would have slammed myself in the teeth and probably had a broken leg by now....
Doctors say it may be because of my sledding accident two years ago and/or perhaps some nerve stuff.. I don't know why but yea they recommend an MRI after a back specialist checks me out.... the MRI is gonna be a lot of money.. not looking forward to it, but it may not be required if the back specialist sees something else is up....so yea i see him on Monday..
EDIT : Congrats to Strongbad on RotW
Radom Muscle spasms are never good...
And not having the use of a leg isnt too pleasant either
As a medical-interested person (not really qualified for anything really cept what I've seen on Disc. Health)
I don't know what to say ^ >^;;;
Its prolly fixeable, whatever it is (or maybe I have too much faith in modern medicine)
I just hope its not too bad and gets better fast
@ >@ the german test was... unfortunate to say the least, I'm not sure at this point wether I'll pass the class or not, and the rest of the day pretty much sucked
The subject of gender roles and other things about the individual being seperate from society, etc. were brough up, I just wanted to die right there, but then had a moment of inspiration and stepped up, and spoke out against both the people saying that who you are is determined by birth, and those that say YOU is a learned thing (in both cases I'd be male then, because thats what I was taught and what physically I was born as, so I know those aren't completely true). I brought up the point that people probably have a sense of who they are inside, seperate but not always different from their body, and no one really understood what I meant (I would blame teenagers not having to deal with this sort of thing too frequentlym if I'd blame anything)...
And to add insult t Injury to torture, my fourth hour did a little project thing where we pretended to be from fake countries and did negotiations. Mine were very religious, and matriarchal. Needless to say all the groups were divided 3 males, three females(guess which i was categorized as?), to balance things out, so I was very aware from those two things of my situation.... also, its no fun for me pretending to be religious and conservative, those that know me know how i feel about such ideas. So now thats over and I am not sure what to do now, one of my frieds is angry with me for telling his girlfriend he cheated on her (which he may or may not have been joking about) Either way, I think either she deserves to know that sort of thing, or he shouldn't joke about that sort ofn thing. I wish I didn't work tonight....
I'd like to apologize to all the coffee-folk for being so Angst-ey today, I really don't mean to bring anyone down with me...
I should be free after 9:30 CST to play a league game if anyone wants
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown" ~ H. P. Lovecraft
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Okay, I'm tossing out a quick Game of the Week to make up for last week, which will have me completely caught up for the time being. This GotW will come later, so it is its own post.
Also, I played lots of DDR today, got a few lightbulbs, but most importantly, got two Diana Wynn Jones books, an Isaac Asimov book, and Half Life 2 for the Xbox.
My helpdesk should you need me.
I've rented Enchanted Arms, its pretty good so far. I'm worried that Makoro is a steriotypical homosexual, which is annoying. Hell, he seems to be taking the steriotype to the next level :sweat:.
*sigh* I've been way to busy since Saturday. I haven't touched any of my projects since Friday :(. I want to at least start my Star Wars Fan Fiction soon and I need to get the final preparations done for my campaign in PnPI.
Also, despite all my hard work I'm still behind in school work :(.
@KK: Good luck with all of that... it sounds like too much for me to do so I'm glad you have the enthusiasm for it all!
BTW - to those of you who actually read my blog - Very few of you will probably be able to see my latest entry. Decided to actually make a private one. It was kinda important that I did... Just thought I'd give fair warning as its a FAR cry of what I intended to do with it... Lots of feelings were expressed tonight with me.
Yeah, I noticed that when my brother rented the game a while back. I found it kind of annoying as well. I mean, he has an attack that makes hearts go all over the screen, for the love of everything. WTF.
Well, anyway, no AotW tonight. I'm too tired, and I don't have an idea ready. Or rather, I should say, I have too many to choose from, and I'm too tired to pick one. I may see if I can get up and do it in the morning, but I doubt it. I want to get up to WSU relatively early tomorrow, and it's a 2 hour drive.
My posting here is likely to be severely retarted, because my sister has decided it would be a good idea to go off of her Bi-Polar meds. I will be spending increased time with my family, trying to sort this all out.
Man, I really don't want to deal with this crap.
strongbad56, or Strong Bad, as he should be called, or SB, s-bro, or the more mysterious "56", came to MTGSalvation in September 2005 from MagicDeckVortex.com--he loved its visual spoiler, and came to the forums like a moth attracted. He didn't post for a long time until he replied to a Limited article. The 56 in his name is his favorite number since 5th grade. It seems random, but I assure you--it is everywhere. Just like the other 8 numbers out there that pair up 100 ways. Look! Even more numbers!
To be more serious, Strong Bad's name is obviously frome Homestar Runner. If you have never been, I HIGHLY recommend it. I cannot recommend Homestar Runner any higher than saying it is the best flash cartoon web site on the internet. Period. If you're curious, start here and wander around the site. Strong Bad is his favorite character. I like Homestar more, and the Cheat. But I digress.
When it comes to the game, SB's favorite deck is red and blue, using Eye of the Storm and a well-timed Evacuation to clear off the board indefinitely. His favorite combo is the Izzet Guildmage/Lava Spike+Desperate Ritual engine. But his favorite single card of all? The almighty Decree of Annihilation, which on an Eye is ridonkulous. Silly Stong Bah.
When he's not doing infinite damage or checking his sbemails, Strong Bad is into Cross Country and Track. He doesn't like to brag, but check his records:
1 mile - 4:56
1/2 mile - 2:12
Pretty impressive, and they'll only shrink as he gets better. Looks like he won't need the Cheat to win a ten-step footrace.
Strong Bad with the ladies-- current status: They all still want him. No seriously folks, he's been playing piano for 9 years, he's 16 years old, a junior in high school, and he lives in the Bay Area of good ol' California. I wonder if he goes to a lot of free tapings of shows. He IS in the Bay Area. He loves baseball, the Yankees being his favorite team. He pleads with those of you out there who also like baseball to not kill him.
Also, he owns that field out behind the dumpster. Has for like years.
Regarding his future, SB hopes to get that mural he commissioned the Cheat to paint on the fence. Slowbie. Also, he hopes to go to college, get a good career, have a family, etc etc, and most importantly, change the world in a small way. Dude, I got a t-shirt with you on it. Everything you do changes the world. Good thing you won't die. He's also in the rough draft stage of designing a set with a friend. We'll be seeing previews soon enuff.
Regarding MTGS, Strong Bad loves to visit the Coffeehouse most, followed by the CS&C/C&G forum, or the Custom Cards Games forums. He hopes to win one more FCC!
The Coffeehouse is his favorite place to be though. Lets him relax with a few cold ones (remember, a One that is not Cold is scarcely a One at all), and really express his feelings without worry. He can confide in us a lot more than his friends. Considering Strong Mad can't even say Douglas and Homestar is, well, Homestar, and the Cheat doesn't trust him, I think we should consider ourselves lucky.
He also demands ice cream on the menu of the Coffeehouse. Hear hear!
He has a few words to say to some of his select favorite regulars, though he does appreciate you all:
That's it for this week's Regular, strongbad56. Truly awesome.
(and for those of you following the links--This is where his avatar is from. My baby got stole...by A BEAR HOLDING A SHARK!)
Geek Mp3s
Of course there's gonna be music, and you should all know what to expect.
The System is Down features Strong Bad breaking into a hip techno song.
StrongBadia National Anthem is one thing everyone should hear, to revere in SB's awesomeness.
Hardware Store is a song that should've been here earlier. It's by Weird Al, but it's one of Strong Bad's favorites.
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Bullet Witch. A game hyped beyond belief. Well, if you are a gamer that is. I'm not sure if there were any commercials, non-gamer magazine ads, or otherwise. But if you were a gamer, this was one of the supposed 'Games of the Year'. You know, games that are supposed to be awesome and contend for that coveted title.
Let's rewind to half a year ago, or more. I'm reading my Game Informer magazine and I see the review for the demo of this game. "Cast magic while shooting enemies!" it said. "Use destructive magic to take down a city!" it said. Well, these are pretty cool statements that would make a rather interesting game, should they hold true.
Unfortunately, they didn't. And that's why Bullet Witch is getting my 'Dissapointment of the Week' title, the first I've done. Let me explain why.
Quick rundown of my standard spiel, so you know I'm giving Bullet Witch a fair shake. Graphics? Pah! You could have run this thing on the PS2 or original Xbox and, with a minor hit on the graphics of the surroundings, you'd still have the same thing. While the surroundings look semi-good, they also get really repetative and don't really hold up to expectations. Alicia, the main character, is a VERY stereotypical witch, and her hair is the same sort of thing that you see in Yuna in any non-cutscene section of Final Fantasy X. FFX was several years ago, I expect hair to flow in today's graphics, thank you. Here's a screen shot. You may think it's decent, but... Ugh.
Next is sound. Blegh. That's really all I need to say. Music is more or less a no-show, the voices, quite frankly, don't do the characters justice, and every sound effect is as blah as you can get in a game. I mean, the bullets all sound the same, from where I stand.
Story? Lack thereof, as far as I could tell in 3 hours. In 2013, several problems (one each year) has cost humanity somewhere around... 1.5 billion humans. And for some reason, which they don't explain in 3 hours of gameplay, demons that look like zombies are overrunnin the earth. AAAAH! Humanity is down to 1 billion in population and the situation is hopeless. Then, all of a sudden, this witch comes on the scene for no particular reason and starts shooting the zombies. Whee! Yes, that's as far as I got in story by the 3 hour point.
Are you starting to see why this is a dissapointment? "But Nai!" you say, "Graphics, Sound, and Storyline do not a game make! What about the gameplay!" I'm so glad you asked, because that's my major rant.
Let's look over the mechanics before I rant, shall we? The basic idea is this: A 3rd-person shooter between you and zombie soldiers involving four different guns and a handful of different spells over long levels, at the end of which you get graded on your performance and are able to upgrade stats. Sound familiar? Yes, my dear reader, this IS a lot like a female Devil May Cry! Save they didn't include ANY platforming aspects whatsoever.
Okay, so you have the gyst. It's time for my reasons why this is a contender for Worst Game of the Year. My complaints fall into four categories: Guns, Magic, Enemies, Surroundings.
Guns? You technically only have one. Which is, for some reason, a broomstick that has a gun as part of it. Apparently, the designers heard of the Gunblade and thought the Gunbroom would be just as cool. (Here's a hint: not.) You are given a machine gun to start (80 bullets, decent damage, decent accuracy). You can unlock a 'cannon' (read: sniper with around 25 shots per clip and SUCK accuracy), a shotgun (16 shots, second best to the machine gun) and a gatling gun (which I never unlocked. Why get a gatling gun when you have a machine gun?). Apparently, each gun can be upgraded twice after initial unlocking. I never did this, since they cost too much. I'm assuming a damage upgrade, and you have to HOPE that there's an accuracy upgrade involved for the cannon. Oh, did I mention that reloading your gun consumes MP?
Gun fighting, by the way, is the basic form of combat. You have one melee move, so that's really only for if you get surrounded, in which case you are dead anyways. You either get the third person view, or a directly over-the-shoulder view for 'precise' aiming. Accuracy supposedly gets better if you kneel, but I didn't notice. Did I mention that the 'cannon' gets no scope whatsoever? Whoever invented the scopeless sniper rifle needs to be dragged out into a street, drugged, and shown what a sniper with a 12x scope does, and why gamers like them.
Next is magic. The word "meh" describes magic in a nutshell. Your MP bar is in the upper right of the screen. It fills up with MP naturally when not using MP, up to a point called the "max MP bar", which starts at roughly 1/3rd the total bar. Killing enemies pushes this limit along until the very end. So you kill enemies to gain more potential MP. Cool idea. This idea becomes suck very, very fast. I'll explain why in a minute.
Magic spells are very, VERY stereotypical. Your initial two spells are "Ancient Wall", which basically makes a wall in front of you to take (very little) damage instead of you, and a spell that's the equivalent of Force Push, which throws anything not nailed down at enemies (and generally doesn't kill them). You can unlock other spells, like Raven Frenzy, or something like that, that makes ravens go ape and 'attack' enemies, which does no damage but stops enemies from moving. My favorite spell was "Rose Lance", which has you toss a rose like a grenade and causes around 10 spikes to come up and impale any enemy that didn't move five feet away and, thus, out of the damage zone. It was at least a cool idea.
So why does magic suck, you ask? Well, any spell costs mana, that's obvious. But any spell you WANT to use not only costs mana, it also reduces your maximum MP bar. Let me reiterate: If it's worth casting, the game makes darn sure you won't cast it again.
As an example, you have the "Lightning" spell, which you gain the first level. The game actually tells you that this is the most powerful spell in the game. Whose idea was it to give you the super-spell within the first ten minutes, anyways? In any case, the Lightning spell is the only way to kill tanks, which show up every 20 minutes or so. The spell also reduces your maximum MP to half the total bar, regardless of if you hit anyone or not. The spell requires an almost full MP bar. So, to sum it up, it makes sure you won't cast that spell again any time soon. Why is this bad? Well, basically, enemies don't 'pop', so you have a limited amount of people to kill to max out your MP bar. Enemies are also few and far between, but you'll hear about that later. So you have to save your Lightning spell for when you REALLY need it.
To rephrase why magic in the game sucks: If it's worth casting, you'll only ever cast it when you HAVE to cast it, otherwise you're screwed.
With me so far? Enemies is my next rant. By the middle to end of the second level, I only found 3 types of enemies, the first of which has several subtypes (which are obvious). The enemies? Zombies, Tanks, and "Walnut Heads". Yes, that's the actual in-game name.
Zombies are your typical enemy. They stand in groups, they have guns, they shoot at you. They're stupid, take too long to die, and do too much damage on normal difficulty. They fall into several subtypes, each of which exactly the same except for their gun. These types? Machine Gun, Shotgun, Grenadier, Sniper (rant on this in a second), and possibly bazooka.
Why the rant on the Sniper? Simple. The game even tells you the majority of it. A Sniper will NEVER miss. If their red laser falls upon you, you have only one recourse, and that's to use "Ancient Wall" to take the shot. If you don't do so in time, or if you have no MP, guess what? Game over. I'm not kidding. Extremely broken choice of enemies, and for a good reason. Wait until you hit 'surroundings' in a minute.
Tanks have rocket launchers and machine guns, and will only die (so far as I played) if you use the Lightning spell. And since they're relatively common, you will only ever use that spell to kill one. They help make magic suck, in other words.
Walnut Heads... Not only are they a stereotypical zombie (look at the picture below), they're also very useless. Basically, they're a gigantic brain with a body hanging beneath, just floating in one spot in mid-air. They use telekinesis to toss cars and other things susceptible to your Force Push spell at you, which generally kill you instantly if they connect. But, usually, you can waste a full clip or two of your machine gun into them to kill them before they throw a single item.
The surroundings are a big issue in this game. Your levels are huge, which is usually a good thing. However, when you walk slowly and can't jump worth anything, the game gets boring. In addition, the enemies are generally 5-10 minutes between groups, which makes things double boring. Checkpoints only come around once every 10-45 minutes, which makes things annoying if you die after walking around for that long doing almost nothing. Are you seeing where I'm going with this?
I think I've hit all of my issues with this game. I'll be honest: this game isn't even really worth renting. You'll spend your entire time walking around, finding enemies once in a blue moon, walking around more, cast a cool spell once every fifteen minutes, and get bored. Then you'll eat it from an attack that shouldn't have killed you and have to do forty-five minutes of mind-numbing gaming all over again.
If the game designers had fixed a few fatal flaws (spells not being good enough/cast enough, sniper missing 1/3 shots and needing at least 2 to kill anyone, enemies being so spread out/doing so much damage), the game would be playable at the least, and enjoyable beyond that. However... They didn't.
This game deserves a slightly fair shake for a cool idea, so I'm giving it a 3/10. Sorry guys, this deserved a lot more time in beta, and probably much more time in programming. Either that, or less media hype.
My helpdesk should you need me.
@mamelon: I wish you a great day as well tommorrow and today work was fine i had fun working. I don't work tommorrow though. See you soon! *hugs* @}----
@sakura: thanks sakura have a great day as well and take care.
@strongbad: congrats on rotw keep up the good work!
Well i am going to go relax for awhile this will probably will be my last post for tonight in the coffeehouse. Ill be on aol and msn if anyone wants to talk to me but if not see you all later. Take care and best wishes to everyone. *hugs and blows kisses to everyone*
Love,
Cecilia
I've been reading the posts but don't have the time to comment.
I'm
a bitreally selfish right now. I've been having a ton of emotions going through my mind and my heart lately. I need to take a break from heavy interaction with forums until I can sort through all this. Please don't take any offense or tell me to stick around. I'll definitely read and I'm up for IMs and what not. I just can't add anymore emotion to what's already going on. I've been having serious conversations already to help get some of these resolved or out into the open and they're helping. Most of them are quite personal and hard to explain to those who don't know anything about it. It's a bit overwhelming for awhile, so I'm sure I'll be quiet for several days. If all goes well, it'll be over sooner.I thank each of you in advance for any support, feelings, comments, whatever may be said. I also apologize for being so selfish since other things deserve commenting as well.
*Group hug*
~Dreia
My helpdesk should you need me.
See you all soon! *hugs and blows kisses to everyone*
Love,
Cecilia
@Enchanted Arms: I've heard terrible things about Makoro. Things which, even if I had a 360 (*shudder*) would probably make me stay far from that game. I hope his English voice isn't as offensive as his Japanese one.
Congrats on the RotW, strongbad! You deserve it.
@Tanthalas: I think the Woebringer would be a bomb in limited, myself. He's a little on the pricey side, but when played at the right time he can devastate the opponent's creature base. Also, I hope you get that promotion! It sounds like a wonderful opportunity.
@Bullet Witch: Ya know, with a name like that I was really hoping the game would be something fresh and different - maybe a kind of MegaTen-inspired shooter or something with an innovative system. But after reading all the articles on it I was sorely disappointed. It really is a sorry excuse for a Devil May Cry rip-off.
@Dreia: I hope you return soon, and that everything works out okay. I understand how you feel and how overwhelming it can be.
WELL. It's 10:30 and I've just edited my PCL deck in a big way (not really). IF anyone's up for a game, lemme know.
Nai, awesome write-up. That game lost me for good the moment you wrote "gunbroom" Very funny stuff!
I hope you are able to work things out, Dreia, and rejoin us soon. We'll miss you while you're away.
Current New Favorite Person™: Mallory Archer
She knows why.
@Nai: I'll be honest I stopped reading when you called Bullet Witch "Disappointment of the Week." First, I don't have a 360 and aren't interested in getting one so just giving it a big fat flop was enough for me to see where it was going. LOL.
@Dreia: I dunno how I forgot about you but I'm ninja editing this in - feel free to take some time and sort everything out hun... *smooches*
PCL: I'll be up for some games today. Just PM me if anyone is interested!
I'ma head out to WSU now. I called my friend, and it seems he's gotten sick, and so might not be able to hang out as much. There are other people I can hang out with up there, but it's a shame he's not feeling well.
Also - for only the second time ever I have a quote in my sig. I thought it was funny, anyway.
It seems like today is going to be a good day.
I got a call today and got the test results back, no rabies. I gave Nezumi a huge hug and kiss and a pretzel then aplogized for her having no social time.
I went to HR and had my meeting. Getting a month of personal time will likely not be an issue...but the loss of income will suck something fierce. I cannot get medical leave until I actually find a therapist or a doctor. I am concidering maybe just switching to part time so that I can have an extra weekday off each week to take care of things I need.
I came up with the idea (warmly received by Kathy, the HR person I was speaking with) of starting a BGLT commitee and support group here at Stream. There really is alot of BGLT people here and it would be a major benefit.
@Gunbroom : ???? I hope the team who created that game were beaten with mad snakes tied to sticks.
From where I'm sitting in the apartment, a far-off ambulance sounds like someone in the next room playing Q*Bert. This is...strange.
So, my right leg/hip has seemed to give out.. I am 22 years old and for some reason, my hip just doesn't seem to work... feels like its out of joint, tho the doctor says it isn't... Also accompanying this, is a severe set of muscle spasms.. Yesterday I literally was laying on the couch, unable to control my leg... it was spasming all over hte place... Ryan had to literally hold down my leg so that it wouldn't kick him, myself or slam into the couch....
So yea... that's been going on since Sunday. I'm on crutches now, the doctor recommended 3 advil 3x a day, and a muscle relaxant.. i haven't taken the muscle relaxant yet.. haven't had a chance to get it.. but yea... its aggravating in more ways than one. I can't walk nearly as much as I normally can, bc my hip sometimes just randomly gives out.... i've been using crutches yesterday... it was a pain ni the ass... but i was glad i had them for a backup.. for the most part i can walk okay on my own but itis really pretty risky bc my legs are extremely weak and i don't feel like I can control when it gives out..
Anyway that's kind of why things over here are kinda slow... ryan's been taking good care of me.... Really am trying not to impose on him too much but God, last night, if he hadn't been there, I would have slammed myself in the teeth and probably had a broken leg by now....
Doctors say it may be because of my sledding accident two years ago and/or perhaps some nerve stuff.. I don't know why but yea they recommend an MRI after a back specialist checks me out.... the MRI is gonna be a lot of money.. not looking forward to it, but it may not be required if the back specialist sees something else is up....so yea i see him on Monday..
EDIT : Congrats to Strongbad on RotW
Magic Coffeehouse!
Come in, sit down, relax, get to know somebody!
Open Three and a Half Years as of October 19, 2009!
Banner by PurpleD and avatar/custom by Tanthalas
No worries; mix-ups just happen and it was a good round
@ Strongbad:
Yeah, se7venphoenix did a good job on that one
Also, congrats on becomming RotW!
@ Kraj:
I agree For me, the FCC isn't about winning or losing, it's about seizing the opportunity presented to create something (and thus having fun) That said, I will (of course) always try to make the best card I can, both as a sign of respect to my opponent and as a personal challenge.
As said, it was a good round. It's just a shame that I (and many others) will have to wait a while for the next one to begin
@ KevinLiu:
You're welcome, and thank you Have a great day as well Kevin!
* Janus raises his glass to Kevin
@ Nai:
Hmmm... I considered that, but in the end I chose to play it safe, making the ability 3BB.
@ Mr Stuff:
Yep, that's the one Unfortunately, when something has been out for a good while, that's likely to mean that it hasn't even been released here yet
Have you seen the film? And if so, is it good?
@ ShinSakura:
I'm glad to hear that your test results came back negative
@ Omna:
Sorry to hear about your leg, I hope that everything will turn out all right
* Janus gives Danica a hug
@ All:
I'll be back later this evening, I'm going away to train for a bit. Swordfighting. Please wish me luck
* Janus sings softly as he leaves the 'House, his sword slung over his shoulder
Moments lost though time remains,
I am so proud of what we were.
No pain remains, no feeling,
Eternity awaits.
Grant me wings that I might fly,
My restless soul is longing.
No pain remains, no feeling,
Eternity awaits.
- J.
* ShinSakura likes poetry
That is pretty awful omna. I am very sorry that happened to you. I will pray that you will be able to get through this though. I also hope that you will be alright as well. We will all be right behind you omna!
@janus: your welcome janus and thanks!
See you all soon! *hugs and blows kisses to everyone*
Love,
Cecilia
Well, I'm gonna sit here, eat my chunky soup and finish checking my stuff. See you all later!
Windmills do not work that way!
I decided after the string of serious and deep media I have presented that I would review something a little more light hearted. Most people do not realize that Battlestar Galactica was released theatrically, since it was only ever released as such in Canada, Australia and parts of Europe and Latin America in an effort to cash in on the success of Star Wars. This may be why Battlestar was and still is far more popular here in Canada and in Europe.
The movie is basically the series Pilot and second episode woven together into one film and with certain aspects which were edited from the televised version left in. The two most notable changes are as follows; 1) Baltar is executed by the Cylons. For the telivision version the networks wanted them to keep Baltar and make him a Cylon leader so that people would have a villain to relate to. Networks of the time tended to be very wary of what they thought viewers would relate to and believe. While Baltar in all incarnations has always been an amazing and memorable character, having the Cylons hand him a Basestar and send him hunting humans was kind of corny. 2) The Cylons are organic. Another change by the networks. With the amount of Cylons killed in the series this worried the networks and they told the producers to remove all indication that they were organic, and the Supreme Leader scenes were editted. They left the dubbed over synthetic Cylon voices in the movie version. The advisor type Cylons of the series were added after the networks asked for more robot Cylons.
The movie starts out with us being informed that mankind has been at war with the Cylons for about a thousand years and that they have suddenly sued for peace. It becomes obvious quickly to the viewers that this is a ruse built with the help of Count Baltar in his own greed, and in a bid for power he has sold out and condemmed mankind. Apollo and his brother Zac are on the latter's first patrol when they come accross a battalion of hidden Cylon Raiders poised to strike the peace convoy (which includes all of the Colonial Council, the President, and all of the Colonial Battlestars. Zac is killed but Apollo manages to return to the fleet at the last minute, though it is too late.
During the battle, Adama (Council member and Commander of the Galactica, also Apollo and Zac's father) deduces that the attack is being used to distract the fleet while the Cylon Basestars attack the colonies directly. The Galactica withdraws but is too late and the Colonies are in ruins. Adama scrapes together the last of humanity in whatever ships are available and they run, chasing an old myth of a lost 13th colony known as Earth.
From here we pick up into what is actually the second episode (which is where the deleted scene of Baltar's execution would be). The fleet is low on food and Tylium(fuel), so a desperate and blind flight is orchestrated by Apolo to clear a path through a nebula filled with Cylon mines in an attempt to reach a world which is suspected to have both. They arrive at the world and discover it is being run by an alien race as a resort and a large number of Colonials are already there and completely unaware of the loss of the colonies. The resort/casino seems to have unbelievable odds in the patrons favour and the fleet is granted leave on the world. The aliens also agree to help the fleet and supply food and Tylium.
This all proves to be too good to be true as it seems that not only are the aliens working with the Cylons, but they are also using the patrons as a food source.
Importance :
Battlestar Galactica paved the way for Science Fiction television as we know it. Yes there had been Sci Fi shows before it, many succesful. But something about Galactica always stands out in the mind of anyone who watched it. The show was ultimately cancelled because the networks missjudged its target audience. Most of the viewers of the series were bewteen 18-30 and an unprecidented number were female, while the networks felt the sci-fi target audience was adolescent males and tried to aim the show at them. After the first season the show was retooled for a younger audience at an earlier time frame and more juvenile writing and it died. The success and death of Battlestar Galactica is important because it taught the networks that Sci-Fi can be presented in a more adult setting and be even stronger and succesful than if it was aimed at a youth audience, and thus paved the way to some of the best shows we have had on Television. If we did not have Battlestar, we would not have had Star Trek return to TV or had such shows as War of the Worlds (another show that was amazing until the networks felt they needed to dumb it down and killed it) or Babylon 5.
Larson was dead on on what would be succesful and made a very mature show with characters people truly cared about. Most of the characters in the series are seen as being among the most memorable Sci Fi characters of all time. Oh, and Starbuck is frakking god.
Galactica also brought this level of growth and excellence in Science Fiction full circle. The new reimagined series is a direct result of the impact the original had, and is arguably the best show on television period (as backup to that claim, it was listed as the best show on TV period by Time Magazine last year.)
I won't go into detail on the parralels on Larson's Mormon beliefs and in the Galactica storyline. It is unimportant here, and has little impact from the movies context. It is very common for writers and creators to use sci-fi and fantasy to explore their own religeous beliefs.
I definately recommend tracking down the movie version of this classic.
By Your Command
Radom Muscle spasms are never good...
And not having the use of a leg isnt too pleasant either
As a medical-interested person (not really qualified for anything really cept what I've seen on Disc. Health)
I don't know what to say ^ >^;;;
Its prolly fixeable, whatever it is (or maybe I have too much faith in modern medicine)
I just hope its not too bad and gets better fast
@ >@ the german test was... unfortunate to say the least, I'm not sure at this point wether I'll pass the class or not, and the rest of the day pretty much sucked
The subject of gender roles and other things about the individual being seperate from society, etc. were brough up, I just wanted to die right there, but then had a moment of inspiration and stepped up, and spoke out against both the people saying that who you are is determined by birth, and those that say YOU is a learned thing (in both cases I'd be male then, because thats what I was taught and what physically I was born as, so I know those aren't completely true). I brought up the point that people probably have a sense of who they are inside, seperate but not always different from their body, and no one really understood what I meant (I would blame teenagers not having to deal with this sort of thing too frequentlym if I'd blame anything)...
And to add insult t Injury to torture, my fourth hour did a little project thing where we pretended to be from fake countries and did negotiations. Mine were very religious, and matriarchal. Needless to say all the groups were divided 3 males, three females(guess which i was categorized as?), to balance things out, so I was very aware from those two things of my situation.... also, its no fun for me pretending to be religious and conservative, those that know me know how i feel about such ideas. So now thats over and I am not sure what to do now, one of my frieds is angry with me for telling his girlfriend he cheated on her (which he may or may not have been joking about) Either way, I think either she deserves to know that sort of thing, or he shouldn't joke about that sort ofn thing. I wish I didn't work tonight....
I'd like to apologize to all the coffee-folk for being so Angst-ey today, I really don't mean to bring anyone down with me...
I should be free after 9:30 CST to play a league game if anyone wants