Yeti 2012 Apocalypse

Braving the End

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:06:44 -0700

So Hank is taking a break this week. Instead I am bringing you something about the apocalypse! So buckle your seat belts for explosions, and other apocalypse related stuff!

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I wrote this and I don’t regret it.

Hank works in an office.

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:19:54 -0700

writersinprogress:

So today is Friday, so I bet you are thinking about work!

What? People don’t like to think about work on the weekends? Ah crap.

So, um, well, here is some writing about Hank. As the title implies, he works in an office. He has a cubicle. This is part one.

- genoboost (PS. if you hate work, I also write about video games.)

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I wrote this. You should read it.

Writers in Progress: Alpha Post #2...does that make it a beta post?

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:59:33 -0700

Writers in Progress: Alpha Post #2...does that make it a beta post?:

writersinprogress:

Hey there,

Today is the day when this blog becomes a collaborative project by virtue of me making a post about it.

Y’see, the generally epic Hex was telling me how he would like to have daily writing posts on this blog. But to do that he would need more folks to write, because daily posts are a…

Hey guys, how do I get in on this!?

Alexandrian Librarian: Alpha Post + Letter of Intent

Sat, 05 May 2012 22:20:14 -0700

Alexandrian Librarian: Alpha Post + Letter of Intent:

alexandrianlibrarian:

Howdy-

So this here is going to be specifically my writing blog. I want to write at least once a week something that is public. This is kind of inspired by Brian Clevinger’s recent project, Super Explosive, where he has a home for his prose. I wanted something similar and to give myself the…

If one week passes without a post here I am going to raise hell.

Started a new blog specifically for video game related thoughts.

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:39:42 -0700

follow it over at http://sevenoutoften.tumblr.com

Mad Pseudoscientists

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:17:00 -0700

So I am messing around with the idea of a mad scientist, but a mad scientist doesn’t really fit into the scheme of your everyday “I work at a lab with 100 other people.” scientists that we have today.

So then I thought, “mad pseudoscientist!” Then leaned back in my chair like the genius I am.

Then I realized, a mad scientist eschews the ethics and morals of the everyday scientist. So in sciencier terms:

A mad pseudoscientist is just a competent regular scientist.

“They called me mad when I said homeopathy couldn’t possibly work! Now who’s laughing, and writing an essay to try to get more funding for research!”

Friend: “What are you going to do when the apocalypse happens?” Me: “Probably...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:13:40 -0700

Friend: “What are you going to do when the apocalypse happens?”

Me: “Probably die.”

If you are

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:38:42 -0700

getting your health information from Donald trump. You probably don’t know what a doctor is.

Maxim tells women how to treat a gamer.

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:14:28 -0700

Maxim tells women how to treat a gamer.:

Yeah ladies, gamers gonna game. You’ll just have to accept it. Now turn off that game soundtrack, I hate it so much!

I’ve been playing a lot of Kid Icarus: Uprising online lately. It’s a really fun game,...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:23:34 -0700

I’ve been playing a lot of Kid Icarus: Uprising online lately. It’s a really fun game, of course. I’m also not terrible at it like most online games, which is nice. I think I have spent at least one hour of game-time shuffling the menus to and fro without any real reason, it’s just strangely pleasant. Stephen Totillo mentions it at about 20 seconds into his video. Now that’s game design.

Going to write a comic. Going to write about robots. Going to be pretty awesome.

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:04:53 -0700

Going to write a comic. Going to write about robots. Going to be pretty awesome.

FLASHMAN [lupe fiasco - pop pop] TKRMX (by TKRMX) Speaking of...

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:42:14 -0800

FLASHMAN [lupe fiasco - pop pop] TKRMX (by TKRMX)

Speaking of thuggin’ characters, it’s easy to imagine Mega Man in the context of this song. Just rolling through Wily’s hood, blaster blazing. You can judge Mega Man, but violence is the only life he knows. And you know Mega’s got the police, the hustlers, and the gangsters nervous.

Most appropriate line:

“Who’s that kid with the jewels in his face.”

Michael McDonald arcade fighting stick up for auction on Ebay. I...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:13:23 -0800

Michael McDonald arcade fighting stick up for auction on Ebay.

I NEED MONEY SO THAT I CAN MAKE TERRIBLE FINANCIAL DECISIONS!

Team Teamwork - Vinyl Fantasy 7: M.O.P. Ante Up (Battle) (by...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:33:54 -0800

Team Teamwork - Vinyl Fantasy 7: M.O.P. Ante Up (Battle) (by persiandaddy)

So I just started replaying Final Fantasy VII for the first time in over ten years. Every time I get into a battle I start rapping the words to this mash up.

Now Cloud is straight thuggin’ instead of brooding and whining and ruining everything.

“Hand over the ring. Kick over the chain. Gimme the fuckin’ watch before I pop one in your brain.”

This song is going to be twice as great once I get some Steal Materia.

I tried to play my old copy of UmJammer Lammy on the PS3 to find...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:41:05 -0800

I tried to play my old copy of UmJammer Lammy on the PS3 to find out that the button presses don’t line up with the audio. Oh the quiet pain I must endure.

The level above was my most hated, likely because I was so terrible at it. I can clearly remember Paul Chuck’s derision after each embarrassing loss. Upon returning to the game and soundtrack, I think this is now my favorite track from the game. It’s a hard rocking blues number, a genre often overlooked in game music, but always appreciated when found.

The first time I played this game was from a Playstation demo disc. We couldn’t afford whole games back then. I was aghast a year later when I finally played UmJammer Lammy in its entirety and they switched the line ‘play in hell’ and replaced it with the much less rocking ’on an island.’ It was several years later when I learned that line was foreshadowing an entire cutscene, set in hell, which they took out of the American version of the game. Sigh crude and uneven censorship. Although in the end, there wasn’t even much difference between the two versions. I will say that I am never against the use of an extra ‘hell’ or ‘damn’ when provided.

Minna no Rhythm Tengoku Perfect Play : Stage 7-3 - TOSYO...

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:23:56 -0800

Minna no Rhythm Tengoku Perfect Play : Stage 7-3 - TOSYO GIRLS (by amiworld)

Dear Nintendo, if you release Rhythm Tengoku/Heaven games as often as Rock Band and Guitar Hero used to release their crap, I’ll buy every version that gets released. I promise. I will not get sick of this, ever.

I have learned that musical games are way better when you only need one button. This song here is one of my favorites from the forthcoming Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii (I played through the Japanese version if you must know). It is also one of the few stages I got a perfect score on as well. There is just something so infectious about the music, along with the random English phrases that kept me coming back to master this song.

Rhythm Heaven Fever will see release February 13th, so go pre-order it (but not from GameStop), since it will likely be one of the final Nintendo published games for the Wii, not to mention a catchy and infectious music game. Plus you don’t even have to buy another overpriced guitar peripheral for this one!

pepperattacks: Lammy is my spirit animal. I’ve actually...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:24:01 -0800

pepperattacks:

Lammy is my spirit animal.

I’ve actually been thinking about Um Jammer a lot lately. Maybe I need to write another endless manifesto on why it is so amazing. Still holding out for a sequel.

Hobby Model is another catchy song about the ladies. This sounds...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:58:56 -0800

Hobby Model is another catchy song about the ladies. This sounds like the kind of track that would be released as a hot summer single back when people still listened to radio stations. The bouncing rhythm is just too easy to dance along to. Add to that just the right amount of spring in Shael’s step as he belts out the words and you have a hit. If the group ever works up enough money to make a music video, I demand it be this song.

As mentioned before, the lyrics are a clever series of well placed references coupled with Shael’s own odd descriptions and metaphors. All of this encircles a young woman, who, as the title states, is a hobby model. Despite the arguments of onlookers, Shael defends that a hobby model is still a model. This song reminds me of earlier track Publishing Rights in that Shael can take simple, mundane, and cliche lines, and make them his own. He’s at a point now where it seems he can sell you anything if he sings about it just right. I never thought I would love a song in which a rhyme ends with “ass crack” but here we are. Thanks again Shael Riley.

I decided to not include lyrics this time because I don’t understand tumblr. You can read them here. Oh yeah, and while you are on his bandcamp page, buy the album. If he gets rich enough, maybe he can start paying me off for these stellar reviews I’m handing out. My integrity has a price, and it is not much.

maelstrom: :D I really need to write about this game more...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:19:40 -0800

maelstrom:

:D

I really need to write about this game more often.

If you didn’t listen to me yesterday, I am going to tell...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:34:21 -0800

If you didn’t listen to me yesterday, I am going to tell you again today. Go download Ultimate Songs from the Pit by Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backfire.

Princess of Ants is where the pop sensibilities really kick in. Is the song about relationships? A clever but indecipherable chorus? Unbelievably catchy? Check, check, and check. Between buzzwords like ‘Darth Vader’ and ‘bong’ (or, for me, ‘animality’) hides the story of a failed, but humanly strange relationship. Much nuance and direction is added to the song thanks to the use of layered vocals through the latter half. Once the second chorus comes in, a duet is shared between Shael and himself, stuffing in a bonus catchy chorus on top of the main one. The only downside is choosing which one to poorly sing along with as I write this article.

I really can’t talk enough about these lyrics. I’m a nerd for writing, what can I say? One of the most interesting things (and something that I believe makes his music more accessible than many other nerdy artists) about Shael’s writing, is his ability to take a normally innocuous reference to a subject such as Street Fighter and meld it into something that sounds unassumingly deep. His ability to blend sly references into his songs without hurting the integrity or direction of his lyrics is a skill I believe a lot of artists would do well to internalize. You can hear such a simple but well written line in the final chorus of this track. I won’t just point out which line, though I will mention that the reference is practically a fossil in the history of video games, betraying the age of our nerdery. I would also add that the prudent use of curse words does not go unappreciated.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve decided to hammer out my rough draft thoughts to Tumblr here before going all out on another incredibly in depth review of the entire album for GM4A. Also, like yesterday, you can read along with the lyrics (which I highly suggest) by heading over to the group’s bandcamp page, or just clicking through to the rest of this article

Some more quick notes. The music in Princess of Ants by Shael Riley, with lyrics by Shael Riley and Ricky Henry.

What I’m asking you, baby, is why can’t we just be friends?
but you turn off the world and hide under your bed
Did the novelty wear off, or did just get sober?
Did you find that extra life, or are you dead?

I could have had a Hipster Tinkerbell, or the Dutchess of the Lawschool Dance,
shacked up with the Queen of South Town—such a practical romance.
They say the way to his heart lies through a man’s stomach, but for me it was through my pants.
I could have had the Baroness of Lovely, but I got the Princess of Ants.

You got an eight by seven wall scroll of Darth Vadar
Flippin’ a peace sign as he hands Yoda his bong.
I’m a reasonable man, without a lot of
deal-breakers
But unlicensed, drug-themed merchandise is one.

Get her off my shoulders.
Making me me older.
You’re so damn hot but I just wan’ stop. Yeah.

Get her off my shoulders.
She’s just like a boulder.
She’s like the Princess of Ants.

How can I get out ‘this city
with your ice-ball kiss
and your rope-dart pity?
There’s an Animality from your deadly kitty
Did I get too old, or did your
pretty little
melody wear off, or did I just get over it?
All this fucking you is fucking with my head.

They tell you, Girl, you must defeat Sheng Long, before you stand a chance.
I could have had the Baroness of Lovely, but I got the Princess of Ants.