Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Long Weekend Post
I got a few of the Marvel Legends line of 6" action figures, while they were on sale. I got three two-packs: Captain America vs. the Red Skull, Iron Man vs. Mandarin, and Hulk vs. Leader. These guys have a well-earned reputation for being very well articulated, although I find that balance can sometimes be an issue. Sculpt and details are great; painting is good overall but ocasionally spotty. These two packs have a ton of extras: a comic book, a display platform with stands and a backdrop, and even a VS card. Not bad for 500 php!
My interest in superhero comic books has also been rekindled recently. The best thing I've read recently would be Marvel's Civil War, a well executed crossover. The main draw is the classic conflict between freedom and security; heroes fight each other, split along ideological lines. The ending is meh, but it's though provoking and worth recommending, something I thought I'd never say again about serialized comics.
Since it's a very long weekend, now is a great time to have a lot of links. Let's start with direct downloads of Civil War, via sendspace: 1-10, 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, 91-96
The dark M&Ms dark chocolate name-that-dark-movie game. Seriously, this is a fun game! Play this one with your friends and family. Dark.
The Balls are Inert: A YouTube fan-splice of Dragonball Z. Um. Don't watch this one with your friends and family.
Urban Ninja on YouTube. For Narutards. Very cool.
Finally, two articles to chew on: The End of Console Games and 10 ways MMORPGs will change the world.
Stormcrow
My interest in superhero comic books has also been rekindled recently. The best thing I've read recently would be Marvel's Civil War, a well executed crossover. The main draw is the classic conflict between freedom and security; heroes fight each other, split along ideological lines. The ending is meh, but it's though provoking and worth recommending, something I thought I'd never say again about serialized comics.
Since it's a very long weekend, now is a great time to have a lot of links. Let's start with direct downloads of Civil War, via sendspace: 1-10, 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, 91-96The dark M&Ms dark chocolate name-that-dark-movie game. Seriously, this is a fun game! Play this one with your friends and family. Dark.
The Balls are Inert: A YouTube fan-splice of Dragonball Z. Um. Don't watch this one with your friends and family.
Urban Ninja on YouTube. For Narutards. Very cool.
Finally, two articles to chew on: The End of Console Games and 10 ways MMORPGs will change the world.
Stormcrow
Labels: books, games, links, toys
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Quick Review: Lost Girls
The Good:
It's a "pornographic" work involving Alice, Wendy, Dorothy. It should be apparent by now that Alan Moore is great at deconstructing superheros in general (Watchmen and Top 10) or other people's specific literary characters (LXG). Or, is it reconstructing?
In any case, the writing is good. Great dialogue. Storytelling is also excellent. Good incorporation of the literary references. I also have to applaud Moore for trying to make well written and cerebrally entertaining "pornography".
The Bad:
After reading Moore's other works, and Gaiman's too... and glancing at (and passing over) Vertigo's Fables, I'm getting tired of all these literary characters bumping into each other in "the real world". Look, this is basically fanfiction. Doujinshi. Not as clever as you think, overall.
The Ugly:
The "girls" are not as young as the title might suggest. And, do you know what's worse than old lesbian action? Poorly drawn, old lesbian action.
Is it "pornography"?
Haha.
Stormcrow
It's a "pornographic" work involving Alice, Wendy, Dorothy. It should be apparent by now that Alan Moore is great at deconstructing superheros in general (Watchmen and Top 10) or other people's specific literary characters (LXG). Or, is it reconstructing?
In any case, the writing is good. Great dialogue. Storytelling is also excellent. Good incorporation of the literary references. I also have to applaud Moore for trying to make well written and cerebrally entertaining "pornography".
The Bad:
After reading Moore's other works, and Gaiman's too... and glancing at (and passing over) Vertigo's Fables, I'm getting tired of all these literary characters bumping into each other in "the real world". Look, this is basically fanfiction. Doujinshi. Not as clever as you think, overall.
The Ugly:
The "girls" are not as young as the title might suggest. And, do you know what's worse than old lesbian action? Poorly drawn, old lesbian action.
Is it "pornography"?
Haha.
Stormcrow
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
So, this is not normally a techie blog, but the procedure above had us boggled.
Okay, that's it. Just have some more pictures.
...
Stormcrow
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Dinosaurs, webcomics, go!
So I haven't had much to do in the past week. I really need to look for a job... In the meantime though, I'm enjoying my hiatus. Reading webcomics, among other things. Here are a few absurd ones that have caught my fancy:
(as usual, click the pic to get a larger, more readable image)
Dinosaur Comics
http://www.qwantz.com/
Dinosaur comics has copy and paste art; it is made up for by wonderful dialogue and lovable characters. It features a T-Rex rambling about various topics pertaining mostly to language and philosophy. Hilarity ensues.
White Ninja Comics
http://www.whiteninjacomics.com/
On the other hand, White Ninja appears to lack both good art and any redeeming intellectual features. Instead, it is by turns unpredictable, meaningless, slapstick and disgusting. More hilarity ensues.
The Perry Bible Fellowship
http://pbfcomics.com/
This strip makes me want to laugh and weep at the same time. It deftly juxtaposes a sense of childlike innocence with bitter disappointment and the indifference of humanity. Well done.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
http://www.smbc-comics.com/
SMBC is the one comic on this list which is actually funny in the traditional sense. Like in PBF, normalcy and madness blend into a surreal stew.
Stormcrow
(as usual, click the pic to get a larger, more readable image)
Dinosaur Comics
http://www.qwantz.com/
Dinosaur comics has copy and paste art; it is made up for by wonderful dialogue and lovable characters. It features a T-Rex rambling about various topics pertaining mostly to language and philosophy. Hilarity ensues.
White Ninja Comicshttp://www.whiteninjacomics.com/
On the other hand, White Ninja appears to lack both good art and any redeeming intellectual features. Instead, it is by turns unpredictable, meaningless, slapstick and disgusting. More hilarity ensues.
The Perry Bible Fellowshiphttp://pbfcomics.com/
This strip makes me want to laugh and weep at the same time. It deftly juxtaposes a sense of childlike innocence with bitter disappointment and the indifference of humanity. Well done.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cerealhttp://www.smbc-comics.com/
SMBC is the one comic on this list which is actually funny in the traditional sense. Like in PBF, normalcy and madness blend into a surreal stew.
Stormcrow
Monday, October 09, 2006
Master
It's been an eventful week. Last wednesday, after many a sleepless night, I finally defended my MS thesis. Yay! Now I can start looking for a job again. ^_^ I'm not sure exactly how one goes about graduating in the middle of the schoolyear but I'd better push paperwork so I don't miss it.
This weekend marked the release of Magic's newest expansion, Time Spiral. I got a FatPack on sunday; that's a pair of (really nice) card boxes w/dividers, a guide-booklet, some land, some boosters, a d20 and a novel. The novel did not disappoint: I expected a rambling, barely coherent story with cardboard characters and a forgettable plot, and I got what I expected.
I was able to meet Ozzy (my constructed friend) to split two booster boxes. As usual, I got all the commons and uncommons. I haven't actually been able to play much limited recently, between my thesis and Raven's work, but Time Spiral looks like a fun set, even if just to collect.
Stormcrow
---------------
In closing, who knew that Quinton Hoover did furry porn? Not I.
This weekend marked the release of Magic's newest expansion, Time Spiral. I got a FatPack on sunday; that's a pair of (really nice) card boxes w/dividers, a guide-booklet, some land, some boosters, a d20 and a novel. The novel did not disappoint: I expected a rambling, barely coherent story with cardboard characters and a forgettable plot, and I got what I expected.
I was able to meet Ozzy (my constructed friend) to split two booster boxes. As usual, I got all the commons and uncommons. I haven't actually been able to play much limited recently, between my thesis and Raven's work, but Time Spiral looks like a fun set, even if just to collect.
Stormcrow
---------------
In closing, who knew that Quinton Hoover did furry porn? Not I.
Friday, August 18, 2006
TLDR
1. We have finally moved to our own house, which is actually Chico's old house at New Intramuros.
2. I got a job.
3. Tesla is now five months old. She likes exploring and reaching for things with her hands. And putting them in her mouth. ^ ^;
4. Paperwork is so annoying. NBI, BIR, gyaaah!
5. Currently playing on PS2: Harvest Moon (wtf??!)
Currently playing on PC: DotA (as usual) and Flyff
Currently reading (well, sort of): Wheel of Time, just finished Path of Daggers, about to start on the next one
Random Tesla pic
Raven
2. I got a job.
3. Tesla is now five months old. She likes exploring and reaching for things with her hands. And putting them in her mouth. ^ ^;
4. Paperwork is so annoying. NBI, BIR, gyaaah!
5. Currently playing on PS2: Harvest Moon (wtf??!)
Currently playing on PC: DotA (as usual) and Flyff
Currently reading (well, sort of): Wheel of Time, just finished Path of Daggers, about to start on the next one
Random Tesla pic
Raven
Labels: books, games, photos, tesla, work
Monday, November 14, 2005
Old Books
What's been up? Moved in with Pat. Stayed at the Manila Pen for a while. Helped her clean out her room. Built some bookshelves. I'm actually fair at carpentry (sawing and varnishing, anyway). I know most of you won't believe that but there it is.
The Conservatory
---------------
The thing with bookshelves is that you put books on them. I found a few of my old gems hidden in Pat's closet that I felt deserved at least a little mention.
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
The classsic tome of objectivism. I first heard of Atlas Shrugged from rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan. There was a short fan fiction parodying it, and I was intrigued by the moral dilemma between "take care of the weak" and "don't suffer fools". So I went out and got the book, which made a huge impression on my character, as I was 16 at the time. Amazing read all over. In hindsight, a better order would be to read Anthem and Fountainhead first.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams
By the same guy who wrote H2G2, this is just as funny but a lot more literate. For one thing, it asks that you know a bit of Coleridge to appreciate the story. Did I mention it was funny? I'd rank it aboe Hitchhiker's, and way above anything Adams wrote in his bitter phase.
Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco
I decided to pick up some Eco because of something Zafra mentioned. This is a really clever book about mysticism and the lack of it. Throws in a lot of odd factiods about old mystical traditions, wishout getting too dry.
Sometimes Eco can be a really thick read (ie, Kant and the Platypus), but in this book he reallty shines. And anyway, don't you just love semiotics teachers? "Pat is my wife. Pat is a three letter word. My wife is a three letter word."
In case you missed all of that, let's just say it's a very cerebral Dan Brown.
A Depth of Beginning: Notes on Kabbalah, by Colin Low
http://www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/nok/
Speaking of which, Kabbalah is something that fascinated me for years, which is singular since I consider myself to be neither superstitious nor religious. It started with the aforementioned Foucault's Pendulum, and Neon Genisis Evangelion before that (around 1998). Colin Low's Notes on Kabbalah is one of the finest works on Hermetic Kabbalah that I've read, probably helped by the fact that he's a practicing physicist/computer scientist so the presentation is quite logical and scientific, even if the subject matter is quite not so. Also, it's free and published only on the net! What's not to like?
Stormcrow
The Conservatory
---------------
The thing with bookshelves is that you put books on them. I found a few of my old gems hidden in Pat's closet that I felt deserved at least a little mention.
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn RandThe classsic tome of objectivism. I first heard of Atlas Shrugged from rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan. There was a short fan fiction parodying it, and I was intrigued by the moral dilemma between "take care of the weak" and "don't suffer fools". So I went out and got the book, which made a huge impression on my character, as I was 16 at the time. Amazing read all over. In hindsight, a better order would be to read Anthem and Fountainhead first.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas AdamsBy the same guy who wrote H2G2, this is just as funny but a lot more literate. For one thing, it asks that you know a bit of Coleridge to appreciate the story. Did I mention it was funny? I'd rank it aboe Hitchhiker's, and way above anything Adams wrote in his bitter phase.
Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto EcoI decided to pick up some Eco because of something Zafra mentioned. This is a really clever book about mysticism and the lack of it. Throws in a lot of odd factiods about old mystical traditions, wishout getting too dry.
Sometimes Eco can be a really thick read (ie, Kant and the Platypus), but in this book he reallty shines. And anyway, don't you just love semiotics teachers? "Pat is my wife. Pat is a three letter word. My wife is a three letter word."
In case you missed all of that, let's just say it's a very cerebral Dan Brown.
A Depth of Beginning: Notes on Kabbalah, by Colin Lowhttp://www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/nok/
Speaking of which, Kabbalah is something that fascinated me for years, which is singular since I consider myself to be neither superstitious nor religious. It started with the aforementioned Foucault's Pendulum, and Neon Genisis Evangelion before that (around 1998). Colin Low's Notes on Kabbalah is one of the finest works on Hermetic Kabbalah that I've read, probably helped by the fact that he's a practicing physicist/computer scientist so the presentation is quite logical and scientific, even if the subject matter is quite not so. Also, it's free and published only on the net! What's not to like?
Stormcrow
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Fully booked!
Since we had played dota the previous night, it was sort of inevitable that Stormcrow and I both woke up late. As a consequence, we arrived at Rockwell 10:20am, 20 minutes past the projected arrival time. We went straight to Fully Booked, the bookstore which organized the event to start with. There was a huge table heaped with Gaiman books and graphic novels right in front, along with an equally huge crowd of people browsing them.
After much consideration, Stormcrow bought two: Smoke and Mirrors, and a new copy of The Kindly Ones (since his old copy is in bad condition). We got a couple of tickets, which would allow us to have a +1/ticket to the number of books you can have signed. We then went outside to the tent, where the event will be held. On hindsight we should have gone there before we bought books. We got numbered stubs, "421" and "423", which we learned was out of the 700 quota for that day (June 9).
Since the programme and signing will start at 3pm, we decided to head back to the mall (which was definitely colder than the tent) and decided to have some lunch. We went back to the front of Fully Booked where we saw Sam Marcelo hanging out by the fountain. After accompanying her to lunch, Jo, a friend of Sam, joined our party a few minutes later by the same fountain. Alekos joined us somewhat later, but unfortunately the numbered stubs and the priority stubs for the following day were already out.
At around 4pm we all trooped back to the tent, and Neil Gaiman arrived around then. The programme started, which included raffle, awarding of the art contenst, Neil's reading of parts in his new book Anansi Boys, and a short Q&A portion. Neil was a surprisingly good speaker, which is not really something that comes with being a good writer. The signing started shortly after that, and we were promised one personal dedication out of a max of 4 signatures per person (depending on the number of stubs).
Since we all had high numbers (Jo had "299" and Sam had "669"), we decided to have a snack to kill time. After snack, we hung around the fountain area reading the books that we had. Stormcrow was very happy with the Kindly Ones that he went ahead and bought Dream Country as well. Joyce joined us at around 8pm, and at that point we heard that the number being served was still at "200"! We had dinner, and went back to the tent to await our turn. At that point the inside of the tent was finally cooling.
You have to hand it to Neil and his resilience. He stuck it out till the end, and it didn't seem as if he even ate anything in the nearly 8 hours of continuous signing! We finally had our turn at around 12mn, Sam had hers at around 1:20am. The even more astounding thing was that it didn't seem as if Neil was beginning to lose his temper.
Raven with Neil Gaiman
Stormcrow with Neil Gaiman
Stormcrow's fanboy moment, after his encounter with Neil
Endurance! Sam, Stormcrow, Joyce, and Alekos
I would also take this opportunity to extend our profuse thanks to both Alekos and Joyce for waiting with us until past 1am. They have just as much resilience as Neil, and deserve just as much credit.
Raven
After much consideration, Stormcrow bought two: Smoke and Mirrors, and a new copy of The Kindly Ones (since his old copy is in bad condition). We got a couple of tickets, which would allow us to have a +1/ticket to the number of books you can have signed. We then went outside to the tent, where the event will be held. On hindsight we should have gone there before we bought books. We got numbered stubs, "421" and "423", which we learned was out of the 700 quota for that day (June 9).
Since the programme and signing will start at 3pm, we decided to head back to the mall (which was definitely colder than the tent) and decided to have some lunch. We went back to the front of Fully Booked where we saw Sam Marcelo hanging out by the fountain. After accompanying her to lunch, Jo, a friend of Sam, joined our party a few minutes later by the same fountain. Alekos joined us somewhat later, but unfortunately the numbered stubs and the priority stubs for the following day were already out.
At around 4pm we all trooped back to the tent, and Neil Gaiman arrived around then. The programme started, which included raffle, awarding of the art contenst, Neil's reading of parts in his new book Anansi Boys, and a short Q&A portion. Neil was a surprisingly good speaker, which is not really something that comes with being a good writer. The signing started shortly after that, and we were promised one personal dedication out of a max of 4 signatures per person (depending on the number of stubs).
Since we all had high numbers (Jo had "299" and Sam had "669"), we decided to have a snack to kill time. After snack, we hung around the fountain area reading the books that we had. Stormcrow was very happy with the Kindly Ones that he went ahead and bought Dream Country as well. Joyce joined us at around 8pm, and at that point we heard that the number being served was still at "200"! We had dinner, and went back to the tent to await our turn. At that point the inside of the tent was finally cooling.
You have to hand it to Neil and his resilience. He stuck it out till the end, and it didn't seem as if he even ate anything in the nearly 8 hours of continuous signing! We finally had our turn at around 12mn, Sam had hers at around 1:20am. The even more astounding thing was that it didn't seem as if Neil was beginning to lose his temper.
Raven with Neil Gaiman
Stormcrow with Neil Gaiman
Stormcrow's fanboy moment, after his encounter with Neil
Endurance! Sam, Stormcrow, Joyce, and Alekos
I would also take this opportunity to extend our profuse thanks to both Alekos and Joyce for waiting with us until past 1am. They have just as much resilience as Neil, and deserve just as much credit.
Raven
Friday, July 08, 2005
... in a handful of sand
Neil Gaiman tomorrow! Yay! Looking forward to spending my hard earned money on books I have already read. Yay! Officially it's 2 PM at rockwell tomorrow (saturday), though of course I plan to go early.. around 10! Will need to buy a book to get in line.. Wonder what to get for signing.
-----
Have been playing Sand King heavily. Burrowstrike is just that good, Impale and Blink in one. So much that I don't really mind putting points into attributes, because his two other skills suck. Finally got a quad kill from Epicenter this week, (though it just said triple kill twice). Sweet, but as my opponents get better (and more trained) the BS-Epi combo goes off less and less. Kinda like how they started playing around Nerubian... Should find a different character to abuse. Maybe try for Beatdown Furion.
Stormcrow
-----
Have been playing Sand King heavily. Burrowstrike is just that good, Impale and Blink in one. So much that I don't really mind putting points into attributes, because his two other skills suck. Finally got a quad kill from Epicenter this week, (though it just said triple kill twice). Sweet, but as my opponents get better (and more trained) the BS-Epi combo goes off less and less. Kinda like how they started playing around Nerubian... Should find a different character to abuse. Maybe try for Beatdown Furion.
Stormcrow
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
