Emblematic Fulfillment

Wow, did time fly past today. One minute it's 1103... the next, it's almost 1930, and one sunny evening later it was 1600. I think it's time we get cracking on today's entry... and maybe get cracking on answering the question "Does Josh need meds?" for my blatantly-inaccurate telling of time.

Don't you think today flew by fast?





CURRENT MUSIC:
Muse - "Knights of Cydonia"
Black Holes and Revelations

Now this is one awesome song to wake up to in the morning.

As the final track to Black Holes and Revelations, it's a very fitting way to end the album. Who hasn't pictured themselves riding off to some distant place on horseback to fight some kind of injustice with "Knights of Cydonia" playing in the background? Oh, come on - I know I'm not the only one who's done this.

"The time has come to make things right." In a real-life context, I'd say Muse did just that. Considering how their next album would end up being titled The Resistance, that time is now.

*gallops off in horseback*


New Order - "Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix)"
(the rest of) New Order

Everyone who's seen Blade knows this song. Correction: everyone knows this song. (No, those sentences shouldn't be reversed.)

Played in the opening scene at the rave, this has (in my opinion) become one of the signature songs for kicking ass in a public setting. This of course, doesn't play when Blade comes in to kill all of the vampires, but it still possess a high energy for it.


Kevin Riepl - "Hyperblast Redux"
Unreal Tournament 2004 Soundtrack

Before I continue, I feel like I should mention that I've never played an Unreal game. I have watched some of my friends play in the past, though, and geez - was this a fast-paced first-person shooter or what? Music like this makes me a bit nostalgic for how things were years back... when LAN parties were still cool and public computer labs occasionally held all-night gaming sessions with friends cracking jokes and headshots alike.

*clears throat* Digressing.

This music from this piece emanates one word, and that word is action. Coincidentally, that's the only word you need to describe what "Hyperblast Redux" sounds like. Obviously, it does the job quite well with shooter games, but it doesn't stop there. Apply this track to any action-y sequence - a high-speed (street) race, a group of covert operatives rapidly sneaking into an enemy stronghold, a melee fight sequence, a tournament montage, and even dynamic and fast-paced cooking shots - and you will be amazed at how well it works.

...if I get a group of people to film me completing parts of Resolutions 9 & 10, we're throwing this piece in as background music. No questions asked.





So, what is there to talk about today, ladies and germs? Well, if yesterday's entry was any indicator, there was to be a bunch of stuff, (supposedly) including (and I quote):

• pictures (because let's face it: walls of text are boring)
• candy (not as creepy because I don't have a van)
• fanservice photography (because all men are perverts)
• Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones stuff (Amelia FTW!)
• other video game stuff (it's not just Sacred Stones I've been playing...)
• life in general (as if y'all don't get enough of that already
• sneak peeks at some random projects I'm working on (o.O?)
• revelations of deep, dark secrets that spell doom (OoO)
• ponies (or pwnies... I'm not sure which is better)
• foodstuffs (and other related cooking things)
• who I am (this may be highly inaccurate)

Of course, by now you've probably realized that not all of this list is going to be featured. Shocker.

But anyway, let's not dilly-dally on what may not be but instead dilly-dally on what is on here. Let's get a fire started!

Subject: "Fire." "Dear Sir stroke Madam: I am writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out of..." ...no, that's too formal. "Dear Sir stroke Madam: Fire, exclamation mark. Fire, exclamation mark. Help me, exclamation mark. 123 Carrendon Road. Looking forward to hearing from you."

No, not that kind of fire!





Taking Levels in Awesomeness: The Fire Emblem Way
(Or: What is Fire Emblem and how overpowered can you get?)

Anyway, speaking of fire, let's talk about Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones for a bit. I am a gamer, after all, and since this blog is about me, I'm allowed to segue into any topic that I want to. In this part of the Internet: I am God Legion for we are many the divine ruler of all! Onward to victory!

(And in case you were wondering: Yes, this is where the "video game" tag gets its chops for today. Sue me.)

Now, not many of you are familiar with the Fire Emblem series of games, and to be honest: I'm not surprised. It's a tactical turn-based RPG that has more popularity in Japan than it does in America, but it's slowly growing. What makes this slightly different (and hence a bit more challenging) than most other RPG games is that once a character's hit points goes down to zero, they're dead. Permanently. This facet of the series usually catches new players quite off-guard and forces them to figure out a proper way to arm and deploy their forces.

But let's not get into the crazy mechanics of this fun game series. Let's just see why I wanted to prattle on about Sacred Stones. As I've been playing this game for some time since I got it via the Ambassador Program, I've been training my characters and making sure they get to be a group of powerful, evil-slaying heroes.

This is especially true for one character in question: Amelia.

Young, naïve, and frail - aren't those bad traits for a soldier?

When you recruit her in the middle of the story, she starts off as a spear-wielding Recruit with next to abysmal stats. While most characters encountered around the same time as her begin with stats anywhere from Level 7 to Level 15, she begins her journey as a "trainee" class - and that means she's at negative Level 10. Having her wield anything but a lightweight lance made her extremely slow and clumsy, and she was so fragile that kerosene-soaked toilet paper that was on fire acted stronger than she did.

However, if you give her a good amount of attention and get her leveled in a safe manner... she will tear your enemies a new one and laugh. (This is basically true of all the usable characters you encounter in the games, but trainees such as Amelia just take the trope "Took a Level in Badass" to a whole 'nother level.) In the endgame, she has the choice of becoming one of three classes:

• General: soldiers with the heaviest armor and the weapon skills to tackle almost any opponent. Great offensive and defensive capabilities at the cost of slow movement and low magical resistance.
• Paladin: soldiers on horseback focused on swift, strong attacks. Decent offense and defense with emphasis on movement ability and speed.
• Great Knight: armored knights on horseback. Sturdier than Paladins in both offense and defense, but not as swift or as maneuverable.

Regardless of your personal preference, once she gets promoted to one of these classes, she becomes nigh unstoppable. What's even better is that since most of her stat gains seem to make up for every one of her classes' weaknesses.

Not if you have the training to make up for all of that.

The above photo is proof of this. When I first played Sacred Stones years ago I figured out how useful Amelia was (glass cannons in RPGs tend to become winners in the endgame, from what I've seen), I decided to have her promoted to a General. Obviously I've kept that mindset to this day, and last night before I fell asleep, I was able to get the young lance-wielder at the maximum level she could be at. If you feel like making some sense out of the above photo (just so you can see how insanely buff she is), here's what those stats mean:

• STRENGTH: (STR) Physical strength. The raw power each character has before adding weapon damage.
• SKILL: Weapon skill. How proficient they can wield whatever they use in combat. Affects accuracy and chances of landing a critical hit.
• SPEED: (SPD) Combat speed. Determines how many times a character can strike in combat and also affects evasion.
• LUCK: Luck. Affects a variety of things, such as evasion, the odds an enemy will land a critical hit, accuracy, and finding buried items in certain environments.
• DEFENSE: (DEF) Physical defense. Higher numbers obviously mean less damage taken from physical attacks.
• RESISTANCE: (RES) Magical resistance. Lowers the damage taken from magical attacks and decreases the chance to be affected by magical spells.
• MOVEMENT: Unit movement. The number indicates how far a character can move under normal settings, barring any hampering terrain. (Each class is pre-set to a certain movement number. Generals by default only get 5 movement, but items do exist that can permanently raise this number...)
• CONSTITUTION: (CON) Physical constitution. The higher the number, the easier it is to handle heavier weapons. Also affects the ability to rescue other characters.

The fun part is that when you look at her average stats end-game as a General, you'll notice that she did quite well in keeping with par.

Now, I have a question for you.

Q: Using what you've just learned from the basic descriptions of character stats and the brief description of the General class, can Amelia be considered a one-woman army of roving death?

You know, you probably have to have a high amount of combat proficiency if you're able to casually twirl a two-handed sword like that around with one hand like that WHILE OUTRUNNING EVERY ENEMY SHE ENCOUNTERS LIKE THAT IN HEAVY ARMOR LIKE THAT.

A: Oh, hell, yes.

And that concludes the video game section. I'm tired of geeking out. (Pfft. As if. =P)





The Other Aspects of Life
(Because video games aren't the only important thing that matter out here.)

I'd say that life's going okay so far in 2012.

Whatever it was that had me roving sick for almost two weeks now seems to be about ninety-three percent gone. An occasional twenty-minute stuffy nose and a random cough here and there are all that remain. As a result, it makes me happy. I can enjoy life much more now! The sun seems warmer... colors seem so brighter! Yay, me! \^o^/

This is what happens when you tell me to make a sammich. It never comes out as ordinary as you'd expect it to be. Never.

I've been experimenting lately with my food - partly for the list of resolutions I have to complete this year, and mostly because I can. I just keep thinking of the question, "How can I make this better?" One addition eventually snowballs into sixty, and I end up with something that either ends up as absolutely delicious or abysmally not-so-ordinary.

Take, for instance, this pseudo-panini I made today. Wheat bread, turkey, a mixture of condiments and spices for a spread, and some maple syrup - all grilled to make a savory sammich of sweet-and-spicy proportions. It's gotten me to wonder what the perfect sandwich spread is. (We'll leave that for another day.)

This photo was taken a few days back. Pictured is what Target calls a "Created Auto-Fill," or a "CAF." It's what the backroom computers tell the storeroom stockers to pull out to the floor because the floor locations are empty.

Work has thankfully slowed down to an almost-laughable standstill. This is great - now the only sources of high octane stress I'll be receiving will be from the normal retail stressors:

• corruption with any higher-ups (if any exists)
• the occasional guest who just has to be aggressive
• that moment of the month where hours are just utter crap, and
• the days when people suddenly call out en masse.

While the rush of Fourth Quarter may be over, the following "First Quarter drought" has just begun. Normally, I'd be highly panicked about not having enough hours, but as of right now I'm in a more mellow state. It could be the satisfaction that my sickness is practically gone. It could be because work is no longer going to be as stressing for another nine months. It could be because I'm just in a jolly good mood today, guv'nor. Take your pick. Either way, it's probably a feeling akin to a little girl getting a pony for her birthday - one of elation, glee, and satisfaction.

*reclines back in his chair as he occasionally pops a peanut M&M into his mouth* Ahh... this is a great day. Or night, depending on what time of day you're reading this entry. Now excuse me if I just suddenly run off and play Mario Kart 7.





What's New, Josh?
(What can we expect later on this month?)

Well, we can expect a lot from me, Josh Blanco, the author of this online blog, purveyor of the not-so-common things in life, and an aquaphobe who resents the idea of visiting water parks and swimming pools for recreation. I've been thinking of some things to add on to the blog here, and I've been working on some projects. I don't have them finished yet (as is obvious with the lack of a written project on here today)), but I dare say that you'll see something by the end of the month. I'm cool like that.

However, I should say that the look here may change - albeit in a subtle fashion. It counts as "new," right? Eh? EH? No? Oh, whatever. I'm happy with working on things in secret until I'm ready to reveal them to the world because I'm totally afraid of getting critiqued I don't get enough fans I'm too frakking lazy to actually work on these projects for real I said so.





Well, that's about all the time I can afford on you readers today. Join me tomorrow as I talk to you about... oh, geez, I don't even know what I'll be posting about. It'll be something fun, methinks, but we'll just leave that opinion up to you, eh?

Alright, ciao for now!





Oh, and before we leave today's entry, you might notice that I actually touched base on everything on that list. (I actually did - some were subtly mentioned while others were just blatantly obvious.) Of course, if you look carefully, there's only one thing left for me to cover on the list. So, just so I can say I fulfilled that "fanservice" section and actually complete that list (what), here:

Misato Katsuragi of Neon Genesis Evangelion is a prime example of Ms. Fanservice.

You're happy; admit it. *winks* (I'm not responsible for how much your mileage may vary.)

Until the 'morrow, fair readers!