Próto Savato

Now that my birthday has passed, it's time to get serious. Seriously silly.

I did say yesterday that I'd try to get us back to our regular schedule, and this is my attempt at doing so. (It's also an effort at getting back to typing decent entries more often.)

"Happy birthday to me" indeed.

Well, let's not keep you waiting. Keep on reading if you feel like finding out what happened during my birthday!





CURRENT MUSIC:
Keiki Kobayashi - "Zero"
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Original Soundtrack

I have a playlist on WinAmp titled "Movie Magic - Battle (Ultimate)." It's reserved for musical pieces that were played in some movie/game/show's climactic and final battle... or music that could be used in such a scenario.

"Zero" earns a spot here due to its use as the backdrop music for Ace Combat Zero's final mission. Combining elements of a Latin choir, an orchestra, and a Spanish guitar, "Zero" serves as an excellent piece for a final duel. Namco proves it by pitting you against one lone plane in your last sortie: your own former wingman who's flying a next-generation fighter plane bristling with missiles and a high-intensity chemical laser. (Oh, and no matter what you're flying, the other plane is still more maneuverable than you.) Add the fact that you're also tasked with downing a V-2 rocket and you're in for a hell of a fight.

So why play "Zero," you ask? Nothing particular is going on that would warrant such a piece - but I wanted to hear something awesome that you would probably appreciate. That's my reason. If you don't like it, go find something else to play.


Scorpions - "Hurricane 2000"
Moment of Glory

I think it's time for a couple doses of symphonic songs. Here's the first one.

Anyone who knows a little bit of rock music will know the Scorpion's trademark song "Rock You Like a Hurricane." To a good amount of people (myself included), it's the only Scorpions song they know. It's a staple at some sports venues, and it possesses that wholesome hard rock song that can be used as ambient noise in a decent amount of places. (I should know - I've heard this song consistently almost every day since starting my new job.)

So, what happens when you take a hard rock goodie and give it the orchestra treatment? Well, it really depends on the song and who's behind the orchestrations, but in the case of "Rock You Like a Hurricane," you end up with awesome. "Hurricane 2000" fuses the wailing guitars of rock with the bombastic aural hard-hitter that is the orchestra. If you thought the job was done nicely, then you're not using the right word. Try "well."


Within Temptation - "See Who I Am"
The Silent Force

Second dosage of symphonic songs... man, that sounds good.

Anyway, the third music piece being featured today is an old favorite of mine. Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation hits the eardrums hard with this song, and I like it. The first thirty seconds or so screams "opening credits sequence" music (need something awesome for your next video project? Try this song.) while the rest of the song seems to reach out to those wishing to break out and be heard/recognized.

Seems only fitting for me to play this when I wanted to be heard today. (By that, I mean that I wanted to type something up for once.)





Well, here we are, ladies and gents. Welcome to another blog entry on the White Knight Chronicles. I'm Josh Blanco, the same person I've always been - except now I'm slightly older. That's right - in case you totally forgot (or didn't pay attention), yesterday was my 24^th birthday! Whee! *confetti*

As a little gift to myself, I figured I'd begin typing more on here. It's a good feeling that I'm doing that, because I've been needing to type. As this is my first Saturday as a 24-year-old, I figured I could have some fun today and type a little something up before going to work. (And yes, that's what the entry title is for. It's "First Saturday" roughly translated from Greek.)

This is what I get for enacting the "Early Bird Ordinance" in my town: a birthday party when I should be sleeping.

I suppose I should start with how my birthday was. So I woke up and went outside when I noticed one of my neighbors next to my doorstep. He tells me that there's a celebration going on and that I'm the guest of honor. I believed him, but I was skeptical of one thing... it was around 7:50 in the morning. Why was I up this early... and more importantly: why were they up so early?

Inside: silly sunglasses.

Turns out they had this party all planned out, complete with cake and birthday presents. I haven't really had either in a while (especially cake), so to get both things here... it was a real treat. I'm frankly surprised that they worked so hard to throw a party for me this early so I could enjoy the rest of my day. It was pretty cool. Because afterwards came work, then friends, then lots of fun times with everyone!

Some people would question the awesomeness of this particular bundle of gifts.
Fortunately, I'm not "some people."

Some of the things I got? Well, what you see above is a bit of the things I got during the day. Writing materials, artist's block-killers, a new piece of flair, and a game I had pre-ordered but couldn't pay off completely. Other things were received as well, but I didn't get any pictures of them.



All in all, I had a blast. I know that this is a short entry, but I have to say that it's better than most of this year. I'm appreciative of that, and I'm pretty sure some of you like this as well.

Anyway, I have work later on, so I'm afraid I'll have to leave you for the time being. Ciao!