Inspirationless Catnap

So today happened to be a good day to do stuff if you live in the same area that I do.




CURRENT MUSIC:
Tetsukazu Nakanishi - "Demons of Razgriz"
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Original Soundtrack

This track seemed fitting for the ambient mood this entry seems to give off.
I'm just picturing myself on a sort-of secondary alert as I figured out what to do today.



"It's morning, everyone! Today's the day! The sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are getting out of - *gasp* - the tank is clean. THE TANK IS CLEAN!!!"
- Peach
(Finding Nemo)


Today was pretty sunny - a first for the year. For the past few weeks it's been cloudy across the skies, and it looked as if it wouldn't let up.
However, upon waking up I saw that my assumption was wrong, and I thought, "Finally. A day off and it's sunny. Today's a great day."
...and then I remembered that I had class later on today, and my happiness turned into panic.

On my way to class, this scene from Finding Nemo came up, and I thought it to be perfect when it came to reflecting today's wake-up process.





Good day, ladies and gentlemen who read this blog but don't tell me that they do (because let's face it: most of these ladies and gentlemen don't exist).

Today was a decently sunny (and quite warm, too, might I add) Thursday, and I thank you for reading today's entry.
I have to apologize for two things: the last few entries being all... short... and the fact that most of this blog is just nonsensical talking about nothing.

Oh, who am I kidding? That's why you're here - to read about nothing! =P





It has recently come to my attention that today's entry is the 90th in this blog. Never have I come so far in keeping up with a year-long New Year's resolution. Frankly, I'm impressed with myself (and no, I'm not trying to sound all self-righteous or anything here).

This means that Sunday, April 10 will be the day of my 100th entry - and 100 entries in a row. And boy, will that be quite a celebration for myself and the few readers I currently have.

Heh. I'm starting to get giddy with excitement over here. Just the thought that I'll be hitting triple digits... ooh, I'm shivering with delight.



Lately, though, whenever I want to try to work on something, I can't help but just stare at the screen, completely uninspired, and that depresses me somewhat.
It's not like there's a lack of motivation or anything, but... I think I just lack the drive to do anything.
Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of sense - "motivation" and "drive" can be interchangeable here, but I'm referring to two separate things here.

I want to work on my personal projects. I honestly do. I want to go out and continue writing my fanfiction and my screenplays and my poetry and my machinima, and I want to keep sorting the ever-growing list of music I keep expanding.
I want to be famous; I want to make it as a writer; I want to have thousands (if not millions) of fans who admire me as a writer and as a person who inspires them to live.
I think of these things, and it motivates me to do this.

However, when I'm at the front line, I end up drawing blanks and just stare off into space. Like a car without gasoline and like a fire without combustible materials, there's no fuel to drive me forward. And so I hop out of the car, stop fanning the flames, and just attempt to do something else.

Something tells me I might have some form of attention disorder (highly likely), but some other voice in my head nags me and says it also has to do with me getting bored so easily (which might link up with the attention disorder thing).
I read up on this, and usually people with this sort of problem are those higher on the I.Q. scale.
I'm not saying I'm super-smart of anything - though I was in gifted education in younger years, I stopped going due to boredom, and I'm sure my brain cogs have somewhat rusted over by now. I've been slowly degreasing them, though.
(If anyone dares to question my intelligence here for real, then I'm just going to have to look down on you. I don't look it or act it anymore, but I do have the mental powerhouse. To hell with anyone who says otherwise.)

Digression aside, I just need that spark... that emergency gallon of fuel... something... to help me get going.
However, I've yet to procure matches or a gas tank or anything really that could fan the flames into a combustive inferno.

And if anyone has any information on where to procure some driving materials, please let me know.



With that being said, I honestly don't know why I wasn't able to do anything today.
Originally I had planned to go storage unit spelunking, but the last thing I felt like doing is adding more junk to my room that I'm not even going to end up using.
There were a few boxes I need to send to my storage unit, though, so that might be something to consider.
But other than that, I didn't have anything to do - like I said, I had no drive to do anything.



 Still don't.

*insert horribly-placed nap time here*





Oh, well. I'm sure I'll come up with something eventually.
Until the 'morrow, everyone!

All Glory Goeth to This Guy

Everybody loves him. And if you think otherwise, click this link while I drive off to run meaningless errands.

*rhythmic clapping*

Quick!

Hello, everyone. I actually have a lot on my plate today and as such, today's entry will be brief.
However, since some of you will probably be wondering what's got me in a bind (or what I've done today so far), here's the sitrep on what (will) happen(ed)...

• Pokémon: White (training sucks)
• class ("Happy happy joy joy?" Yeah, right.)
• more class (more "Yeah, right.")
• hanging out with friends (always fun)
• writing projects I have yet to reveal (and no, you no can has)
• more hanging out with friends
• sushi and burgers (not at the same time)
• fun

I'll see y'all mañana.

It's Always Sunny When I Don't Care

Today's entry's title hearkens to an observation I've noted a few years back.
Whether it's by sheer coincidence or some mythical form of kinesis, it tends to be sunnier whenever it's not an off-day for me.

I never got it. I mean, let's take today, for instance - it's practically warm and sunny outside, and I have work in a few hours.
Conversely, tomorrow, after I get off class, it should be sunny, right?
*shakes head* Nope. Rather, it's been cloudy when I leave for class, and it still stays cloudy after it's over.

Some people say their inner emotions and energies are linked with the weather patterns.
I have to say that I think it's somewhat true.
I know - I'm sounding all pseudo-scientific and weird like I did on Saturday - but I'm one of those people.
I take a look outside and I see sun - I'm feeling good.
Next day, I see clouds - and I think "Meh."

Moving on.



CURRENT MUSIC:
Barenaked Ladies - "Falling for the First Time"
Maroon

Great song. While some people may find a more romantic meaning behind the lyrics, I'm one of those who found a second meaning.
From my take, it seems to be about a perfectionist living a life of contradictions (if "I'm so cool; too bad I'm a loser / I'm so smart; too bad I can't get anything figured out" doesn't seem obvious enough, I don't know what will) - and this perfectionist is just wondering what would their life be like if they let go of their mannerisms and let themselves live.

Funnily enough - I'm quite a bit of a perfectionist myself - and as much as I want to bore you with the psychological origins of this rather annoying quirk, I won't. (Not yet, at least.)
Maybe my iPod was trying to say something when it shuffled itself to this song.

Regardless, it's mellow and great, and I see it working quite well on an opening credits sequence.
And when I re-start my video blogs, I call dibs.



"My intent is to tell the truth as I know it, realizing that what is true for me may be blasphemy for others."
- Gerry Spence

I like this quote. A lot of people have truth waiting to be uttered, and yet quite so little of it is believed due to others believing it to be lies.
Sad, really - but that's how the world operates. It sounds heartless, but think about it - I'm right.





Well, another week begins, and another month will soon be upon us.
This means only one thing: the year's about to be 25% over.

Lovely thought, isn't it? Three months will soon have passed and so far I'd say it's been successful in my end - I've posted something on this blog once every day insofar (including today - whee!), I've been more upbeat and positive all around, and I've been slowly working on all the personal projects I've been meaning to do (all of them are far from completion, but hey - some work's better than no work).

When I started this blog, I foresaw some sort of bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Mind you, this wasn't one of those "bright lights" one sees in their death tunnels, but rather a beacon of hope - something I could look forward to as the year progressed.

At the time, I had no idea what that light signified. At present, I still possess no clue.
However, it's been getting brighter and brighter with each passing day, so I have to assume that something really good is going to happen.
Hell, maybe a lot of good is going to happen - I just might get lucky.



Just stay upbeat, roll with the punches, and keep a stiff lip if things head south - that's all I have to do to get to that shining beacon, really.
Oh, and play lots and lots of video games and literally do nothing in-between now and then.

Let's start with spamming more Super Street Fighter IV 3D, shall we?

Hehehe.

3DS3DS3DS3DS3DS3DS3DS3DS3DS3DS

If the title wasn't any indicator, today's entry will be about... the new Nintendo 3DS.

HOLY. SHIT. That's all I have to say for right now.
It's that fun, it's that amazing, and once the 3-D settings are fully calibrated to the user, wow-spawning (as in people using a 3DS that's been calibrated will utter "wow).

My only complaint so far is the short battery life compared to other DS systems (3-5 hours whereas even the OLD DS had up to nine hours...), but other than that, it's amazing.

I should probably invest in a car charger since I play with this thing a lot.

And the future release of Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some practice to do.
*goes off to play Super Street Fighter IV 3D*

That Peculiar Feeling

This may sound crazy, but I think I have some sense of extra-sensory perception.
I mean, I just get these vibes that echo around the city... and I pick up on them and get a read on how things are going around.
Kinda like how people supposedly give off an aura... and how people can feel the energies and moods of others.

Yeah... I know. I sound crazy, but... then again, I am.

Point is, something tells me that I'm going to have a decent night.
I don't know what's going to happen, bu that's what I'm reading.

Time for me to get ready for something good, then, huh?

Hole

Sometimes plans go through exactly the way you want them to.
Sometimes those plans end up going south.
And sometimes the plans that don't end well spiral out of control.

In those rare cases where recovery seems all but possible, it always makes you wonder what would have happened if things ended differently... if different choices were made.
Oftentimes one asks if they would still go through with their plans had they known that this would be the end result, and usually the answer is "no."

But then there's those stubborn fools who refuse to admit defeat and end up digging a deeper grave than they originally had dug.
Whether it be due to misplaced judgment or a very big issue relating to pride... nobody knows but the person in the hole.



However, it's not the choices that the person made that got them in their troublesome situation that determine character. Rather, it's how they get themselves out of it that do.



As such... let's see what my character looks like after I climb out of this hole...

Of Fries and Rice

Today seems like one of those days where I want to cook fried rice.
Unfortunately, I neither have fries or rice. Makes me depressed...

...and at the same time, it makes me hungry.

Which is a good thing, because I've been meaning to cook myself a mean batch of my awesome fried rice again.
I don't know when I'll be doing it, but when I do... oh, maaaaaaaaaaan, will it be amazing.

But it's only a dream until I have time... and money... and foodstuffs to cook for the fried rice.

Oh, and maybe fries and rice.

Three-Point-Five Days Too Long

Today's entry is a simple one: the 3DS is (counting today) a mere three-and-a-half days from launch!
And I will have one and have super special fun time playing Super Street Fighter IV on it!

(I couldn't think of anything to talk about...)

Metal Gear Solid > Writing?

Normally, I'd have something to post, but... Metal Gear Solid 3!

And my friends have never seen it!

Plot developments away!

Gettin' Schooled in His Own Game

Afternoon, everyone. I know, I know - what the heck was up with yesterday's entry?
I still don't know, but unfortunately, I'm not disclosing any information - that's not what I feel like raving about today.

*shoves Poké Balls in everyone's faces*

Right now on Pokémon: White, I just defeated the fourth gym in the game, and as an expert of the series, I have to say... I'm getting my butt handed to me.

(Author's Note: This blog delves deeply into Pokémon theorycraft and what not, so non-Trainers are advised to stay away... or keep reading if you want to see my expertise/nerdism. =P)

 

Around this point on each of my Pokémon journeys, I tend to have a well-rounded team of four or five Pokémon whose varied types allowed me to battle all kinds of opponents.
However, this time, my team seems shoddy compared to what I would have had.
Now, I'm not saying my Pokémon suck (heavens, no! I can't say that about my teammates!), but strategically, they're not faring so well.



As of today, here's what my team looks like:


Dewott (Aquos) Lv.28
TYPE: Water
ABILITY: Torrent (powers up Water moves whenever HP falls below 33%)

Zebstrika (Volgin) Lv.28
TYPE: Electric
ABILITY: Lightning Rod (absorbs Electric attacks and powers up Special Attack)

Petilil (Nellington) Lv.28
TYPE: Grass
ABILITY: Own Tempo (cannot be confused)



Now, the fourth gym in Black and White's Unova region is an Electric-type gym, which gave me problems when I first encountered the trainers inside a few days ago.
Trainers can easily see why I'd be having difficulty, but to the non-Trainers or the beginners out there who're still reading, I'll explain what difficulties my team had:

Dewott:
Aquos' problem is glaringly obvious, even to non-Trainers.
Water's a big no-no when it comes to electricity - both in real life and in the world of Pokémon.
The irony here is that Aquos had the only move I could've used to sweep the floor - Dig (a Ground-based move, which are strong against Electric-types) - and yet he was too slow to outrun the faster, more nimbler Electric guys.

Zebstrika:
Volgin's concern was that he himself is also Electric-type - which can pose to be a bit of a problem.
While he'd be completely immune to everyone thanks to Lightning Rod, his move pool wouldn't be of much help, either.
Thing is, he does have a Fire-type move in his arsenal (Flame Charge), but that alone wouldn't have done much - especially if half the Pokémon in the gym have Static (may paralyze Pokémon that come into contact with you) as their ability...

Petilil:
Trainers might be questioning why Nellington also was a challenge to use here as well.
As she's a Grass-type, she's naturally resistant to Electric attacks.
However, she did have two shortcomings when this gym became my goal:

1. Being a pure Grass-type means a more limited move pool.
   Unfortunately, all Petilil (and in turn, their evolved form Liligant) can only learn Grass-type attacks... and while that may be good, it also means I can't do well against the new Electric/Flying Pokémon Emolga... and the gym packed those flying squirrels in spades.
2. Grass-types tend to suffer from poor defensive and speed stats - especially if they're not evolved.
   As such, Nellington was usually the first one to get smacked - and it only got worse when I found out the gym leader had her own Zebstrika that also knew Flame Charge...

But, by sheer luck and amazing persistence, I was able to down the gym with the three I had.
Thank goodness.



Okay, well... I think I've done enough Pokémon training (and in turn, ranting) for today.
Time to get lunch and prepare for work!

Until the 'morrow, everyone!

What Happens When Friends Hijack a Blog

(Author's Note: The following entry was caused by two of my friends, who - after a very long and arduous conversation about invading my room, knocking me unconscious and cleaning my room for me (and then following through with it) - found my laptop powered on and decided to "hack" into my blog. As such, this entry was "tarnished" and "tagged" and utterly vandalized, but right before I went in a fit of rage and wanted to explode at them once I regained consciousness, I decided, "What the heck? Let's keep this here for posterity and silliness." I apologize in advance for their seemingly crack-induced raving and random typing, but hey - I was the one who left my laptop on, right?)






heeasafgh kjosh is fat!!!!!!

so we couldn't think of a title for today's entry.
So.. here's the truth.
This blog is nothing but THE TRUTH. That's right. All of it.
Including the part that says it isn't. Because it is.



CURRENT MUSIC:
Miley Cyrus - "Party in the USA"
Dont really fucking know. Or care. But she's hot.
*drools*

I'm a homo. Which is why I'm listening to this. Really. Would the white knight lie to you? Would the white knight say what we told him for crack?
White Knight- "No."
Us- "We don't think so either." *Passes a bag*
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-poop

On a different note, poop. Which is the word of the day. And the object. And the meal.
The origins of poop are fairly archaic. Beginning of time really. Something like that. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION, WHAT IS POOP? Let see what websters has to say-

Poop, n.- an enclosed superstructure at the stern of a ship above the main deck.


...aaaaand fuck your couch.





So, how's it going, everyone? It's been a long day of clea-STAN SAYS BAAAA-ning, but guess what? I'm just about done!
Now I get to go through this rain (yeah, it's raining - heavily, might I add) and go to work and get paid for it.
Woo.

But first, I'd like to say the following... Poop.

I like being fat. It keeps me warm at night, and keeps those creepy girls away.




Until the yesterday, everyone! Poop.
When I walk around in my underwear poop. Windows poop open, blinds down poop, pants optional. Party over here! Poop.





(Author's Note: I'll be frank: I have NO idea what is it with my friends' fascination with the word "poop." Aw, hell; now I'm saying it. Poop. *sighs*)

One Week... Two Dead... Three Cheers for the Assassin Game

Well, the Assassin game is going somewhat slowly as I predicted, but these sorts of games take time and well-thought plans.

I'm not surprised, but at the same time, for a game this small, I like how it's going. It's the perfect speed.

I think I'm going to start another round pretty soon... and boy, will it be even better.

Of course, we'll have to wait for the other players of this round to get offed...

And speaking of getting offed, I'm off to work! Woo, money!

Non Sequitur 1: "Who are the Patriots?"

I decided that for today's entry, I was just going to rant about random things (in no particular order) and just call it today's blog entry.
Quick one-shot flash writes that could incorporate any and all topics... call it cryptic nonsense, if you will.
Granted, it qualifies as an entry - and at the same time, I get to clear my head with all these random thought chains that keep popping into my head.

As for the "subject" I put up there: this entry has nothing to do with the question I asked.
Of course, you can go ahead and ignore that and assume there's an underlying meaning behind it, but there isn't - I just wanted something to go up there to throw people off, and that was the first thing that came to mind when coming up for today's entry's title.

So now that you know that, perhaps the title makes a little more sense.
Then again... maybe not.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Capcom Sound Team - "Guile Stage"
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers Soundtrack

Quite possibly one of the most iconic theme songs for any Street Fighter character.
It screams strength and pride - something that Guile (and any American fighter in a fighting game) has.

Of course, the fact that last year it was the subject of an infamous YouTube meme called "Guile Theme Goes with Everything" (where random clips from movies, television shows and video games have their music replaced by this particular track) just adds to its awesomeness.

When the meme first started, I wanted to make my own videos myself - I had a few ideas of my own that weren't on YouTube at the time (and as far as I can see, they still aren't).

Here's an experiment: grab this track (make sure it's the original one - the others don't sound quite as awesome) and play it whenever you're doing something - whether it be something mundane as getting your friend out of a boring international business meeting or something crazy like surviving electrical torture.
I guarantee it'll make whatever you're doing seem more epic.


Godsmack - "Whiskey Hangover"
The Oracle

A song about drinking and loving it, plain and simple. From the sound of the lyrics, it also sounds like an appropriate counter for drinkers to use against those who say that drinking's bad for you.

Pretty awesome to blare on the car stereo, too.


Van Halen - "Jump"
1984

Great way for me to start my morning.
I don't know what it is about this song, but it empowers me. If I hear it within the first hour of me waking up, I'll usually end up with a surge of energy, and if I'm tired I'll get revitalized the more this song plays.

Plus, I wanna learn the keyboard part. Been craving something fun to learn on the piano for a while, and I think I found it.




"Why I'm not wearing any pants isn't important. Let's just say I took some Scourge shrapnel in the wrong place and leave it at that, okay?"
- Ambo Cash
(World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King)

Trust me: I didn't ask.
(To you WoW junkies wondering who this guy is, he's some random human NPC in Dragonblight.)



"Just one question, though. IS there a way to take off my pants?"
- Naked Snake
(Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

The only appropriate response to this question would be the words "Say WHAT!?"





Hey, everyone. Like I said in the intro, I'm just going to rant about random stuff.
Some of it can be serious; some of it light-hearted; some of it ridiculous and sanity-questioning; all of it true-talk from the innards of my mind.
Let's get started, shall we?
 
(DISCLAIMER: The White Knight is not responsible for any lapses of judgment or aneurysms you may incur after reading all of this. Care should be taken to make sure you realize that this is all just text. Text with potential underlying meanings. Text that might just be text to confuse you for no reason other than to make me happy because I posted something.)





Of Time...

Sometimes I wish I had all the time in the world to do whatever.
Then I think to myself... once I finish all I want to do, what next?
Is it because I currently lack the time management skills to complete all the tasks at hand?

Or is it because I'm looking at it all wrong?



I Need Scissors! 61!

"I was a North American Fall Webworm in my past life. Those were the good old days... what were you in your former life?"



What Am I Afraid Of?

21 and still haven't done things I could've done eons ago.
I don't know whether to call myself prudish or just plain sad...

Makes me wonder if any of it will be done before the time I hit 22.
Time will tell, but so will my actions. Am I correct in this hypothesis so far?

My question is this: in the future, should I fall... would I actually be falling, or am I just in love with the concept of falling?

It's one of the questions I have yet to answer for myself, and it haunts me for failing to do so.



Metal Gear HAIKU
(by Josh D. "Whitey" Blanco)


Metal Gear Solid:
Series with cryptic meanings
Meme, gene, scene, and sense



I Need a New Chair...

My current computer chair seems to sink randomly about 75% of the time. It's ridiculous how many times I have to adjust the damn thing, and for someone who's completely nitpicky about having zero distractions while trying to actually work (that's a first), this is driving me nuts.

Sadly, it's barely been a year since I got it.
No, I don't abuse the chair, nor do I do anything stupid like land my butt on in with force.
It just one day decided to off itself and now I have to suffer with it.

While we're talking about the need of a new chair, perhaps I should look into those plastic things they put on carpets so chairs can roll more easily... those would help, too...



The 3DS Needs to Come Out Faster

Seriously. My slowly-dying DSi just lost functionality with its L-Button.
While my friends and I are attributing the button failures to dust, I don't have the means (or the know-how) to safely dismantle a DSi without frying the circuit boards by accident.

I should invest in one of those anti-static bracelets, huh?

And I should look for more old games I don't play anymore so I can get some more in-store credit.
Having to pay less for an awesome handheld console is always a good thing.

Oh, and maybe I should pre-order one of the 3DS launch titles. Maybe Super Street Fighter IV or something like that, because that Metal Gear Solid game they're planning won't be out for a while...



What's In a Name?

One of the fun things about playing any Pokémon game is the naming of caught Pokémon.
While others think of random nicknames that work (and show off the creative intelligence of a six-year-old), I tend to either have lesser-known references to other things, actual names that I'd like to name my future children, or fusion names that combine a few qualities of the previously mentioned reasons (or just plain sound awesome.

Heh. Look at me, still dreaming about the future when the present is such a mess.

But anyway, names. They're fun, and they're meaningful, and when I get to name something, I put a good amount of thought into it.

(I'm going to sound like such a dork with the following words, but eh.)

Examples of names my Pokémon have include:

Alexia (Gardevoir - from my Pokémon: Platinum Version team)
Gardevoir are described as powerful Psychic-type Pokémon that can feel the emotions of others around them.
Their emotional bonds with their trainers are to the point where they will sacrifice their lives to protect them.
And Alexia happens to be a variant of the name Alexandra, a Greek name meaning "defender of men." I thought it fitting.

Nellington (Lilligant - from my Pokémon: White Version team)
Lilligant have a certain unique grace to their appearance, so I wanted a rather unique name for mine when I caught one.
As far as I know, nobody has the name Nellington (though it may exist as a surname), and so I chose that.
The name in my opinion seems strong and serene at the same time, and it has the capability to be shortened to a nickname: Nelly.
(I'll be honest: should I have a daughter, this name is going up as a contender.)

Panzer Rex (Rampardos - from my Pokémon: Diamond Version team)
A combination of German and Latin that, when translated to English, literally mean "tank king."
Rampardos' look just screams Tyrannosaurus, and with the highest unmodified base Attack stat in the game, it has the power to boot any contenders out of its way.

Voidwalker (Gengar - from my Pokémon: Soul Silver Version team)
My Gengar's namesake comes from the voidwalkers of World of Warcraft, sentient demonic energy resembling gaseous humanoids.
Since both draw upon and use energy in a dark and sinister manner (a voidwalker's touch can summon extreme mental anguish, and Gengar are said to feed off the suffering and life force of its victims), I thought the similarities were good enough for this referential name.



I (Still) Want a Vuvuzela! Like, MEOW!

For those of you who for some reason didn't watch any of the FIFA 2010 World Cup last year, you missed out on the biggest blessing-slash-curse to hit the earth: the introduction of the vuvuzela.

When the World Cup was on TV, all anyone could hear were the announcers and the vuvuzelas, causing much annoyance to the world population. Hell, even Middle Earth found them annoying.

While I will admit that they're a literal ear-sore, I still wanted to get my hands on one.
It got to the point where I started asking desperately for one (ask my friends - they know what was on the top of my wish lists for my 21st birthday and Christmas last year) and began to "threaten" everyone who didn't get me one to eternal random doom*.

And here's the scary part about this "threat": I'm dead serious.

* = The "threat" goes like this: the moment I get a vuvuzela from someone, everyone else will be subject to what I call a "vuvuzela drive-by," where I pay someone to drive me around to everyone else's place of residence (at a random time of my choosing) and blare the vuvuzela. Should I get angry yelling or a pissed-off phone call within the first 15 seconds, I will deem my "hit" successful and go on my merry way.



I Need Money

...but don't we all?





Well, that about wraps up my first non sequitur. I'll spare everyone from more of this for today...
Until the 'morrow, everyone!

White Knight Live: In-N-Out

Getting dinner with friends is fun.

Getting dinner at a fast food place that I like... even better.

As the title reports, I'm currently at In-N-Out, a fast food chain exclusive to California* and a business considered part of Californian culture.
Simple burgers, simple fries, and a Coke to drink with something.
Tasty.

I pity non-Californians sometimes... because they'll never get this place...

* = In recent years, other states have been lucky enough to get an In-N-Out or two of their own, including Arizona and Nevada.

Now if you'll excuse me... *happily noms down a Double-Double*

=D

Cleaning = TEH SUCK

(Yes.. . the title's typo was intentional.)

Cleaning SUCKS.

It takes too much time and effort, and if you ever tell yourself that you want to clean up something, you'll regret it about ten seconds into the job.
Unless, of course, you're getting mad money for it, or come across some nice things while cleaning.

Unfortunately, neither has happened to me so far, so it's an arduously lame job that I'm going to procrastinate on until tomorrow and instead go off and do an actual job that I get paid for.



*mutters to self* ...can't believe I spent all morning and afternoon working on this crap...

White Knight Live: US101 - Los Angeles

If there is one thing that can be considered "good" about the incessantly endless Los Angeles traffic*, it's that one has time to post something on their blog when all the vehicles come to a standstill.

This, of course, can only be done if you're not the one driving.

At the time of typing this up, I was at the edge of Los Angeles, going through a highway merge.
It's rather an interesting experience in the fact for the first time in years, I'M NOT DRIVING IN THIS QUAGMIRE.
Feels liberating... almost exotic.

And now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to laughing as I people watch these bad drivers of the greater Los Angeles county...



* = "GOOD" Los Angeles traffic!? HAH!

Social Sushi

So I was thinking of things I haven't done in forever and a thought occurred to me:
I haven't gone out to get sushi with a bunch of friends in, like, forever!
(Yeah, I went valley girl on you.)

It sounds like a great idea. Great way to spend an hour or two... eating food, having some laughs, catching up with others who you haven't seen in a while... always nice.
Not to mention... sushi.

And yeah... part of this train of thought's due to me wanting sushi. Like, badly.



...anyone want to donate me some sushi? =D

Mental Plasma Infusion

So a long and toiling day at work is rewarded with me getting to go home and play Pokémon: White all night.
This is good. This is really good.

Why? Well... for one, it's Pokémon. Enough said.

That, and over lunch, I was playing some more and leveling my team (so far, Oshawott's the only one making the cut) and I ran into the primary antagonists in this game: Team Plasma.

Okay, now some of you are probably going, "What? 'Plasma?' Sounds even stupider than 'Team Galactic!' They're just as pea-brained, aren't they?"
Not necessarily. On the outside they seem just as jacked up as their counterparts from the other games (the infamous and well-known Team Rocket from the first and second games, Team Magma and Team Aqua from the third generation, and Team Galactic from the fourth), but these guys seem to be a bit... interesting.

They claim to be liberating Pokémon from the human race.

Sounds weird, but at the same time, I got intrigued.
These guys actually think they're doing good, and at the same time it seems like a legitimate argument, but at the same time, their methodology... hrm.



It got me thinking about something else... my Spring Break.
It starts the moment it hits midnight, but one thing has stopped me from fully enjoying it.
(Most people would guess work, but no; it's a question.)



Of all the things I put down on my to-do list for Spring Break... why the hell is "Clean my Room" on the top?

Brought Out of a White Retirement

So as most of you know, I got a copy of Pokémon: White Version yesterday.
I haven't even received my first gym badge and I'm surprised at how I'm already hooked on it.

Sure, this might be attributed to my addictive personality, but, I think there's more to that, personally.



Among my friends, I was always considered the Pokémon expert and an excellent PokéBreeder.
No matter the question, no matter the problem, I was always able to help people out with their Pokémon-related problems.
Of course, my work would have to end sometime, and I slowly began playing my Pokémon games less and less (it was around the time I picked up World of Warcraft).
And sure enough, sometime during the autumn of 2010, I announced to my friends that I retired from the Pokémon scene and pretty much stopped playing.

I'm going to be honest - when I first heard of White and Black, I was a tad concerned with the then-upcoming fifth generation of games.
I mean, when I retired, there were officially 493 Pokémon in the world, and the fifth generation games planned on extending that number to 649.
Not only that, but from the images I saw, it looked as though the concept developers were beginning to run out of Pokémon design ideas.
I put in a pre-order anyway (because let's face it: I'm a die-hard Pokémon fan, retired or not) and began thinking, "Sure, this could help with a new mass of people being introduced to Pokémon, but... will it work? Will it be critically successful (because we all know it'll be commercially successful) and be able to keep the attention of both amateur trainers and Pokémon veterans alike?"

Sunday, March 6, 2011 would prove to answer my questions.
Not only did it sell well (my friends at my local GameStop told me it was packed almost all day, and the sales figures I've seen were pretty damn high), but from the reviews I read, it was also successful.
What's more, some of my friends from work and elsewhere who I'd never picture playing a Pokémon game right now picked up a copy and told me they liked it.

So yesterday, I decided to do good on my pre-order (until release day, I was considering shifting my pre-order to some other game) and picked up my copy of White.
I like it so far.
True, my fears about the developers starting to lose Pokémon design ideas were true, but apart from that (and a few personal in-game option gripes - why did they remove the "'L Button' can be used as 'A'" option? LOVED that...) it seems to work rather well.



I guess today's entry has one message I'd really like to get across:

Pokémon: White Version has officially brought me out of retirement.

What this means for the players out there varies, but here's what I see:

• an interesting choice of Pokémon amongst the new ones (from what I scanned of the PokéDex, there's a few I'm definitely interested in - shame they're showing up mid-game)
• people will probably be hitting me up for Pokémon-related questions again really soon (already getting them at work)
• I need to do my research on which Pokémon will actually be capable of true combat (like the old 151, some look badass, but compared to others, they're lackluster in stats)
• I need to research names (I'm a fan of giving my Pokémon awesome names)

Fufufufufufu... now, I have a lot of catching up to do, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be playing White and fetching some foodstuffs before I clock in at work.



Oh, and in case you're wondering, I chose Oshawott (Water-type) as my starter. Always been a fan of the Water-type starters (although Torchic and Cyndaquil were pretty awesome, too).



Pokémon-training... awaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Fifth Generation Funtime

Some good news I got today that I'd love to share with y'all today!
Squee~! (Yes, I said "squee." Whatcha gonna do about it?)

• PAY DAY!
• I got my copy of Pokémon: White Version* finally!
• For the first time in over a year-and-a-half, my car's gas tank reads "full." Kinda crappy how I had to spend $35 to do it, but... eh.

And now to do stuff before I have to go to work. Oh, yay.

* = "I thought you retired." Why, yes, I did. "Why'd they bring you out of retirement, then?" Fufufufu... you'll see in due time, trainer. You'll see soon enough.

Lazy Days

They're awesome. I think this entry signifies that. =P

Until the 'morrow...

Strategies

Strategies often rely on knowing what you have and knowing how to use it when the time comes.

Unfortunately, when that time comes, it's usually never to your advantage.

In my case for today, what I have is a lot of things to do.
What I don't have... is time. (Gee, what a shocker.)

So I'll leave this entry brief for today.

Here's the run-down (in case you wanted it...):

• GoldenEye (the movie - hehehe)
• WoW TCG preparations
• Assassin preparations
• music sorting
• work

Yay, work. At least it's money... right? And that's a decent strategy.

I Couldn't Repel Awesomeness of That Magnitude!

You know, after a long day of thinking about stuff and trying to write things down, I asked myself something:

"When was the last time I saw Star Wars?"

I didn't have an answer, so instead of hearing me rant about random things (my original idea for a blog), I'm just going to leave you with this message:

"IT'S A TRAP!"

Thanks, Admiral Ackbar. Now I know what to look for.
Ciao, all! *goes to watch the Original Trilogy*

The Official "Hate List" of Josh D. "Whitey" Blanco - The Expanded Summaries

So yesterday I posted my official hate list, comprised of the things I hate most in the world (and the French).
While there's a decent amount of humor and logic in this list, what I say here is all truth.

Anyway, I noted that while I posted the list yesterday, I lacked the time to post my reasons why each item's on the list.
And since it's Monday, I have a bit more time to write stuff down... which means an expanded summary as to why each thing is on the list!





The Official "Hate List" of Josh D. "Whitey" Blanco
(Last Update Code: 201103061337)



1.) Anyone Who Has Emotionally Fucked Me Over
This has always been at the top of my hate list for obvious reasons.
I mean, getting wrenched and screwed over to the point where you think you'd never recover... ugh.
Of course, there's a sub-list for this "Hate List" entry, but it's on a high security clearance.
Like, "secret" classified.
(Although I'm pretty sure that the list is pretty well-known in more public channels. *rolls eyes*)

2.) Being Called "Joshua" or ANY Pet Name Derivative
Oh, this one drives me nuts.
Sure, "Joshua" is my legal name, but I HATE it. And I mean that.
If you want to sour my mood, all you have to do is call me... that name... or any pet name derived from... that name.
Oh, some of you might recall that I said that about three people have clearance to ignore this part of the "Hate List."
To have earned that right, people need...
...oh, I can't declassify that information yet.


3.) Singles' Awareness Day
Otherwise known as February 14: Valentine's Day.
While I may vie for reasons related to corporate crap or romantic issues, the issue's relatively unknown.
Okay, I lied - the info's out there.
It's been on my blog here before, and whenever people ask about my hatred for Singles' Awareness Day, I usually tell 'em.
So either scroll back on my past entries, or ask me in person.

4.) Christmas & New Year's
I usually cite the same reasons for hating Singles' Awareness Day when I cite the reasons why I hate these two holidays.
There's a bit more behind it, though, and it's still classified.


5.) Justin Bieber
ENOUGH SAID. Honestly, whenever I have to work on reshop at work and am forced to handle anything related to that snot-nosed punk, I have this compulsory urge to douse my hands in disinfectant. *shudders*
(Watch: since I've made public, anonymous commenting possible on this blog, I'm going to start getting threatening message from rabid and unintelligent fangirls.)

6.) People Lacking Grammar and/or Spelling Skills
As an English major (or hopeful one), I find it rather annoying whenever I encounter typos or incorrect punctuation usage.
Honestly, I think I suffer from a conniption and die a little whenever I see one because I have to fight the urge to go all grammar/spelling Nazi on whoever created the error.
(And yes, I know I'm not perfect, either, but... it drives me nuts when I see how ineffective our education system's becoming...)

7.) The Twilight Franchise
While I respect how Stephenie Meyer decided to write a series of stories, get her work out to the world and become famous, I do not respect the aftermath of it.
I mean, between the horribly-directed movies (the filming minor in me wants to puke every time I encounter a copy of any Twilight movie at work) and the depraved, intelligence-lacking fangirls (and sadly, fanboys - I know they exist out there) who longingly vie for whatever team of idiocy they crave more... I don't know whether to go on a vigilante crusade and eliminate them, or isolate them all and nuke them to oblivion when I take over the world.

8.) The Star Wars Prequels
When I was young and stupid, I loved when the prequels came out - I wanted to see the story of Anakin Skywalker and how he became the James Earl Jones-voiced badass we all know as Darth Vader.
We all got that - in a horribly-scripted form that makes those amateur video game parody videos that 15- and 16-year-olds make out of boredom look GOOD.
Honestly, George Lucas should've just stuck with the original three (for you Star Wars newbs out there: it's A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), kept their awesomeness, and transitioned that into the prequels WITHOUT killing the inner children of the film critics or the people who grew up with the original trilogy (read: anyone ten or older at the release of The Phantom Menace).
Now, if you're going to fight me on this issue (sadly, I know a few uneducated people who probably would), I will refer to you the Star Wars Plinkett Reviews on Red Letter Media.
If you can stomach the dark humor and the lengthy time (each one clocks in on at least an hour), you'll see what I mean - his points are concise and will shame you into wondering "How could I ever consider Empire to be the worst one?"

9.) The French
The only reason why they're here is because I had to insert an obvious joke here.
I totally respect France and everything, but come on - America loves to make fun of France and its constant defeat rate when it comes to the history of French warfare.
Of course, when I recite the "Hate List," I usually make my tone sound as if I'm dead serious, so to counter that, I have a sub-list attached to this, consisting of the exceptions of my French "hatred" and what not:
- Alizée Jacotey
- the GIGN (France's special operations counter-terrorism unit)
- anyone involved with FIDE (the international chess federation)
- the FAMAS assault rifle (and by extension: anyone involved with its development)
- French wine (some meals are incomplete without the stuff)

10.) The Cadillac Escalade
Honestly, whenever I see this "luxury" SUV on the road, I have this urge to make their lives a living hell.
To those of you who own an SUV: you know how once in a while there's that jackass in a compact car who decides to go at the speed limit and block your way around, forcing you to attempt to overtake them only to realize they were being slow on purpose and decided to accelerate so that they're going slightly faster than you, making you pull up behind them again and tailgate 'em?
*smiles evilly* That's me. Learn to use a vehicle that doesn't make you look like a pompous jackass, and - more importantly - LEARN HOW TO DRIVE.
Honestly, between your constant lane-swerving in busy traffic without signalling, your lack of ability to park properly (I see your damn vehicles double-parked ALL THE TIME), your inability to realize that SUVs are not compact vehicles, and your impression that since you have a giant piece of soon-to-be scrap metal it's totally safer for me to be a jerk and ignore the rules of the road... I... I hate you.
(Of course, I don't do this to every SUV, but heaven forbid if I encounter you in an Escalade... I WILL make your driving experience a living hell, and if I know you... I WILL DISOWN YOU.)





Aaaaaaaaaaaaand there you go... an insight into an insight into my life.
Until the 'morrow, everyone.

The Official "Hate List" of Josh D. "Whitey" Blanco

I joke around once in a while with my friends and co-workers about things I hate.
Now, while that sounds immature and petty, I know that lots of us have one.

If you're shaking your head "no," then snap out of your denial streak - you do. *wry grin*

Anyway, I couldn't sleep last night - a decent amount of thinking and an equal amount of Mountain Dew will do that to you.
And as I was thinking, I realized that my list was not only real - but somewhat humorous.
Also, it provides a great insight into my mind and everything.
So I decided to start working on my official "Hate List" and decided, "Hey, it'd be pretty funny to share this with the world!"



So, as I'm rushed to prep for work today (early afternoon shift = stress from Sunday shoppers), I will simply leave you with the list as I've composed it thus far.

Keep in mind that these hatreds are real (unless otherwise noted).


So, without further ado...!





The Official "Hate List" of Josh D. "Whitey" Blanco
(Last Update Code: 201103061337)



1.) Anyone Who Has Emotionally Fucked Me Over

2.) Being Called "Joshua" or ANY Pet Name Derivative
(unless you've had personal clearance from me - and so far maybe three people have been granted that)

3.) Singles' Awareness Day
(otherwise known as February 14: Valentine's Day)

4.) Christmas & New Year's

5.) Justin Bieber

6.) People Lacking Grammar and/or Spelling Skills

7.) The Twilight Franchise

8.) The Star Wars Prequels

9.) The French
(This is actually a joke; in reality I totally respect France. I'll explain tomorrow.)

10.) The Cadillac Escalade






As much as I'd love to expand on all of this, I simply lack the time to do so right now (thank you, work).
However, I promise that I'll do so tomorrow. You have my word.

J'en ai marre!

If you know French, you've probably figured out that... I don't know French well enough.
Granted, I think I translated correctly. It should mean something akin to "I've had enough!" but... *shrugs*

But in all honesty, I'm not pissed off at anything.
...well... maybe the rising gas prices here, but other than that, I'm good. I just needed a title.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Alizée - "J'en ai marre!"
Mes Courants Électriques

Yeah, you're reading that right. French pop.
And people thought I was kidding when I boast around about having virtually every genre in my music collection*.

I'm sidetracking here.

While searching for a title for today's entry, I couldn't help but notice that I couldn't come up with either a topic to discuss nor could I think of a title.
As if on cue, Winamp suggested something when it shuffled songs around and brought me to listen to "J'en ai marre!"
Now, even though I already said I wasn't angry with anyone (barring rising gasoline prices), I thought the song title to be somehow fitting. (The fact that it sounded interesting as a post title helped, too. =P)





Well, today seems like it's going to be a good day. It's a Saturday, and the last day of my current pay cycle for next week's paycheck.
Weather appears to be anything but inclement, leftover cheese pizza lunch sitting in my stomach, French pop blaring from my laptop (Mes Courants Électriques is currently on rotation), random Metal Gear Solid-related Youtube videos playing when Alizée isn't singing, killing time by doing stuff instead of writing.

Life seems great today.

With work right around the corner, I think I'm just about ready to call this post quits.



Let's see what's in store for tonight, though:

• work
• work (again)
• more work (again)
• chaos at work (them guests are painful en masse)
• Alizée (odds are I'm going to blare her stuff after work)
• World of Warcraft TCG session (yes, I play - and I'm one hell of a Death Knight/Paladin)
• Denny's (because food is always good)
• work (because the wonderful world of retail has found a way to make me work outside of work), and
• sleep

Heh. It'll be fun. Until the 'morrow, everyone!

Birthing Discovery

Once again I find myself being hit with a surge of boredom and apathy.

Now, normally, this would just mean that I've been thinking too much and fried my thought processes, but for today's case, it went differently.

I woke up and tried thinking of something to do to entertain myself before I had to go to work.
And for some reason, nothing seemed fun.
Not reading, not watching How I Met Your Mother, not World of Warcraft... not even ranting on this blog about boredom.



So I turned to the one thing I knew would sate my "do something" mindset and kill time while slowly inspiring me to "do something" with myself for the day: a variant of "The Wiki Game."

If you're too lazy to click the link, here's how The Wiki Game works:

1. Select a starting page on Wikipedia (or have it selected randomly somehow).
2. Randomly find another page on Wikipedia.
3. Get from the starting page to the other page with as few clicks as possible.

Personally, I think it's a fun game - it's somewhat educational, and it promotes out-of-the-box thinking.
Not to mention that you can create interesting chains from topic A to topic B with this game. (My challenge to you: get from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to former U.S. President William Howard Taft. Last time I tried this, I think I failed miserably and had triple-digits in my clicking.)

My variant is different, as I use it to come up with an idea for writing.

1. Select a starting page consisting of a topic I enjoy.
2. Read until I find a link to another interesting-sounding topic.
3. Repeat Step 2 until inspiration strikes.

Now, for today's game, I'm going to be frank: I honestly can't remember where I started.
When I first started to compose this entry, I had about 20-30 open tabs from Wikipedia alone, and I was still thinking about raving about my boredom.
Then I noticed one of the tabs: "August 16."

If you haven't been stalking me enough already, I cite that particular day as "a day smack-dab in the middle of the most boring month of the year" (as there are no American holidays in August and that most American school districts - particularly the community college ones - start in the middle of that month) and, to a lesser extent, my birthday.

Prior to looking at that page, I knew that my birthday was shared with a few other people and events, including:

• a shared birthday with celebrities such as Madonna, Steve Carell, and Evanna Lynch (the girl who plays Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter movies)
• the death anniversaries of Elvis Presley and Pixar animator Joe Ranft
• a shared birthday with a cousin on my dad's side
• Joseph Kittinger's famous high-altitude jump in 1960 that set three still-unbroken world records
• two plane crashes, and
• a solar flare that popped up on my actual birthday in 1989 that apparently screwed up the Toronto stock market.

So, as a cure to help alleviate my boredom, I decided to research August 16 some more and see if I can find out some new things.
I did. And here's what I found interesting about what I found out about people and events that shared my birthday:

Sports Illustrated shares its birthday with me. The first SI published was on August 16, 1954.

The United States of America shouldn't fight battles (or at least fight the British) on August 16. American forces lost two battles - the 1780 Battle of Camden in the American Revolution, and the surrender of Fort Detroit in the War of 1812.

Of the two plane crashes that occurred on August 16 (1987's Northwest Airlines Flight 255 and 2005's West Caribbean Airways Flight 708), only one person survived.

Ray Chapman, a Cleveland Indian, is struck on the head in the August 16, 1920 game against the New York Yankees. He died the next day and is to-date the second person in the MLB to die from game injuries.

Many earthquakes and other natural disasters (most occurring due to earthquakes) seem to be drawn to August 16. I didn't bother listing them because there were too many.



Quite interesting. Kinda makes you want to check out your own birthday to see what it shares, huh?

Future Assassination Handling

Today's entry doesn't really focus on anything big, unlike yesterday's.
If anything, all I'm doing is testing the automatic posting feature that Blogger (or BlogSpot... I can't really tell any more, to be honest) looks like it features.

It's a weird feeling, leaving something such as a blog to be posted at a later date. Kind of like that weird feeling you get after composing something that's to be seen/read/heard after you pass on.

Gives me goosebumps, but... I suppose that's what happens when a post-mortem message is created.



Anyway...



With Spring Break soon approaching*, I've found that we need something to entertain the people that will be in town for a few days.

I know that not many people read this blog yet, and I'm okay with that (for now). But to those of you who do... I suggest watching your backs and practicing to do so...

* = March 14 is NOT an appropriate time to start Spring Break. -_-;;



...Assassin will be played. And people will be crushed by "10,000 lbs. weight" pillows, "poisoned" by wasabi-spiked sushi rolls, shot in the face with Nerf darts, or whatever suits the assassins' fancy.

I finished composing the basic rule sheets recently and posted it on a Facebook group I'm in charge of.
If anyone's interested, perhaps I'll post the rules here as well so you can try it with a local group of friends...



...but until then, be careful. You never know who got you as a target... *evil smile*

Insight on the White Knight

I suppose I owe it to the readers out there (yes, they exist) to post something decent.
And by "decent" I mean "something that provides a little bit more insight into my world and isn't one of those 'i r sick lolz' posts I've been doing for the past week-and-a-half."

Also, it's always nice to post something big like this every once in a while. Most times I end up with a bunch to say and I end up not posting due to a combination of apathy and lethargy.

Not today! I told myself I'd be posting a bunch on here today, and I intend on seeing that through to the end.



CURRENT MUSIC:
Incubus - "Drive"
Make Yourself

I often cite Incubus as one of the bands that got me into loving music.
Back when I was just becoming a teenager, all I listened to was techno and video game music.
While that was great (I got to dance, and I got exposed to cinematic-esque sound), I don't think that would've been great for me to just listen to only techno and video game music.

So when I was over at a cousin's house one day I turned on their XBox and popped in Counter-Strike.
As I fought online against other players and random bots (de_aztec was my map back in those days), I recalled hearing Incubus' A Crow Left of the Murder playing through.

At first I was complaining how the music detracted from my concentration of carnage (yeah, that was a lie), but I got used to it and eventually came to like them.
So I looked up their discography and got a copy of it.

As I typed up today's blog, I had WinAmp blaring (like always) and it shuffled its way to "Drive," which can probably be considered as their most well-known song. Inspirational and mellow-sounding, it did its job as one of those songs that helped the words flow out of my fingertips.




"What if everything that you see is more than what you see - the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway - and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things."
          - Shigeru Miyamoto


In case the name is unfamiliar to you, Miyamoto is a famed video game developer and producer from Nintendo, responsible for creating famed franchises such as the Mario and Zelda games (among many others). If you required that history lesson, please go ahead and measure the rock you live under. I think it might surpass mine...

Anyway, I've always liked this quote. First mentioned in a Nintendo power, I remember seeing this statement on the back of my Nintendo GameCube box, and it always reminded me that video games always entranced me. Sure, they're fun and everything - but at the same time, it expanded upon my imagination and became a gateway to freedom and peace.
I opened the doorways that video games have provided me, and each time I did I was greeted with something new and exciting that I just couldn't believe. So much to revel at... and so much for my mind to expand on.





So, here's that blog I promised you all. Something meaty and juicy (or if you're vegetarian... something similar to that) for your minds to sink their teeth into as you read text on an online blog.

As I've slowly gained a small following (mostly consisting of people stalking me for various reasons), I've been asked a few questions in regards to this online chronicle.





What's with the title of this blog? "The White Knight Chronicles?" Really?

Firstly, a few people questioned the meaning behind the title "The White Knight Chronicles."
Some speculated that it was a direct reference to the PlayStation 3 game White Knight Chronicles that came out a little over a year ago.
Subconsciously I know I probably heard of it a few times before the start of 2011, but it never crossed my mind (it didn't seem that interesting to me, personally - and from what I've been told it's a somewhat lukewarm game).

I'll assure you right now: it's not. It was a pure coincidence that I chose my title as it is. Rather, it's a reference to myself.

(Author's Note: The following few paragraphs are my direct words and are based on what I've heard from others. As such, I'll leave it to you to determine what is truth and what is spurred-up legend from an exaggerated point-of-view.)

While I've never considered myself a saint (thank you, low self-esteem), many others have expressed their views of me as somewhat of a nice person.
A good number of people have told me I'm a genuinely good guy - big-hearted and selfless, always putting others' happiness before my own, that sort of thing.
If they're telling me this directly, I'll often rebuke their compliment with an off-hand remark about these positive characteristics being more of a curse (read: "Maybe I'm too kind...").
They counter back with a rebuttal of their own, and we laugh about it all and go on our merry lives.

As optimistic as I've been sounding all year thus far, I have to agree with my cynical side. While kindness can beget kindness, I've rarely seen it do so for me (or if it has, I've been waaaay too blind to see it).

Anyway, we're getting off-topic.

When I was coming up with a name for this blog, I thought to myself that maybe... just maybe... those people were actually speaking the truth and not just spouting crazy-talk.
Since I also wanted to stay more upbeat about things, I figured that I might as well try to interweave that whole "I'm really a nice guy" thing into the title.

So I asked myself, "What epitomizes these supposed qualities I possess?"
After about two seconds of deliberation, the first answer that popped into my mind was the term "knight."

Now, when I say "knight," I don't mean it by the archaic definition - the man clad in metallic armor who fought the medieval forces of evil and saved the damsel-in-distress.
I meant it by what the knight represented - the noble actions they performed, their virtuousness and dedication to the protection of the innocent, their benevolence that outshone the darkness that tried in vain to corrupt them.

To me, that's what a knight was - honorable and chivalrous. And while it still sounded like the archaic sword-and-shield definition, it possessed a modern, almost-extinct power that I've rarely seen in these dark days.
And that's when I decided to use the knight as a symbol.

But "knight" sounded plain to me - as a writer, I wanted to give it a bit of flair by throwing in an adjective.
Of course, what to use? I could use a powerful word, but how many would understand its meaning without the notion of self-righteousness rearing up?
So I settled on using a color as an adjective.

My first instinct was to go with "black," but I stopped myself. Despite how cool-sounding "black knight" was, I had to admit it was cliché.
That, and like I said before, I wanted to sound more positive.
Black has long signified negativity and despair, and while I felt as though I epitomized those things (I still think like that once in a while), I said "enough" to that.
Of course, there have been positive characters in fiction that sported the "black knight" motif, but those were few and far between (not to mention that I didn't think I could pull off that look well).

Then my second choice came up: red (or any variant thereof).
I figured that since I've had a wounded past, it would fit perfectly, but then I realized that using red or any variant of red was cliché as well.

I had to admit, though... crimson sounded nice. I associate crimson with the color of dried blood. Metaphorically for me, it meant that there were wounds before that hurt me a great deal, but it also meant that they were survivable and therefore necessary to build myself up to what I am now.

Then my third and final option came up: white.
White has long signified purity and innocence, and while I've long since traversed that path (sin and corruption did have the more entertaining road), I've always believed that a part of me - despite all the hardship and pain I've gone through - still possessed its cleanliness and virtue, no matter how tarnished I thought I was.

Yeah, I know - white's a cliché, and "white knight" is an even bigger one - but I wanted to look up and see a better future, and I figured that being a white knight would help me out, no matter how overplayed it was.

If anything, though, I can see an interesting metaphor here.
The "white knight" has always been seen as pure and noble, with no corruption in their hearts.
Obviously, I've fallen from grace (or so I tell myself), and I can't really label myself as a white knight.
But the essence I've carried with me always seemed like a black knight with a white heart... a darkened soul seeking redemption.

I'm going to go ahead and stop myself here. Any more exposition and I think I'm going to look like some overzealous religion nut - what, with all the "fall from grace" and "redemption" metaphors I've been using.

TL;DR: This is called "The White Knight Chronicles" because I wanted to tell my story - the one of a truth-seeking 21-year-old wanting to better himself and recording this journey in blog-format.
(P.S.: If you scrolled down and skipped that explanation and only read this, then congratulations: you're a jackass.)

But yeah; I'm hoping that got a little insight for all of you as to why I call this blog what I call it.





Why are you even doing this blog? You do realize nobody reads blogs anymore, right?

Well, I have to say that despite the diminished popularity of blogs, there are still people who enjoy this stuff.
I happen to enjoy writing, and some of my friends like reading things that chronicle their friends' lives.
Win-win.

Of course, in case people decided to jump on this boat without knowing its destination, here's my reasons for writing this blog:

1.) My "365 Days... 365 Blogs" project.
I have a goal for 2011: post one entry on each day of the year. Counting today's blog, I'm one for one. *thumbs up*

2.) Because I can.
Enough said.

3.) I know that even after completing "365 Days... 365 Blogs," I'll be writing in this still. 
I missed posting blogs, and I know people like reading this stuff.
They will read this for whatever reason they choose (ranging from "I'm really bored at work" to "Josh's life really does interest me; let's stalk him on the Internet!").
And since Blogger lets me make it so that I can make this public to the world (which may not be a good thing, but eh), that means anyone can read and comment on it. Which means people don't have to sign up for a Facebook or MySpace or whatever exists these days whenever I post on those social networking sites.

And that is why I post on here.





What the hell, Josh!? You said you'd be writing down what you did on each day! Take a look at <insert day here>; that's not telling me what happened to you on that day!

Oh, geez. I said I'd be posting on here once a day; not telling you every single excruciating detail of my seemingly mundane life.

Besides, in case you haven't noticed, most blogs don't even do that. They're just there for someone to vent their concerns about to random strangers on the Internet, and sometimes they don't even do that.
If anything, I say that each post I make here provides a bit of insight and commentary on my life and my spirit, and I think you should be happy that I'm being this open with you.





You do realize that your future ex-girlfriend will laugh at you for this blog, right?

I honestly only recall one person asking me this, but for their sake, I'll answer their question with a question of my own.

...what do you mean, "ex-girlfriend?" That's a mean thing to say, don't you think? =P





Hopefully, that little "questionnaire" has sated your thirst for knowledge pertaining to me.
And now I bid you all farewell until the 'morrow.

A Cellular Post

This blog for today is the first for March.

It's also the first blog I've ever composed fully on my cell phone.
While I don't have the luxury of formatting basics (such as making text italicized or bolded), I can still post, which is an important point if I want to succeed with my "365 Days... 365 Blogs" project.

So anyway, I just wanted to get this across. Yay, me. =D

Until the 'morrow, everyone. =)