Last Week Battle Plans

Lock and load, people - it's time to begin the final week of 2011! No one is going belly-up unless I say you can go belly-up! Suck in your [(post)-holiday] stomach - and I don't give a frak if it's full of all the delicious food you ate yesterday! This ain't no soup kitchen; this is WAR!

We have six days left until the (supposed) last year is upon us, so get your butts in shape and kick those Nazi scumbags execute the FTL jump get a move on READING, READER!





CURRENT MUSIC:
Satoru Kousaki - "Senjou no Ariake"
Lucky Star BGM & Radio Bangumi "Lucky Channel" no Digest wo Shuuroku Shita Special CD 6

Hehehehe... it's been a while since I've seen Lucky Star. As WinAmp shuffled through my music archive yesterday and today, parts of the slice-of-life series' soundtrack played. Out of those pieces, this one stands out considerably amongst the rest.

When you listen to this track by itself the first time, the possibility of "Senjou no Ariake" being from a war movie seems highly likely. There's a strong pulse of percussion and synthesized instruments in the background that set the tone for a mission briefing of sorts. Horns blare off a few lines that heighten the stress and the strings just seem to punctuate the whole "do or die" feeling that most mission briefings give off. As it ends, you wonder if the troops are going to execute this mission flawlessly... or if someone you care for is going to die.



But seeing as how this comes from Lucky Star, that theory is laughably tossed aside as the above video reveals. This militaristic track is used in humorous fashion as Konata (the blue-haired otaku) briefs twins Kagami and Tsukasa (the longer-haired one and the shorter-haired one, respectively) on the shopping plan for Comiket, Japan's famous doujinshi fair. She even closes the speech with one of those "this is the last time we'll see each other before the fight starts, so Godspeed" endings.

To those of you who watched the funny clip and are wondering: yes, conventions can be like this at times. Konata's overall demeanor represents anyone nerdy enough to go to many of these events (and they're usually that prepared, too). Kagami's experiences represent the casual person (read: "closet geek") who either has braved cons a few times already and/or has steeled themselves for the the event. Tsukasa's trials are quite similar for the first-timer who's easily intimidated and overwhelmed by these kinds of public attractions.

When we go to Pacific Media Expo 2012 next year (yes, I said "we"), someone remind me to play "Senjou no Ariake" and this video clip. Not only will it fit the setting and help ease any newcomers I bring with me, but it also makes me ready to unleash my inner geek (even more than I already do =P). And yes, I'm going to have an overtly-dramatic militaristic speech that's sure to make someone facepalm.


Kyoko Miyamoto and Ryoji Yoshitomi - "Haru-Natsu-Aki-Fuyu"
[unreleased WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ soundtrack]

What happens when you get a comically silly game and randomly throw in a piece of music that doesn't quite fit the comical overtones? Why, you get awesomemess - assuming the music was tossed in at just the right section. "Haru-Natsu-Aki-Fuyu" - "Spring Summer Fall Winter" in Japanese; "Four Seasons" in America - does just that in Mega Microgame$ in the storyline of ninja kids Kat and Ana (ha ha ha).

A skeletal demon sweeps in the city one night and sways the local prince(ss) (guess who) under its influence. Ana and a bunch of ninja on guard duty attempt to fight the demon back to no avail. Before getting captured, Ana sends off a messenger bird asking for Kat's assistance. Kat receives the memo and then sets off for the castle.

CUE THE AWESOME MUSIC AS KAT WALKS ACROSS THE LAND VIA MONTAGE. (It's a different link. I swear.)

The music has a sound and style that will pique the interests of movie buffs. "Four Seasons" seems reminiscent of the Kill Bill movies (which kind of seems weird to say when you take in the fact that Kill Bill Volume 1 was released on October 2003... while WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ was released in March of the same year). This makes for an all-the-more epic "experience" of this whole story "arc" - which is quite interesting, indeed.

Set aside the fact that "Four Seasons" is at the best sound levels that the Game Boy Advance could support at the time, and you'll realize that this song is greater than you could even imagine. If you don't believe me, then play it as you're working on something pressing - your term paper; a duel with blades; even a throat-slashing spree on Battlefield 3. If the drama factor increased significantly, then you're welcome. =D



"To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting."
- e. e. cummings
("A Poet's Advice to Students")

I'd like to think that I am nobody but myself. Despite the tribulations I've gone through - despite the frictional dissonances I've had to sort out - I'm pretty sure that at the end of the day, I still haven't lost a clear sense of identity. That is always an excellent thing






Good day, everyone! How is everyone's holiday celebrations going? Tired from your stuffing holiday dinner and have plans to ruin the days of so many retail workers? Let's see if I can get your oh-so-boring Monday rolling in an awesome (and hopefully humorous) manner! Or, in case you are a retail worker who didn't score today off (like me): steel yourself for the impending hellfire you'll encounter.

A friend was getting me some Starbucks one day earlier this month at work. My cup had this caricature drawn on it by another friend who worked at said Starbucks.
D'aww... doesn't that just look like me? =D

But if you're like me, you've already found some method of steeling yourself through this week - coffee, money, sex, vacation time, something. If that's the case, then let's get rolling.





The Christmas Day Story
(Feh - like anyone really wants to know what I did for Christmas Day.)

Now, before I continue, let me stress something here. As my Hate List has proven, I'm not a fan of Christmas at all. As such, Christmas Day has instead become a "mandatory day off" for me, and I'm greatly appreciative of that - unlike a great many people who will be visiting every open store today and returning all those pesky "bad" gifts that their relatives and friends spent so much time looking for.

Anyway, it was a decent Christmas day off. I spent it relaxing, hanging out with some friends, eating some great food, playing a bunch of video games, sleeping, watching Battlestar Galactica: Razor, and typing some things up. Yes, in that order.

What, you expected more? Well, as it's just a day off, I'm afraid there's not much else to discuss. *shrugs* Go bug someone else for their escapades - I'm sure it's going to sound so dissimilar to my day.

One of the two top items people Brock has on his Christmas wish lists, for sure.
The other would be a horde of Officer Jennys.

I mean, it's not like I received any gifts or anything. But you don't need gifts to celebrate this... Christian (ew) holiday... nor do you need to be a Christian to celebrate. What: people are only allowed to do gift exchanges if they're "believers?"

But if you must get some kind of "new" information from me involving my escapades from yesterday, it's this: apparently, I can handle tequila. Don't know why most people can't.





Work Blitzing Eve
(Because even geeky workaholics like me deserve the right to go to a New Year's party.)

This New Year's celebration will mark the fourth year in a row I was unavailable to hit up a party or hang out with people - all because of work and the horrible ways it cuts into one's social lives.

My Target closes at 2200 so that its employees can leave early enough to join the festivities on time. Well, that's what I'd assume the corporate chuckleheads of HR would be saying in justifying the oh-so-great hour early we receive. (Because let's face it: closing on Christmas Eve at 2100 hours instead of the prior years' 1800 or 2000 hours was such a smart and blessed idea. *rolls eyes* But what can I say? I'm just a mindless drone.) I got a frakking awful night shift and I'm closing for a mere four hours (which bears a stark contrast to my usual eight-hour days).

Now don't take this as an attack or anything - Target is, first and foremost, a business corporation. Corporations put profits as the letter of the law as opposed to consumer (or even employee) satisfaction. As such, it's understandable why we're getting off at such a late hour, but at the same time, it's almost pointless to do so. You either let the employees go home and close early, or you stay to your regular hours and go ahead with killing the hopes for a nice party. You don't walk the line and allow the workforce to experience hope. (As a supporter of Murphy's law, I know all too well how one hour could easily spell disaster for anything planned out.)

...I digress. And to you corporate yuppies reading this: apologies for "offending" you. It's not like I'm outright protesting here - I'm just venting verbally on a blog nobody reads. (Besides, if you keep reading on, you'll realize that I don't just focus on the negative. *rolls eyes*)

Anyway, consider this a sort-of classified - I know there's going to be a decent party somewhere where I join a bunch of friends in ringing 2012 in (or for those of you who will be drunk at the time: 2102). If you're planning on throwing one, feel free to send me an invite - if anything, me coming in late will be an advantage as I can buy any emergency supplies/snacks/beer right before leaving work. Just be sure to pay me back once I arrive, mm'kay?





Preparation For The End
(Do I have a pre-2012 list to check off? Why, yes, everyone; I do!)

"2011 is coming to a close," I once told myself earlier this month. I remember after I told myself that, I began mustering up a list of things to do that I wanted to accomplish around the time we switch to the supposed year of the apocalypse.

Attentive people already know of a few things on this list. In regards to this link:

1. I've got a few ideas swirling for both blog names and that "Raving of the Weeks" project. What they are will remain as a mystery until I declare otherwise.
2. I didn't find any other adorable Christmas wish lists.

Of course, there's a lot more things I want to prepare myself and this blog for when 2012 switches from "future" to "reality."

CUE THE AWESOME MUSIC I LISTED ABOVE!

As some of my high school friends are slowly creeping me out by becoming a tad more serious about their whole "kidnap Josh on the 31st to make him fail his 2011 New Year's resolution" plot, I've already begun a contingency plan should that arise. I've been experimenting with Blogger's auto-posting on some past entries, and while I don't have it all fully figured out yet, I can say with fair confidence: "BRING IT ON." The trouble is that I want this week to consist of (mostly) substantial entries, and I already wasted my "eh" entry for the week yesterday (I had good reason; it was Christmas Day). This means that I really have to step my game up if I want to succeed.

Of course, with that now knowledgeable to you, the general public (plus my stalkers), that means you got a bit of a surprise coming up. Yes, I wholly intend on making these last entries some of the best for the month (if not the year), so I'm sure you'll be following with some kind of interest.





So, in order to get my day started off right (and more importantly: in a timely manner), I'm going to leave this as is and take off for now. Tune in tomorrow for my would-be Christmas wish list. Until then, just know this:

An Alot of Card Sleeves.

"The Alot is Better Than You at Everything." (If you're a grammar Nazi like me, you'll appreciate this if you haven't already read it.)

See y'all 'round the 'morrow! I got some fish to fry at work. And by "fish" I mean "guests." And by "fry" I mean "laugh at so hard if they think they can get away with their shenanigans."