Ideas From All Over

There are some days where people just aren't doing so hot. Events in a person's life for that day seem to weigh them down. Stress builds up; tensions flare; in short, you have a dysfunctional person who'd probably collapse from a metaphorical aneurysm. From a first glance, there doesn't seem to be a way to get them out of their funk.

Enter... me. And a revolver. And that cold, unflinching stare you see from the outlaws of the Old West.

That's where I come in. As it's a merry night for me, I have to say that sometimes, you have to share the happiness and wealth with others in an attempt to make them feel better. That's why I post things here. I want to help eliminate the depression that some people seem to have built up inside themselves. We don't want anyone succumbing to stress or anything of the sort, and I can't let that happen on my watch.

So, as y'all read tonight's entry, put a smile on your face and just embrace the happiness you've been denying yourself. Go, on - do it. Rid yourself of your stress and worries - slay them with a gun and sword if you have to. Tonight, we...

(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)

...are going to have a killer time. ("YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!")





CURRENT MUSIC:
Go Ichinose - "Verdanturf Town"
GBA Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Music Super Complete

Every generation of Pokémon games has at least one town with a peaceful air to it. Said peaceful air is often accompanied by a calm and soothing audio track that befits the town in question. Now, the main games do this with each of the starter towns (Pallet, New Bark, Littleroot, Twinleaf, and Nuvema), but Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald take it one step further and add another town to their "towns with serene music" list.

Enter "Verdanturf Town," a place that apparently blends "the windswept highlands with the sweet fragrance of grass." It's a small town nestled at the base of a mountain range, protected from any volcanic winds from nearby Mt. Chimney. As a result, it's known for its refreshing, crisp air - which would do great wonders for the frail and sickly if it were to exist in real life.

Due to this calm and serene environment, the audio called for something amazingly serene. When we walked into town, we got this - and peace and joy swept the Pokémon world. May it wash your lives over with serenity and aural delight. It works wonders for me - I spent about a half-hour today with this piece on repeat, and I have to say that I'm feeling great!


Daisuke Ishiwatari - "Catus Carnival (Taokaka's Theme)"
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Original Soundtrack

There's something about this track that seems ironic. For those of you somewhat knowledgeable in video games, you probably already know that BlazBlue is a fighting game series and a spiritual successor to Arc System Works' famed Guilty Gear franchise. Keeping that in mind, you'd expect more aggressive music to sound off all throughout the soundtrack, but when you hit this track...

...I don't hear aggression at all, which piqued my interest in this particular track. Rather, I envisioned other things that seemed to make more sense than using this as background music for a fight. Examples?

• Walking down a calm suburban street one sunny afternnon.
• Montage music for a fun time spent with friends.
• Almost anything Pokémon-related. Seriously.

I guess it would make sense, seeing as how not a lot of people get Taokaka in the first place. It's hunky-dory-sounding, and sometimes, that's great enough for a Monday. I think I'm going to add this to my "casual drive" playlist on my iPod. *smiles*





Good night, everybody! How was Monday for you guys and gals? I sure hope it was swell, because if it wasn't, then I'd have to feel sorry for you. Shucks.

Yes, I'm aware this doesn't look all that impressive. But I helped make this department look godly, and I'm not going to let anyone take that away from me.

So, after quite a bit of time spent working at work (because that's all I do nowadays, apparently), I scored a few days off this week. While I'm wondering what to do with myself on the moments when I'm not scraping up time to blog, I can say with certainty that it's certainly helping me get refreshed and recuperated.

*breathes in deeply*

This crisp, night air certainly helps a lot. Hehehe. Anywho, onto the main bulk for tonight's entries.





The Next TAB
(What subject do I owe myself next?)

I have a couple of ideas on what I'd like to write about, but sometimes it's always nice to appeal to the (few) people who read this here blog. As a writer, I know that it's my mission to write to my heart's content and act on no one else's authority but my own. Sometimes, though, there are ideas and guides that help people - and they don't come from within.

So, what to write about... what to write about? If anything, it's a win-win. I get to practice writing; you get to see me write about something that might actually interest you (for once). The ideas I had spinning in my head include the following:

• Perform an in-depth examination of "Hellfire" from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
  This was an initial idea I came up with shortly after putting the first TAB online. A friend of mine at work told me how he believed that "Hellfire" was the darkest villain song in Disney animated history, and I wanted to see if there was any proof to his claim.
• Write a persuasive dissertation on why people should play the Metal Gear Solid series - or, at the very least: watch them be played.
  It's no secret that I love the tactical espionage series. The story, while complex and at times confusing, is very insightful and offers a lot of real-world lessons and allegories. I've already performed a sort-of "experiment" on a friend who wanted to learn more about the series, and not only did they become respective and responsive to the franchise, but they've probably learned that the games are more than just sneaking around in cardboard boxes.
• Explain how college students and/or broke twenty-somethings can survive on four handy kitchen appliances.
  It is my honest belief that even if you're strapped for cash, if you save up and buy any one of these devices, you'll fare a lot better than if you didn't. I don't intend on revealing what these four appliances are until I post about this, but if you're insightful enough, you can probably make a few educated guesses...
• An open letter to the many guests we retail workers have to deal with.
  Oh, I've been wanting to do this for a while, but it would seem more like a vent than anything - and we already have enough of that going though my blog. Still, though, it's always interesting to hear a good letter from a front-line retail worker (such as myself).
• Write a review on Radiant Historia.
  This would be fun. I haven't really written any game reviews in a long time. I used to on Facebook back when I used the Notes feature, but nobody reads those anymore. Besides, I did tell myself that I needed to do it eventually...
• Anything you suggest that piques my interest.
  Who knows, right? Sometimes I do listen to you guys. =P

Well, I have so many ideas other than these, but I'm sure anything's fair game. I'm probably going to make a decision by February 3rd, so...





Still Not 1000 Blank White Cards
(Because I need to show you that I'm slowly getting to that number...)

This section is here for a few reasons.

1. 1000 Blank White Cards is just awesome.
   No arguments there, really. It's a great party game, and if you haven't hung out with me lately, you should - I can easily show you how to have a great time with this.
2. I felt like featuring some more cards I made.
   You can get a feel on how insane and wild you can allow your imagination to get when you make your own cards. Plus, I get to slap pictures of them on here!
3. I needed an "official" reason to make a "1000 Blank White Cards" tag.
   Yeah. It's pretty cool enough to deserve one. Perhaps I should create a page for the rules and what not as well...

Anyway, I've been making more and more cards, and now I have plenty to create my own reserve deck that can either be used as an example deck to show newcomers how to play 1000 Blank White Cards, or could be used as part of the "cards used in the last game" pool if said newcomers feel brave enough to make their own cards.

But... what are they? You'll just have to keep looking on below.

Coin
+200

I wasn't kidding when I said the cards could be simple. Now, the one question is: do you get 200 points, or do you get 200 points and a coin? *shrugs* Up to you. (I think the latter would be funny, especially if someone creates a Mario-based card involving coins.)

Bonus points to whoever realizes why this card is worth 200 points.

White Cat Drinking Milk in a Big Snowstorm
+250 if you can actually see it...

This one was an idea I found on the Internet. Pretty clever, I'd have to say.

Out of Toilet Paper
FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
-1000

Hahahahahahahahaha! When I saw this on the Internet, I just knew I had to make my own version. Turned out well, I'd say.

The One Ring (to Rule Them All)
Congratulations on NOT casting the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.
For each turn you possess this card, you lose 1000 points. You must keep this card in front of you face down at all times.

Someone made a "One Ring" card before. I remember seeing it somewhere, and what made it even cooler than mine was the fact that they wrote half of it in actual Elvish. I can't do that, so I figured I'd write the One Ring's inscription in Black Speech instead.

The back of "The One Ring (to Rule Them All)." You know you want to steal it...

And the back of this card? The inscription (also in Black Speech) as well as a bunch of suggestions that the other players should follow. *evil laugh*

The Game
You just lost it.
-500 -OR- -1000 instead if you know what The Game is

I made this card because I'm a jackass. Hehehe.

Are You Taller Than a Charizard?
The average height of a Charizard is 5'7" (1.7m).
If you are taller, gain 20 points per inch.
If you are shorter, lose 20 points per inch. Also, you are now ON FIRE.

You can't go wrong with the original 151 Pokémon. And for all of you who picked Charmander as your starter: you have the extreme honor of getting the only starter whose final form can FLY.

Russian Roulette With a Pistol
Yes. A self-loading one. Nice going there, idiot.
Lose 1000 points. Also, you are considered "dead."

Inspired by a true story worthy of a Darwin Award. And as for the "considered 'dead'" part? I have a few cards made that take advantage of this "dead" status - for better or for worse. While real-life 1000 Blank White Cards games tend not to play with statuses, they can make for some silly situations if done right. Plus, Internet 1000 Blank White Cards games love them.

"Many Whelps! Handle It!"
"FUCK! That's a fucking fifty DKP minus! What the FUCK was that SHIT!?!?!?"
-50 DKP and 10% durability loss

Inspired by the infamous "Onyxia Raid Wipe" video. World of Warcraft fans would LOVE this card (and simultaneously hate their repair bill). See, this is what happens when you don't DPS very, very slowly.

The Break-Up Call
Find the third non-relative person of the opposite gender from the bottom of your phone book.
Call them and "break up with them.
+300 if you call
+200 for breaking up
-1000 if it's your significant other

Some people have made cards akin to a Truth or Dare game gone wrong. This was inspired by a card one of my high school friends made when he introduced this game to me. The only difference is that he wanted the person who got that card to call someone and sing "Yankee Doodle" instead of the "horrible" thing I'm asking. =P

In all seriousness, though: if you ever plan on breaking up with your significant other, do the decent thing and do it in person. Doing it over the phone is just jacked up...

Frakking Blue Shells
The player with the highest point total now has a score of zero.
They must also skip their next turn.

Yes, I'm aware the card doesn't actually say "frak." The only reason why I left the F-bomb on the card is because this was partly inspired by this particular xkcd comic. It's quite true for me, really - whenever I get hit with one, expect me to start spouting profanity like a 13-year-old who just discovered the Internet.

A single blue shell can mean the difference between a first place victory... and getting caught in the explosion right before crossing the finish line as four - no, make that five - opponents zip ahead. Rrrrrrrrrrr...

The Oregon Trail
You have died of dysentery.
Lose 40 points and a wagon wheel.

American kids like me (and everyone else who somehow got The Oregon Trail) who got to grow up in a majority of the '90s get the joke here. Although to be honest, I've always wondered how a wagon could collapse while fording a 1.3 foot deep river that was calm. Worse yet, I can't figure out how someone could drown in said river!



If you're coming up with your own reserve deck or you're actually playing and you need to make a couple of cards but lack the proper amount of brainstorming fuel, you're more than welcome to use these ideas.

This is by far the coolest-looking Charizard in existence. =P
(Picture made by "muddy1kippy" and found on DeviantArt.)

Oh, and as for that Charizard card? Thank you for the idea, deviantArt and muddy1kippy! Now, if I made online cards for this game (yeah; people play this stuff on Internet forums all the time), I think I know what image I'll be using. Hehehehe.





"The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow"
(And so will something cool on this blog. But what could it be?)

And with it... something tasty. At least I think it's tasty. You'll just have to be patient and wait your turn to see it, okay?





Well, that about sums it up for me tonight. I'll catch y'all tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of your evening - hopefully it put you in good spirits!