Aggressive Expansion

There are some days that begin to get utterly chaotic. Things begin to pile up and people begin to get frazzled nerves. Then just when everyone thinks it can't get worse, some mundane event occurs during that timeframe that just seems to irk and rattle what little sanity people have left. It gets to the point where someone gets wound up so tight that one slight bump and they just go berserk. Of course, everyone reacts differently when someone hits their berserk button - but for the most part, it's explosive and usually violent in some way.

Today could've been one of those days - I had to deal with a very fun and educational trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles. By "fun," I mean "rage-driven," and by "educational," I mean "The next time I'm going to wait in the damn DMV for an hour, I better make sure my 3DS is fully charged... or bring a book." Anyway, long story short: it sucked. Yay for the government wasting our lives and hard-earned money on trivial crap that shouldn't be worth how much the DMV charges us.

So I went to a friend's house afterwards for lunch, annoyed at how stupid the system was. We made sandwiches, and as I was eating, it seemed that the bread had been laced with acid. That, or I began to realize that my food was talking to me.

Before you start asking "Why the frak would someone spike a sandwich?" I'm going to say that there were no drugs present. There were also no chemicals or medical conditions involved with either the sandwich I was eating or with my friend's house. So how, you ask, did my food talk to me?

The answer is simple. It smiled at me. It smiled at me. It also said something while it did that:

"WHY SO SERIOUS!?"

Right then and there, I realized that today was going to be a decent day after all, despite how craptastic my oh-so-fabulous trip to the DMV was. So, I smiled a bit and went on my day as normal.

Hee. Ha. Hehe. Ha-ha. "And I thought my jokes were bad."

*clears throat* In all seriousness, though, I just happened to take a bite or two and put my sandwich down to talk with my friend. When I looked down to prep myself for another bite, I noticed this on my plate, and so I just had to take a picture to share with y'all. (Hey, at least I'm not going all Annoying Facebook Girl about it on Facebook. *le sigh*)

(Oh, and for those of you who were wondering what the hell kind of sammich that was: ham and pepperoni with a custom-made spread and dijon mustard.)

So, with the twist done, let's continue on with today's entry, shall we?





CURRENT MUSIC:
Mikio Sakai - "Picaresque"
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Original Soundtrack Volume 2

Code Geass' music was one of the reasons I watched the series. (Being a dramatic mecha series helps, too.) With a varied selection of musical pieces to easily set the mood, it did its job in making the series come alive. At first glance, this may seem to be stated as "music to duel by," and while that is correct, there's much more to it.

Used in the series as the backdrop music for a daring prison breakout escape and the resulting fight inside said prison, "Picaresque" takes the sounds of Japanese vocals and acoustic guitars and heightens the drama of the situation to eleven.

To me, the music seems to be stating a message of "reawakening." In-context with the series, it makes sense - what, with the Black Knights breaking into a high-security compound, rescuing Toudou and revitalizing his fighting spirit and all. Even when not used in a Code Geass mindset, it still pertains that aural mindset, and perhaps that is one of "Picaresque's" greatest strengths as a song.


David Wise - "Jungle Groove"
DK Jamz ~ The Original Donkey Kong Country Soundtrack

Anyone who has spent a decent amount of time playing the Super Nintendo as a kid will probably recognize this track. If you didn't but still recognize it, then you've played your fair share of a Super Smash Bros. game and probably played a lot in Donkey Kong's stage(s).

Unofficially recognized as the anthem to the Donkey Kong games, "Jungle Groove" lives up to its name and aurally presents us with a jungle groove to play platform games to. It's a classic.





So, good evening, fair readers. How goes it for you all tonight? I sure hope it's going swell for the whole lot of you as it is for me. Otherwise, I'll show you that deformed sandwich again. And I'll do it, too! You don't want to see its scary Glasgow smile again! You don't!





The Slayer of Taxes Gets Rewarded
(*muscle flex*)

So two Thursdays ago I made up this fantastical tale about how I slayed my 2011 taxes. While it was a sort-of lucrative story with potential for lies, the whole "filing my taxes" part was 100% true. It seemed like myth, no?

That moment in a poor twenty-something's life when his checking account has more than three digits to the left of the decimal point.

Well, I'm here to say that that tale was completely true! Last Friday was amazing in the fact that I actually got both my state and my federal return back via direct deposit. The friends who also filed via H&R Block as per my "suggestion" are also noticing that they're getting their returns back, too. Yay, us!

*throws money around* Oh, right. I can't do that. Not yet.

*picks up the bills and pays bills off* I can dream, though... I can dream.

I can dream, though. Eventually those dreams will pave way to an absurdly large amount of cash I could swim in.

One day... one day, I will be able to tell a tale about a pool of money owned by me. Just you wait and see, world. Just you wait and see.





Yet More of Those Bloody Cards
(Because imagination is limitless... and so is my insanity.)

Yes, I'm aware that I've done this quite too much lately. Yes, I'm aware that most rules for 1000 Blank White Cards call for a deck consisting mostly of freshly-made cards as opposed to pre-mades, but I know that I'll run into a group who's willing to try the game but are not yet willing to make their own game.

I'm prepared like this. Plus, I now have a vast array of pre-mades to shuffle into the deck, so I don't have to worry at all. We'll have fun regardless of the methods and "rules" used to play this zany game.

Anywho, I made lots more cards. Here's some of them for your viewing pleasure. Again, if you're in need of ideas for your own 1000 Blank White Cards game, feel free to use these!

Super Mushroom
+1000
You are now also twice as tall.

Ah, what kind of person would I be if I didn't make a card that referenced video games in some manner? I've seen people make references to various games in past games, so I figured I'd do the same thing. The only difference is that I'll be starting this off with games that most everyone can associate with. And what better franchise than the Mario one?

Bonus points to anyone who knows why I made this card worth 1000 points.

"Duck and Cover" Training (SECRET)
Whenever a card that depicts or mentions nuclear weaponry is played, stop what you are doing and DUCK AND COVER.
Effect lasts until the end of the game.

Inspired by the actual U.S. film produced in the 1950s, I figured that I'd reference a piece of the Cold War to light. It's silly. Too silly. I still can't believe that this is what the government told kids to do to make sure they'd be safe in the event of a nuclear explosion.

I like this card not just because of the silliness of it - but because of my artwork. You have to admit, this is probably one of my better-made cards.

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series' Millennium Rod
Foolish fool! How DARE you lay your hands on MY Millennium Rod!
Oh, well. Might as well make you work for the right to wield it.
For the rest of the game, all persons named "Steve" must refer to you as "Master Marik."

For those of you who've never seen or heard of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series: wow. Just... wow. Shut off your computer, restart it, go on the Internet and go watch the damn show. This blog - while meant to be read by every one of my friends from every group of person out there - is geared towards geek and nerd culture, and the famed abridged series is part of said culture. GO EDUCATE YOURSELF.

*clears throat* Anyway, I made a few cards that changed players' names to "Steve." When people saw them, they thought it was just something silly that had no purpose other than to be silly. They thought wrong.

Aaaaaaand I just noticed that I made a typo. Thaaaaat's just great. Maybe I should re-do this card one day.

Rosebud Was The Sled
Thanks for spoiling it, asshole.
-600

I'm quite certain by now that anyone in the first world who knows a thing or two about movies knows about Citizen Kane and the attached spoiler. (In the highly unlikely event that you didn't know about it: I'm not sorry. It's practically public knowledge by now, so... *shrugs*) As such, I figured I'd make a reference to the widely-acclaimed movie while making a negative card.

Shoryuken!
[image shows the motion required to use a Shoryuken]
+100
-1000 instead if you're guilty of being a Ken scrub...

Street Fighter! Most everyone who's played a video game or two knows of this franchise, and anyone who has probably knows this move. (If not, they know about the hadouken.) Now I decided to teach any players how to perform one! Aren't I just nice?

And as for that potential -1000 points, it won't apply to me - I main Zangief. =P


Hehehehe. Just wait until the next batch of cards I make and show off. It might beat this one in sheer craziness.





Well, I'm going to bid you adieu until the 'morrow. For, now...

...I'm going to go search for one particular piece that's been evading me for quite some time now. Toodles!