Sideways

Okay, so I lied. It's not up today because I got super-distracted - both at work and at home. As such, it's not at the quality level I'd like for it to be in, and I don't feel like showing you something crappy that could've been better. Of course, that's not what you're thinking. Your line of thoughts look more like this:

--- --- ---

YOU:
Where's the entry? You said you had the entry!

ME:
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Since I have said that, I can see how you would think that.

YOU:
Where is it?

ME:
Uh... tomorrow. Come back tomorrow and then I will again have the entry. Yes.

--- --- ---

Seriously, though: would you rather see a half-assed entry, or a full-assed one that actually has some merit to it? Personally, I'd like the latter - it's more fun.

(Also, if anyone sees the reference I made: kudos to you! Two Internet points for you!)

Preparing a Start

I'm going to use today to get prepared for tomorrow's entry. Now, normally that would just look like I'm being a big pile of lazy bones, but I have a valid reason for this. Remember that ridiculous post I made a few days ago when I talked about that blind Nuzlocke I started on Black Version 2? Welp, this is going to be one of my ongoing projects... meaning this will be an interesting series I'll be posting on here!

Of course, you probably don't believe me, so I guess you'll have to come back tomorrow and see for yourself who my starter Pokémon is and what rules I'll be setting for myself!

In Search of a Name

Any writer who says "writing is easy" is either a savant or a liar. There's always some kind of struggle present in their work process. For some, they're able to overcome their struggle and come out on top. Others will flail around and admit defeat after what seems like an eternity for them. As for a select few, they'll purposefully drown themselves in their problems and somehow use the experience as a motivator.

Of course, the problems a writer faces will vary from person to person, and they may change with each new project. For me, my dilemma seems to be in the initial phases of the project - the part where the sparks ignite a warming fire. The weird thing is that I somehow have the fire going, but I have no spark. (I know that doesn't make any sense.)

Coming up with ideas for something to write about is a tall order for someone like me. I've been out of the writing game for a while now, and it's pretty intimidating to turn this blank text box into a whole mish-mash of words that somehow form a coherent blog entry. Sometimes I can pull it off. Sometimes I'm able to create something out of thin air and make it look like I gave it plenty of forethought. And sometimes I just fib something lame and call it a day.

Of course, when the thing that needs to be created is the name of something, that's a different matter entirely. I have a few Lego models to name, and I have zero idea what to name them, so I won't display them until I can think of something.

Taking the Black: A Nuzlocke Prologue

Nuzlocke runs are the Pokémon games' version of your local dominatrix. Apart from turning an already fun series into something out of the bowels of Hell, it's a great way to get into the psyche and mindset of the persons involved. It binds you into a routine that has you pulling your hair out of sheer agony, yet at the same time leaves you begging for more pain.

However, there's one glaring difference between a Nuzlocke run and a domme. One has you tied up against your wishes (even though you wanted it to begin with) and proceeds to put you through a session so blisteringly painful you wish you set up a safe word beforehand. The other is a dominatrix.

Lame bait-and-switch joke aside, I've played a few Nuzlockes (my first two are still ongoing as of this day). I've suffered minimal casualties on those runs (so far *crosses fingers*), and it helps that the games I'm running in - X and Omega Ruby - are games I've technically played before (via Y and Ruby respectively). Thing is, I don't think I fully appreciate the serious business that Nuzlockes are supposed to generate. And like a certain father voiced by Mark Hamill once said, "[I] will learn respect, and suffering will be [my] teacher." (Cue scar being made on the wrong side.)

Just hit "A" already...

This is why I'm going to start a blind Nuzlocke run on Pokémon: Black Version 2. Before I begin the prologue though, I think I need to explain a few things. I'm pretty sure I have so, considering that the average stranger probably has no idea what any part of that first sentence even means. So, we'll take a quick musical break and I'll explain both myself and those words above in greater detail in a bit.

A Preview of a Journey

Something's going to show up tomorrow on here!

You want proof? You can't handle the proof!

Come back tomorrow and you'll see that I'm not lying!

The Infancy of Infantry

Any decent military-minded person will tell you that infantry is one of the most important (if not the most important) resources of winning wars. There are some who would say otherwise and claim things like artillery, logistics, naval and air supremacy, or armour are paramount. The artillery can soften up the enemy forces; the supply officers can make sure the troops are well-supplied; the navy can control the sea and air routes; the armoured divisions can sweep across the battlefield and outflank the enemy.

However, without infantry, I believe all of the above are moot points. Well-entrenched soldiers on the ground can hunker down and keep casualties from artillery strikes to a minimum. Even if they're undersupplied, a well-trained grunt will keep the fight going in whatever way he or she can. The navies and air forces can sweep the seas and skies but they may miss a hidden trooper who can alert the rest of his/her forces. Armour can take on most ground threats, but the moment they run out of fuel or are surrounded, all the infantry has to do is bring in a cheap anti-armour weapon or shove grenades into the hatches.

As a U.S. Navy brat, it almost feels wrong for me to admit to preferring the typical (army) foot soldier over a navy's sailors, but the ocean can't sustain life on a grand scale - land can. And how does one win land wars? With actual people on the ground, armed and ready to take the land from the other guy (or stop the invader from doing so). The other things I listed above can support the infantry, and at times they may prove to be superior. In the end, artillery is useless without someone on the ground calling in the strike. Supplies are useless if no one can use them. Naval support (in the case of a marine force) and air support also need a set of eyes on the ground to ensure lethal accuracy (or to call off a strike if friendlies are getting hit). An armoured vehicle is (from a financial standpoint) a much more valuable target than one measly soldier and is more likely to get hit hard with something.

Of course, everyone will have their own counters to my lines of reasoning, and I'm sure there's some general who's going to dismiss my logic simply because "tank beats everything" - and in some cases, it does.

A List of Lists

So, those ideas I wanted to remind myself about? Here's a portion of that list - both for your viewing (mis)pleasure and as the self-reminder I told myself I'd make.

Distracted Listing

Three days in the new year and already it feels like I've run out of steam. No ideas on what to write about... nothing that grabs my interest... all the panic in the world. This admittedly doesn't sound like a good start for my blog's revival.

However, while sitting down on my lunch break, I came up with something that would not only rev my writing engine for today, but for a good amount of days to follow.

You remember those ridiculous lists I had? You know the ones - those entries where I'd list some vague category and slap down my top ten (twenty in one case) favorite whatevers and raise hype for each entrant respectively? Yeah, I want to make some more of those very opinionated lists.



HOWEVER. Awesome Games Done Quick 2016 just started today, and when I came home, both the Super Mario 64 speedrun race and the Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance runs were on, and I just HAD to watch them. The list will be up for your viewing pleasure tomorrow!

Small Shade of Fear

In your average piece of literature, black is often used to represent the banes of humanity. The darkness in man's heart, the soullessness of the macabre, the indescribable face of chaos and evil itself - no other color lends itself so freely to such ideals as readily as black does. It represents what we can't understand - which makes it the first thing we think of when our thoughts somehow lead towards that looming oblivion waiting to claim us for eternity.

Yes, I know - this entry suddenly got dark (pun intended). Trust me: I'm going somewhere with this.

The problem I see with this whole "black represents fear" thing is that black doesn't represent a color I fear. I'm a writer in the 21^st century. People like us know that oblivion waits to claim us all. We've embraced our dark sides to the point of cursing ourselves with alcoholism and depression, drawing strength from what would otherwise be considered a weakness. (The writers of years past can attest to the former "curse," while the writers of today can vouch for the latter.) We turned this ebony pool of nothingness into a generous muse that we draw information from.

Does that make us invincible - gods among men? No. That's because we fear a different color: white. You know the color - the one we stare at from time to time when we turn on our computers or typewriters. We pull up a word processor, a blank sheet of paper, a website - and all we see is the same void of emptiness that black would normally represent. We see a lack of vision, an absence of clarity, the infestation of hopelessness.

That's how I feel about it, at least. Staring at a white... blank web page with a text box and a blinking cursor. I don't know what to write sometimes - and coming out of a writing hiatus and attempting an entry while my body is crying for sleep doesn't help any. Though I have to admit, staring into an oblivion that's white as snow is strangely comforting.

A New Leaf

It's been ages since I've written anything of any import. *checks back* Nearly... geez, I'm going to guess about two-and-a-half years. I'm pretty sure most people thought I've given up on writing on this blog (or for that matter, writing in general). To be perfectly honest with you, I thought I had (subconsciously) done that myself and just wrote myself off as "mentally checked out of enjoying life."

For a while, I thought I'd just leave - walk forward, never come back, and do everything in my power to not finish another sentence.

So why come back here if I've all but officially thrown in the towel? Well, when it comes down to it, you need to receive a swift kick in the ass to get things going sometimes. (And every once in a while, that swift kick in the ass you get can't be a metaphorical one.) In a manner of speaking, this entry is me kicking my brain's ass and saying, "Hey, Josh: write something you stupid Flip!"

And you thought all of this entry was going to be serious. No, I need a non sequitur somewhere.

And that's what I'm going to do. Right after I'm done dancing the new year in with my town assistant/secretary. Excuse me.