| (no subject) |
[Dec. 19th, 2009|12:20 am] |
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DRIVING TO HOUSTON TOMORROW BRB |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|03:19 pm] |
So, apparently Crescento believes the entirety of Gaia's airspace belongs to him and him alone.
The entire Brennevin fanthread is waiting for a righteous, fabulous smackdown from our favorite fashion-obsessed sorcerer. The moral of this year's X-Mas story on Gaia? "Mess not with the wizard. His airship has a fucking castle on it. (also, Crescento's a dick)" |
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| Ahhhhhhh today is too boring. |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|11:00 am] |
BORING.
Thing One: I have started a new blog for my Death Knight rantings! It is called Chill of the Grave and I will try to keep my general PvE and lore commentaries there. Also I need to write tutorial stuff, like about how DKs don't really have a proper rotation so much as a priority once they get cranked up, because people see how well I do and they're like, "What's your rotation?" and I'm like, "Well, it depends on what's refreshed." The look-into-my-crazy-mind character development stuff will stay here, I'm afraid. Sorry. Andrew forbids me from holding up a character who is not only a zombie Michael Cera but also dating a paladin, even if the paladin is a complete nutjob, as any kind of pinnacle of good Death Knight RP. Though the catch-22 of "Good Death Knight RP" (being, if they're social, they aren't much of an iconic DK, and if they're anti-social all you can do is sit around taverns emoting about how broody you are) is definitely fodder for a future article.
Thing Two: OMG HAMS! Last night I took home a pair of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) shortpacked and maggiemarmalade's baby Roborovski hamsters, the ones nicknamed Littlest and Tubby. This is good, because I was worried I wasn't going to be able to tell them apart, and they're the most visually distinct of the litter. It took me forever to settle into bed last night becasue I kept getting up to see what they were up to. They have a big Habitrail that I'll take pictures of tonight with tubes that are smaller for dwarf hamsters, though they're still a bit small for it so I've arranged everything horizontally for the time being. I'll have to see if I can bribe them into good pictures later. Andrew is strongly in favor of naming them after dwarves, so the big one will likely end up Magni and the little one Muradin. They are cuter than anything has a right to be.
Thing Three: Ahhhhhh I dunno Christmas? |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|06:24 am] |
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I'm in the market for a new digital camera. I'm looking in the $250 range. No special requirements, but I want a decent resolution, zoom, shutter speed, and macro mode. I could probably go pick one up at random and be perfectly satisfied with it, but has anyone bought one lately that they're particularly enamored with? |
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| "I reckon things should get pretty messy!" |
[Dec. 17th, 2009|11:11 pm] |
Shortpacked!: Vague genitalia.  Yeah, I guess my honeymoon with Bludgeon isn't over yet. So here's a photo of Bludgeon cutting the ice cream twins in half, because he can. Look out, Batman Punching Everybody, 'cuz here comes Bludgeon Cutting Everyone In Half. I've been getting pretty good at getting everyone's book orders out the business day after they come in, so they should all be arriving very quickly! I don't really guarantee they'll arrive before Christmas in the days to come, even though they're sent Priority Mail, 'cuz what with Christmas mail volume and everything. Plus, like, we're going to Indiana early next week, so yeah. We just ain't gonna be here. Anyway, enjoy your orders, those who made them! So I caved and totally preordered this unofficial Teletraan I playset. It was the stickers that did it. Sorta made it all click. I have no idea where I'm going to put it. It's a pretty big playset! But man, it satisfies that tiny little eight-year-old in me that wanted exactly one of these. Plus, this sort of product is filed firmly under the "Hasbro Will Never Ever Make This" category, so I don't feel too bad throwing money at it, unlike the various unofficial attempts at mass-producing various popular characters. If only it came in light blue, so I could pretend it was the Marvel Comics computer system. But, well, you know me and orange. This is more than fine. |
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| Susp's Review: ROTF RECON IRONHIDE |
[Dec. 17th, 2009|12:28 pm] |
Outfitted for harsh terrain and packing more heat than ever, the fearless Ironhide rumbles into the deepest, darkest jungles of Asia to seek out and battle the evil Bludgeon.
Vehicle Mode: Recon Ironhide is an extensive remould of his toy from the previous movie toyline. He measures 18 cm(7.1”) long and is black and silver with metallic silver camouflage markings, metallic blue windshield and accents, and pale yellow headlamps. His new features include a heavy bullbar, running boards, armour plating on his doors, roof racks and a light bar, headache rack, and bed rails. He rolls wonderfully on all indoor surfaces.
( Read more... ) |
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| Susp's Review: ROTF BLUDGEON |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|11:55 pm] |
Warrior, master of the mystic discipline of Metallikato, and agent of chaos, Bludgeon is one of the most lethal Decepticons to ever function. But what will happen when he encounters Ironhide?
Vehicle Mode: Bludgeon is a Type 90 main battle tank of the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force, which is rather appropriate for a samurai-themed warrior. His main colour is military green with very dark brown treads, grass green side plating and vents, silver machine gun, rocket launchers, and main gun tip, and brown accents on the fenders and launcher barrels. His disguise is betrayed by black Decepticon symbols on his sides and neon orange rear wheels and front panelling.
( Read more... ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|10:54 pm] |
So, I mentioned an MMORPG ad that looked like it had been drawn by Rob Liefeld.
( Here it is! ) |
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| Bludgeon: The afterglow |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|11:01 pm] |
Shortpacked!: YOU get a pet! YOU get a pet! EVERYBODY GETS A PET. I'm super-happy about having my new Bludgeon, and so I immediately threw him in with a bunch of other re-made toys of Decepticons from the late Eighties. So, woo, Bludgeon has his troops. Hasbro, now I need a new Fangry, Horri-bull, and Squeezeplay! And an Octopunch. And a Stranglehold. Well, guys, better get crankin'. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|04:59 pm] |
Okay, I'm having a problem with my Sims 2 Apocalypse Challenge family. Could everybody please redirect their attention to the poll currently on ts2_whore and help me choose a Generation 3 heir? |
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| Fools! To a master of Metallikato, your clumsy attack is almost slow motion! |
[Dec. 15th, 2009|11:00 pm] |
Shortpacked!: Hamspeak.
 This is a toy I've wanted for years and years and years and years. And years. And yeeeeeeearrs.
The original Bludgeon was one of the parade of Decepticons who got to be their leader in the old Marvel comics. Megatron never figured too big in them. Instead, we got all these other more interesting guys. And Bludgeon was the last and possibly the most interesting. (It's a tough call, though, 'cuz he's running up against HAL and Vampire Accountant.)
Let me tell you why Bludgeon is awesome. First of all, he's a skeleton samurai. That pretty much does it right there. He's a master of Metallikato, a disciple of the "Ultimate Warrior." He does sweet friggin' jumping kicks. He will cut you into pieces with his sword, over and over and over, all while speaking hilarious words like "reckon" because the writer is English and probably thought that's what Americans say all the time. And he would have singlehandedly led the Decepticons to complete and utter and gruesome victory... if God hadn't shown up to handwave it away at the last minute.
 But the thing is, his original toy is a Pretender. That's not a terrible thing for the reasons most might think. I dig Pretenders! And Bludgeon certainly wouldn't be a friggin' skeleton samurai if he weren't a Pretender! But, see, Pretender shells have two points of articulation. The shoulders rotate, and that's it. So Bludgeon can't do awesome flips or Metallikato moves or anything. Heck, the original toy didn't even come with a sword! That's something the comic book gave him. The toy came with a gun. So you can see how that might be lacking.
Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon makes up for that in spades! It's not difficult to outdo the original's articulation, but the new one goes above and beyond the usual call of duty. For example, he can hold his sword in both hands! Not many Transformer toys can do that. Plus that'll look cool when his legs can actually raise and deliver flying kicks. One possibly important point of articulation he's missing, though, is a waist rotational joint. But that just can't happen due to the transformation process, so I guess I'll forgive it a little.
New Bludgeon also makes up for the original toy's lack of a sword by giving him two. He's got the longer katana and a shorter wakizashi. The katana forms the end of his tank mode's barrel, with the blade fitting up through it, into the turret. The wakizashi is stowed inside the turret itself, and is revealed when the turret is split open. The scabbard raises out of the innards via a set of geared arms. Sweeeet. And even cooler, you can stow both of them in a pair of holes on his left hip.
 Original Bludgeon was a Pretender, but new Bludgeon sidesteps that whole organic shell thing by basically transforming directly from a tank into a skeleton samurai. There's no more inner robot. Combining the green of the tank with the orange and maroon of the Pretender shell makes for a pretty compelling color scheme. It's also nice how all those colors save the green are almost entirely hidden inside the tank mode, revealing themselves only when you take it apart to become the robot. It's sorta kinda like a Pretender still, in that way.
Now, this is where I really start to fall in love with the toy, though. One thing that bugs me about most transforming tank toys is how they handle the treads. Usually they just split right down the middle, like the tread mechanism is just this solid block of matter that can be split like that. This way of doing things ignores that treads are, well, a bunch of segmented bits strung together th at surround a set of wheels. If you cut that in half, the treads would just slide off the whole assembly.
Bludgeon ascends into true greatness by not ignoring this reality. Heck, most of his treads are actually rubber! They disconnect from each other at certain points during transformation, and hang off the robot mode. The wheels stay behind, helping to form parts of the arms and legs. It's so beautiful. It gives me a nerd tummy rub.
I also like how the new robot mode is styled. He's not really a human skeleton any more, as that wouldn't really make sense if he's not a Pretender. So now he's a skeleton-like robot. You can see his inner gears and greebles, as if he were robo-skinless. He's actually designed to be a skinny, skeletal dude with big bulky samurai parts fashioned to him. It's a nice, suitable effect.
Really, altogether, Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon is everything I'm looking for. He's a character from the latter years of Generation 1 remade in a cool and interesting way that doesn't step on any of my personal pet peeves. He's complicated to transform, but not frustratingly so. He's got weaponry that can stow. He's got a great, non-boring color scheme! Oh, and did I mention that he's a friggin' skeleton samurai? |
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| A poem in Spanish |
[Dec. 15th, 2009|05:54 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | poetry | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nostalgic | ] |
In high school, I was the editor of the school's literary magazine for two years, mainly because no one else would do it and I wanted to get my stuff in print. :) A LOT of it could charitably be called forced, but there's a couple of pieces I'm still proud of, including the following acrostic. (A lot of submissions were just teachers dumping homework assignment formula poems on us, so I saw so many weak acrostics I was inspired to try ones that did more with the form, such as a limerick acrostic, or this one.)
Encendido in el cielo
Sólo paracen hacerse de hielo.
Tiempo para ellas no está de realidad,
Real, como él está en la ciudad.
Enamorados los que están
LLorando tienen tan
Angustia que los que viven
Sin estrellas.
Here's a rough translation, keeping in mind that "Real" in the poem is a pun, meaning both real and royal.
Burning in the sky
They only seem to be made of ice.
Time for them is not of reality,
Real/Royal like it is in the city.
Lovers who are
Crying have as much
Anguish as those that live
WIthout stars. |
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