Good Xorning, 2008!

[Grefter]

Tea is always worth being a snob about.

[Shale]

Okay, so Nightwish fucking rocked. The new singer has great stage presence, the rest of the band is appropriately over-the-top, and the music was every bit as good as you'd expect. The crowd was really into it, especially on Wish I Had An Angel (the last encore, of course).

Speaking of which, they packed about 1,300 people into a venue maybe the size of a McDonald's, many of them hilariously stereotypical metal fans, which only added to the fun. Also, one of the people I talked to was a father whose eleven-year-old daughter was at least as into the music as he was, which was pretty funny.

Sonata Arctica was okay, I guess, but the sound engineering was awful. Could barely hear the singer over the guitars, even on songs like The Cage where the music is definitely supposed to be subordinate to the vocals. Ah well.

[Grefter]

Sounds like The Cure concert I went to with the age range.

[Mad Fnorder]

So those who remember my really geeky Otakon LARP Ghaleon Story will be either amused or saddened to know I still go to the things. Apparently there's a new one starting this very year at NY Anime Fest. I know this because I'm helping to GM the event and write the awesome plot. If you want to try it and pre-register RPG characters, get to the site so we can make them- only characters already in the DB will be playable on site. Here's the positively Cthonic plot teaser:

"Something is coming. Something is happening. Beneath the city that never sleeps, an existence most ancient will awaken. This act will set in motion events that will rend all worlds asunder. Tides of space and time are rippling in all directions, leaving beings from other worlds washed upon the shore of our reality. On their shoulders may rest the fate of tomorrow… If the sun is to ever rise again. "

[Hunter Sopko]

Enjoy. I'll try to ensure you get the worst timeslots and worst locations<G>

[Mad Fnorder]

From hells heart I scream, SOPKOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Actually, the reason we're even trying to put it on in short notice is that we've gotten such good support to try and run it in terms of material assistance.

[Grefter]

You should have aimed for some kind of prostitute and cocaine LARP if that was the case.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Okay, so Nightwish fucking rocked. The new singer has great stage presence, the rest of the band is appropriately over-the-top, and the music was every bit as good as you'd expect. The crowd was really into it, especially on Wish I Had An Angel (the last encore, of course).

Speaking of which, they packed about 1,300 people into a venue maybe the size of a McDonald's, many of them hilariously stereotypical metal fans, which only added to the fun. Also, one of the people I talked to was a father whose eleven-year-old daughter was at least as into the music as he was, which was pretty funny.

Sonata Arctica was okay, I guess, but the sound engineering was awful. Could barely hear the singer over the guitars, even on songs like The Cage where the music is definitely supposed to be subordinate to the vocals. Ah well.

I'll top that. At the Beck show there was an old lady who brought an infant, possibly her nephew or grandson, to the show. She was like four people back and left the stroller in the middle of the crowd while she used the baby as a battering ram to push forward.

There was also an obnoxious bitch in lipstick that reminded me of clown makeup dancing with some jackass who couldn't stand up for shit. I got tired of him bumping in to me (because he and his clown date needed to dance around right in the middle of the crowd) so I put up my elbows and he ended up taking one right to the side of his nose. He left bleeding profusely.

[Grefter]

Rob -  Bringing the Mosh to the soft alterna rock concert.

[Hunter Sopko]

Not as good as Rob's, but during the pillows' concert this year these two ~15 year old girls behind kept spastically dancing and bumping into me and everyone else. I got so fed up that I employed a good ol' hockey hip check and put them both on the ground, then slipped further up the crowd. I started far right, 6 in. I ended the concert mid-right, two in, right in front of the lead guitarist.

[Strago]

Well, tonight's my last night in Maine. Tomorrow morning I leave for Brooklyn in a U-Haul packed chock full of my stuff (and the stuff of one of my roommates, as well). Thankfully my Dad offered to head down with me, so it's not just me alone in that beast of a truck for six hours. Oof. This is the first time I'll be living on my own and supporting myself, which is both exciting and terrifying.

I sent back Grim Grimoire and DQ8 to their proper owners today, so no worries there. Hanging on to FES a bit longer because I haven't finished it, but if you want it back at any point just let me know and I'll be happy to oblige. I can't say that I too much about the plot, unfortunately.

Oh, also, it looks like I won't have internet until about Monday, so I won't be around for a bit after tonight.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Rob -  Bringing the Mosh to the soft alterna rock concert.

HE brought the mosh. I un-brought the mosh, god damn it.

[Shale]

You elbowed someone in the face at a concert. That's pretty much the definition of mosh.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Correction: I let someone else run their face directly in to my elbow. The elbow was stationary for approximately fifteen seconds before contact was made.

I major in Law; I can go all day.

[NotMiki]

Probably missed you already, Strago, but welcome to the neighborhood!

[metroid composite]

I've been on vacation for the past week, but I've been incredibly lethargic.  Finally have a plane ticket booked, at least; should be in Vancouver by Saturday.

[Grefter]

So crunch is over if you got more time off?

[metroid composite]

So crunch is over if you got more time off?

Yeah; game is sent to Microsoft.  PS3 version's not done yet, but I somehow dodged PS3 development altogether (not sure how >_>).

[Excal]

Cool, how long you in town for?  And remind me to pull out the crowbar so I can find a bit of time to say hi.

[DjinnAndTonic]

So I ended up getting a job in Japan.

It's kind of an interesting place for a person like me to end up. I'm excited, of course - I'm in the motherland of JRPGs! - but it's not perfect.

Actually, the only real problem I'm having is not being able to speak/read enough Japanese to buy most JRPGs over here. It's a constant torture that I put myself through everytime I go into a game store over here. And yet, I can't stop going to Japanese game stores...

On the plus side, I -do- get to buy magazines with easy-to-understand pictures and info on all the latest JRPGs that will be coming to America soon. The only problem with this is that I don't know how I'm going to get the American game when it -does- come out.

Right now, I'm seriously jonesing for the new Tales of Vesperia game and Infinite Undiscovery. Despite my amazing new paycheck and complete lack of expenses, I have no means through which I can buy these games in a language I can read (with any kind of speed anyway - I can muddle out the meaning of a lot of sentences given time, but it takes SO long it's hardly worth it).

Still, there's not quite an experience like visiting a Japanese game store - so despite the torture, I shall continue to brave the stores and collect interesting and useful paraphernalia of JRPGs!

My newest addition is Ys DS, a sped-up port of Ys Eternal with a bonus dungeon. Great because Ys story = LOL who cares and gameplay doesn't require much reading. Also, on DS so region-free goodness.

I have my eye on Sigma Harmonics, too, but it looks kanji-intensive...

-Djinn

[Anthony Edward Stark]

You should have loaded up on uncensored pornography before heading to Japan.

FACT: Pornography without all the junk mosaiced over can be sold for four to five times what you paid for it here.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Thanks, Rob. Now I can't ever say you didn't teach me anything... ^_^;;

On a side note, I went on a big Japanese gamestore excursion today in the nearest large city. I was specifically seeking the Growlanser 5 guide to use for a stat topic reference, but I was just exploring what was available in general. The used bookstores had the coolest stuff and the larger gamestore chains had just about anything you could think of in terms of standard gamestore fare (see: current games, systems, guides). Surprisingly enough, the GL5 guide was impossible to find. It was too old for the chain gamestores (where I easily found GL6's guide) and too new for the used bookstores (where I found several copies of GL4's guide)!

In fact, here's a list of things that are easier to find in a Japanese Game/Bookstore than GL5's guide:
Tales of Vesperia, mocking me.
ancient copies of Arc the Lad 1 and 2's guides,
a working copy of Estopolis (Lufia) 2 for SuperFamicom
a Thousand Arms artbook (only $10!)
the PSX version of Suikoden II
a Legaia Duel-freaking-Saga guide
a working (1/10th scale) model of EVA-unit 1 made out of legos
newly-published official Breath of Fire IV manga
and, of course, Japanese prostitutes.

Of these, the only thing I purchased was the BoF4 manga due to sheer shock that the BoF series had anything released for it in the last year. I also picked up this month's (October, apparently) Dengeki, which was chock full of Tales and Persona manga, as well as manga/info on some DS RPGs I had been interested in (Sigma Harmonics and World Destruction).

As for GL5's guide, I finally broke down and gave up my search and simply asked one of the bookstore clerks to order it for me... which means I'll have to drive out there again in about a week or so.

Is there anything anyone can think of that I should search for when I head out there again? I was thinking of searching for some Phantasy Star goods just to see what existed (besides PSUniverse stuff, of course).

-Djinn

[Hunter Sopko]

Blah. Get that Thousand Arms book and gib Wyna pics >.>

On another note, I got new glasses. Yay insurance, $400 pair of glasses for 80 bucks. The increased sharpness is offsetting, and it feels like vertigo sometimes. I either need time to get used to them or the frames I picked out were too small (a lot more of my peripheral vision isn't covered compared to my last pair). On the other hand, it feels like the world is suddenly in HD. It's coo.

[VySaika]

Glad to hear things are going reasonably well over there, Djinn! Also seconding Soppy on the Thousand Arms artbook.

As for me, just had the Official Birfday stuff happen this weekend. Ended up leaving before going out for dinner because my stomache WOULD pick that day to give me severe problems, but all in all was still fun and worth the trip down to the in-laws' place.

Anyway, managed to score a second PS3 controller for my birthday, so the next time anyone interested in Musou games is over here we can get some 2 player going. Also got the complete box set for Silent Mobius(been looking for this for years) so I'm definately satisfied with this year's loot.

[Sir Donald 3.2]

*figures that this would be the thread to post in; isn't vain enough to post on his own.*

Yeah... The old-timers may remember a guy with a similar forum name to this one who played mostly Nintendo-based RPGs (thanking Square for putting FF 7 & 8 on PC) a few years back.  That guy dropped out sometime around October 2005.

Well, what happened was that guy got a job then that took him across the state of Florida.  Namely, being a drafter for a small-time Civil Engineer.

That guy didn't miss this site much over the first year.  The job kept him busy.  Same for the second year.

Then the market began its tumble.

That guy is still employed at that firm, but he is seriously considering life options.  (Such as going back to school to get a degree in Engineering.)

Then, as Football season '08 was about to start, after seeing two of his siblings get married over the course of five months (yes, you read me right) the guy popped back in to the old site on an idle weekend... which just happened to be a Nom weekend. 

Long story short, (and ceasing the use of the third person,) I probably won't be around as much as I was back in the aftermath of the loss of the RPGP.  But I may Spyduck back in from time to time.  (Yes, I spent most of Saturday reading over what had changed in my absence.  Go me, I should join the Chickenwuss Committee.)

Also, nice to see Felix get a match in the NR, though I wonder why there are no feline creatures in NR Heavy 

I'll see you when I'm here.