Behind the lens

While we’re throwing out curveballs here, I suppose I’ll take this opportunity to talk about Pokémon Snap. Not the most popular game to grace the Nintendo 64, I was immediately drawn in by the game, mostly because at the time I was at the peak of my Poké-fandom. I played it a lot, actualy, which is odd, because I ended up thinking very little of the game. I guess I got a lot of entertainment out of it, but the conclusion I drew at the end was that it wasn’t a very good game.

I guess I must have missed something though. A while ago, I was listening to the Pokémon episode of Retronauts, and while they only briefly touched on it, I got the impression that the cast generally enjoyed the game. And then it was announced for Virtual Console a couple weeks ago, and bloggers everywhere rejoiced. I was curious as to what exactly was going on. Did the world outside me and my circle of friends like Pokémon Snap? Seems so, as a modicum of research has proven that the game received pretty respectable review scores back when it was originally released.

This entire story culminates in the game being released today on the Wii’s Virtual Console service. Swept up in the mania leading up to it’s release, I downloaded it myself, and played for about an hour tonight. Somewhat surprised, I actually got into the game again! Dunno how, but while Snap is short and doesn’t provide a ton of substance, it’s actually pretty interesting while it lasts. It isn’t one of the games I was really hoping for, but in the end, I’m of the opinion that this should have been on the VC long ago.

See, the thing about Pokémon Snap is that it is a textbook example of the kind of game Nintendo is trying to associate with the Wii. It’s a totally casual game about taking pictures. There’s virtually no pace at all, making it a pretty relaxing experience. You can take up the camera and play for a short while, but still walk away feeling like you’ve spent your time well, assuming you got some decent shots. People with literally no game-playing experience could pick it up and play so easily, becoming Poké-photography masters in little to no time. Again, it’s short, but technically so is Space Invaders, and people have been known to spend hours with that. Pokémon Snap is not about getting to the end or completing Oak’s Report, it’s about getting unique and high-scoring pictures. A beefed-up sequel would be an excellent Wii title.

All of this, and it heralds a new age for the Virtual Console as well! Pokémon Snap is the first Virtual Console game with added Wii functionality, something Nintendo commonly talked about when the Wii was still known as the Revolution. In the VC edition of Snap, players can choose one picture a day to export to their Wii message board and send to friends. It’s not much, but it’s a sign that Nintendo is finally adding things to their classics. Hopefully something a little more significant is in the works (Leaderboards? Online multiplayer?), but for now let’s rejoice that they’re actually working a little something new in here and there. This may be even better than when they started doling out import games, depending on where it leads.

In the end, buying Pokémon Snap again for $10 isn’t too bad. I think I’ll get my money’s worth from the game a second time, and possibly even moreso now that I can flood people’s Wii message boards with pictures of Bulbasaur. Again, I think a sequel would be a great idea. It could be essentially the exact same game, but with more levels and all four billion Pokémon. Hell, it could even make a decent WiiWare title once that service launches. Probably just a pipe dream, but I’m certain it would sell more than the hugely disappointing Pokémon Battle Revolution.

Hypocritical, perhaps

Most people are aware of my dislike of Final Fantasy VII. Or at least, its fanbase. It’s not a bad game, really, but in no respect is it the revolutionary game that the fantards claim it to be. It’s a completely standard Final Fantasy game with “meh”-inducing 3D graphics and a cockamamie plot. The Materia system renders all characters essentially the same, save their limit breaks, and lacks the tactical joys of the Junction or gambit systems from later Final Fantasy games. In any case, my general disposition towards the game might make me seem a bit flip-floppy for owning the following figurine.

Yeah, it’s Cloud. But for the record, I likely wouldn’t have bought it if it had been a Final Fantasy collectible. Nope, it’s actually the only Kingdom Hearts figurine we’ve ever stocked at the Toys ‘R’ Us I work at, and frankly, I thought it was pretty cool. Plus, I really liked the Kingdom Hearts games.

The Cloud figurine if from the second set of the Kingdom Hearts Formation Arts line, along with Goofy and Kairi. I’d actually seen the other two in a store in Grand Forks, but the Kairi figurine is kinda lame, and Goofy… well, I have no excuse for not buying that one. I’ve never seen any from the first set, but Amazon is telling me that the characters included in that set were Sora, Donald and Jack Skellington. After researching the line for a while, it would also seem that they’re pulled from the first game (the Sora and Kairi designs kinda gave it away), so they must be pretty old. I can’t find a date anywhere, but it doesn’t surprise me that we only received them earlier this year. Hell, we only got the Advent Children action figures about two weeks ago. Oh well. I guess Square-Enix toys just aren’t as cool as whatever the fuck Bakugans are.

Don’t have much else to say. The figure is made of a decent-quality plastic, and not PVC like most Japanese-made figurines (maybe it was produced by S-E USA?), which keeps it from being exorbitantly expensive, but it’s still got a great amount of detail. Cloud’s glove, sword, and cape are all exquisitely detailed, and the rest of the figure looks nice too. Oddly enough, it actually looks a lot bigger than it is. Don’t know why, but when you look at a picture, it seems like it’s maybe two or three inches taller than it is in reality. Meh. It’s cool, and Cloud spends his time sitting on my dresser beside my other decorative “toys”, namely, my Jesus action figure, and my sweet Led Zeppelin 3D album cover.

Inevitable schminevitable

For the longest time, I was pretty dead-set against the PSP. Neither it or the DS really took off right away, but the DS eventually became the hugest runaway success the video game world has ever seen. I often stop and laugh at people who said the DS would fail when I see them playing one, and I feel really good inside. On the other end though, I ended up feeling kind of sorry for the PSP. It’s really not a bad machine, I just place my main loyalties with Nintendo. So in the summer of ’06, I eventually decided to buy one. I’ve had some good times with it, but I can’t say it was a wholly justified purchase. At least it wasn’t until recently.

One of the main reasons I even bought the thing was because I heard the game pictured to the left of this paragraph was going to be made specifically for the handheld. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a remake of one of the very few Vania games never to see light in North America, Rondo of Blood. You can head to a handful of the sites I ahve links to on the navi bar there, and get the whole drawn-out story on Rondo, so I’m going to concentrate on what I think of the game.

There are actually three games in the Dracula X Chronicles; the Rondo of Blood remake, the original Rondo, and the Playstation classic Symphony of the Night. I already own the Xbox Live arcade version of Symphony, so for me it’s just nice to have a portable version, unlike for some people where its inclusion would be a deal-maker. Seems redundant, but you can never play through Symphony of the Night too many times.

The Rondo of Blood remake, which would be the feature title here (the other two need to be unlocked), is a great game. Decked out in superb new 3D visuals, it’s remake quality on par with the Gamecube’s version of Resident Evil. The game plays nearly identically, but there are minor adjustments and additions here and there that add so much more than the sum of their parts. For one, you can collect hidden music files and change the music of every level to your liking. This means, essentially, that you could put the BGM of every level to “Vampike Killer” should you so choose. The SotN music is available to choose from (once found) as well, so that adds a lot for people who are into the audio bit. And considering the Castlevania series’ penchant for beautiful scores, that should be everyone.

The 3D aspect of the game is mostly for visual goodness, but it also makes the game slightly easier. While all the bosses telegraph their moves in the original game, the 3D models have much more pronounced animation sequences than the sprite versions, so it’s a bit easier to see what’s coming. That doesn’t mean that the game is a cakewalk though. Old Castlevania games are tough as nails, and Rondo of Blood is no exception. Richter Belmont is a bit more agile than his ancestors, but that only helps so much. Maria Renard is newly unlockable in the remake, and she’s got some pretty cheap attacks, but taking down Dracula and his hordes of monsters is still no easy task.

I guess there’s probably some other stuff that I may have neglected to mention, but it all boils down to one thing: the game is fun. Maybe I’m a ‘Vania fanboy, but it’s the second most played PSP game I own next to Megaman Maverick Hunter X, and I own the FF Tactics remake. And now that I think of it, the PSP is becoming a haven for remakes. It’s not quite as bad as the GBA was with all the direct ports of SNES games, but the fact that its best content has all been seen before is almost as sad as how badly the DS is stomping it. Meh. I’m not complainaing. Portable versions of some of my favourite games are A-OK with me.

Steamed out

Well, I said I was running low on on-hand reviewables. But I’ve been saved by the mail! Indeed, it’s only a one-day fix (and sliding right under the line at 11:50 to boot), but it’s something.

Eh? Whatever could it be? Oh, come on. Like the gold colour and the fairy doen’t give it away.

You may not have heard about this promotion, but if you’d bought The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and registered it on Nintendo.com, they would send you this swanky feather pen stylus for free. Free! There’s no better price, especially for special crap like this. I’m not sure if the offer’s still on, but it’s pretty worth it. I mean, if you’ve already got Phantom Hourglass, getting a sweet bonus for free is icing on the cake. It’s no reason to buy the game, like some special offers before it, but neat anyway.

I’ll admit I haven’t used it to play anything yet, but it feels nice, being particularly larger than both the original and Lite stylus. It doesn’t fit in the stylus notch in any DS unit (obviously), but that’s hardly an issue unless you want to show it off in public. I don’t think I’ll ever really use it at all, myself.

Yeah, so you can see that there’s a good size difference between the feather pen stylus and the regular types. I don’t really know what else I can say about the thing. It’s nice and clear. Ummm… Yeah. That’s about it. If you have Phantom Hourglass, go register it for free goodies. If not… well, why don’t you have it? It’s a pretty good game.

Bad to the… crust

I don’t mean to destroy what little faith you may have in my ability to make posts for 25 days in a row, but it would seem that I’m already running low on on-hand material. Oops. I guess I’ll have to consign some of these posts to less significant/expensive goods. Perhaps some will actually be Christmas related? Well, maybe I’ll start on those types of items today!

Christmas, in addition to being a time where people go out and spend as much money as possible to make sure their family loves them, is also a time for delicious feasts! Yeah, most holidays call for feasts which may have some air of deliciousness to them, but Christmas has always been the most appetizing holiday to me. This can probably be attributed almost completely to my dad’s mom, who pulls out all the stops when it comes to baking when Christmastime comes around. Cookies, cakes, pies – all the goodies you can ever imagine! And so many of them! So that’s why I’m categorizing the following item as “Christmassy” when at a glance it clearly is not.

Pumpkin cheesecake. Oh yes. Oh yes. OH YES.

There are two things about me that everyone in my family knows: 1) I love pumpkin pie and 2) I love cheesecake. So pumpkin cheesecake? Why not? Trouble is, things are never as sweet as you dream them.

The pumpkin cheesecake had two major flaws. For one, and I did not notice this until it was too late, it was infused with pecans. Let me put this as bluntly as I can: I fucking hate nuts. They have a horrible history of ruining perfectly good baking, and while cheesecake isn’t necessarily “baking”, this is no exception. For reasons I will explain in the next paragraph, I could barely taste the bilious pecans, but they messed up the texture of the cheesecake. When I eat cheesecake, I want it to melt in my mouth. I don’t want big gross lumps of hard in there. It completely ruined the experience for me, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look another pumpkin cheesecake in the eye again, even if it is sans pecan.

The other big problem here is that while this particular product is supposed to harness the powers of cheesecake and pumpkins, it tastes like neither. I don’t know, maybe I got a defective one, but the thing was totally overspiced. Every bite was like pouring a cup of ginger into my mouth. Not a pleasant taste in the least. There was a little cheesecake in there somewhere, but it wasn’t nearly enough to save it. By the time I was halfawy done with the cheesecake (I paid like $6 for it, I was damn well going to finish it!), I was already cringing at the thought of eating any more. I never cringe at the thought of sweets. Never.

Only now do I realize that the purpose of posting every day until Christmas was to recommend a bunch of stuff, but I guess that’s gone to hell now. I cannot in good consience tell anyone that eating this pumpkin cheesecake is a good idea. Maybe some other company produces a good pumpkin cheesecake, but the President’s Choice brand is utter crap. I did not enjoy it in the least, and almost almost regret my purchase. The only positive is that I got a pretty easy blog post out of it.

Special effects are overrated

I’ve been pretty hooked on two channels lately: Turner Classic Movies and American Movie Classics. It got to the point of realizing I had a problem when I stayed up all night last Halloween watching a Boris Karloff marathon, even though I had to work the next morning. But so what? Old movies kick ass, and watching those two channels as much as I have recently has made me realize just how much everything that comes out of Hollywood these days kinda sucks. I miss low-budget special effects. I miss completely retarded stories that somehow contain a brilliant social commentary. I miss camp. Oh sweet Jesus, do I miss camp.

For years I’ve known the story of War of the Worlds, as well as the infamous radio version debacle. It’s one of my favourite science fiction stories of all time. As I walked out of the newer version of the flick, pretty much all I heard was people complaining about the ending. What the fuck guys? It’s an incredibly popular story, how the Hell did you miss it? In any case, I really liked it, Tom Cruise and all.

I’d never seen the original film version of War of the Worlds until recently, when I caught it on AMC one lazy Sunday afternoon. I was lucky enough to flip by right a the beginning, and intrigued by the fact that it was the original, I decided it was something that I must watch. Not a week later I was out trying to find the film on DVD (needless to say, I loved it), and came across the beauty you see to the left.

Double/triple feature DVDs seem to be all the rage right now, as I see more and more of them every time I browse the movie sections at Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Most of the time, they don’t seem like anything I care to invest in, but the odd time I come across pure gold, like the War of the Worlds/When Worlds Collide pack, and the It’s Alive trilogy (more on that another day). I’d never even heard of When Worlds Collide when I saw this, but given that I was going to buy War of the Worlds anyway, and the double pack was the same price as the solo WotW, it was kind of a brainless move.

I’m going to assume that everyone knows the general plot to War of the Worlds, so I’ll skip that part. If you don’t have any idea what it’s about, you might want to catch up on your genre-defining stories, you uncultured swine. Anyway, I like it way more than the new one. Yeah, it may lack fancy-pants special effect, but the crap effects are hilarious and take me back to a day I wasn’t around to actually experience. The characters, though many more in number, are better if anything, and the entire movie has an undeniable charm that makes it totally lovable. The next logical step for me would be to, you know, read the book.

When Worlds Collide is a very similar beast, though mostly because old sci-fi movies all have a lot in common. Like the gigantic plot holes, for example! The premise for this movie is that a foreign planet is on route to pass close by to the Earth, with its sun following right behind, which is on a direct crash-course with Earth. So what to do? Build a rocket ship to carry a handful of people onto the new planet as it passes by so that the human race isn’t totally wiped out when Earth is crushed by the oncoming star. This was totally sound in 1951, but knowing all we do about space and stuff these days, the timeframe of the movie really fudges up a lot of stuff. The most notable oversight being that the Earth would be burnt to a crisp long before the star smashes into it, which the movie completely fails to consider.

But it’s okay! When Worlds Collide is otherwise a decent movie! The pacing is a little fast, because the plot runs over the course of about a year. In that respect, you miss some of the necessary gradual progression of things like relationships between the characters, but this fault can be overlooked, because otherwise the movie would be like five hours long. The characters are generally pretty likable, some in a “love to hate” way, and the plot is a pretty fun sci-fi take on early space exploration. Granted, I slept through about 15 minutes in the middle, but I’m happy to have watched this movie. It’s the kind of thing you put on every once in a while to remind you that global disaster movies used to be good.

Do I recommend this DVD set? Hells yeah! These are two timeless stories that everyone should be able to enjoy. They’re fun and touching, and I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t enjoy them. I know I enjoy a lot of crappy movies, but I firmly believe that War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide are two great films. That said, I’m old.

Feel the glow of commerce

Since the theme around here this year seems to be really heavy on materialism, I think I’ve got a good idea! Well, maybe an okay idea. I’ve already got two days covered, so I’ve decided that until the 24th, I’m going to post and review one item I’ve recently bought per day. Kind of like a poor man’s version of a certain other site’s annual holiday countdowns. expect mostly movies and CDs, but possibly some surprises. Who knows? I haven’t really thought it through yet.

Today’s entry is going to play off yesterday’s lengthy post, in that it’s also Fullmetal Alchemist related. This time, it’s the movie! Yes, that’s right. After watching the series, I tried downloading this like three times, but always managed to get alternate language versions (French, German, and Japanese). I really wish people would tag their torrents better. So I gave up, and when I was out getting the season one box sets, I decided to pick the movie up to. For completion’s sake, you see.

I’ll note at this point that I got the standard edition. There was a two-disc special edition as well, but it was significantly more moneys, and the extra bonus features really didn’t sell me on spending nearly double what I intended to. Plus, I’d never seen the thing, and I couldn’t justify dropping that much on something I might end up not liking. I’m an impulse buyer at heart, but I only pick up stuff I’m gambling on when it’s cheap.

Long story short, I think I made the right move. This is not to say that the Fullmetal Alchemist movie is a bad movie. In fact, it was a rather inspired movie, keeping with the general feel of the show, yet introducing some other, possibly even deeper concepts. Since it plays directly off the ending of the series, I won’t go into detail about the plot to prevent spoilers (even though by this point anyone who cares has seen every episode).

Much like the series, the FMA movie is mostly about plot and character development. A couple new people are in there and don’t get quite as much screen time as you’d expect for a major character, but they still manage to give you more than enough details to identify with these characters and understand exactly who they are and why they’re motivated to do what they do. The downside is that for anyone who isn’t a fan of the show, most of the recurring characters and mechanics are only briefly introduced (Wrath in particular), and you’ll have no idea who they are or how they manage to do the things they do. Of course, I doubt many people who didn’t follow the seires will be watching the movie, but still.

In keeping with the focus on the characters, action sequences are kept short and aren’t overly common, which again coincides with the show’s formula. The movie actually opens with an undeniably fun action scene, which makes for a really good hook, but from there on in, it’s about an hour until the next. I’m not griping about this or anything, just stating the facts. Fanservice is minimal too, and kept to fit with the plot. They don’t hamfistedly cram any fan-favourite characters in just to please, excpt for when Scar sort of shows up at the end, but even that’s a perfectly reasonable appearance.

In the end, I can’t say that the Fullmetal Alchemist movie really lived up to the the series. It was a good way to end the story, but didn’t completely satisfy. For all the good things that it brings to the table, the middle is uncharacteristically slow and somewhat dull. That’s about all I ahve to gripe about though. The extras that come with the standard edition DVD are more than enough, including a huge 18-page booklet filled with notes on the movie’s development, character and theme information, and artwork. Also included are a 40-minute “making of” documentary, trailers and art galleries. I don’t remember what extras were on the special edition, but they weren’t enough for me to justify spending almost double. In all, I recommend the standard edition to the fan, special edition being reserved more for the fanboy and those with money to blow. Outsiders will just be confused as all hell, so unless you intend to watch the entire series first, FMA newbs should just stay away.

Touché

Fullmetal Alchemist is an abberation in the world of anime. Firstly, it’s probably the most competently dubbed anime in the history of ever. That, coupled with the fact that it’s just plain awesome have earned it a rather large (and well-deserved) fanbase. Moreover, it’s the only anime (that isn’t Transformers/a cheap game video tie-in) that I’ve ever enjoyed. I don’t think it’s going to be paving the way for any more, but it’s a pretty big step for me personally, being the “write off all anime because most of the popular ones are crap” kind of person that I am (read: ignorant).

I downloaded (quite illegally, I might add) the entire series over a year ago, and instantly got hooked. At first, so that I didn’t waste entire days watching, I would limit myself to two episodes a day. That quickly fell apart, as I wasn’t working at the time, and I often would end up watching six or more a day. Needless to say, I blasted through the 51-episode series pretty quickly.

Because I’m the kind of guy who prefers to legitimately own things, especially in cases of things I like, I quickly set out to purchase whatever FMA DVD sets I could find. Much to my chagrin, they were released in those Godforsaken 4-episode sets. I fucking hate when shows are distributed this way. My wallet likes it though, because I refuse to buy anything that is sold in sets of anything less than at least half a season. The likes of Fullmetal Alchemist, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), and Viewtiful Joe all fall under this umbrella of shitty distribution, and I hadn’t bought any of them because of it.

Ninja Turtles was the first to rectify this issue. I still haven’t ponied up the cash for any of the available sets, but I fully intend to, if mostly because I missed most of the episodes in seasons 2, 3 and 4. Fullmetal Alchemist finally began selling in half-season sets in Sepetmber, and while I didn’t notice right away, the release of the second volume caught my eye and I went out immediately and scooped up both of the season one boxes. For two boxes of 16 episodes at approximately $45 each ($90 total), it seems like a bit much, but the four-ep packs cost about $30 each, and since I would have had to pick up 8 of them to finish season one, that would have run me just a wee bit more ($240).

Along with the fact that I think Fullmetal Alchemist is the only anime worth watching (opinion may be slightly biased), the box sets come with all sorts of neat extras that make them worth owning. There are little booklets that come four to each box, which are chock full of neat supplemental information and art. Also, there’s a ton of cool stuff on the DVDs proper, like commercials, commentaries, image galleries, and music videos. After a little bit of research on Amazon, it seems like none of this bonus material comes with the smaller sets, so that’s even more reason for the avid FMA fan to rush out and pick them up. The chumps who bought the little sets must be kicking themsleves right now.

Truth be told though, as much as I hate the stupid 3-/4-episode DVD sets of shows I like, it’s not so much a matter of money that drives me to neglect them. I know that waiting for and buying the box sets will save me tons of cash, but I really don’t have a huge issue with paying for things I really enjoy. No, it’s the fact that buying dozens of full-size DVD cases for one show eats up way more room than necessary. When I can wait a while longer and get the box that only takes up one eighth of the space, I’m not even going to think twice about it.

So I’m not sure what this post was really about. It was one part hocking the Fullmetal Alchemist DVD boxes, and one part bitching about bad DVD distribution methods. Actually, score! I got two blog posts done at once. Now I feel happy. I’ll be even happier come January 15th and the third FMA box comes out.

Live there, die there

If you’ve yet to experience Metalocalypse, I highly suggest you expose yourself to it as quickly as possible. Monday nights on Teletoon, and God knows when on Cartoon Network (I don’t get the channel). It’s a Brendon Small production, so right there you should have a good idea of whether or not you’ll like it. It’s not quite as brilliant as Home Movies, but it’s hilarious and the members of Dethklok are some of the most lovable characters I’ve seen in ages. The first season DVD was also released in mid-October, so maybe just go out and buy that. The special features alone are totally worth it.

Since the show is about a band, it’s completely understandable that they would make at least one CD to cash in on the franchise even more. Dethklok’s debut album seems like so much more than an easy cash grab though. It’s a full-length CD, with complete versions of a bunch of the songs featured in the show, as well as a couple new ones. We can only hope that subsequent seasons of the show result in follow-up albums. Sadly, I do not own a legitimate copy of the album, as not one retailer in my vicinity stocks the damned thing. It’s possibly the world’s greatest injustice. I’ll buy it online eventually, but until that day… illegal MP3s are all I have.

Blah, but enough about loosely-related things. How about the actual music? Well, it’s most definitely metal. I actually intend to do a complete review of the disc, so I won’t go into too much detail here. I will say that from the day I downloaded it to the day I lost my car, it’s all that I listened to while driving. That should probably say enough. If not, you know the song “Thunderhorse” in Guitar Hero 2? Well, it’s on the Dethalbum, only it kicks so much more ass you wouldn’t believe it. I think I mentioned so in the past. I think I may have also posted an MP3. There are a couple songs that don’t quite measure up to par, but overall it’s a fantastic CD, and the bonus disc that comes with the special edition (pictured) is gravy.

So yes. If you like the show, you probably already own this CD. If not, what the hell is wrong with you? To anyone who hasn’t seen Metalocalypse, I reiterate my point of “check it out now”. Beneath all the blood and metal is some rather inspired satire. Also, jokes. The CD carries on most of those elements too, so yeah. Get it.

Metalocalypse on [adult swim]

Buy The Dethalbum

Buy Metalocalypse Season One

The dawning of a new age

It’s hard to believe that sometime during this month, I will have been maintining this website for five years. That’s legendary for blogs that nobody reads. But maybe things will change this year. I’ve forgotten the site’s birthday/anniversary for like three years in a row, so I guess it’s time I make up for that. To celebrate, here’s a fresh coat of paint! Also, a lolcake.

I’ve still got a long way to go to get things all up to speed (never finished the last redecoration, and there’s still stuff to move over from the old Angelfire site), but we’re off to a good start. Everything looks crisp and extra-virginal in the new white theme. I’ll admit that it does seem a bit sterile, whereas the old black site had more personality, but the white look seems to be going out of style, and everyone knows it’s hip to be behind the trends. Or, I think that’s how it works anyway.

The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is the new NAVI Bar. It’s a pretty basic sidebar, but nicer-looking and with Engrish flair! You’ll notice that the rollover does more than just change the link color too. The spacing trick is a small touch, but still nice to look at, and if you hold your mouse over any link, a short description will pop up!

Eventually I hope to streamline most of the site to match this page, much like I had intended to do with the old layout. News archive pages will be stripped down to the base blog so that I don’t have to worry about maintaining any time-sensitive things like links. I have no idea what I’m going to do with the articles page, but something will happen. And if you hadn’t noticed, I’m still working in HTML with some help from CSS stylesheets. This could all flow so much easier if I were to take the time to learn PHP, but frankly, I know I’ll lose interest before I can make any good use of it. If anyone were willing to volunteer some time to make at least the main blog and articles page stream together nicely, that would kick ass… but I’m not asking or anything. It would totally have to be a “from the goodness of your heart” thing.

So yeah. All the articles will be stuck into this stuffy layout too, somehow, so if you don’t like it… Well, that’s a problem. You have to admit that it’ll look nicer than the randomly cobbled together pages I’ve got going now. Oh, and you’ll get a cookie if you can tell me which site this layout is inspired from. The last one was ripped almost directly from an old GorillaMask layout, but this one is a ripoff in spirit alone. I reworked the code for it all by myself.

Speaking of code, that’s the last change, as invisible as it may be. It’s not quite up to standards yet, but I weeded out a huge amount of useless tags from the index code, and cleaned up what was left a little. You’ll still get a headache trying to figure out what’s going on in there, but it’s better.

So that’s it for now. I’m not sure what the next few years will have in store, but hopefuly they’re more productive than the last year has been. Jeez, I must have published like, two articles this year? Oh well. At least the place looks prettier now.