And somehow there was an outpouring of contentedness that I uploaded a new Pop-Tarts review for the first time in nearly a year. I am simultaneously delighted and baffled that people enjoy this video series as much as they do. I most definitely appreciate every kind word that comes my way, and I’m happy that people are enjoying these, but… I don’t know. I think they’re pretty dumb videos.
Enjoy!
I had to complete an online exam for work. This is my result…
At least it wasn’t a math exam…
The above video is about the competitive side of Super Smash Bros. I don’t really care for said scene myself, as I am a much more casual Smasher (I play with items on sometimes. Gasp!), but I thought that this video was fascinating.
It’s certainly worth a watch regardless of who you are. It’s very accessible, and does a very good job of explaining why people are so passionate about the game, and draws excellent parallels to traditional sports that can help people who don’t give a flying fig about video games understand.
I love Smash, and I absolutely appreciate how complex and malleable it is, but I still mostly just like it because it lets me beat up Bowser as Shulk. Or because I can play as Lucina outside of a tactical strategy game. You know, stuff like that. I’ll never understand why people cling so desperately to Melee, but that doesn’t especially interest me.
So videos of me being spanked by my amiibos in Smash 4 are apparently a thing I’m doing now.
Enjoy?
The response to my Pop-Tarts inquiry was pretty much exactly what I was expecting.
Thank you for contacting us on-line. We appreciate your interest in our company.
We at Kellogg Canada and our related companies, continually conduct market research to develop new and existing products. Based on the market research results in each country, a decision is made on which product will be enjoyed by the majority of our consumers. Your feedback is appreciated and will be considered when planning future product line improvements.
Also due to international regulations, Canadian Customs policies and our inability to guarantee our quality standards during shipping, we do not ship products directly internationally.
I hope you continue to enjoy our Pop Tarts for years to come no matter where they are coming from.
The usual PR run-around with a sprinkle of marketing nonsense. Whatever. I don’t suspect anyone outside of Kellogg’s marketing team will ever know the real reason why we can’t have Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts in Canada. It won’t make any difference, really, but I’d like to see the numbers for myself.
I think the solution here is to make up a million sock puppet e-mail accounts and bombard Kellogg Canada until they decide that there is enough demand in Canada to sell Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts here. I must have them!
On the other hand, they did answer the question of why I can’t have fancy American Pop-Tarts shipped directly to me. And I didn’t even ask that question!
So thanks, Kellogg Customer Affairs Lady Who Shall Remain Unnamed.
I sent an e-mail to Kellogg Canada today asking why there are so many more flavours of Pop-Tarts in the United States than there are in Canada.
We shall see what comes of this.
(I probably should have just used Twitter, but I’m old-fashioned.)
(Please enjoy the intended irony of me suggesting that e-mail is the old-fashioned way of contacting a giant corporation. I wrote this post specifically for that joke.)
I’m finding that I spend a lot less time playing video games than I did only a few months ago. Maybe I’m growing up finally? Nah. Just keeping busy with other things.
Though somehow the Now Playing list still seems to go on forever. I think the real answer must be that my ADD is progressively getting worse.
Puzzle & Dragons Z (3DS) – I rolled the credits, but really I’m only halfway through the game. It’s one of those situations where beating the “final boss” unlocks another adventure and the other half of the game world. Also the final boss was a total joke compared to the penultimate boss. That was really weird.
Mega Man Sprite Game (PC) – An RPG based on what I assume is a sprite comic. It only took an hour, but it wasn’t as funny as it wants to be. A lot of the music used in it is really good, though. It’s probably worth a look if you’re bored and enjoy absurd humour.
I’ve Got To Run! (3DS) – It was on sale for ten cents, if you can believe it. It’s an endless runner game, so I can’t really beat it, but I unlocked all the modes and characters, so good enough. Some of those extra modes are pretty fun, too, so… good buy.
3D Classics: Kirby’s Adventure (3DS) – It’s Kirby’s Adventure. I play through this at least once every year. One of my favourite games of all time.
Balloon Fight (NES) – Spent a few nights with Balloon Fight to honour the memory of Iwata. Got new high scores on both modes.
Fallout: New Vegas (PC) – These (modern) Fallout games are so great. I could just wander around the wastes for hours and not get bored. Except that I can’t because there are so many things that can kill me with ease. But someday, I will have a decent gun. And then… then, I will have my revenge.
Earthbound Beginnings (WiiU) – As much as I love Earthbound, I feel totally lukewarm about Beginnings. It’s not a bad game by any stretch, but it’s hard to fully appreciate it after playing the timeless sequel. It’s still pretty interesting from a historical standpoint, though.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (3DS) – I sometimes wish the real world had a soundtrack like the one in this game. It’s just so gosh darn pretty!
Drakengard (PS2) – I’ve read the LP. I know what it is and what happens. But I just had to play it for myself. Just one of those things that are so mind-boggling that you need to experience them first-hand, you know?
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (3DS) – I decided to go back and clean up the post-game stuff. I hate that I have seemingly outgrown Pokémon. Maybe I just spent too many hours with Pokémon Y? Because I got pretty deeply invested in that one.
Clicker Heroes (PC) – I probably shouldn’t count this any more. Even though it gets about as much attention from me as the rest of the list combined.
Bit Boy Arcade (3DS) – I can’t even describe how weird this game is. I imagine that it must be what a bad acid trip is like. Also the gameplay is middling arcadey fare, but it says “arcade” right there in the title. I guess I can’t really complain?
I am not in good shape.
As much as I have trying to be more active lately, I seem to be making very small strides. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, of course! You can’t just magically become fit overnight. It takes a lot of time and effort. Unfortunately, since I’m lazy, the more effort something takes, the less encouraged I am to do it. Path of least resistance and whatnot.
Point is, I tried rollerblading last night. It… didn’t go especially well. I lasted approximately 20 minutes before I had to pack it in because I felt like I was going to simply collapse. While I remember them hurting the most during previous rollerblading attempts, my feet seemed quite okay with it all. The pain was almost all in the shins and mah buns. Calves and thighs burned just right, though.
Funny thing is, while I hadn’t strapped on the blades in years previous, last September I managed to rollerblade all the way to my parents’ house one time. I mean, I thought I was literally going to die of heart failure, but I did it. That’s just over an hour walking, so I’d say it must have taken somewhere between 30 and 40 minutes to blade that far. I refuse to believe that I was in better shape in September than I am now. There’s simply no way.
So how did I manage that back then, but I was unable to get even a full half hour last night? Probably that I just lacked motivation to keep going. In September, rollerblading was the only way to get there on that particular day. And while I could already tell it was a terrible idea ten minutes out, turning back would just result in me feeling dead at home, instead of having a fun video game evening with my brother. Last night, I was just doing it for the exercise, and that is rarely motivation enough for me to keep going if I’m getting worn out or just not having any fun with it.
I know that exercise and being in better shape should be its own reward, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for me. Every time I really feel motivated to get my exercise on, it’s because I’ve got a girl on my mind. I don’t know if that says something about misplaced priorities or some other horrible mental failing of mine, but that’s how it is. The worst part is, I’m not really interested in any women who would only be interested in me if I had a more appealing physical figure. So it’s all moot! My life is one big ouroboros of hypocrisy!
I had typed a couple more paragraphs here going to greater detail about my fractured psyche, but that’s no fun, so I erased them. We can talk about that another time. Let’s just stick to my main point for now:
Rollerblading! It’s hard when you’re fat!
Yesterday, the news broke that Nintendo’s Global President, Satoru Iwata, had passed away.
Now I’m heartbroken all over again. When you think of the CEO of a giant global company, you don’t think of someone like Mr. Iwata. His warmth and sense of humour made Nintendo Directs such a joy to watch, and his contributions to Nintendo as a programmer are legendary.
Edit: Aw, heck. Here’s another one by a fellow Talking Time member.
Rest in peace, Iwata-san.
I made some cookies last week. They did not go quite as planned.
Now, I have baked cookies before. Recently, even! And they came out well enough. No real issues, aside from me learning that whole wheat flour makes for somewhat less desirable cookies.
This time, though, turned into a bit of a fiasco. And I don’t even know how. I followed the recipe exactly, just as I always do (I don’t know enough about baking to try to mess with a recipe), yet somehow, the batter ended up way too creamy. It was basically liquid. What was my solution? To dump in a bunch more flour.
Lesson learned: maybe only dump in a bit more flour. The liquid batter quickly became a nearly-solid clump that was sticky as all hell, clinging to even my greased hands like there was no tomorrow. Things were looking bad. There was no way I’d be able to actually pull it apart into regular cookie lumps. So I tossed the whole thing on a pan, smooshed it down a bit, and shoved it into the oven.
The “pizza cookie” that came out was still a bit of a mess. It wasn’t baked through properly so I had to quarter it and put it back in for a while longer. Fortunately, the second time I brought it out, it was looking more like a cookie should. Only giant. And in quarters. Not great, but all in all, it could have probably turned out much worse.
I tried a bit and it was actually quite tasty, as well! A little more floury than it should have been (natch), but still quite edible and cookie-tasting. Things turned around quite nicely!
So I chopped the sucker into bits to make it easier to share. Because I’d made this cookie to take to work, you see. That’s not something anyone in the entire world would expect me to do. I’m not a baker, and I’m certainly not generous, so it was obviously an out-of-character gesture.
….Or was it?
