It's been a bit since I went on an Adventure due to work.. *silence* at work... but yeah, kinda sorta been on one over the past two days. And it all started mostly because of this...
Well, I don't think that's how it started, but that right there was the main driving force of this adventure...
Like, my dude Jacko tells me via FaceBook that he has Issue #226. Obviously, I must collect it as well. It's not about 1-uping him. No, not at all. It's about being a Sonic fan and having Sonic Genesis as a part of my admittedly not-so-popping Sonic item collection. So I make it my goal of getting it.
And I see the issue in the flesh too. I spin through a couple of pages but I don't actually read anything because I wish to read it myself when I own it. So I look, I gasp, and I put it down.
Said adventure actually kinda sorta starts due to being invited to go see the Green Lantern movie on a Monday night, which I felt just wasn't really good. It had its moments, but overall... it just wasn't good. You have a hero with a green ring that can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants with it, and like... I dunno, I feel like they didn't try hard enough. Whatever.
So we come back home and I play Super Smash Bros. Brawl and I dominate... Which is good for me because I'm trying to go to Apex, a national Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament, and the fact that I'm still leagues better than my friends let me know that my skills still have some kind of merit. In any event, after winning all but maybe 4 or 5 games, I play the Sonic Generations demo (see what I think about it here). Overall, I'm loving it... I just want more. I make a few more jokes about life, and then I leave for the night.
The next day (which would be yesterday), I wake up and run a few errands, including food shopping and stuff like that. After the food shopping, I go to Borders, looking for Issue #226. It's not there. Needless to say, I'm pissed. Sonic comics are there chilling, forever, but now everyone's a Sonic fan and wants Issue #226? Blow me, you're lying.... you're doing it for the money, but this is my life. And I'm upset. So boom, I'm about to make an emergency trip to the city to locate Issue #226, because this has to be in my possession, period.
Jacko decides to tag along as another friend of mine drops us off on the Ave, and we take a train from there. First, we end up at Midtown Comics, secretly located in the heart of Times Square. I search for Issue #226 there, but I find nothing. So I ask for help. They put me in the direction of the Sonic comics, but there is no Issue #226 in sight. Bullshit. Whatever.
We trek out to St. Mark's Comics, which is on St. Mark's Place, where almost everything just so happens to have my name on it.
See?
Anyway, we get there, and I still can't find Issue #226. Sure enough, I ask for help finding it, and apparently it's "sold out." What the fuck. I don't understand why everyone's a Sonic fan all of a sudden. Whatever.
So as Jacko is buying a few things out of the store, I take a look at Issue #225, however, and in the back of it, it clearly states that Issue #226 goes on sale the week of 07/05/11. In other words, Jacko got it early. Wow. So here I am, blowing blood vessels trying to find a comic book that shouldn't even be on the streets yet.... typically amazing, in my opinion. I resolve to snatching this comic up early next week. No games.
Afterwards, I show Jacko a video game store that, apparently, is called "8 Bits and Up." I had been here before, but I didn't realize that this was 8 Bits and Up, a gaming store that I had heard so much about. It easily lives up to its rep, ousting GameStop as the better video game store easily. The store has games from all eras. All eras. We saw SNES games, Genesis games, Atari 2600 games, and other shit that we couldn't even identify. We're definitely going back next week... well, I am, and if Jacko's available, he's surely coming along... and I'm gonna get Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 and Virtua Fighter 4. Yes, on PS2. I'm not getting a PS3 yet, so relax.
After that, we had an okay trip home. Upon the trip, Jacko let me have Issue #225, and I'm kinda mind blown by the result of that Issue... wow. I also read the beginning of this graphic novel involving Spiderman, Human Torch, and Iceman. Shit's hilarious...
"The game isn't out, but like a stereotypical Sonic-fan, finds something to complain about before the release. Can't even be happy with how well the game is progressing but complains about a "possible" leaked stage list. I give the review a 2/10"
"wow you sound like the other sonic fans bitch and cry about everything ... what next oh his shoes are wrong .. just enjoy the game and stop over think shit noob"
So... in other words... because I am a Sonic fan, I should just be happy with what I get? I can't be critical about anything at all?
Like, view those two comments up there... it's pretty clearly trolling, but I like feeding trolls, so I'm going to dedicate an entire fucking blog to them, because this is bullshit.
Overall, both comments are complaining about my complaint about the game possibly being too short. Apparently, I, as a Sonic fan, should be happy that the game is any good at all, regardless of the length, or lack thereof. Well, let's examine that, shall we?
First off, my complaint directly has something to do with the game play. What part, you ask? Replay value. The easiest, cheapest, dirtiest way to generatereplay value is to have a large number of levels.
But what if the game sucks?
When we cross that bridge, we'll talk about it... I thoroughly enjoy the direction that Sonic Generations is going in. The demo showcased what Classic Sonic is all about since we already know what Modern Sonic is all about, and I love everything that is Classic Sonic game play. My review of the demo mentioned a few hiccups that the super meticulous fan would notice if compared directly to the Genesis Sonic games, but those hiccups aren't bothering me. Why? Because the experience is fun, more fun than Sonic 4.
So if I know I'm going to enjoy Modern Sonic, and after having played with Classic Sonic, I love what's in store for Classic Sonic as well, it's clear to me that the formula works. I didn't mention sound... I love Sonic sounds... both music and sound effects, it's one thing that Sonic games do right practically all the time. I didn't mention graphics. I could see Sonic, I could the enemies, I could see where I was going... The graphics fucking work.
All in all, the formula fucking works. You don't see me complaining about Modern Sonic's quills not being of the right length or Classic Sonic's belly being too round or not round enough. You don't see me complaining that Sonic's shoe color is off. No. You don't see that. At all.
You see me complaining about the number of levels that showed up when the demo was hacked. You see me complaining not about the levels themselves, but the fact that I'm hoping it isn't a complete list of levels. You see me even admit that my first reaction to seeing the list was a negative knee jerk reaction, and you see me admit that I'm hoping that there are more levels that simply haven't been revealed.
But apparently, because I'm a Sonic fan, I can't complain about that. I should just be happy with what we got.
You do realize that this game wouldn't exist if Sonic fans were just happy with what we got, right? You do realize that this game wouldn't exist if we were happy with hedgehogs on motorcycles, hedgehogs in glitched up games, hedgehogs turning into werehogs, and hedgehogs that don't abide by the natural rules of gravity and momentum, right? You do realize that the craziness and the madness of the Sonic fandom is the reason why this game exists, right? The silly complaint about the blue eyes and the slender body is a part of the reason why this game exists... you realize that, right?
If me complaining that I want more than 10 levels of what is looking like a Sonic game that I am anticipating will knock Sonic Colors off my personal top three list of favorite Sonic games is a problem when there have been many more ridiculous complaints before this, then Fuck you.
I played the Sonic Generations demo last night/early this morning.
My mind is blown.
If you are one of the unlucky ones who haven't gotten to play the demo yet, the demo is a single level, Green Hill as Classic Sonic. And from this one level, I'm going to analyze, speculate, and otherwise demoralize Sonic Generations...
The Good
I'm pretty sure that, as a Sonic fan, you already know how the Modern Sonic levels are going to play for the most part. They look like Sonic Unleashed's daytime levels and Sonic Colors without the Wisps. That's pretty much set in stone. It's only a matter of little details, the most of which won't matter much because you're out there blazing paths, flying through the air, and grinding on rails at 500+ mph.
But how about that Classic Sonic stuff? I believe that this was the purpose of the demo... to showcase what Classic Sonic is all about. And I do like what I see.
Classic Sonic operates like Classic Sonic should... unlike Sonic 4. We have momentum, we have platforming, we lack a homing attack, so on and so forth. There are still a few hiccups for the super meticulous between Genesis Sonic games and Classic Sonic here and now, but overall, I feel as though this is going to put on a much better performance than Sonic 4 Episode 1 did. (whatever happened to Sonic 4? Did it die?)
And that spindash........ I FUCKING LOVE THAT SPINDASH!
Say what you want about how fast and inaccurate from the past games it may be, but this Spin Dash is essentially saying, "We know we fucked up, so we're just gonna make it broken and mindblowingly awesome to make up for lost time." Yes, that what this overpowered spin dash is doing... making up for lost time. I'm sure there are more than enough assholes complaining about it, but I say fuck that. Embrace this ridiculously awesome spindash. I honestly hope that it stays in the final version.
The Bad
You knew this was coming, but honestly, "The Bad" isn't that bad.
Game play wise, I think the game is going to be great. Phenomenal even. Like, I can possibly seeing this game bump Sonic Colors out of it's number 3 spot in my list of top 3 Sonic games... Which, for the curious, is:
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic 2
Sonic Colors
However, the one thing that will keep it out of the top three is the length. I'm not going to spoil it here, but if you know how to use Google and stuff, you can probably find out that the demo was already hacked and a number of interesting things were found, including a [what might not and hopefully isn't complete] list of levels that will be in the game. Now I have nothing against the levels that are on this list at all. However, I feel like there is no way this list can be complete... When I first saw it, I had a negative knee jerk reaction about the lack of levels involved, but after giving it a second thought, I look at the list and it just feels incomplete. I just hope I'm right about it.
And that's about it. That, right now, is my only qualm about Sonic Generations. That level list needs expansion. And the thing is... the game comes out in November, and it's June, practically July, so essentially, the list of levels is pretty much decided.
The other thing that bothers me is DLC... like, okay, whatever, Sonic Levels as DLC... FUCK THAT SHIT. JUST PUT ALL THE GOTDAMN LEVELS IN THE GOTDAMN GAME. Yet another problem with the video game industry... whatever. You know what? Fuck you. Pay me.
And I think DLC is going to be the one thing that keeps Sonic Generations from being better than Sonic Colors... if, you know, Sonic Generations comes with only the levels that have already been discovered in the list. If the game gets as many, or close to as many levels as Sonic Colors did off the bat, then we have something, and DLC won't be so bad... but hey... you know...
Oh, you don't know? Money first, fan satisfaction later.
And it's times like this I'm glad that the Wii isn't capable of DLC... it's the biggest ripoff in gaming since the XBox itself.
Sonic pretty much sums it up better than anyone ever could @ 0:56.
Like... seriously. Total bullshit.
First off, peep the job description... washes dishes.
So I'm in the back, and all I do all day is wash dishes... unless some bullshit comes up. Bullshit always comes up. From minor bullshit to major bullshit, from fetch quests to extracurricular jobs that I should be getting paid extra for, this shit is a complete mess.
And then like... there is this abundance of hot women at my job. But I hardly get to socialize with them... know why? Too busy in the back washing dishes and/or running dishes to the dish wash machine. Hardly any time to take a break and just chill.
And then, like, the one woman that consistent comes back there to talk is this old fart... and it's like, devastatingly obvious that she's trying to be more than friendly...
And then there's this one chick... I think she likes me... like, when I see her, when she sees me... the smile on this woman's face... I might be reading too much into it, but I can honestly admit that my presence has not lit up a girl's face like that in a looong time.
But, you know... no time to try and capitalize on it.
"Wait, Mark, what about all that shit you were talking about the pussy payments?"
I ain't tryna miss out on beautiful opportunities either. But maybe... this isn't really an opportunity... since, you know, I can hardly get to talk to her... I'm a have to scheme that one out.
Either way... bottom of the barrel down here. I take orders from everyone. "Can I have this?" "Can you get that?" "Do this." "Do that." "Go to the food court and fetch."
You know what? Whatever. Fuck you. Pay me.
I'm going to grind this shit out. Got no choice, actually, but it really is bullshit that is going to make me grow more insane than I already am, slowly but surely. I'm already having sick convos with myself about everything I just typed here and then some... I really wish that someone was back there to hear the comedy I put myself through in order to get through these days... but then again... if the wrong/right person heard what the fuck I was saying, I'd prolly get fired on the spot.
Lol. This is rather dumb for posting this to begin with... surely, the wrong person is going to read this, right?
"Oh well. That's life. Leave a message. As a matter of fact, don't leave a message."
I'm kidding, if you got something to say, then say it.
PS: I imagined this post to be waaaaaay more intense than it actually is. I had a shitload of jokes, one-liners, phrases, and a whole buncha other shit that should have went in the previous paragraphs... but you know... strokes of genius only last but so long.
And then, there are things that wouldn't exactly have fit in those lines...
Like, I legit had a conversation with myself about what I wanted to do with all these plates... had an idea about me one day just losing my mind and launching a bucket worth of plates out of a window and saying, "PLATES MAKE MARK ANGRY" Then the manager comes, see what happens, and says "You're fired." And then I say, "MARK SMASH!" And straight up annihilate the manager.
Also had this legit convo with myself about how this shit really is like high school. Like, you got classes, you got cliques, you got drama at times, the managers are like teachers, and just like there's that one asshole teacher there's that one asshole manager... shit's crazy.
And then I already seen, like 4 people get fired. Promise you I've only been working here for 3 weeks.
This is literally only the tip of the iceberg. I swear, if anyone were to ever just record the shit I say back there... or just chill in the back nonchalantly without me knowing and just listen to me... you'd die of laughter and fear. Combined.
So I'm playing through Sonic 3 & Knuckles for Sonic's 20th Anniversary, right? And I'm in Carnival Night Zone Act 2. I'm in this level having tons of fun. It took me 8 minutes to complete, not because the of that damn barrel, but because the level is actually really fucking fun.
And what makes this level so much fun? You might ask...
Well, it's the physics. You have the ball bumpers, the grounded bumpers, the bumper shelled badnik, the balloons, the speed, the anti-gravity platforms, the barrels... there are too many objects that just let you do too many stunts in this level.
But to the point... why is this level the Greatest Troll Level in ALL of Video Games?
Because of that infamous barrel that you know you couldn't pass when you were a kid.
Now here's the thing... it's not that barrel alone that makes it the Greatest Troll Level in ALL of video games, although that barrel alone definitely puts Carnival Night Zone up there. What really makes Carnival Night Zone Act 2 the Greatest Troll Level in ALL of Video Games is the fact that there are a number of barrels quite like the one that you couldn't pass when you were a kid. The physics of the barrel itself has it such that you can bounce on it right and gain extra height in your jump when you bounce on it correctly. These barrels are found throughout the level, and the crazy thing is, there are certain parts of the level, especially in Act 2, where you need the barrel to go upwards. Without pressing up or down, you can bounce on the barrel, gain height, and boom, you can continue the level from there.
More than likely, you've encountered at least one of these barrels before the "impossible" one, and you probably played with it/them because they were fun. You pretty much figured out how the barrel works (barring the up and down button presses), and you go on about your day night, fairly confident in yourself and your ability to pass the level.
And then you get there... that impassible barrel that you don't know is impassible yet. You bounce on it, routinely at this point, thinking that you're going to be able to go down and continue. And it just doesn't quite get low enough. But you've played with the barrel just enough that you are absolutely sure that you can pass through.
But you don't pass through. Tails glitches through, though, and you think to yourself, Maybe I can glitch through. 99,999 times out of 100,000, you can't. And you don't. And that time started to count down. And Tails mocks you with every jump. He might even fly back up to you to revel in your misery. And then he might just glitch back down there just to ice the cake. And then the time runs out.
Repeat the contents of that last two paragraphs until you finally decide that Sega fucked up, and you can't pass it.
Years later, your heart breaks due to what you find out... a little something about pressing up and down... something that wasn't in the instruction manual that you read more than any textbook due to this level... something that wasn't even remotely implied within the level... something, in fact, that level anti-implied with the physics of the barrel itself.
You finally pass the barrel, and you can finally complete that part of your childhood.
Essentially, the game fucking lied to you, and used one of the many things that made those Sonic games so great (its physics) to deliver the lie.
And that's why Carnival Night Act 2 is the Greatest Troll Level in ALL of Video Games...
So, with the 20th Anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, I've decided to start back on a ROM hack of Sonic 2 that I once called Sonic 2 BOOST, but have since renamed Sonic 2 Turbo.
Why Turbo and not BOOST?
Well, there's no BOOST button. Sonic's is just naturally moving faster than he did in the original game.
Why are you not releasing this today? On, you know, Sonic's 20th Anniversary?
Now technically, I could literally fix the speed and release the hack just like that today. But instead, I'm going to do some additional work on it. While the levels are going to be the same, there are plenty of the spots in game where if you go too fast, you'll get stuck, so I'll have to prevent stuff like that. There are also plenty of other issues with the game that need to be addressed, so I'll try to address them before releasing this.
Why are you hacking Sonic 2 and not Sonic 1?
1) Because I am more familiar with Sonic 2 than Sonic 1, and 2) because Sonic 2 is what made me a Sonic fan. I truly believe that if I somehow played Sonic 1 first, I might not be the fan of the series that I am today.
So yeah. Sonic 2. Let me celebrate as such.
Why are you hacking Sonic 2 and not Sonic 3 (& Knuckles)?
A valid question... first off, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is much harder to hack, and most of the issues that are involved in trying to hack Sonic 2 with the extra speed are in Sonic 3 & Knuckles 10-fold because of it's difficult-ness to hack. Additionally, I tried to turbo that game up, and it's very trippy, but I might release the work that I managed to do on that as a bonus... just because.
I heard you already completed a Sonic hack...
Oh, you mean Sonic 2: East Side Island? Sure did. This was a hack that I literally wanted to do since 2006, and I finally completed it last year for the Sonic Retro Hacking Contest. (that links to this year contest, which I'm not entering... I'm not finishing Sonic 2 Turbo in a month... at least I don't think I will... still, I'll use this blog to cover it for those who are interested.) That hack is pretty difficult, and for all different types of reasons depending on the level. It's playable and it's beatable... but at what cost?
And on that note, I simply wanna wish Sonic a Happy 20th Birthday! Dude's pretty cool.
I should probably get something off my chest in the next blog about Sonic Generations though...
So overall, this blog has been seeing slow but seemingly sure growth.
My primary source of views are FaceBook friends, which I truly appreciate. However, I am starting to expand my audience and I am getting views from different sources.
My most viewed post thus far has been "Why Vegeta is Secretly Dragonball Z's Main Character." And personally, I think that's amazing. This doesn't mean that I'm going to turn this into a DBZ blog, as I don't really have that much to talk about in terms of DBZ (although I could make an attempt at another post... maybe it's DBZ that people want to read about, or maybe it's just the awesomeness that is Vegeta.)
My blog has been seemingly dead due to work and due to enjoying my days off outside of my house. It's summer, so one shouldn't be surprised if somehow, my blog posts start to fade in number over the next couple of months. There will definitely be some more Adventures of Mark Wins coming soon, as this summer has tons of awesome activities in store... definitely going to live it up this summer.
I've also gained access to two awesome games which I will be retro reviewing soon, SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. These games are awesome, and I will definitely be playing the fuck out of these games.
As far as blog growth is concerned, I'll definitely have to make an effort to really get this going especially since I'm going to working on bigging up the Marko Man series, and this other random project that I'm not quite going to reveal yet... mainly because the project is just something that I haven't even put to paper yet. Actually, there are a lot of things that I haven't put to paper yet... But hey, that's life.
In the end, the point of this blog is to let people know that the blog isn't dead, but rather chilling. Which it should be considering it's the summer time. I would expect that most of my readers are out doing cool shit anyway, since my assumption is that most of my readers are cool as shit.
We've been off for a while... I've had time to think about my goals...
Primary goal: To Win the Gold... our coveted SCW Championship.
Other goals: To restore order and respect to our SCW Championship, something that the current champion hasn't been able to do, and won't be able to do.
Furthermore, I am going to put on a phenomenal show every time I go out there. Period.
I've been training on the low...
My movement has more speed.
My attacks have more power
My form is more refined.
Crazy thing... I was ready to go last week, but technical difficulties kept us from wrestling. And I'm sure that I was more ready to go than anyone else on the roster. This week... I make some declaration... just to make everything official.
And whoever my opponent is this week... no mercy. At all.
I've been giving the series a lot of thought lately.
A number of people believe that for the Marko Man series, the comic is the right way to go. I have been thinking about it and I do feel as though the target audience for Marko Man would receive the series better as a comic than a novel.
So as it stands, I am unofficially announcing that the Marko Man series will be a comic series. Additionally, the name stays. As of now, I can't really come up with anything.
Everything said here, however, is subject to change. This is simply how I'm feeling about this stuff right now.
Other random things I've been thinking about in terms of the series...
Even fewer characters than I imagined... I think. Pretty much anyone that a regular reader would expect to be there should be there, but there might be more than a few surprise cuts and one-off cameos.
Villains... they're getting... "revamped," so to speak.
Certain stories will end up as novels or novellas because in this format, they'll act more as filler and whatnot.
Speaking of format, I haven't actually decided how I'm going to format the comic, so that last point could be a lie.
At least one part of the Marko Man series will be played in a video game. OH YEAH! :D
This song has been hyped up by sooooo many people on FaceBook...
But I finally heard it today as a request from my brother to my other brother on our makeshift sound system.
Wow.
That song is garbage.
Now the crazy shit is how the way this song delivered is garbage, but the lyrics themselves are actually not so bad. It's just that the delivery of the lyrics... what the fuck...
And this is when I think to myself... maybe Marvin's Room isn't the only song like this? Maybe there are a number of songs in current day hip hop where the lyrics are amazing but are simply put to terrible beats. Like that "A Millie" beat.... Jada Kiss did a freestyle to the A Millie beat, and I love Jada, but like... I can't stand that beat. At all. It's just one of many lazy ass "look at me, I'm in a studio, let me put some pieces of noise together and call it a beat" type of beat.
This is the thing that really blows my mind though....
This video is the only reason I actually knew the lyrics at one point. The lyrics are terrible... if, you know, you're dead ass serious about this shit. But this guy was just having fun pulling this off, and I find it hilarious. And good. The way the guitar goes with the "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
I dunno... whatever... maybe I'm just weird.
The point is.... Marvin's Room is a garbage ass song. But them lyrics... totally relate to them. I wish someone else would take that song and do it better. Hell, Drake could do it better. I feel as though he actually has (or gives off the perception of*) talent.
* that's something that I'm going to need to explore at a later date...
This is a song from what was arguably Luda's last good album... Large Amounts. The verse that made this co-Song of the Day is the third one... talks about money and women and shit... basically reiterating the concept of not being able to make the pussy payments. Like... I was at work, just thinking about my mindset really kinda sorta alienated myself from women. Which is, obviously, both a good thing and a bad thing. And then like, my job has me surrounded by pretty young ladies. But, you know... pussy payments. lol. Still, I obviously shouldn't shut out every chick... maybe there's one that will understand my situation and will accept it.
Survive by Rise Against
Ahhh... this song... the message is pretty simple. And yet, the message is so deep. I feel like this is the kind of message that people in any kind of life enduring struggle needs to hear every so often. I definitely kinda sorta needed it today... out here at work doing double duty without cold water and shit....
So I took a number and stood in line. :-)
The job isn't all that tough... could be better, could be worse. But the fact of the matter is... there's gonna be a struggle to upgrade. How I survive this is what will make me who I will be when I get bigger than this.
Don't you love how people want you to eat healthy, but actually doing so puts an ulcer in your wallet?
Eating healthy... at least in America... at least in NYC... isn't exactly the easiest thing to do.
When you're in the hood, you got corner stores that have nothing but potato chips, sweet snacks, sodas, candy, etc. All of that is generally cheap and readily available for anyone to eat. In contrast, the fruit that you might see if you're lucky are generally more expensive and, more importantly I believe, need to be cleaned before you should ingest it. An orange, and those types of fruit have skin, so they're in the clear, but apples? Peaches? Pares? Grapes? I'm not eating those without cleaning them. And still, even the oranges are more expensive than the chips, the donuts, and the candy. Even the healthier drinks are more expensive. Orange juice and apple juice and grape juice always cost just that much more than the soda and the Arizona Ice Tea (I love Arizona Ice Tea, by the way). My wallet doesn't see the sense in eating healthy if it's gonna cost me that more to have that lifestyle.
When you're going out, there's McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King. Nothing healthy about those places, but they sure do taste good. Same with KFC, Popeye's, your given pizza places, and so on. Fast food isn't healthy. And they don't care. There's hardly a "Salad Stop," a "Healthy Food Here," or any kind of fast food place that primarily sells healthy food. Okay, maybe there's Subway, but from what I here, Subway's food isn't all that healthy either. That would require research that, admittedly, I'm not willing to do right now. I do know, however, that even under the assumption that Subway is healthy, a five dollar footlong costs more than a Big Mac, a Whopper, a Bacon Cheeseburger, anything on the Dollar Menu of McDonalds or the Value Menus of Wendy's and Burger King. Disadvantage: healthy food.
When you go to a supermarket, the healthy food is outnumbered by the unhealthy food. And once again, the healthy food is more expensive than the unhealthy food. When you're out here counting pennies, every penny counts. When 5lbs of regular ground beef is less expensive than 5lbs of that organic, better treated ground beef, your wallet generally does the thinking for you.
And then of course, you have those organic food supermarkets that are just too far out the way to care about. And it's not like if you traveled to said out of the way organic food supermarket that you get some kind of deal on the food. Nope, similar prices... maybe slightly less expensive than the organic food at the run of the mill supermarket, but still much more expensive than the run of the mill food at the run of the mill supermarket.
So what's the hidden reason why diets fail? Diets are expensive.
So I finally managed to play these games today... I'll start with SSF4:AE
The universal consensus is that SSF4:AE was a lazy move to make money around my way. It's got 4 new characters, apparently all different types of tweaks for other characters (did Adon's grab range shrink? is Sagat better here than in SSF4?), but ultimately, it feels like the same game right out the box... obviously if you're really into it, you'd find little nuances that indicate difference... but from what I hear, this game is also considerably less balanced than SSF4, so that's when you ask yourself... what's the point?
Fav character of the new 4? Prolly Evil Ryu, but they all still feel real funny to me. Sagat felt like he's supposed to, though, but like I said... this wasn't an in depth play though, just a few rounds.
Overall... I mean, I can't really give this game a fair rating. I played a few rounds or whatever, but ultimately, it still feels the same. You're only going to have to relearn it if you cared that much. Otherwise, I think it's whatever for the most part. Still, $15 for 4 characters probably isn't all that worth it, but it's up to you to decide. I'd prolly get it if I had a PS3, and if you're that deep enough of an SF fan, you probably should get it.
Edit: Here's some more info from my friend, Alejandro:
AE basically gives characters who dont have projectiles a better chance of winning. Case in point: Makoto was low tier but now she can fuck up any body online. As for the characters, evil ryu is strong but low health, Oni is very strong but a little learning curve for him, Yang is balanced to me, and yun is so fucking fast you would think hes broken.
Duke Nukem Forever.... man... I mean, the intro is cute and all, but in the end, it's also a waste of time. Get to the fucking game. It doesn't necessarily take forever to get to it, but I got bored after a while with all the filler. For a FPS, however, I will say that the game is unique (compared to all the bullshit FPS's out there) and I think it's slightly easier than the older Duke Nukem games that I simply just couldn't get into like that. I didn't get to mess with multiplayer though, but for some reason, I think it would be a more fun experience than CoD or whatever else everyone is playing.
I did find the idea that the President in this game wasn't black kinda upsetting. I know it's been 12 years, but fuck you, Obama was elected in '08 and entered office in '09. This is '11. Step up.
So it's probably not a perfect game, but my guess is that it will be a fun experience, littered with "12 years" [of] jokes that are probably going to get "old" quick. This is yet another game I can't necessarily outright recommend, but you could try it and see if it's for you.
This is the primary reason why the Heat lost. I said that if the Heat can maintain the defense that they had in Game 1 that they would easily win the series. They didn't maintain that defense at all. If they did, then maybe the whole idea about Lebron James not showing up to play wouldn't be that big of a deal... but since it is...
Fact: Dirk Nowitzki is a better player than Lebron James. Okay, obviously in terms of technicality, that's an opinion, but fuck that. I've been blinded all these years. I was actually a primary non-believer in the Mavs for years. They were the king of empty playoff threats, as each year, they'd make it to the playoffs and do nothing... nothing meaning not win the championship. But this year, they stomped everyone in the West relatively effortlessly. Heat smoked the East, though, without much resistance as well. With that, I thought that the Mavs were done, but... you know... Dirk's better than Lebron. He lead his team. He showed up to play.
ABC would have the audacity to show this guy in the locker room trying to lead his team to victory, cutting nice little promos and whatnot, but then you get out there, and when the game is on the line, you are nowhere to be found.
And then you wonder... if the nWo actually lost... would WCW still be around today?
This isn't exactly a reason why they lost, but Scottie Pippen said that James was better than Jordan, and when I saw this... I lolol'd. Couldn't stop laughing. Trust me, I tried.
But you know... not even better than Dirk at this point.
So essentially, I've lost all possible respect for Lebron James. Not Dwayne Wade. Not even Chris Bosh.
"Well why not those two, they're on the team as well..."
Because Wade showed up to play and Bosh showed up to play. Wade did as expected, and Bosh carried his fucking load. I'm totally going to blame this on 1) the Heat's lack of defense and 2) LeBum No Ring James.
Because in the end:
Edit: You know what's really fucked up though? Boston did it in their first year...
Or, "People are really good at censoring themselves."
I don't understand why the f**k people do s*it like that.
We still know exactly what the f you're trying to say, but because you cleaned the s up like a b*tch, it's supposed to make it less bad?
Dumb. The fact that in your mind, f*** is less offensive than fuck is hilarious to me. Grow up. The same exact message is being conveyed, so what's the point of replacing the actual letters with stars?
Actually, forget the social network... censorship of curse words is dumb in general. Bitch, I kinda understand. Same with something like nigga. But damn, shit, and fuck? I find absolutely nothing wrong with those words where they have to be censored. What exactly about damn, shit, and fuck is offensive? What makes the term "fucking idiot" any more offensive than the term "complete idiot"? At the end of the day, the targeted person is still an idiot, and if anything, "complete idiot" should be more offensive because while "fucking idiot" definitely implies that you are quite the idiot, "complete idiot" means that you are at least 100% idiot.
Personally, I'd rather have someone call me a fucking idiot than a complete idiot.
They're just words people. There's no reason that the average curse word should offend you.
Oh, but cursing is a sin, so therefore, God doesn't like it.
Wrath, Envy, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride. You probably engage in one or more of these deadly sins more than you can ever curse. Furthermore, our God is a rather forgiving Fellow, right? I'm sure that if you live your life as best as you can, believing in Him and apologizing for your sins every so often, you're good. I pray to God every night, ask Him to bless my family and me, and when I'm out late at night, I ask that He protects me on my way home and gives me the strength and power to overcome any threat that may come my way. So far, so good. I think that the fact that I believe in Him and His Power has me in pretty good standing with Him, regardless of my less than "ethical" language.
So please, people. Don't dilute yourself. And don't get offended when I say "Fuck that shit munching cum drinking stupid ass son of a bitch" if you're not the target of said verbal abuse.
And if I call you a fucking idiot, just be glad I didn't call you a complete idiot. That's clearly much more disrespectful. :)
PS: If you curse, don't be like "Kids shouldn't curse." Kids get angry too, you know.
With the mass amount of debuts and stuff that comes out for E3, there's a wealth of things that interest me, and then again, there's a wealth of things that do not interest me... what can I say, I don't like XBox. I also have a hard problem caring about half the shit that PS3 can come out with.
That said, I'm just going to go through this E3 stuff via http://e3.gamespot.com. Whatever interests me, I'm going to talk about. Whatever doesn't interest me doesn't show up here. If there was something that I want to say something about but I'm not interested enough in it to click it (probably via bias), then you will see a nice little [DNC] tag that means, "Did Not Click." Essentially means that I didn't click on it, but still had something stupid to say about it.
And well, here we go.
Sonic Generations!
You should already know that I'm crazy hyped about Sonic Generations. Now while Green Hill Zone was a given, it's still a nice looking level. Certain sources that I had read made City Escape pretty obvious, but it was still an awesome reveal and it looks awesome. At the end of the City Escape trailer, you see Spagonia, a level from Sonic Unleashed, which is pretty cool as long as we're not playing as a Werehog. (Actually, I think Classic Sonic should fight the Werehog...)
I also noticed that skateboard monitor... that was definitely in Sonic Triple Trouble... this leads me to believe that, at least in the portable version that has been confirmed to be on the Nintendo 3DS, that Robotnik Winter, the Sonic Triple Trouble level that had a snowboard monitor, might be in there somewhere.
Speaking of the portable version of Sonic Generations:
Launch Base has been confirmed! FUCKING AWESOME.
Lol that's the legendary boss that could fucking destroy Super Sonic... love it.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 [DNC]
lol really?
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Okay, so I love Metal Gear as much as the next guy... but it has MGS2, MGS3, and MGS:Peace Walker... where's Metal Gear Solid 1? No Twin Snakes treatment here?
Now granted, if the Sony Store has MGS1 on there somewhere, then that means you can eventually obtain the entire series in as few physical pieces as possible, which is cool. But I am highly disappointed that MGSHDC doesn't have the game that started it all (in 3D anyway... cause you know... Metal Gear 1 and 2 and stuff).
Everything Zelda
So apparently, Zelda's having a 25th Anniversary soon. Nice. And with Nintendo and anniversaries, the trend has become of re-releases of old games that you can already snatch up for free via ROMs and emulators. Whatever. Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, and such. Whatever.
And then there was Skyward Sword. As usual, the game looks like it's presenting something slightly new to the series. The Dark World concept introduced in A Link to the Past is still present with something about stuffing a sword into the ground to change things, and there's a bird. This bird is Link's new ride, and according to what I've read, it's one of those learning experiences.
Game looks okay, but I'm not that big of a Zelda fan... I've only beat two Zelda games, and I have a hard ass time trying to re-beat them, so take any opinion here with a grain of salt... there's probably more to be excited about than I'm giving off here.
Mario Kart 3D
Wow, didn't see this coming </sarcasm>
Looks like standard affair, although there seems to be some kind of kart kustomization feature. They also brought up the return of Gold Coins(!), but they speculate that the coins are for purchasing upgrades rather than speeding up your kart like it did in the original Super Mario Kart.
Super Mario 3D
So Mario missed out on the Nintendo 3DS Launch. And looking at this game, it looks like a stupid decision for Nintendo to have not had this out... game already looks awesome. You get the raccoon suit in this... which is pretty nice (although I personally prefer the SMW cape... it was infinitely much better than the raccoon suit). The game also uses the 3D function seemingly like a Nintendo game would, with spikes and platforms going in and out and stuff like that. Seems like a nice, headache inducing experience that should have been a part of the 3DS launch... Nintendo's gotta do better than this for future launches. There should be no reason that a top Mario game is not launching a Nintendo system, period. He's the top franchise player for Nintendo, he's going to draw, period. And he's more likely to draw if players see him at launch. Compare SNES and N64 to GameCube and Wii. Obviously Wii's a different scenario, but I'm sure that the Wii launch would have been even better if there was a Mario game to go along with Wii Sports.
Tekken 3D
Sounds like fun. I have evolved into this basic Tekken fan over the past year or so.
Wii U
Well... a touch screen controller has been confirmed. AND it has a fucking camera on it. So like, how much is that controller going to cost? And what's the point of having all this stuff on it?
It will be able to pull off HD. As I said before, does that mean we get Nintendo's vibrant worlds in HD or do we the bland "realism" that plagues the vast majority of video games these days?
It will be backwards compatible with the Wii, including both games and controllers. Doesn't quite hint at GameCube compatibility though.
Additionally, there is a Smash game in the works. It's really gotta be more like Melee for me to care about it long term. And I wouldn't be surprised if Sonic and/or Snake doesn't make the roster. There will also be a Smash game for the 3DS. And there's supposed to be some kind of interactivity between the two games. I'm not sure if I like how that sounds...
Furthermore, Nintendo has chosen to make the console tech such that it will be easier to port games to the system and such. That's always nice for more uniformity.
Luigi's Mansion 2
lolwut
SSX Avalanche
I actually didn't see this coming. Haven't heard about an SSX game since what... the one after Tricky?
It looks nice though. Doubt it'll actually interest me that much though.
Kirby Wii
This game looks more like a traditional Kirby game as opposed to Kirby's Epic Yarn. There's also other playable character such as Waddle Dee, King DeDeDe, and the muthafuckin MetaKnight. They also say that this game will be more like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with multiplayer and such. Kirby will be able to steal the powers from enemies and his friends, which leaves characters that are MetaKnight assed out. (Don't give a shit what you say, MK doesn't need to steal powers... he's a beast.)
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. MII!!!!!
HOLY SHIT I CAN PLAY AS MARKO MAN IN A MARIO GAME?! THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!
This is gonna be on the Wii U, I believe. I think I'd rather play it on a Wii controller though... that Ipad Wii U controller looks intense.
*sigh* I'm reading that this is just a tech demo... that's not a smart decision in my opinion. Make this a game, damnit.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online
*sigh* This game... I forgot to make my blog post about why I don't actually like Turd Strike, and how parrying ruined it.
Halo Stuff [DNC]
I mean... like... I thought Halo 3 ended it... so why a Halo 4? Further more, Halo 1 in HD... whatever.
Rayman Origins [DNC]
I didn't realize that people cared that much about Rayman to want to get to understand his origins. Maybe we'll figure out why he has hands and feet but not arms and legs.
PlayStation Vita
I'm not sure I like the name "Vita." I'm also not sure if this is going to be something worth looking at. It does have Street Fighter X Tekken, which is better than the 3DS off the bat, since it only got SSF4, and not even AE....
It looks like it should be able to emulate N64 much better though since it has an extra stick on the right. ;-)
It would be hilarious... if the PlayStation Vita ends up with the superior version of Smash on it compared to the 3DS... Nintendo better step up.
Street Fighter X Tekken
Cammy and Hworang game play was revealed. I believe that I had seen Sagat gameplay as well, but I'm not sure if that had to do with E3. Also, some guy named Cole from a game named Infamous is going to be in the Sony versions of the game.
Now I've never played an Infamous game before, but the fact that Sony systems stay with exclusive characters in fighters when XBox doesn't makes me laugh.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Last time I even heard about Sly Cooper... well, I don't know. Still looks like a good game on the horizon. The premise wasn't well defined, but it looks like the story here will be interesting. Good to see Sly back in action.
X-Men Destiny
This is an X-Men game that doesn't actually have you play as the tradtional X-Men, but rather some seemingly made up characters. The game seems to revolve around choices that one makes dealing with the heroic X-Men or the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. There's also something called an X-Gene which allows you to customize one of the three characters you choose. This is cool and all, but when I hear things like this, I think to myself, "If you're going to go down the route of player choices, why not just have character creation instead?"
Still, this game should be interesting.
New Contra Game?
lol. Nice.
Frogger 3D
This is going to be for the Nintendo 3DS. I'm not sure why 3D would be necessary, but apparently there's a boss battle with a truck. That sounds lolworthy to me.
Saints Row: The Third
Only reason I found interest in this is because I have two friends that play this game online pretty intensely, and they stories they tell me are just too much.
So when I read this and I hear that this game is trying to be an over-the-top version of Grand Theft Auto, I can't help but think that Jacko and Jeff are the reason why... they don't play Saints Row for the missions or the stories. Nope, they enter codes, and just kill each other for free, without regard to goals, or anything of that nature. And now they wanna make this game "over-the-top."
Sounds like another Unauthorized Win for the Badguy.
Wipeout 2048
I clicked this for two reasons.
1) remember San Francisco Rush 2048? What's really good with that year?
2) Nintendo, pay a-fucking-tention. Don't wait till this game comes out and sees success to be like, "Wow, futuristic games are in, let's make a new F-Zero already." NO! MAKE IT NOW! I've played Wipeout games in the past, and they're cool and all, but something about them... they just aren't F-Zero. Get to it Nintendo.... get that F-Zero going... especially since F-Zero was absent this year at E3... smh.
WWE '12
The SmackDown vs. Raw name is gone since the brand rivalry doesn't seem to exist anymore, but this is more than just a name change... supposedly. The goal is to make the game more strategic (return of a second counter button?) with simpler controls (maybe not?) and smoother, faster paced gameplay. Randy Orton seems to be the face of this game. I didn't see any gameplay though, but if someone else knows any gameplay trailers, then by all me, show me.
I played SvR every year since '06, and every game definitely does something new that sets it apart from the older games. However, I feel like WWE '12 needs to take all of the good from the past games and integrate it into this. SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain had the BEST, Most In-Depth create a wrestler mode I ever seen (I used to spend hours just tinkering with the CAW, pulling off all different types of characters, both male and female, and sometimes animal... that game did things with CAWs that you just can't do anymore). SvR '06 had the best challenge mode ever. SvR '07 had the most intelligent (or at least the most challenging) A.I. in all of the series, and it had the create a PPV mode that could take your creativity beyond epicness. SvR '08 introduced wrestling styles that made wrestlers feel even more different than they already were. SvR '09 sucked in my opinion, so I didn't play it, but I'm sure there's something about that game that separated it from the rest and could be used in WWE '12. SvR '10 had introduced more specifications on abilities. SvR '11 introduced dynamic weapon physics.
I feel like most, if not all, of that needs to be brought into WWE '12. I get that these games come out every year on the year, and that it's not easy to continue to pull off these games of such high quality in such a short time span. So maybe WWE '12 won't get all of this is. But WWE '13 should.
Spider-Man: Edge of Time
This is supposed to be the follow up to Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Don't really have much to say about this game... I've seen and played Shattered Dimensions, and I was impressed with it. If Edge of Time is anything like it, then it'll be good as well.
Little Big Planet
I am really am going to have to cop one of these LBP games one day.
In any event, and new Little Big Planet game is going to show up on the PSV. They say that's it's pretty much going to more of the same that it already was, which isn't a bad thing at all. LBP is a pretty big deal, and with good reason.
There you have it. E3, as usual, brought a lot to the table in the world of video gaming.
The hype that I have for Sonic Generations may seem dormant, but trust me, it's there.
The Wii U is going to generate some buzz, but I think that Nintendo has not learned its lesson when it comes to console launches, and a lot of the Wii U launch, whenever that may be (I hear something about 2012) won't be strong, which is going to hurt it. It does look like a gimmick at this point. I plan on getting a Wii U regardless, but as for other gamers... they haven't actually presented something to believe in, which on one hand, is ridiculous, but then on the other hand... the game selection on the Wii and the DS is pretty fucking atrocious.
The number of "collection" shown here kinda upsets me, but video game "collections" have existed for years... remember Super Mario All-Stars? Sonic Classics? Yeah, that isn't new.
Overall, there was a nice selection of games coming through. I'm not going to say "It's going to be a good year for video games." I think someone says that shit every year. lol But this E3 was pretty nice.
Piccolo 1: Come over here and get me you lil bitch!
Piccolo 2: Imposter! You tried to do me in the ass!
Piccolo 1: Nope, your ass was tryna do me.
Piccolo 2: Why would I try doing you you sonofabitch?
Piccolo 1: 'Cause you gay dog. lol
"Shine is not something that can be observed. It is only something which can only exists in the metaphysical sense and therefore takes no physical form. It is all round us and yet nowhere at all. It is possible to respect the shine and imagine the shine, but to hold a view of is impossible in the strinctest sense of the word."
Disclaimer: This post is made under the assumption that you have watched DBZ in its entirety. If you've been living under a rock and are just now watching DBZ via it's Kai version, or you are a younger person finally getting your chance to watch DBZ, then there will be plenty of spoilers here. I actually don't know where Kai is at the moment, so I can't be like, "spoilers start here." Just avoid this post all together.
If you are a fan of the series and have seen every episode or know the entire story, or if you are one of those half DBZ fans that might not have watched the entire thing and don't have a desire to do so but still respect DBZ for what it is, then this is a great read.
This is also my opinion. If I present opinion as fact, then oops.
Also, if I present fallacies as fact, then oops as well. And please point them out and show me why it's wrong.
=============================================
I was watching a few Dragonball Z videos... mainly Vegeta's epic speeches that he made throughout DBZ... mostly in the Majin Buu Saga.
I do want to say something about the Majin Buu Saga... it's a bit better than I used to think it was. Now, don't get me wrong, I still think the Buu Saga is the worst Saga in all of DBZ, I still think that Buu is nothing more than a pink version of Cell, and I still think that Buu can't fight for shit. Seriously, the only reason he lasted for so long was because he could restore himself. Don't get me wrong, Cell had a number of moments where he was like, "lol look at me, I'm part Namekian," but Buu pretty much abused this concept, and would have died probably before Goku even went Super Saiyan 3. But whatever... this isn't about Buu, this is about Vegeta.
So why is Vegeta secretly Dragonball Z's main character? Simple, the Z Warriors don't eat without Vegeta. Now I understand that Goku allowed Vegeta to live after that battle (or did he? I mean, he was pretty much fucked after that Kaioken x4 Kamehameha), but that was a good decision. Dudes would have died on Planet Namek in the hunt for the Dragonballs if Vegeta wasn't with them. Goku wouldn't have the savior from the future to save him from certain heart failure if it wasn't for Vegeta getting with Bulma. While Goku was recovering, Vegeta pretty much stole the show. Hell, Gohan doesn't go SSJ2 without Vegeta's arrogance. Gohan actually doesn't even destroy Cell without Vegeta's help. Directly or indirectly, Z Warriors don't survive Buu either.
But actually, it's a bit more complex than that. Vegeta is the only character that experience true character development throughout the entire series. Goku was pretty much established from the start; he's a gentle bad-ass that knows fighting and nothing else. Face it, he can be as gentle as he wants, but in order to beat him in a fight, you practically have to be Chuck Norris. That makes him bad-ass. But if you look at the series, that pretty much describes him in each and every saga. Most of the filler characters have a similar lack of growth to them.
There are a few characters that have more of a hint of character development than Goku though. Piccolo goes from being rather selfish to rather caring due to training Gohan, but that's about as far as that goes. Trunks had some interesting character development, maturing throughout the Android-Cell saga both physically and mentally, allowing him to go back to his time and destroy Cell and the Androids. (lol just realized... Androids dominated so hard in Trunk's time that there's not a hint of Buu or a fuckton of DBGT villians...) Gohan had hints of character development, mostly in the Cell saga. For the most part, he was just a kid with a little rage in him, and he didn't really develop into the bad ass that no one saw coming until Perfect Cell. (and then he looses that edge in the Buu saga...) I'm sure at this point I'm probably forgetting a character or two with a hint or two character development, but at this point, I don't care.
I wanna talk about Vegeta.
Vegeta comes to Earth, and he's a killing machine. He wants the Dragonballs and he wants Immortality. He even kills Nappa, believing that he's too weak due to having lost miserably to Goku. Then he actually fights Goku and doesn't exactly fare well. He eventually shows up to Namek, still in the hunt of the Dragonballs and still on the hunt of Immortality, but he shows hints of care for Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma. Or maybe he just wants them alive so that they can help him find the Dragonballs. Not quite sure, actually. Maybe he had a drive... a drive to kill Frieza?
--continued--
This is the part where Vegeta dies and you see that it was Frieza that made him into the ruthless killer that he was. You also get to see there somewhere deep inside, he does have a heart. He's sad for his father, and he wanted revenge against Frieza for what he did, thus his hunt for the Dragonballs. Proud to see that a Super Saiyan would kill him, but still on his death bed.
Vegeta comes back (pretty soon, actually, within the same saga, due to the Dragonballs), gets a glimpse of Super Saiyan Goku, and then he's pretty much transported to Earth.
Fast forward to the Androids, where Super Saiyan Vegeta debuts and crushes Androids 20 and 19. He doesn't necessarily do it to save the world or anything like that. With Frieza dead and the vast majority of a disgruntled past behind him, he only has one goal: to be the best warrior in the universe... better than Kakarot. He has nothing but his Saiyan pride at this point, it's the only thing that drives him. No revenge, no necessary need to kill... just his pride.
It's his pride that influences certain decisions... especially one that almost cost the planet its existence...
This piece right shows that he has no concern for anyone else... he simply wanted to test his own newfound abilities, even at the cost of everyone else's life. You have to give Cell credit; he played it perfectly. (Another reason why he's umpteen times better than Buu... raw intelligence.) We all know what happens at this point... it clearly doesn't fare well, but it does make for some of the most epic scenes in DBZ, with Vegeta vs. Perfect Cell and Trunks vs. Perfect Cell, as well as the creation of the Cell Games.
Fast forward again... to the Buu saga. It's still the worst saga in all of DBZ, and there is nothing that can change my mind about that. However, Vegeta's character makes it a lot less sucky as I once thought it was.
Especially Majin Vegeta. He still has that drive. He still has that goal. He wants to beat Kakarot.
He pretty much allowed Babidi to take over his mind... here's why...
Always the target is Vegeta's pride. Always, however, is the decision of the exploit condoned by Vegeta. Even with seven years between Cell and Buu, even in seven years with peace on Earth, Vegeta has one drive... one goal... to be better than Kakarot... at any cost.
This time, however, something changed... something about that heart that he has deep down inside. He would trick Kakarot, knock him out, and leave him unconscious so that he could fight Buu on his own. He fights Buu, Buu uses "lol I'm not a great fighter at all but I'm Buu" tricks, and eventually Vegeta would come to a realization... that Buu needs to be destroyed. At any cost. Including his life.
Vegeta sacrifices his life in order to save the world and his family. Unfortunately... you know... it didn't quite work out that way. Buu survives simply because he's a pink Cell, the plot thickens, we get to see things like SSJ3 Goku, Gotens, Mystic Gohan... whole lotta stuff. Then, like, Goku is alive permanently or something like that, and Vegeta eventually comes back by way of back door save the universe politics (because, you know... he died). Things happen, the Saiyan kick Buu's ass... and then he goes Kid Buu. And Kid Buu destroys Earth. The fight gets taken to the Kai's planet... and that's when Vegeta finally gets it...
This is pretty much where Vegeta's character comes full circle from when he originally showed up. There has been many, many, many physical transformations in all of Dragonball Z, but no single character has made such a complete emotional transformation in DBZ like Vegeta did. He goes from cold blooded killer to a pride driven warrior to a man who finally knows himself, knows his heart, and knows his limits.
Hope you enjoyed this... if you have any thoughts... feel free to forward them to me...
--This is the kind of character development I need to emulate in the Marko Man series.--
Oh yeah... almost forgot... even with this full circle of change that Vegeta has experience... he refuses to let anyone take his spot as 2nd best.
my emotions are swollen at the moment,
with no one actually around to take notice.
just watched some deep shit from the mouth of Vegeta,
then watched a bad ass bitch, no one could beat her.
I'm up all late, towards the end of this road.
In a week or so, I'm changing to a whole different mode.
All about money, and not even a lot of it
Withdrawing all summer then I'll start up some deposits.
I'm still frikin young, but I feel so ancient,
Like my time has passed, it's too late for me to make it.
Boxing with my eyes, out here fighting tears,
Karate chopping sadness, stomping on my fears.
And yet they fight back, but I have to believe.
pro-actively sit back and let time relieve
the pain and confusion, treat it with prayer,
allow the best to come to me as though it's second nature
but it's always a fight, nothing never lands
you gotta stretch out and take shit with your hands
but if you take shit then your hands start to stink
and if you take shit, then you start to reach the brink
of a mental state that we call insanity
all because you tried to be the best amongst humanity
but best means nothing when the worst has value,
the lies become truth and the truth becomes taboo.
we're always gonna fight even when we're not fighting
never strikes twice is the great lie of lightning.
cause lightning will strike you once and once more
and once more till you can't take it anymore
then your heart becomes stone, thus it can't conduct
No kinda flow, so you can't give a fuck
and that's when you lose, though you already lost
don't want the heart to melt, so you stay in the frost.
So I got this from an email a few weeks ago. I'm posting this mainly because I have a number of friends dealing with rough times, but I figure that they probably aren't the only ones that could use the words of advice and encouragement here...
tl;dr: Believe that life will get better and it Willget better.
Transform Your Attitude: Harnessing the Power of The Law of Attraction - By Joan Breiner & Susyn Reeve ***
"The Law of Attraction is simply this: the more intense your feelings around something, the sooner it will come to you. That is why it is more important to talk and think about what it is that we want in our lives as opposed to what it is that we don't."- Katherine Woodward Thomas
What is The Law of Attraction?
To understand The Law of Attraction it is necessary to understand that everything is energy. Everything in this world is made up of atoms continuously vibrating at different speeds. It is a law of nature that every atom of your body is in constant motion. Whether you know it or not - you are constantly vibrating at an energetic frequency.
This energy is magnetic, attracting energy that vibrates at the same frequency. Think of a tuning fork. When you strike one tuning fork, another tuning fork across the room will automatically vibrate if it is calibrated to the same frequency.
Have you ever noticed that you get a negative, uncomfortable feeling being around some people and a positive, uplifting feeling from others? And, depending on their "vibe" you are either attracted to them and want to be around them or you are repelled by them and do not want to be in their presence. This is an example of the Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction is operating all the time, whether you believe it or not.
What makes one person vibrate differently than another? The answer is simple: It is their energy -- expressed as their mood, attitude, emotional state or feelings. All beings are either vibrating positive energy or negative energy.
When you are feeling angry, disappointed, sad, upset, distressed, confused, fearful, anxious or hurt -- and continue to focus your attention on the thoughts, words and actions that generate these feelings you will continue to feed, nourish and experience these painful feelings.
When you are feeling happy, excited, joyful, compassionate, kind and loving and continue to focus your attention on the thoughts that generate these feelings you will continue to feed, nourish and experience these satisfying, loving and happy feelings.
Our feelings are pure magnetic energy. They are constantly flowing from us every minute of the day. How you feel, the attitude you are experiencing affects the magnetic vibration you are sending out and what you, consequently, attract.
Unintentional Attraction
Often people attract negative experiences to their life even though they think they are sending out a different vibration. How can this be? Here's why: When your subconscious mind hears the words don't, no or avoid, it automatically focuses on whatever you instruct it not to think about.
For example: As you read this, don't think about a pink elephant. If you are like most people you will immediately see an image of a pink elephant in your mind, even though the instruction was to not to think about it!
How can you apply this idea to your life?If you want to lose weight, focusing on not being fat isn't going to create the vibration you want. Instead, envisioning and feeling your goal fulfilled -- the benefits of how you look and feel as you gaze at yourself in the mirror, wearing clothes in a smaller size will produce feelings of excitement, happiness, satisfaction and joy. This produces the positive energetic vibrations that support your weight loss goal becoming fulfilled. When you cultivate and nourish a state of gratitude and delighted anticipation for your desired result, you will attract it toward you much faster.
The trick to the Law of Attraction is to notice what you are feeling -- to use your feelings as your personal radar system -- and decide whether or not your feelings are producing the vibration you want. If they aren't then you must ask yourself, "What do I desire?" Listen to the answer and create a vision of your desired result fully endowed with the feelings that represent your goal accomplished.
In order to consciously harness the power of The Law of Attraction it is necessary to become aware of your feelings and thoughts. Use the following exercise to allow you to monitor your thoughts and feelings:
• Monitor your thoughts and words. When you notice that your self-talk is focused on what you don't want and what you wish were different re-focus your attention on what you do want -- your desired result, by asking, "What do I want?"
Use the contrast, what you don't want, as an opportunity to define and focus on what you do want.
For example:
• I do not want to be sick.
• What do I want? I want to be healthy.
To consciously activate The Law of Attraction use the full resources of your imagination to embody what being healthy feels like for you.
Reminder: Since you have thousands of thoughts on any given day, it can be a challenge to monitor all of your thoughts. This is where you can use your feelings to allow you to become aware of your thoughts. When you notice you are feeling undesirable feelings, complete the following statement:
When I am feeling ___identify your feeling___,
I am thinking ___identify your thoughts___.
• Notice your self-sabotaging statements. These are the thoughts that interfere with what you want.
For example: You want a fabulous, loving, romantic, soul mate relationship. You start to imagine how wonderful it would be to have this relationship in your life. At this point you are sending out positive vibrations. In the next moment your self-talk is declaring, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to find someone this wonderful -- I haven't so far. I'm just too old and not attractive enough," then you are canceling the positive vibration and unintentionally, and unconsciously, attracting the opposite of what you want. In this moment your vibration is negative in relation to your desired result.
If you notice that you cannot focus on having a fabulous, loving, romantic, soul mate relationship without being confronted with sabotaging thoughts, then create statements like:
• I am working on creating a fabulous relationship in my life.
• I am in the process of creating a great relationship.
• I love the idea of having a loving relationship in my life.
• I am excited about the thought of a loving soul mate relationship in my life.
• I have the power and capacity to create a fabulous relationship in my life.
These statements will keep you focused on what you desire, derail your sabotaging statements and keep your energy flowing in the direction of your dream fulfilled.
• Monitor what you are feeling: Throughout the day identify what you are feeling - the energetic vibration you are sending. (You might set a tone on your phone to beep once an hour as a reminder to do a personal vibration check.)
Remember:Your attitude produces your energetic vibration. To harness the power of The Law of Attraction to live the life of your dreams you must take responsibility for your attitude.
tl;dr: Believe that life will get better and it Willget better.
