Video of the Day

So as I'm trying to gather music to help me write a piece that shall remain nameless until further notice, I find this video.

It's some guy trying to beat Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic Generations for the first time.

I thought the video was amazing. Unscripted, entertaining fun. Reminds me of my first playthrough against the guy (although I wasn't as bad as this guy).

Still, I found it entertaining. Maybe you do too.

Your Name is Too Common

Your name is too common.
Like, back in the day, when I liked a girl,
It was usually a wild, crazy, and/or generally uncommon name.
And this was a good thing for my heart,
Because whenever the name was mentioned,
My heart had a habit of skipping a beat.

And I don't know if you know this,
But hearts skipping beats isn't healthy.
It's a loss of oxygen, A moment of time wasted,
A difference between life and death,
And yet, when it happens,
It is simultaneously the worst and greatest feeling in the world.

It's that one moment where everything stops,
Where time acts like it'll wait for you but it won't,
Where you give the world a double take,
Where you come to a complete stop and think...
And this thought is a rare thought
As its source is complete from the beat skipping heart.

A wonderful, yet deadly feeling this beat skip is,
But your name is too common.
Bad enough thoughts of your are as common as they are
But with the frequency of your name popping up,
These thoughts are doubled and tripled,
Constantly placing me in a world all my own.

A world where I think of what could be, what will be,
A world where I wonder if you're thinking of me,
A world of wonders that only you and I would see,
A world that allows our true feelings to roam free,
A world that lets loose flows as powerful as sea,
A world where love is expressed naturally...

But that world exists merely in dream form,
As my heart skips a beat, and maybe one more,
Every time I read it, I hear it, I see it, I feel it,
I taste it, I smell it, I dream it, I believe it.
Yes, your name is far too dangerous for me because
Your name is too common.

Sparring Sessions...

So that whole thing about this being the Internet Finale was apparently a partial lie. I mean, obviously it was supposed to bring closure to whatever I was doing with him before, hence Finale, but... yeah... anyway...

After a nearly two year hiatus, I'm bringing Marko Man back. And I'm actually going to bring him back to the Internet for some time.

Recently, I had an idea to drop the book I'm "currently writing" (I use that term loosely because I haven't written anything about the book since November 30th) and start the Marko Man series.

Last time I checked, I had made the decision to make Marko Man a web comic series (which technically would have put him back on the Internet anyway... -_-). Since writing what I wrote of "A Life So Awesome it Hurts," however, I totally came back in touch with why I love writing so much. So I have since been considering going back to writing the series as novels, regardless of how tempting making it a web comic series is.

Compared to how I had been writing the fights, I had also made the decision to tone the fighting down a notch or two. Before, it was totally Dragon Ball Z like, but I think I'm going to go for more of a Marvel vs. Capcom style fight while still containing some DBZ elements. (this is not a cue for a Marvel 2 vs. Marvel 3 discussion/debate/argument...) While fighting scenes like that isn't out of my element, there are some details that are just not quite ready to rock yet.

About a week or two ago I was reading part 2 of the story that Jacko wrote on FaceBook and this random idea of sparring sessions popped into my head. It would help me get back into the groove, figure out some of the details, refine the fighting style a bit, and overall get back to writing fictional material.

So here's what I'm going to do:

Eventually, I'm going to start a new blog dedicated to writing these sparring sessions of random Marko Man characters and maybe even some special guests going at it in one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, free-for-alls, or whatever else I can come up with. This will give me the opportunity to tighten the loose end on all aspects on the series before I really begin it.

And whenever I decide to finally get my drawing tablet, you can expect some web comic concepts to show up as well.

So yeah. Sparring Sessions. Coming soon.

As a matter of fact, I'll do you one better and give you a month. April.

A Letter to My Father

Dear Father,

So apparently today is the day that marks five years after you passed. Quite a blunder on my part, I thought it was the 17th. Oops...

In any event, I'm writing this letter because it's been a while since we talked. Last time we spoke you sent a pretty clear message about a girl that I'm obviously ignoring, and I kinda sorta wanna apologize for that. I just feel like this is a risk worth taking, but due to recent events and the perception of other details, I know now to at least tread softly and be very, very careful.

But yeah, I'm sure you noticed that I'm doing quite a few things that you didn't expect. Some of it I'm quite proud of, while some of it disturbs me. The disturbing stuff isn't much of what I'm doing, but rather what I'm not doing and/or haven't done yet. Like, I'm not in school, I don't have a career set, and my career goals seem rather foggy compared to what they used to be.

And yet, overall, I am quite content with my life right now, as while it could be better, it could be much, much worse, and I am thankful for the position that I'm in right now, as there is much more opportunity here than there was, say, two or three years ago. My job sucks, but it's getting things done for the most part, and I'm sure that there are opportunities to improve my work situation within the company that I just haven't fully explored yet. Outside of work, I keep the family on point, I have real friends, and I have a pretty good time with my life. Kinda like you used to do it.

I must say, the foundation that you have established within me is strong as hell, and yet, I sometimes feel like you're disappointed in what I'm doing right now and what I've done in the past few years. I mean, everyone says that you raised a good guy and that you'd be proud of me and so on and so forth. And while I haven't been to jail, I don't break the law, I don't do or sell drugs, I don't have kids that I'm not taking care of and whatnot, I feel like this is stuff that you expect of me any damn way, and therefore requires no special attention.

But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you are proud of me and what little I've done thus far. Maybe you are proud of the fact that while I may not be perfect and may not have developed into what you may have thought I'd become, I am definitely not the type of person you did your damnedest to make sure I would not become. And maybe that's what everyone else sees when they say "Your father would be real proud of you."

Whatever the case, I just felt the need to get that off my chest. We still miss you, we still love you, you're still referenced quite a bit, especially when it comes to that time you finished an opponent with a Tiger Genocide and was upset at the flashing lights in the back or the time you wondered why Kevin couldn't dent the grass or the tree but had to dent the car. Good times man. Good times.

You were a trip, dad. Glad I was around for it.

Miss You.
♥ You.

Your son,
Mark

Song of the Day

There are times when you need someone...

Song of the Day

So I'm playing Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and I finally beat the game with Dee Jay.
And that song plays.

Amazing.

Song of the Day material right there. Even if it isn't the best song ever.

Song of the Day: Semi-Anti-Valentine's Day Edition

So I had a date for Valentine's Day, but due to extenuating circumstances, it was cancelled at... well, beyond the last minute.

I was pissed.
Then I was disappointed.
But eventually, I found a level of calm.
Because the following song played:

"So Long and Thanks For All the..." (Bullshit? lol)
And it kept me as calm as possible for the ride home.

And the runner up:

"Riders on the Storm."
This a pretty good song. And it also keeps me calm during my moments when can I go off into a nuclear rage, so it's worth the mention.

Until next time, I'll remain a Black Heart.

Wings

Once, I could fly,
But my wings were clipped.
Grounded, for years,
But slowly, I await
The return of my wings.

They start to grow back.
I can hover now.
But gravity still rules me.
Holding me down,
Teasing an ascent.

My altitude's low,
But I look up.
Remembering the height,
The thin air,
The freedom.

And I try to grow my wings.
Willing them to be longer.
But alas, no nugget.
They grow slowly and surely,
But no more than that.

I'll stay low for now.
But soon, low won't rock.
Clouds will remember me.
Limits will break.
I'll return to the top.

Near Conclusion

Scorched the land of foes.
Nothing but the water left.
And then there was one.

Is My Blog Dying?

A mere three blogs last month.

And this is the first one for this month.

So my blog... it must be on the verge of its end, right?

Well, don't be so hasty. Now I know that I've haven't been posting in this blog much at all as of late. Part of it is due to laziness and part of it is due to the fact that I almost kinda sorta don't need it and part of it is due to the fact that everything that I have been writing as of late has been mostly garbage and part of it is due to the fact that I've been preoccupied with other things.

But I still have Lost Adventures to post. Hell, Apex officially qualifies as a Lost Adventure.

And I have blog posts in the warehouse that need tending to, but could definitely go up rather soon-ish.

And then there are still other blog ideas that I have yet to get going. I actually have a new blog feature coming up soon. A part of me wants to standardize it, but a part of me is like "Well, if Video of the Day and Song of the Day isn't standardized, then why are you giving this new shit a big deal?"

And it's not like I don't watch videos and/or listen to music. I could totally make Song and Video of the Day a more common thing even with the lack of writing being done in this blog.

Ehh... I'll see what I can do.

While I can't assure a blistering revival of this blog, I can assure you that this blog isn't dead... yet.

"Yet? But does that mean this blog will die eventually?"

Doesn't everything die eventually?