Last Day of 2015

     Today is the last day of 2015. It's been a very good successful year for me. I've made a lot of new friends and I've been doing good at my job, working there almost three years now. Everything's been great! The best part is all the new people I've met. I have some plans for the next year, pretty much like everyone else.
     The first thing and pretty much everybody probably feels this way too is that I want to lose weight. I've already started stopping eating fast food on my lunch breaks at work and focusing on eating salads and fruits instead. My next thing that I might be doing to help achieve this goal is to stop drinking soda. I drink a lot of soda so I know that will make a difference. I have a very non-active lifestyle so losing weight is going to be hard but I have to do it. I also want to look better for the ladies. That would help a lot if I ever wanted to ask out a cute girl.
     Next, I want to get better at Smash 4. I'm going to consider doing less PC gaming in order to work on my Smash game. My plan is to get good enough to start beating people at the local tournament I go to. I might even consider going to other tournaments if I get good enough. It depends on how much time I'm willing to put into the game. I was also thinking about posting my replays on YouTube and editing the videos and doing my own commentary. I think that would be a super fun hobby to have.
     In addition, I want to think about maybe going back to college. I'm thinking that the only real way for me to advance in life in terms of work is to go back to school and get a degree of some kind. I don't think I want to get a music degree because I don't think that will do anything for me. I'm thinking about something involving business, marketing, writing, or computers. If I really can't think of anything I think I would make a fine teacher, perhaps an English teacher maybe. I would probably go to a local community college because I definitely can't afford to go back to a major University.
     Also, if I don't go to school I want to start thinking about maybe getting a 2nd job or looking for work in things I'm interested in-mainly a job in the gaming industry. This seems like it would be an impossible task because everybody and their grandma wants to work in the gaming industry but I do think it is possible. "With the power of soul, anything is possible" (Jimi Hendrix). So yeah I really want to get on that maybe get in with doing some writing for a gaming blog or magazine, PR or marketing, or possibly even game tester jobs, that kind of stuff. I've kind of already put off the idea of trying to be a video game creator because I think it involves too much computer programming knowledge, which I don't know too much about. But I am a good writer and I can talk about games really well to people that may not even know anything about games.
     Tonight I'm working until midnight at work which is weird because usually I work until 1 am every night. Here's to a great finale to 2015, and an even better 2016! Enjoy your lives people, and remember to live life to the fullest!

Gurren Lagann

     Gurren Lagann is one of the best modern anime. Being from 2007 its a little old compared to all the new stuff like One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, and Sword Art Online. This science fiction/action anime is about a young boy and his older friend fighting these animals (monsters? not sure) called Beastmen. They fight the Beastmen in these giant mechs called Gunmen. Their goal in the beginning of the show is to overthrow the Beastmen King and bring all humans back to the surface. The King is forcing all humans to live underground, but its for a special purpose. If the population goes over a million people on the surface, something dire happens. Basically these aliens attack the Earth and stuff. None of this makes any sense! But this show is so awesome. Every episode except the compilation episode is full of great action and fighting scenes. There's a cool villain named Viral who's a Beastmen that comes to join the humans in the battle at the end. The show has a lot of cool interesting characters.
     Simon is the young boy and main character. He lacks confidence and is very unsure of himself. But with his best friend from his village Kamina he can do anything. During a battle Kamina gets killed and Simon almost never gets over it.
     Kamina is kind of the main character as well because without him the humans never would have rallied together to fight the Beastmen. He was like their official leader. He had a lot of charisma and leadership ability. He believed that Simon could help him accomplish anything he put his mind to.
     And then we have Yoko the scantily clad dame that joins these guys in the battle. She's a great shot with a battle rifle and she kind of has a thing for Kamina.
     Viral is a Beastmen that fights Kamina early in the show. He kind of looks like a blonde elf with sharp teeth. Basically he's a really cool character. The thing I didn't like about him was how weak he was in the show. It wasn't until the very end when he was piloting Gurren Lagann with the adult Simon that he showed his true ability. There are more interesting characters but these four really made this show. Now I'd like to tell you a bit about my favorite moments.
     The fight between kid Simon and the Beastmen King was amazing. There were moments where I thought that Simon was going to lose and that humanity was doomed for sure. But he pulls through in Gurren Lagann, surprisingly. Once the fight is over humans take to the surface and seven years pass. Now everybody's older and Simon and a battle buddy are leading the new government system. It was just awesome to see Simon as an adult and more mature. In the last episode we see an old man Simon telling a young boy that he can do anything he puts his mind to.
      The whole ending of the show was magnificent. It's kind of hard to say what happened at the end but I'll try. Basically these aliens that are so advanced that they live in their own space/time dimensions attacked the Earth with this advanced spacecraft weaponry. Their plan was to drop the moon on top of the Earth so our heroes had to come up with a plan quickly.
     To summarize this was one hell of a an anime. Everything was just good. The story didn't make sense but that doesn't matter in anime. At least it never mattered to me. The characters really carried this show hard. It was a great journey with them and learning all of their individual stories. The fighting scenes in this anime were also very well done. How can you not love giant mechs fighting? This reminded me of my days as a youth watching Gundam Wing. Although Gurren Lagann isn't as serious and has a more happy and comical effect. Definitely watch this anime if you haven't seen it. It's one of the best out there. Listen up, Simon. Don't believe in yourself. Believe in me! Believe in the Kamina who believes in you!

Smash 4 Practice

      Even though my Wii U Gamepad is off to the Nintendo Repair outfit nearby I can still launch Smash 4 with my Wiimote connected to my Zero Suit Samus controller, which I got as a gift from a friend for my birthday back in September. I've been really working on my Smash play. I'm focusing on just playing Zero Suit Samus but switching it up with Veria Suit Samus as a secondary when I know I can win. One thing I'm getting really good at is punishing people when they make mistakes. I've gotten a lot better at dodging and shielding attacks. I've even begun dodging so much that it looks like my character is dancing. I've learned a lot of this from watching the pros at the local tournament at Fire and Dice in Woodland Hills. A lot of great players play there. People like Zenyou and Larry Laur. People I can really learn a lot from. It was fun playing online today because I was absolutely dominating on For Glory. When I told one of my friends about it he said I shouldn't be too happy because a lot of new players just got a brand new Wii U for Christmas and are playing it online for the first time. So I guess I shouldn't be too happy but I will definitely be using these new players as target practice. One thing I noticed online a lot is that I fought a lot of Bowsers. I used Veria Suit Samus against all of them and took them out pretty easily. Bowser just can't take all the spam missiles and charge shots even with his heavy ass. In 2016 I'm thinking about making plans to create a YouTube channel dedicated to Smash 4 and have it highlight replays of my playing. Of course I have to get a lot better to have something good to watch. With all the practice I've been putting in I will definitely be a much better player in 2016. Eventually I'm hoping to make a name for myself in the SoCal scene, or at least at Fire and Dice. It seems like an impossible task now but I believe in myself! My Smash 4 training montage will be like an anime. I believe in the you that believes in me! Thumbs up if you got that reference. With Zero Suit Samus how can I not get better, she's so top tier. With the idea of the YouTube channel it would be great to commentate my games and possibly other peoples' games. I think I can do it and it would be super fun editing videos and getting my name out there as a Smash player. Just some thoughts on Smash at the moment. New Years is almost upon us. I'm going to be working until midnight on New Years Eve. Too bad. I wanted to go to a Smash New Years Eve tournament. Better luck getting off work next time eh? Enjoy the last couple days of 2015. It was an amazing year for me and I met a lot of new friends and people.

New Games

   

     With this great Christmas I just had a got a bunch of cool new games. My Steam collection is now up to 50 games and with my friend's family shared account I have something like over 200! Of course not all of them are installed on my computer, the hardware capacity would have to be insane for that. But I have been thinking about getting an external hard drive soon. Sho 'nuff. I actually got a lot of gaming stuff for Christmas. I got Xenoblade Chronicles X for Wii U, Skyrim, Skullgirls, and two $20 Steam cards. I used the Steam cards to get the following games: Axiom Verge, Fallout 3, The Witcher, Rust, The Ship, Spelunky, and Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex. I'd like to talk a bit about each of these games but if you're a gamer chances are you're familiar with all of these.
     Axiom Verge is an indie title that was totally inspired by 2D sidescrollers like Super Metroid. It's like a modern day Super Metroid. The game is fantastic. The sound effects are amazing and the pixelated graphics are a joy to look at. The game has some challenging puzzles and bosses (so far, I'm still in the beginning), and lots and lots of rooms and corridors (Super Metroid anyone?). I just can't get enough of this game. It's a science fiction game so its right up my alley. I prefer the cyber punk style over the medivel stuff. Which leads me to my next game.
     Skyrim is simply one of the best PC games money can buy. With all the mods that are available for the game, you can have quite possibly the greatest PC gaming experience. I'm not really a medieval RPG slaying dragons type of guy but now that I have this game I totally am! Skyrim is one of the greatest rpg's ever made and the PC version of it is made even better by all the great mods that the community has made. It's an instant 10 out of 10.
     I booted up Xenoblade Chronicles X and got to see the introduction video. It was fascinating. Here's a great jrpg science fiction game that has over 60 hours of gameplay. But I couldn't play too much because of a faulty wii u gamepad. I'm currently working on getting that fixed as we speak. Going to send out my gamepad to a Nintendo authorized repair shop tomorrow. It's actually going to some place closeby out here in California. This was my main xmas gift I would say and I can't wait to really get to play it.
     Skullgirls is a great 2D 1920's female fighting game. The game reminds me of Marvel vs Capcom 2, which is probably the greatest fighting game in the world to me. There's a lot of crazy combos you can do in this game and it seems like it has a steep learning curve. I'm currently trying to buy my friend's fightstick mainly just for this game, but also for Street Fighter IV Ultra and Marvel vs Capcom 3.
     Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex is an early access first person shooter that is just super fun. People die in this game super easy and the action is fast paced compared to something like Call of Duty where people seem to move and shoot slowly. The game features hero and class systems and you can choose abilities and stuff, something similar to a Call of Duty loadout but this game is more fun than Call of Duty if you ask me. It has a lot going for it, mainly just the fact that it's based off the Ghost in the Shell series. The graphics are pretty good but not great. It's mainly the gameplay that kept me playing this game today. I would say that this game is getting me back into first person shooters at the moment.
     I haven't played the other stuff yet because I was busy enjoying Heroes of the Storm, Axiom Verge, Skyrim, and Ghost in the Shell today. But I'll get to those other games eventually. I'm not actually done with this Steam Winter Sale. I might as well pick up a copy of Fallout 4 for myself. Or quite possibly maybe even Metal Gear Solid V. Or maybe The Witcher 3 for $30? So many great options. While it does feel great to have all this new content and all that I'm still bummed about not being able to play Xenoblade or even Smash 4 for that matter. Smash 4 is like my lifeblood as a gamer man! Practicing in Smash and going to tournaments daily has given me so much as a gamer and it's been great to be apart of the SoCal Smash community. To think that I won't be able to play Smash for another week-2 weeks just bums me out. Oh well, at least I can take an arrow to the knee in Skyrim! 
    

Christmas, a Retrospective

     Christmas this year was really great. I exchanged gifts with co-workers, friends, and family. I got some cool things as well. My brother got me Xenoblade Chronicles X and a $20 Steam card. I also got an Ornette Coleman album and a Vijay Iyer album. In addition, I got a lot of fundamental stuff like socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. I got my older brother Fallout 4 and my younger brother saxophonist Kamasi Washington's record The Epic, as well as two jazz books. I got my dad a Henry Threadgill album, his latest one in fact. It was a good Christmas. I hung out with my friends late into the evening and then came home and opened my gifts with the family late around 10 pm. Most people open gifts when they first wake up but my family's a little bit different. On Christmas Eve I went to a Super Smash Bros 4 tournament. I got beat but not too badly this time. I'm definitely getting better and all my friends at the tournament told me I'm getting a lot better.
     In other news, last night my Wii U Gamepad crapped out on me so I won't be able to play my Xenoblade game or Smash 4 until I send it to Nintendo and they repair it. That's OK because I have plenty of games to play on my PC. Hope you all had a great Christmas with your friends and family. Thanks for continuing to read the blog. In 2016 I will go even further in making this blog more interesting, enjoyable, and keeping the content coming!

Vijay Iyer Solo

    This album is a CD that I got for Christmas from the folks. This albums from 2010 and features Vijay Iyer doing solo recordings. They also got me Ornette Coleman's at the 'golden circle' stockholm volume 1. My dad first showed me Vijay Iyer playing with Steve Coleman awhile back on YouTube. They did an amazing duet together! Anyways, I just wanted to do a short post about this album. I am not a fan of piano nor do I enjoy listening to too much piano as I prefer saxophones playing without chordal instruments but this record is great! Vijay Iyer is a great virtuoso musician that has years of both classical training and jazz fundamentals under his belt. He's a monster on the piano but it never sounds like virtuoso ramblings. All of this is soulful and spiritually uplifting to the listener. It's that good. He puts so much heart into this music, it sounds like he's right in my living room playing on my home piano. The album starts with some standards like Human Nature and Epistrophy before going into some original compositions. The opening with Human Nature just knocks me out man. It's just beautiful. You could say that this sounds like something that would be playing in some rich or person of status's home. It has that cool, chill, and relaxed vibe with a lot of class. While I think he doesn't sound 'jazzy' like how McCoy Tyner sounds jazzy, he brings some great sounds here. As Miles Davis would say, "Nice touch." Definitely listen to this record if you like straight-ahead solo piano. Check out the last song One for Blount if you can find it on YouTube. Now that's what I call jazz! 

Steve Coleman Arrhythmias

     Here we go, back to some serious Jazz stuff! It's been a while since I wrote about a jazz album and its good to be back in business. I actually got this album for my dad for his birthday back in September. Thankfully I have a digital copy too. This is a 2014 release by Steve Coleman and the Five Elements, his working band that goes way back. The album cover art gets an instant 10/10 for me because it reminds me of some Opeth album covers. Opeth is this old Swedish progressive metal band. Here's the sit-rep about the album-https://pirecordings.com/album/pi47. I'll talk a bit about each song.
      The first tune is called Sinews and it opens up with an almost funky-fusiony bass line. Then the drums come in with this really cool beat that is definitely not in 4/4 time. It almost feels like a progressive rock thing, with a funky bass line underneath the drums. The horns are playing lines over all this. It sort of reminds me of something Mary Halvorson would do, but infinitely better. At some point there's a break from the short staccato horn lines and Coleman's sax takes the lead. Then there's another break of silence for a few seconds. And then the trumpet takes a solo. The reason I said that it might sound a bit like Halvorson is that the trumpeter has played a lot of gigs with her. But this has more of a musicality to it, its not something that sounds completely random. It sounds improvised but still thought of before in advance. There's a lot of multi-horn lines going on but that funky bass line and sick progressive back beat controls the whole atmosphere. At the end there's one last final break of silence before the bass picks it up again. This first tune sounds like something that is played by college educated Jazz musicians but it has a sense of swing and feel to it.
     The next tune is called Medulla-Vagus. This has guitar in it, which is very nice! The guitarist, Miles Ozkazaki uses an old straight-ahead kind of tone but it still sounds refreshing to my young modern ears. This one is a ballad that's slow and doesn't have drums in it. There's a lot of horn lines going here, there, and everywhere but the guitar seems to hold it all together nicely. But that ballady part was just an introduction! There's a break of silence and the drums come in with this almost like quasi-calypso style drum beat. And the horns follow it with more mathematical sounding horn lines, just like in the first tune. I must say that whenever Coleman is playing he isn't playing over the band as a soloist, he's always playing together with them, almost like they are all leaders rather than Coleman being the master. The horn lines are so mathematically correct. By that I mean that all the horn lines seem to resolve themselves. There's no clear cut melody anywhere, it just constantly flows.
     This next tune is called Chemical Intuition. It opens with some pretty avant-garde horn lines. Almost sounds to me like a 9#11 kind of chord if I could spell it out in musical terms. One thing that stands out is how high pitched the bass sounds on this track. He's playing pretty high up the bass on certain notes here, really hitting those bass treble notes (all about that bass, but all treble). This tune stands out more than the first two because of the strangeness it reminds me of. It reminds me if like a question mark was a sound, this is what it sound like.
     The fourth tune is called Cerebrum Crossover. All these tunes have great names and relate to nature and the body. This tune also has a kind of calypso type of vibe on the drums. It sounds fucking hard to play! Here we have more of the signature horn lines that's been going on, the kind that sounds like constant playing. Which sounds really hard to do because they're playing woodwinds. They gotta breathe sometime! There are melodies in the music but there are so many that I kind of get lost in it all, but in a good way. I hear one melody and then go the next right away without dwelling on it, if that makes sense. The bass has an almost reggae vibe to it, playing only a few notes and vamping it. If I could describe this tune in a more colorful way I would say that it sounds like a brain functioning, even though I have no idea what that sounds like.
    Next up we have Limbic Cry. This one opens up with similar horn lines from the previous tune. But the saxophone does have a more independent line here. The bass on all of this stuff has been electric and it plays a lot of interesting bass lines. Like in this tune the bass plays this really interesting line where he's repeating notes but the rhythm is in some odd time signature. It sounds like a bitch to play and get it right. At this point in the record I've come to realize that a lot of this stuff all sounds similar. At some points when all the horns are playing at the same it reminds me of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. But then I realize the Art Ensemble would never play this cool, calm, and collected. This sounds like a scientist working in his lab patiently and methodically.
     The next one is called Cardiovascular  and it has this tribal drum beat on the toms with some staccato horn lines. Then Coleman's sax takes off, going into what is arguably the most interesting solo on the record so far. He goes so far with it, only to stop after a short while, letting the trumpet take a solo. Then the guitar takes a solo. This is only the second tune the guitar has been featured in and it sounds great with the rest of the band. More saxophonists should play with guitarists, it really changes things up.
     Next up is a tune called Respiratory Flow and it begins with a solo saxophone introduction. Its beautiful and sounds straight-ahead, the first tune on this album that sounds this way. This sounds like something off the new Joshua Redman Bad Plus record that I have. Like something modern and new but still has a sense of traditional Jazz and Swing. This is probably the best song on the album so far because it could appeal to a lot of people more easily than the other stuff previous to this. It has a very somber but refreshing attitude about it.
     Next we have a tune entitled Irregular Heartbeats. This one begins with bass and drums. The bass has a very rhythmic pattern doing a vamp while the drums are basically soloing. Then the horns come in. More interesting horn lines that sound cool and calculated. Then Coleman's sax takes a solo. I guess it would be easy to say it sounds like irregular heartbeats. The time signature is definitely not 4/4 but by now I've come to realize that almost none of this is in 4/4. It's all hard to play time signatures for the average musician. But for these guys improvising in like 17/8 wouldn't be too difficult.
     I could write more about the rest of the tunes but I think you get the gist of what this sounds like. Its truly spectacular. All the songs sound a little similar, like they recorded them all within a short time span but that's ok because it all sounds good. I really like the parts with the guitar in it. The guitarist has a very unique style, which is important in playing this kind of free jazz style. Its like playing progressive rock, everybody puts their own individual style and stamp on the music. What I can say about this album is that even though I said earlier it sounds mechanical and by definition that means robotic, while it does that it also sounds completely natural and unrestrained. Every melody, lick, and line all sounds like something real. By real I mean it sounds unique and like nobody else. It's a great record! I'm glad I got it for my dad's birthday and eventually got to listening to it now. This album was released in 2013 and the crazy thing is that Coleman has only gotten better since. I heard that his 2014 release Synovial Joints is more great stuff, even on best new jazz album lists online and in jazz magazines. He's become quite the famous saxophonist and even got some awards not too long ago. "2014 was a remarkable year for alto saxophonist and composer Steve Coleman. Already acclaimed in jazz circles, he won wider recognition as the recipient of three prestigious awards: a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award." (https://pirecordings.com/album/pi57). This guy is on fire right now. Check out any of his new releases when you can.
    

One Punch Man

 
     One Punch Man is simply put one of the greatest anime I've ever seen. I can compare this anime to something great like Dragon Ball Z, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and Gundam Wing. This is the reason Japan is awesome (among other things like great music). This is a very basic anime. It's a bit of a comedy with a bit of drama and lots of action. It's all about this guy named Saitama and he's a hero for fun. He wanted to become strong so he did this crazy training regiment where he trained so hard that he went bald. And now he's the greatest fighter out of all the heroes. In the show there are other heroes who are ranked in a list online and they're all different. There's this one old guy who's a martial arts fighter. Then there's this gay guy who gets naked and is super powerful. Then there's a young woman who has psychic abilities. Then there's Saitama's disciple, a cyborg named Genos who isn't really that powerful but somehow managed to rank up to S rank, higher than Saitama on the hero scale. There's all kinds of baddies in the show, like a Bee woman, a cyborg gorilla, bald headed footmen in power armor, a giant monster man made in a lab, and the last enemy (and the only one who could take one punch w/o dying) the alien at the end of the story. The thing that I like about this anime is that the fighting is so great. There's so much destruction and chaos. The anime is a little gory as well, as well, things get smashed into a bloody pulp from one punch.
     This is one of the best new anime and it's a must watch for any serious anime fan. But it did leave behind some questions. The 12th episode ends on a note that there won't be any more. However, there was a lot of unknown cliffhangers. On the 12th episode this ninja warrior guy who fought Saitama earlier in the show tells Genos to watch out for Black Knight (another hero), and that Black Knight's not his friend. Also, we never had a truly great fight where Saitama was fighting someone who was equal to his level of power. Even the alien at the end said when he was dying that Saitama was holding back and that he never even had a chance to begin with. It was a great fight visually and the music was awesome but come on, this uber powerful alien King of the Universe died in two punches! Talk about an anticlimactic way to end a great show. But I can't be mad because the whole show was just so good. Another thing left unanswered is the fact that the ninja guy fought Saitama earlier and they were suppose to eventually fight again. This ninja guy was like the only guy who could really stand a chance against Saitama and it would've been great to see them duke it out. Because of these unknowns I don't think that this series is over. I believe that they will make a second season. I was on reddit reading about it and people believe there will be a second season in maybe a year or two. That would be sick.
     Lastly, there's so many memorable moments from this anime. Lately I've been watching a lot of anime, mostly because I'm subscribed to Crunchyroll and I feel like I have to keep watching a lot to get my money's worth. When I finished Hunter x Hunter I took a long break but now I'm watching Gurren Laagan, which is turning out to be another great anime. It's an old one from 2007 that I missed. GL's (Gurren Laagan) about these humans who are forced to live underground by some kind of monster King but the humans fight back using Gunmen (basically giant mechs). It's so cool. I could compare it to other great mecha anime like Gunsword, Gundam Wing, and Evangelion. Anyways, One Punch man is just amazing. You have to see it if you like anime. Chances are if you've been on the internet a lot, you've seen all the One Punch Man memes, quotes, and pictures. They are literally everywhere on Facebook. There's a lot of great cosplays too. This anime is a 10/10, must watch!

Battlefront III Tips

     I learned I've been playing Battlefront III all wrong today. I watched a few videos and learned a few things. Yeah, that's for true (Stewie Family Guy reference)!
     First, always play in third person. This is not a first person game at all. You will be punished hard if you play in first person. You'll get stuck walking into rocks and walls. It happened to me today and I was all like 'wtf!'. It wasn't fun getting shot while I was stuck against a rock. You can see around corridors inside easier in third person and you can see farther in open spaces.
     Second, always try to fire from the hip. If you hardscope and zoom in you don't have better accuracy, that's just how the game mechanics work apparently. Most of the firefights in this game are fired shots from the hip so you better get used to it.
      Third, do not waste your credits on the visual haircuts and faces. Instead buy the essential guns and stuff that you need. Try to focus on working your skills with one gun. Get the thermal detonator as soon as you can. I still need to get that. Now that I know how powerful it is I'll get it asap.
     Fourth, get in turrets. Use turrets. You can get a lot of kills that way.
     Fifth, don't fly if you're a beginner like me. Leave the ship flying to pros who know how to use it. Only get in the ships when your team is winning and it doesn't matter if you're not shooting down vehicles.
     Sixth, make sure to run around the map and pick up the powerups. You can get heroic powerups that let you play as heroes as well as picking up powerups that cooldown on your hand, allowing you to throw grenades twice before cool down and stuff like that.
     Lastly, run and gun. This is a run and gun game. Although there are modes with 40 players you still need to run and run. Your team is there to support you but they are running and gunning too. I just learned all of this just now. Makes me see the game a little bit different. For one thing I was playing in first person today and I was noticing how bad it was. And I was doing badly always zooming in on my shots. Take care and good games!

Star Wars The Force Awakens Spoliers

     So today my friend told me all about the new Star Wars movie. I got the gist of it anyway, I think he may have not told me some things. If you want to save the movie and not be bummed out by spoilers leave this page right now.
      Alright, so the first big important news is that Han Solo's son is the new evil dark Sith who wants to become the new Darth Vader. He looks up to Vader and he kills Han Solo at some point in the movie. Meanwhile, we have the black guy and the girl trying to find Luke Skywalker. During the entire movie they're searching for Luke Skywalker. Sounds boring doesn't it? Apparently the girl is some distant relative to Luke and that's why she has the Force (damn miticlorieins!). And the black guy was a storm trooper but decided he'd had enough and deserted. They kind of fall in love in the movie (a black guy and a white girl!). While all that's happening the Empire has some kind of super weapon that can destroy planets and is powered by multiple Suns (sounds like the freaking deathstar!), and they're using it on planets and stuff and causing havoc. Obi Wan isn't in this movie unfortunately. I'm going to watch some spoiler reviews to get a better understanding of the movie but this is what my friend told me and I feel like I've seen the whole movie lol. It sounds great and all. There's even a new Sith Lord with a fucked up face apparently that talks to Han's son. I told my dad all this and he said,"Now I don't have to see the movie". Haha. I'm still going to see the movie for sure. I'm not one of these people that say you ruined it for me just because someone told me whats going on in a movie or TV show before it happened. I actually don't mind because it gives me a better understanding of the show and situations within the show. The Force Awakens has gotten a lot of good reviews from all the nerds on YouTube. If they're satisfied there must be something good about it. I heard that it may even be as good as A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back. Now that would be something!

How to 'Git Gud' At Smash

     I really want to get better at Smash 4. It's my favorite game that I've probably ever played in my entire life. I am pretty upsessed with it, and talk about it at every chance I get. My goal is to actually beat people at tournaments and get far at a local tourney. Most people just say things like 'git gud scrub', and shit like that but it takes a lot of effort and practice to get good. Here's some tips that I follow in my effort to 'git gud'.
     First, attend tournaments. This is hard for most people because real life gets in the way of gaming. Its hard for me to go to the local near my house but every chance I'm off from work I try to go. There's no substitute for tournament playing at playing friendlies in a lag-less For Glory-free environment. Tournies are great because you get to meet new people and play people who are better than you. That's the best part, because you get to play friendlies with people who have practiced and trained much harder than you have. When you win a game against them, you feel like a million bucks.
     Second, practice against your friends. Your friends probably aren't as good as the people at tournaments but they're the reason you started playing Smash. You originally started playing for fun with your friends. At least that's how it was for me. I didn't even think about going to a tournament until Smash 4 came out and I've been playing Smash games since Smash 64. My friends give me a good challenge and I can lab characters and techniques against them. One of my friends is so good I'd say he's tournament level and could beat some peeps up at a local tourney. The others are about even with me and still give me a good challenge, especially with my off characters.
      Third, play For Glory. This is something a lot of people don't really like because For Glory is so laggy sometimes. But sometimes your friends aren't around to play online with you or in person. That's when you play For Glory. For Glory is always online (most of the time) and there are plenty of challenging opponents on there that you can spar with.
     That's really the main things I work on. Another thing I would say is to work on playing only a few characters. For me I really only work on playing Zero Suit Samus but I still sometimes play Fox, Mario, Sheik, and Cloud now that he's available. There's other things I do as well like labbing against AI level 9's. Also, I watch a lot of pro replays. It's hard for me to really understand what's going on in the mind of a pro player but when I hear the announcers describing every move that's when I start to get it. The most important thing is to constantly keep playing. Eventually I'll get good enough to beat my opponents at the local tournament. That's my main goal for the future. Good luck and good games!

Holidays Are Here

     Holidays are here! Now is that time that you either love or hate. I've been seeing it on both ends of the spectrum. At first I was hating this Holiday season because I'm working all these extra hours but after reevaluating everything I have found my inner Zen and am doing great. I'm happy about the extra hours because it means more money to spend on gifts to ensure that this is great Christmas. Also, it means more money for me to save. It's actually a win-win. Everything's been great lately. I've been doing a lot of gaming, especially Super Smash Bros. I'm thinking about picking up some more gifts for co-workers and games for some friends.
      The things I would get for my co-workers would be simple Holiday chocolates, coffee, hot chocolate, etc, all Holiday-themed of course. I wanted to get one of my favorite managers this cute cup with a Fox wearing a monocle that also had chocolate inside of it. I'll have to go back to the store to see if that's still there. I think she would really find it cute. The other items would be the usual Holiday type stuff. Nothing too fancy.
     For most of my friends I already got them gifts but I'm thinking about getting one of my friends an Xbox360 game, maybe CoD BoIII or Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes. Then there's friends that I have on Steam. I was thinking about getting two of them Undertale, this great new rpg that has a lot of interesting mechanics and is really big on the internet. Undertale is like a cult classic now and its super big on the net. Lots of people on Facebook are using the characters from the game as their profile pictures and stuff,. I looked into the game and I would want to play it myself, but lately I haven't been playing too many rpgs.
     I still have games on my Steam list that I got from last Christmas and I haven't played them even once. I have too much and too little time. When I get online I have to make a decision what to play and I just haven't gotten to maybe like 4 or 5 games. These games include Fallout New Vegas, Deadspace, Victoria, a good portion of the Dawn of War series, PayDay 2, Company of Heroes, Endless Space, Half Life, and Portal. In addition, I've only played a bit of Bioshock and Grey Goo. My list is so big, complete with 32 games! Insane collection. All of them are like great games too.
      I'm thinking about buying myself something nice before Christmas, or just something for myself. I was thinking of a game but its hard to say what I really want because I already have a great collection. But I was thinking about getting Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U, Call of Duty Black Ops III, maybe pre-purchasing the new WoW (been meaning to get back into that game), Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, Skullgirls, Super Mario Maker, and pre-purchasing Street Fighter V. I think the safe option would just to buy Guilty Gear Xrd Sign ($23) or Skullgirls ($15). That way I could still enjoy and pick up a new game while spending  a relatively low amount of money because those other titles are all $60. I'll probably try out Skullgirls because I played it a friends house and it seemed like a great fighter. It features girls from the 1920's in fantastic detailed colorful artwork and all the girls have cool fighting techniques to take each other out. Sounds fun.
     In an earlier post I talked about how this is the Christmas of Starwars. The movie came out today and people have already seen it. I'm not too hyped about it but I do want to see it eventually. It doesn't have to be too soon, maybe I'll go see it with some friends after the Holidays are over and the movie isn't so hyped up. Also, they're marketing the hell out of the Starwars Battlefront III game which I despise. My friend at work told me today he really likes the game and that he can get into the competitive aspect of it. He said I have to level up and get more of the guns and stuff before I can really make a judgement on if its good or bad. For one thing, I never even got the jetback, which you don't get until like level 18. I think I'm level 4 at the moment haha.
     Life has been good to me. I've met a lot of great new friends and I've had a blast hanging out with them. In other good news, my brother passed the first A+ certification today. I'm really happy for him. I think he should be able to pass the 2nd test pretty easily. I should follow his footsteps and learn computers myself, I'm online, gaming, and using computers all the time so I might as well learn all about them. He's tried to get me into it before but I never really showed interest. I still consider myself a musician even though I haven't practiced in a long time. I haven't had a lesson with my teacher for a while either. I guess we're taking a hiatus for the Holidays. I feel bad about neglecting music because as much as I love gaming I'm a much better guitarist than a gamer. I consider myself a guitar otaku. Plus I've been keeping up listening to a lot of great jazz. Right now I'm listening to saxophonist Jackie McLean. I've really got to get back to playing guitar. That was always the original plan. To make myself some kind of musician while working. But that's the topic for another post.
     Enjoy the Holidays. I know this time can be rough but in the end its all about being with your family and loved ones. With only like a week left before Christmas you all better make sure to get your final gifts! I still have to get things myself. I'll probably be working on Christmas but I'm prepared for it. It'll be nice to be with my work family anyways. But if I do end up working I'll still be like,"Bah humbug!"

Cloud great character confirmed

     Cloud is already becoming a super good character in Smash 4 after only being out for a day! I know a lot of really good players that are way better than I am that are saying he's basically trash tier. But I disagree. Check out this Cloud game-play at a So-Cal Tournament Winners Finals here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOpkMggwrUA.
     Basically Markus, the Cloud player just annihlated WiiGi in every single game and WiiGi's Rob never stood a chance. The thing that I noticed a lot from Cloud is the spacing is very important for Cloud. If you can catch your opponent off guard, you can get in a lot of sword hits in. I noticed that whenever Cloud is floating or flying off stage he recovers and while he's doing that he's charging up his limit break. He's doing this like all the time and he gets the limit breaks all the time, very quickly. Cloud did a lot of up air spikes too. I guess the most important thing about Cloud's play style is his spacing and the ability to charge up the limit break while running and dodging. He has a lot of really great basic attacks and you can improvise and come up with a lot of interesting combos. There's a lot of follow ups you can do with him too. It's crazy that Cloud's only been out for one day and this guy Markus has already won a tournament here in SoCal. SoCal has a strong Smash scene so this is an amazing feat. It's great to see a Cloud player who really knows what he's doing. I guess people are losing to Cloud right now a lot because nobody knows the match up. Nobody knows what to do against him, including me. I've been having a hard time against the army of Clouds online. They all play the same style but I'm still having problems. Guess I better 'git good' haha. I'll practice harder and try to get better for sure though.

Smash 4 Final Presentation

      I was so hyped for this final Smash 4 video presentation. I got up around noon and waited until 2 PM, I was even on the Twitch stream early and the chat was going crazy even around 1 30 pm. What I can say is that I approve everything that I saw in the video today but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that my boy Snake isn't going to be a dlc character. I was thinking they would add a whole bunch of characters, like the winners of the Smash ballot but I guess Sakurai did it right.
      Basically we learned that Smash 4 is getting some more updates and 2 new characters. We learned from the last Nintendo Direct that Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy was being added to the game. And today everybody downloaded him and now everybody and their grandma's are using Cloud online on For Glory. More on Cloud later. I figure they added Cloud because he was a popular vote from NA. But he wasn't the only character being added! They're adding the main character from Fire Emblem Fates, Corrin to the fight! He's a sword fighter who can turn into a dragon and has some pretty sick looking combos. He was a popular choice from Japan. Fire Emblem Fates has been out in Japan for a while now but it hasn't gotten an NA release yet so most of us NA people are like Corrin who? And lastly, Europe's biggest vote on the Smash ballot, we're getting Bayonetta! I am actually hyped for Bayonetta because her moves look sick. She looks so fast, maybe even faster than Sheik. Her combos look limitless with the improvisation you can do with it. I really like that gun of hers and how she can shoot with her feet. True demon stuff! Plus she's a new sexy waifu that will be added to Smash. Haha, but in all seriousness I think Corrin, Cloud, and especially Bayonetta will completely change the game. I think Bayonetta might be able to out combo Sheik, we'll have to wait and see.I downloaded Cloud, the Midgar stage, and some add-ons for like $10 today. Kind of a rip off Nintendo! The character alone should be like $3.99. But anyways, I got to downloaded the new update and Cloud and the Midgar stage. Here are my thoughts.
     Cloud is a great fighter but I don't think he will any significant impact on this game, especially at the competitive level. I don't think people are going to be busting out the buster sword at tournaments. I did happen to play a few good Clouds today online but they all play the same style online. Basically they were all dodging and avoiding all my attacks in an attempt to charge up their limit break and then try to hit me with it. Basic tactics. But if I hit them in a moment where there's an opening I can get in some combos. Some of them were pretty good too. I just don't see Cloud having an impact on this game at the tournament level. For casual play he'll be a great new addition to a game that already has plenty of fighters. I really dig the Midgar stage because of the classic Final Fantasy VII theme music from when you get into a battle. It's just that classic vibe. It would be cool to have Omega Midgar as a tournament stage, just for the music.
     At first, after I saw the 33 minute presentation, I was disappointed. As a huge fan of Smash and have only had a Wii U since September knowing there will be no new updates for Smash 4 makes me a bit sad. I don't know if there will be a Smash 5 and if there is, what can they really do it that hasn't already previously been done in earlier iterations? This leads me to believe that this is Nintendo's final Smash (get it?) game. The very thought of that makes me sad but I think this game will have a strong competitive scene for years to come. I also hope that the Wii U doesn't die too soon. I feel like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Bayonetta 2 breathed new life to the dying system recently. Nintendo needs some newer games to keep the Wii U alive. Right now there are only a few games worth getting just to have a Wii U and I would say they are Smash, Mario Kart 8, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Bayonetta 2. If Nintendo wants to survive they need to keep updating their current systems. I know they are already working on a new console called the NX but I still care about the Wii U. I know its been out since 2012 but you can teach an old dog new tricks. That's just my two cents on the subject. I actually didn't like Nintendo until I got a 3DS XL and Smash 4. Smash 4 changed competitive gaming for me. Before all I knew was online gaming on the PC. But now I go to Smash tournaments and I have a lot of fun and meet a lot of cool people. Smash has been, well, smashing! The Wii U has been a great system just because of Smash. It was worth every penny and all the hard work that I had to do to pay for it. Enjoy this game. Enjoy these new characters. I can't wait until February when Corrin and Bayonetta get added.
     Lastly, I can't really be disappointed with all this great news. It's a great finale to an amazing fighting game. Who would think we would have a game where Ryu, Sonic, Megaman, Bayonetta, and Pac Man could duke it out in a fight? It's a dream come true for gamers. Thank you Masahiro Sakurai! He's made a masterpiece that will never be forgotten.

Nintendo Direct Hopes

     As all the Super Smash Bros 4 players know today is the big day for Nintendo's last video about updates given for Smash 4. Needless to say I'm hyped! Ever since I got Smash 4 on the Nintendo 3DS XL, I've loved Smash. Playing it with my friends when I first got it was the best time I've ever had playing a fighting game. And now I'm a competitive player and I go tournaments! Pretty crazy. I'm not the greatest player in the world but I'm okay and I can always become better with more practice. Everybody's super hyped about this last video about Smash. What we do know is that this is the final video presentation specifically about Smash. There's a chance there could be more videos but it won't be specifically about Smash. Like maybe Smash could be talked about while they're also talking about other games. I just read about that on Kotaku, a famous gaming site. In the last Nintendo Direct they announced at the very end that Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII was being added to the game. That's such a hype! I was so excited and weirded out that Cloud was being added to the game. I'm not quite sure but I believe he was a big vote for the Smash Ballot from Japan. And I think Japan has more sway over Smash because the Smash games were created by Sakurai, one of the greatest Japanese video-game makers ever. I'll tell you what I'm hoping for in the final Smash 4 presentation today.
     I'm hoping for more stages, possibly variations on older stages from Melee or 64. Looking forward to a Final Fantasy VII stage because of Cloud being in the game and all. I'm thinking they could do one stage where you're on top of the Shinra building. I'm also looking forward to more characters being announced, particularly the ones that got the most votes in the Smash Ballot. But the only character I'm wishing gets announced for sure is Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series. He's my favorite character in Brawl and Project M and I think he would be great in Smash 4 too. I'm also looking for some patch that changes the way Smash 4 is played. Smash 4 is too much of a defensive game. I'm hoping they come up with some new mechanic(s) that make the game more aggressive without having to rely on constantly jumping away and blocking all the time. That's really all I could hope they could do. It's not like they're going to bring back wavedashing or anything crazy like that. But I do believe they will patch the game at least one final time.
     Lastly, in a lot of ways I'm saddened that Nintendo would bring an end to this game. Ending updates to a game means that they will no longer be invested in this game in the long run. That's why I prefer PC games over consoles. At least on the PC, companies realize that in order to get people to buy the games, they have to keep them updated and always have new content. But on the other hand, with no more updates in Smash 4, the competitive community can finally concentrate and focus on what the actual game will be like because nothing new will be added and there won't be any new surprise patches that make and/or break characters. I remember when Luigi was super powerful. And when Diddy Kong just beat everybody's ass. Then Nintendo patched the game and they were weakened heavily. I think of Smash 4 as another game in the Smash canon. I believe there will be a Smash 5 on Nintendo's new NX system. And I'll probably be playing that as well. I don't really have high hopes for the Wii U. The only great game to come out of the Wii U is Smash 4 in my professional opinion. But for me that's all I need to recognize it as a great console. With Nintendo's President dead we have no real idea where the company will go with their new console but I hope they make it more of a powerful system, like the Xbox1 or PS4. But Nintendo always does their own thing so we'll have to wait and see. You can catch the final Smash video presentation on Nintendo's website today at 2 pm. 

Unforgiven

     Unforgiven is a film made in 1992 directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. Clint also was the lead actor in the movie playing William Munny, an ex-outlaw murderer who became a pig farmer and went towards a peaceful life because of his wife and kids. In the movie he wife had died of smallpox and now he's just raising his kids on his own out in the outskirts of Kansas. Let me walk you through the plot of this movie. Its a simple minded movie but this movie just does everything very well. Because its a newer Western it looks amazing visually. I'm used to more of the old school Westerns from the 60s and with John Wayne and Unforgiven looks a lot better visually because of the newer technology and cameras they had back in 1992. I decided to watch this film on Amazon Prime because I saw that it had four and a half stars. I figured it must be amazing. And so it was. Onto the story.
     The story starts out with this cowboy in a whorehouse and he's super pissed at this whore because, as we find out later, she saw how small his pecker was and she laughed at him. So this cowboy decides to take out his knife and starts cutting up this woman all over her face, and even tries to cut off her tits. Talk about an intense opening scene! Then the Sheriff named Little Bill comes and arrests the cowboy and his partner but in the end all they get is a whipping and they're off, free of charges. I guess back in those days nobody cared for whores because that's just plain wrong. Enter Clint Eastwood.
     In the next scene we see Clint wrangling up some pigs with a young boy and girl, his kids. This young cowboy comes to his farm and tells him he needs a partner to kill some cowboys who cut up this woman's face. At first Clint says that he's done with all that bad stuff and now he wants to live a normal life. However, in the end he says yes because he needs the money. The reward is $1,000 from the group of whores and back in 1878 that must've been a lot of money!
     Clint decides to pick up his buddy Ned for this job. Ned used to be a no good thief murderer like Clint too and they go way back. Ned's such a good shot with the rifle that he can take out a bird's eye as its flying in the air. And Ned is no other than Morgan Freeman! Talk about all star actors. It was cool seeing him play a no good cowboy and he did a great job playing a black cowboy.
      So the young cowboy, Ned, and Clint end up traveling up to Wyoming (I believe) to find out where these woman cutters were and Clint ends up getting beat the shit out of by Little Bill because Clint brought firearms into the town. The town is a gun free zone and Little Bill makes sure that everyone gets their guns taken away while they're there. The two other guys escape as Clint gets kicked the shit out of.
    Ned stitches up Clint and once he's out of danger and isn't going to die they all decide to go kill the cutter cowboys. At first Ned shoots his rifle at the guy but he misses. Then he gets all scared and decides he wants out of the whole thing. Clint takes his rifle and shoots one the cutter cowboys' partner. That guy ends up dying from the shot. Then Clint and the young cowboy look for the cutter cowboy and the young cowboy ends up killing him while he's on the john. Pretty fucked up but kind of funny that he died while taking a shit. Then Clint and his young partner ride off, to meet up with one of the whores so they can get their reward.
     When the woman gives them the reward she tells them that Little Bill ended up killing Ned. Clint gets super upset and decides that he's going back to town to kill Little Bill. This shows Clint's true bad ass side and his true evil nature from his days as a young man. So Clint ends up going to town and shooting up everybody at the saloon who goes who their pistols. He shoots Little Bill but he wasn't dead right away. Little Bill tries to shoot Clint with his pistol while he's on the ground but Clint stops him and blows him away. Great ending.
     Lastly, there's a lot of things that make this film great. The characters are interesting and memorable. The music is good. The action scenes and gun shooting is pretty good. The story is believable and the movie is memorable. Clint Eastwood's acting really made this movie great. His character is that stereotypical evil bad ass that has seen the light and now is trying to make up for his sins, not like anime stories like Ruroni Kenshin. I also liked how Morgan Freeman was in this movie too. He makes for a very unlikely bad ass cowboy but he fits in and does a great job here. I would say out of all the Westerns I've seen this one is one of the better ones as well as one of the most recent ones. It's a great movie and you should check it out. Clint Eastwood has gotten a lot older now and I don't think he does cowboy movies anymore but back in the day he couldn't be beat at Westerns. Westerns are what actually got me into movies and I'm a big fan of Clint and John Wayne. If I had to give this movie a rating I would give it a 9.5 out of 10. It wouldn't get a 10 only because the story is bit convoluted. There's some complex symbology here. It's actually about the wages of sin and going back to it instead of being good. It's good to see a newer Western that's actually a great movie because a lot of the newer ones aren't that great, in my professional opinion. Let me know what you think of Westerns, leave a comment.

Robocop

     This is yet another one of those old movies that I missed because I haven't been to the theaters in a long time and I don't pay for Netflix, mainly just because I pay for Crunchyroll (anime streaming service) and Amazon Prime. Maybe one day I'll get Netflix though. They have a lot more of a selection and more rare and independent films than AP. This movie is a great action flick, mostly all action. It tries to have a story but the story gets blotted out by what I call Hollywood and CGI special effects stuff. It's okay though because that's what all these remake movies are all about. They're all about trying to break the box office tickets and showing off with all the special effects and creating 'buzz' and new fans and all that jazz. I'll tell you what I liked about the movie first. I didn't really dislike this movie at all but I gotta say that this remake isn't anywhere near as good as the original and I'll tell you why.
     First, I really like the idea of a cop going inside of a robotic suit and taking out bad guys. Robocop was one of those great films that I saw as a kid. Growing up I realize that that movie sort of had fascist overtones and was dark and gritty. It was violent too, even having some bloody scenes thrown in there as well as straight up murder. This is as cyberpunk as it gets. It's just a great idea and that's why they decided to remake it. Robots are cool.
     Another good thing about this film is that Joel Kinnamann, the actor who played a the male cop to the female cop in the Killing plays the Robocop. It was just cool seeing him playing a cop role again. I like his acting style a lot and think he's a great actor. He plays a great undercover sort of detective and in the Killing he was a like-able cop. I thought he did a really good job here in this movie especially the part where he and his partner were doing undercover cop stuff in an attempt to figure out who smuggled all these guns. In the end it all goes south and they end up in a firefight. The baddies put a timed explosive on our hero's car and the rest is history. He becomes the Robocop after surgery. The one part of this movie that was actually weird to see was his body without the suit. He just had lungs, a heart, his head, and his brain. It just looked totally weird to me. Its like how can he even survive like that? Not realistic at all but hey, this is Robocop, so who am I to judge?
     The action fighting scenes in this movie are great. It's everything you'd expect from a triple A title movie with a big budget and famous actors. Although this movie had some big name actors like Samuel L. Jackson, I felt like they didn't really add anything to the movie with their acting. It was like hey lets just throw in a famous face and not really make him important kind of deal. But the fighting in this movie is great. I especially liked the ending when Robocop is fighting for his life against the other drones and he's like a hair's breath from death. Also I liked the gun shooting in this game. I'm not normally a fan of guns because I prefer martial arts and sword fighting but the gun shooting in this movie is pure joy. Makes me want to play some first person shooter games. It's a blast, literally because there are lots of explosions in this movie as well. This is definitely an action movie.
     Moving on, this movie is fine and dandy as a remake but it can't hold a candle the original Robocop. This remake doesn't have any attitude, persona, and motive. It doesn't really go anywhere and ultimately we don't really care for any of the characters other than Robocop's wife and kid. The original had a theme and it was a slightly fascistic movie because it was made by German director by the name of Paul Verhoeven. He had theme and idea for the entire movie and it was darker and more gritty. This remake is all Hollywood theatrics. Which doesn't mean its bad. It just means that it lacks direction and cohesion. What this movie lacks in theme it tries to make up for with badass action and gun fights. It was a nice try but ultimately I'm going to forget this movie and watch the original again someday.
     Lastly, I've been watching a lot of movies lately and it's been fun. Perhaps I will become something of a movie connoisseur. But first I have a lot of movies to catch up on. I originally got into movies because I liked westerns. Westerns and science fiction have always been my favorite movies. Feel free to recommend me some great movies, new or old. Leave a comment and I will take your advice!  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

     This is another old movie that I saw on Amazon Prime. I should've seen it earlier but I just got to it last night. This is Micheal Bay's take on the Ninja Turtles. Let me tell you the good, the bad, and the nerdy (touches the tip of glasses).
     Let's start with the good! This movie shows the turtles in a very good light. They are their true selves from the original cartoons and their personalities and personas really shine through in this movie. Raff is super mean and wants to be the leader and is always yelling at the guys. Donatello is really nerdy and even knows computer code. Michelangelo rides some kind of electronic hover board and is super in your face with catch phrases and trying to be cool and funny. And Leonardo is the fearless leader, leading the team through tough battles, although his personality didn't quite show as much as the other turtles.
     The action scenes in this movie are great. This is the stuff we've come to expect from Michael Bay, king of explosions! His Transformers movies are so bad in terms of plot but when it comes to the action he's the man. There were so many action scenes in this movie. You could say that this entire movie was one big action scene with very little plot and uninteresting dialogue. My favorite part of the movie was when Master Splinter fought against the Shredder. It was a sick fight! Splinter even used a katana sword against him. At first they looked super even but in the end the Shredder overpowers Splinter and at one point I thought he was going to die. But then I remembered that this made with Nickelodeon too and that they can't have anybody actually die. In some ways it would've been a more serious movie if Splinter died, and it would've given the turtles more insensitive to take down the Shredder and Sachs (the other baddie of this film).
     Now for the bad. When I first saw the turtles in this movie I was thinking,"What the hell man?" They look like 6 foot tall giant colossal monsters, not like turtles. They look like armored tanks. Like the Hulk or something. They definitely shouldn't have looked that big and buff. They looked really silly. It threw me off but I accepted it because I was enjoying the movie. But they looked stupid.
     The turtles weren't the only ones who looked stupid. The entire Footclan looked like a bunch of bad Call of Duty or Counter Strike team. All black and these dumb masks. None of them actually fought with martial arts, instead relying on guns to try to take down the turtles, which was dumb because the turtles can take any bullets thrown at them because of their tough exterior. I just thought that they could've made the Footclan look more interesting. In the original cartoon they wore these purple ninja outfits, that looked a lot better than this militarized swat team army thing they had going on.
     The plot in this movie wasn't anything interesting. Basically the Shredder and this rich guy Sachs were going to use the mutagen from the turtles' blood they collected and create some kind airbourne disease on the whole city. And then Sachs was suppose to use the mutagen as the cure for everyone, thus saving the city and making him rich. But wasn't he already rich? He was already living in a mansion and was super famous in the city. So his plan was for him and the Shredder to run the city? It doesn't exactly add up.
     The Shredder's daughter is shown in this film as a young woman leading the Footclan but we see her get easily taken out by the turtles. In the cartoon and comic she's suppose to be a bad-ass but in this movie they make her look like a little bitch. I wanted to see some bad-ass kung fu from her, some great moves that she learned from her old man. It turned out to be a disappointment. Why did they even include her in the movie? It made no sense to have her.
     And now for the nerdy! If you're a true fan of the Ninja Turtles then all the short comings of this movie won't matter to you because they were super true to the cartoon and lore. I felt like a kid again watching this movie. I used to love watching the Ninja Turtles cartoon, playing the games, and reading the comics. They're just one of the all time great franchises in nerd culture, right up there with famous cartoons like Pokemon and Teen Titans. April O'Neal was just like the April from the cartoon. I just wished this movie had Jason. It would have been exhilarating seeing Jason in his hockey outfit and stick beating up on the Footclan and the Shredder with the turtles. I really enjoyed the fighting scenes in this movie, it was just a blast. Super fun movie. The turtles were always into pop culture and in one scene while they're in an elevator waiting to beat up on the Shredder they start beat-boxing and rapping a bit. It was pretty funny. This is probably my favorite Michael Bay movie I've seen. The turtles were always saying something entertaining and they were always 'on' as actors.
      Lastly, in terms of pure action this movie is better than the old Ninja Turtles films. It was super fun to watch. Kawabunga! 
    

Coltrane on Alto Saxophone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mMS2jZTO0k
Here we hear Trane in the post-bop style strutting his stuff. I gotta say that he sounds the same on alto as he does on tenor, albeit just a different tonal range because of the high sound of the alto. He's playing very melodically so this has to be the late 50's, early 60's, a great time period for Trane and for Jazz. It sounds from the playing here that Trane is playing his own kind of stylized licks and patterns, stuff that he would go on to play even later in his career. I can recognize it because once you've heard Trane long enough you recognize alot of his harmonic material. He's one of the best and I would say that his alto playing here is even as good as Charlie Parker's. Enjoy the short audio. I don't think anyone else has audio of Trane playing alto saxophone. I was surprised I found this. But it sure sounds exactly like him. The rhythm, breathing, and spacing is especially Trane-esque. Talk about great stuff!

Kill Bill Volume 2

     Kill Bill Volume 2 is an okay movie. Not great and not too exciting but it did have a few thrills here and there. I liked how the whole revenge thing came to a 'happy ending', although it ain't really all that happy because a lot of people got killed off in the process. I'd like to talk about my favorite parts of the movie.
     Hands down the best part of the movie is when the Bride, Beatrice Kiddo. ends up becoming an apprentice to this Chinese Kung Fu master. I talked to my dad today about the movie and he told me that that Kung Fu master is a real famous Kung Fu movie star in Chinese movies. Pretty rad. The master-student relationship is real and this Master really doesn't think much of Beatrice at first, even threatening to break her arm at one point when she's showing him her Kung Fu. She really did a lot of training. She was punching wooden blocks day after day and her hands hurt so badly that she couldn't hold up her chopsticks to eat her rice at dinner. But the best part was when the master fought her when they first met. He just beat the crap out of her. Beatrice and she couldn't even hit him once with her Hanzo sword (a super good sword made by a master swordsmith from the first film). Also, I thought it was really funny how the Chinese master martial artist said he hated Japs when Beatrice said she knew Japanese. In addition, it was funny how he looked. He had this really long white hair and these super long eyebrows. It was hilarious actually. He was a cool character. He ends up teaching Beatrice this technique where you can basically kill someone by stopping their heart, something called exploding palm something or other. But we don't find out he taught it to Beatrice until the very end of the movie, when Beatrice uses it to kill Bill.
     Poor Bill didn't even put up much of a fight and he didn't have a chance. But it wasn't suppose to be about them fighting. We learn in this film at the end that Beatrice's kid survived, and that its a girl. And that Bill was living with her in like Mexico (or some Spanish country), in some super nice mansion. It was the best ending that could've happened for Beatrice. Her kid was alive and she got her revenge. Earlier in the film she got into a cat fight with the woman with only one eye. But that fight ends when Beatrice rips out the woman's other eye, leaving her in a trailer in frightening agonizing pain. She put up a good fight though and this was pretty much the only 'real' fight in the whole movie. Back to Bill though.
     Bill pretty much explains a bunch of stuff at the end like how he was upset that Beatrice didn't tell her she was alive and this and that. They pretty much resolve all their conflicts with words but then Beatrice says,"We still have unfinished business," something like that. And then they start fighting with their Hanzo swords. It's a disappointing fight though because Bill gets beaten pretty easily and he ends up dying when Beatrice pulls out the exploding palm technique. When Bill finds out she knows how to this he's all surprised because she never told him about it. But the real resolution to this movie is when Beatrice takes her daughter out of there, safe and sound.
     In the last scene we see Beatrice lying on the floor in a bathroom, probably crying over everything that happened, and how Bill had to die. Bill was also the father of Beatrice's kid so this was probably especially hard on her. Then she comes out of the bathroom and sits down with her daughter and watches a cartoon with her. Great ending! It would be cool if there was a Kill Bill Volume 3 but when I looked it up online I heard that Tarantino was working on it but he ended up scrapping it. It would've been cool seeing the now blind woman come back as a fully developed warrior who only relies on her senses. Think about how amazing that sword fight would be. And she could take Beatrice's daughter hostage and stuff. That would be epic. It's been great watching these old Tarantino films. This was his heyday. It's too bad he can't make good stuff like this anymore. Rip Tarantino movies. Lol.

Smash tourney today at FaD 12/11/15

     Smash tournament at FaD went well today. I played some really good people and actually did pretty well against them in friendlies. I felt like I learned more playing friendlies than when I actually played my tournament matches. In the first match I went up against this Mario and I just think he was way better than me and I think there was no way that I could've outplayed him, even at my best. He used the cape pretty well to get offstage kills and his combo game was sick. I can learn a thing or two from him but I don't think I'm going to be playing too much Mario for a while. I learned today that Zero Suit Samus is my true main character, I do really well with her against people who are better than me, and sometimes I can even win against them! My second opponent was a Game and Watch player who, honestly wasn't all that great. He beat me the first game, but I came back with a strong combo game the second match. In the third match he was being hella cheap and kept just attacking me with the same running dash attack and somehow it worked on Town and City. I couldn't believe it worked and nerves probably to me but I pushed on and it was a pretty close game in the last match. I could tell that he was trying his hardest and was barely holding on. It was intense! I had to shake his hand after those games. But honestly I feel like I did best in the friendlies. I realize what I'm doing wrong when I play friendlies but in the midst of a tournament match I have to think faster and change my game plan on the fly, which is much harder to do. Once I master this I'll do much better at these local tournaments. I'm going to start practicing harder at home and with friends as well because honestly I haven't been playing Smash for a while. I'm mostly doing PC gaming but honestly Smash is better than all the PC games I play, with the exception of Starcraft. My friend came too to the tournament but he didn't compete, he just watched. He left me at the tourney for a while and was even kind enough to come back and pick me up to bring me home. What a guy! He even invited his other friend to the tournament but in the end he didn't play either, just watched. It was still cool to introduce new people to a Smash Bros tournament, even though they felt they'd be wasting their $10 just because they'd lose super easily. I would say that this tournament didn't have a lot of people but its not like there was too few people either. Just the right amount I'd say, for a Thursday night. Another one of my friends, from work, was there and it was cool reconnecting with him again. FaD is a great place and I'm going to check off Thursdays from work just so I can keep coming to the tourneys. It's a blast!

Kill Bill Volume 1

     Kill Bill Volume 1 is a terrific thrilling joyride from start to finish. I really, really liked this movie. I think its hard to dislike this movie, unless you absolutely detest action and the slight gore that this film has. The main thing that I like about this movie is that's all about a woman, a blonde woman vs a Japanese female crime lord. That's not really what its about but that's what I liked most about the film. Just the idea of hot chicks battling it out for revenge and domination. It was pretty cool. The film sort of explains itself backwards and we don't really learn the whole meaning and story until nearly the end. But the film is basically about how Uma Thurman playing the blonde is out for revenge because this guy named Bill (David Carradine) used a hit squad to kill Thurman and her unborn child. The fucked up part of this movie is that they tried to kill her while she was pregnant, which is unforgivable! I'll talk about some of my favorite parts of the movie first.
     I really enjoyed the part where the movie turned into an anime, with edgy sort of graphics. This was the part where they explain the female Japanese crime lord's backstory. She was a kid and watched as her parents were cut up with swords. But by the time she was 11 she killed the crime lord who killed her parents and eventually grew up to take his place. This part was gory, as a lot of animes are. I really enjoyed the cartoony segment, I didn't want it to end too fast, and it didn't. It's a bit gimmicky but it was done very well and was entertaining.
     Another memorable segment was when the female Japanese crime-lord was talking among the other crime lords and one guy was all like how can we listen to this bullshit woman who's half Chinese? Then the Yakuza Boss, O'Ren (her name in the film) takes out her sword and decapitates the guy. Then she says in English something like anyone want some? It was pretty gory but nothing that will frighten anybody who's seen other martial arts movies. This just shows you how badass O'Ren is. She doesn't take shit from anybody.
     And finally, my favorite part of the movie was when the Bride (Thurman's character) finally approaches O'Ren and her whole squad of Yakuza. She ends up killing like tons of dudes and a hot Japanese girl that fought with this weird weapon that was like a ball and chain. She was spinning it around super fast and when it hit the Bride, it looked like it hurt like hell! The fight between the Bride and teenage girl was intense but that was just the beginning. O'Ren called in what seemed like 100 dudes, all running in with swords in hand. The Bride dispatches with all of them really easily and its like damn, they didn't even hit her.
      Eventually the Bride and O'Ren fight and its like the perfect fight in an anime or something. Like Kenshin versus Shishio. It was that epic! They have a good conversation with each other, complimenting each other, and O'Ren even apologizing to the Bride. O'Ren gets in a really good cut on the Bride's back and the Bride says something like,"Come at me with everything you have." And then shit gets real. They have some nice sword play but in the end the Bride cuts off O'Ren's head, and you can see a little bit of red brains, super gory, but again, nothing that any hardcore anime fans haven't seen before. But this is just the beginning of the Bride's journey for revenge because she has more people to kill.
     The thing I liked most about this movie is that it legit reminded me of the great martial arts movies and Japanese anime that I'm so fond of. Its full of action but the story is also pretty legit as well. Revenge is a dish best served cold, I really liked that line when it was shown in the film. That explains what this movie is all about, and perhaps what Volume 2 and 3 are about as well. I don't know how I missed this movie, it must've been because when it was released in 2003 I was still a kid and didn't know much about martial arts movies and anime. I'm looking forward to watching Volume 2, which I'm going to watch tonight. I hope it's as good as the first one. Lately, I've been watching a lot of stuff that involves Japanese culture and stuff, its pretty cool. I think it would be awesome to visit Japan one day. My favorite guitar player, Marty Friedman actually lives in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese. Maybe I could become like him haha. Anyways, this movie was amazing. I would say this is my favorite Tarantino film, with Reservoir Dogs being a close second. Lately I've been watching a lot of Tarantino's films and I heard that he has a new one coming out soon. The guy is a legend but he really hasn't made anything great lately. He had his heyday back in the day though. Watch this space.

Gaming News

     I finally got to play a few games today. I actually woke up early in the day for once! It was a really awesome day, and I even got to hang out with my friend online. We played some Team Fortress 2, arguably one of the greatest fps games ever made, although it doesn't look it by the cartoonish choppy graphics. I had fun and since I'm off tomorrow I made plans to go to the weekly Super Smash Brothers 4 tournament at this place called Fire and Dice (FaD). FaD ain't too far away from my place and its only $10 to enter. I'm planning on bringing one friend but I invited another so it might be the three of us. I'm excited to compete in a tournament, although I can't really say I've been practicing or playing Smash all that much. Since some of my friends just picked up the Wii U, we have played a bit, sometimes gaming super late at night after work. I'm pretty confident in my Mario and Zero Suit Samus skills though. But I'll probably get destroyed by some of those better players. Some of the best players in America are from right here in SoCal, I would say California has the best Smash players and the most competitive scene. I remember living in Wisconsin and I never heard about Smash tournaments anywhere, and there wasn't really cool hobby shops where you could host tournaments. It was lame. California's way better in terms of gaming and entertainment. It's good to be out here! I'm glad to be here although I really wish I could live in New York to be apart of the Jazz scene or at least see all the greats in the Jazz scene. But that's the topic for another post. I probably only mentioned that because I'm listening to some cold Miles Davis cuts. Looking forward to the tourney tomorrow. I hope I can at least beat one person!
     In other news, I've been signing up for a lot of betas. Most of them are new MOBA's that haven't been released yet but one I'm really interested in is The Divison. Lately, I've been getting super into fps games even though I'm terrible at them. I figure if I keep at it I'll get better at them. I have a friend who's a real pro when it comes to fps, he said it takes more than just practice, you just have to be naturally good. I think that's the wrong way to look at it. Also, I think Starwars Battlefront III is a dead game. Dead game confirmed. I was online looking for a game to play with 20v20 people and there was nobody on. Not only that but the price dropped to only $40. If only I waited I could've gotten it for $20 cheaper. Next time I'll have to wait. Battlefront III is such a terrible game though, I don't even consider it fun. I'll give it a few more tries though, because I haven't tested out everything on it yet. Until next time, GG's.

Man in the High Castle

     Man in the High Castle is just one of those shows that's just terrific. I don't know if and when this show will premier on television but all ten episodes are on Amazon Prime if you're looking to watch. MitHc is a show based off the novel of the same name by Phillip K. Dick, one of the best science fiction writers ever and personally one of my favorites. Another famous book of his is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which they used to make the movie Blade-runner, one of the best science fiction movies. MitHc takes place in a world much like the 1950s-1960s, except in this world Germany and Japan won the war. The Nazi's have taken over most of America but Japan also has some control over some of the former US territories. Hitler is still alive in the show, but he is very old and dying.
     The show focuses on Juliana, a young woman who practices Japanese martial arts at a dojo all the time and doesn't appear to have a stable job. And then there's Frank, her boyfriend, a Jewish artist who works at a gun factory making gun replicas. Then there's Joe Blake, a Nazi undercover operative working for a Nazi high command. Those are the main characters. I'll tell you a little bit about how the show starts.
     Julianna's sister ends up getting shot and killed by the Kempetei (Japanese secret police), and as she's dying she gives Jules a film that she says has to be kept safe. Jules runs inside with it and its safe. When she and Frank take a look at it they see a different kind of America, one where America won the war against the Nazi's. It gives them hope, well, mostly it gives Jules hope because Frank doesn't think anything of it and that they should just forget about it. But in the end Jules ends up looking for whoever the film needs to get to. She ends up going to some city in the neutral zone, I guess an area where Nazi's and Japanese have no control. She ends up finding a contact, some weird guy that makes origami stuff. But he ends up being a Nazi agent and she ends up killing the guy in self-defense, throwing him off a bridge with a waterfall. Joe Blake ends up helping her out, and in a way he ends up falling in love with her. But he never sees that love reciprocated until the very end, when Jules lets Joe escape from her Resistance friends, who were going to kill him. So anyways, the main plot of the show ends up being all about these peculiar films, that show a different America.
      Near the end there's some science fiction elements, because in the 2nd film Jules and Frank get they see that Frank is getting killed by Joe Blake via Nazi firing squad. It made no sense but it was just perfect. Also, the ending was interesting as well. Basically there's this Japanese Prime Minister who uses this old tradition from Japan to live his life. I forget what it was exactly but it was some kind of Oracle that he lives his life by, and he meditates on it a lot. So at the end of the series he goes to a public place in the middle of a busy area and he sits on a bench and starts meditating. When he wakes up all the Japanese people are gone and there's all these American white people, hot dog stands, and all these classic 1950s American billboards, music, and stuff. It's kind of a questionable ending but I did enjoy it.
     This show is mostly all talking dialogue and drama. But boy does it get intense! It was especially interesting seeing how the American Nazi high command was such a good family man that loved his son (who ended up having a debilitating disease), despite being a Nazi. I also liked how there was the Nazi high commander who was going to kill Hitler but in the end couldn't face up to do it even though he was right in front of his face. Here's a Nazi who was against everything the Nazi's stood for, but couldn't bring himself to kill Hitler because they would kill his family. The most messed up part was when Frank (who's Jewish), was tortured for being a Jew, and when he wouldn't tell the Kempeitei where Jules was, so they killed his sister and her kids. Pretty messed up man. Also, there's a chance that there could be a second season for this show! I'm not sure. If I could give this show a rating for a review I would give it a 9.5 out of 10, it definitely gets the BADASS stamp of approval. This is what great science fiction looks like. I could see this show becoming a cult classic. Check it out.

Pulp Fiction

      Hey, whats up yall? The last post ended on a bad note but things are looking up! Stay positive. I wanted to write about some cool media stuff I saw recently, this post being about Pulp Fiction. I'm maybe about 20-25 years late on seeing this movie. It's an oldie but a goodie. It was really 'fucked up', as my friends would say but it has a special place in the pop culture continuum, just like a lot of Tarantino's other movies, like Django Unchained.
     Pulp Fiction is a movie made in 1994 that features Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, playing two hitmen working for a bald headed big black boss named Marsalis. There are some other stories within this main story involving the hitmen, one being that there's this couple that robs stores and are making the decision to rob a restaurant and take everyone's wallets at gunpoint. This movie is ultimately excited upon first seeing it but I can't say that it's a 'great' movie, its simply a movie that's become popular in my opinion. But I did like it! Even though it's kind of messed up. I'd like to talk about some of the messed up parts of this movie.
     So at one point there's this boxer played by Bruce Willis, and he's suppose to go down in a fight but instead he ends up killing the other fighter. He's on the run but Marsalis (who paid him to go down in the fight) finds him outside of his apartment and starts chasing him. They end up fighting and shooting eachother a bit, then they somehow end up at this thrift store. And this hillbilly with a gun ends up chaining them up in the store basement. Later, the hillbilly throws water on their face and the viewer is expected to see some kind of torture routine. But what ensues is much worse. The hillbilly calls his hillbilly cop friend over and they take Marsalis in another room and the cop starts fucking Marsalis in the ass. Pretty fucked up man! In the end Bruce Willis ends up saving Marsalis, and they end up not as friends, but on somewhat good terms. My favorite quote of the movie was when Willis saves Marsalis and then asks him if he's alright. Marsalis responds,"Nah man. I'm pretty fuckin' far from alright."
     Another messed up part of the movie was when John Travolta's character, Vincent Vega accidentally shoots this black guy they had in the car and then blames it on a bump in the road. Then they go to Quentin Tarantino's house and he's all like,"Does my house have a sign that says dead nigger storage?" Then Samuel L. Jackson's character, Jules, ends up calling Marsalis and they bring in a special gangster named Wolf to help them clean up the car and dispose of the body. Wolf was a really cool old guy, he even played it cool when Vega was giving him shit. Jules said something like,"Man we'll have this thing cleaned out in no time." And Wolf was all like,"Let's not start sucking eachother's dicks." I thought that was pretty funny.
     Another interesting part of the movie was when Vega had to take out Marsalis' wife to a night out. They ended up going to this hillbilly 50's kind of diner. Before Vega went to pick her up he picked up some heroin. At the end of the night Vega used the bathroom before heading out, but Marsalis' wife went through his coat and found the heroin, and she decided to shoot up. She ended up ODing and Vega had nowhere to turn except his drug dealer, who had never given anyone an adrenaline shot before, so Vega had to do it. It was a really intense scene, especially the moment she woke up with the needle from the adrenaline shot still inside of her chest.
     And then there's the part with the Bonnie and Clyde type English dude and his crazy girlfriend. They ended up robbing a restaurant where Jules and Vega were eating breakfast. Jules says some crazy shit to the English bloke and he ends up backing off. But it was an interesting standoff, especially with the crazy girlfriend and Vega pointing guns at eachother.
     Lastly, I would say this movie was exciting, perhaps even thrilling at some points. But its not really an actiony type of movie. It's more of a talking type of movie with some mild action I would say. Now that I've seen it I can see why its become part of the zeitgeist of American popular culture. It's not quite my thing but I did find certain parts of it to be funny, although its meant to be serious. I wouldn't rate this film because its one of those movies that's a cult classic. But if I could I'd give this movie a 9 out of 10. A much watch film for at least one viewing! Oh yeah, and I really liked Travolta's character. I've known tons of white guys who are exactly like him and have long hair like that. He was pretty funny. Also Samuel L. Jackson is one cool motherfucker!