So today is Super Mario Bros 25 anniversary. It's crazy that's it's been that long since video games changed forever. I remember getting my first NES back in grade school, I was in grade 7 at the time and one of the last kids to get the system in my class. Oh how that game changed changed my life and paved the the way for a career in games for yours truly. So many great memories.

Two clips have been released to celebrate the day. One is an over view of the past 25 years of Mario games (no Game Boy games in there though!). You can see that here.

The other is a commercial of sorts and to me, it's absolutely perfect. I love that there are only the sounds of the person and the plastic of the games and system. It's beautiful. I'm sure we all have memories just like this one. After I watch it, I got a great warm fuzzy feeling. Mmmmmm... just watch and you'll see what I mean.


What are your Super Mario Bros memories. ^_^

I hate this time of year. I should love it. I love that it gets cool… I love the colours the leaves turn… I love that close to the end of the year feel. I hate my allergies. My seasonal allergies kick in from end of August to the end of October. I have to blow my nose until it’s raw. I can’t sleep properly and my throat gets all sore because I end up sleeping with my mouth open… so I don’t die in my sleep on account that my nose is all stuffed up. I’m ready to gouge out my eyes too… ugh.

Who else out there has fall allergies? If you do… I suffering there with ya.

Oops… It looks like a grade school in Japan now has a link with an adult loli PC game. How? Well the school in question is in the Yamagata Prefecture of Japan, which is the largest cherry producer. So? So, the area is setting up a new school called the “Cherry Elementary School” or さくらんぼ小学校 (Sakuranbo Shougakkou). Well, that name is already taken for an adult dojin loli game and well… I've posted some of the images you get with a search with the Japanese characters and you some… educational images.

The schools official name is Higashine Municipal Cherry Elementary School, or “Higashine Shiritsu Sakuranbo Shougakkou” where the games name is “Shiritsu Sakuranbo Shougakkou”. So they’re not exactly the same but close enough. The board that picked the name wasn’t aware of the game at the time, and since they’ve learned of it will not change it. They feel that it means they’ll be caving to the adult industry.

I guess this is a lesson to everyone out there. If you’re going to name something… do a Google search of the name first. The school will open next year… the number of loli students is yet to be determined.

I mentioned in a post a long time ago one of my top fears. The fear of dying. I'm quite terrified of death, what happens after and the thought that I won't be here any more. I can keep myself awake at night thinking about such things. So I asked for The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and wife got it for me on my birthday back in February with the hopes that it will help me though my fears and answer some of my questions. Which it very much did.

The book covers two topics living and dying (duh). But with in those there is such a wealth of knowledge on how we live our lives and how much of the current society views death in contrast to Tibetan views. There is a section meditation and the mind with was fascinating. And the final section about death which covers others deaths, near deaths, helping others deal with death and our own death. Of course all is discussed from the Tibetan view point, which I find is very close to my own.

So did it help me at all? Yes, it did. I'm still nervous about it but I do feel better about it. It taught me that thinking about ones death is actually quite encouraged in Tibet and among the Masters. It mentions how most will live and never really give it more then a passing thought. Even things that I've thought of on my own and wondered about where answered and it was nice to have some reassurance on those ideas. Out of the whole book though, the chapters on Bardos (death state), Rebirth and near death experiences where probably my favorite.

I feel that this is one of those books I'll read over and over again and I'm quite happy to have it in my collection. If you have death fears like I do and a lean towards Tibetan views then I highly recommend it. With any luck, when my time comes... I won't be so afraid.

Why don't kids eat bread crust? It's such a waste of food since kids never eat to the edge. They'll leave a good inch of bread and crust on their plates. If you ate any closer you might accidentally eat some of it.

As a kid I always ate the bread crust. I never thought to have a reason not to. I even ate the heels of the loaf! My kids eat crust... sometimes. They'll eat the crust of my homemade bread with no question, but they resist eating the crust off the store bread. It drives me NUTS! I also refuse to cut off the crust because I feel like I'm letting them win and thus they will never grow up and eat it like a normal person.

The worst I ever saw was my nephew, who NEVER eats crust of anything. We had dinner rolls one day with our lunch and I thought "HA! Now you'll have to eat the crust if you want to eat the roll! HAHAHAH!!!" After he was done I noticed that he ripped it in half and ate all the bread from the inside and left the crust shell. WTF!? o_O Grrrrr!!!!

Where you a kid that didn't eat bread crust? Are you as an adult a non crust eater? If so you deserve a slap.

It's the late 90's. I'm in collage and one day, while surfing around some Japanese artist sites, I come across one of my favorite naughty games. It's basically a Breakout/Arkanoid clone only instead of blocks, you're using the ball to chip away at cute anime girls clothes until you get her down to her undies (or more! Tee Hee ^_^ ).

So it's now 2010 and of over 10 years I've been searching for this applet to play again. So far I have nothing. I wish I could remember the name at least. It was called Bakurin Ball or something like that I think. You could go to the developers sight and download the engine for free and make your own game just buy uploading your own pictures! It was awesome... but I was never able to make it work properly.

If anyone out there has a link, a name or ANYTHING... I would be so grateful. ^_^

I find that when I look through the newest art here or on other art sites... I get bummed. Bummed not in the sense of "I can't draw", bummed in the sense of "what's my style"? Others seemed to have honed and refined their art skills. Whether it's in their painting, design or over all look of what they draw, it's something that they own. They've made decisions based on influences as to how they want to art. Me? I feel sort of lost most time. Like I don't know what my style is.

I've always drifted around following one artist or another, being in awe of their skills. Pulling techniques out and mimicking to learn but never really deciding on how I want to draw. I like so many styles that I find it hard to dedicate myself to just one and focus on it.

I feel like I'm sort of pulling a scam. I can draw... but I feel lost and don't know what I like in my own art. I very much enjoy the art that I do, don't get me wrong. It's just, out side of work when I can draw how I want, I just feel lost.

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary!

WOO!

I honestly couldn't have picked a better person to be my partner. She's made me a more complete person then I could have ever imagined.

Here's to many more years!

^_^

So I found this the other day when checking my stuff on Deviant Art. "What a wonderful idea" I thought. Not only is it a great way to reflect on what inspires you to draw, but it also allows other to get to know the artist a bit better. It was fun to look at who I am and what I draw from as an artist so I made one for myself.

I find that I don't really inspire from shows, movies or music as such but more from other artists and ideas. I feel divided as I love video games and design (pixel art and all) on one side with sex and naughty cartoons on the other. I do have a love for taking photos, but I lack the time and nice camera to fully go in to that. When I do have the opportunity though, I very much enjoy it.

The map was done buy Fox-Orianand you can see his here and download a PSD of the map here if you're interested in doing one yourself. ^_^

We've all done it. At one point or another we've had to play tech support for a family member and their computer. For me, it's my Dad and Step Mom. I do my best to walk them though any problems they might have over the phone, and when we visit I play doctor with the PC or answer more questions.

What I never thought about though is how it must be on their end. Having this computer or laptop that they never seem to quite understand so they have to constantly ask questions. It's great when you "get" what your working on and can solve your own issues. But if you don't... it must be frustrating. I have a feeling that I'll always be their tech support and that's fine with me. Things are more difficult now that they're on Vista and I'm still on XP. I must admit that I do feel bad when I can't solve their problems. Having a computer should be fun, easy and relatively pain free. But if theirs noting but trouble... it totally makes things not fun.

Are you tech support for any of your family?

We've all done it. At one point or another we've had to play tech support for a family member and their computer. For me, it's my Dad and Step Mom. I do my best to walk them though any problems they might have over the phone, and when we visit I play doctor with the PC or answer more questions.

What I never thought about though is how it must be on their end. Having this computer or laptop that they never seem to quite understand so they have to constantly ask questions. It's great when you "get" what your working on and can solve your own issues. But if you don't... it must be frustrating. I have a feeling that I'll always be their tech support and that's fine with me. Things are more difficult now that they're on Vista and I'm still on XP. I must admit that I do feel bad when I can't solve their problems. Having a computer should be fun, easy and relatively pain free. But if theirs noting but trouble... it totally makes things not fun.

Are you tech support for any of your family?

No, I'm not going back to school. But lets say that I was going back to learn something else. Maybe make a new career for myself. What would I do? I'd like to take a Photography course. Although, I'm sure that if I just bought a high quality camera I could teach myself most of what I could learn in a class. If I where to do something totally different, I think I'd go to culinary school. I think it would be a fun experience to mix my art skills with food stuffs. Tough... but exciting.

If you had to go back to learn something different for a career... what would it be?

So I took a wander over to the Condition: Zero Hour fur con on the weekend. I must admit though that I didn't actually check out any of the festivities. I mostly went to visit with artists I haven't seen in years. I spent the Saturday evening with Max Black Rabbit, DC Rabbit and Mabs (along with others who's names escape me... sorry *^_^*). It was lots of fun as we caught up with what we've been doing, playing games and drawing (actually... the others drew while I talked and played games). It was wonderful company all around.

Did anyone make to the con insides? What was the over all feel of the con? Any one sit in artist alley or dealer room? I think I'll try and prep some new stuff next year and sell it... maybe in the dealer room... we'll see.

Anyway... gNAW... you suck. If you where there we could have had good throw down with Super Street Fighter 4. Max and I played lots and it went back and forth pretty evenly... well... I think he won more over all. But he still has to eat a "D" grade on tech in that one match we had. Yeah that's right... I said it. So next year gNAW... I'll be waiting but not practicing since I don't have a 360.

Condition: Zero Hour

What the heck is this? A con in London Ontario? I just might live near there. Does anyone know anything about this thing? Is it a regular con or is it just more of a gathering. Are adult artists welcome?

Any info other then what's up on the site would be awesome.

So the other day I discovered two new snacks. Cherry Crush and Cheese Burger Doritos. I'm not sure if these flavors are out in other parts of the globe, if not... then sorry about the tease.

Wife came home with the All Nighter Cheese Burger Doritos one day and we cracked open the bag to find that... these taste exactly like Dairy Queen cheese burgers. Seriously, no joke. Exactly like a DQ burger! Right down to the pickle and mustard. It totally blew my mind and I think they're my favorite chip now. You can't have too many though as it kind of feels like you've been woofing down a pile of burgers.

The Cherry Crush I found when I was out visiting my Bro-in-Law. As soon as I saw it, I totally snatched up a case. See, I like just about anything cherry. Heck, just this week I made an almond and cherry loaf of bread. Mmmmm... So yeah, when I was able to crack one open, after the kids went to bed, I found I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't like the Black Cherry of the old Pop Shoppe drinks. It had more of a cherry pie filling sort of flavor to it. Which I didn't mind a bit, but I could see it being too much for others.

So if you're out in stores and you see any of these products, I totally recommend picking them up and trying them. I'm not sure if they're limited flavors, but you don't want to miss them. ^_^

So I've started working out to get all buff n stuff. I know I'm sort of late for the summer beach season, but better late then never. I'm not over weight or anything. I weigh 160/165 lbs on average which is better then I was in high school (125 lbs back then). Mostly, I'm working out to A: keep in a decent state of health and B: look all sexy. I don't have a lot of body issues other then it bothered me that my arms where just tubes of meat with no form... that and I look sort of geeky. I guess that comes with the job though. ^_^

I'm not looking to get huge. I've seen the documentaries with professional body builders and man... I can't imagine looking like that. I just want to have enough muscle to look sexy with my shirt off when I'm at the beach or a pool. Things are coming along nicely too I think. I have an Aerobic Glider and a weight system here at home and I alternate between the two each day and my work outs last about 20 - 30 min.

Anyone out there work out or have any tips? Are you in shape or out of shape?

So I just got done playing Fragile Dreams on the Wii and I thought I’d put down some of my thoughts on it.

Over all, I thought this RPG was very beautiful in sight, sound and story, but to sit and call it game isn’t how I’d properly describe it. It focus’s more on thoughts and feelings than any thing else I’ve played. The combat is quite light and gaining levels and becoming more powerful is totally not the main focus. No, I’d call this more of an interactive story with game elements, and that’s fine by me.

You play as Seto, a 15 year old boy who has set out to find other humans in what’s left of Tokyo after his Grandfather passes away. You come across, and startle, a silver haired girl who runs from you. But being the lonely boy that you are, you give chase and begin the adventure to find friendship is this big empty world and find out what exactly happened to all the people.

The biggest game element in this is searching and collecting. You get a special stone that allows you to read/feel the emotions and thoughts of objects left behind by previous owners. By hunting these object memories out you’ll piece together events that lead up to the disappearance of people and hear some very touching stories. These are very special elements during the adventure and was very excited to hear the next one I would find.

As mentioned above, being alone in the world is the main theme in Fragile Dreams, so when ever you meet someone new it quite a thing. It can also be very sad when you have to part ways with your new friend. The environments are very moving, beautiful and totally give the feeling of isolation. Creepy, long forgotten areas make you wonder if this is what the world would really look like if people disappeared. The music is the game is also fantastic and matches the “alone” feel of this world. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more moved or in love with music from a game before. So much so that I even got the soundtrack to the game and listen to it at work.

This game isn’t for everyone. It’s not combat heavy and requires the player to look and experience the environment and story as they go. This might bore a lot of players. Also, like most anime (at least, the ones I’ve seen) there are plot holes that are huge and questions at the end that you don’t seem to have answers to. Maybe with a second play through I’ll get those answers.

I remember finding the trailer for this game a long time ago on a Japanese game site before it was release. I fell in love with it immediately. After playing it… I’m still in love. Even with the flaws that I’ve found with it, I still love the experience I had playing it. So much that I wonder what happened to the characters after the game ended. I think I’ll always at Fragile Dreams and hope that I can give people the same experience too one day.

So this evening I went and saw The Last Airbender... what did I think of it? Well... um...

I guess I should start with saying that I'm a pretty big fan of the cartoon. I only actually discovered the series in January, but I found that I totally fell in love with it. I love the characters and how they interact with each other, the story, the spirituality of the world... everything! It really is a fantastic and well planned story. Heck, I've watched the whole series (3 seasons, 61 episodes in total) 9 times back to back. Yes... I think it's that awesome. Which is why I'm so disappointed in the movie. All the things that made the cartoon series so fantastic isn't there in the move.

During the cartoon, you really feel for the characters as you follow their adventures to stop the Fire Nation. At the end of the movie, I didn't feel anything for them. It felt like the movie went so fast it just glazed over the more important story points. Points that would have made the movie that much better.

~Sigh... and yeah, all the other things you might have heard are true. The writing isn't that great, the acting isn't so hot and the music is rather lackluster too, which is a shame. I really wanted to like this one. Avatar: The Last Airbender is such a great series, it's Nickelodeon Star Wars, it's their Harry Potter. With the whole thing laid out for them, it's such a shame it didn't turn out better. Maybe the next ones will be better.

Holy crap! Today where I live it was 31 C (87 F...I think) with a humidex of the Sun (42 C actually). o_O. What was the weather like where you live?

So the other day I decided to do an over all check of games that I won and yet to play. Not including games that I'm currently playing mind you. Only games that I've purchased, tried for a second, and then got pulled away from or distracted by another game. The is is as follows...

Metal Gear Solid 2 - PS2

Metal Gear Solid 3 - PS2

Katamari Damacy - PS2

God of War - PS2

Ico - PS2

A Boy and his Blob - Wii

Zelda: Twilight Princess - Wii

Super Paper Mario - Wii

Super Swing Golf - Wii

Fragile Dreams - Wii

Monster Hunter 3 - Wii

Muramasa: The Demon Blade - Wii

Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - DS

I'm slowly working my way though them currently. What sucks though is that I'll pick up more games to add to the pile as they get released. For instance, I picked up MadWorld for Wii about a month ago because it was on sale cheap and just the other day beat it.

MadWorld trailer

It was awesome and one of the best titles I've got for my Wii. I highly recommend it.

Last night I decided to put in Fragile Dreams and I've super loving that game too. If you don't have it in your Wii collection and you like exploring type RPGs then I suggest you pick it up.

Fragile Dreams trailer

I was able to get it with the sound track for the game too when I bought it. Fantastic!

So I'm sure that most out there know by now there was an earthquake here in Ontario Canada yesterday. What?! You didn't know that? Well, there was an earthquake here in Ontario yesterday. It's centre was just North of Ottawa and measured 5.5 in magnitude. Now, I'm not in Ottawa (anymore... I lived there when I went to college), I live about 7 hours away and I STILL felt the quake!

Our studio is on the 9th floor so when the tremor started the building began to vibrate a little. I thought someone was just running down the hall behind me but then it got stronger. Computer monitors where rocking back and forth and everyone got up from their desks to look out the window. Not sure what they expected to see really. The best way to describe the feeling was it seemed like the building was wobbling back and forth. It was really quite scary. It last about 15 seconds so not very long, but long enough to shake up everyone in the studio. Even after it was done and over, I felt that if I rocked back and forth I could make the building sway again.

Even though it was just a minor tremor, the mind tends to make up "what if" scenarios. I work on the 9th floor of a building, if something more serious where to happen, would I be able to make it to safety in time? I have issues with death and dieing that I'm working through (that's another post) so something like this made me a bit edgy. I wasn't in hysterics or anything. I'm actually quite calm in emergency situations. It's only after that I see how scary something was.

Anyway, I'm okay and by the sounds of it everyone else is too. Which is a good thing. ^_^

Has anyone out there been in a scary/serious situation before? How did you react?

I've got a canker sore in my mouth and it hurts like crazy! o_O

Does anyone else get these things? It's like a little pit in the bottom part of my gums and it hurts to do just about anything face related. It hurts to eat, talk, shave, it hurts to brush my teeth... hell, it hurts to just sit here and do nothing. I've had it for about 3 days now and they usually last about a week to a week and a half. Good grief this thing hurts like hell!

I haven't got one in long over a year, probably two. I could have gone longer without getting one and I wouldn't have minded. I've done research on what to do when you get one, how to avoid getting them and how they start in the first place. From everything I've read it would seem that doctors don't know how or why they start, there is no way to avoid getting them and nothing to do when you have one. You just have to suffer though it.

God damn this sucks... I'm going out for sushi with fiends this weekend. I hope it's gone by then.

So today I went to see Iron Man 2. I really enjoyed the first film and was pretty jazzed about seeing the second one and seeing what if they could keep the same rock'n feel of the first one. They did a pretty good job, but it did fall a bit short in my opinion. It started off pretty cool, but as the movie traveled on, I felt that I was just waiting action to happen. Now I know it can't be all action all the time, but it felt more like a valley between the beginning and the end. It was still fun and I enjoyed it quite, just not as much as the first one. Mickey Rourke was good as Ivan Vanko (Whiplash) and he fit the character pretty good I though, although he didn't say much during the film. I have to admit that I think Terrence Howard was better in the role of Col Rhodes then Don Cheadle, but he wasn't horrible.

Now, I don't know comics or follow the Iron Man history so I have no idea how much they're gumming up the story of Tony Stark/Iron Man. I think that sort of works in this instance though. I'm not sitting there going on about how they're not staying true to the comics, I'm just enjoying the ride.

So my final take on Iron Man 2 is it's good, not as great as the first, but still lots of fun. While there I saw trailers for Super 8, The Last AirBender and Inception. They all look pretty cool and I'm interested in seeing how they turn out. I also ate enough popcorn to feed a small village drank a ton of pop during the movie. I had to pee so bad I'm sure I did damage to myself, but I didn't want to miss anything. So next time I go to the movies... I'm getting a small drink. ^_^

Oh, and Scarlett Johansson is totally hot.

My favorite artist Miu isn't doing to well in the health dept and that makes me sad. What makes me happy though is that a bunch of artists have gotten together and put together a tribute book to help him with the cost of medical bills and such. Such a wonderful idea! It's great to see people gather together to help others when they're in need. YAY! ^_^

What bums me out though is that I missed the call (or what ever it was) to be in the book. I would have loved to be a part of it seeing as Miu is totally my favorite artist and I slobbering fanboy when it comes to his work. Dang... T_T

Get well soon Miu... we miss your awesome art.

Let's just say for arguments sake that I've done a new Chipettes picture like the cross section one I did before. Under the new house rules of FA... am I allowed to post it?

EDIT: The pic can be seen over at the blog. I chickened out. Until I hear other wise... think this was the better decision.