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3K Pageview Kiriban?
General | Posted 11 years agoThe 3000 pageview mark is coming up, so I ask my watchers: should I do a kiriban again? I have some prizes that can work very well, like a Steam key for Shadowrun Returns, a game that I helped kickstart, and three keys for Risk of Rain, a Rogue-like that seems like a ton of fun with the multiplayer mode (I haven't tried the multiplayer mode yet, but single player is TOUGH). I probably won't do an art prize again UNLESS it's something small, like a flat-color two character pinup.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?
Game Raffle Winner!
General | Posted 11 years agoI completely forgot about the drawing! I'm a doof. :P
However, I did just do it and I sent the note to...
WeightedThinking
They won!
However, I did just do it and I sent the note to...
WeightedThinking
They won!
Free Steam Game Raffle [CLOSED]
General | Posted 11 years agoLike I had mentioned before, I am running another raffle, but this time the prize is something I can give away as soon as the raffle is over.
PRIZE: One lucky winner will get four games for Steam. The games are FTL Advanced Edition, Dustforce DX, FEZ, and AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome.
CONDITIONS: Simply respond down below in the comments and I will give you a number in the order you responded. One entry per person. New accounts, alt accounts, or empty accounts will not be accepted and I will be checking. Signal boosts and following me will not garner extra entries. Entries will be taken until 10/23/2014 at 10:00 PM CDT (11:00 PM Server Time) and any comment made after then will not be added.
WINNER: The winner will be determined by random.org on 10/24/2014 at 12:00 PM CDT (1:00 PM Server Time). I will post a journal announcing the winner and even have a brief live stream to announce the winner. The winner will receive a note from me with the links to unlock the games on Steam. While I cannot enforce it, the winner is requested not to sell the keys to these games for profit.
Go for it!
PRIZE: One lucky winner will get four games for Steam. The games are FTL Advanced Edition, Dustforce DX, FEZ, and AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome.
CONDITIONS: Simply respond down below in the comments and I will give you a number in the order you responded. One entry per person. New accounts, alt accounts, or empty accounts will not be accepted and I will be checking. Signal boosts and following me will not garner extra entries. Entries will be taken until 10/23/2014 at 10:00 PM CDT (11:00 PM Server Time) and any comment made after then will not be added.
WINNER: The winner will be determined by random.org on 10/24/2014 at 12:00 PM CDT (1:00 PM Server Time). I will post a journal announcing the winner and even have a brief live stream to announce the winner. The winner will receive a note from me with the links to unlock the games on Steam. While I cannot enforce it, the winner is requested not to sell the keys to these games for profit.
Go for it!
The world just seems too full of drama lately... <RANT>
General | Posted 11 years agoWARNING: This journal is an opinion piece. I tend to try and keep my personal views about politics and policy out of my journals, but there will be a little here. Also, there might be things that I talk about that might be a trigger for some. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimer out of the way, onto the stuff.
In the last few months, we've seen a ton of stuff emerge that has polarized certain groups. #GamerGate and #NotMyShield being a big discussion, the systematic take-down of almost every furry-related site, to the insane number of death threats going over social media; it's all a bit much right now, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The polarization between the groups involved just makes my head spin, though that really isn't the case in the furry site take-downs. Honestly, in that case, I think we mainly just want answers. However, the fact that someone may have planned a mass DDoS attack isn't far-fetched and it only brings up more questions about why and not the how. I think this all mainly boils down to cyber-bullying.
The #GamerGate movement has been almost universally declared by the media as nothing but cyber-bullies and misogynists, labeling a large group of people by the acts of a certain few extremists and pretty much being a bully for doing that in turn. Name-calling and demonizing a group over a cause they believe in isn't going to fix the problem, it's going to make them feel more isolated and in need to defend themselves. That is why open dialogue instead of accusing and belittling is the answer to maybe trying to bridge the gap that was created. In fact, I'm writing a paper about the issue of misogyny and sexism in gaming for one of my classes right now. It's an important issue and I want to give both sides a voice and then give an educated opinion about the issue, and that's what most of the media isn't using. They are latching onto the loud cries of the vocal minority and seemingly isolated incidents.
And then there was the DDoS's. Pretty much every site that was furry related got attacked, and there is a rumor that 8chan's furry board got hit too. vici told me that she apparently got a tweet from someone who may have been involved saying that it was a Chinese group that did the attack on behalf of others, most likely someone who paid quite a bit of cash to have it done. This is just another form of bullying, but this case is a much larger crime. Cyber-bullying is a tough crime to track sometimes, and cyber-attacks of the scale of a DDoS can be even harder to track, but it's a worse crime overall because it hurts businesses that may not even be associated with the group being targeted, in this case FA's host. It's almost insane to think that anyone could really hate furries that much, but I guess that's the world we live in.
And then I have one last thing to talk about that actual deviates from the rest of the above topics, but still involves a bit of drama, but it's a much lower priority. I'm sure that everyone has seen the ad on FA linking to the Rio figure Kickstarter. I read through the whole description of the the character and the reason why he was created and it got me to thinking, "why is this relevant?" There are plenty of feminine male characters out there, so why is it necessary to forward the idea of having a character break the mold of gender stereotypes when they are broken almost daily by other artists? Hell, my own character, Jun, fits into the category of not fitting the male gender stereotype: he's gay, a cross-dresser, and feels comfortable being himself all while still identifying as a male. He even breaks that mold a bit more by being overweight, bringing up the fact that you don't have to be skinny or in-shape to be good looking or comfortable with yourself. If I have any issues with the Rio character, it's that he's skinny. It pushes the stereotype of needing to be thin or athletic to be beautiful or happy. If he was a bit more heavy-set, maybe a little chubby, I think that he would be a better role-model.
</RANT>
Disclaimer out of the way, onto the stuff.
In the last few months, we've seen a ton of stuff emerge that has polarized certain groups. #GamerGate and #NotMyShield being a big discussion, the systematic take-down of almost every furry-related site, to the insane number of death threats going over social media; it's all a bit much right now, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The polarization between the groups involved just makes my head spin, though that really isn't the case in the furry site take-downs. Honestly, in that case, I think we mainly just want answers. However, the fact that someone may have planned a mass DDoS attack isn't far-fetched and it only brings up more questions about why and not the how. I think this all mainly boils down to cyber-bullying.
The #GamerGate movement has been almost universally declared by the media as nothing but cyber-bullies and misogynists, labeling a large group of people by the acts of a certain few extremists and pretty much being a bully for doing that in turn. Name-calling and demonizing a group over a cause they believe in isn't going to fix the problem, it's going to make them feel more isolated and in need to defend themselves. That is why open dialogue instead of accusing and belittling is the answer to maybe trying to bridge the gap that was created. In fact, I'm writing a paper about the issue of misogyny and sexism in gaming for one of my classes right now. It's an important issue and I want to give both sides a voice and then give an educated opinion about the issue, and that's what most of the media isn't using. They are latching onto the loud cries of the vocal minority and seemingly isolated incidents.
And then there was the DDoS's. Pretty much every site that was furry related got attacked, and there is a rumor that 8chan's furry board got hit too. vici told me that she apparently got a tweet from someone who may have been involved saying that it was a Chinese group that did the attack on behalf of others, most likely someone who paid quite a bit of cash to have it done. This is just another form of bullying, but this case is a much larger crime. Cyber-bullying is a tough crime to track sometimes, and cyber-attacks of the scale of a DDoS can be even harder to track, but it's a worse crime overall because it hurts businesses that may not even be associated with the group being targeted, in this case FA's host. It's almost insane to think that anyone could really hate furries that much, but I guess that's the world we live in.
And then I have one last thing to talk about that actual deviates from the rest of the above topics, but still involves a bit of drama, but it's a much lower priority. I'm sure that everyone has seen the ad on FA linking to the Rio figure Kickstarter. I read through the whole description of the the character and the reason why he was created and it got me to thinking, "why is this relevant?" There are plenty of feminine male characters out there, so why is it necessary to forward the idea of having a character break the mold of gender stereotypes when they are broken almost daily by other artists? Hell, my own character, Jun, fits into the category of not fitting the male gender stereotype: he's gay, a cross-dresser, and feels comfortable being himself all while still identifying as a male. He even breaks that mold a bit more by being overweight, bringing up the fact that you don't have to be skinny or in-shape to be good looking or comfortable with yourself. If I have any issues with the Rio character, it's that he's skinny. It pushes the stereotype of needing to be thin or athletic to be beautiful or happy. If he was a bit more heavy-set, maybe a little chubby, I think that he would be a better role-model.
</RANT>
Welcome Back & Raffle
General | Posted 11 years agoWelcome back, everyone. The downtime was interesting, as well as the reason why there was downtime. If you haven't read the stuff here or on reddit, I'll do a TL;DR:
People who don't like furries performed a systematic DDoS attack on Fur Affinity, SoFurry, InkBunny, Weasyl, F-List, e621, and reports even show 8chan's furry board was hit. Most, if not all the sites, are back up but I believe FA had it the worst. In the wake of these attacks, FA has put up a gofundme page asking for $25,000 to put FA up on the cloud.
Now, onto less depressing stuff. I'm going to hold another raffle, but this time it's for some free video games! Here's how it will work:
To enter the raffle, you must respond to the journal that will be posted tomorrow (10/19) around 12 PM CDT (1 PM server time). One entry per person and being a follower or signal boosts will not increase your chance of winning.
The prize is four games on Steam -- FTL Advanced Edition, Dustforce DX, FEZ, and AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome.
Once the raffle winner is determined, I will note them the links to redeem the gift codes for the four games as well as make a journal announcing the winner.
The winner must have a Steam account (they are free; www.steampowered.com). While I cannot enforce this, please do not sell off any of the games after you win them. Enjoy them. FTL is awesome, play it for hours.
People who don't like furries performed a systematic DDoS attack on Fur Affinity, SoFurry, InkBunny, Weasyl, F-List, e621, and reports even show 8chan's furry board was hit. Most, if not all the sites, are back up but I believe FA had it the worst. In the wake of these attacks, FA has put up a gofundme page asking for $25,000 to put FA up on the cloud.
Now, onto less depressing stuff. I'm going to hold another raffle, but this time it's for some free video games! Here's how it will work:
To enter the raffle, you must respond to the journal that will be posted tomorrow (10/19) around 12 PM CDT (1 PM server time). One entry per person and being a follower or signal boosts will not increase your chance of winning.
The prize is four games on Steam -- FTL Advanced Edition, Dustforce DX, FEZ, and AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome.
Once the raffle winner is determined, I will note them the links to redeem the gift codes for the four games as well as make a journal announcing the winner.
The winner must have a Steam account (they are free; www.steampowered.com). While I cannot enforce this, please do not sell off any of the games after you win them. Enjoy them. FTL is awesome, play it for hours.
Super Smash Bros.
General | Posted 11 years agoI've been having a bunch of fun with the new Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. I'm still working on unlocking all the characters, but school work is taking precedence. The only problem is playing the game for prolonged periods because my hands start to cramp up. Yeah, the 3DS is not very well designed when it comes to ergonomics. (EDIT: found a case that might work well to fix that problem.)
In other news, I might be upgrading my desktop in the near future as I'm having tons of problems with overheating on my current rig. With the seasons changing, heating will be important in my apartment so the computer has a possibility of overheating a bunch, even though it's next to the balcony door. It might have to wait until after MWFF.
Finally, new pictures should be coming up in the next few days, reposting the crystal-for-ever pics as well as tinycurlyq and vehliayn's pics.
In other news, I might be upgrading my desktop in the near future as I'm having tons of problems with overheating on my current rig. With the seasons changing, heating will be important in my apartment so the computer has a possibility of overheating a bunch, even though it's next to the balcony door. It might have to wait until after MWFF.
Finally, new pictures should be coming up in the next few days, reposting the crystal-for-ever pics as well as tinycurlyq and vehliayn's pics.
Doing some analytics...
General | Posted 11 years agoSince FA's stats and analytics are crap, here's some brief stats:
Average Pageviews Per Day: 1.574 (since 6 Jan 2010/joined FA)
Total Post Views: 8237
Most Posts in a Day: 8 May 2014 (11 posts)
Average Post Views Per Day: 4.734 (since 6 Jan 2010/joined FA) or 19.381 (since 13 Aug 2013/first post)
Most Popular Post by Views: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11773298/ (805, 2.164 views per day)
Total Favorites: 891
Average Favorites Per Day: 0.512 (since 6 Jan 2010/joined FA) or 2.096 (since 13 Aug 2013/first post)
Most Popular Post by Favorites: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11773298/ (75, 0.202 favorites per day)
Most Posts by a Certain Artist: Vehliayn (12 posts)
Most Popular Artist by Average Post Views: Meesh (531 average views)
Most Popular Artist by Average Favorites: Meesh (49 average favorites)
Posts with Oswald: 35 (41%)
Posts with Jun: 21 (24%)
Posts with Roxy: 24 (28%)
Posts with George: 5 (6%)
Posts with Others: 6 (7%)
Data Compiled 11 Oct 2014 at ~22:00.
Average Pageviews Per Day: 1.574 (since 6 Jan 2010/joined FA)
Total Post Views: 8237
Most Posts in a Day: 8 May 2014 (11 posts)
Average Post Views Per Day: 4.734 (since 6 Jan 2010/joined FA) or 19.381 (since 13 Aug 2013/first post)
Most Popular Post by Views: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11773298/ (805, 2.164 views per day)
Total Favorites: 891
Average Favorites Per Day: 0.512 (since 6 Jan 2010/joined FA) or 2.096 (since 13 Aug 2013/first post)
Most Popular Post by Favorites: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11773298/ (75, 0.202 favorites per day)
Most Posts by a Certain Artist: Vehliayn (12 posts)
Most Popular Artist by Average Post Views: Meesh (531 average views)
Most Popular Artist by Average Favorites: Meesh (49 average favorites)
Posts with Oswald: 35 (41%)
Posts with Jun: 21 (24%)
Posts with Roxy: 24 (28%)
Posts with George: 5 (6%)
Posts with Others: 6 (7%)
Data Compiled 11 Oct 2014 at ~22:00.
Welcome new watchers!
General | Posted 11 years agoI'm almost 100% certain that crystal-for-ever's latest brought in the influx of new watchers, but I just wanted to say welcome. I know that this is a little less personal than me putting a shout on your user page, but, in full disclosure, I always use the same sort of message, so it's not really very personal. This is much more personal than that as I'm actually putting effort into this.
Still, for those of you interested in seeing more of Roxy, I have some more art in the works, some with her and some without. Some for certain stuff in the works is a picture of Jun by tokifuji and a picture of Roxy from uzai. It also reminds me I need to go through my art queue and fix things. :P
Again, welcome aboard the USS Homestarruner.com!
Still, for those of you interested in seeing more of Roxy, I have some more art in the works, some with her and some without. Some for certain stuff in the works is a picture of Jun by tokifuji and a picture of Roxy from uzai. It also reminds me I need to go through my art queue and fix things. :P
Again, welcome aboard the USS Homestarruner.com!
Moving on up...
General | Posted 11 years agoI had my appointment to get my transfer under way today, and I got into the school.
It's not 100% official yet, but on Tuesday I should have it be official.
It's not 100% official yet, but on Tuesday I should have it be official.
Sucked into another show...
General | Posted 11 years agoThe League has been popping up in my recommended on Netflix. I also happen to be a huge fan of Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas as I listen to How Did This Get Made? So...I watched the first episode with vici.
Hooooooly shit, is this show hilarious! It's too bad we don't get FXX because we'd be watching the new episodes soon enough.
Hooooooly shit, is this show hilarious! It's too bad we don't get FXX because we'd be watching the new episodes soon enough.
YouTube Channel Update
General | Posted 11 years agoI've got my equipment now and everything should be working pretty well. I've done video and audio tests using my camera and microphone and I should be able to start making some videos starting on Friday. My capture card is also working just fine, however I do worry about the Xbox 360 when it's hooked up. I was doing a stream test of the capture card while playing Mass Effect and the system was making some noises it normally doesn't make. It sounded like it was really struggling and the fans were on full blast. Now, this could be because my apartment is poorly ventilated and that our TV is next to large windows that constantly face towards the sun (they are south-facing) and so the room heats up quite quickly. I was mainly worried about the AC being heard over the stream, which is why I had it off, but I guess that's a concession I have to work with.
I will be doing a full playthrough of the Mass Effect series as my first let's play, or that's the current plan as I haven't gotten any feedback from my survey/poll. If we can get the damned SNES to work, then I'll try to get a playthrough of Link to the Past and maybe some of the Mario games done, but any other plans are going to be done as Game Cube or GBA games as I have the GBA player for the Game Cube, and I have yet to beat Pokemon Coliseum.
Plus, here is the tentative release plan for the channel:
- Publish an intro video.
- Release at least 1 video per day, most likely a let's play.
- Try to release at least 1 editorial or review per week.
I will be doing a full playthrough of the Mass Effect series as my first let's play, or that's the current plan as I haven't gotten any feedback from my survey/poll. If we can get the damned SNES to work, then I'll try to get a playthrough of Link to the Past and maybe some of the Mario games done, but any other plans are going to be done as Game Cube or GBA games as I have the GBA player for the Game Cube, and I have yet to beat Pokemon Coliseum.
Plus, here is the tentative release plan for the channel:
- Publish an intro video.
- Release at least 1 video per day, most likely a let's play.
- Try to release at least 1 editorial or review per week.
Finished my Twitter Banner
General | Posted 11 years agoAfter several hours of trying to get it just right, I got my banner just right. The initial problem was getting the dimensions, which are listed on Twitter as 1500 x 500. Now, that was okay, until it started cropping it weird, so my links were pretty much non-existent. So, I had to mess around more. Then, I noticed everything kind of looked stretched, especially on my desktop which has a 1080p monitor.
Finally, I had to redo everything in a higher resolution. If you're wondering what resolution you should make your Twitter banner, it's 1920 x 640. Also, a big shout out to Outlandish Studios, who let me use their art for the banner (I do have proper art attribution in the banner, so that probably helps). Also, I had to play around with the color of the text a bunch as the super dark gray looked really odd after taking a break, and thankfully there was an option to have the text almost the exact same gray as the t-shirt Oswald is wearing in the picture. That helped with theming (I am all about theming) of the overall image (same with the icon, which uses Oswald's dark brown and the light green from the background).
You can check it out at http://twitter.com/TheOtterNerd .
Finally, I had to redo everything in a higher resolution. If you're wondering what resolution you should make your Twitter banner, it's 1920 x 640. Also, a big shout out to Outlandish Studios, who let me use their art for the banner (I do have proper art attribution in the banner, so that probably helps). Also, I had to play around with the color of the text a bunch as the super dark gray looked really odd after taking a break, and thankfully there was an option to have the text almost the exact same gray as the t-shirt Oswald is wearing in the picture. That helped with theming (I am all about theming) of the overall image (same with the icon, which uses Oswald's dark brown and the light green from the background).
You can check it out at http://twitter.com/TheOtterNerd .
New Twitter Account
General | Posted 11 years agoI really didn't like my previous Twitter account. It really had nothing to do with anything and with my plans to do a YouTube channel needed something to match up. You know, like branding. So, if you want to follow me on Twitter I am @TheOtterNerd.
EDIT: Also, I need to know what game I should play first on my upcoming YouTube channel, which you can vote on here.
EDIT: Also, I need to know what game I should play first on my upcoming YouTube channel, which you can vote on here.
Possible Plans [Feedback Requested]
General | Posted 11 years agoI've told a bunch of my friends and family that I've switched my major from IT to Radio/TV and that I'm not only working on the production side, but also on the talent side (which is actually a requirement for my degree program). However, I've been toying around with the idea of doing a podcast or YouTube channel for a while and I think I've got the resources to get one of those going now, but I want some feedback on the idea.
Pitch: I'm planning on starting a gaming and nerd culture show, including reviews and let's plays of games that take a while, like Pokemon, Mass Effect, or Borderlands. Obviously, there might be an issue as these sorts of channels are everywhere and I would need to find my niche or particular flavor to stand out amongst the rest, but honestly I do want to do it for fun as well.
I already have video editing software, a really good camera, and a know-how for making this sort of thing work, but I don't have other important pieces of equipment, like a capture card or a good area mic, making this something that I might start in December after my finals are over. Still, I want to know what you think and if you would want to watch my mug as I talk about why I liked a game or why the latest complaints about the Spider-Woman cover are dumb, or watch me and my friends fumble around while we play SNES, Game Cube, GBA, and other console games.
Pitch: I'm planning on starting a gaming and nerd culture show, including reviews and let's plays of games that take a while, like Pokemon, Mass Effect, or Borderlands. Obviously, there might be an issue as these sorts of channels are everywhere and I would need to find my niche or particular flavor to stand out amongst the rest, but honestly I do want to do it for fun as well.
I already have video editing software, a really good camera, and a know-how for making this sort of thing work, but I don't have other important pieces of equipment, like a capture card or a good area mic, making this something that I might start in December after my finals are over. Still, I want to know what you think and if you would want to watch my mug as I talk about why I liked a game or why the latest complaints about the Spider-Woman cover are dumb, or watch me and my friends fumble around while we play SNES, Game Cube, GBA, and other console games.
Is it just me...
General | Posted 11 years ago...or is FA oddly loading to everyone? I'll check my notifications, like a journal or submission, and the "Select All", "Select None", and buttons of the like seem to take an additional two or three seconds to load after everything else. It's weird and making me wonder if there's something up server-side.
FaceRig, First Impressions
General | Posted 11 years agoIf you haven't heard of the software called FaceRig, it's a facial tracking program that then interprets facial movements and tries to replicate it through a CGI character. There are 16 different characters built-in, including a red panda, doge, a couple elves, a burger, a character that looks like he's from Unreal Tournament, and a few others. I couldn't perform a really good, comprehensive test of the software due to the fact that I don't have a webcam on my Windows computer, and this software heavily relies on a webcam. My laptop has a webcam, but due to it being a Mac means that it can't run FaceRig. However, it does have the ability to import video and use that for tracking, which is what I did.
First issue, the program only allows for AVI files to be imported. This is probably due to licensing problems as you have to pay royalties to use MOV or MP4, but you don't need it for OGG because it's an open format. AVI is on the decline because it's incredibly lossy and ancient tech. OGG is free and is widely used with HTML5 and much better than AVI. Maybe they're planning on using it later since you have to install an OGG codec when you first start up FaceRig (most likely for the streaming software).
Second issue, using an imported AVI became choppy. Now, I can't completely blame the software for this because I think it's the AVI converter I used, which was really crappy.
Third issue, no exporting options. Obviously it says not available "right now", but that should be a feature they strive to implement as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll have to rely on something like OBS to record what's happening and get yet another lossy video.
Fourth issue, no instructions on how to make your own character assets. Personally, I want to use this with Oswald, but there are no tutorials or how-to's about making your own assets for the program, even from the developer.
Takeaway: It's not bad software, but it needs a better manual or an SDK for content developers, as well as additional support for importing videos. While it's still in development, we'll be able to see how they improve the platform.
First issue, the program only allows for AVI files to be imported. This is probably due to licensing problems as you have to pay royalties to use MOV or MP4, but you don't need it for OGG because it's an open format. AVI is on the decline because it's incredibly lossy and ancient tech. OGG is free and is widely used with HTML5 and much better than AVI. Maybe they're planning on using it later since you have to install an OGG codec when you first start up FaceRig (most likely for the streaming software).
Second issue, using an imported AVI became choppy. Now, I can't completely blame the software for this because I think it's the AVI converter I used, which was really crappy.
Third issue, no exporting options. Obviously it says not available "right now", but that should be a feature they strive to implement as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll have to rely on something like OBS to record what's happening and get yet another lossy video.
Fourth issue, no instructions on how to make your own character assets. Personally, I want to use this with Oswald, but there are no tutorials or how-to's about making your own assets for the program, even from the developer.
Takeaway: It's not bad software, but it needs a better manual or an SDK for content developers, as well as additional support for importing videos. While it's still in development, we'll be able to see how they improve the platform.
Legend of Korra Season Finale (Warning: Spoilers)
General | Posted 11 years agoIf you didn't read the title, there are going to be spoilers. Stop now if you don't want events spoiled for you.
Now that that is done, let me get to the venting:
Did you watch Avatar: The Last Airbender? If you did and liked it, then you will understand everything very well. Avatar was an amazing series that transcended the standard formula for a kid's animated TV show. It was an incredible journey across a landscape that was new and untraveled for us, giving us sights like Ba Sing Se, the Northern Water Tribe, and many other locales. It had the perfect mixture of adventure, humor, and drama. But the one thing that made it more impressive was the use of the antagonists.
Before I start analyzing everything, I'm going to point out very clearly who the main antagonist is: Fire Lord Ozai, who is voiced by Mark Hamill. Fire Lord Ozai is the driving force behind everything that is going on in the entire series, except for the initial invasion of the other kingdoms, but that was his grandfather's thing. However, we don't know much about Fire Lord Ozai until much later in the series, the Fire Lord usually obscured by shadows or flame and only appearing in very specific moments until Book Three. Which is where we start with the other antagonists.
Zuko is the first, as that's who we're led to believe is the real bad guy of the series in Book One. He's the one who is hunting the Avatar and also attacks the Southern Water Tribe's village. According to kid's show logic, he's the bad guy, no questions asked. Later on, though, we start to learn more about Zuko and his motivations and start to unravel details about his past that make him easy to relate to, or sympathize with. It's not until we start seeing Admiral Zhao that we start to figure out what's really going on with this season. When the gang finally makes it to the Northern Water Tribe is when we see how far Zhao will go to achieve the Fire Nation's goals. Killing the mortal vessel of the moon spirit to destroy all water bending is a ballsy move, as well as a very evil thing.
Zhao is thwarted, as one would expect from a show for kids, and the moon restored by self-sacrifice. With one bad guy gone, one must take its place, right? Yup. At the end of the season, Fire Lord Ozai orders his daughter, Azula, to go find the Avatar and her brother, Zuko. This builds up who is the bad guy in Book Two and beyond. Azula is the perfect bad guy for a kid's show: no good qualities about her whatsoever. But, at the same time, Zuko is still around and showing that while he's a good guy at heart, he still does bad stuff, like steal to get by. Zuko and Azula, while not necessarily together, go after the Avatar throughout the entirety of Book Two, ending with an alliance and an opportunity for Zuko to go home by helping her destroy the Avatar. While we know that Aang is fine, the Fire Nation believes he is dead.
Book Three starts off with an obvious shift in Zuko, his transition from antagonist to supporting protagonist. Sure, he still tries to kill Aang, but he realizes his fault and tries to help Aang learn fire bending and becoming the fifth member of Team Avatar. And we all know how the story goes with Fire Lord Ozai being defeated and Zuko becoming the new Fire Lord and bringing peace and prosperity and a new age.
But...
There's Legend of Korra. Korra isn't a bad show, but it is lacking some of the story elements that tie together the seasons, like with Avatar. Granted, I'm going to leave Book one of Korra out of this discussion as the show was only meant to be a mini-series and end there. Book One is its own thing. Book Two and Three, however, are linked and form the basis of a story that is very poorly crafted together.
Book Two is about the spirits and the Spirit World and a past that explains how the Avatar was created in the first place. The backstory is amazing and well crafted, much better than the rest of the season. I would ahve rather seen a season about Avatar Wan than this season of Korra. The trouble comes from the lack of a cohesive antagonist. First it's the spirits, then it's an unknown force, then it's Unalaq, then it's Vaatu, and finally it's the two of them. All of this makes for a very confusing narrative, but the glue that would connect Books Two and Three together was never there until it was explained halfway through Book Three.
Book Three's antagonist is the Red Lotus, led by Zaheer, voiced by Henry Rollins. Zaheer explains to Korra that Unalaq was a member of the Red Lotus, which could have been a driving point in Book Two. There was no mention of the Red Lotus at all and it would have made for a more united set of seasons, more like how Avatar was. But we didn't get that as Zaheer was captured in the end. It was explained that the Red Lotus was still out there, but that doesn't mean anything to someone that is looking at this from a storytelling perspective. There are too many holes to appreciate the depth that Korra is trying to convey.
Korra is very much more a teen and adult-oriented show, actually showing death and serious injury, but it suffers from an overly complicated plot that is never explained until the very last minute, or the conflict is ended by a deus ex machina (Bolin can lava bend and the poison in Korra is metal-based).
Now that that is done, let me get to the venting:
Did you watch Avatar: The Last Airbender? If you did and liked it, then you will understand everything very well. Avatar was an amazing series that transcended the standard formula for a kid's animated TV show. It was an incredible journey across a landscape that was new and untraveled for us, giving us sights like Ba Sing Se, the Northern Water Tribe, and many other locales. It had the perfect mixture of adventure, humor, and drama. But the one thing that made it more impressive was the use of the antagonists.
Before I start analyzing everything, I'm going to point out very clearly who the main antagonist is: Fire Lord Ozai, who is voiced by Mark Hamill. Fire Lord Ozai is the driving force behind everything that is going on in the entire series, except for the initial invasion of the other kingdoms, but that was his grandfather's thing. However, we don't know much about Fire Lord Ozai until much later in the series, the Fire Lord usually obscured by shadows or flame and only appearing in very specific moments until Book Three. Which is where we start with the other antagonists.
Zuko is the first, as that's who we're led to believe is the real bad guy of the series in Book One. He's the one who is hunting the Avatar and also attacks the Southern Water Tribe's village. According to kid's show logic, he's the bad guy, no questions asked. Later on, though, we start to learn more about Zuko and his motivations and start to unravel details about his past that make him easy to relate to, or sympathize with. It's not until we start seeing Admiral Zhao that we start to figure out what's really going on with this season. When the gang finally makes it to the Northern Water Tribe is when we see how far Zhao will go to achieve the Fire Nation's goals. Killing the mortal vessel of the moon spirit to destroy all water bending is a ballsy move, as well as a very evil thing.
Zhao is thwarted, as one would expect from a show for kids, and the moon restored by self-sacrifice. With one bad guy gone, one must take its place, right? Yup. At the end of the season, Fire Lord Ozai orders his daughter, Azula, to go find the Avatar and her brother, Zuko. This builds up who is the bad guy in Book Two and beyond. Azula is the perfect bad guy for a kid's show: no good qualities about her whatsoever. But, at the same time, Zuko is still around and showing that while he's a good guy at heart, he still does bad stuff, like steal to get by. Zuko and Azula, while not necessarily together, go after the Avatar throughout the entirety of Book Two, ending with an alliance and an opportunity for Zuko to go home by helping her destroy the Avatar. While we know that Aang is fine, the Fire Nation believes he is dead.
Book Three starts off with an obvious shift in Zuko, his transition from antagonist to supporting protagonist. Sure, he still tries to kill Aang, but he realizes his fault and tries to help Aang learn fire bending and becoming the fifth member of Team Avatar. And we all know how the story goes with Fire Lord Ozai being defeated and Zuko becoming the new Fire Lord and bringing peace and prosperity and a new age.
But...
There's Legend of Korra. Korra isn't a bad show, but it is lacking some of the story elements that tie together the seasons, like with Avatar. Granted, I'm going to leave Book one of Korra out of this discussion as the show was only meant to be a mini-series and end there. Book One is its own thing. Book Two and Three, however, are linked and form the basis of a story that is very poorly crafted together.
Book Two is about the spirits and the Spirit World and a past that explains how the Avatar was created in the first place. The backstory is amazing and well crafted, much better than the rest of the season. I would ahve rather seen a season about Avatar Wan than this season of Korra. The trouble comes from the lack of a cohesive antagonist. First it's the spirits, then it's an unknown force, then it's Unalaq, then it's Vaatu, and finally it's the two of them. All of this makes for a very confusing narrative, but the glue that would connect Books Two and Three together was never there until it was explained halfway through Book Three.
Book Three's antagonist is the Red Lotus, led by Zaheer, voiced by Henry Rollins. Zaheer explains to Korra that Unalaq was a member of the Red Lotus, which could have been a driving point in Book Two. There was no mention of the Red Lotus at all and it would have made for a more united set of seasons, more like how Avatar was. But we didn't get that as Zaheer was captured in the end. It was explained that the Red Lotus was still out there, but that doesn't mean anything to someone that is looking at this from a storytelling perspective. There are too many holes to appreciate the depth that Korra is trying to convey.
Korra is very much more a teen and adult-oriented show, actually showing death and serious injury, but it suffers from an overly complicated plot that is never explained until the very last minute, or the conflict is ended by a deus ex machina (Bolin can lava bend and the poison in Korra is metal-based).
Going back to SWTOR
General | Posted 11 years agoI don't know if it's because classes have started up again or if it's the new expansion that just came out, but it's time to start playing SWTOR again.
I've always loved Star Wars and BioWare games, but the problem that SWTOR has been dealing with is the sameness and stagnation of the end game. There's a lot to do, but a lot of it gets kind of boring, doing the same thing over and over again, like the grind of dailies to get reputation. Thankfully, there is now something that will distract us all from that: mixing the Sims with SWTOR. Okay, it's not exactly that simple, but SWTOR now has housing. There are four different places you can get for your legacy, though the price of expansions vary based on which place you get your housing.
If anyone else plays SWTOR, hit me up on the Ebon Hawk.
I've always loved Star Wars and BioWare games, but the problem that SWTOR has been dealing with is the sameness and stagnation of the end game. There's a lot to do, but a lot of it gets kind of boring, doing the same thing over and over again, like the grind of dailies to get reputation. Thankfully, there is now something that will distract us all from that: mixing the Sims with SWTOR. Okay, it's not exactly that simple, but SWTOR now has housing. There are four different places you can get for your legacy, though the price of expansions vary based on which place you get your housing.
If anyone else plays SWTOR, hit me up on the Ebon Hawk.
Can we please stop mixing everything with huskies?
General | Posted 11 years agoI know huskies are cute, adorable animals, but do they need to be crossbred with so many things that don't make sense, like a bunny/husky or a tiger shark/husky? Seriously...
</rant>
</rant>
I'm old...
General | Posted 11 years agoI just turned 30 today.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Off for the weekend.
General | Posted 11 years agoWith my birthday on Saturday, vici and I are going off to my parents' place for the weekend to hang out and have fun. Tonight, we're going to see a concert with Everclear, Eve 6, Soul Asylum, and some other band I don't know. Then, tomorrow we go to the Ren Faire for my actual birthday, and we're hoping to get into the pub crawl. Tomorrow night, we might hang out with some of vici's friends who live in that area and maybe celebrate a bit. Sunday is most likely us driving back in her new car. Well, it's my mom's old car, but we're buying it off of her.
I'll try to be online to get one of takataka's commission slots on Saturday, but no promises.
I'll try to be online to get one of takataka's commission slots on Saturday, but no promises.
Prepare for backlog...
General | Posted 11 years agoI've got a few images that I haven't uploaded, so be prepared for that. :P
Downtime
General | Posted 11 years agoHey, want to see my stuff during downtime or talk to me? Wh-why would you? I'm not important. I'm just some dumpy dude who buys art.
[Bandwagon] Get to know me, bitches...
General | Posted 11 years agoPersonal
Name: Andrew
Nickname: None, really. I do go by "underclocked" on most sites, though.
Location: Illinois
Age: Pretty much 30.
Height: 5' 10"
Zodiac sign: Western-Leo, Chinese-Rat
Any pets: None, but my parents have a cat. I would like to get a pet in the future, but I need to be more financially stable first.
Favorite thing about yourself: My personality and eyes.
Worst habit: Cracking my knuckles and picking at the gunk under my finger nails.
Fun fact: I am a veteran of foreign wars.
Identity, Sexuality & Personality
Gender identity: Male.
Sexual preference: I like men and women.
Romantic preference: Monogamous.
"Kinsey Scale" score: Probably a 2 or 3.
Relationship status: Dating vici.
Myers/Briggs type: ISTJ (67%/25%/6%/50%)
Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff, I guess.
Routine
"Early Bird" or "Night Owl": I was a night owl a long time ago, but now I'm an early bird.
Bath or shower: Showers are the best.
First thought in the morning: "What time is it?
Last thought before falling asleep at night: Snuggles and loving vici.
School/Work
Do you work or are you a student: I am a student, but I might try to get a job soon.
What do you do well: Stuff. I'm not really sure, honestly.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years: Graduated from school and possibly having a job.
Habits (Do you…?)
Drink: Every so often.
Smoke: No.
Do Drugs: I partake of weed every so often.
Exercise: I take walks almost every day and I might start jogging again.
Have a go-to comfort food: Pizza.
Have a nervous habit: See my bad habits above.
What is your favorite…?
Physical quality (in yourself): My eyes.
In Others: I don't pay too much attention to others, but when I do, I notice their body.
Mental/emotional quality (in yourself): My determination.
Food: Seafood.
Drink: Lemon-lime soda, cherry cola, and Jameson and gingers.
Animal: Cats
Artist/Band/Group: Ninja Sex Party/Starbomb, Thrice, Bon Scott-era AC/DC.
Author/Poet: Drew Karpyshyn or Timothy Zahn
TV Show: Seasons 1-3 of Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Bob's Burgers, Archer.
Actor/Actress: Patrick Stweart, Karl Urban, Tim Curry, Stephen Fry, Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Rowan Atkinson, Fran Kranz (and some more).
Blogger: No.
Name: Andrew
Nickname: None, really. I do go by "underclocked" on most sites, though.
Location: Illinois
Age: Pretty much 30.
Height: 5' 10"
Zodiac sign: Western-Leo, Chinese-Rat
Any pets: None, but my parents have a cat. I would like to get a pet in the future, but I need to be more financially stable first.
Favorite thing about yourself: My personality and eyes.
Worst habit: Cracking my knuckles and picking at the gunk under my finger nails.
Fun fact: I am a veteran of foreign wars.
Identity, Sexuality & Personality
Gender identity: Male.
Sexual preference: I like men and women.
Romantic preference: Monogamous.
"Kinsey Scale" score: Probably a 2 or 3.
Relationship status: Dating vici.
Myers/Briggs type: ISTJ (67%/25%/6%/50%)
Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff, I guess.
Routine
"Early Bird" or "Night Owl": I was a night owl a long time ago, but now I'm an early bird.
Bath or shower: Showers are the best.
First thought in the morning: "What time is it?
Last thought before falling asleep at night: Snuggles and loving vici.
School/Work
Do you work or are you a student: I am a student, but I might try to get a job soon.
What do you do well: Stuff. I'm not really sure, honestly.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years: Graduated from school and possibly having a job.
Habits (Do you…?)
Drink: Every so often.
Smoke: No.
Do Drugs: I partake of weed every so often.
Exercise: I take walks almost every day and I might start jogging again.
Have a go-to comfort food: Pizza.
Have a nervous habit: See my bad habits above.
What is your favorite…?
Physical quality (in yourself): My eyes.
In Others: I don't pay too much attention to others, but when I do, I notice their body.
Mental/emotional quality (in yourself): My determination.
Food: Seafood.
Drink: Lemon-lime soda, cherry cola, and Jameson and gingers.
Animal: Cats
Artist/Band/Group: Ninja Sex Party/Starbomb, Thrice, Bon Scott-era AC/DC.
Author/Poet: Drew Karpyshyn or Timothy Zahn
TV Show: Seasons 1-3 of Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Bob's Burgers, Archer.
Actor/Actress: Patrick Stweart, Karl Urban, Tim Curry, Stephen Fry, Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Rowan Atkinson, Fran Kranz (and some more).
Blogger: No.
Streaming today.
General | Posted 11 years agoAt noon CDT (1PM server time) I'll be streaming the rest of my coloring of the commission I got for a horse character.
As of now, I am planning on using join.me as the commissioner can't view furstre.am on his tablet, but if join.me looks like it blows, I'll go back to furstre.am. I'm going to futz about with it for now to test it out, but I'll post a link later.
EDIT: While I partially enjoy the tools join.me has, I don't like that it doesn't have sound. I'm still planning on using it, but it is kind of slow and wonky.
As of now, I am planning on using join.me as the commissioner can't view furstre.am on his tablet, but if join.me looks like it blows, I'll go back to furstre.am. I'm going to futz about with it for now to test it out, but I'll post a link later.
EDIT: While I partially enjoy the tools join.me has, I don't like that it doesn't have sound. I'm still planning on using it, but it is kind of slow and wonky.
