Do I really even need to talk about Jack Thompson? At one point he was pretty much public enemy #1 to anyone who has ever picked up a video game controller. He still is, to a certain degree, though I imagine that he likes to think he’s done more damage in favor of his cause than he actually has. He likes to con the media into making him come across as some sort of expert on the dangers of video games, and, like a vulture he latches on to any tragedy that he can in order to blame video games on all the world’s evils and, by proxy, increase his own public profile. Nowadays he’s pretty much just reduced himself to being a joke. An annoying joke that just won’t end, but still a joke that can be made fun of.

Hence this catchy tune. It’s been stuck in my head since I first heard it, so now I need to share it with you all. Guaranteed you’ll be singing it tomorrow!

ALL SORTS OF WEAPONS!

Here’s the original post.

Sayonara.

Almost wasn’t going to do one this year. Almost. But I couldn’t let my people down!

Sayonara.

At this summer’s FanExpo I saw a dealer that had many anime artbooks for sale. Among those was one in particular that caught my eye. It was a Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack artbook. Black Jack being one of my all time favorite characters, I knew I had to have it. But it cost $75, and while I seriously would have considered buying it at that price, I had already spent my allotted funds for the convention earlier that weekend.

Lucky for me, there’s eBay! By chance, I came across an auction for the book in question, and from a local seller no less. With shipping included, I bought it for about $30! So it all worked out in the end. In fact, this copy I bought on eBay may very well be the exact same copy I held in my hand this past summer.

It’s an awesome book with some really incredible full color and black & white illustrations, all by the greatest Manga creator of all time. Some of the images are full of some really graphic medical imagery, complete with detailed veins and arteries. but this one in particular is my favorite.

BLOOD! That is totally intense! Black Jack is so cool.

I’ll be on the lookout for more artbooks from now on. Any recommendations?

Sayonara.

I’ve gotten hooked to this free online game called Vector TD. It’s part of the tower defense genre, where you set up various weapon towers to shoot down waves of invaders. You get money for every enemy you shoot down which can be used to upgrade your towers and buy new ones. Different towers have different strengths and weaknesses, and some are more effective on certain kinds of enemies than others. It’s a fun diversion that has a lot of strategic elements, but takes up a lot more time than I really aught to be spending. Another example is Desktop Defender, which is also fun.

Anyone know any other decent free online strategy games? If it’s good, I’ll probably check it out, but I’m really looking for something deep that I can sink my teeth into without having to invest several hours into one sitting.

Sayonara.

Earlier this week, yet another piece of material towards global conquest arrived. I upgraded from the Intuos2 and got a brand new tablet! Not just any tablet, but a Wacom Intuos3 Special Edition. It’s all shiny and black and sexy, with two different styli and much needed function keys. I got the 6×11 model to go along with my new widescreen monitor. Take a look at this quick picture of my digital work-station here at SykoGrafix Studios.

There you see my scanner, monitor, tablet, Zboard with Photoshop keyset, and my mouse that glows 7 different colours. So far, so good. I’m not quite sure if the monitor’s colour output is as accurate as I need it to be, so I guess the next step is going to be to get a separate calibration device.

Anyway, the new tablet has thus far been a great improvement over what I had before. The feel of the surface is much easier to draw on, and I don’t feel I have to press as hard to get a steady line. The function keys and touch strip are lifesavers, as I haven’t been able to use keyboard shortcuts since moving my work space to my office, as the keyboard on this desk is tucked away inaccessible while using the tablet. Now I don’t need to use the keyboard very much at all, as all the keys I’d use, like to pan around or change brush size, are mapped right on the tablet itself. There are only two negatives that I can think of. The tablet itself is made out of a very smooth clear plastic (with the underside painted black for a very cool effect), but it’s so smooth that it feels different when you’re moving your hands around the edges. However, I have something that fixes that problem easily enough, which I’ll talk about later. The other bad thing is that I really wanted the special edition because it comes with both the standard grip pen and the extra classic pen, and it’s great having the option to switch between them because they have different feels and you can put a different nib in each of them if you want, but unfortunately, the special edition only comes with one pen stand. It’s not a big deal, but it’s something of an oversight. I’ll have to get an extra one somehow.

What I’m happiest about, though, is just the fact that it got here at all! I was looking all across the Internet for stores that carried this particular model, but it seemed like right when I went to buy it, everyone was sold out or on backorder. I eventually settled on a Canadian chain called Henry’s, and simply placed my order expecting it to ship later this month when their main warehouse was restocked. Well, they must have pulled one off the floor from one of their retail locations or something, because I got it within 6 days of placing my order. Not bad for a backordered item! So I have to put in the plug for Henry’s after this exceptional service.

So, here we go. I’ve almost got all the tools I need. Let’s see what madness I can create with them!

Sayonara.