GIANT ROBOT CLUB!

God-DAMN this looks fantastic… The tokyo night scenes are fucking gorgeous….

Warren Whatever

The existence of retail copies of Final Fantasy XIII is very perplexing to me.

I could swear they first teased this game at E3 2005; the same E3 where they first revealed the 360 and PS3. I could swear I was living in Walla Walla at the time and thought “the future looks bright.”

I don’t think there’s been a game I’ve spent more time waiting for (though FFXII, Tekken 6, and Heavy Rain come close). So it’s very bizarre to think that the game has been released.

Seriously, this game was in development for longer than Quinn and I have been married. This game has been in development for so long, that I figured I’d spend 3 years on a Master’s Degree as a way to pass the time (I kid, of course).

Yet I sit here with my copy in my posession and somehow think this is some sort or ruse. Perhaps the game disc sticker will peal off to reveal that it’s, in fact, a bootleg copy of Dude Where’s My Car? I expect to put the game disc in and have a SquareEnix logo saying “Made ya look!”

For that matter, it seems bizarre to have this game even come on a disc. Shouldn’t it be streamed directly from the Matrix? Why am I playing this on PS3 and not virtual reality, or even I-reality (Mac will sell anything these days). Yet it’s on a disc. Weird.

Yet in spite of my disbelief, the game exists. I have a copy. And I have been playing that copy for the past hour and a half.

So what do I think? You’ll have to wait just a bit longer for my impressions.

Miles Whatever

Tron 2 trailer is finally here…. Starring Captain John Sheridan, The Dude, and Hobgoblin.

Warning- bigass 720p quicktime trailer ahead!!!!

http://wdmp-7.vo.llnwd.net/d1/wdsmp/TRON/42Ent/1Trlr/Grid_1tlr_1280×532_720p.mov

Warren Whatever

Since Miles seems interested I’ll post a few of my favorites and some info about the concert. According to the interweb, there is going to be 2 opening acts before hand, Mutiny Within and Powerglove. I have not heard of either of these, but I shall try to find and listen to some of their stuff. Another thing is Tickets are going to be 20 bucks and we can purchase them now with the Internet. The concert will be in Peter’s Room which according to Roseland’s website is a first class restaurant and bar with an intimate showcase venue and has acted as a career springboard for John Mayer and The Strokes. It can hold 400 people.

Again, the concert will be on 4-20 (giggle giggle).

Read more…

Jared Audiophilia!, Hypno-Ray!, Whatever

So I’m here in LA for another week and I’ve realized I really miss my kids and being in Korea. I’m sort of doing the same things I was doing there except here I’m more in charge and actually feel a part of something rather then learning and following like I was in Korea.

We have 10 new short terms here volunteering for a year here, many of whom I’ve actually met at one point or another in Korea, and it’s a lot of fun being the host to these guests.

Aside from trying to keep it from going to my head, I’m really feeling the idea of living in Korea and just seeing how things go without having a plan return plan so that I can really let myself find out what’s going on. Without a back up plan in my head I’ll definitely be living more in the moment and like most of the time not worry about consequences….wait a second, Plan B has always been Plan A from the other side…

I’m pretty torn cuz I want to see Iron Man 2, and A-Team, or I go to Korea and start my career and life…hmm, damn you Mr. T!!

On the other hand I’ve ‘really’ committed myself to figuring out things and hanging around Oregon so I’ll have to figure that stuff out.

Because of this World Camp in LA there REALLY is something for me to do which would keep me in America for the time being. I believe my school in Korea has no problems with me being back even though the school year started because of this work here. It could be the chance I need for time in America while doing something related to my school and once it’s done I could go back. Who knows they may even come here to do performances which would be mega-uber awesome.

I think you guys should come as well, especially if I’m still around, it’s a lot of fun.

$200 for 5days/4nights June 28-July 2, M-F at UCLA. They gave us dorms, their international cafeteria, and venues for lectures and stuff, we are doing beach, Hollywood and maybe universal studio tours. Get to meet crazy, CRAZY amount of foreign students. And they’re crazy too. the fee covers EVERYTHING except for transportation down here which could be carpooled for a drunk road trip, or we ride with the rest on a bus.

Also there’s a 5k run with prizes. Come test yourself against an African.

Anyway, I’m here for another week before I come back up and when I do we should live it up before I figure out how to get back down here or find a job or something.

PandaMan Whatever

Whoa, this is some Indiana Jones shit. A group of orthodox-practice-but-christians-or-muslims in Zimbabwe (who also possess a replica of the ark of the covenant) that has always claimed to be descended from a tribe that fled Israel around 500 BC has, thanks to DNA testing, finally been able to tell its whole story…

Members of the spiritual leaders of the Lemba, a clan known as the Buba, were even discovered to have a genetic element also found among the Jewish priestly line.

Source: BBC

Warren Whatever

I’m adding some work friends to the site. Don’t worry, they’re all as fucked up as we are, just older and more bitter!

For right now please welcome Darin Kenney and Chris Hough to the gang. They’re cool guys.

Darin’s a conservative guy but damn fun to be around- he’s also into games, shiny things, and mountain dew. Darin’s last day at intel is tuesday but he will be working FT at Fry’s computer service department soon after.

Chris is white as hell but black where it counts. He’s also the dirtiest, filthiest motherfucker I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Chris is stuck at intel for another 4 months or so. Sucker.

Warren Whatever

Sean Whatever

Yay! No reboots, no new voice actors- hopefully the 24-minute format works better than the movies did…

Source: AICN

Warren Whatever

This could be great news, or the start of a terrible tragedy.

Source: Kotaku

Warren Whatever

Quitting my job this month and going to school full time. Not a half-time or one-class deal, I am actually doing 15 credits (3 are a PE lecture class so those don’t really count, and another class is Visual Basic ) and I am going to get my goddamn Associates’ degree this year no matter what. After that it’s PSU or one of the state schools. I have my financial aid applications all ready to go and will be taking the loan plunge very soon. Been a long time in the making, but thanks to some friends at work (who you guys really need to meet, they will fit in perfectly) convincing me it was the right time I am doing it.

I also managed to get all my classes to start around 11, so I can wake up when I feel comfortable and learn when I can actually pay attention, Go me.

Warren Whatever

Thanks again for the event calendar, Warren. It works really well. I’d encourage people to use this to schedule book clubs or when us out-of-towners (read Sean and I) are in town for the weekend.

I added three concerts to the calendar: Red Elvises, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and Sonata Arctica. If there’s a show you want to go to, put it on the calendar.

Miles Whatever

Courtesy of Kotaku. This is an absolute must-read, but is pretty long.

Read more…

Warren Whatever

Square-Enix is shutting down its in-house music production studio- which probably means everyone from the composers to the guy who sweeps the floors will get the axe.

They’re going to contract out to independent composers and music staff, which will likely mean a decrease in the quality of music and sound in SE’s games. That’s a damn shame since SE games have always had superior music and sound quality compared to almost any other game company. This is how almost every other company works, though- maybe SE can maintain its quality, or maybe the quality will drop and they can save a shitload of money.

Once again, this shows how hard it is to make money as a serious and/or talented musician. You’re always between gigs unless you get lucky and land a studio job that gets you noticed.

Sad day for quality music.

Source: Kotaku

Warren Whatever

These are the most true-to-life color images ever taken of the Earth, from a new NASA satellite. I believe there are higher resolution versions of these on the NASA website, but even in JPEG format they are stunning.

Read more…

Warren Whatever

EDIT: I’m not sure how to get the calendar to post a future event before that day… For right now when you add something to the calendar, make a quick post or comment it.

Okay team, here’s how the calendar works. log into the admin page (where you post) and look at the lower left-hand corner. Click on the Events Calendar button and you’ll be magically whisked away to the calendar entry page.

The rest of the process is pretty self-explanatory. If you want to have the details you just entered show up as a post (so everyone knows the event was made) check the create post for event checkbox and choose publish. (Alternatively leave it as draft, post the event, then go back and edit the post and publish it yourself.)

Events are displayed on the sidebar, and on the bigass giant calendar page. Hover over any of the dates to see what was added for that day.

Lemme know how it works out for you guys.

Warren Whatever

Warren,

Is there any chance we can add an event calendar to the website? That way we could update it with things like when Sean or I are in L.O., when book club is, concerts, book signings, etc.

At some point or another, we’ve all missed out on some of the fun by being out of the loop.

I’d hate to miss the next trip to Izzy’s/viewing of the Maxx/Kentucky Fried Movie/discussion of plants. I’m still pissed about that last one. Plants are awesome! You guys should’ve waited till I was around (I kid of course).

So, yeah, can we have an event calendar?

Miles Whatever

This was from a 1up.com article on fanfiction. It totally applies to what Miles was saying…

Warren Whatever

Activision Terminates Fan-Made King’s Quest Extension

This was an interesting story to me. I only have the vaguest memories of the King’s Quest series. I’ll bottom-line the story for you. Fan’s made a video game, and the IP holder made them close it down.

I’d like to discuss the ramifications, and I’ve even worked George R.R. Martin into the discussion to attract Geoff’s readership.

Read more…

Miles Whatever

Must-see! Not faked- skip to 1:50.

Check out the ripple effect in the clouds….

Warren Whatever