Month: August 2013

Team Four Star Dragon Ball Z Parodies

I first saw Dragon Ball Z right around my 2nd year of HS.  Original with sub-titles.  I was quite ecstatic when I found out they were showing it very early in the AM on some channel I cannot remember, but was utterly disappointed when I heard the English dubs.  Suffice to say, I stuck to watching my old VHS copies with the sub-titles and soon pretty much grew out of it.  DBZ has since made a pretty good run in the US, with the shows being brought on to Cartoon Network, video games coming out for various systems, and then DVD‘s and Blu-Rays.  I was happy w/ the disc versions, since I can switch to Japanese with subs.  Anyway, my cousin brought Team Four Star to my attention not too long ago, it’s an abridged version of the shows, but, they re-did the dubs, and added a ton of humor.  IT IS one of THE funniest things I have watched.  If you like DBZ, I highly suggest you check them out.  They currently have 5 seasons in I think.

 

This is the first episode:

 

and their You Tube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsvazPPlhZlch0-Z3wPByeg

Newish Dad + Handheld Gaming = BFFs

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Whether you’re a parent or not, gamers are all alike and we stick together to talk about one of our favorite past times: Gaming. For those who ARE gamers with little ones I’m sure it’s been hard to find time to pick up the controller for even a half hour session on the big screen. I’ve fallen into that category many a time at this point with my now 10.5 month old. He’s growing up fast, yet not fast enough. These are the times where I have to be crafty and squeeze in some time whenever and wherever I can. (more…)

Earworm: “Flaws” by Bastille

You all know my weak heart for indie rock.

And we all know how much I love the UK. And having recently rediscovered Bastille through YouTube of all places, I figured I’d share this with you all.

I’ve had Bastille’s debut album Bad Blood sitting in my music folder for the longest time, my friends had recommended them to me and I downloaded their album without even thinking about if I would like their music or not. This is one of the greatest leaps of faith ever, because lo and behold, I love their music. They’re a high quality four man group, and Dan Smith’s vocals definitely throw it over the edge.

And his hair? DAMN HIS HAIR IS AWESOME. (This lil bit about hair is a little joke at The Big Cheese and my other cousins who mock me and my “One Direction” hair. By the way, my gravitar is inaccurate to my face, now. I should change that.)

Anyway.

Bastille is great, listen to the entire album Bad Blood. Look up their acoustic sessions on YouTube. Find their Abbey Road sessions, too. It’s incredible. The violins and the vocals it’s just heavenly.

Regular:

Acoustic Live in Paris:

Abbey Road:

MGSesque game Volume Announced

VOLUME is an upcoming game announced by Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell. It looks like a mix between a mobile game and very reminiscent of a bare bones Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions level. It’s a top-down game with stealth elements where the protagonist moves past enemy sentries while trying not to get spotted. Yep this definitely sounds like an MGS game. Compare the above announcement trailer with the VR Missions clip below.

One thing that does peak my interest about VOLUME is the apparent fact that gamers can actually create and share their own blocky levels. So it’s not only kinda MGS, but some Minecraft peppered in. I guess the only downside is that it is set to release in 2014. The upside is I have yet another game to look forward to in 2014. That speaks Volumes. AMIRITE?!

Source: Joystiq

DXHR OST (Awesomely Wormy)

[In the spirit of Cheesecake‘s awesome Earworm posts I’d also like to offer something in the same vein that runs parallel to those cool tunes while simultaneously driving video games and other media. I’m talking about Original Sound Tracks.]

Today I’d like to offer you boys and girls a shiny penny in the world of Deus Ex (DX). In this case it’s the Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DXHR) OST. The clip above is actually the complete DXHR soundtrack. The entire OST sounds epic and immerses me in the DXHR world. If any of you are like me you get pulled into a game or movie (and show) with a great story And equally great music.

This just somehow fills my ears with feelings of a dystopian near future society froth with hidden conspiracies under the bright lights and desolate video game city which the DXHR locales are based on. It’s a perfect fit. Even if you haven’t played DXHR you’ll be enticed to perhaps pop the disc into your console or run the game in your preferred device just to see where the music fits in.

My personal favorite is the 1st track: Icarus. It’s the main theme of the game and prepares you for the rest of the OST that evokes the suggested themes and emotional tones of the game: cyberpunk conspiracy, human morality, dealing with whether or not to augment one’s self with cybernetic parts to somehow enhance one’s life, and whether individuals really have a choice at all in the matter. As we all know, choices come with their own consequences and its those those consequences and how characters deal with them that make for a good game and movie. Enjoy!!

Earworm: Foolish Games – Jewel

I recently listened to Jewel’s greatest hits album, and it sort of brought back memories of when she was really big back in the 90’s.  Yes, it’s not the typical music I listen to these day’s, but back then, I was still sort of discovering anything outside of the top pop hits that were being played on the radio.  I didn’t get a say to what music was being played in the car, and I didn’t really care much for music outside of the car back then.  Anyway, Jewel was probably one of my first musical crushes.  She’s just so beautiful, and such a powerful voice.  Anyway, here’s one of my all time favorite songs of hers.

 

Here’s also a nice  version that is found on the greatest hits album, it’s a duet with Kelly Clarkson.  I really enjoyed this one as well.

 

 

 

 

Thank You, Friends

That’s right. I went there, we’re… Friends. And I’m so glad to be able to share this moment of reflection with you all, because The Big Cheese (and of course, NekkedSnake) and I have turned ONE on WordPress. That’s right. We’ve been throwing useless babble, rants, and bad music at you lot for just over a year now.

And we’re all genuinely sorry for slowing down. But we’re getting old-for Pete’s sake, we’re one!-and we try our best to cover what interests us.

Incredibly, we’ve kept such a solid basis of readers after only doing this according to what tickles our fancies. Thankfully several thousand of you share the same fancies!

In the course of the year, we’ve spread word of songs that were unheard of until shortly after we spoke of such (Gangnam Style and Thrift Shop), blamed HTC and Verizon and Samsung for the world’s problems, and updated the bunch of you with great songs and tech news.

So from all of us here at JWAB, thank you!!!! Keep supporting us and we’ll make it our mission to pleasure ourselv-I mean, keep you informed- with what goes on. Stay awesome!

Don’t forget, by the way. Our blog is

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And remember our premise.

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We Are 1 Year Old!

This time one year ago, Cheesecake and I were probably playing Resident Evil 5 or Gran Turismo or something, and we came up with the crazy idea of starting a blog.  It was a slow start, but we got going soon there after.  Sometime down the line I convinced my good friend NekkeSnake to join us in our crusade in giving you useless information.  12 months later we have managed to attract 114 followers and 7,350 views, generate 479 posts, and give you guys information that you can probably live with out.

We still are are trying to figure out what we really need to post up on a normal basis, and, yeah, we slowed a lot in the last month or 2, but, it is the summer, and this is the summer doldrums.  We will provide you with more content, as I always say, and we do have some stuff in the works, but we just cannot seem to find the time to wrap things up.

Anyway, we thank everyone who has come and visited, and to those that follow us, and hopefully, there will be more in our second year.

On behalf of the Justwroteablog crew, we thank you all!

Female Shepard Kotobukiya Photo’s
Close up of Kotobukiya Femme Shep. Character rendition by Shunya Yamashita

Close up of Kotobukiya Femme Shep. Character rendition by Shunya Yamashita

As promised, here are the shots of the Kotobukiya Female Commander Shepard.  I really enjoyed the fine detail in this figure.  This was my first Kotobukiya, and I look forward to getting some more down the line.  All photos were taken by me, with a Nikon D700, a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 & a Nikkor 60mm Micro f/2.8 Macro lens and an SB-900 Flash.

Enjoy the Gallery! (more…)