Zynga... Y U SO EVIL?
posted 3/31/2012 12:05:54 PM

No matter how much I hate Zynga I always seem to get sucked into a "ville" game. Last time it was Frontierville, but I got bored of it eventually and spent a lot of time purposely avoiding any games made (read: stolen) by Zynga, mainly because of what Zynga has come to stand for. On terms of Evilness, they're rapidly rising towards EA levels.

Unfortunately, I've finally run out of real games I wanted to play, and decided to get rid of the masses of Castleville notifications I keep getting sent by my friends. Obviously, the only way to do this is to play the game... and now I keep going back every hour to check what I can do. ****.

I don't get it... I actually hate those types of games, especially the core mechanics. Not to mention that every "ville" game is essentially the exact same game with a fresh coat of paint on it. Yet I still keep going back to that son of a *****.

So... today's topic is this: what makes these obvious clones so attractively addictive? Also, general Zynga hate (though try to keep it in facts and not just personal distaste).

Birthday
posted 3/28/2012 3:07:51 AM

So it's that depressing time of the year again. I'm now 26 years old. I've never really celebrated Birthdays- at least, not since the days when I was still wetting the bed, but this year seems particularly bad. Whereas most people go out and celebrate being another year older, I tend to see the occasion as a time to reflect on what I've actually accomplished over the last 12 months.

If I'm honest... that'd be a big sweet **** all.

I've spent pretty much most of the time since I graduated University helping to care for my Grandpa, whose condition deteriorated quickly after he had to have surgery. Granted, he was 87 at the time he had surgery, so the fact that he came through it at all is a miracle in and of itself, but before that he was a very independent man - he lived on his own, looked after himself, cooked and cleaned, tended his garden, etc etc. After the surgery, though, he quickly deteriorated to the point where he needed help getting out of bed and dressing.

Well anyway, because of my decision to dedicate my time to looking after him (and in turn my mum and dad), I'm 3 years out of University with no job experience to speak of, and everything I knew 3 years ago is rusty, quickly approaching obsolete. I'd be lucky to get a job in McDonald's at the moment.

I think the last 13 months have really affected my outlook on life I think - My Grandad passed away last February, my dog died in May, went through a really bad breakup in July, and then my Grandpa passed a couple of weeks ago. I think the fact that his funeral was less than a week ago, and that we're scattering his ashes tomorrow is souring my usually apathetic Birthday mood. Maybe now that its all over, this is the time things start improving?

My dog dying may seem like the odd one out in that list, but where I went through different stages in my education, and both acquaintances and friends came and went, Piper was my constant companion, always there to greet me when I came home, always came up to hog my already small bed every night and licked my face in the mornings until I got out of bed. Looking back, she was probably just hungry when I got home, and really wanted to go outside to poop in a morning, but still. She was as much a family member to me as my mum or dad. A four-legged sister if you like.

But anyway... this is a miserably depressing post, and anyone who has read to this point will probably be miserable too. Misery loves company, mission successful! Heh, but in all seriousness... I hope you all have an awesome day.

Anime
posted 3/25/2012 3:55:28 PM

So I said I only wanted to use this blog for meaningful stories, such as the first two I posted.

I lied.

So first the moronic back story. I've always had an interest in anime, but it never really took off until I met my ex. She had a huuuuuuge interest in Anime, which was great because it gave us something in common, which was how we started talking and taking a real interest in each other. I'd buy/download a tonne and a half of Anime and we'd watch them when I went to visit. It got to a point where I'd filled an external HDD just with Anime (I'd rip the series I bought and then send them on to her).

Unfortunately, as a result of this, when the inevitable knife through the back came I stupidly formatted my HDD, thinking I never wanted anything to do with something which had been such a huge part of my becoming so close to her.

So now I feel like a bloody moron. Fast forward to today and I've picked up again on my interest in Anime, except that I only have a handful of series which I wrote to disc. A lot of my old haunting grounds have disappeared since the Megaupload situation so I no longer have a central source for finding out new, and old, series and downloading them if they haven't been licensed here yet. Amazon is okay for buying, but not so good for just browsing to find new stuff.

To the point of my post: anyone have any suggestions? Either for series to look out for or a good source for finding unlicensed stuff.

I'll take anything really. I watch anything from futuristic mecha to school romance & comedy, and everything in between. Not a fan of martial arts series, but I'll try anything once, unless it has Bleach, Naruto or Inuyasha in its title. Shakugan no Shana and Nadesico are two of my favourites, if that gives any indication.

A Couple of ME3 Videos
posted 3/20/2012 11:32:46 AM

So I told myself I'd only use this blog for writing about actual events and such which actually interest me, and may have relevance in our mutual hobby, i.e. my last two posts.

However, I wanted to post these two music videos. I don't particularly like the music, but the videos themselves are awesome and really well made.

On a side note, I'm quickly losing respect for a lot of the "give us a new ending" people. I'm all for making a stand and trying to make people listen, but by spamming a really good video with "REMIX THE ****ING ENDING" is really pathetic.

Not to mention the 400+ dislikes on the first video- disliked purely out of spite over the endings. The video is really well made and deserves all of the praise it gets. The fact that it wasn't even made by BioWare just makes it worse.