My Summer & 'The Clincher'

WELL. All my exams are FINISHED. Finally, I am FREEEEEEEEEE. After nearly missing my English exam, sitting my Philosophy exam with uncertainty but hope, and doing my Sociology exam with my eye on the prize, I could finally walk home bravely and chill out knowing everything would be alright. Ever since June 30, I've been just playing xbox, watching anime/ movies/ tv shows, and reading manga. It's also given me a chance to hang out with friends and do some stuff. Like Danson Festival was pretty darn awesome => Annnnd, I got to play Killzone 2 on my friend's PS3. With an HDMI hooked in, it looked REALLY impressive. At the moment, I'm waiting for prom which I think is gonna be quite good. I'm yet to see of course how it's all gonna go. Summer so far has been GREAT. And I'm sure it can only get better ]=>

Out of inspiration from a friend, and because I'm taking a break from Soul Eater, I decided to make a new AMV. Well, GMV anyway. I thought I'd make a BlazBlue one since I had been wanting to for a while, and I used 'The Clincher' by Chevelle as the music. I downloaded a new video player called 'Video spin' which was...pretty good actually. Simple and easy to use, and the quality was near HD. But for some RIDICULOUS and UNSEEN reason, when I made the video it had a section which was rawly jittery. I ended up uploading it anyway, which took a WHILE and the video looked ok. But it bothered me too much =/ So after a long day yesterday, I decided to sit down and have a crack at it again. After thorough and seriously appreciated help from a friend, I managed to fix up what was wrong using another program. There were SOOOO many technical hitches, and this situation reminded me of an issue I'm currently having in my social life. It truly seemed like I this final attempt was 'the clincher'. After 1 internet connection screw up, and about 5 good hours, the upload was done. And...it looks perfect. I will proudly say I am confident in what I've made. I suppose it won't be very popular or amazing to some, but I can rest easy knowing I've made a pretty cool video =>

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ic6Us23C8
Feel free to watch/like/comment and so on.

Anyway, on to the next one. A NEW CHALLENGE AWAITS

E3 and F.E.A.R

Hey y'all. Had my first exam this week, and it went pretty well. Knew everything I had to, and wrote as much as I could. That done, it was time to focus on E3!!! OMGOODNESS, E3 was the absolute STUFF. SOOOO many good games announced, that I doubt i could remember them all. From Ghost Recon Future Soldier to Kinect to Killzone 3 to Xbox 360 Slim. So much happened, and man alive am I glad I was able to watch all of it live. With a really good friend, that is ;) & Others of course. Can't forget about you all => So yeah, E3 2010 absolutely blew me away, announcing new games that will definitely raise the bar in gaming entertainment. I might be only able to get one of them in the next year or so, but I'll cherish it forever.

During the day, I did several things on different days. Went to a friend's house and watched movies and stuff, talked to peoplez and played tons of xbox. I finally got around to playing F.E.A.R 2, and yes it was kinda scary, but it was a fantastic FPS experience. Start to finish. That said, I played F.E.A.R 1 afterwards and...I aint gonna lie, didn't like it as much. It was fun definitely, creepy, SCARY, challenging and ultimately a good experience. However, it just didn't feel right for me, especially after having played 2. I personally believe that F.E.A.R 2 is an all around improved experience. I don't wanna get into details, I just feel that F.E.A.R 1 was somewhat lacking, good in itself, but lacking. Oh well, regardless they're two amazing games that I'm glad I now own.

Well, it's time for a new week. I have 2 exams, and I'll do what I can. HERE WE GO!!!!!!!

My 18th & The End Of School & Expo

Wow. What an amazing 3 weeks it's been. There's just SO much that has happened. I want to mention my birthday first, cause it was the highlight. My actual 18th was uneventful really. I got tons of texts and facebook messages, which was great, but all I ended up doing was listening to Monoral and reading Hayate No Gotoku =/ I didn't get a present from my parents, which was understandable because they were paying for the party at the Chinese restaurant. I was really grateful for the birthday messages obviously; I got over 100 on just that day!!! I went to Manga club, wearing my '18 Today' badge and they even sang Happy Birthday, courtesy of brother ;) Haha. I played my first game of pool later on, mysteriously winning the game with the help of Kieran. So not too much happened, but it was a good day. Then, there was Saturday. My gosh, so many people showed up; thanks guys ;) I was so happy to see everyone that made it, and a few others as well. I got SO many cards and presents that I couldn't believe it!!!! And I especially loved Odin and Josh's dinosaur card =) Suffice to say, thanks to both gifts and money I got, i've managed to get every game i've wanted lately; Pure, F.E.A.R 2, Dark Sector, Halo 3, COD4, Stimulus AND Resurgence Packages for MW2, and of course the FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC BlazBlue =) =) =) I'm just so happy that I cannot BELIEVE IT. Also, I'm yet to get FFXIII and F.E.A.R. I'm so grateful for how much all my friends care; being there for me, supporting me and of course giving me gifts/ cards.

On another note, I'm out of school now. Beths Grammar School 6th Form is OVER. It has been a fantastic journey, but it's now onto exams and then UNIVERSITY. There's still a few details to sort out, but that's for when the time comes. The last day was pretty fun. I dressed ridiculously: in a white hoody and matching track suit pants, wearing my necklaces and beanie. The day comprised of music, food, drink, talking to teachers one last time and clapping LOADS for everyone and everything. During the awards ceremony for the Yearbook votes, I won 'Friend Of The Year'. I was so surprised, but I was glad to win something. Afterwards, everyone headed over to a pub to hang out and though I don't drink, it was fun hanging out with everyone and going back and forth. It truly dawned on me at that time that I'd never see many of those people again...So much left unsaid, but there's nothing I can do. Later on, with JT I went to play some SSB Brawl with a few other friends; I got to use Kirby to give YA AIDS. Haha. It was a fun day, which prepared for something much bigger which was of course...

The LONDON MCM EXPO 2010!!!! What a DAYYYY. My Ghost cosplay was a PHENOMENAL SUCCESS. I mean seriously, I couldn't walk for more than 2 minutes without someone saying 'Hey look, it's Ghost' or 'Look, G36C!' or 'Hey, you're supposed to be dead!!' It was all so amazing to be so popular. Many came up to me to chat and/or take a picture. Be it young kids, professional photographers, teenage guys and girls, or even a few older people. I even met 2 other Ghosts!!! The attention was something i've never had before, and quite frankly I'll never be that important again. I think...i won't cosplay anymore. Ghost was just too great. Even at 6pm as I was leaving, a guy hugged me and said 'Man you're so awesome, you didn't deserve to die' *sigh* It was so great to be someone as cool as Ghost for a day instead of me. I don't want to cosplay anymore cause it sucks up a lot of money, Ghost was TOO awesome, and I'd like to just hang with friends and check out the expo next time. But regardless of who cares less, the weather, or perhaps my feelings at the end of the day, May Expo 2010 was as greats as it's always been.


SO in the end; I've hung out with friends, I've played games, I've cosplayed, I've turned 18, I've said goodbye to school, and now i'm tackling exams. Aston Uni, here i come =>

Mother's 50th & Friendship

Well, another week down, and it's gotten REALLY hot. My mom turned 50 on Saturday, and I did my best to make her feel appreciated by making a photo slide show on our TV while playing 'Atonement' from FFXIII in the background. Both my parents quite like it. Much better than getting a card => Today, the church went food crazy as usual, and my mom received alot of gifts and a big cake. I handled drinks, as usual, and surprisingly alot were left over. I even got to keep my own stash, and i got a new shiny silver opener!! OH YEAH. Haha. My family's so old. Both my parents are now 50, my sister's 20, and i'll be 18 soon. Wow.

Anywayz, while watching Higurashi, i've noticed that i central element is that of friendship, like many other anime. As cheesy as it sounds, it focuses on 'the power of friendship' pretty much. However, it doesn't do it in a cliche way, but rather engages you with Keichii being the strong leader, and all each of the characters do to try and help each other and solve problems. Simultaneously, I managed to help a friend of mine by giving advice for the problems they had. It's been a while since i've done so, heh. To think, there are so many friends suffering, so many people agonizing in solitude, feeling that no one can reach out to them. I think that helping friends can make a difference as long as you're willing to try, to let other people in, and to stand up and try to change your situation. I don't know where i'd be without my friends. True, clashes do occur between friendship groups, and at times it feels that everyone's against you. But sometimes, it takes real maturity to rise above that and realize that people are people, and there's no reason to distrust them. Unless they're untrustworthy, haha. Oh well.

1 more week to go before Expo!!! OH HECK YEAH. So excited.

Ninja Blade & Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

From one hack n slash to the next; after completing Bayonetta, i decided to play Ninja Blade. Yes, it's a mix between Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry and God of War, but it's a pretty fun game. To an extent. It starts off ok, as it's heavily based on QTE. But it literally EXPLODES with QTE as the game goes on. It's fun, but it got REALLY annoying by the end. To the point that despite how much funner the game got later on, it was equally annoying and I won't play it again. An ok experience though. BUUUT, the greatest part of it wasn't the hack and slashy bits, nor was it the QTE. You could CUSTOMIZE THE COLOURS of the main character. So basically, customize your ninja. I made him totally black, with shiny white armor, a blue mask and red scarf. I thought he looked quite sick, especially when I did ninja run; some LUDICROUS SPEED you can do just by holding right trigger, and it goes on FOREVER. I thought it was an interesting addition to a game that probably would have been slightly uninteresting otherwise. Although being able to use a large blade as a surfboard was PRETTY FRICKIN AWESOME.

In other news; i decided to check out Higurashi, aka, 'When They (Cicadas) Cry'. WHAT an anime. It's not necessarily a powerhouse, or one of the most popular. But it is quite entertaining, with enough clubbings to go around. Literally, clubbings. I mean, i can't even explain all that happens. But let's just say there's something awfully twisted going on in the village of Hinamizawa. Pretty dark and pretty interesting. I'm on series 2 now, and I'm yet to see how they explain things.

Only 2 weeks left now: HEAVEN OR HELL - Duel 2 - Let's Rock!!

Bayonetta & Episode Two

What a surprise. After playing the demo, first at Expo and then on my xbox, i thought Bayonetta would be an ok, but under-appreciated game, like many other hack and slashes i know. But instead, i find out that it's got SO many good reviews and true enough, the game is FREAKIN amazing. I didn't expect that. Playing through it, i seriously think it's pretty much Devil May Cry 5: Viewtiful Joe 3. It has Hideki Kamiya written all over it, and it's done SO well. Even the bits that weren't hack and slash made the package all the more entertaining. And the GRAPHICS absolutely blew me away. SOOOOO many cutscenes, SO many big bosses and boss battles, and SOOO much Bayonetta ;) Although, i'm not as into it as the friend i borrowed it from, but it is a pretty amazing game. DMC still has a place in my heart, even though this is game is better than DMC4. I'm really glad i played it, because it served a very, VERY good distraction.

Finally receiving the Orange Box from my friend, i managed to play and finish Half Life 2: Episode Two. It was good. Heh. Come on, it's Valve, could it be not good? It's more of the same that made 2 and episode One good. As in; FPS shoot-outs, puzzle solving, survival horror, and a mysterious story that unravels before you. It was probably the most action packed out of the 3 games so far, but no really the hardest (despite the end battle which really tried my patience ¬_¬). All in all, it was a good experience, and i can't wait for episode Three. Or perhaps HL3.

Anyway, 3 weeks left of 6th from. HERE'S THE CLINCHER

Chevelle & Yearbook Poll

I decided to re-listen to the entire discography for Chevelle, one of my favourite bands which are acutally kind of under-rated/ under-exposed, and I don't know anyone out of my friends who has heard of them. I think they're quite awesome, and their songs date quite far back. The song that got me into them was 'Send The Pain Bellow'. I'm not sure when i first heard that, but i only remembered the chorus which was "much like suffocating". Yes, i know this all sounds very...emo. But Chevelle is far from that. They're kind of like energetic hard-rock with alot of bass, meaningful and ambiguous lyrics as well as some slower songs. Going through their songs again and i only gained a few more favourites, but i decided to make a playlist of my top songs from all the albums. Admittedly though, 'The Clincher' is still my current favourite. 'Send...' got me into them, and now this is the one i usually think of and listen to when i'm in a 'chevelle' mood. Although thinking about them and how their albums are organized made me paranoid about a few inner issues I had, I still managed to thoroughly enjoy the band yet again =>

This week, we received a 'Yearbook Poll' full of questions regarding out student body, and the answers would appear in the Yearbook when we get it. Some questions were reasonable and cool to think about (although quite tricky to pick one person!!) such as 'best looking male', 'best looking female', 'biggest joker' or 'most legendary ginger'. Hard ones to answer were, at least for me, 'most likely to kill a joke' and 'friend of the year'. But by far, the one question that really got every was 'Rear of the year'; basically asking us who had the nicest butt. Now THAT spawned some interesting conversations, all good fun though. Apparently, i got some votes for 'most likely to become prime minister' and 'friend of the year'. Prime minster? Heck no. A certain man i know fits the description MUCH better, haha. Gettin votes for the friend one was quite nice, cause honestly i doubt I coulda got votes for anything else.

In any case, i only have ONE MORE MONTH of actual school left. This means revision and essay practice. After that, Expo and my birthday!!! Then of course, the exams. LET'S DO THIS