2020.05.12 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 42

What do you get if you multiply six by nine?

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

They’re releasing an HD remaster of the first 2 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games in september. THPS 3 was the best one in my opinion, but it also still plays just fine and it’s not that hard to get GCs or PS2s running on modern setups. This is pretty cool. The announcement says that “many songs from the original soundtrack” will be featured. This seems like it would be the hardest part of doing this and probably the reason it hasn’t been done before now. It would be a nightmare trying to license all that music again. I just hope they got Superman by Goldfinger.

My brother brought to my attention this unused song from the SNES Flintstones game this morning. (There’s a sentence for you). Holy shit, it is a banger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPlDHLuJLmk&feature=share

Currently Playing: That fucking Flintstones jam.
Currently Reading: still 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Jules Verne

2020.05.11 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 41

I introduced one of the tiny anarchists who live in my house to Mario Party on the weekend. It’s important to teach your children that everything in life is random bullshit and nowhere near as fun as it probably should be.

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

I watched PLAYING WITH FIRE with the kids yesterday. It’s the latest film in the rich tradition of big strong pro-wrestlers being saddled with small children and being forced to care for them and along the way learning valuable lessons about themselves. Your enjoyment of it will likely depend on your tolerance for that particular sub-genre. I found it cute, occasionally pretty funny. I called literally every single beat along the way, but I see that less as a damnation of the film and more that it knew EXACTLY what it was and what beats it’s supposed to hit and hit them all well. Plus, John Cena does the “you can’t see me” thing with his hands at one point.

Just read that we lost Martin Pasko. His work doesn’t get the praise it deserves. He wrote or edited and revitalized many of your favorite DC comics and was co-writer of the canonical best Batman film: MASK OF THE PHANTASM. A true giant of comics and animation. RIP

Currently Reading: 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Jules Verne

2020.05.08 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 40

We’re at the “I’m going to watch Naruto from the beginning” stage of quarantine.

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

This might be the isolation speaking? but… I’m thinkin’ about trying my hand at painting miniatures? I bet the bride’s got brushes I could use, I just need to order some paints? and a miniature what to paint? Do they make robot miniatures? I don’t really care about Orcs and shit, but I’d paint a mecha all day.

There is also the “painting and weathering some of the Gundam models I have” option. That might be fun too. I’d have to clean off this desk and probaby get a better light… ooh but then maybe I could also set up m’webcam to stream it. This is starting to sound more like one of those projects where I have a great time getting everything set up and then once it’s ready the actual project falls by the wayside because what I REALLY wanted to do was sort out the supplies and whatnot. We’ll see, I guess.

Very little to report this week in the way of any sort of READING ICCULUSNESS so not going to bother with a post. I’m about halfway through 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, it’s fun. I have also read some manga: Vol 2 of CRYING FREEMAN and the first volume of BLACK CANVAS: MY SO-CALLED ARTISTS JOURNEY. Both are great. Expecting a bunch of books in the mail next week so maybe next friday we’ll have more to discuss.

Currently Playing; I’m watching Naruto, so just the theme from Naruto I guess.
Currently Reading: I just told you that.

2020.05.07 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 39

Those next gen XBOX games sure do look like current gen XBOX games, don’t they?

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

I ordered a baggie of elastic bands for the bride to bundle up some of her new stuff for her etsy shop (which has a url and I’m going to find out what it is and tell you about it some day) but mistakenly sent them to the office and not to the hovel. I’m mostly surprised I haven’t done that more often.

The tiny anarchists who live in my house have discovered Pokemon Go and are now patrolling the house seeking out AR monsters at which to fling virtual pokeballs. It’s an improvement from their usual antics of patrolling the house seeking out the bride and I to fling any and everything to hand at. And the cost? Why only a live feed of their GPS coordinates to a giant shitty corporation! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!

If they could read I’d buy them Switch lite’s and Sword and Shield. At least then they could play an actual game instead of the dumbshittery that is Pokemon Go. Oh, well… I need to lay down.

Currently Playing: Heinali – “A Wave Crashes”

Currently Reading: 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Jules Verne

2020.05.06 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 38

I felt lousy this morning and went back to bed after about 2 hours today and am only just now getting spun back up again at 4:00. Gonna be a long night, I think.

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

For some reason I am feeling like I want to rewatch Wrestlemania 17. I’ve seen that show many times since seeing it for the first time live in a movie theatre with a bunch of other screaming, excited adolescents, but I feel the urge to see it again… Have thusfar resisted walking over to the shelf with the dvd on it, but suspect I’ll only be able to hold out for so long.

At the time I remember the TLCII match being the most amazing thing in the universe. When I’ve revisited it later I find it VERY hard to watch. There is basically no psychology, it’s a giant stunt show and the stunts and bumps the wrestlers take are HORRIFIC. There are moments in this match seared into my memory but seeing them again they’re always more terrifying than I remember. The fact that any of these men are still walking is incredible (though at least 2 of them had to retire early due to concussions or neck issues). Don’t. Do. These. Matches.

Currently Playing: Machinefabriek – “Stillness Soundtracks”

Currently Reading: 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Jules Verne

2020.05.05 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 37

My Asuka Neon Genesis: Evangelion Funko Pop arrived today. So now I’m a guy who buys anime toys? This seems like it could be very dangerous. Fortunately there is no Misato funko pop and there’s no way I’m putting Shinji on my desk, I mean comeonwearecivilizedhereimeancomeonhahahahaahahaha… Maybe a body pillow?

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

I built a little Spirited Away puzzle but it was missing a piece and I’ve been apoplectic about it for a day now. The worst part is I’m not sure if it was truly missing a piece when I unwrapped the package or whether this is the work of the tiny anarchists who live in my house. We may never know for sure. Thankfully my friend Michael used photoshop to insert the missing piece for me so I got to look at so my brain would stop melting! Thanks, Maggle!

Jigsaw puzzles are great, but for a long time I couldn’t do them. Years ago, before my medications were all better balanced and whatnot doing a jigsaw puzzle would send my OCD into overdrive and I’d sit there, steam billowing out my ears, all muscles positively vibrating with tension, for HOURS until the last piece was finished and then I’d collapse. It was really sad because I liked doing puzzles in the before times, the times before my myriad mental illnesses all exploded at once. It was so nice to test the waters with this little Ghibli puzzle and discover I’m in a mental state that allows me to actually find the relaxation and fun in doing puzzles again… at least until that piece was gone. Thanks again to Maggle for solving that one.

Puzzles, Model Kits… maybe next I’ll get into paining miniatures! You can never have too many stupid hobbies that take up all your space/money/bride’s patience!

Currently Playing; Stevie Ray Vaughan – “Couldn’t Stand the Weather”
Currently Reading: 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Jules Verne

2020.05.04 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 36

Remember the Galaxy Rangers? That was the best show…

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow!

Today in “get some better problems, Joey” I ordered the first 5 volumes of PARASYTE by Hitoshi Iwaaki but only volumes 1, 4 and 5 have arrived. I wanna reeeeeeeeeeeead. Now I’m stuck reading one of the other 7,000,000 unread books and comics in this house.

It’s now been long enough that I need to clean up my home office area. Weird how that happened… I’ve got stacks of papers, manga, sound equipment, synthesizers, mixers, computer equipment, office supplies etc etc and they’re now being joined by anime funko pops. Once the Gundams start nesting you know Spring has arrived.

Currently Playing: The Sorority – Pledge

Currently Reading: 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Jules Verne

Read Icculus Goes to Monte Carlo

Good week! 4 books and 1 manga.

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, Diana Wynne Jones
CASTLE IN THE AIR, Diana Wynne Jones
HOUSE OF MANY WAYS, Diana Wynne Jones
IS IT WRONG TO TRY TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON? VOL. 1 LIGHT NOVEL, Fujino Omori
GIGANT, VOL. 1, Hiroya Oku

The moving castle trilogy was 2/3s excellent and 1/3 fine. The first book is a delightful fairy-tale that I adored every page of. Its sequel, while not quite reaching the heights of its predecessor was also a blast and a fun riff on the tales of the Arabian Nights. HOUSE OF MANY WAYS however was a let down. I never really cared about the plot and actively disliked the protagonist. Also, its ties to the characters of the first 2 books were not very interesting and felt like in the years since she’d written them last Jones sort of forgot how to write them? I dunno. I’m interested to read more of her books though because I LOVED the first 2 and while I wasn’t a huge fan of the final volume it was still a decent enough fantasy.

So. Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon? We still don’t know the answer. I read this purely as some junkfood trash to pick at because I liked the anime. I can say that I enjoyed reading it, but it’s also the most I’ve ever enjoyed a book that was as HORRIBLY written as this. I don’t know how much is the translation and how much is the book itself… but, yeah. Just utter dogshit. I sort of knew that going in, but I was still surprised just how bad it was. I will probably read the next one when I next need a very stupid book I can read when I’m too tired to even bother TRYING to spin up my brain.

GIGANT is wild. There’s no way to describe it without sounding like a degenerate? This dude makes friends with his favorite porn star? and she has massive breasts? and then she gets a weird, mysterious power to grow really big like Super Chief in the old Hanna Barberra cartoons? The art is amazing and even though the premise is… out there? I really liked it and am a fan of all of Oku’s previous work so I preordered the next volume.

2020.05.01 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 35

Everything is on fire and I hurt my neck and wrist in a semi-related, cushion-punching incident.

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

Counting down the seconds until I can leave this chair and go lie down. It’s been a week, ladies and gentlemen! This is tough all over, I know, but this is my blog so I’m gonna whine on it…

I started another book about Miyazaki: MIYAZAKIWORLD by Susan Napier. So far it’s great, much more the type of book I was looking for when I read the Helen McCarthy one. That book was fine, but was clearly written at a time where Miyazaki had to be explained to people. This one came out post-WIND RISES so has no need to bury the lede and can get right into the stuff I want instead of recapping movies I’ve seen 35 times each. In the last 8 days I’ve watched 8 of the 11 Miyazaki features. By tonight that number will be 9. I haven’t rewatched Totoro on this journey yet, but I’ve seen that movie roughly monthly since I had children (often weekly and sometimes daily) so it’s less pressing for me. The other one I haven’t rewatched recently is Castle of Cagliostro, mostly because it’s the only one I haven’t got on blu ray. I had a dvd once upon a time, but I think I foolishly parted with it in the great “oh, shit my wife is pregnant I gotta sell some of this shit and buy furniture” purge of 2012. The second I can get the blu for a reasonable sum I will correct this error.

Currently Playing: ZANDAR ZAN – “HDK 18 † Thug life in Tsargol”

Currently Reading: MIYAZAKIWORLD, Susan Napier

2020.04.30 Dispatches From the Wasteland – Entry 34

Watched the original OP for One Piece 5 times this morning with one of the tiny anarchists who live in my house. We’re cool guys with cool interests.

Greetings from my hovel on the shores of the Bow.

For the last week and change I’ve been rewatching all Miyazaki’s films. So far I’ve done Nausicaa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky and Howl’s Moving Castle. Today is Kiki’s Delivery Service and tomorrow will probably be Porco Rosso. I really need to get a bluray of Castle of Cagliostro as I cannot for the life of me figure out where the hell I put my old DVD copy.

Considering wearing a big red bow on my head like Kiki from KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE. I can see no downside to this and expect it would only improve my life. Not really a cat guy, but I’d get one if he had the voice of Phil Hartman (yes, I like to watch the dubs. Shut up).

Tomorrow, bandcamp is doing another one of their days where they waive their share of the profits of all sales. Going to spend some time trawling through the wishlist and seeing about an order.

Currently Playing: GNOLL – “HDK 38 † Zargo’s Lords”

Currently Reading: HOUSE OF MANY WAYS, Diana Wynne Jones