I finally got around to reading Pride and Prejudice and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a few weeks back. I thought the original was entertaining and enjoyable. I found myself rooting for Mr. Darcy about midway through and he was probably my favorite character.

I'm glad I read the original before reading the zombified version. I don't think it's necessary to do so, but I believe a little bit of the enjoyment comes from the way Seth Grahame-Smith reworks some of the characters' storylines. If you didn't like the original, then chances are you won't like this version. The overall plot remains the same. I think Seth was clever in some parts and other times the zombies felt forced, but overall it flowed nicely. He also pokes some fun at the story itself. If you like zombies and Pride and Prejudice, then I can recommend this.

On another note, after watching the first two seasons of True Blood over the summer, I've gotten the itch to read the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I've got the first eight books on the way from Amazon and I'm looking forward to it.

Apparently Magna Carta 2 has been announced and a preview trailer released. I have no idea if the plot follows anything from the first game, since I did not recognize anyone in the trailer. Although it seems like the art style is going to be the same. The first Magna Carta was a chore to play, but I have a feeling I'll end up playing the sequel anyways. Hopefully they'll make the combat less tedious and repetitive.

I wanted to talk a little bit about my first cosplay experience at Tekko. I really enjoyed it. I got to cosplay as Camus from Detroit Metal City. Camus is the drummer of the band and is generally a quiet guy, however, when he speaks it is usually vulgar and perverted. I'll admit that Camus isn't my favorite character, I like the main character Negishi, because he sort of reminds me of myself. Anyway, DMC is awesome and I highly recommend the anime and manga. Back to the cosplay though, it was cool to get by stopped by people and to have our pictures taken. We also did a skit during the masquerade. I somehow managed to get a judge's award which had nothing to do with craftsmanship or performance. After they announced best in show, I definitely felt awkward since our group didn't win an "actual" award. Especially considering, I was wearing mostly my own clothes, except for the vest. Melissa made the vest. She spent two hours putting on our face makeup and she made all of the other costumes in our group. I was disappointed in the judges not recognizing all that effort. I know our skit was probably teetering on the edge of maybe being too offensive, but I thought that at least we'd be awarded craftsmanship. I also realize you can't win everytime, but I was disappointed. Like Trubie said though in his post, we did get a few people to discover DMC and that is AWESOME. I had two lines in the skit, which technically was the same line, "Boobies". After the skit and walking back to the hotel room, I think I had at least 8 or 9 people, shout "Boobies" at me. I found this hilarious. I also had probably the most awkward moment of the evening waiting on the elevator to the room while still in costume. I was approached by a girl and she wanted a picture of me pretend groping her. Of course, I declined, I'd only consider pretend groping my friends (if they asked), Ricky, and inflatable dolphins.
( Alright, some pictures of me in costume and some group pics behind the cut )
Enough about cosplay. Fantasy Flight Games released a preview article on the Innsmouth Expansion and it looks like it's going to be really freaking cool. Every investigator is going to have story cards that give them an individualized mission. I think this will really help in games of 5 or more people, where it seems like some people just don't have anything to do. If used, you really can't ignore the story cards, because it looks like the effects of failing the mission are going to be fairly harsh. I'm definitely looking forward to Innsmouth.

For those that don't know, this weekend at Tekko, I will be making my cosplay debut. I'm pretty excited about it. There is one thing though, the character doesn't have facial hair and I normally have facial hair. Can you see where this is going? This past weekend I decided to go ahead and shave in preparation. I honestly don't remember the last time I was clean-shaven.

If you've ever wondered what a John Wyatt looks like clean-shaven, there are pictures behind the cut! Be warned though, it may be too much for your mind to handle.
( The Cut )

I went to Barnes and Noble Saturday to pick up some books. I ended up getting a couple more than I had intended.

• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Pride and Prejudice
• Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Treasury
• The Gunslinger Born (graphic novel?)

I picked up The Picture of Dorian Gray mainly because it was referenced heavily in one of the stories in a book I'm in the process of reading and it got me interested in the story of Dorian Gray. I kind of have a basic knowledge of what the novel is about, but I wanted to get it and read it.

One of the assignments in my 11th grade english class was to do a report on an author. I think we were randomly assigned one, but I can't quite remember. Anyway, I ended up with Isaac Asimov and I thought he was pretty cool. The Science Fiction Treasury was bargained price, so I picked it up. Basically, it's a collection of stories that Asimov finds to be some of the best of Science Fiction.

I really like Stephen King's The Dark Tower story. He wrote the seventh and final book a few years ago. I guess he and Marvel got in touch with one another and they decided to do some graphic novels based in The Dark Tower universe. The Gunslinger Born is the first and I had been meaning to check it out for awhile now. I was delighted in the fact that the first story they decided to do was my favorite part of the series. It is the main story from Wizard and Glass (book 4) and also the first book I read in the series. My mom had bought it and it was just lying around. I picked it up on a Friday in 1998 and finished it that weekend. I was hooked. The story is about Roland The Gunslinger and his first mission as a new gunslinger and his first love. Surprisingly, Stephen King wrote a pretty good love story and a pretty good western. The Gunslinger Born does a good job of condensing the story, though it does miss some of the characterization of the side characters. The artwork is really good too. I recommend it.

I've also been watching some of the Universal classic monster movies, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman. These movies hold up really well. They aren't necessarily scary, but they are entertaining. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney jr. are really good actors and they played their roles great. I think my favorites so far are Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Boris Karloff does a superb job as Frankenstein's Monster. I highly recommend these films.

I stumbled upon this a little bit ago. Now, I've never read Pride and Prejudice, but I find this intriguing. How can something with zombies be bad? :) I think I might pick up Pride and Prejudice and read it before I get the zombified version. 

Speaking of parodies, I wonder how many of you on my friends list have read "Bored of The Rings"? I recommend it.

We've barely played Kingsport Horror and Black Goat of The Woods and now Fantasy Flight Games has announced the new expansion. :)

Oh well, I love the game and it will only add to the variety of ways we can play. I'm looking forward to it.

A week from today Street Fighter IV will be released and I have a feeling it will be glorious. I'm sure flexei , t3h_awesome and myself will end up playing it sometime next week together and possibly playing it so much our eyes implode. I picked up the Madcatz official Street Fighter IV fight-pad yesterday. It took some getting used to, but it plays fairly well. It still isn't the Sega Saturn controller though. I'll probably get one of the arcade sticks at some point, though I prefer the d-pad with Street Fighter.

Ah, but before that, there is this weekend at Katsucon. I have a feeling it will be a fun-filled weekend with lots of alcohol and good times. If Ricky somehow ends up in a full black body suit and matching mask, then It has the potential to be the most horror-filled con I've been to. You will be able to hear the cries of children and con-goers for miles.

Let me tell you, I have seen this spectacle for myself and it is at once the most terrifying and amazing thing you'll ever see. There is no forgetting that image. A few years later, you'll feel all safe and warm as you head for bed. A deep sleep comes over you and a dream begins.  You're walking down a long, crowded hallway. You hear a scream and your heart starts to race. Looking around you now find yourself alone. Mumbling sounds and footsteps echo through the hallway. Around a corner a masked head appears. Slowly, it begins to come into full view, it bumbles down the hallway and you find yourself unable to turn your eyes away at the maddening sight. With its inhuman movements the thing inches closer and closer. The creature then lets out a blood-curdling screech and you realize there is no escape. It pounces at you and then you wake up. In a pool of cold sweat, you realize it was only a nightmare, but you will not sleep for weeks after.

Just know that Ricky will be my roommate pretty soon. I hope the body suit will not become a regular occurrence at our apartment.

From YouTube Live:

I had a choice of two events I could have attended this past weekend. My 10-year high school reunion or Otakon 2008. I knew about Otakon and had already decided to go before I knew about the reunion. Lately, I've had this policy of maximizing my fun potential. There were people I wanted to see that I had not for quite some time, but a few of the people I know weren't going to the reunion or were unsure. I probably still would have fun, but it would have been up in the air. It was going to cost probably quite a bit of money as well. Going to Otakon, I knew I'd have fun hanging out with my friends. There was no doubt in my mind and I was right. I'm glad I picked Otakon.

I would guesstimate that Otakon 2008 was around my 13th or 14th convention. The last two cons (Anime North, Colossal Con) weren't that great as far as the actual conventions themselves were concerned. Hanging out with everyone at those 2 cons was amazing fun, which kind of balanced things out for me. Honestly, I was not expecting much out of Otakon. I was blown away to say the least, it was such a huge convention. However, unlike Anime North where everything was spread out and not easily accessible (as far as I'm concerned), everything was in one central area. The dealer's room was enormous and I got a cool Luffy plushie. The game room was amazing and I got to play a LOT of Street Fighter Alpha 3 for the first time in ages. Ricky and I sat through "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" on Saturday before the masquerade. I'll be looking to pick that one up when it hits DVD.

Helping out at the masquerade was fun as well. It was a real treat to see Trubie and Melissa and everyone else so excited about winning best in show and it was nice to share their moment with them. After seeing how much work everyone put into it, they really deserved it. I enjoy being around creative people and seeing what they come up with. I have a lot of friends who are creative :) Ricky's party was cool. I enjoyed taking pictures of everyone in their Tales of Symphonia costumes on Sunday. if you can't tell by this post, I really had fun.

It looks like we'll be going to Otakon again next year and I hope we do. Hopefully, Trubie and Melissa won't be too busy during the day Saturday and I can get Trubie to play some Street Fighter Alpha 3 in the game room. BOOSH!

Boosh!!!!

After getting back from ColossalCon, I got a call about 3:29 from my sister. My uncle Gary died today. My mom's brother. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer back in 2003. He's the only person I've personally known to survive cancer that long.

R.I.P. Uncle Gary

Looks like Wii Ware is getting a new "8-bit" Megaman game according to this article. Hopefully this will entice other developers to do the same sort of thing with other series.

Yeah, apparently someone has been making a sequel to The Lost Boys. here's a link. Not quite sure what to think of this. The Lost Boys is one of my favorite movies ever.  This "sequel" does have both Coreys, so at least it has some connection to the original and isn't just someone cashing in on the Lost Boys name alone. I'll watch this out of curiosity, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I don't know what this is, but it is definitely horrible and slightly funny.

Apparently Harmonix is going to start releasing albums next week. Link here  First one up is Judas Priest's Screaming for Vengeance. I've listened to a few songs from that album including the title track. I imagine that most of the songs are going to be very hard for the most part on all the instruments and vocals. I would suggest previewing the songs before purchasing. Though, "You've got another thing comin" was probably my favorite song on GH1, I'll probably get that song at least.

I just got through watching The Mist.

I had every intention of playing Dead Rising and/or watching some movies yesterday evening.  Instead I found myself playing Picross on the DS for, I don't know, about 5 hours. I bought Picross because Trubie gushed about it and recommended it. I only meant to "try it out" last night. Picross reminds of Sudoku in a way, but I find it more enjoyable. It is taking every ounce of willpower I have to not start playing it right now. It's worse than Guitar Hero as far as addictiveness goes. Maybe I'll play Zack and Wiki after Dead Rising, that is if Picross doesn't destroy my soul.

I beat Odin Sphere tuesday night. An amazing game, the art is just fantastic. There is slow down throughout the game, but it only gets to the point of almost unplayable against two of the bosses.

Over the past two years I've delved into the world of anime. I've enjoyed pretty much everything so far, except for a few series (I'm looking your way Full Metal Alchemist). In fact, I would say there are two series which I think rank as some of my favorite stories ever.

One Piece: I've really enjoyed One Piece so far. The characters are awesome. The story is paced fairly well. It looks good. Pirates are awesome. My favorite character is Luffy, mainly because of his loyalty and dedication to the rest of his crew.

Macross 7: I just finished watching this a couple of nights ago. I like everything about this show. All the characters are likable. The action is intense and the story is paced well too. The music is extremely catchy. I would say "Holy Lonely Light" is probably one of the best songs ever. My favorite character is Basara. He's awesome all around.

There aren't too many young actors that I respect and I think Heath Ledger was on the verge of earning it for The Joker in The Dark Knight. It is sad that his life had to end young with so much going for him.

R.I.P. Heath Ledger