My karma will run over your dogma.
Fair warning, just a few casual post-midnight ramblings.....
I finished my first play-through of Jeanne D'Arc, and I was rather pleased with it. I love tactical RPG's, and this was a dang good one, I'm telling you now. It also marks the first game I've completed on my PSP (yes, poor deprived little old me, took me this long to get one). I'll probably tinker with a second round of Jeanne, then next up will be Manhunt 2. . . a genre I'm pretty klutzy at but good golly I love it, anyway. My review for D'Arc is up - if you are so inclined take a gander at it, feedback is always appreciated. This is probably the first time I promoted one of my reviews on a blog, but the 'Spouse pointed out to me a while back that I probably need to mention them as I do them. I feel sort of silly doing it (Hey! Looky me! I be reviewin'!) but it would be nice to have some recommendations on them. Considering I rely more on the reviews YOU guys put out more so than 'official' ones, I guess I should help spread the word if a game's worthwhile or not. I need to put in a few for some of the older titles I have, too. I do like writing them, regardless of whether or not anybody else enjoys them - it's just good to be writing sometimes. Sort of therapeutic for me, y'know? Okay, that sounded kind of oxymoronic - I'd like feedback and recommendations, but I don't care if you like it? 
Yeah, yeah, you understood what I meant, didn't you?......
Speaking of 'official', some of you probably don't know kellymae. Why is she noteworthy? Well, she's the first friend I've known to successfully get back on GameSpot from a ban. Yep, ohhnoesssss banned. You Are Dead banned. Everyone on here has seen their fair share of moderations and bans that seemed pretty unfair, and kelly is a pretty terrific chick that got hit with an undeserved moderation. Fortunately JodyR. went to bat for her along with several other mods, and happily the ban was overturned. It's nice to see the forces of Justice and Righteousness kick in once in a while, so maybe there is a bit of good in every evil. It gave me a slight boost in my Faith In GS percentage. There's still a lot of unfairness, sure, but it's refreshing to know that when it's a genuine mistake GameSpot does come through. Thanks to everybody that helped kelly out, it meant a lot to a lot of people.
I'm looking forward to the week after the 4th of July when my entire family goes to the beach. This year, the family rented a HUMONGOUS house instead of the usual condo, which is a plus. My oldest niece and nephew inevitably show up with significant others and a passel of college buddies in tow, which usually results in a mass camp-out throughout the place. This house is three stories (with an elevator), seven bedrooms, a playroom (complete with PS2, but I think our Wii will make the trip with us) and its own pool. It's a street over from the beach, but there's a golf cart if we want to haul over any coolers, chairs or whatnot. We also celebrate the birthdays of two of my nephews and my very own SpookSpawn, who turns 7 on July 3rd (little snot missed being a 4th of July bably by about 45 minutes, too). It works out well, we combine three parties in one and the kids love having mass quantities of presents all at one time. SpookSpawn is getting Guitar Hero On Tour for her DS from us, and one of my siblings (SpookSister?) got her Dance Dance Revolution for the PS2 with the mat. YES! BURN OFF ENERGY! WEAR THAT LITTLE SPAWN OUT! Don't know where she got all that hyperkinetic energy from, not from MY side of the family! (You reading this, SpookSpouse? IT'S YOUR FAULT!!!) I still have yet to pick up the games for the boys; and thanks to all of you for the recommendations. I figured it was going to be a no-go on the Western RPG thing, but you never know until you ask. I do know someone picked up Orcs And Elves for him, so maybe that will do the trick.
My workout regime continues apace, finally started dropping some pounds. It's weird, every now & then I look down at my hands when I'm typing and I think, damn, my wrists look kind of skinny..... I have a stocky build anyway, so I didn't have any expectations of being nice and streamlined, but pairing skinny with any part of me is pretty peculiar. But the workout isn't about how I look, it's about feeling better and being healthier, anyway. I've noticed a lot of small improvements, like the fact I'm much less headachy than usual (used to be, having a headache was sort of my ground state of being). Also I'm less tired at work, a definite plus when one works nights. Not that I'm getting any more sleep during the week - four or five hours, and when the weekend rolls around I'll sleep through the whole thing! I really, REALLY need to work on that, but it's hard to get a schedule going when I'm fielding emergency calls from work (been a LOT of that lately), helping my Mom out and trying to spend time with the Spawn. Not to mention fitting in some gametime for myself! Maybe I could get myself cloned? Could the world handle two of me? Heck, could I handle another me?
Eh, I'm really starting to get stupefied, time to catch up on some more of that mysterious sleep stuff...
*hugs* Neko
Hiya, peeps!
Well, like the title says, I could use a bit of help! Two of my nephew's birthdays are coming up - one's getting a PSP, and the other one is getting a DS. The older one that's getting the PSP, I have no problems buying for because we like a lot of the same games (yay, I got somebody I can trade games with now!) but the younger one is a bit tougher. He does like Naruto and Bleach, so I'm personally planning on picking him up one of those. Thing is, I'm the Master Gaming Guru for the rest of the clueless aunts, uncles and parents of the family ("Jeanne D'Arc? Isn't that supposed to be Joan of Arc? No wonder kids are failing history...." ) and it was noted that my nephew likes playing World Of Warcraft. Sure, there's got to be something like that for that system, right? It's a GAME machine, there's bound to be....AAAAARGGGGH! I can think of plenty of J-RPG's, but is there anything more Western out there? So far, my searches have only turned up PC games. So I do what any GS member would do - BLOG! Recommendations would be very helpful; bear in mind the little beast will be turning 12.
Greatly appreciated, darlings! Neko
EDIT: I realize it's unlikely to find a Western game for the DS, but if there's a J-RPG with similar gameplay, I'll run with that, too.
Hi peeps, been a bit, eh?
Well, if some of you have checked out Spooksspouse's profile, you know BOTH of us have been AWOL. For him, he was fighting off a major flu-type bug that wasn't meshing well with some of his other health problems, which led me to pull all the overtime at work I could to make up the deficit. Luckily (or maybe NOT!) we had a new press arrive at work, which needed some new templates set up in my department (I'll spare you the details). Being that I'm the template expert, I was definitely not short on work opportunities.
Among other things, we were fortunate enough that once our stimulus check arrived, a friend of mine decided to sell his Wii - only a few months old, but he'd been unemployed for the last two months and needed the cash. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS! HALLELUJIA! I was afraid I'd have to resort to ordering one online; they have been NOWHERE to be found in the local stores when I had the money, and of course there's always two or three when you don't! So for a couple of hundred bucks, one Wii with two controllers, and 5 or 6 games (I say "5 or 6" because we GOT 5, but his sister has the Star Wars Lego game so we're still waiting on that). And since we had a bit left after catching up on expenses, I was able to splurge on ME and finally got my PSP....the Daxter pack with the memory card and Daxter game. The Family Guy vid was bequeathed to my nephew, though.....I really do NOT care for that show at all! I also purchased Jeanne D'Arc and Manhunt 2 to go with it. Sadly, I've not had the time yet to devote to playing much with it, but what spare time I have has been pulled into Jeanne D'Arc. It's been a fabulous tactical game, and there's something sort of wacky about lots of anime-type characters with French accents! I've only tinkered briefly with Manhunt - it looks like incredible fun but I'm focusing on D'Arc first before I try to tackle it.
On a side note, I should mention that I also recently began working out, too. While tending to the 'spouse and pulling beaucoup overtime I started really realizing my own health was suffering (lack of sleep has that effect, yes? ) My blood pressure went pretty high, and grabbing whatever's handy for a quick bite is NOT the way to spend a few months, at least not when you're over thirty-five. So when our local Curves offered a special (one year for $34 a month, for a one-year contract with no membership fee) I decided to start doing something about it. It actually didn't affect my schedule much....it's a half-hour workout three times a week, and right after I dropped the Spooksspawn off at her school I'd head right over to the gym and get there when they opened. Of course, now she's out of school but I'm not pulling the overtime so I have a much more open schedule to go when I please! Currently, I'm in that weird limbo where you haven't lost any pounds, but you definitely have lost SOMETHING because suddenly all your clothes are pretty baggy....wow. I haven't done the actual measuring yet to find out HOW many inches I lost, but I'm already seeing and feeling the results, so I can say with full confidence that I'm happy I started it and the numbers are really moot.
Meh, duty calls, but I just wanted to give everyone a shout-out and let you know I'll be back on again for a bit. At least until the NEXT emergency! Let me know how you're all doing, and I'll check out the blogs later. BIG GLOMPY HUGS TO ALL!!!!
Love you guys, Neko!
Need a reminder that it's not just YOUR life that's so weird? Then look no further! Welcome to the latest edition of...
********************
Neko's
Offbeat News
Clips!
( Volume 8 )
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"Think of how stupid the average person is, then realize half of them are stupider than that." - George Carlin
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C'mere, Rover, My Feet Are Cold
Check out the latest craze to hit the Internet: Have your pet's hair turned into yarn and knitted into a fashion statement.
The fur is taken from pets during typical grooming; animal skin is not involved in the creations. Some customers pay as much as $9 an ounce to have their pet's fur turned into a ball of wool for knitting. Dog fiber is especially popular, as "canine cashmere" is reportedly 80% warmer than sheep wool.
Beth and Brian Williams (pictured above) both own sweaters made from their pets (now deceased). "They are extremely warm and pretty much waterproof. . . I've always got a sweat on by the time I get from the bus to the shops," Brian reported in a newspaper interview.
Victoria Pettigrew, owner of VIP Fibers, one company that will produce the yarn on demand, says that one of the first things people do when encountering their product is to smell it. She says one of the first things the spinners do is remove enzymes that cause odor and trigger allergies. "If your pet has four legs and fur, we can spin it," she says.
NekoNote: But does it make you lick yourself in odd places when you wear it?
The Swindling Swami
Caught on camera - a thief recently came up with a novel approach to robbery. He hypnotizes cashiers and bank clerks into handing him over hundreds in Euros.
The clerks report the last thing they remember is "Look into my eyes", and they hand over the contents of their tills without a fuss. One bank clerk handed over approximately $1,200 while under the influence of the greedy hypnotist. Reports say he may be working with a female accomplice who distracts other customers while the magician works his magic.
NekoNote: Female accomplice? No worries, just look for a lady in a tight spangly outfit.
Customer Service, Or Servicing Customers?
Last month, Verizon Wireless was directing cutomers to a phone-sex number instead of their customer service department. according to The Consumerist. The number was incorrectly posted on their small-business website. One blogger on the Consumist site jokes, "I guess if you didn't get your rebate from Verizon, the phone sex number is listed to help you cope with the $250 you won't be getting back?"
NekoNote: It would probably make those long waits before you get a representative much more interesting.
I Guess You Flunked This Test
DEL NORTE, CALIFORNIA: When a 26-year old women decided that her urine test was probaby going to come back positive, she enlisted the help of a friend and made an attempt to hijack the courier vehicle transporting the sample. Unfortunately, Krystal Evans and her unidentified aquaintence aborted their "somewhat inept" attempt and fled the scene when the driver immediately called to contact police. As it turned out, the sample came up negative but a second test administered after the attempt turned up positive for methamphetimine use. Evans was sentenced to three years jail-time for parole violation.
NekoNote: Talk about pi$$in' in the wind...
Grab The Gas And Go! Go! Go!
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA: The Kangaroo Express in Wilmington, N.C. recently lost over $1,000 in revenue due to an error by one of the clerks. Instead of coding the pumps for $3.35, they accidently put in .35.
The error was made at 9:00 a.m, and wasn't noticed until nearly 6:00 that evening when crowds jammed the pumps and caused traffic jams on nearby roads. One buyer was able to fill up the 28-gallon tank on her Navigator for $9.80.
"People had been coming in all day stiffing us, not telling us nothing," station employee Shane Weller says. "They knew something was wrong because regular gas was still $3-something a gallon, and when have you ever known premium gas to be lower than regular?"
NekoNote: Oh, the moral dilemna...why didn't it happen in my town? 
MySpace Is NOT Private Space
ARLINGTON, OREGON: The mayor of Arlington was somewhat indignant when voters recalled her from office after discovering a picture of her on her MySpace account showing her standing in front of the town's fire trucks clad in black undies and bra.
When asked why she expected privacy online, she stated only, "That's my space. That's why they call it MySpace." Virtually every voter in town came out to vote on whether or not she should keep her job; final tally was 142 to 139.
NekoNote: Too bad! A politician with nothing to hide, and can prove it!
When A Stranger Calls
DELHI, LOUISIANA: When a woman called 911 and reported she'd just received a phone call from a man screaming "I'VE KILLED THEM ALL!", officers were quick to check her Caller ID and trace the call. Upon arrival at the caller's residence, they found 29-year-old Thomas Ballard, who was in elation over beating a video game and had called a friend to trumpet his victory. Unfortunately, he'd dialed the wrong number. Even more unfortunate for him, he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for drug charges, and was thus apprehended. No real bodies were found at his residence.
NekoNote: Take note, fellow GS-er's. Humility goes a lot farther than bragging.
If He Can Do It, What's Your Excuse?
GREEN VALLEY, ARIZONA: An 85-year old golfer who is legally blind recently made a hole in one on a Par-3 course. Mr. Robert Dunham accomplished this feat with only the assistance of a volunteer that lines him up with the ball.
After the assistant handed him his 9-iron, Dunham swung through the ball, hit it squarely and it landed softly on the green, taking one hop before nestling into the bottom of the cup.
The World War II vet's first reaction?
"I thought they were kidding me," Dunham said. "I told them, 'You guys better not be pulling my leg.'"
Mr. Dunham, who began losing his vision about ten years ago, was playing with a group of other blind veterans as part of a Veteran's Affairs health-care system program. He had only been with the group three weeks before his amazing accomplishment.
NekoNote: My usual jokes aside - totally awesome!
Getting Steamed About Crime
CANBERRA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: A dry-cleaning shop owner in Papua New Guinea has found a unique way of encouraging thieves to clean up their behavior: giving them a steam cleaning!
Police in the northeast coastal town of Lae said a 20-year-old man suffered burns and scalding to his abdomen, chest and back after the owner turned a steam cleaner on him after he was caught stealing pants worth 14 kina ($5.50). "The owner has done this to many people already," police spokesman Nema Mondiai told Australian Associated Press on Wednesday. Police seemed unconcerned about the radical punishment and released the thief after being assured he had learned his lesson.
NekoNote: Yes, but did he starch the collar?
Are You Just Happy To See Me?
LANSING, MICHIGAN: Officers are on the lookout for a female who "snake-napped" a baby boa constrictor from his case in a local pet shop. The unidentified woman grabbed the $175 snake and stuffed it...in her pants.
"They like warmth, and don't mind tight spots," the store owner said.
Although he said the nonpoisonous snake posed no danger to the thief, he expressed concern for his pilfered reptile. "I'm far less concerned about the person than about the snake," he said.
Fully grown boas can reach lengths of up to 13 feet, and weigh upwards of 100 pounds.
NekoNote: NOT something I want to find in MY pants leg! *yeeurk* And I actually LIKE snakes....*has the heebie-jeebies now, think we'll wrap it up....*
I hope you enjoyed this edition, it's always fun finding these! And as always, tell me what you think - ciao!
Since last blog I felt inclined to try and find who started these crazy blogs, let me go ahead and point out now that yeah_write started this one. Well, not as a game or anything like that, he wrote up a blog about Fat America and then ThaSod posted one about his junk food of choice, the Royal Red Robin. And you know me, I get something stuck in my head and I run with it.
I'm actually not that big of a burger or sandwich person, but lately I've been addicted to these:
The Arby's French Dip with Swiss, described in their menu as "Oven roasted beef, topped with Swiss cheese and served on baguette bread with a side of hot Au Jus." Au jus, for those who don't know, is basically somewhere between broth and gravy. You dip your sandwich as you eat, for that extra bit of oomph. Throw some horseradish on that bad boy, I'm good. For a while they also had these positively lethal Fried Cheesecake Nuggets that came with a raspberry dipping sauce - I'm actually glad they didn't last on the menu, they were soooo good they should've been outlawed.
And in the spirit of spousal torture, here's what the Spooksspouse is craving these days.
One Wendy's Baconator. And yes, his arteries are getting as clogged as a New York freeway at noon.
Well, by now a goodly portion of you have been hit by the 'Five Things' tag. While on the face of it I really dislike this sort of thing, I have to admit I actually enjoyed reading about everyone and watching to see how far this thing has spread. I was even able to get 'Spouse into the spirit of it, since chain ANYTHING normally sends him into raving, ranting conniptions. After he read a few, though, he agreed to go along with it, and even went so far as to admit it was kind of. . . fun. But wow, there's al LOT of them out there! As I mentioned elsewhere, it's almost like watching the Umbrella Corporation take over GS! You 5-Thing zombie, you. I'll just ignore the fact I'd be munching humanity with the rest of the world. . . I wondered how long it had been going on before I caught wind of it. I've got a decent-sized Friend List but GS is a big place and there's plenty of people out there I don't know (though I can say I now know more of you than I did previously!)
In fact, I got so curious about where Ground Zero was, I decided to do a little back-tracking and see how far back I could find it. (I also wondered how many users wanted to strangle this mystery person, but I'd cross that bridge when I got there - I didn't want blood on my hands!). So how do I start this mission, anyway? Hm, I knew I got tagged about a day after I noticed the first of the Five Things post (from here on out in the interest of brevity to be known as the "FT") in my Tracked Blogs list. That first post was dante_123456. So off I went to check his blog.
Dante said he was tagged by his friend dj_pulserfan, so after I perused his Contact list I went to that blog (and decided to use the friend tracking on the Forums tab after that point). dj_pulserfan was tagged by MoonFoxx, someone I don't think I've ran across before (whoa, already off the beaten path!). Whoops, MoonFoxx got tagged twice and did two of the FT blogs, so scroll down to the first one. . . ah,that would be jaydough. The waters got a bit muddied here; he says Toshy, also known as ff7fan2 was the one who tagged him, so that's two names to try. The second one turned out to be the correct one, so from ff7fan2 I found Cougarhart61, also known as Benge (God bless ff7fan2, she had him linked). His tagger was hungry_bunny, who also was kind enough to have the next link tagged, Yagr_Zero. And here I stalled.
Yagr_Zero didn't put who tagged him! AAAGGGHHH, how dare he?!?!?! Well, I'm not going to stand. . . er, sit for that. Time to check HIS Tracked Blogs. Okay, I'm getting a headache. . . let's find the first blog HE had listed with the FT. Wait just a minute here. . . the first one showing is 2ndWonder, who says he got tagged by ff7fan2? Hold up, I'm stuck in a loop here. . . damn, do I have any aspirin? Wait, wait. . . there's about three blogs that sound like they could be the ones who started it, they don't have anyone listed as being the one to tag them, and the way they explain it it sounds like they're just starting, but three of them? Maybe I could PM them. . . nah, that's taking the fun out of searching, only now I'm wondering if I have anything stronger than aspirin around the house. . .
Okay, it's at this point that I decide I need to go take a nap. I also have the realization that now that I have gone through the grief of trying to track it, there's probably going to be about 20 people to stand up and say, "Oh, I know who began it, it was JoeShmoe (or whoever). . .
Curse my curious mind.
My Recent Reviews
"Solid"
A novel storyline, seamless gameplay and great character design. History class was never this much fun! Continue »
"Immersive"
Tactical RPG game fans, prepare to have your life sucked away. Continue »
"Worth playing"
It'll be a pretty quick trip, but it's a fun visit to The Otherworld. Continue »
"Been there, done that"
Fun to play, but a lot of recycled territory. Hey, are you SURE Hector's not Alucard?...... Continue »
"Old-school"
Before we had Illustrator, before we had The Gimp....we had Mario! Continue »
