Friday, April 22, 2011

Sir Bouff-A-Lot

So I did some previous posts on this magnificent being.

The peak of evolution.





And now it has spawned into a force of its own.
Initially it was only this.



Then I had my epiphany.




And now I (with the help of Aris) have created ALL of this:



















So as I (we) think of more, then I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Happy April 21st

 So apa-logies for the absence....haven't been in the mood. And about the comic....I just did it and posted it on tumblr, but then realized I could make it the Sunday Comic, but by the time I realized it, someone reblogged it, so I wasn't going to delete it.


Today is a special day. No, nothing signifcant happened on this day. The most significant thing is probably Charlotte Brontë's birthday (she is the author of Jane Eyre). 

What is significant is the day that precedes it and the one that follows. The two main reasons for the significance of the other days: April 20th is Hitler's birthday and April 22nd is Lenin's.

I was going to do a post just about Hitler on his birthday, but I thought people might take it the wrong way. 

So Hitler (he turned 122 this year). Known to many (almost all Americans) as the most evil man to have ever lived. Some will disagree. Personally I view Stalin as more despicable, but there is some biased there, since Estonia was more oppressed by him than Adolf. Even as one of the most evil men in history, Hitler has become the subject of many a joke. Some are quite vicious., so I won't post them here in fear of insulting peoples.


Also, apparently Hitler is into the hippity-hoppity music. You think the SS stands for Schutzstaffel, but no; it stand for super smooth. A little known fact about the Führer, also dope on the mic.





He has also appeared in many movies. Recently, he was busy getting shot in the face repeatedly in Inglorious Basterds.


Another really good film with him is Der Untergang [The Downfall] (2004). It showed the final days of Hitler as Berlin was being shelled by the Allied forces. I don't really remember what was so great about the film about. All I know is that it's good. Very well acted, and very parodied.


Oh! If possible, check out Roald Dahl's short story about Hitler called "Genesis and Catastrophe" . It is great!

Well, so Hitler's birthday is on the 20th. Does that really make it an awesome cool epic day? By itself, not really. Close though. But with a little help, it can go over the top.

And help is recieved from-

Crispen Glover who you may remember from Back To The Future as Michael J. Fox's father.

And Andy Serkis who is the voice of Gollum.


Not the greatest actors, but cool enough. They have the "honor" of sharing their birthday with lil' ol' Adolph.

Oh, also. The Columbine massacre. Yap, that happaned on Hitler's 110th birthday. Aren't coincidences fascinating? 


So the 21st.

Highlight of the day is Lenin. I guess he is pretty evil, but I don't despise him as I do other such men. It's probably that he looks cool. 


Hitler and Stalin had "epic" mustaches, but a sirius lack of beards. So Lenin wins that battle with a moustache and a goatee type thingy. Win.

Also, with a name like Vladimir, which is basically влади мир (read vladi mir), which translates to "rule the world." So with a badass name like that, how could he be anything else than the father of the Soviet Union.

He just looks badass...somewhat like Satan, and has a badass name. So awesome in my book. Also, he didn't get around to doing that whole genocidal thing like the others. And probably because of that people (Americans) don't know what he really did, hence less jokes involving him.


Lenin is holding cat. Your argument is invalid.



Also, super badassness: He hasnt been buried. He was embalmed and now his corpse is just chillin in the Red Square in Moscow in some glass box or something. So when you end up going to Moscow never, go check it out.



So there better be support for Lenin on this day, to make it so the 21st doesn't become all about Hitler like always. Well, he does have very strong support indeed.
In the celebrity bin, the 21st has 


Jack Nicholson. One the greatest actors of all time. I really like him. I could go on and on, but I'll just leave at this:


Best psychopath evar!






Also, The joker


Also Ryan Stiles. One of the funniest guys around. Whose Line is basically back. YAY! OOOOH YEAH! 


So is there something on the scale of the Columbine massacre? Yes, I guess. There was some explosion in Mexico where 252 people were killed. But that isn;t something people really know. So I am going to ignore it. Instead, the destructiveness of this day is helped by another man.

None other than

::drumroll::


Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atom bomb!



So there you have it, so any awesome cool epic events in such close proximity. Why not celebrate/mourn April 21st?

Sunday Comic (almost)

So I have been missing for a week...whatever. I'll get to that later. The Sunday Comic will be shelved for a while (due to issues with no one able/willing to draw them). So until that gets sorted out you get NUSSSSSING! Except this.


Concept: Chris Reintal
Picture: Aphrodite and Eros by Giovanni Pellagrini, head from artwork by Ken Sugimori
Edited together by Chris Reintal


Another fantastic work by me with Microsoft Paint. So after my other genius work, I thought to myself who else has an afro, so I can edit Bouffalant's head on it? And then it hit me- Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love (Roman equivalent is Venus) sounds like Afrodite. And a google image search led me to this picture and BOOM! Comic genius.

So this was just a spur of the moment. I made it and posted it.
 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Pokemans

Am I finally going to talk about Poekmon Black version?
No.
But don't worry.



Before I review it, I want to rant about the new Pokemans themselves.


Initially I didn't really like them. I am resistant to change. So introducing pokemans that are 5th overall in HP; 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 10th in attack, 2nd fastest; 1st, 2nd and 5th in Sp. Attack ... It seems a bit too much. So many new sweepers in the competitive department.

Also their appearances were very meh initially. But playing through the games, there are some cool ones.


But this rant is about something else. So many missed opportunities this Gen (and previous ones) with regards to evolutions.

Three that stuck out to me immediatly:

Luvdisc -> Alomomola


Why isn't this a thing?! Luvdisc is soooooooo useless. Sure, wild ones hold heart scales, a semi-useful item. But it is an awful Pokemon stats wise. Alomomola is not. It is actually quite good with the 5th highest base HP out of all pokemans. This would make people actually care a bit about Luvdisc..... But no such luck.


Tauros -> Bouffalant


Another obvious one. Tauros isn't much worse/better than the new one. He is faster but has a slightly less HP and Attack. But who the hell is going to use Tauros when afro-bull 9000 is available.


Cacnea -> Cacturne (top) or Maractus (bottom)


A bit more complicated than the last ones. But it is a parallel to two others. Initally Snorunt only evolved into Glalie, and Ralts only into Gardevoir. But in 4th gen a female Snorunt can evolve into Forslass with a shiny stone. And a male Ralts can evolve into a Gallade via shiny stone. So why not this family too?! WHY! I know there is like a billion different fish and butterflies, but does there need to be more than one cactus family?


Natu -> Xatu -> Sigilyph


This one is a stretch. But I kinda associate them. Xatu is like a totem pole kinda thingy. Sigilyph is sorta in the same style. Just seems to fit for me.

Here are some that aren't associated with 5th gen.

These first few aren't my own. Got them off the internets.









The Magikarp vs Dratini one is cool. But I have other ideas about Magikarp.




There is no need for two similarly looking stupid ugly fish that evolve into sth cool(ish).


Also Shuckle needs an evolution, so I can equip him with an eviolite.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Spongebob! XX: Well I'm hooked. And Spongebob's a superhero

It's the final episodes of the season.
*not a very strong finish....awwwwww

Episode 20a: Hooky

I don't like this episode. But looking back on it, it does have some great moments. 
Apparently there are fisherman in the ocean. Mr. Krabs warn that the hooks are back. Spongebob goes to play with them, with motivation from Patrick.

Spongebob is like, those things are dangerous
And Patrick is like:



And I'm like, yes. Very.

Squidward and Mr. Krabs have some pretty great lines.



I just like that scene, well what Squid says. And people fish are just jerks apparently.

And a continuation of that scene.




*Also, Squidward has taken breaks before and after. Another proof in my belief that all episodes are cannon, but the episodes aren't in order.

I don't like the ending, so I am not going to talk about it.

Also, this joke has done similarly before, but it's still funny:



Also words of wisdom from Patrick Star: How can they be dangerous. They're covered in free cheese!
Episode 20b: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II

Le sigh. More Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. There has only been one good one. And that is.... IV? I think. So let's get this over with.

Spongebob wins some memorabelia of the heros in a contest. It bothers those eldery spandex wearing fools. So they make a deal. Spongebob gets to hang with them for a day. Best moments of the episode:





And thats it.
A lackluster finish to the season.

Season one has been conquered!

I made some compilations and stuff, but I want to make a title screen and stuff, so I'll try to do that on Friday before I move on to season two.
In the mean time I leave you with

and

Epicness is epic.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sunday Comic




Concept: Chris Reintal & Aris Bionat
Picture: Screenshot from Pulp Fiction, heads from artwork by Ken Sugimori
Edited together by Chris Reintal


Bouffalant has a giant afro. Who else has an awesome 'fro: Samuel L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction...well he doesn't actually have a big afro, but still. And you can't have one Pokemon face and leave the other human. Tauros was an easy selection since he is also a bovine. Obviously this isn't drawn, because our usual artist was busy. I wanted to keep the release of comics consistent for as long as possible, but I can't draw. So a while fidgeting around with MS paint, this is the result. Also, I think it actually looks better like this than it would have drawn.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Spongebob! IXX: Spongebob is a god.... April Fools!

Episode 19a: Fools in April

It's been a week since April 1st, so now its only appropriate to do the April Fools episode. Spongebob loves this holiday apparently. He is soooooooo amazing at doing pranks /sarcasm.



Basically all his jokes are lame like that. So it isn't surprising Squidward gets seriously pissed off. So he pulls his own prank. Though what he does isn't really a prank but rather some cruel trap. At least Spongebob's tricks were in the April spirit, even if they were really lame.

Warning: Those feint of heart shouldn't watch horror movies, but this clip should be fine.




How he had time to secretly set that up is beyond me.

Squidward thought it was funny. Really, really funny.




No one else did. So the rest of his episode is him trying to unsuccessfully apologize.

Kind of a meh episode. Though the ice cube thing is hilarious.


Episode 19b: Neptune's Spatula

Ah, a good old classic.

Patrick and Spongebob visit the fry cook museum. Greatest museum idea ever. Underwater is a fun place: glove-themed amusement park, jellyfishing conventions, fry cook museums.

King Arthur style Spongebob pulls out a sacred spatula from some grease. Which would mean that he would be the royal fry cook to Neptune, king of the sea (Neptune is the roman god of the sea for those who dont' know). But Spongebob is well..... a sponge. King Neptune is unsatisfied and they, Neptune and the sponge, compete.

The rules are: the first to make 1000 patties wins. Neptune uses his magic to easily win, while Spongebob is able to create one. BUT Neptune's patties suck, while Spongebob's is delicious.

So delicious in fact:



Moral of the story: Perfect patties are made with love not magic.
So a little lesson for you.

Patrick has a bunch of good lines in this episode:





And the best motivational speech evar, well second after one from the second season which we'll get too soon.



A very good episode.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Oh Bliss! Bliss and heaven!

I listen to Gamespot's weekly show The Hotspot. It helps me keep up with video game news and its funny. They often go off on vaguely related tangents and make jokes and stuff. Very entertaining. Towards the end, they have segments where they read listener emails and phone calls. There is also a weekly homework assignment for listeners. The best ones are read on the show (which is cool, because they give credit to people, so usually people write their username and/or their name and location on the bottom. For example I write "Chris from Estonia", since "Chris from New York" is kinda booooooring), and a winner is picked, who gets an emblem for their Gamespot account. I do the homework too, not for the emblem, thought I do have one.

I won it for surprisingly. The homework assignment was "worst prequel titles/ideas". I won for Left 4 Dead prequel, Left 3 Dead. It really is the worst. But I am surprised, since if multiple people have the same entry, it gets disqualified.

ANYWAYS, the reason I am giving you this information. On this weekly episode, involved with one of the tangents, as part of a sort of running gag 'if you're from like Estonia, please write in' (the joke usually just involves asking people from obscure places to write in on some issue) and the host of the show in response  said: "Chris from Estonia has written in numerous times. You know he exists."

I totally got randomly mentioned. This is how happy it made me:









 Anyways


So remember when I used to review stuff that wasn't Spongebob? Me neither. But apparently I did that, so here is a review of something.

Since I mentioned video games already, might as well review an awesome game that everybody knows and loves

For the DS

IT is really unique


No, it's not Pokemon: Black/White you silly. It's




(I've decided to join the Amazon referral program thingy. So if something I talk about seems interesting to you and you would like it as well, be it game, movie, etc, and you use Amazon, please use the links I provide, because that would be superspecialawesome.)

*Quick comment before I continue. This title is so long and annoying to search for. Also, after playing the game it is very misleading. Now to the review.



It's less of a game and more of an interactive novel. This means that there is a lot of reading. A LOT. Which I am cool with, since some of my favorite games, which I mention time and time again, are the Ace Attorney and Fire Emblem series which also advance the plot through text. But this goes far beyond the other games.


Blah, blah, blah


I don't want to explain the plot too much, since I still hold the opinion, the less one knows beforehand the better the experience will be. BUT I have to say something as this is a very plot heavy game. You play the game as one of the persons mentioned in the title. It is from his perspective, but the narration of the plot is in 3rd person. It is a ubiquitous narrator, so it says what the main character is thinking. This is a bad comparison, but it is similar to Saw II, which is not a good movie, so let me elaborate. You and eight other people are put in a life-death game. There is possibility of escape, but the group must work together. 



This plot offers great opportunity for the exploration of the human psyche and how it reacts to great pressure. Unfortunately it doesn't go in that direction as much as I would have liked, though the characters go through suspicions of maybe one being the villain in disguise and other such paranoia.



The characters are all very well fleshed out. The all have backstory and different personalities. Not to spoil a lot, one may come to a realization at one point that not all of you can escape [I wont go to details as to why], so it got me to wondering who I would leave behind. But the characters are all generally so sympathetic that it would be a very difficult decision. Not all characters are saints though, some characters say/act a but suspicious.




So gameplay. It is a point and click puzzle game, like Myst (which is an awesome game btw). You are stuck in a room and have to find a way out. And that's basically it. Some puzzles were pretty challenging, but not so difficult that I became stuck/frustrated and had to look up the answer. This could be due to my incredible genius though





There are six different endings, depending on some choice you make along the way. I prefer the bad endings. Coincidentally, I got them first. It probably helped that I was playing at night in the dark, but those left me with a truly chilling feeling. When I was reading the final scene of the ending, I was like "NO! That can't be how it ends." Those endings are very impactful. I don't like horror films. At all. But horror games seem cool. The interactivity makes it much more suspenseful. Playing the game, when the scene changes, I wondered what bad is going to happen now!


Game has some eye-candy, too



The true ending, which is supposed to be the correct one, was somewhat disappointing. It got too hocus-pocus-y. 

What is the hocus pocus of the end?
Magic? Dinosaurs? Time-travel? Aliens?
Play the game to find out.




Oh, some negatives too:
Could have been more choices along the way and more puzzles. More is always good. As I said, the true ending and most of the game ignored the human psychological examination aspect the premise provides.


If you are a fan of Phoenix Wright or other such Japanese games, definitely play this. For those who don't mind reading and enjoy a good plot, give it a try. If you are illiterate, then how are you even reading my review?!



9/10
Gamespot: 8.5/10 (Critic average: 8.4/10 [out of 11 reviews])
(It came out last year actually, so it won't be on this years top games of the year, but it would have taken a high place on last years)


Well that was lengthy as hell. If only I could put this much effort into my school papers.