An Epic Retelling of the Story of Me
My dragon for class. Isn’t he fuzzy? 
It was an assignment where I couldn’t use any lines. It is done in ink.
It’s a little crooked and oddly toned because I just had to take a picture of it. Piecing it together in a scan wasn’t working. Really, large format scanner. Someday…
I’ll start by saying that I’m not sure how this game is rated M and contains nudity unless I skipped a vital part of the game (which is… possible).
Moving on, I enjoyed this game immensely. It makes you just the right amount of nervous without leaving you shaking and exhausted every time you play. I won’t go into detail explaining the whole game story since it will be pretty evident if you’ve heard of the two games that preceded it, and it’s not really all that relevant. This is the third and final in the Sands of Time game arc. There are multiple hidden rooms (and I missed about half of them I think) and rarely is there a place to heal which makes playing more strategic. The game is based on strategic jumps and kills (there are very few times where you actually have to outright kill an entire room). There is almost always a way to execute a stealth speed kill system on everyone in the room, but it has to be timed perfectly or you’ll end up fighting pretty much everyone. There is also the random (although not so random if you’re paying attention) scripted transformation into Dark Prince in which you are constantly losing health which can only be regained through sand (killing or getting it from pots). These parts of the game are more challenging of course since you are constantly on the brink of death.
Everyone should play each level (easy, medium, hard) if only for the secret weapon at the end of each game (All I have to say is Telephone of Sorrow). Not to mention that the game plays pretty quickly so you may feel compelled (as I was) to play again just to make it seem longer!
Go play.
Post scriptum: I think I’ve used more parentheses in this post than I have ever before. Do I get a prize?
And yes, I play older video games. I think it’s more fun that way rather than always getting the freshest thing out there only to be disappointed and out a lot of cash!
Oh it has been a while since I’ve done a dragon, then I whipped out two within two weeks. I’ve scanned one:
The other is large and will take more effort as I have to piece it together. I’m in the process of making a colored copy!
I’m not too in to halloween, but when my friend decided to dress as Sheik for halloween (A Zelda character. Yes, old school video games still live). I decided to make the harp that accompanies the costume (and the hat, but that was a way smaller project). Edit: This is made out of paper and glue with cardboard at the very center. Painted in acrylic. This is NOT paper mache!
Results:
I think it turned out rather well. Yes?
Gloria Anzaldua’s Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza – Required reading for class.
Short plot points: It’s rather hard to describe due to it’s near stream-of-consciousness layout. However, it is a non-fiction that discusses life as a Chicana living near Texas-Mexico border and struggling with her several different identities.
I don’t really know what to say about this book other than that it’s dense, a little unfocused and full of large chunks of untranslated Spanish. At many points this book starts to get interesting only to switch, with no segue to an entirely different topic… within the space of a sentence or so. Many reviews say that this is a powerful book with many profound conclusions. I think it could be, if it were in a more ‘followable’ manner. I mean, I’m perfectly fine with non-chronological books, but just writing whatever comes to mind seemingly without finishing the thought that you’re on before continuing is a little much.
I generally disagree with those one-star ranters on Amazon, but this time… their conclusions really are founded. I can’t say I really enjoyed this book (but one star really is a little harsh. It deserves at least two).
Caroline Knapp’s Drinking: A Love Story – Required reading for class.
This book is about the life of a high-functioning alcoholic and what she goes through pre-and post-rehab. Honestly, that’s about all I can say. It is a memoir of the author’s life and really takes the reader through all that goes through an alcoholic’s mind. It is not entirely chronological since the entire novel is written in retrospect and it jumps around her memories as she thinks of things.
My view? It’s a little repetitive. I suppose that’s part of the point (the alcoholic’s mind maybe thinking in cycles, routine blah, blah, blah) but it was a little taxing to read. Especially after completing it and feeling that I didn’t have to read the whole book (very much like Tale of Two Cities where you only have to read section three but you don’t know that until you’ve read one and two).
Read if you must.
In other news, I’m not sure whether I should put up my artwork from class or not. I’m thinking no to the drawing, yes to some of the design. We’ll see.
The last one! Rather quick to follow actually. The face isn’t perfect, I know, but hey. These things happen.
Aha! The second piece for this art session:
One to follow, but I decided to make some corrections on it so it will be coming later, later. Selene is also on it’s way as well as other things.
I rarely just blog about my day, but I made some amazing discoveries.
Item 1: Yogu-san
This is by far the most fantastic frozen yogurt place I’ve been to in a long while. It tastes wonderful, is organic (at least mostly), is less sweet than usual and they give you quite a bit. There are four flavors at a time (at least at ours): original-san, green tea-san, flavor of the month and mystery-san. I believe I’m going back for a t-shirt.
Item 2: Baked buns
Recently I made some buns to be steamed and froze them. Instead of steaming them, I decided to bake them. They were wonderful. I was shocked actually. They were crispy on the bottom yet soft and fantastic. Loved them.
Item 3: Not a discovery
We put Christmas lights on our ceiling to give the sitting room a nice warm glow. It’s really rather lovely. Puts one in a very cozy and settled mood. *sigh* Now I have to tackle my own room…
Item 4: Devil May Cry 3
We had to unlock easy mode and play on easy automatic. It’s still hard, but way easier than without it. And Cerberus is beatable. Really.
So I discovered this game in my friend’s bin of N64 games and I was told explicitly not to play it because it sucks. So I played, of course and it’s awesome. Pretty much the classic RPG style of fighting in turns (however you can run away if you’re good enough!) and you can’t actually jump (which always annoys me). The graphics are what is to be expected from an N64 game, the story is silly and I’m convinced that there is only one map and that the world is very small (and flat). However, you have to have your powers (each attack is leveled up as you play) to something ridiculous like level 14 to conquer the first boss (even to get through the door)! What level was I when I first got to the door? Level 4. Therefore I’ll have to just run around and level up FOREVER. Not sure that I’ll continue.
In other game news, Devil May Cry 3 is obscenely hard and pretty. I love it. I’ll never finish alive. We’ve ordered Katamari 2 for everyone so that’s on the way. More games and art to come soon.
