Skyward Sword: First Impressions

On Sunday evening I, along with millions of others the world over, picked up my copy (limited edition bundle pictured below) of the latest installment in the Legend of Zelda franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I didn't get a chance to play until yesterday evening, and only for about 2 1/2 hours or so, but thus far I have to say I am most pleasantly surprised.

Limited Edition Bundle w/Soundtrack and Gold Wiimote

Now when I say "pleasantly surprised", I remind you that I have been a huge fan of the series for over a decade; but I've said it once and I'll say it again, I did not care for Twilight Princess. It was lacking something, I still can't say quite what, but it just didn't feel like I was playing a Legend of Zelda game. It can't have been the darker tone of the game, because Majora's Mask was honestly one of my absolute favorites.

I digress, back to the game at hand. As I mentioned I got in about 2, maybe 2 1/2 hours of playtime, enough to get past the first hump of the game- just before entering the very first dungeon.

The overall feel of the game, the world of Skyloft, it's inhabitants, and the music are all very fresh; new, yet still familiar. The music for the game is perfect, it's the same songs as in the iconic Ocarina of Time, but re-done to sound just different enough. The character's dialogue is also reminiscent of its predecessors, while the character models are unique to this game.

The graphics were not what I was expecting, being comparable to PS2 graphics, although I haven't played my Wii since moving and may just need to re-adjust my graphics settings.

My brief introduction to Link's newest companion, Fi, was also very positive... what can I say I like cold, analyzing characters that talk like robots.

The main thing to take away from this, I'm excited to continue playing it and would much rather be doing that than working right now.

Also where the Hell is my fucking Loftwing?

Artist Feature: Yang Young-Soon

Yang Young-Soon

Yang Young-Soon is a Korean comic artist with whom I am completely fascinated. Unfortunately, there isn't too much info on him I was able to find online.  As a matter of fact, about the only thing I could find on the guy outside of actual comics, was that evidently one of his comics (I couldn't find a link to it) was turned into a series of softcore Korean sex cartoons. Cool?

And I'm not sure if it's just the cultural gap, but I find the level of awkward he's able to conjure up with his comics absolutely brilliant, and oh-so-funny to boot. His facial expressions remind me of watching late-night "odd" anime and gives me the warm-and-fuzzies, which as it turns out is a confusing feeling when faced with something as baffling as say, this:

What I don't even

I was able to find a site that appears to have a large collection of his translated works:

Clicky

There are also some translations available here, although it's not quite as easy to navigate. At any rate, I hope you take a few minutes to check out these awesome (y/n?) comics.

... Also, if you speak/read Korean, and are willing to translate some information on this guy, let me know.

Joss Whedon Loves Sailor Moon

... That, or he saw it once and it was locked away into his psyche. I'm convinced, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that Joss Whedon had to have been at least influenced by Sailor Moon. And if not, we have one kooky coincidence on our hands here kids. Allow me to break this down for you, nice and clean starting with the name similarity:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

• Buffy
• Blonde, popular, pretty
• Cheerleader
• Raised by her mother
• "Chosen"/ "The One"
• Starts out spoiled and bratty, eventually growing into a strong, mature leader
• Battles demons/monsters
• Elder English mentor- Giles
• Awkward nerdy friend- Xander
• Lesbian couple friends- Willow & Tara
• Handsome, dark-haired love interest who fights for good- Angel
• Family member (younger female) from an alternate reality/future- Dawn (sister)
• Rival turned ally- Faith

• Large ensemble cast

Sailor Moon:

• Bunny
• Blonde, popular*, pretty
• Tried out for cheerleading squad
• Raised by her mother
• "Chosen"/ "The One"
• Starts out spoiled and bratty, eventually growing into a strong, mature leader
• Battles demons/monsters
• Elder English* mentor- Luna
• Awkward nerd friend- Ami/Mercury
• Lesbian couple friends-  Haruka/Uranus & Michiru/Neptune
• Handsome, dark-haired love interest who fights for good- Darien/Tuxedo Mask
• Family member (younger female) from an alternate reality/future- Rini/Mini Moon (daughter)
• Rival turned ally- Minako/Sailor Venus
• Large ensemble cast

        And here's even one more little bonus for you... The ship in Firefly, as you likely know is called the Serenity, the same name as Sailor Moon takes on when she takes on her alter-ego the Moon Princess, Princess Serenity.

Bunny as Princess Serenity

Bam.

Thoughts?

       Note, Serena/Bunny/Usagi: In the original Japanese, Sailor Moon's name is Usagi, which is Japanese for "rabbit". This is a play on an old Japanese myth that a rabbit lives on/in the moon and in the US Manga, she is called "Bunny" to try and maintain that reference. Why her name was changed to Serena for the US dub of the anime I have no idea but "Bunny" is the most common name used by English-speaking fandom.

*in some versions she's more spazzy but overall she was the preppy/popular sort.

*in US dub

I'll Lorem YOUR Ipsum!

       A technology post! Huzzah.

       Most web designers- as well as a handful of misguided small business owners- have probably at one time or another downloaded an HTML or CSS website template. If you have, you may have noticed the odd text in the template. It may just look like gibberish, but it's actually a chunk of Latin text commonly referred to as Lorem Ipsum.
       Lorem Ipsum has been used as placeholder text in design, layout, and graphic industries since the 1500's. It's roots are in fact in a Latin text (de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, or The Extremes of Good and Evil by Cicero) from 45BCE.

But What Can Lorem Ipsum Do for Me?
       There are a couple of advantages to using "dummy text" or "Greek text" in your design, whether it be for a webpage, a magazine layout, or any other visual presentation. In some instances one may not receive content until after an actual layout has to be completed or approved. Yet a more valuable aspect with Lorem Ipsum, one is able to show the graphic elements of a design without distracting your audience with comprehendible text. Yep, if people can read the text on your layout they're less likely to pay attention to the design as a whole.

If you'd like to make your own (read: let a generator make for you) lorem ipsum, there is a link at the bottom of the post.

Now go forth, and Lorem Ipsum.

New Avengers Trailer

       A proper theatrical trailer for The Avengers was released yesterday, and it looks AMAZING. Kind of shitty that they just sort of tacked the Hulk on as an afterthought at the end, but then again his wasn't the face that appeared in the most recent incarnation of his character. I'm just glad they left out fucking Ant-Man. Although if Nathan Fillion got signed, I might be inclined to retract that statement. At any rate, here's the theatrical trailer for The Avengers, in all it's high-def glory:

NOTE: You may need to view on YouTube (just click the YouTube logo on the video) in order to see the 1080p option.