T-Hybrid

So that 2009 Devastator that I was drooling over just got revealed. And it looks like Hasbro pulled a fast one. There's going to be TWO sets of Constructicons released alongside the movie. The first will be a series of normal Transformers, with robot modes, that range from the Deluxe to Voyager class. But they won't combine. The ones that will combine are the ones contained in the $100 set. However, they are grossly mispropotioned, and are actually missing one of their members. These are vehicles only, and will not turn into their individual bot modes. Meaning either way you go, it's crippled. Which suddenly makes what could've been the greatest Transformer ever into one of the most blah of all time. More of a Megazord than anything else really. Well, I guess in the long run it's money well saved.

Devastator was originally a G1 combiner made up of 6 construction vehicles. The 2009 version being designed for Revenge of the Fallen will feature 7 components based on large-scale earth movers. A cement mixer, an excavator, a pair of bulldozers, a backhoe, a dump truck and a crane. Each component of Devastator will be an independent robot that has one of the above vehicles as an alt-mode. This is with the exception of the cement mixer, which only converts to Devastator's head. According to reports from the production staff, the full Devastator will be apporximately 200 feet tall in the movie. And yep, it appears that the only way to buy Devastator will be as the 7 vehicle bundle. Like a Power Rangers Megazord, but with far more poseabilty. There's already a review out of an early release of the excavator, which is Voyager class in size. Based on the size of the toy comparred to the pic I linked to, the final toy will be pushing 2 feet tall. That could put it as the largest Transformer. Ever.

This is just too cool. The new Transformers movie can't come fast enough... I hear rumors that the actual figure is going to be about 2 ft tall. Will apparently be sold as one unit, likely upwards of $70. And I can't help but want it....badly.

It most certainly is.

In case it's still under debate, the best commericial during the Super Bowl this year was the very first one. I dunno if I can actually name the product though. Runner up (and dang close) was the careerbuilder.com ad about how to tell if it's time for a change. And for those of you not in the workforce yet...yes, sometimes you do truly feel like you'd rather be riding a seal across the ocean than being at work.

So having been struck by the doodlebug a second time, I've come up with the vocalist to this band I'm apparently creating. I was going for a grungier look, but as somebody pointed out elsewhere the hair is definately more of a mullet than the typical long hairdness you'd expect from a guy like Cobain or Grohl. I'm really glad with how the pose turned out. I was going fo a non-chalant hodling the mic and stand behind his back. Originally I was going to have him holding the stand rather than resting it, but I think it looks better this way. I'm still struggling on drawing faces, though I didn't hide his eyes behind glasses (in retrospect I should've hid them behind his hair). The shirt is a straight ref to Cobain's attire in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. Which is funny since if you consider the guitarist I drew earlier had an acoustic guitar...yeah...not exactly a hard rock band at the moment. I don't know if I want to draw the bassist or drummer next (since I'm apparently inventing a band). I want one of them to be female, but I really am not looking forward to making her actually look like feminine.

Hopefully this one doesn't come with major daddy issues.

If I can find my old outline for Rebirth, I may end up just posting the end results...or at least key plot points.

I hate to announce it like this...but I'm guessing by now it's probably obvious. I don't think I'm going to be finishing "Rebirth of Fusion". It's been way too long, and unlike "Te Mutunga" I never felt connected to the story. In the end, my understanding of the characters didn't feel complete enough to actually follow through. Which is unfortunate, because I kinda liked the idea I had planned out. Depending on what happens, I may revamp the "Inuva" category into something based more around my general creative flow. To those of you who were following the story, I apologize for letting you down.

So after not having had motivation to put pencil to paper for almost two full years...something has inspired me to start drawing again. I have no idea why, nor do I have any idea what exactly it is I'm going to be doing with them. So bear with me as I start dumping my artings. Here's the first: a guitarist. He kinda looks like me, but he's really not supposed to be me. I cheated on the face and draw sunglasses (I'm still learning eyes). I like how the feet turned out (I've never really gotten how to do shoes). The guitar didn't turn out too bad, but in retrospect the pose isn't quite what it should be. A more natural position would have been to have the elbow down, holding the guitar so it's actually resting on his shoulder and pointing up. As it is, it ended up looking like Cloud Strife's art from FFVII. And I dunno if one would charge into battle with only an acoustic guitar. Depending on feedback, and how badly these sketches throw off the page formating, I might continue dumping. If image size gets to be a problem let me know, and I'll start posting links instead.

Any game that allows me to mercilessly pummel Tidus and Sephiroth is okay in my book.

With MLK Day on Monday, I get a 3-day weekend from work. Time will likely be spent finishing Persona 4 for PS2, and putting some quality time with Rock Band 2 after a month or so away (Chrono Trigger and Persona 4)...after that I have no idea. It's just nice to get a breather from time to time.

Congrats on going official! Is there some kind of massive plauge you can put on your wall for that?

Or really early, if you go by the Chinese New Year. But since I don't know what that is I can't exactly say I did it on purpose. Any interesting resolutions? I'm going to try and stick with mine from last year, which was to keep working out and trying to get/stay in shape. I was impressed by my ability to lose some weight and put on some muscle in 2008. Hopefully I can keep it up in 2009. Even though I did go from 5 times a week to only 3...

Can somebody tell me just what "figgy pudding" is? I hear it in that durned song all the time...but still have no clue what it is. Even my dad (who was raised on a farm in an old-fashioned style family) has no idea what that stuff is.

Fairly small this year, mostly because my family pitched in for my new PC and desk a month ago...so it was an early gift. Otherwise: Britney Spears' "Circus" (I don't care, it's dang catchy) Wedding Crashes DVD (hilarious movie) I also bought myself Persona 4 for the PS2 and the Foo Fighters DLC pack for Rock Band (not The Colour and the Shape, but the 3-song pack). So this weekend before I go back to work will be a rockin' laugh riot. Merry Christmas all!

You won't be disappointed. I beat it a few weeks ago. Fantastic game, and works great on a portable.

Haven't been around much, but with some time off from work for the holidays I thought I'd stop in and wish everybody a great next few weeks, whatever the cause for celebration. If you're someplace where there's snow...stay warm and drive safe. If you're some place where it's warm, stay cool. And also drive safe. I'll likely report back with a "Haul" list once the season has passed.

There's really not much that can be said about it that hasn't already. The storyline includes memorable characters, good plot twists, and some genuine emotional moments. The battle system is ATB, allowing for the use of "Double Techs" and "Triple Techs" that reward players for experimenting with different party combinations. There's multiple endings that require you to make choices at what you want to do and when...as well as several sidequests that get deeper into each character's history. It's not overly difficult, but you're not going to be able to blitz your way through the game. As some bosses have interesting attack patterns. Music/sound is what you'd expect from an SNES game, but it's never annoying. Frankly, if you have a DS, are a fan of RPGs, and have never played this...BUY IT.

So I picked up Chrono Trigger for the DS just before Thanksgiving. Despite my long time love of gaming, I never actually played Chrono Trigger when it was first released for the Super Nintendo so many years ago. This is mostly because I didn't get into RPGs until Final Fantasy X for the Playstation 2. But getting back to Chrono, so far it's been a blast. The story and characters have been very interesting, and the battle system is a good mix of classic Magic/Tech use and Active Time (similar to FFIV or FFX-2). I highly recommend it to ANY RPG fan who owns a DS, though I admit it's probably pretty hard to find one who's never played this. Also, Frog is the man. That is all.

So I found out a restaurant back where I used to live started up a Guitar Hero/Rock Band night once a week. Since I'm never one to turn down a chance to rock out, I drove over to check it out. It started out slow, playing a few songs on drums to get warmed up. But within a half hour more people had shown up and things got rolling. It was pretty "thrown together" in the sense that there was no plan on how to get everybody in, but everybody who wanted to get a chance to play. The only rule was whoever was singing got to pick the song (For obvious reasons). So I decided to grab the mic and give it a shot, and I think I it went well. Opened with Tenacious D's "Master Exploder", and moved on to a Foo Fighters set of "My Hero" and "Everlong" (which ranks as one as my favorite songs in ever). At one point, we only had three people...so I got a chance to Voxtar (well, Voxbass to be more accurate) which is playing guitar/bass while also singing. Played both Oasis' "Wonderwall" and AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock". That latter of which is an awesome song. By the end of the night, the guy running the event and I took turns trying to beat various songs. We both failed out on attempts to beat "Panic Attack" by Dream Theater. But just as the place was closing I was able to finish off The Outlaws' "Green Grass & High Tides". I plan on going back within the next few weeks. It's "only" Guitar Hero, but that's fine. It's fun to get a chance to enjoy some music and just mess around with a bunch of fellow nerds.

I know. It's killing me everytime the 360 boots up and I see that guy. Why can't he just cross his arms and stand up straight or something...

So I've now downloaded the NXE. Played around a bit. Aside from the avatars...it's pretty much a wash for me. Speaking of the Avatars: Aww, look at the little guy....trying to be all hip and stuff!

Did I just get Cake-Rolled?

It's that time of year again! Now at the ripe old age of 24, I'm still able to say I'm "early 20s" vs. next year when I'll be "late 20s" and "almost 30". Sorry for the short entry, but now is the time for CAKE!