Final 2013 Update: Happy Holidays!

I'm glad to be home. After the long semester, I needed a break. Now I have a whole list of video games to play and blog posts to write, I have to manage my time better. Then it dawned on me that I'm now 20. Thank god those teenage years of angst are over, though I got through it pretty smoothly despite occasional periods of self-depreciation and depression.

Anywho.

Whether you celebrate Christmas religiously or commercially, another "similar" holiday that my country refuses to acknowledge, or a period of rest and family, I hope you all are well. Even if this time of year is like the other days of the year, remember to find some way to rest yourself mentally. Keep yourself sane, is what I'm getting at.

Meanwhile, I've got a review to finish.

But celebrating the 'Merican tradition of a commercial holiday that ruined the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth that replaced a pagan holiday the ancient Romans celebrated for their sun god is something I've got to do. Even if I have to listen to the same ten or so songs over and over again.

We really need to make the stale Christmas music genre vanish or revitalize itself.

(story found here)

Or stuff like this works. :D

'Persona 4' Part II

The guys at the DDS-Net forums are pretty laid-back and cool people. No massive wars started yet. No internet drama and bullshit erupted. Since it's still a small community, I managed to find my voice among a sea of veteran fans.

Not long after I published part 1 of my review, someone started a Persona 4 thread. I laid down my opinion of the game and tried to be as honest as I could. Within hours, people flooded in with their own few cents. Just recently, a few of us got heated over a tiny aspect of the game. Had someone not pointed that out, the discussion could've blown up into full-scale war.


It's funny how I am most experienced with the Persona series, but I have more in common with those who like other SMT games.

I have... TONS of issues with this game. Let's say that this can be the ending of Mass Effect 3 levels of rage.

Spoilers ahoy.

'Persona 4', Part I

Whelp, the Persona reveals on November 24th exhausted me. Though I got eight hours of sleep and did not watch the stream, I still ended up cranky and angry at the world. And I liked three out of the four new games! How can something I like make me ecstatic and piss me off so much at the time?! If I become an alcoholic once I'm 21, I'm blaming Atlus!

Anyway, I've delayed this review long enough. Time to get to business.

...

Before I do, I find it funny that I said I don't COMPLETELY hate Persona 4, yet I'm sure many people came to that conclusion anyway. Just because I found a lot to whine and nitpick about, that doesn't mean the game was garbage. I've torn the Mass Effect games a new asshole a few times and I still play them endlessly. Though I know it's extremely campy and flawed, I still love Shadow the Hedgehog. As much as I sing high praises to my favorite band ever, I still step back and laugh at how hilarious and awkward HIM is at what they do. You can't be honest with yourself if you say you love everything about something.

So no, I don't hate Persona 4. Not entirely, at least. To know how I really feel, let's finally get this review started.

BTW, some Spoilers will begin to appear early this time around.

Four Early Christmas Presents

Persona has been on the mind all year, and it won't go away. Heck, nearly every year on this blog I rant and rave about something forever. And for some reason people keep coming back... I guess I'm not trying hard enough.

Anywho.

Ever since I joined a new Shin Megami Tensei forum, I've been listening to so much Persona-related new lately. The freaking out was getting pretty bad with rumors flying everywhere. So to not go on an emotional roller coaster, I watched LittleKuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged as I played my fourth full playthrough of Fire Emblem Awakening yesterday. Once I got online today, I arrived in the aftermath of the forums exploding with conversation and squees. I tossed in a few cents on the new threads after looking up the new stuff. Real-life drama was never my cup of tea, though the place is still pretty laidback next to the rest of the internet. No bloodshed, no violence. Just the occasional poking fun at someone's alignment.

Anywho.

Today's announcements were what I needed after all the homework I finished.

Pre-Thanksgiving Update

我累。我很累。我的手痛了。(1)

...

A nostalgic train ride with Linkin Park, an eleven-slided powerpoint presentation on a cultural world problem, a nine paged essay on an environmental problem close to home, AND a ten page essay on how terrorism affects a country's GDP.

...

Worst... procrastinating... EVER.

...

对不起，我累。我需要去睡觉。(2)

...

I miss my big bed...

~~~~~Notes:~~~~~

(1) - I am tired. I am very tired. My hand hurts.

(2) - I'm sorry, I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Mini Shots: Linkin Park

Ah, "nu metal", music for angry white men. Music that was too immature and lazy to truly sit under the heavy metal umbrella and too obnoxious to be liked by pop enthusiasts. The late 1990s early 2000s were a dark time for rock music. Anyone who liked this crap was piece of scum, contributing nothing but garbage to society.

Well, that's what people keep telling me. But here I am, a certainly non-white female, who indulged herself in the genre for a few years. Mentally, however, I probably went through a similar rebellious phase while in grade school. Pop music sounded terrible to me, my classmates did not give a crap about my existence. So in turn, I did not care about their taste in music and went to find my own. And thus began Fangirl's long journey to finding music that sounds good.

While Evanescence was my first love that helped me appreciate the melancholic, Linkin Park prepared me for the anger. They were a gateway that indirectly later helped me stomach some stuff from the libraries of In Flames, Moonspell, and even Rammstein. Unlike Evanescence, they simultaneously disappointed me more but made me more fond of them as time went on. I'm in the crowd who still likes their older work. Despite how whiny and angsty they sound lyrically, I can at least say they had energy and a pulse. They defined rap-rock for me, and I can't help but think they were the most memorable in that odd music marriage.

So... let's see what road this band took Fangirl and where they are now.

Persona 4: the Golden Rant

This is an emergency.

I really need to get this off my chest. All progress on my review is on halt because of my emotions. I cannot make any progress and cover Persona 4 objectively without tossing out moldy food from the fridge. I have so much beef over so many things so trivial that I have no idea how to not make an unfair, unbalanced review. And I swear to God this is the last teaser for the review! I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am so very sorry!! So let me just say this stuff now before we get another Persona 3, Part 4.

I am glad Gamestop charged $50 for Persona 4 a few years ago. It would have been a big mistake to invest in it that soon. Because if you are interested in Atlus and their Shin Megami Tensei franchise like I was, Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden are the worst gateway games to try first.


Before anyone makes a doll of Fangirl and starts tearing her limbs off... HEAR ME OUT.

...BTW some SPOILERS run amok.

So Much for Working on 'Persona 4'...

I am sorry. I really am. With all the work I have to do before the end of the semester, I need to focus my free time on only a handful of things. My fanfiction keeps chugging along since it flexes my writing muscles. Video games have been off and on with me bouncing between Persona 2: Innocent Sin Portable and Fire Emblem: Awakening. I've been trying to get to my New Game Plus run of Persona 4 Golden, but I keep pushing it back. And I would prefer to tackle the game after I go through it more than once, you know? I have to commit to what I review. That's why I did a ton of playthroughs and research on my Mass Effect reviews.

So again. I apologize for my not meeting my own expectations and deadlines.

...

...

On the other hand...

November 2013 Update

Halloween's always been an uneventful holiday. I don't do much. I love candy and [dark] chocolate, sure, but trick-or-treating wore off me pretty quickly. It happens when you don't live in one place your whole life. Oh well, I had enough spirit to dress up a bit. Nope, no pictures. No party, no nothing. I just got up, put on a skirt, corset, and combat boots and went to my classes feeling pretty good. Presentable and tasteful. How boring can that get?

To improve the mood, enjoy some purple bunnies.

Otherwise, I watched two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, just to overcome my massive disappointment in the anime I put myself through. No music purchases lately, though I've been listening to Persona 4's soundtrack to get in the mood for the upcoming multi-part review. That can go underway now that Mass Effect 2 FINALLY ended. I apologize for the really, really long waits for the parts.

Also I just saw Ender's Game a few hours ago.

More like Ender's symphony.

I never read the book, so I doubt whatever I say will hold much water. So to simplify my opinion, I really liked it. Maybe the movie selection this year was so horrid that NOW we get a barrage of interesting or promising flicks at the last minute. Whatever it is, I enjoyed it.

This is why young Fangirl gave up her dream of
being an astronaut.

Gravity was good too. It was wonderful to see two new, well-crafted sci-fi flicks within one year. Or to be even more petty, it's great to see movies that had nothing to do with Ridley Scott and his Alien franchise or Tom Cruise trying to play a simultaneously interesting and badass character. Instead we got George Clooney being an extremely jarring male equivalent of a pollyanna and OMG, HARRISON FORD IS SEVENTY-ONE?!?! TT-TT

... *sniff* I'm sorry... This has been a nerve-wrecking year for me in my posts. I really have to chill.

Anywho.

I have a TON of work due this month, all of it includes typing. ... You see where this is going.

"PSAs from a Fangirl" and my "Music Mood" will be updated as usual, just to prove I'm still alive. Once I get over my workload hump, I'll get back into blog mode. Again, Persona 4 is coming up, along with whatever comes to mind in the next few weeks. Even I never know.

Meanwhile... counting down to hearing the badass baritone Benedict Cumberbleach voice Smaug in The Hobbit.

...

...

I meant "Cumberbatch"... Damn it. Stupid JeremyJahns and his stupid review... *mutter, mutter*

'Mass Effect 2' Part IV

Duh-na-na-na-na-na, Duh-na-na-na-na-na, Duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-na...

DUH-NA-NA-DUH!

You have obtained Part 4 of the Mass Effect 2 review! To read this post, click the "see more" link if viewing on the main page. Otherwise, scroll down. Remember to keep your eyes on the screen. But don't forget to take breaks, or else your eyes will melt and you will suffer killer headaches! - Love, Nintendo.

... wait.

In all seriousness I actually like doing these posts. I put so much time ranting about the characters here that I realized how much I retained from the superior being(s) know how many times I played this game. The Mass Effect Wiki is mainly a reference to make sure I don't miss a few details. And if I even so much as make a minuscule error, I might gain a Douchey McNitpick! ... I don't want that. At all. PLEASE.

Anywho.

I kissed the characters I love, hugged the misfits, sent Thane a lawsuit for being one of the worst fathers in video games, and mocked the mediocrity of Legion.

While I fight off the inevitable horde of angry fans worldwide, let's finish this!

Of Bad Anime, Facebook, Band Break-ups, and Squees

... ... *stares at date of this post*

Let me know when we have a cure for PTSD.

...

So... cute... @///_///@

Anywho, to get my mind off finishing the Mass Effect 2 review and planning for Persona 4 Golden, I have done other things in my time. When I'm not procrastinating for a test, reading books for class, or writing papers, I hang out on Crunchyroll, Youtube, and/or TV Tropes. Some anime caught my eye, and I've found some music I haven't heard in years.

I opened the floodgates of my mind and vomited whatever had time to escape. So lets see what Fangirl's been up to.

Need to Vent... RISING.

For some odd reason my text gadget is glitching out. So my most recent "PSA From a Fangirl" will be a blog post instead. This won't happen very often. It's just a quick way for me to make a quick note about something that hit me. You might as well call it a tweet, only less toilet updates and celebrity gossip chains.

Anywho.

PSA From a Fangirl:
The US government has shut down today. Both Republicans and the President refuse to negotiate on the budget and health care reform.

China is free to demand us to cough up what we owe. North Korea is free to send out a nuclear missile. The terrorists are completely welcome to attack us on our soil again. Paranoid, hypocritical Christians are free to build their shelters when the supposed "Evil Islamic Armageddon" destroys the "good ol' 'Merican spirit!" "God bless the USA!"

Seriously. We are at our most vulnerable. We are practically begging for our country to crash and burn! We're practically asking for the nations our beloved fathers crafted for us to be decimated!! If these threats are real enough to manifest to enact change, please attack our country! We can't get anything done because of ideological and geopolitical cat fights. We need something to yank our heads out of our behinds!

And I blame all Americans - soldiers, politicians, businessmen, rednecks, intellectuals, conservatives, liberals, Congress, the president, the judicial branch, the federal government, the state government, lobbyists, diplomats, the religious, the irreligious, every ethnicity that exists in this country, the proud, the stupid, the smart, the young, the old, families, singles, the married, the rich, the poor, the middle class, capitalists, socialists, anarchists, men, women, students, the healthy, the sick, the dying, the druggies, the alcoholics, the smokers, the immigrants, the natives, doctors, teachers, journalists, bloggers, paparazzi, celebrities, Youtube celebrities, comedians, talk show hosts, musicians, tax payers, tax collectors, government organizations, straight people, gay people, transgender people, the employed, the unemployed, those who cannot vote, those who can vote AND myself.

Because it's all our fault. WE LET THIS HAPPEN. 

... ... ...

I'm too young to be tired of the epic failures of this world.

... ... ...

Y'know... I don't want to hate my home country. I honestly don't. The United States is my mother country and culture. I'm so embedded in it, I sometimes can't imagine myself living anywhere else and being just as satisfied. As much as I find China and Japan to have cool cultures and languages, I won't ever fit in there. I'd like to live in Europe sometime, but English is my only reliable form of communication. Plus, I'd stand out in a Caucasian continent. And let's not get started with politics, laws, money, and taxes...

Then I look at the state of the US now. We are so backwards and delusional. We're not the greatest country anymore. Hell, I doubt we ever were the greatest country in the world. We're just so rude, narrow-minded, arrogant, and irrational, it astounds me that we were once considered "the greatest country ever".

... ... ...

Yeah, I'm supposed to be a kid with big eyes and a drive to live on my own and make a different in the world.

Then the government shuts down because our leaders are so stubborn.

I guess we're just not motivated to do anything anymore. I know I'm fighting laziness and childish urges to crawl into a hole and play video games for the rest of my life. But when my elders show no desire to get work done, the sickness spreads and trickles down.

And this is the United States' greatest failure.

... ... ...

And it's been going on for nearly a decade.

... ... ...

... ... ...

*checks calendar*

I can't wait 'till I turn 21. I need a superior-beings-damned drink...

'Mass Effect 2': Part III

Six down, six more to go. So many teammates. Not enough time. I do like these guys, but MAN! @_@

Okay, enough complaining. Let's get back on track and finish the characters you're stuck with. Miscellaneous guys will be mentioned briefly in part 4, when I finally end this review... I hope.

Because this was my first Mass Effect game and it's the one I've played the most, I can say quite a decent bit about it. But is it my favorite in the franchise?

... We'll see.

Once again, SPOILER warning.

'Devil Survivor 2: The Animation'

I like anime. I really do. Some of the conventions and cliches are fun, hilarious, and enjoyable. Some characters fit the same mold constantly, but others break down boundaries and create a new spin on tropes of characterization.

Some shows are classics. Some are memorable and provide a lot of commentary. Some are forgettable, but still watchable. Others are just simply bad. Even fewer reach legendary levels of awful. Basically, anime is like everything else: movies, music, shows, books, and various other mediums of entertainment.

Maybe I've been on TV Tropes for far too long and I'm even more jaded than ever since I became a realistic pessimist. Maybe I'm just naturally finding faults in everything. Maybe I do too much simple research on suits, temperature, and health concerns before I dive into a public pool. Regardless of the reason, I came to the conclusion that Devil Survivor 2 The Animation is a sterile anime.

How it fairs as an adaptation will not be a strong factor as I have not played the game. However, I will stress a few things that rubbed the wrong way with me, still relatively new to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise.

To put it simply, this is Shiki meets Sonic Colors... with Altus and the SMT label slapped on for sales.

Great. Spoilers ahoy.

'Mass Effect 2': Part II

This post is long... and way beyond overdue. Life and college tends to do that.

I apologize.

Anywho.

Taking some time away from these games to live my life and try new things, sometimes I get a fresh new view on Mass Effect. Although there is quite a good bit of the fiction I still really enjoy, there are others that have lost their luster.

Sometimes I go on and on about how lovable a cast can be, and it's only true to a certain extent. When it comes to stories in many mediums of fiction, I find myself truly caring about one in every four people. Most times it's because there's not enough time to develop and get to know these characters. Otherwise, another one in four is simply entertaining in the short term. The two quarters are either in the category of "Who gives a shit?" or "FALL IN A PIT AND DIE!"

Mass Effect has been pretty good in the sense that most characters fit in box two: short-lived, but fun. Some take up type three (forgettable) and almost no one is type four (except one person to be noted in the third game). Several people fit in box one... and it's thanks to this game.

Once again, and I am 100% serious: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE FREAKING FRANCHISE HERE.

If you don't want the plot ruined, PLEASE play the games. The Trilogy box set is about $35.00 for three games. $11.50 each: that's a deal. It's cheaper than buying ME1 on the Playstation Network.That is cheaper than Skyrim and all it's DLC. This is cheaper than Far Cry 3. And you get 90 hours of gameplay. What are you waiting for? BUY IT.

Or if you just like spoilers in general, keep on reading.

200 Posts?!?!?!: Update and Mini Rants

It took me nearly a month to realize how many posts I've published. Holy Crap. O_O

Typically one would say "Thank you for helping me keep this blog strong!", but I won't. I say it on every "update" and it's tired out by this point. Yes, I am still thankful, but that's not going to be the purpose of this post.

Well, I want to mention the state of various posts I'm working on or I've promised I'd put up. Then I'll sprinkle in some things on my mind lately.

'Tears on Tape'

After nearly killing myself over a stupid video game, I'm ecstatic that I could cast aside some of the worst thoughts to finally greet my favorite band's new album back in April. I remember greeting Screamworks around Valentine's of 2011 with universe-destroying period cramps that made me leave school early. (Men are so lucky...) When I checked the mail, my massive limited edition purchase sat there and my bloody angry mood crumbled into dust. Not a few hours later, a snow storm came and I had an extra day off to enjoy the awesome music.

This time, similar luck happened. I desperately NEEDED the sweatshirt I got in my preorder for my final art project. And the weekend I come home to get my things for it? Thanks for being a loyal Fangirl, me! ^_^

... But this has nothing to do with the quality of the album at all, does it?

And so, how is HIM's eighth studio album, Tears on Tape?

For one, I love the cover art. It's so bizarre with the lyrics of the chorus to "Tears on Tape" written in cryptic symbols, Malachim to be exact, within the snake. That and the heartagram surrounded by a heptagram and the abstract tiles... Oh, I can squee over this band forever and bore everyone else on the planet!

I'm done gushing... for now. ...Maybe.

... But the drummer is healthy again after that really scary nerve damage in his wrists from repetitive stress! Yay! Thank the superior being(s) he recovered before the band considered breaking up! :D

...Darn it. Shutting up. >.<

Persona 4: the Golden Preview

... Ladies and gents. First, it was Persona 3. Not long ago, it was Persona 4 Golden. I finally beat the two most popular, referenced, and overrated Persona games in the subseries under the gi-friggin-normous Megami Tensei umbrella of a franchise. My Vita may not have as many games as my 3DS, but it sure was happy to be used.

So, the big question. I adore Persona 3 to no end, just ask my 460 page fanfic. Does its successor, particularly the Golden version, sit on the same level? Or does it surpass it?

'Mass Effect 2': Part I

At last, a Mass Effect title I can bitch less about! ...Maybe.

There is far too much to say about the trilogy, hence my splitting the first game's review into three parts. If there were too many unnecessary details thrown, I apologize. (But I really had to get the inventory system disaster off my chest.)

This game will probably get as much attention, mainly because the team you assemble is much, much larger. I'll get to them when I can though. One step at a time.

Heh, even after I finish this, I know I will have skipped over a ton of material. I can never win.

Once again I'll warn everyone that there are SPOILERS.



And one of MANY stupid memes that I need to reference just to shut the fans up.

Everyone, cue the infamous one finger air quote:

Now... let's begin.

Blue Screen of Uncertainty

I admit... it's been a long while since I last edited my Mass Effect 2 review. Call it writer's block or lack of inspiration: both mean that it might not come out for a while.

Lately I've just been thinking. A lot. I tend to do that when something feels off. Something's been bugging me and I don't entirely know how to handle it. And my blog has been pumping half-assed content as a result. The last thing I need is a break, as my infrequent updates are pretty much that. On the other hand, it'd suck if my blog is like a comatose patient on life support.

Simply put, Fangirl's having a bit of a crisis.

July 2013 Update

When I'm not continuously suffering from blogging-writer's block, I'm up to my usual shenanigans. Listening to music, playing video games, reading a few books, waiting for summer to end...

Yeah, summer's not as fun as it used to be as a kid. For the first time in my life, I actually prefer sitting at a desk and listening to teachers drone on and on. It gives me a more predictable schedule. Now? All my friends either live too far away to meet up with or they're so busy it's impossible to find the perfect day. So yeah, I'm a bit of a sad bum for now. I do some housework to keep things going, but... The awkward late-teens early-twenties transition can be a pain. At least once I get back to school, I'll probably be a tudor to earn a few bucks...

Anywho. Onto slightly more entertaining things. Like Fire Emblem: Awakening.

...Why was I complaining about a $40 game for the past several months?

Last weekend, I was at Best Buy, contemplating on trying out either Skyrim or Fire Emblem Awakening. The universe FINALLY dashed the price of the former in half (only for the newest version with all DLC to be at $60 - fair enough I guess); the latter continued to linger at the $40 benchmark. Realizing that my handheld sat with only Ocarina of Time as a 3DS title in my DS library... the most recent blue-haired, dragon-slaying prince won.

Now TV Tropes has a new reason to suck my soul away bit by bit...

As I hoped, Fire Emblem Awakening is really, really, damn fun. I am still angry at Nintendo for last year's E3; they announced the game's US release via a small text. One lousy message sent to one of the guys in Nintendo who mentioned it briefly before diving back into the over-the-top Mario festival of excess they held.

Sure, Mario is not my thing. I prefer Sonic the Hedgehog, and playing The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition was the reason I wanted a Gamecube. Now with two Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing games, I have no reason to get Mario Kart. When I play Super Smash Bros, I use any and characters besides those in the Mario franchise. And as much as I found Mario Party and Super Mario Sunshine to be mildly entertaining, for some subjective reason I just can't seem to care about the adventures the red plumber goes on.

Yes. Even THIS train wreck is more entertaining than Mario.

This is a rant for another time, I guess.

For now, I'm still playing Fire Emblem: Awakening... seventy hours of one and one-half playthroughs and counting. Looks like this and Persona 3 Portable are my distractions for the next semester. As long as I keep a decent GPA...

Anywho.

I'll try to complain less and enjoy the free time I have. In moderation.
Plus I have a few drafts sitting around that need to be worked on.

I'm still alive, and that's fine for my blog... maybe.

PS - A part of my world felt empty and sad after the last single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3 came out. There are several things I miss, like a companion and criminal with an adorable sense of silliness and humor.

"...Sugar?"

Thanks, Fire Emblem: Awakening. He's no Kasumi Goto, but Gaius is a keeper. :)

June 2013 Update: E-cow-nomics

I know it's off the internet...
But even a pic I took would make it
tiny to read...

Because I'm bored and having writer's block on my blog. Call it me selling out or lazy, that's fine. I'll get off my ass and finish my Mass Effect 2 review... or maybe beat Persona 4 Golden.

My brain is in a state similar to fried chicken because I'm spending too much time writing my Persona 3 fanfic. An activity that originally started out of boredom back during the spring semester has exploded into a 400+ page, six Word documented project that is still incomplete. ...I still don't know why I'm still writing it. At this rate, it'll be longer than Les Miserables.

Otherwise Fangirl's life is... is... is... um...

...I got a new poster to take to college. It'll proudly sit right next to the one on the menstrual cycle I got from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.

Yeah. This thing. XD

I just love dry, quirky humor like this.

... This might be me selling out, but oh well. My fanfic destroyed my brain. That's a good excuse... right?

Introducing the explanation of 21 economic models... using cows! Too bad the font is too tiny to read of the picture...

Socialism: You have two cows. You give one to your neighbor.

Communism: You have two cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

Fascism: You have two cows. The State takes both then sells you some milk.

Nazism: You have two cows. The State takes both and shoots you.

Bureaucratism: You have two cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.

Traditional Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

Surrealism: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

American Corporation: You have two cows. You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow had dropped dead.

Venture Capitalism - Icelandic Corporation: You have two cows. You sell all three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

French Corporation: You have two cows. You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

Japanese Corporation: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called "Cowkimon" and market it worldwide.

German Corporation: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

Italian Corporation: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

Russian Corporation: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have forty-two cows. You count again and learn you have two cows.

Swiss Corporation: You have five thousand cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

Chinese Corporation: You have two cows. You have three hundred people milking them. You claim you have full employment, and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

Indian Corporation: You have two cows. You worship them.

British Corporation: You have two cows. Both are mad.

Iraqi Corporation: Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them you have none. No one believes you, so they bomb you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least you are a part of Democracy.

Australian Corporation: You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close offices and go for a few beers to celebrate.

New Zealand Corporation: You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.


And everyone gets made fun of. :)


Back to writing I guess... *sigh* I need something to make me smile...

^///_///^

... Someone make this happen. NOW.

Fangirl's Lazy Post on E3... Or Why the Xbone Is in Trouble, Part 2

The whole internet pretty much summed up my general view of what happened this week. Microsoft shot themselves in the foot, and Sony laughed their asses off. While doing so, they did the simple trick of giving the people what they want: now they have us under their spell until they rip the rug from under our feet. It'll happen, it's business, I assure you. Meanwhile Nintendo did their own thing - as usual - and presented themselves well.

Since Sony and Nintendo tend to get my money in some way, shape, or form, I'll get a Wii U and/or a PS4 once the libraries have expanded. It'll probably be when I'm done college and have a stable income.

I Won the Lottery...

Oh, I sure do wish. It doesn't help that BOTH of my parents buy tickets occasionally. It's just so out of character for them, but then again, the economy has sucked since 2007. After six years of this mess, I'd consider spending twenty bucks a ticket to win superior being(s) know(s) how many millions of dollars. Graduation from college is gonna suck.

Anywho, onto more positive things.

That was me in real life yesterday... seriously.

I finally found a Gamestop that wasn't trying to rip my limbs off. The selection of new and used games was much larger than I was used to. That meant a greater possibility of finding games I once claimed "rare". And boy, my day was made.

The All-In-One Device... Minus Gaming

Maybe I was born in the wrong generation. Why else do I apologize to adults about the intolerable mess of our pop music? Why else do I still cringe at the mentioning of a smart phone? Why else did it take me nearly six years to finally buy a new gaming console?

...Oh wait. I'm a skeptic at heart. And stunts like this make the self-fulfilled prophesy continue to spin in circles.

So... the Xbox One...

FANGIRL SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Guess what came in the mail yesterday at 10:30 am right after Fangirl mowed the lawn?! Before everyone else in the states who have to buy it in stores on the 30th?

One CD, one DVD, a sweatshirt, a poster, and a digital copy. All for $35.00, minus tax.

And it's %$@#ing AWESOME.

Come back to me with a review in a few months after the euphoria dies down a bit. XD


P.S. Thank goodness I didn't kill myself over Persona 3. Everything's going uphill from here on out!

April 2013 Update

Holy crap... Only three more weeks until my summer vacation begins. ...And it's hot, humid, and miserable. I want the cold back; I miss winter so much.

Maybe I need to move to the Arctic and meet a few polar bears...

Credit due to owner.

Anywho. Updates and ramblings...

'Oblivion'

...

I... um...

...

This is a first.

SPOILERS.

'Persona 3' Part V

*sips pomegranate tea*

... Note to self: never, ever, ever read Persona 3 fan fiction. Never again. Ever.

This has to be the worst game I have ever played. The story, the characters, the gameplay, the fans, the fanfiction, EVERYTHING related to this game deserves to be destroyed. If only there was an appropriate punishment worthy of this abomination of a game's existence! All thanks to Atlus, they owe me four trillion yen in tissues for P3P's New Game Plus ending alone! That's not even covering all the other non-Shinji relates moments in the game! Yukari's dad! Junpei and Chidori! Takeharu Kirijo! New Years Eve!

Why on earth did I play this game?! ...Oh, right, a bunch of other traumatized folks on the internet recommended it to me so I could join in the parade of misery. There... there are just no words...

That's it. I made it this far. There have been a few moments when I came very close to slicing my jugular open. Instead I threw a tantrum because I have self control! Today, I will end this review once and for all! I will not falter this time! Watch me!!

'Persona 3' Part IV

Grrrr...

Why this guy? Why now? Do I seriously have to pause the review for one stupid character?! He's barely in the game! There's no point in paying any attention to him!

...

*sighs*

...

Looks like I can't progress any further until I deal with this asshole first.

Damn it.

SPOILERS.

'Persona 3' Part III

Okay, me, those boxes are deliberate. Such lazy censorship was clearly done by an amateur. What the hell are you hiding?

*sees hand with Fanta bottle of sand*

Ha! You can't stop me! I came prepared!

*wrestles with arm and twists thumb, forcing bottle to fall*

*free hand picks up bottle and throws it out the window*

*wraps once-aggressive hand in a cast to prevent movement*

TAKE THAT, ME! =P


Anywho.

Yes, something has been bugging me all throughout this review. At some point I will have to confront my subconscious and demand it to spill it out. I really feel like I'm purposefully avoiding something, as I keep making awkward pauses to slap myself back into shape.

But I must stay on track. If I don't figure out what this missing thing is before my final verdict... No. That won't happen. I will finish the detailed review with that missing thing! I will succeed, even if it kills me! I will stay strong until the end!

Well, enough of the silly battle cry! Let's move on into the plot, where spoilers will be common!

CHARGE!!!!!

Political Compass, Many Months Later

Last time I took this political quiz, almost exactly one year ago...

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -1.88

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.74

Now...

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -6.62

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.82

Holy crap.

The moderately liberal libertarian transformed into an extremely communistic libertarian. My Republican best friend might not be happy about that. @_@ And like many people, I am still disenchanted by the choices in politicians. So I guess we're all in the same boat about something.

See where you fall: http://www.politicalcompass.org/test

'Persona 3', Part II

Looking back, I think I went too fast with the gameplay section. If anyone read it and had no idea what the hell "Tartarus" or "the Dark Hour" is, I apologize. I will go in more detail once we get to plot, which is not until a good ways off at this rate, but let me simplify them here and now.

When you're not living a normal high school life, a mysterious "hidden" hour emerges at midnight, between one day and the next. That is the Dark Hour. Most people are unaware of this, as they are "asleep" in coffins that suddenly manifest. Only those with a Persona - or those with the potential to awaken one - can wander around freely.

Except there are Shadows everywhere and their behavior seems to be affected by the phases of the moon. Most, however, hang out in this massive tower located in the center of the town our heroes live in. It also just happens to be your high school during every other time but the Dark Hour. Of course, its up to you to investigate and figure out how both Tartarus and the Dark hour came to be.

And you can't do that without comrades.

There might be some spoilers.

Mini Shots: Evanescence

After many years of bashing them whenever I can, now is probably the time to be a bit more honest and less angry towards the band I owe so much. I have come across as a rebellious child kicking and screaming every single time I hear of Evanescence. Most of the time, my outbursts come from an irrational place. How some bands continue to get recognition despite boring both my ears off never ceases to baffle me. How some of the more interesting musicians do well enough to keep making music while others lay on their backs, basking in fame and glory while they mass produce thin-skinned balloons pisses me off.

Do I sound like a hipster? Hmm, perhaps. "I liked them before they were cool" is not a commonly used phrase, although "I liked them before they began to suck" sounds more like me. Minor technicality I guess.

In late 2006, this band saved me. An exaggeration to some, I guess, but Evanescence really did kickstart my changing preference in music. Pop lost its appeal to me at some point as it sounded very shallow. Whenever people would talk about the latest hit, all I would hear was about how the beat was awesome or the melody catchy... and that's it. Lyrics were irrelevant. The next thing the world knew, that one hit song would vanish into the trench of the lost and forgotten, never to be mentioned again. Why did such a music genre and its followers have such a short attention span? Were there any songs worth hanging onto? Apparently my dissatisfaction with what society thought was "cool" lost its appeal and I tried to find something different.

Evanescence was the first step. They were my diapers, my training wheels, my crutches... then I outgrew them. I could find new music on my own, I could try out other bikes, and I could walk without feeling intimidated. The journey was long and many changes happened, but I'm happy where I am. Now, I need to come to terms with where it all began. Hopefully, I can do this in a more mature fashion than some of my past rants.

'Persona 3' Part I

... okay.

It took me a long time to recover after my first impression post. Now that I underwent extreme psychotherapy and a lobotomy to erase that inexcusably f'ing awful event from my mind, I'm back to normal and ready to review.

Other than that one moment that I cannot remember details of, Persona 3 was a lot better than I originally expected. For once I found a JRPG that is interesting and its developers competent.

'Tis a shame that I have over 130 hours of two playthroughs to reflect and comment on. By this point, it seems that video game reviews will be a billion times longer than anything else I'll ever post. Looks like the Mass Effect trilogy won't be the only one getting this special treatment.

'Persona 3': First Impressions

~~~Fangirl's LOG: 25 hours of gameplay complete.

You know, this game is really addicting! Maybe now I can finally dive into role playing games without being too anxious! Man, this is pretty great! First Mass Effect, now Persona 3! I am on a roll! This is exactly why I do research, ask questions, and then take a dip in the pool.

The gameplay is repetitive, but fun; the plot makes sense; the characters are likable - no, lovable; the drama feels natural and well-developed; and the music is awesome... Man, this is just too good to be true! For once, I actually give a crap about high school kids and their everyday shenanigans! For once, I'm actually really, really, completely happy with a video game! I can easily see myself playing this for many years, just like the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time! Man, those were some fantastic days of my childhood!

Surely my luck will run out at some point, but for now, I can settle with this long period of fun games! Yet another game to beckon me as I'm off in college away from my Playstation 3...

*newly bought PS Vita with Persona 4 screen protector catches eye*

... never mind! I can play this game whenever I shall please! This is like Christmas all over again! XD

~~~ Fangirl's LOG: 43 hours complete.

Holy crap! Things are getting real! Oh, boy, this is getting intense! Another full moon event! Time to kick some butt! I'm so psyched! I love this game so much!! Things just keep getting better and better!

~~~Fangirl's LOG: ten minutes later.

...

...

... what... just happened?

...

...

Ha, ha! Maybe I did something wrong. This is an RPG, right? There are tons of flags scattered about with choices that can affect the story! I should start again from scratch, just in case!

Sure, there are four months in the school year before the final battle and the end of the game, but maybe I can change that one little event! Right?

~~~Fangirl's LOG: Current save file abandoned. Created new save file. Decided to make different choices. After many hours pass, Fangirl reached reached the point of concern.

What.

It happened AGAIN? What the hell! What did I do wrong?! How can I undo it?! Where is the third option?! What route must I take to avoid it?! Please tell me it doesn't canonically happen!

It f'ing better not be canon! My fangirlish instincts are boiling with rage! Universe, please don't do this to me!!! This pessimistic Fangirl needs a happily ever after, dammit! One light of hope and happiness is all I ask for! All the fan art on the internet is NOT going to cut it!

~~~Fangirl's LOG: Turns off game without bothering to save. Goes online to look up in-depth, detailed research. Many, many sleepless nights pass by.

...

...

...

...

...

I quit. All the ice cream, crab cakes, dark chocolate, and HIM songs in the universe cannot help me unsee what I experienced. Not even fan art... or fanfiction...

What's canon, is canon.

Damn it...

...why did I play this...?

*sob*