Photoshop Project: Hawaii Postcard and The Difference Between Dole and Del Monte

This is one of my earlier projects in Photoshop  class. The main idea here was working with layers and type. I duplicated the photo of a pineapple twice over and repositioned them, then I positioned the flower in the corner. Afterwards the stamp was placed over the image. With that finished, I added type. First "Hawaii" with a border and color gradient. Lastly, the subtitle "Dole or Del Monte" was added with a drop shadow and a color gradient for each word.

If you're asking about "Dole or Del Monte", there is a story behind it; if not, there is still a story behind it. I'll tell you about it...right now!

My mother went on a trip to Hawaii in the early '80's and was driving toward the North Shore near Honolulu. On the left side of the road was a field full of pineapple plants owned by Dole, as noted by all of the signs by the road. She then turned left at a nearby intersection and saw a small fence bisecting the field diagonally. After she turned there were signs by the field, this time saying Del Monte. She was amazed by it at the time and from then on this question was asked, "What is the difference between Dole and Del Monte?" Answer: "A fence".

That's all for now, I'll be back with more. Until then, God bless!

Radio Ad: Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Library- 60 Seconds

Yeah, I know the title seems a little long and boring, but it works. Anyway, I said that I would be showcasing some of my schoolwork here. And so here's more! This one was done for my Digital Audio class and is set to be played on the college radio station, or rather internet radio station, TC Campus Connection (please check it out, we need listeners). The ad was made through Pro Tools 10, features both myself and BigFreakinJ (a good friend who often joins me for Let's Play projects on YouTube), and, of course, promotes the NWTC Library. So, without further ado, here's the ad (modified as a video since Blogger won't let me upload audio clips on their own).

Feel free to leave any feedback in the comments. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

That's all for now, but I'll be back for more when I can. So, until then, God Bless!

 

Changes Coming. Brace Yourself!

Just as the title says, there are some changes coming to the blog. Other than having more content here, I will also change the overall look of the site itself to something that more reflects my style, interests, and talents. With what I have learned in photoshop class, I will have something of a more professional caliber shown here as opposed to what I have currently.

With that said, I do plan to start publishing reviews up here again in the next few days and we'll see where that takes us.

That's all for today. So until then, God Bless!

The Official Resurrection Post and Showcase!

Hello all who bother to actually view this page! I have returned from a very long hiatus. Work and school have kept me away...until now! I've been taking a couple of media classes this semester and we have been encouraged to showcase a portfolio of our work. So what I'm going to do here is I'm going to show off some of my work, which I will do two or three times a week.

Today's work is a photoshop project in Adobe Photoshop (how's that for redundant!). It is a photo converted into a color sketch drawing. Note: You will need to enlarge the image to see the full detail.

It's a simple work if you're familiar with photoshop. My explanation here and with other photoshop projects will contain a lot of "inside baseball" jargon, but bear with me. Again, if you're familiar, you'll know what I'm talking about.

First the photo was cropped. Then I converted the original photo itself (which I'll show toward the end of this post) into a Smart Object. The layer itself was duplicated three times over. On the original layer, it was then converted into a black and white sketch drawing with the lines going toward the left diagonally. The first duplicate had the same sketch set up with right-diagonal lines with opacity dropped to 50%. For the second duplicate only the outline edges were shown with opacity dropped to 45%. The last layer is simply a copy of the original cropped image placed over the others, but opacity is lower still at about 40%. With that, you have the image you see above.

Below is the original image:

There you have it! Expect more projects to be shown here, not only photoshop projects, but also audio projects from another class. Until next time, God Bless!

NFL Week 3 Picks

Screw it, I'm using different team logos as a header from now on. Anyway, Week 2 was exciting, with one last second victory after another; the Bills last second win over Carolina and the Bears going ahead of the Vikings in the final moments, plus many others. Let's see if Week 3 can be just as good or better. Alright, you know the drill, picks in bold, upsets in red bold, and all game times central time.

Last week: 14-2
Overall: 21-11

NFL Week 2 Picks

Week 1 of the 2013 NFL season is in the books. Picks were made and the games were played; and I didn't do very well with only seven winning picks versus nine losing ones. So let's see if I can rebound this week. The format is the same as last week, picks in bold, upsets in bold red. So, let's cut to it!

Commentary: General Update

First off, I do want to apologize for not posting anything at all here on the blog or on either YouTube channel. I have been very busy lately, not just work, but also school has begun as well, so that's eating up a lot of my time as well. That isn't to say that I haven't been working on my current projects either.

The good news, SMB 2 episode three is finished, and it will be uploaded tomorrow. I took longer than expected only because of the larger than normal size of it. Episode four is also in production and I look to have that up sometime next week.

The bad news, though, is with Ocarina of Time. It is taking even longer to edit mainly because of the lack of time I've had lately. It will be finished sometime this weekend (that's the plan, anyway), and will be uploaded shortly thereafter. For future episodes, at least in the near future, I am looking to release those on a weekly basis. Those will be longer episodes as well because of the time frame that I am setting up. Hopefully everything goes smoothly!

As for the blog, the only thing guaranteed to be posted on a regular basis is the weekly NFL picks. Everything else will come around when it comes around. I am working on new reviews, though, and those should be up starting next week, time providing of course. :)

That's all I have for this week's update. We'll see how everything goes and go from there.

Until next time, God bless!

NFL Week 1 Picks

Week One of the 2013 NFL season is upon us, and it is shaping out to be an exciting one at that. We have the Niners hosting the Packers, Falcons at the Saints, and the Raiders at Colts..ah, OK, not that one; but we do open up with the Broncos playing host in a divisional round rematch against the reigning champs, the Baltimore Ravens, plus many more great match-ups.

What I'm going to do here each week is pick the winner of each game, and since there are games on Thursdays for many weeks throughout the season, most of the weeks picks will be made on Wednesday or Thursday. Anyhow, let's cut to the chase.

SOS Review: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki (OVA) Episode 2- "Here Comes Ayeka" (Or Is It Spelled Aeka?)

*By Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki, I mean all three OVA series.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Episode 2
Aeka ga Deta! 

阿重霞が出た
Here Comes Ayeka

Contains Spoilers

Synopsis: The episode begins with some space tree receiving the rainbow lasers from last episode. This awakens a couple of talking logs who then release a young woman from stasis. The woman asks what planet they arrived to. She is told the planet is called "Colonized Planet 0315", aka Earth. She then figures that this is where her brother, Yosho, is. The logs tell her that only Ryoko was detected, but logically speaking, Yosho would have followed her. The lady expresses disdain for Ryoko and someone or something called Ryo-Ohki while watching on screen Ryoko's statute of limitations run out, and is not happy about it, wondering why she isn't wanted forever. One of the logs refers to a decision made by the Supreme Council of Jurai. She doesn't care, and then she decides to descend toward Ryoko's location and capture her.

Meanwhile, Tenchi is gawking at Ryoko, who is still on his bed. She then asks for his balls. Tenchi declines, thinking she's talking about his junk. She's actually referring to the gems in his sword, and proceeds to wrestle Tenchi for the sword. Ryoko grabs it, but the sword shocks her instead. While this is going on, Tenchi's father hears the noise and wonders what's up. He peeks into Tenchi's room and is surprised to see a young lady in there with him. Meanwhile, Ryoko pleads with Tenchi to give her back her gems, telling him about a devil lady. That "devil lady" Ryoko refers to is the woman inside the ship, who is going to begin capture protocol, also ordering the ship to refrain from firing. Tenchi wants to know if a peaceful arrangement is possible, but Ryoko tells him otherwise. Meanwhile, Tenchi's father is videotaping his son with Ryoko and the tree-ship appears, scaring the hell out of him. The lady orders Ryoko to show herself, who doesn't, and then orders a shot to fired nearby. This is enough to convince Tenchi to give her back her gems, or rather, one of them. This allows Ryoko (unhappy that she only got one gem back, but gets over it) to summon her ship, Ryo-Ohki, who rises out of a lake with a "meow", then arrives to Ryoko's location, who then shrinks Tenchi's house and father and brings them on board. They try to get away, but are eventually captured by the unnamed young lady.

Some time later, the young lady interrogates Ryoko about the sword that Tenchi was carrying, and then about her (half-)brother, Yosho. Ryoko doesn't answer the question, and proceeds to receive electroshock therapy, which she seems to enjoy. The lady, referred to as a princess of Jurai by Ryoko, wonders if she is a masochist; but Ryoko answers that she is a sadist. The princess accuses Ryoko of being responsible for Yosho's disappearance, then shocks her with the sword. Ryoko then mentions that Tenchi would know more about Yosho; the princess assumes that Ryoko is referring to the sword, which has the same name as the boy. The princess is advised by flying, talking gems that it is her bedtime, so she retires for the night.


Meanwhile, Tenchi is stuck in some kind of tree cell. He attempts to move the branches to escape, but fails, then he grabs a knife and tries to cut the branches, but is interrupted by a young girl. She introduces herself as Sasami, tells Tenchi about the ship, then frees him with an object similar to his sword, which he no longer has. So, Tenchi asks Sasami to return him home; but, she'll only do so if he does something for her.

We cut away to the princess. She is getting ready for bed and while doing so listens to a recording from Yosho. His message is that he is off to fight a criminal and that he will return. She finishes the message by stating that when he returns, she, who now has a name, Aeka (or Ayeka, I'll explain later), is to become his bride (...). Right after she turns out the lights, Tenchi and Sasami arrive. Their plan is to have Tenchi go and steal Aeka's head ornament. He seems reluctant, but complies with Sasami, nonetheless. So, he sneaks in, sees the head ornament...on Aeka's head, and wonders how he'll remove it without waking her. He then notices the sword...that she's clutching, so he decides to retrieve it first. He is unsuccessful as he wakes her up. From her perspective, he looks like he's doing something...else. Anyway, she screams, Tenchi tries to keep her quiet, is unsuccessful, he gets kicked but manages to get the sword, and then he hightails it out of there. The two logs, Azaka and Kamidake, give chase, in order to put Tenchi to death per Aeka's command. He picks up Sasami, and asks if she can do anything to stop the logs, but she can't as they belong to her sister. They continue running until they run into a tree portal.

The portal brings them to where Ryoko is being held. Tenchi frees her, albeit accidentally through the sword. Sasami asks who the old lady is, and Ryoko is not happy about being called an old lady (oba-chan). She is happy, though, that Tenchi retrieved the sword; she then proceeds to retrieve the other two gems still embedded in the sword. But, they are interrupted by Aeka, who notices that it was Sasami who released Tenchi. She then asks him about the owner of the sword. He tells her that the owner passed away a long time ago, but Aeka doesn't believe him. Tenchi tells her that's how it's told in the legend. She asks for that person's name, and he tells her his name was Yosho. Aeka is in disbelief and orders the logs to charge at them. Ryoko holds an energy sword to Sasami, but she is then captured by vines. The logs then go after Tenchi, Sasami begs them to stop, as does Tenchi. The logs are stopped, but only because of the sword; Aeka notices this, and can't believe that Yosho is dead. Ryoko, now freed, calls Ryo-Ohki up. The ship stabs a hole in Aeka's ship and Tenchi and Ryoko escape. Ryoko decides to have Aeka brought down to Earth so that she no longer causes any trouble. Tenchi pleads with Ryoko not to do this, but she doesn't care. Ultimately they all crash, destroying a bridge in the process. 

The next morning, the incident about the Great Seto Bridge's destruction by what is described as a meteor is on the news. We then see that Tenchi's house and father, who is taking all of this very well, have been restored and are now by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine. Ryoko comments that Tenchi doesn't have a scratch and Sasami mentions that their (Aeka's) ship took most of the damage. Tenchi's dad asks where the other one (Aeka) went. It turns out that she is trying to resurrect her ship, but no avail as it sinks deeper into the lake.

Review/Analysis: I really got to find a way to shorten these summaries. It doesn't help that I watch the episode and write the synopsis up at the same time, but, oh well. Anyway, I liked this episode for the most part, but I have a few questions. However, we'll get to those later.

First off, the episode continued from the last one very well. We see those rainbow lasers that were

sent off last episode received by Aeka's ship, and we see the continuation with Ryoko in Tenchi's room. Every scene from there seems to move smoothly into the next, the pacing is consistent, and we learned a bit more about our characters.

From what I've seen in these first two episodes is that each event almost, if not, directly leads into the next. The progression is logical, even in this episode alone. After Aeka wakes up, she wants to find Yosho, her brother, but instead finds out that Ryoko is there instead. Aeka attacks, Ryoko calls Ryo-Ohki and runs away with Tenchi and are then captured. Every event makes logical sense. If there were any surprises in this episode, it would be Sasami's introduction. She does not appear until we see Tenchi being held captive. That's not to say that she doesn't make sense to the story; she frees Tenchi, agrees to help him if he retrieves Aeka's head ornament, which ultimately leads to Ryoko's freedom, her escape with Tenchi in Ryo-Ohki, which leads to their return to earth. So, everything that happens has some sort of reason behind it. 
 
The only possible exception to all the logic here is that they land at the lake by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine even though they clearly crashed into a bridge and the next thing we see occurs the next morning at Tenchi's house, restored, which is now located at the lake. There isn't any real explanation for it here, so it does raise some questions here, but I'll try to speculate anyway. My best guess is that the ships did not stop moving after the crash into the Seto Bridge and eventually made their way to the lake by the shrine. Other than this, I don't see questionable logic in this episode at all.

Another oddity that I did notice is that Tenchi's house and his father we're both shrunken down in order to fit on Ryo-Ohki. I didn't understand how this makes sense, and it probably doesn't; but it's Ryoko, she can do whatever she wants, I guess. This at least leadsto the plot point of all of them living near the shrine, so I guess I'll have to accept it; this better help the plot pretty damn well, and from what I've seen so far, I'd venture that as highly likely.

There are a couple other things that did intrigue me, though. The first being that Aeka is betrothed to her brother Yosho. Yeah, read that again. Brother and sister, or rather half siblings, are engaged to be married. I'm not one to care for incest, to put it lightly. In real world terms, it's just plain wrong! Be that as it may, though, I'll try to explain the reasoning for this as well. It has more to do with how royal families conduct themselves; they want to keep that royal blood "pure" and they want to keep themselves in power, so they married into other royal families in order to make political alliances, this kept up until the point that all those royal families were related due to a shrinkage in the gene pool; this was very common in European royalty. The most famous of these is the Hapsburg family of Europe, which is also where the condition of mandibular prognathism, or Hapsburg Jaw, was a family trait, which highlights a genetic risk to inbreeding. As said, though, royal inbreeding was due more to political motivation than anything, so let's leave it at that. I won't say anything more on this subject  unless it is warranted.

The other thing that intrigued me was Aeka's shock and disbelief at the revelation that her brother, Yosho, is dead. Even after she discovered that her brother's sword, the one Tenchi has, is in sync with Tenchi. This may be simple denial and that realization will eventually occur, or there may be something more to this story; but that's what the next episode is for. If the going logic follows, it would make sense to explore Aeka's background a bit along with Yosho's. Again, we'll find out soon.

One last thing, I have seen Aeka's name spelled Ayeka. I'm guessing it's spelled that way in order to provide emphasis and proper pronunciation on the "ae" syllable/character/sound as there is no "ye" syllable/character/sound in Japanese. Since I like to be as authentic as possible, I'll go with the original romanization of the name. That's just me, either way is correct, though.

Overall, this was a very good episode. I look forward to what happens next!

As always, feel free to express your thoughts on the this review an other things that I have written about here. Dialogue is always appreciated.

Until next time, God Bless!

Commentary: Let's Play Projects II

All right, sorry for the radio silence once again; work, school preparation, and other projects have kept me away for much of the week. But, that does not mean everything else has to stop, right? Anyway, let's talk let's plays...again.

I mentioned last time that I was working on two projects concurrently, Super Mario Bros 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Well, this is more of a status update than anything. Short answer: everything's being edited right now, and a new episode of one let's play and a debut of another are expected this week. Long answer: keep reading!

I am in the middle of splicing together episode three of Bros 2. More or less I recorded two parts to that episode separately. You will see why when it's up, which should be Tuesday or Wednesday. You might or might not get a kick out of it! Anywho, I am looking to record Worlds 4 and 5 this week and have those ready to go in short order. I just hope that what happened in World 3 doesn't happen again, though. I am thinking of keeping the once-a-week release system for this game going forward; luckily, this isn't a long game.

As for Ocarina of Time, I did mention that I was going to release a trailer for it. Well, that plan has changed... I'm reworking the trailer as an intro for episode one, thus merging it all together. Episode One itself is in the mid-editing stage currently. There are quite a few cuts I need to make; I hope the episode turns out well. With that said, I'm looking to have it up by the weekend, so long as I am not distracted by too many other things.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. There isn't much else to report on this front. We'll see how everything goes!

Until next time, God bless!

Football Monday on Tuesday: Season Predictions

Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, I was preoccupied with a few other things. Anywho, it's the last week of August and football season is just around the corner. We may have one game of preseason left, but that game is usually for the backups and third-stringers to fight to be on that list of 53. However, like everybody else, I'm anxious and excited. Also like everyone else, I'm going to make some predictions. Most of them will be based on what I have seen from each team so far, while others are mostly guesses.

For my predictions, I'll go through each division and predict how each team will finish, including playoff seeding. Then I'll predict individual awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, etc. Lastly, I'll predict the postseason from the wild card round to the Super Bowl. So, without further ado:

Commentary Friday: Let's Play Projects

If you are reading this blog, you may have found that I do let's plays on two different channels, SOS Hardline Productions and Fogarty Logic: The Legend of Rohn Storey. If you have not, check them out. 

Anyway, I am currently working on projects for both. For Fogarty Logic, BigFreakinJ and I are working on "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time", and we've recorded up to a major plot point (take a guess, hint, hint), and recording will start up again in September. On the editing side, Episode 1 is in the works and will be out on Labor Day; I've also making a trailer for the project as well. So that's all I have on that front.

For SOS Hardline Productions, I am doing a solo project for Super Mario Bros 2 (All-Stars version). That project is recorded up to World 3, and I've taken a break since. You'll find out why when that episode is released. That's also why I haven't posted anything here until today. But, the show must go on. Hopefully, I don't rage out any further, but I'm only cautiously optimistic...(World 4...ice physics...). We'll have to see how everything goes.

I also have another solo project on hold, but it won't be started up until after Bros. 2 is finished. It will be a longer project, so more will need to be planned. I won't spoil the title here, but I'll give you a hint: it's a Wii game. That's all you get...for now;)

While that's all I have for now, I do have a few other projects planned. In addition to Rohn Storey and my solo runs, I am also planning some multiplayer ones as well. I'm not going to say anything else about them until I'm able to coordinate them with my fellow gaming buds.

That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless.

Family Lore Tuesday on Friday: "Kitchen Nightmare"

Sorry I was absent the last couple of days; I've been busy with work, recordings, and frustration during said recordings. Lots of frustration... I'll talk about that in a different post. Anyway, here's Tuesday's family lore.

My family is one that you could consider for the most part normal. That being said, we do have our share of funny stories and happenings. From siblings, to parents, and to grandparents and further back, we each have our own moments.

Today's lore is one of my own moments.

I'm considered a rather decent cook. But, that wasn't always the case. When I first cooked without help, it wasn't pretty. My mother had bought a pancake maker, an interesting appliance, but impractical. It was only able to make up to two pancakes at a time (whereas, a griddle, which I own, can make up to eight pancakes at once). Let's just say that I couldn't figure it out too well at first... Anywho, I made a mess;  some most of the pancakes were either burnt or all over the counter in the form of spilled batter. The result: Two edible pancakes. Only TWO! For three people, my mother, grandmother, and me. They were...amazed to say the least. That's not all, though; I then suggested sharing the two pancakes between the three of us. I think they were trying their hardest not to laugh while seeing that abomination, and after that suggestion, it became even more difficult. Afterwards, they helped out, or rather, took over, while I cleaned up.

I know it sounds boring, but it's all about the moment. Or rather, in this case the moments. This was my first time cooking and I made a ridiculous mess. Then, I suggested splitting up what food survived that comedy of errors. That's what its all about. That's how this event became family lore. On the plus side, I did get better at cooking afterward, albeit, I learned the hard way. So that's something to say the least.

Anyway, that's this weeks story. Until next time, God bless.

Nostalgia Monday: "Ed, Edd n' Eddy". Plus, Some Football Thoughts

Yes, yes, I know it's preseason and I should talk some football today; the only problem is, though, is that it's preseason. I don't watch all that much football until the regular season starts for a variety of reasons, the main one being that most preseason games are only locally televised. Because of this, I primarily watch the Packers, and I don't have much to say about them. They looked good against the Rams on Saturday; Eddie Lacy (Packers RB) looked very good for the offense, and the only surprise was on defense with Johnny Jolly (DT), who has returned to the NFL after a three-year absence, who made a few plays, including an interception. Those were the major pieces I picked up on. But, enough about that, let's talk about the Ed's.

For those who do not already know, "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" is a cartoon that premiered on Cartoon Network in 1999 and officially ended in 2009, with a couple of breaks in-between. While the show was a basic slapstick kids cartoon, it did have a more nostalgic feel to it than other cartoons back in the day. I don't know if it was the animation, which was wildly different than other cartoons at the time, with the squigly lines for the first few seasons along with cel-animation for the first four seasons; these alone already give it that nice nostalgic smell. But that's not all, the episodes of this series at least somewhat resemble those stories your parents and grandparents told you about their childhoods, albeit highly exaggerated; thus giving it the feel of the lives of children from those days, mainly the 1950's (as confirmed in an interview with series creator, Danny Antonucci). 

The show itself was episodic in nature, something very common in TV media, but there were some tie-ins with previous episodes, which does form a sort of continuity. Hell, this show also has (some) character development (actually, only one character, Edd, actually develops as a character over time), which is something you will almost never see with other cartoons of the time. The characters themselves, for the most part, though, fit a specific type and never really deviates. For example, Ed is almost (99% of the time) always the idiot of the group; Edd is the smart one, but very shy early on in the series, which does change over the course of the series; and Eddy, the greedy one, is always thinking up new ways to scam money from the other neighborhood kids. The other characters are also stuck in a specific character trope; you have the jock (Kevin, Eddy's next door neighbor and rival); the mean little sister (Sarah, Ed's sister) who is overprotective of her best friend, the so-called weakling (Jimmy, who has another aspect to his personality which was cultivated by Eddy); the girl next door (Nazz); the immigrant who is struggling to adapt to the local culture (Rolf); and the psycho not-really-girlfriends (the Kanker sisters- Lee, May, and Marie).

As I mentioned earlier, the plots are episodic, and usually follows one of two formulas- the first one being Ed and Edd minding their own business, Eddy comes along for an idea to make some money to buy jawbreakers, usually in the form of scamming the kids with some sort of weird contraption; a game; or service work. The scams almost always end in failure with the Eds (or at least Eddy) getting their comeuppance by either getting beaten up or captured by the Kankers. The second formula is the same as the first, the difference being that the kids themselves are minding their own business and then the Eds come along with a scam, which ends badly for them, something else comes along, Eddy comes up with some (usually terrible) ideas to obtain that something else (or in some cases, just finding different ways to scam), they also end badly and comeuppance occurs again. It's a rather basic formula, but is still (at least somewhat) funny in its own way.

One thing i did not notice as a kid that I did notice in rewatching "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" was subtlety; a child probably would not understand right away, but an adult would likely catch the joke rather quickly. One very subtle example is shown in the second episode (Nagged to Ed), where Eddy is messing around with the protective gear and appears to be flipping the bird. There is also a very obvious joke in the last episode of the TV series, "Look Before You Ed", in which Eddy tells Edd toward the end of the episode, "What's winter without a snow job, eh, Sockhead?" Take the "s" out of "snow" and replace it with another letter and that's the joke, and Edd's reaction is the punchline. There are other examples, but too many to list.

If I had to pick a favorite episode, it would be Season 2's "One+One=Ed". This one starts out as a general knowledge quest, but turns into breaking every physical law in not only real life (they're broken anyway, but that's beside the point) but the show's own parameters involving physics. The episode does end in traditional fashion, this time Ed carries a sewer pipe that Edd and Eddy fell into while being pursued by Sarah. It's the one episode in this entire series where I (and probably others) have asked, "How the hell can this get any weirder than it already is?" Then it becomes even weirder. This is also the one episode where I had to think about what was going to happen next and that fact is why this one is a favorite.

There is one last thing to talk about. Each episode title of "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" incorporates the word "Ed" into it, be it a phrase (e.g. "Gimme Gimme Never Ed" changed from 'gimme gimme never gets'), movies ("O-Ed Eleven" from Oceans Eleven), and even math problems (the aforementioned "One+One=Ed"). The way it was done for every episode was very interesting to me back when I first saw the show and even now.

With all that being said, "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" is/was one of Cartoon Networks finest programs. It is something that you can sit back, turn your brain off and enjoy the show and the nostalgia that comes along with it. Plus, if you can see the subtlety, that makes watching the Eds that much funnier.

Until next time, God bless.

Housekeeping: New Blogging Schedule

Alright, I know I haven't been posting as consistently as I said I would be, but I have been busier than expected. So, in order to hold my feet to the fire, I've decided to set up a schedule that I will try my best to adhere to. Will I be perfect in sticking with it? Honestly, no. I have other projects that I am working on (Fogarty Logic and SOS Hardline Productions on YouTube) and other things going on in general. Anywho, before I bore you with the details, here's the plan:

• Mondays: During football season, Packers and/or NFL commentary. Outside (and maybe during) football season, Nostalgia Reviews (normal reviews but from a slightly different perspective)
• Tuesdays: Odd Family Stories- My family has a ton of odd, yet funny, stories from their lives that have become family lore.
• Wednesdays: Normal SOS Review.
• Thursdays: Wild Card Day- If and when something comes to mind that I want to write about, I'll write it.
• Fridays: SOS Commentary- Mainly centered around video games. Mostly regarding my/our let's play projects; progress report on current work and thoughts on older ones.

I don't have anything planned for weekends. Nothing will be posted then unless I need to make up something missed from earlier in the week.

Anyway, that is the plan, and I'll do my best to stick with it.

Until next time, God bless.

Also, some School Rumble love. :)

Packers Training Camp and Family Night Thoughts

Alright, training camp is here, another offseason has passed, and injuries are popping up; so let's talk about it. As a football fan who lives in Wisconsin, most football news I catch regularly is about the Packers, they are also my favorite team, which means that I'll be talking about them more than any other team at least until the regular season starts. 

Packers Family Night was held last Saturday, and there were not any big surprises that occurred during the scrimmage. That does not mean, though, that nothing of interest occurred. The big things I noticed are: 

• Mason Crosby's kicking: He made three of eight field goals. 3 of 8! That's 37.5%. Six of those field goals were  part of a competition with Giorgio Tavecchio, who is competing for Crosby's job; Crosby made two out of those six, Tavecchio made five of his six, six of seven overall. That does not look good for Crosby. He has performed well in prior practices until Saturday, including a perfect five for five on Thursday. The good news for Crosby is that it's still early in camp, so anything is possible, but if this keeps up, I would be surprised if he is still the kicker come week 1.
• Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers so far. But, who his backup will be is far less certain. As it stands now, Graham Harrell is the #2 QB. He does have competition in B.J. Coleman, though. I thought that Harrell looked like a decent backup, he led an 80-yard drive, including 69 yards passing, with five consecutive completions. Other than that drive, nothing else really stood out for him. For Coleman, it was a lot different. He did not play very well, throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. On another drive, he led the offense to the 1-yard line and then threw four straight incompletions, the last one knocked away. Again, it's still early, so we'll see what happens.
• Rookie running back Eddie Lacy was very impressive. He had notable runs of 8, 16, and 19 yards among some others. He is still progressing, but I like his potential. I would like to see how he does against other teams. If he does well, then the Packers would have found their answer at running back, which has been lacking horribly for several years.
• On the defensive side of the ball, they seemed solid, but I did not see anything to convince me that they're better than last year, so we'll have to see how preseason plays out for them before I weigh in. That being said, there were a couple of highlights from a couple of defensive backs, James Nixon and Brandon Smith. Each one had an interception, and Nixon returned his for a touchdown. On the flipside for them, an interception or two does not necessarily mean much at this point, but it is a good start.

As of this writing, a couple of events have occurred. Brian Bulaga, starting left tackle, tore his ACL during Saturday's scrimmage, effectively ending his season. His injury worries me greatly, especially since the line was shifted around to (hopefully) provide Rodgers better protection than last year. Hopefully, someone else steps up and does well, maybe Marshall Newhouse, who was moved to right tackle, but may go back to the left side; or maybe even a certain first round pick from 2011 who has dealt with injury, Derrick Sherrod. This is definitely an area to be concerned about, but we'll see how this progresses.

Lastly, the Packers signed free agent QB Vince Young as a backup. I am not sure what to make of this currently. He might end up as the #2 QB, but it also seems likely that he could be used in practice to (potentially) replicate other NFL quarterbacks, namely Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers, and Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins; the two teams the Packers open up the regular season against.

Overall, as I've been saying, it is way too early to say much of anything since it is early August yet. As we get closer to the end of the preseason, I'll be able to say more, then. I am very excited to see what happens this season, not just with the Packers, but the rest of the league as well!

Until next time, God bless!

Debating the Best Green Bay Packers of All-Time

As you may or may not already know, i am a huge football fan. More specifically, I am a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers. The other day, I found an article on Yahoo! Sports on the Top 10 Packers of All Time, and I wanted to give my own input. Since the Packers have such a long history with a lot of great players, figuring out the top ten would be incredibly difficult. I'll show the names the original author, Dave Radcliffe, placed is his article, then I'll show what changes I would make to this list with my reasons behind them. I will not provide my own list at this time, though. Here are the names Radcliffe lists:

• Donald Driver
• Brett Favre
• Paul Hornung
• Don Hutson
• James Lofton
• Ray Nitschke
• Aaron Rodgers
• Sterling Sharpe
• Bart Starr
• Reggie White

He also mentions Willie Davis and Forrest Gregg, two very crucial players in the Lombardi era, but did not place them on his list. I would place those two on, given how dominant they were at their positions at the time. But who to remove? That is the question. Most of the players on this list I would keep. I would probably first remove Rodgers, mainly because he is still playing and is relatively young yet (age 29), even though he currently is the all-time leader in career passer rating (104.9) and touchdown-interception ratio, but those stats can change since he is an active player. If he keeps up his productivity for the rest of his career and maybe win at least one more Super Bowl, then I'd put him on here, no doubt about it; but right now, he is still relatively green.

 I'd also remove Sharpe, while he was a great player, started every game in his career, had several accolades (five Pro-Bowls; three All-Pros), amassed strong stats (led the NFL receptions three times- in '89, '92 and '93; and touchdowns in '92 and '94) and was a key player in the Packers' rise to prominence in the early-mid '90's. There are two problems, though, one is that his career was cut short by injury, so who knows how great a play he could have been otherwise. The other problem is that in the three immediate seasons after his retirement after the '94 season, the Packers were a much better team (going 11-5 in '95 and reaching the NFC Championship Game; 13-3 in 1996 and winning Super Bowl XXXI; and 13-3 in 1997 and losing Super Bowl XXXII). For those reasons, I'm removing Sterling Sharpe.

There are two other players here that are debatable as well, those being James Lofton and Donald Driver. You can make a good case either way for either of them. Lofton was the lone bright spot in the franchise's dark ages of the 1980's; and Driver is the Packers' all-time leader in receiving yards and receptions. What he has done off the field helps his cause as well. If I were to remove one of those two, it would probably be Lofton, mainly because of other, more critical players in another, more successful era. It doesn't help that I was not alive to see him play either.

As for players I would add, I already mentioned Willie Davis and Forrest Gregg. Willie Davis was one of the most dominant defensive linemen the Packers ever had (aside from Reggie White), he was also the face of Lombardi's defensive line, much as Ray Nitschke was the face of the linebacking corps. As for Forrest Gregg, Lombardi said he was the "finest player I ever coached". Gregg was instrumental in the Packers' Sweep in the '60's and also started in 188 consecutive games.

Another name I would add (among others) would be Jimmy Taylor. He was a punishing runner back in his day. He also finished as the team's all-time and single-season yardage leader until they were broken by Ahman Green in 2009 and 2003, respectively.

Yet another possible name I'd have is Jerry Kramer. I know, I have a lot of Lombardi Packers on here, but it makes sense considering how dominant they were, then. As for Kramer, he is a very underrated player. He was a top offensive lineman, also instrumental in the execution of that famous sweep. He also made the most crucial block of the Lombardi era at the end of the Ice Bowl for Bart Starr's quarterback sneak. It could be argued that without that block, and if the Packers lost that game, the Lombardi legacy might not be what it is today.

There are also a lot of other players who could also be on this list, so it all boils down to a matter of opinion. As I said, I'm not going to show my own specific "Top 10" list, again considering the sheer amount of players. I would, however, like to hear what you think about the bast Packer players of all time.

SOS Anime Review: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OVA 1 Episode One "Ryoko Resurrected"

Warning: Numerous Spoilers Ahead!

Summary: We are introduced to a small Shinto shrine in a mountainous area. An old man is walking around looking for someone called "Tenchi", after calling for him the old man has a hunch as to where he might be. Inside the shrine office, we see a young man snooping around for something. He is startled by the door opening, but no-one is there. The old man shows up behind Tenchi and asks what he's up to. He figures that he's looking for a set of keys, and then tells Tenchi that he can have them, but only if he can take them from him. Tenchi tries, but gets his behind handed to him. He was somehow able to obtain the keys.

Tenchi runs up to a nearby cave, which is currently sealed and locked up. During this time, he remembers a legend that his grandfather (the old man from earlier) told him. The legend is of a demon that terrorized the land until a samurai on a dragon-shaped appeared and defeated the demon with a legendary sword. The demon was sealed in this same cave and the blade was placed in a pedestal there as well. Tenchi enters, and see the sword which had rusted away over the centuries. He scoffs and wonders if the blade really could cut through stone; he then swings it into a rock, breaking the rusty blade off in the process. Incidentally, the rock was cut in half, causing a chain reaction. We see an entrance inside the cave open up, a rock drop down, and something appearing to be tree roots moving out of the way of the entrance. Tenchi goes into this new entrance and sees a very steep incline, once he's inside, he slips and slides all the way to the bottom. He explores a little bit, notices a floating light moving about; after he makes his way to the center of the room, he notices a mummy, the demon that was sealed per the legend. The sword hilt slips out of his hand, and as Tenchi reaches for it, the mummy grabs his arm, and he freaks out. He freaks out further as the demon places it's hand on Tenchi's face and then attempts to get to second base with him. His sword's gems glow, shining a light that repels the demon, whose eyes then glow an eerie yellow. Tenchi then hightails it out of there, re-seals the cave, and is relieved the incident is over. 

Later, a tree, also apparently on shrine property, puts on a bit of a laser show, sending the rays up into space.

Even later still, at school now that summer vacation has ended, Tenchi is speaking with a classmate discussing summer and his work at a rural shrine, a place where no cute girls would show up, only elderly folk. He then remembers the mummy in the cave. The classmate then wonders if Tenchi was so desperate that he ended up dating a "mummy", he is then puched out by Tenchi. Later, Tenchi, on the school roof, contemplates that nothing has happened since the incident then. He then takes a nap, only to wake up later well after class has ended. He notices his pet cat (also seen at the shrine), who comes up to him, then disappears. He then notices a woman, who introduces herself as Ryoko. She opens her eyes to reveal an eerie yellow glow, effectively revealing that she is that same mummy. Ryoko then proceeds to attack Tenchi and damage the school in the process, he tries to fight back, but is no match for her. He then proceeds to hide in a classroom, Ryoko appears, energy sword ready, but Tenchi tells her that there is a gas leak. Ryoko doesn't care and doesn't know what gas is, either! He comes up with a distraction, but not a very good one, but it works! Tenchi leaves, Ryoko then realizes she's been had, causing sparks to come out her sword, causing an explosion. Tenchi thinks she died, but she survives, chases him a little more, but is distracted by a mirror, Tenchi escapes to his home classroom, and comes up with a plan to remove the gem in her wrist (her power source per the legend) and get her back in that cave. Before he can put that plan into action, Ryoko finds him, blows up the classroom. Tenchi jumps out the window to escape, runs away, but is blocked by Ryoko. She decides to finish him off, but the sword hilt activates from inside his school bag, blocking her attack and subsequent ones, also forming a bladed of energy in the process. The sword seems to have a mind of its own and proceeds to cut off Ryoko's wrist, destroying the gem in the process. Ryoko then regenerates her hand, and leaves. The school then explodes, and Tenchi flees.

Shortly thereafter, Tenchi arrives home, ready for bed after the days events. He lays down on the bed, noticing a lump. He removes the blanket and finds Ryoko. Tenchi begins the process for a prayer and the episode ends here.





Review/Analysis: Before I give my analysis and opinion on this episode, I will say the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki (aka the OVA) is one of my favorite anime out there, but that will not stop me from asking questions and giving my opinion on it. It's been a couple of years since I have seen the OVA, so I will review this on the perspective of one who has seen this for the first time.

First, I'll give a broad opinion on the episode as a whole. Introductory episodes can make or break an anime (or any show for that matter), so a good first impression is very important. Tenchi Muyo does not disappoint in this area, the first episode flows very well, showing how one event directly leads into another, leaving almost no plot holes (Tenchi obtaining the keys from gramps notwithstanding, but more on that later), and appearing to set up future events, which leave viewers wondering what will happen in the next episode. I'll go into more detail later. Overall, we meet our main characters, or at least some of them; the settings for the story to take place (the shrine, Tenchi's school, and his house), and leaving us with a subtle hint of continuity. These are done very well here.

Let's look at the beginning of the episode, Tenchi's looking for the keys to the cave, his grandpa has them, and will only let Tenchi have them only if he can defeat him. It didn't work, but Tenchi got the keys anyway. How the hell did Tenchi get those keys? It is shown on screen that he doesn't even reach them, so did he use some awesome ninja skills to get them? Or did his grandpa do something? This does seem to be a bit of a plot hole, but that was explained after the end of the first OVA series from creator Kajishima Masaki in 101 Secrets of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki. In it, he explains that Tenchi's grandfather gave him the keys at some point during their battle. It does seem like a retcon, but it works for now.

Tenchi receiving those keys sets up the event in the cave. A legend which sets up something of a backstory is told here in flashback form. We see the sword, rusted out, breaks upon cutting a rock. This is a subtle hint of the blade being an energy one. As mentioned this sets up a chain reaction where another entrance opens up, tree roots move on their own, setting up more questions for future episodes. 

The first meeting with Ryoko also lays a foundation. The sword reacts to her, providing further hints that the sword is indeed special. Their meeting at the school effectively removes the possibility of this becoming a high school-type anime, which automatically makes this interesting since, let's face it, high school based anime are a dime a dozen and cover virtually all genres. But, I digress. let's go on to my last few points of interest on the episode.

At the midpoint of the episode, we see a tree (apparently on shrine property) shoot of lasers, all of them going in one direction. What's the point of those lasers? What's going to happen with them? I would like to see the result of this in the next episode. My other point is at the end, where Tenchi finds Ryoko in his bed of all places. One (i.e. me) would wonder what would happen with these two. It has "To Be Continued" written all over it here for this to be the end of any particular storyline. I also would like to see Tenchi gain at least some modicum of control of the sword eventually as opposed to it having a mind of its own. I still wonder what is up with those tree roots. Perhaps we'll learn more as the story goes on. One last point, the gem in Ryoko's wrist is similar to the ones in the sword, I'd also like to see some explanation on this in perhaps a future episode, 101 Secrets maybe.

As for the characters, we have Tenchi, his grandfather, Ryoko, and Tenchi's classmate. Tenchi's a mischievous teenager who has wanted to enter the cave since he was a child. Ryoko is the demon mentioned in the legend, appearing as a mummy, and later at the school proving that she was the mummy to Tenchi, she does so in various ways (the eerie eyes, destroying the school, the gems). We don't know much about grandfather, but he seems to be more than a wise old man. Tenchi's classmate seems to be a one shot character and I do not expect further appearances; I'd feel differently if the school wasn't destroyed and the show ending up as one of those high school based shows. I'll go over each of the characters in far greater detail in individual posts in the future.

This was a very good opening episode. It sets the table for future events, gives us some depth to the characters here, but not much, but that's to be expected. I did not go over the opening and ending themes here, but I'll review those at a later time. I am interested in seeing what's next, so we'll see.

Until then, God bless.

The Resurrection and Reorganization Post (and Some HaruhixKyon Love Too)!

Alright, I'm back! Sorry I've been gone for so long, had many other events, projects, and other happenings going on throughout the summer. I don't have a lot (or any) content to comment on currently. So, consider this a bit of reorganization.

First and foremost, football season is approaching us here in the U.S. I will (eventually) complete my Top 10 Super Bowls list. My current plan is to comment on various training camp events throughout the NFL, including preseason. Once that's over, I'll also have my season predictions out, either a basic league-wide format or a more in-depth team-by-team format, maybe even both formats, we'll see how everything plays out there time wise.

Next is my anime, manga and light novel review structure. I will continue to review what I have been reviewing, but not necessarily in the same format. For instance, my reviews of School Rumble have been chapter-by-chapter, I may end up reviewing whole volumes instead and go more in-depth on certain events there. For others, like my Haruhi Suzumiya review, I will keep the chapter-by-chapter format with in-depth analysis. I will be reviewing other anime, manga, etc. in the future, and I'll determine what format I want to use at that time.

A long while back I started a three part review of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I only posted part one, since then, I have not had much chance to play Twilight Princess in order to further review and analyze it. This one's on the back burner for now, but it will be done soon.

Lastly, I haven't mentioned this before, but I have an interest in politics, or at least political commentary. I will occasionally comment on certain political events that occur throughout the nation. The majority of my commentary in this area will be done during election seasons, mainly the mid-term and presidential election cycles. My main goal here would be to provide analysis on certain campaigns and candidates, most likely in a scouting report format. We'll see how this goes when I test this out during the 2014 midterms with some major races. That's all I'll say there for now!

As long as everything goes well, I'll have at least one thing to say everyday! 

Until next time, God bless!

Also, some HaruhixKyon love:)

Top 10 Super Bowls: Honorable Mentions

I am a huge football fan. I just love the sport and have followed it since I was eight years old. Some games are exciting, some are not. Same goes for the biggest game of the season, the Super Bowl. These days, the NFL's championship game is the most exciting, but it wasn't always like that. I have been told by other fans who've been around longer than I that the biggest game was often a big blowout, with scores of 55-10 (Super Bowl XXIV), 52-17 (Super Bowl XXVII), and other very lopsided contests. The list that I have is going to of the most exciting Super Bowls, mostly games that I have seen, and some that I have not. 

This list is based off of three factors:

• The game must have been close at least toward the end of the game.
• Featured at least one comeback.
• Must have some historic value to the overall course of the league, a team in particular, or even a single player, be it a great pregame storyline, a great upset, or something else.

But first, some honorable mentions:

• Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs. Patriots (2011 season) This game featured a rematch of a previous Super contest between these two teams, the main difference here is that neither team was undefeated going into the game. This game had everything: The storyline, the miracle play (a 38-yard pass from Eli Manning to Mario Manningham who was double covered on the sideline), the upset (Patriots were favored, Giants won 21-17). The only reason this game does not make the list is that it felt like a redux of another game that made the list.
• Super Bowl I: Packers vs. Chiefs (1966 season) The game itself was not particularly exciting unless you're a Packer fan. The game did have quite the storyline: It was the fist game between two rival leagues, the NFL and AFL, who merged before the season started. The owners of the various NFL franchises put a great deal of pressure on Packers' coach Vince Lombardi for them to win the game, and not just win, but to win big, to show the AFL that the older league was still vastly superior. The Packers did just that, winning 35-10. The game did feature a few interesting plays, most notably two touchdown catches by Packers wide receiver Max McGee, who himself had been out the entire night prior. 
• Super Bowl XLI: Colts vs. Bears (2006) This one is notable for several reasons, It was Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl trip, the Bears first trip since 1985, the first Super Bowl to experience rain, also the first to have an opening kickoff in the history of the game (returned by Devin Hester of the Bears) and the first Super Bowl to feature two African-American head coaches. Problem, the game outside of that was nothing special, no other memorable plays, the game was sloppy due to the weather, and it also featured one of the worst quarterbacks to play in the game (Rex Grossman, Bears). The Colts won 29-17. It does not make the list because of the game was lopsided after the first quarter.
• Super Bowl XXXI: Packers vs. Patriots (1996) The Packers return to the Super Bowl after 29 years, having a run of futility during the 1970's and 80's, but becoming competitive again in the 90's under General Manager Ron Wolf and Head Coach Mike Holmgren. The Patriots were transformed from laughingstock to competitor under coach Bill Parcells and owner Robert Kraft. The game itself was exciting, the Packers scored first on a long touchdown pass from QB Brett Favre to WR Andre Rison, the Patriots came back to lead at the end of the first quarter 14-10. The Packers came back to lead 27-14 at halftime. The third quarter showed a momentum shift to New England and cut the lead to 27-21. The kickoff however, decided the game, it was returned by Desmond Howard (Packers) 99 yards for a touchdown, putting the score at 35-21 after a two point conversion and no further scoring happened afterward. This one doesn't make the list as there were better Super Bowls involving the Packers or Patriots that are on my list.
• Super Bowl X: Steelers vs. Cowboys (1975) The first of two Super Bowls to feature the two best teams of the decade. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the defending champs, and the Dallas Cowboys appeared in their third of five championship games in the decade, have won Super Bowl VI at this point. The game featured several Pro Football Hall of Famers on both teams, Head Coach Tom Landry, CB Mel Renfro, QB Roger Staubach, LB Randy White, and OT Rayfield Wright for Dallas; and Head Coach Chuck Noll, QB Terry Bradshaw, CB Mel Blount, DT "Mean" Joe Greene, LB's Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, C Mike Webster, and WR's John Stallworth and Lynn Swann. The Cowboys were the first NFC wild card team to make the Super Bowl, while the Steelers were the first official #1 seed to reach the game (the NFL instituted the seeding system for the playoffs that same year). The game also featured a failed comeback by Dallas at the end of the game and ended in a Pittsburgh victory 21-17. This game also does not make the cut for the same reason as Super Bowl XLVI, there was a far better game between these two teams a few years later that did make the list. 

That's all for the honorables, next up, #10.

Until then, God Bless.