For anyone who knew me in the early 90’s, you knew I planned to marry Gavin Rossdale. This wasn’t completely unreasonable, I believed. I, too, was a musician, and smarter than my peers, and who cares if I was only 12 years old and one of millions of girls with the same dream? I was special.

Though to be fair, I had a secret crush on Dave, the band’s bassist, too. But shush.

Fifteen years later, there’s an opportunity for that 12-year-old girl to revive. Bush, my favorite band for at least seven years in a row, has declared a reunion. New album, tour, the works. I’m ready to crack open the piggy bank for a concert ticket, dig out one of many 15-year-old Bush t-shirts shoved in the back of my closet (yes they still fit, and yes I still have them). But then I read the article, and my beloved bassist isn’t included in this reunion. Neither is Nigel, the guitarist, for that fact.

So basically, their reunion includes Gavin and Robin, drummer extraordinaire, and some other people who were not part of the original lineup. Can this be considered a proper reunion? I’m almost prepared to put down my imaginary hammer and leave the piggy bank alone. It’s great and all that they had this idea, and I won’t disagree with it, but it’s like attending a high school reunion for the class you didn’t graduate from. You’re still there, but there’s something not authentic about it. It feels kind of fake.

I almost knew, before I read the article, that Nigel wouldn’t be a part of it. He was the first to leave, after all, before the band officially disbanded. Became a family man. So yeah, I don’t blame him. But what’s up with Dave? He totally disappeared off the face of the earth.

You know I’ll still buy the album, just like I bought Rossdale’s solo album (that I didn’t actually like much). I’m hoping it’s reminiscent of my high school days, those glorious days of wide-pocketed JNCO jeans and being the first of my friends to own a pair of Airwalks. I know they’ve grown up and all, and want to try new things, but I’ll be a very bitter fangirl if I don’t like the album. And you don’t want to disappoint your biggest fan, after all.

Tuesday, 27 July 2010   ♦   music | No Comments

I suppose the title of “geekblog” is slightly less pathetic than this “new” title, but at least I made the attempt to shake things up around here. And if you think about it, with the current URL of the blog, it’s the only thing that could possibly make sense. So deal.

(If you happen to be reading this from a place other than my blog, I suggest you stop by to understand what I ramble about.)

And while you’re here, check out my obnoxiously pink header. Random trivia: most of the silhouettes are from vectors I got bored of/never finished. It makes me feel accomplished now to use them. (Let’s play “spot the geeky reference!”)

I’m really rusty with coding, it seems, because it took far longer than it should have. And I couldn’t figure out basic things, like making a space between entries. And forgot to close tags many times. I think it’s fixed, but I trust you to inform of anything that looks off-kilter (this was my first attempt at a wordpress layout, after all).

Another successful day in the world of web design, if I do say so myself.

Friday, 23 July 2010   ♦   site | No Comments

I’m kind of in the mood to re-sort things around here. When I first started this blog (which was over a year ago), “geekblog” was sort of a temporary name until I thought of something better. Needless to say, I kind of suck at names.

This layout was also temporary, and we see how far I’ve gone with that. (It’s a constant reminder of how much I fail at supposed web design. I mean, really, I call myself a “designer” and I’m using a pre-made layout?)

I guess it needs some revamping. A new name and a new layout, for one. Or, erm, two. I say this now, but it could be some time before anything happens.

Not that I expected this blog to turn into anything; it’s really just a place for me to ramble. I have about three followers on the rss feed (hi guys!), which is two more than I thought I would (since one of them is me. Yes, I follow myself. Shush). People also comment periodically when it’s loaded into facebook, which is always a welcomed surprise. (*waves*)

Point is, I’d like to do something more with this, if not for everyone else than at least myself. I kind of miss the days when I’d change my website layout once a week just for the sake of messing around with things. I’ve never actually created a custom wordpress layout, which is why I’ve been putting it off, but I can’t see it being all that difficult for me to figure out.

…Though maybe I’ll get on changing the name first.

Monday, 19 July 2010   ♦   site | No Comments

I’ve been a pretty poor excuse for a music snob lately. I haven’t searched for new artists in ages. I don’t even think I’ve done it this year. I’m just tired of sifting through junk, which is basically how the system works. I used to have much more patience for this.

I just cleaned my iPod of the stuff I am sick of. As much as I enjoy The Postal Service, I think that album has been on the iPod for the last five years. Enough already. Basically, I’ve been listening to the same artists over & over again. Despite this, there are a few albums I may never take off the iPod (though ask me again in five years). The following are my classic, fallback albums, the ones with the highest play count by a considerable margin.

Brand New: Deja Entendu
(also: The Devil & God Are Raging Inside Me)
It recently occurred to me that Brand New is probably one of my favorite artists. I listened to Deja Entendu obsessively when I first bought it—I’m not sure I ever took the CD out of my drive (yes, drive; I’m a musician without a CD player. What?). Their song The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows has the highest play count in my iPod.

The Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
(also: Funeral)
My second favorite artist ever. At first I was hesitant to listen to Neon Bible, because Funeral was pretty much the best thing I ever heard. But after a few plays, I liked it more. I hadn’t thought this to be possible. Best song: Antichrist Television Blues. [Though it was Rebellion (Lies) from Funeral that got me hooked on them to begin with.]

Sunny Day Real Estate: How it Feels to be Something On
In my emo days, I listened to their album The Rising Tide rather frequently. But even then I knew it wasn’t their best, because I heard so many rave reviews about the artist. The moment I stumbled upon their song Pillars, I absolutely had to buy the album it’s featured on. The entire album is amazing and I don’t know why I didn’t buy it sooner. Random tidbit: Pillars was my favorite song of 2007.

Cursive: Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes
(also: The Ugly Organ)
How can I have a list like this and not feature Cursive? While The Ugly Organ is my favorite album of theirs, Such Blinding Stars gets a higher play count. Figure that out. But After the Movies is a beautifully sad song, and I’ll find myself sitting through the entire album just because I put it on for that particular one.

The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
(also: De-Loused In the Comatorium)
Another one of those artists that I should just admit belong on my “favorites” list. I actually hadn’t realized I listen to this album as often as I do. But when I’m sitting on the train, and flipping through the albums on the iPod, I’ve actually said, “okay, not this one. Again.” And then select it anyway. The song Cavalettas has a pretty high play count, especially since it appeared on Soundtrack 2009.

While this is great & good, and I can listen to these five albums alone the rest of my life and be content, I need some new music. I feel like I’ve heard everything. Prove me wrong.

Sunday, 18 July 2010   ♦   music | 2 Comments

I don’t know how everyone else falls into their favorites, but it’s occurred to me that my system is rather… unique.

Rarely is it instantaneous. It’s a slow process, determining my favorites. And not because I’m mulling over it and trying to decide if I enjoy it. It’s because I completely forget about it.

Example: Chuck. Quite easily my favorite show [that's still on the air]. When it came out, I checked out the first episode. Wasn’t impressed. Ignored it for a while. Something made me watch it again, mid-season, and suddenly now I’m interested. And not just interested; I would scoot out of work five mintues early in order to catch the earlier train, just so I wouldn’t miss the first five minutes. And bought seasons 1 & 2 on DVD the day of their respective releases (season 3 isn’t out until September).

Another example: Fire Emblem. Same thing. Bought Radiant Dawn on a whim, played a couple chapters, got bored. A couple months later I picked it up again; suddenly it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever played. I now own all titles in the series, including the one that’s been fan-hacked into English. I bought a Gamecube and downloaded an emulator just for this series.

Now I wonder… how do other people determine their favorites?

There are a few things in which I’m going through stage two, the “ignoring” phase. I know I’m going to pick them up again someday and obtain yet another addiction. This includes Torchwood (watched one episode two months ago); Dr. Who (one episode, one month ago); and Baroque (RPG, completed level one two weeks ago). It may be some time before you hear me speak of these again.

And I nearly forgot the best one: Legend of Zelda, of course. I bought the NES game off ebay while in college, and it was six years until I properly sat down to play it. And we know how that ended up, if you’ve been paying attention at all. (Someday, I’ll bombard you with my random knowledge and memorabilia from this series.)

Thursday, 08 July 2010   ♦   general | No Comments

A couple months back, when I placed an order for my DS flash card, I couldn’t resist checking out what other goodies the site had (I was paying for shipping anyway, after all). And then I discovered… GBA shells. I bought my GBA used, so it was pretty beat up.

So what was another $5 to have a new[ish] system, after all?

oohhh, shiny.

Um, I assure you these are, in fact, two different colors. See?

I prepared my desk, dumped out the plastic bag of new hardware, removed the battery to my old GBA, and then realized… I needed a tri-wing screwdriver.

A what? Apparently Nintendo products use this funky little screw that doesn’t really work well with your standard screwdrivers. But good ol’ Amazon, I was able to pick a used one up for a penny (well, plus $5 shipping) and then had to sit back patiently and wait for it. (Okay so my “new” GBA is costing me $10.) And by the time I received it, and remembered to bring it home from the office, well, I don’t remember now when I started this project.

But now it’s here! Not only am I now the owner of a bizarre tri-wing screwdriver, it’s also magnetic. You can’t not love a magnetic screwdriver.

See?

Ergo, I begin my task. Painfully removed the dusty, stripped screws to reveal… my goldmine. A miniature logic board.

This is what I’ve been waiting for, kids. Now the real fun begins.

These pieces are so tiny. Like, really tiny. Even with my tiny, feminine fingers, I have difficulty handling the hardware. Especially this.

Not only is the screen ribbon tiny, it’s also positioned in a really awkward place on the logic board… especially considering I can’t move it that far away from the GBA body. Somehow, I detach it without breaking anything (I think). Now my desk is full of electronic goodness, tiny screws and buttons and… no new hinge. What? I’ve inserted the old screen into the new display, and am attempting to close it, when it occurs to me that there’s nothing there to spring. I have no hinge.

Okay fine, I’ll use the old one. Which seems like a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself, but there is one minor issue—it’s not coming out. I can’t pry it out, and it doesn’t want to pop out if I push from the inside, either. So I call upon my trusty old friend.

(Oh, hey, happy Independence Day!)

Lo and behold, I stumble upon this tutorial. Wow! If I had found this months ago, even hours ago, perhaps this task would have made more sense. Regardless, I do learn one thing—I have been attempting hinge removal properly, but they’re a pain and need some extra force. At least I know I won’t break it (I think).

After much struggle, they finally pop out. The hinge comes with a little plastic cap, so you’re not staring at a screw all the time. In my attempt to fit the old hinge into the new system, with new cap applied, it gets stuck. I forcefully remove it. Hinge comes out, cap flies off, is now lost somewhere on my floor. Search for five minutes to no avail. You know what? It’s just a hinge cap. I don’t care that much; I’ll use the old one. Even if I stripped part of it and it won’t properly connect to the hinge screw. Whatever. In time, after breaking out the hammer to get the bugger in, our new GBA has a hinge.

(Is that krazy glue? Perhaps.)

The rest is easy. Reattach the screen, put new buttons in place, screw the logic board in. Close it all up. It turns on (victory!), but I have no sound. Open it up, unscrew the logic board, clean around the speaker. Reseal. Now we have victory.

For $10, I have a shiny system and a prideful sense of completion. And one less thing cluttering my desk. But you know I’m keeping those old buttons. Hey, you never know when I’ll need spare A/B buttons and a D-pad. Right?

Sunday, 04 July 2010   ♦   electronics | No Comments

Video Games
Ace Attorney (series)
It started with a purchase of the first game, Phoenix Wright, on the Wii shop channel ($10! Good deal). Then the following occurred over the course of the month:

• Finished the game (in three days *cough*).
• Completed Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations (Apollo Justice & Miles Edgeworth: Investigations are waiting patiently in queue).
• Spent 2 days figuring out how to put custom ringtones on my phone (For inquiring minds, search for “Cornered – Variation (v3.0)” on this page. Man, that site is great.)
• Purchased an “official artwork” book on impulse (yes, my first venture into the Manga section of the bookstore).

I don’t think I have to continue this review any longer. However, do know that I’m still undergoing a search for a tiny Edgeworth figurine for my office. (I knew I should have bid on that ebay auction when I saw it.)

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Certainly not my favorite game of the series, but I can’t deny it. It’s Fire Emblem, after all. Full review here, if you’re not tired of listening to me talk of it.

Books
Three of the four novels undertook this month weren’t exactly “light reading.” Ergo, I’m a tad behind on my literary ventures. July will be better. (As always, click for reviews.)
Rabbit Angstrom, John Updike
The Giver, Lois Lowry
What is the What, Dave Eggers
Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien

Wednesday, 30 June 2010   ♦   books, games | No Comments

Here’s where you get to listen to me babble about my primary gaming addiction.

I’m currently locked in my office at work, watching the live stream of E3 (I’m glad that 9am Pacific just happens to fall during lunch time here). I saw rumors about the new Zelda title, but I don’t pay attention to rumors. Just a bunch of fans speculating and throwing in things they’d like to see, and who knows what’s real and what’s not.

I was surprised to see the use of cel shading in the new title. For a while there was a definite separation between Zelda titles. Just look at Wind Waker vs. Twilight Princess—one’s more “cute,” while the other actually received a Teen rating (the only Zelda to do so). The new one, Skyward Sword, seems to combine them both which, somehow, works. It’s Twilight Princess Link, but brighter. And cel shaded, yet not weird and cutesy.

And how excited am I over the controls? You have to actually “shoot” the bow and aim with the wiimote to play with the slingshot. The controls just force me do what I’ve been doing all along—swing my sword (I mean, the wiimote) to attack enemies, holding the nunchuck like a shield. My brain is too excited over all of this to make any coherent comments.

My only complaint? Release isn’t until 2011.

I’m still watching the live stream so here are some thoughts on other things:

1) Golden Eye. Was the last one really for the N64? I remember those days, with all us kids sitting around the television taking turns and yelling at each other. While first-person shooters usually aren’t my thing, I feel Golden Eye for Wii will remind me of those days. It’ll be pretty epic. Speaking of epic…

2) Epic Mickey. I read about this in a magazine eons ago, and thought I would never hear of it again. It’s the same kind of interactive controls, swinging around the wiimote, but this time I play around with paint thinner rather than a sword. Hey look, I’m interested in yet another children’s game with a darker theme. Big surprise.

3) Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Really? Yarn is epic? It seems so. I can’t take my eyes off this demo. It’s actually fabric. He unzips and unravels stuff and Kirby himself looks yarn-like. It makes sense, in the Kirby world; he always messed with my head. I kind of want this one, too. (Perhaps it’s time to stop watching?)

4) 3DS. Wait what? It’s a 3D handheld that requires no 3D glasses. Oh I believe it, but I can’t see it. I’m just going to have to buy it, I suppose. (I missed most of this presentation because I had to actually work for a moment… yes, it’s still lunch hour. heh)

I don’t even want to know how much of my future money I just spent. BUT ZELDA. Ahem. Sorry. Fangirl spaz.

Tuesday, 15 June 2010   ♦   games | No Comments

We have to dig way back here for a moment.

It’s 1988. I’m in Kindergarten, and the class is sitting Indian-style (as we called it those days) in a circular formation on the carpet. We’re discussing one thing or the other; I can’t recall the topic of conversation. Fellow schoolmates are telling stories, things that happened to them, and I have something myself that I’ve been dying to share, so I eagerly raise my hand to tell it.

I’ve always been a storyteller, in a sense. If I have something good to say, I’m going to say it.

The teacher smiled as I shared my tale, and when I was finished she said, “Thank you, Angela… but what does that have to do with our discussion?” Nothing, it seems.

I guess I was burned pretty badly at that moment, because no one even appreciated the fact I told them a really good story. So I kind of stopped participating in class for a while (Like, twelve years or so), because similar things would keep on happening.

The ironic part? I still do it.

Oh, somewhere in my head I believe my tales relate to the topic at hand. But it usually doesn’t. And I get the same reaction, if not the question itself—the half-nods, an acknowledgement that people were listening, and someone quickly moves the conversation along. How is it, twenty-two years later, I still can’t figure out how to participate in a conversation? At least now I realize, about halfway through, that my story doesn’t have the proper ending. I don’t really know why I’m telling it. But I still have to finish.

Awkward? Not only for me, but for those forced to listen. I become that antsy five-year-old with her hand waving in the air, hoping that people will like my story because I think it’s cool; I don’t understand why they wouldn’t like it, regardless of whether it has anything to do with the topic or not. It’s called a diversion. I like to think I have poetic license, which basically gives me the right to say whatever I want.

I guess other people don’t understand that. It makes sense in my head, but when I say it out loud I know I’m seen as bumbling and awkward. Just put me in a pair of suspenders and tape up the bridge of my glasses. I’ll snort a little when I laugh, too, if you’d like.

If you ever want to hear a good story, shoot me an email. Don’t call.

Tuesday, 08 June 2010   ♦   general | No Comments

Video Games
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
I discussed this before and my opinion hasn’t changed. They really improved upon the water travel from Wind Waker, aka, I rather like it now. And digging for treasure is much more entertaining.

What I liked most, though, is the way the story is laid out. In other Zelda titles, I tend to get annoyed at the process of things, with having to do certain things in order to actually play, get to a temple, etc. (Twilight Princess intro, anyone?) Here, even though I had to gather metals and find a blacksmith and all that before facing the final battle, it was presented in a way that was actually part of the story.

In short, I love this game. It’s a little on the easy side—I got through it much faster than expected—but I guess not everything I do has to be a mental challenge. Right?

Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Full rambling about this game’s finale is found here. I run the risk of repeating myself, but… I love this game. The characters, the storyline, everything. I like that they made the tactician part of the story (that is, me); it made me feel important. My only regret is that its sequel isn’t available in English, and thus I can’t learn the adventures of the character’s kids. Unless I have a PC and an emulator… which I don’t. (Yeah, someone actually translated it.) This is, easily, my second favorite Fire Emblem title thus far (the first being Path of Radiance. Check it out).

I promise I’ll start venturing out from these two series games soon. Really.

Books (click for reviews)
How to Be Alone: Essays; Jonathan Franzen
Eating Animals; Jonathan Safran Foer
Lowboy; John Wray

Seriously, it was not planned that all my books this month were written by a Jo(h)n. And I haven’t been slacking off in my reading, either—I’m about 3/4 of the way through John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom, but I’m so sick of reading about Rabbit that I couldn’t force myself to finish it by month’s end.
Also: I’ve declared Jonathan Franzen one of my new favorite authors. Welcome to the elite.

Monday, 31 May 2010   ♦   books, games | No Comments