Trouble in Paradise [Parcel Debacle]

LAUREL, MD, US	08/13/2010 1:36 A.M.	OUT FOR DELIVERY
	08/13/2010 12:52 A.M.	DESTINATION SCAN
	08/13/2010 12:27 A.M.	DESTINATION SCAN
LAUREL, MD, US	08/12/2010 7:23 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
NEW STANTON, PA, US	08/12/2010 3:07 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
LAUREL, MD, US	08/12/2010 12:23 A.M.	OUT FOR DELIVERY
LAUREL, MD, US	08/11/2010 8:31 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
NEW STANTON, PA, US	08/11/2010 3:56 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	08/11/2010 1:23 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
HODGKINS, IL, US	08/10/2010 3:50 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	08/10/2010 2:26 P.M.	ORIGIN SCAN
	08/10/2010 2:54 P.M.	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

I hate to say it, but this rigamarole is really putting a strain on my relationship with Legoman. Our Dhalsim-Makoto matches were seething with an unsettling resentment. (Might have been because he got dizzied.)

But really, what fucking sense does this make? How did the package go from being scanned as 'Out for Delivery' from Laurel to being scanned for 'Departure' again from New Stanton? I mean, come the fuck on.

UPDATED:

LAUREL, MD, US

08/13/2010 10:55 A.M.

DELIVERY

Why Isn't Toth Dancing? [Personal Reflections on the Final Fantasy series]

So, at this point in my ingestion of a game, I'm normally erupting out of all orifices with thoughts, comparisons, criticisms, and inane observations. If you are craving that kind of Killa blogging for Final Fantasy XIII, (not that anyone is) you'll have to wait awhile.

I took a personal day (ftw) on Tuesday to obtain and subsequently play the fuck out of the game. Big Sis Prinny was unfortunately stuck working, and preparing for a business trip. Oh how jealous she was.

Fast forward to today. Wherein I'm here at my venue, sweet, venue for a scant thirteen hours, whilst she took a "floating holiday" (a tongue-in-cheek reference to Cocoon, no doubt) to stay home and kick off a long weekend of Final Fantasy XIII. Both Tuesday and today, we've traded texts back and forth: general impressions, franchise comparisons, even a few tips and tricks.

Why does any of that matter?

Well, did any of you ever have something really fun you always did with your family growing up? Like, your dad always took you fishing with him, or your big brother would take you to the batting cages with him, or you would help your mother make cupcakes? Or some other dumb bullshit like that?

Ya see, for Killa, burning through summer vacations by slogging through Final Fantasies is something from which I derive a great number of fond memories. And, yo, I'm talking way back. Like 1990. Like dope slap bracelets. Like fold-out-world-map-reverse-side-complete-bestiary old school.

Skip ahead a few years and we were calling each other spoony bards, and then Vanish-Doom'ing every obstacle in our path. Fast forward to the polygonal era and you would catch us kicking it twelve hours a day burning through VII, breeding a stable of chocobos every color of the rainbow and foolishly challenging Ruby Weapon.

Hell, if you're still confused about the plot of FFX, ask our mother, 'cause she watched us play that game like it was the motherfucking moon landing.

And if you happened to frequent the Diabolos server circa 2004 you would've seen a brash young Thief (sub-Monk) brandishing a magnificent firearm, vainly seeking the Emperor's Hairpin, and also getting to know his future brother-in-law.

And then there were lonelier times, like me, alone save for the Public Relations FAQ, spending an atrocious amount of time to never attain a perfect ending...

There was also the experimental Final Fantasy XII by Committee effort that stretched on for nigh a year. It may have been a somewhat awkward, drawn out way to play a role-playing game, but sometimes you need to make the effort, you know? (Oh Vine!)

So, yeah, if you can wrap your mind around the sentimental attachment people have to decorating a Christmas tree, or tossing a baseball back and forth, or learning to fly a kite, then you may just be on the verge of knowing why Killa Blog does not address Final Fantasy XIII in the same way it does a game like BlazBlue.




(Bonus points if you can identify that "brash Thief's maginificent firearm"!)

Personal Day FTW

Coffee.....brewed.
Morning Joe.....watched.
Best Buy arrival.....09:59.
Asian cashier.....still cute.
Final Fantasy XIII.....got.
Hurt Locker BluRay.....got.
Eggs Benedict from Nautilus.....got.

It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunshiney motherfucking day.

Kotaku links to a video of Robin Williams making a Wii joke on a recent HBO special.

Snow Daze [Cabin Fever]

The snow days this weekend have trapped the J-Team and their mammalian companions within the confines of JCasa. After enough time with Killa, even the most eager of our cadre grew tired with the endless rematches of Tekken 6.

What's Hot [Thermostatic Capitulation]

That song Arsonist.

Baby, It's Cold Inside [Thermostatic Resistance]

JCasa has still not turned on the heat. Yeah, that's dedication, we know. Between the space heater, a couple of heated blankets, leeching heat from our neighbors, and thinking warm thoughts we've been able to make it by. Now it's starting to become a bit of a contest, to see who will be the first to break down and fire it up.

Thankfully my spirit guide, Frost Walrus from Mega Man X4, has agreed to help me illustrate the levels of cold one may experience whilst at JCasa. Right now, it's Extremely Cold. Mornings, typically it dips down to Cold as Balls. I think we may capitulate and turn the heat once it stays at Cold as Fuck for a day or more.

Ghost Ride [Miley Cyrus Tour Bus Crash]

You can get the details from a reputable news source, but, essentially, one tour bus transporting part of the Miley Cyrus concert crew went off the road and flipped, killing the driver. The reports I've looked at have indicated that neither speed nor weather were factors. The investigation is ongoing, but my first reaction is that the accident was likely due to fatigue.

The concert business is rife with long hours. Very often times a tightly routed tour schedule will entail an 8:00 PM concert concluding at 11:00 PM, strike and load-out until 2:00 AM, and then travel immediately to the next stop on the tour for an 8:00 AM load-in. Depending on the clout of and demand for the act, and, of course, demographic and logistical factors, a tour schedule may vary widely from this, but two to three days like this followed by one day off is pretty normal. Touring production pays per diems to and for lodging for every crew member for every day of the tour, so more time between stops increases cost without generating any additional revenue.

At my venue, exhaustion is a constant concern. While a number of us enjoy a Monster energy drink before a load-out, if I pick one up for my Union Steward, he usually will save it for his ride home, a 90 mile commute from Northwest DC to Winchester, Virginia. In cases of back-to-back shows (or recently back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back shows) the practical option is to stay at the venue, if for no other reason, just to accomodate more sleep hours.

I received a call about a week ago from an associate from a local performing arts high school. He was inquiring as to policies in place here, at my professional venue, in regard to scheduling events and time off for working personnel. His organization's management was in the process of reviewing their own policies after a colleague died in a single car crash on his way home during an extremely busy period at their own venue. Unfortunately, the answers I had for him boiled down to money. Stagehands want to make as much money as possible (this is a business after all) and this is often accomplished by working long and odd hours subject to lucrative overtime rates and penalties, as well as working on consecutive gigs, especially compensating for slow periods when there is little work. On my side of things as a house guy, my ability to schedule staff is limited by the size of my team. With six people, and only three of whom are intimately familiar with the operational details of an event, there is little flexibility to allow for mandatory rest periods. Though, in all honesty, my own driving while fatigued is mostly due to greed, or an unwillingness to compromise.

Back when I was still a young Killa, I had the unfortunate chance of waking up with an airbag hitting me in the face. I was not seriously harmed, and neither were the occupants of the vehicle I struck, but it was an alarming experience.

Currently, I tend to become drowsy very easily behind the wheel. I pay special attention to make sure I have coffee or an energy drink with me if this may be the case, both to stimulate my nervous system, but also to have the action of imbibing break up the monotony of highway driving. Is a steady stream of caffeine a real solution? No. But is the business going to suddenly change, cutting profits in the interest of better rested, safer travel? Very unlikely.

I don't have any real point to make here, I'm just talking about it. Between aggressive driving, drunk driving, texting while driving, and straight up bad driving, adding tired driving to the mix makes me wonder how anyone ever gets anywhere...

"This Adidas, bitch"

I hate thoroughly enjoy saying I told you so. So, yeah, I totally called it, like, over a year ago. Check the evidence fo' yo' self.

[Not a Rickroll. This time.]

Summer Vacay Vs. the Backlog

So, how's the battle panning out? Don't know if y'all ever check any of the links over there on the right but that Killa's Backloggery is a record of all the games I need to finish, in addition to providing a reference to what games I have beaten, if anyone ever needs to pick my brain about MGS3, for instance. I've updated it with what I have and have yet to accomplish.

Well, Prototype is done. Wham, bam, thank you Radical Entertainment.

Don't really know if I'm going to try to get back into GTAIV this week, but it's unlikely.

Didn't add Vanguard Princess to the list, but I have checked it out a bit more since the initial download. Really cool for a free game, but I've gotten a lot on my fighting plate as it is, though it would be a good excuse to try and use one of my sticks with the desktop.

Got back into Crysis. In case anyone sees my Gchat status change to "Killin' Koreans", this is the reason, though I think I'm about to hit the meat of the game, and may have to start killing more proportionate numbers of aliens and Koreans. (Never have gotten the graphics tweaked as well I thought they ought to be, in case anyone was still wondering.)

Some nice SFIV play earlier in the week. I'm up over 8500 GP now, though Legoman is still giving me a hard time. (Haven't really Blaz'd Blue at all this week...)

And, y'know, I didn't publicly update this either, but I played Digital Devil Saga for a couple hours the other night.

Ai'ight. Back to Crysis.

It's the Non-Sequitor that counts.

In lieu of an actual gift, I gave Big Sis Prinny a card that caused her to laugh so hard she cried. Or perhaps she cried due to the tragic failure that was my choice of card. I may never know.

I Now Pronounce You Keif and Legoman

Yup, the big day is here.

Killa Blog has always been intentionally vague regarding personal stuff for liability reasons, but today I will be a little more open. My roommates, Keif and Legoman, are getting married today.

KB tends to dwell on the minutia of life. The small things about which people talk. Pet peeves, videogame stuff, delicious apple cultivars. But sometimes, big stuff happens in life, and this space, I reckon, ought to pay some respect to that.

It's a big analogy, really. Killa Blog is a revolutionary, ground-breaking piece of interactive media, but it's made up of all the little things in my life. My friends' life together is likewise made up of small things: vet visits, omg srsly crazy parties, grilled flatbread pizzas, lazy days at the beach. But the sum of these things is much, much bigger.

Like, spiritual union big.

Wish me luck with the toast, yo.