ITS OVER

Umineko no Naku Koro Ni EP 1-5 Review

Simply amazing.
I honestly really have no other words for this series of sound novels.
They're extremely convoluted, there's a lot of text, and a lot of characters (more get introduced each episode it seems!), but it really is tightly wound and made; there is a clear direction, believe it or not!
Maybe this will change later but EP5 sort of affirmed to me what type of story this is at its core (it does cover a lot of genres, sometimes even to the point parodying them).
It's hard to say anything without spoiling ANYTHING, but you need to come into this body of work with an open mind.
Also, the music is GODLIKE.
The anime, however, is not.
Avoid at all costs and try to pick up the sound novel.
Here's a link to the music boxes (OSTS basically)

Getting started: Episode 1-4 torrent
Episode 5 torrent
Episode 6 is out but the current translation patch doesn't work with Ep 5-6 combined.
Go to witch-hunt for the translation patches.

Umineko no Naku Koro Ni Episode 1

Not the anime.
Something about the almost laborious introduction made me realize I had deeply missed reading actual novels instead of easy to consume light novels/manga.
Thumbs up for evoking that nostalgia, Umineko.
I think this is one of the rare translation projects that the creator himself (Ryuukishi07) has explicitly encouraged
Also, I think EP6 (final arc?) was released at C77, so dodging spoilers like mad from certain JLT Level 1 clowns in certain channels is hard.
I'll come back later with more of an actual review.

And now for a typo.

The Legend of Koizumi Preview

FUCK YES.

Top Tyr

Tyr:Catherine is a 10:0 matchup.

Wine Tasting, 80% bullshit.

Interesting conversation in RANDOM channel on Christmas Eve.

[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> the restaurant i work at
[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> best place in the city
[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> one of top 10 in the state
[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> best italian food in state
[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> the homemasde pasta omggggggggg
[11:58] <@bellreisa> PASTACHAMP
[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> cocoa pappardelle pasta with short rib ragout
[11:58] <Lokanas> What's the name of the place
[11:58] <jiyunaMOS> duck confit agnoloti
[11:59] <Forte> how many calories
[11:59] <jiyunaMOS> due mari
[11:59] <jiyunaMOS> 1000000000 calories
[11:59] <Forte> sounds godly already
[11:59] <jiyunaMOS> garganelli pasta with oyster mushrooms, prosciutto, truffle butter sauce
[11:59] <@bellreisa> i'm trying to imagine jiyuna doing the waiter thing
[11:59] <jiyunaMOS> 10000000000000000000000000 calories
[11:59] <Forte> trolling as a waiter
[11:59] <jiyunaMOS> being a waiter is fun, i troll
[11:59] <@bellreisa> "tonight we have a chef's special of garganelli, oh it is SO s rank"
[11:59] <jiyunaMOS> because people dont know shit
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> my number 1 troll = some guy acting like a big smartass about wine
[12:00] <Lokanas> This menu looks fucking godlike
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> so he asks to taste two different wines
[12:00] <@bellreisa> winetasting is lols
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> i go to the bar, get 2 of the same wine, and bring them back
[12:00] <Forte> ROFL
[12:00] <Lokanas> looool
[12:00] <Lokanas> ^5
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> the guy goes on a big rant about how the 2nd wine is so much better
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> etc etc
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> im just laughing in my head
[12:00] <Forte> you shouldve DECANTERED
[12:00] <@bellreisa> i read an article about how it's all a bunch of bullshit and the tasters just make shit up based on preconceived notions and expectations
[12:00] <jiyunaMOS> yes bellreisa
[12:01] <jiyunaMOS> also open to suggestion
[12:01] <@bellreisa> yeah
[12:01] <jiyunaMOS> like 4 of us will sit here and taste wine
[12:01] <jiyunaMOS> and ill say "i taste coffee"
[12:01] <jiyunaMOS> hey me too!
[12:01] <jiyunaMOS> oh yeah me too!
[12:01] <@bellreisa> same wine in cheap bottle vs expensive looking bottle
[12:01] <@bellreisa> first wine = cheap scrub shit
[12:01] <@bellreisa> second = WINECHAMP
[12:01] <Lokanas> There's actually technique to wine tasting properly
[12:01] <Lokanas> But actual taste is like
[12:01] <Lokanas> 20% of the whole deal
[12:02] <Lokanas> Which is why most people can't do it for shit
[12:02] <DaKamui> trying to sophistacted
[12:02] <jiyunaMOS> it just pisses me off when people try to look cool
[12:02] <jiyunaMOS> and others are too stupid to call them out
[12:02] <Lokanas> Yeah that is kinda dumb
[12:02] <@bellreisa> i read an article yesterday about how they apparently proved hfcs produces fat
[12:02] <@bellreisa> like beyond doubt
[12:03] <Lokanas> When they tested us on wine tasting we were allowed to narrow it down to 4 different things
[12:03] <Lokanas> Because nobody gets that shit pinpoint
[12:03] <jiyunaMOS> like we had this one bottle of super tuscan
[12:03] <jiyunaMOS> that was mislabeled in the wine list
[12:03] <jiyunaMOS> it was the wrong vintage
[12:03] <@bellreisa> super tuscan is a hilarious name
[12:03] <Forte> jiyuna you have to be this guy
[12:03] <Forte> http://www.mangafox.com/manga/kami_no_shizuku/v01/c001/19.html
[12:03] <@bellreisa> down in the cellar, it's a merlot, no it's a sherry
[12:03] <jiyunaMOS> BUT the vintage we had was 2004, which was like a gdlk year for super tuscan
[12:03] <@bellreisa> it's SUPER TUSCAN
[12:03] <jiyunaMOS> so this guy was giving us hell
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> I WANTED THE 2005 BOTTLE! YOUR LIST SAID 2005!
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> I KNOW SUPER TUSCAN, I KNOW WINE, ETC ETC
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> ...then why you want 2005 nigga
[12:04] <Tonberry> lol
[12:04] <Lokanas> loool
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> and his table is just like
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> "ooooooooooooh hes so smart about wine"
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> like the 2004 of this bottle costs 3x as much
[12:04] <jiyunaMOS> but we were selling it at the shitty 2005 bottle price
[12:05] <jiyunaMOS> lol Forte
[12:05] <jiyunaMOS> that pic always makes me laugh
[12:05] <Lokanas> DECANTERING FROM SUCH A HEIGHT
[12:06] <jiyunaMOS> because you're supposed to do it close to the decanter
[12:06] <Forte> DECANTERING FROM SUCH A HEIGHT
[12:06] <jiyunaMOS> so you can use a candle/light and stop when you see the sediment
[12:06] <jiyunaMOS> this guy is just trolling
[12:07] <jiyunaMOS> lolllllll this manga
[12:07] <jiyunaMOS> http://www.mangafox.com/manga/kami_no_shizuku/v01/c001/21.html people on the left = all of my customers

NEC X in a nutshell

I sort of wanted to write a long post about NEC X but honestly Rithli does it better in this movie than I could ever do.
This is why I play these games, and probably, while I'll keep playing them.

Ar Tonelico 3 page updates

So some new updates on the Ar Tonelico 3 main site.
Anyway a short summary of this game, hilariously enough, is that the game is 3D with 2D art, and both the heroines seem to have multiple personality disorder, so it's really something like 8 girls (their models change in battle along with their...body types.) Also there's some really silly system called "Purge" where the heroines get stronger the less clothes they have or something. Anyway I wasn't really clicking with any of the character designs, even with all the characters shown, until Soma took off her scary Black Jack looking helmet and suit. Anyway here's a relationship chart, the two main girls are Saki on the left and Finnel on the right.

Saki's 3 alters are called Salapator (oneesan), Filament (eyepatch bandage moe), and Sakia Rumei (knight)
Finnel's are called Yurishica (nurse), Soma (scary doll), and ??? (miko of some sort?)
Here's Soma's normal costume:

Here's Soma without it:



Had to crop for the large picture but yeah HUGE DIFFERENCE.
It must be hot under there...I hope she's drinking enough water with how much she sweats...
Ok yeah I totally love this character already she's mine.

Etrian Odyssey 3

Seems ocean based this time.
I can see ninjas, pirates, and phalanx (paladins? not really who knows)
Also NEC was godlike.

Arcana heart 3 one MORE new character

Scharlachrot
Going by that name she's a Valkyrie like Weiss.
Um, sexy.
According to orka that means she probably has a Geist instead of an Arcana.

Super Street Fighter 4 Alpha cast unveiled

So if anyone remembers the original rumor from "WISE, RESPECTED, LONG TIME MEMBER" henaki/kensk/baldy/kenneth, the new cast was going to be:
From Alpha: Cody Guy Adon
From 3S: Makoto Ibuki Dudley
From ST: T-Hawk and Deejay
And two completely new characters!




Well, eat your heart out.
By the way the top right shows Guy focusing an aerial kunai with the not-so-subtle caption "KUNAI NO IMI WA!?!?!" (What is the meaning of the kunai!?!?)
I'd say henaki pretty much hit everything on the head.
Not bad for a coinflip troll post (he admits that while his source was somewhat reputable, it was more or less a stab in the dark...if it was fake successful SRK troll, if it turned out real EVEN MORE successful troll)

Blaz Blue Continuum Shift story in a single irc log

[03:23] lol ragna's story is pimp
[03:24] ragna whips out blazblue
[03:24] hazama whips out his own
[03:24] "BITCH I MADE BLAZBLUE"
[03:24] he calls the black beast a failed attempt
[03:24] just a pet
[03:24] the thing at the end is his real shit
[03:25] see hazama is not bad
[03:25] or terumi
[03:25] he's just trying to BREAK THE CYCLE
[03:25] and lamda is not kokonoe
[03:25] but kokonoe is controlling lambda
[03:25] sent her to get the blazblue
[03:26] she couldn't get it, but got info and brought it back to kokonoe
[03:26] i don't think lamda is a person either
[03:26] or has a personality
[03:27] jin is taken over by yukianesa
[03:27] and goes crazy because he gets his memories
[03:27] like in CT ending

And there you go.

To Love Ru timeline

I know the truth of the first few parts (Ine is the horse head musician on nico, he did have an affair with the wife of the To-Love-Ru author) but not the rest.

Cirno is ballin'

Facebook: Mafia Wars CEO Brags About Scamming Users

"Mark Pincus, CEO of the company that brought us Mafia Wars, says: 'I did every horrible thing in the book just to get revenues right away. I mean, we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this Zwinky toolbar, which was like, I don't know... I downloaded it once and couldn't get rid of it.'"

Stop fucking sending me application invites on Facebook.

Big Bang Beat 2

Just throwing this shit out here.
Touhouvania was obviously just a plan to fund this.
Since NRF isn't involved maybe it has a chance to not suck terribly.

Arcana Heart 3 Other New Character Revealed

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
So yeah I liked WeiB's design a lot.
Eko, however...
She's fucking five years old!
Her Arcana seems to be "materialize shitty drawings" Arcana.
No seriously like Angelia was an acquired taste (I initially found her terribly annoying but now I find her really cute, and I will still be using her (my first charge character actually, wack I know), but Eko is just...agh.

Borderlands

Very fun, yet very buggy release.
And when I say buggy I MEAN buggy.

Japan Welcomes Windows 7 With A Seven Layer Whopper Burger

What the fuck gimmick is this?

Where the Wild Things Are

"I would tell them to go to hell," Sendak said. And if children can't handle the story, they should "go home," he added. "Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it's not a question that can be answered."

This book was hype when I was young.
He's like the Hemmingway of children's book authors.