College Dayz

I've been thinking about going back to school and major in english (and a minor in technology). Why those two? Well there are quite a few things that I could do with them (especially for my video game career as a Designer). It's been way too long since I've been in school...and the hardest part about it is: If I was still in school, I would have been done by next year. So that's 3 years wasted. God I hate myself sometimes.

My IQ is 118, and according to this website where I took an IQ test from Tickle.com people that fall in the 111 to 120 category where they are in college or heading towards their Master's Degree Level. Plus the sites said that "Your Intellectual Type is Precision Processor. This means you're exceptionally good at discovering quick solutions to problems, especially ones that involve math or logic. You're also resourceful and able to think on your feet. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results." and because of this, I'd be a great manager, teacher, or accountant.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, your IQ = 100(Mental Age/Chronological Age). So since I'm 21, I did the math (118/100=1.18 and 1.18 X 21 = 24.78) so that means my mental age is of a 24 year old. I guess I'm more mature than I thought ^_^ This test really gave me some confidence in going back to college.





What you just read above is an old post draft I created over five months ago and I wanted to reflect on how I view things now. Today (as I'm typing this) is my first day of college in three years (what a hiatus, eh?). Do I still want to be an English Major? No. Now I've thought about doing Web Design, and I hope that my college will support that small dream of mine. What am I expecting out of life? Not much really. As long as I don't expect much, I will be surprised when it comes. Will I continuously type new articles from now on? I have my doubts. This is just out of whim, you could say. I haven't been contacting my friends that much, I only have one. Recently I've moved to a new appartment, my sister has gotten married, and I have found myself liking this new beard that's grown on my face (previously I was into goatees, but as you can see in my updated photo, it's grown). Job? Not yet. Right now I'm just taking things one day at a time, and hopefully that will be enough. What I've found in my life is this; I have no big ambition, just miniature materialistic ones. I've decided to "quit" (more like a small hiatus...I wonder if anyone will notice that I'm gone)one of my favorite web forums for a while until I have two strong feet in my educational feild (I swear, I'm one of the biggest procrastinators), and I no longer have internet access at my appartment, so the only places to actually work is at public libraries where time online is somewhat limited.

Well good day to you all, and I hope everyone will have a splendid night.

-Marco (aka: BGS to some of you)

"What if..." we live in the Marble Theory?

What's the Marble Theory you ask? Well the Marble Theory was brought up in the 70's where people thought "What if there's a universe inside a universe". For example, take the children's toy glass marble...what if in a microscopic level that we haven't even imagined to reach there's a universe inside that chunk of glass? Of course the same thing can be said about our very own universe...what if our universe is a part of an even larger universe? This has already been shown in some movies. In Men In Black, Agents J and K had to protect a galaxy that was held on a cat's collar (or "belt" as they called it), and at the end of the movie they showed a larger view scale of the universe, and it actually shows our universe inside a marble (hence the Marble theory).

Another example of the marble theory would be in two stories of Dr. Seuss. There's "The Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Horton Hears a Who". How are they related to the theory? Well where are the Whos located? In "The Grinch Stole Christmas" they were located on a snowflake and in "Horton Hears a Who" they were on a flower.

So simply put, do you find this theory plausible?

"What if..." we truly are alone.

What if we truly are alone in the universe, then what true purpose do all the other solar systems and galaxies hold? Is it just for our mere entertainment because of our own expansive mind and curiosity? If in the future we reached beyond our expectations in space travel and technology and found out that there wasn't anything out there, isn't that too much of a disappointment? What's the point?

Of course I believe in other intelligent beings in the universe, but it's sorta like waking up and noticing that you're the only person alive, you see ghostly figures, and you'll continue to search the globe all your life to find out that there isn't a single soul out there. It's just too much of a depressing thought. Tell me what you think. Is it possible that we're alone? Do you believe we are? I honestly never thought so...

My Poetry

So I thought to myself "What is this blog missing? My topics can be pretty much endless...so how about add some forms of art in here?" So that's when I thought about adding my personal form of art (the only kind that I'm somewhat good at); poetry!

Din
Red with fire burned by hate,
tell me goddesses what's my fate.
Goddess of fire, power, and land,
it's your symbol on my hand.
Give me the strength to subdue this foe,
so I can conquer with this final blow.

Now I don't know if any of you have ever heard of "Battle Arenas" in forums, but it's essentially a battle of each other's writing skills. Anywho, for my "Battle Arena" warrior, I wanted to create some sort of War Cry that he would say from time to time to pump himself up, and this is a small poem I created for him.
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Valentine Letter
I got your letter just the other day.
Sorry for no response, I didn't know what to say.
I'm glad you got the Christmas card, though it was rather late.
I'm also glad you've been spending time with your Irish mate.
I'm sure the bovine were a bucket load of fun,
I've been lucky to be with friends before the day was done.
My address and phone number haven't changed,
but my priorities in life have been rearranged.
I've found myself looking at schools near a Boston street,
but what I've found were DJs for the wedding's fancy beat.
No need to say "Thank you, friend" I knew that all this time,
I couldn't find a word for "jealous" in this silly rhyme.
I'm not jealous of him, it's more of what you two share,
a love so grand that three years time could still never tear.
I'll hold you to that promise when you move to a different land,
and you better tell me when a certain Irish man takes your hand.
It's not that I've lost my voice, or have become shy,
it's for I have not much to say, or a reason why.
There really shouldn't be a reason to just call a friend,
however I'm afraid who will pick up on the other end.
I'd like to hear the soft voice who is ever so sweet,
rather than a burly man who I'd never like to meet.
I'll leave the calling to you my friend,
Hence I'll be waiting on the other end.
I must be going now, there isn't much to say,
but bless you and your family on this Valentine's Day.

Now here's a poem/letter I sent to my ex-gf/friend. FYI: the "Irish man" is her old boyfriend who she decided to go back to (after she dumped me...). And why I'd not like to meet him? He has this prejudice against Dominicans (which I am) and pretty much all dark-skinned minorities overall (because of an incident that happened to him years ago) so I just rather not be in his line of vision...
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Seasons' Treasure
The white fog,
The black trees,
made me come to a stop.
As I glanced at the glass pond,
I saw two people.
One wasn't me.
Her icy blue eyes looked at me,
while Dawn's light shined on Her face.
Her eyes became the Sun and the Moon.
Dawn climbed the mountain and woke the town,
The banks were painted in gold from Her Autumn hair.
Her Spring dress gave Morning's chill a rest.
As I watched the Dawn with Her,
they filled my heart with the Summer's sun
I looked to the left.
No one was there but a wisp of fog at my side.
I continued,
searching. . .

This poem was about a girl I had a huge crush on during High School. The poem is talking about her beauty, and also how I had to move on from her. She was there for a brief moment in my life, but I just had to continue searching for my "one true love"...that is, if you believe in that sort of thing.
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Dreaming Soul
A dream to come pass through everyday thought,
a dream to hope upon as to hope a sun shines in an eye.
For the heart dreams more than the night ...
a soul more than the heart.
Empty is the soul that dreams.
For time is the giving and taking of all,
and time is what holds all of dreams.
Dreams of which yesterday linger till today ...
dreams of which tomorrow phases to present ...
eternally a soul that dreams.
Empty is the soul that dreams.
In the passing of time all will happen ...
the coming of destiny ...
passing becomes modern history.
All will fall where needed ...
all will fall for the soul that dreams.
Empty is the soul that dreams.

I honestly can not remember when I did this poem...and knowing that would give me a better understanding of what I was talking about. In the past, I have found myself writing poems half asleep (when I get a good idea, I do pretty much anything to get it out of my head and written down somewhere...and I'm serious because I have the worst memory in the world) so this may be one of those cases. But what I do understand (of my own poem) is that people's dreams (as in life long goals, not sleeping images) are always thought of, but many people don't do much to try to achieve it.
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Heaven's Guide

To write by candle light will bring you to the past,
in a moment long ago, that you wanted to last.
To the damsel to keep her secrets wherever they may lie,
to place them in this diary, for whatever reason why.

Write in the moonlight, underneath the stars
while the children gather fireflies in crystal jars
Teach them constellations of beasts and Gods long ago
about Corvus, the Hydra, and the angry Apollo
Guide them through the stars to always make their way home
to find their mother, whom was born from the foam

Knowledge is something that no one can take away
teach methods of the past so they can forever stay.

Look through the scope where philosophers gaze
up towards the heavens where wonders still amaze.

Living in the city, you barely see the stars. I take that back, I live in a suburb of a city, you barely get to see all the stars at night. So this poem was meant to be a little reminder of an old teaching method that has somewhat been lost (astrology). Ok, yes astrologists still look up at the stars, but not really the common day people since we already have appliances to replace them (such as a compass that later evolved into a GPS system). So this poem is for all those things to never forget the old ways of teaching, and teach your children about them in hopes that they will remember it for another day.
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Helena's Dream

O beautiful maiden who's soft and so sweet,
with spirits of the forest dance by your feet.
Play a melody on your elegant fife,
to the beat of your heart, the music of life.
Play songs of a loved one you lost long ago,
when Eros struck you with his arrow and bow.
Love is something that is never too late,
You can never predict the twists of fate.
Play till your heart's content under the moon,
or till the sun rises over high noon.

What inspired me about making this poem was a scene from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and if I remember correctly, at one moment of the play Helena is greeted by forest fairies, and so, I just made a poem about that scene (and mostly about her love for Demetrius).

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Boy
To the boy born with a curse.
No love from women, what can be worse?
You'll live a life of loneliness and pain,
no need to cry, there's always the rain.
Nobody there to kiss your tears away,
all you can do is kneel down and pray.
There's no wonder why you haven't taken your life,
deep down inside, you still hope for a wife.
To love and be with you for every tender care,
but the world doesn't work like that, so it's unfair.

O broken boy, nobody will fix you until you're complete,
from the problems in your head right down to your feet.
Attention and depression will always get in your way,
to have a normal life, a breathe into clay.
Your insecurities and shyness will never land you a girl,
yet your priorities in life have yet to unfurl.
Your brain is on empty, and your conscience drowned in guilt;
my, what a peculiar boy this god has built.
You're turning twenty-one but far from a man,
that's because you never face the problems you ran.
The stealing, the lying, the glut, sloth, & sex,
you're gambling your soul, and the devil's in the decks.

O useless boy, when will you learn?
that the world doesn't need you, so let Icarus burn.

Somewhat of a personal poem. I was depressed during that time, but might I add, I've never thought of suicide (though the poem says that, it was just used for the imagery). My life has been in a drought, and I need to get back up again and start anew (but that's easier said than done....most things are)
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Desert Winds of Floralia
Amber heavens turn into a will o' wisp riddened blanket.
Tortoise draws back into his shell, coyote stands proud on her dune,
as Procne harks a somber song in the cool night breeze.
Shadows flicker on canvas walls as kerosene flames twist against Eurus' breath.
Lilly pedals herald throughout the hookah-mead tavern as the desert muse emerges from the sand.
Nyx blessed her dark mane while smooth clay skin covers her body
Diamond stars lace her brow over the deep oasis of her veiled eyes.
Cheeks shimmer like the frozen dew of night and bells chime as her hips sway to the beat of the drum.
Tempest of the land, whirling zephyrs in her burlesque dance while flashing those neptune eyes all around
She truly is a goddess amongst men.

In the long run, this poem will actually be part of an even larger poem. My "grand finale" poem will be about an adventurer who's out in the desert and he's run out of water. He finds an oasis, sets up camp, fills up his canteen of water, and starts smoking. After awhile, a goddess appears before him and dances. When he wakes up, the oasis is gone, no goddess to be seen, his canteen is full of water and he starts to question if that was all a mirage, a hallucination, a dream, or was that real (meaning the goddess saved his life...how else would you explain the full canteen;))
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Spirits
Poes that drift with silver eyes,
in the fog they face demise,
moonless nights and songs of cries,
These are the days of yore.

Lanterns burn with flames of blue,
Reaper's clocks when you are due,
Don't look now, it's one you knew,
Into the Styx they soar.

Will o' Wisp burn in the midnight air,
Blood-stained hooves heard everywhere,
In the darkness none shall dare,
Screaming 'till there's no more.

This is about the spirits travel after they are dead. Spirits and the grim reaper. I wouldn't say that I dedicate this poem to my grandmother (who passed away on the day I wrote this...though I did get the idea of writing about death at a time like this), but it's about death anyways. Pretty much this poem is about the past, and how people were terrified of ghosts. Not to say that people aren't afraid now, it's just, there aren't as many ghost stories as there were back then (ghosts must be afraid of the city....or just never seen in them).
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Corona
I ate flakes for breakfast
day in and day out it's eat, sleep, and wander about
as a prisoner in this damn cube.
I feel like there are invisible boundaries around my life
No castle to call my own, no fertile ground for a garden
only a psuedo plant in my back yard.
Is there a higher power looking after me? Or am I on my own?
Can't breathe in this polluted water.
What's a karp to do?

Ok, granted that the title of the poem can change, but nothing else. As you've noticed, I wanted to make the reader seem like he/she is reading about their own similar life, or maybe even the life of someone they know. You know, someone who's stuck in a rat race. Well I wanted it to be the same, but with a goldfish instead of a rodent. Why the name Corona? Because that's the name of my "pet" goldfish.
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Feathers of Icarus
Tracks have stopped trembling,
Engines echo in the sky.
Babbling cars can be heard a mile away,
no wind to ride but branches to nest upon.
We herald on tree tops for twilight is near,
the horizon are our borders and the clouds our domain.
In the skies we forever remain kings,
from the dawn of creation to the end of time.

I was outside on my balcony doing this poem, and I just sorta wrote about a bird's-eye-view of things. As you've noticed, I like to rhyme in my poems (hey, it catches people's attention), but in this one, I didn't have much to work on. It's a short poem, but still a little lacking


Please tell me what you think of my poems, I have a few that are still "Work in process" so there may be more, and please feel free to share some of your very own.

I'm slightly back

Sorry for the two month hiatus people. My life has been somewhat hectic. Helping with a wedding, playing video games, helping with moving, my last grandparent passing away, me trying to get into college, looking for jobs, and just your mundane everyday boredom. I suppose after I got the upgrade on the blog, I haven't been all that active or even interested in posting. I can be like that sometimes. Just don't expect a lot from me. When it comes to blog work, I have slightly updated my "favorites lists" on webcomics, websites, favorite blogs, and video game sites. And I've been working on a few articles that I may throw out now and then. I just want my blog layout back how it was (unlike this white board monstrosity).

"What if"...I died

I've talked about changing the past, not having a past, now I want to talk about: How would things turn out if I had no future. Talk about family, friends, that weird dream I have, and possibly where I predict where I would go (and why).

Just like not having a past, I think my family would be a little bit richer. My financial things aside, I honestly don't think my family will hold my dieing wish: I want my funeral to be a nice party, not a gloom-fest. They wouldn't allow that since it's not exactly traditional, I understand.

I've had dreams about this very thing. I call them dreams and not nightmares, because they are quite possible. In my dreams the variation of how many people attend to my funeral changes every time. Sometimes it's my immediate family, whole family, family and friends, whole family and friends, whole family & friends & online friends, whole family & friends & online friends & some people I've never seen before, and sometimes not a soul...not even the father to say h

The sad thing is, I think I would die in my sleep, and the worse thing about it, nobody would know until it's waaaay to late. My sisters usually leave the house at 8 and 9:30 am, and I usually get up around 10. So, if I had a heart attack or something, then they would find my cold dead body around 7pm when it's too late.

Plus they say there are five stages of death (for the person dying and also, for a griever): Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

Denial: I'm not having a heart attack/I'm not going to die/I'm too young to die?
Anger: Why the hell am I taken when others bigger than me are still living?
Bargaining: If you save my life, I'll promise to eat healthier and go to church every Sunday.
Depression: I haven't done everything I wanted in my life!
Acceptance: If it's my time, it's my time. Take me lord!

Sins & Confessions

April eigth, Easter. To commemorate this day, I'm going to do something that I haven't done in many years, and it's something that may bite my ass later on in the future. I'm going to confess to all my sins. Why online and not with a priest or my family? Because I'm a coward. A coward that still can't face his consequences for his actions. For the time being I'd rather confess to the anonymous faces of strangers in the internet rather than face the people I already know. How would this bite me in the ass (in the future)? Well, there's a slight chance that somebody I do know may come across this blog of mine and read all my confessions/secrets like what you are doing right now. For the time being, I hope that doesn't happen. But why am I doing this now? I have a heavy heart, and my conscience is full. I need to vent some way so I wouldn't be holding such a great burden.

Right now I'm going to confess all my sins, (since the last time I've had a confession, and that was during my First Communion) and at the end of each confession, I'm going to place in bold how that relates to one of the Deadly Sins and or one of the 10 Commandments (future notice: All confessions deal with "honor your parents" so I want to note that now instead of repeating myself later). We aren't perfect, and God knows that, but I just want to say this either way.

1: I've had sex with one person, and nobody else. How many times? To many to count. Did we use protection? Yes, however 100% of the time would be a lie, we used it more like 90% of the time. Has she ever had to take the "morning after pill"? Once when she honestly thought she was going to be pregnant (it's best to be more safe than sorry). I've lied countless times about my virginity and that has cost me even more lies to cover up ones I've already made. Lust, Adultery, and Lie

2: After I was booted out of college, I've returned many times to see my girl and my other friends. However, I've told my family that I was at her family's house in a different town, but instead I always (98% of the time) went to her apartment in the college I once attended. This confession is easily tied with the sex one above considering that's what we did whenever I arrived...that and drinking. Lust, Adultery, and Lie

3: As we all know, alcohol usually ties into sex, so this is no acception. When I was in college, I usually drunk with my friends (never heavily) and would have sex afterwards with my girl. Then after I was kicked out, I stole a bottle of rum from my parent's cabinet and brought it up. They had my future Brother-In-Law drive me back home (I was sorta nervous). After he dropped me off and left, I placed a new bottle in the cabinet and thought I was in the clear. However, it seems that my parents knew and that's why they sent him over. After that we had a "Familly Convention" about my stealing, drinking, and banishment from that college. I stopped stealing and didn't drink for well over nine months but I still continued to go up to see my girl behind my parents' backs. Lie, Greed, and Steal

4: After being kicked out, I knew I wasn't ready for college, however my parents wouldn't hear of this. So they enlisted me into the local Community College. The first few weeks I did attend class, but afterward, I just skipped class all together and spent time in the library (online) and watching TV until my parents picked me up. I felt horrible to have them drive back and forth all the time at night. Lie, and Sloth

5: I haven't (continuously) gone to church since I was 16 years old. Since then academy life has always been in the way, but of course that's my most used excuse. My other excuse would be pretending to sleep, be sick, or a combination of the two. When did I start being soo self centered that 1.5 hours of the week be spent on my God? I suppose I just wanted to be like everybody else and not go anywhere on Sunday. Even today I still don't go to church, though it is walking distance.Keep the Sabbath Holy, Lie, and Envy

6: What started off as a few nickels and dimes soon turned into quarters and dollars. When I first started stealing it was from a charity basket my mother had to save up for donation to give to some children in the D.R. What did I buy with that money? Junk food. Something to feed on my selfish gluttony and greed. So I stole from kids that had a less successful life than what I had. From quarters I started moving onto dollar bills from my father's wallet and my mother's purse. They work, and I am a sloth... I never deserved this money. Though I can't be proud of it, the most I've stolen at one given time was $20, and I've also stolen a few dollars from outside the family. And it's not only money, but food as well. I'd sneak in the middle of the night and eat food from the pantry that didn't belong to just me, but to the whole family. This has lead me to my overweight body that I have right now. But I can honestly say that I don't steal (food or money) from anybody anymore...I've been clean and on a diet for well over a year now.Steal, Lie, Gluttony, Greed,

7: Now here is something that I've been caught a few times well I wouldn't say "caught" but almost. Let's see there was the time I ordered pornography from our cable network and other times I bought a DVD, magazines, and watched online. When I should be doing something more important, I'm usually watching porn. I've learned my mistakes and now I delete my history. Yes, I still watch porn to this day. Lust and Lie

It seems to me that from the 7 Deadly Sins and the 10 commandments (17), there are only six things I haven't done. Wrath, Pride, Worship any other God, Make any Idols, Murder, and Covet. Or maybe I have done some wrath and pride but don't realize it. What exactly does Wrath and Pride mean?


While searching online to remind me what the 10 Commandments and 7 Deadly Sins are, I came upon this: The Seven Heavenly Virtues (I've never heard of this). They are as follows.
•Prudence
•Temperance
•Fortitude
•Justice
•Faith
•Hope
•Charity

And then I began to think to myself, if I've done an example of these virtues at least once in my life.
Prudence: Well I was a virgin for 18 years of my life...
Temperance: Long fuse, small bomb. I usually don't get angry at people.
Fortitude: Take a look at my confessions...I'm quite weak.
Justice: Hard to make justice when I had commit the crime. I suppose saying your confession and taking the consequence head on is justice.
Faith: I still have faith, I just question some part of it with science...
Hope: I have plenty of hope...and more faith if my hopes came true.
Charity: I donate used clothes and money to the needy every year.

The last thing I want to talk about is rather interesting. While searching online, I also found this trailer for a new movie called "The Reaping" which is about a town in the south that is experiencing all the 10 Plagues of God. For those of you who need a little reminder, the 10 plagues are:

1. Water turns into blood
2. Frogs fall from the sky
3. Lice
4. Wild animals
5. Diseased on livestock
6. Unhealable boils
7. Hail mixed with fire
8. Locusts block out the sun
9. Darkness
10. Death of the firstborn

So I began to think...this isn't the first time they've incorporated something from the bible into a movie. Just take a look at The Matrix, Children of Men, Day After Tommarow, and humorously Dogma. And when that thought came, I also came to think about "What if God were to update his plagues of wrath? How would they differ from the one held in Egypt?". So I've created an updated "Plagues of God" of my own.

1. Water into Dead Sea. All bodies of water will become severely salted like the Dead Sea. Not only will this kill all aquatic life forms, but their blood will emerge (so it would sorta be like "Water turns into Blood"), but it will also not make water drinkable.

2. Snakes fall from the Sky. Who's afraid of frogs? What can frogs do? Snakes have been portraited in the Bible a few times, so why not bring them back into play (plus people are more afraid of them than frogs).

3. Lice/Black Plague. I want the lice to stay, however have them be infected with the Bubonic Plague.

4. Wild Animals. I also want them to stay, however all animals (trained, domestic, and wild animals) will run rampant in human territory and attack all humans a like. For centuries now animals have been "below the food chain" of humans, so why not have them show are truly are the top of the food chain.

5. Mad Cow/ Bird Flu/ Mercury Poisoning. This is the replacement to the Diseased animals. I suppose I really didn't change it, just updated it with diseases that we're dealing with today.

6. HIV/ AIDs/ Cancer: Unhealable boils and leopardsy(sp?) are things of the past, why not give people the new "IT" thing?

7. Meteorites. The Bible said "Hail mixed with fire"...doesn't that sorta sound like meteorites to you? Upon going through the Earth's atmosphere the meteorites burn up, and when it hits the ground after a while it cools down. So it's quite possible that people thought the Fire engulfed hail were meteorites but I just wanted to make sure either way.

8. Large Heatwave. The "old" plague had locusts that would eat away crops. Well with the water turned into blood, why not give the humans an even harder time to survive by making the sun way too hot to withstand. This would also destroy crops...

9. Technology Bust. All technology stops working. Cities won't have power, and hospitals (where most people who have been injured the past few days) will be a place of death.

10. Death of all newborns. Any child that's suppose to be born on this day will die. If the plagues lasted longer than a day each, I'd probably suggest that all women would be infertile for awhile (got the idea from the movie Children of Men).



If you want to leave a comment, please do not comment on the sins I've commited, but feel free to comment (or even confess) on anything else.

Wow, my conscience feels a little bit better already.

Blog Update

Over the past few days I've been lurking around other blogs (and commenting of course) and have found a few things that I'd like to see in my own blog. So I've been teaching myself (through trial and error) on how to do such things. I'd like to mention the things that are new/have changed/been updated (because who doesn't like a little recognition from time to time, eh?). I'll start off with the minor things, and work my way up:

-My profile, and boy did it need it. There were a few songs, and movies that I just had to get rid of.

-New webcomics that I've found recently, and I'm thinking of doing a "Webcomic Collection 2" in the future (when the comics have developed more plot to the story if they have any).

-New blogs to my "favorite blogs". While surfing through the blogs, I've found a few that were quite interesting. Some people I've made friends with, and others that I've lost contact for awhile (and brought them back up).

-New section; the Favorite Deviant Artists. Recently I've found myself browsing through Deviant Art for the longest times, and there are a few artists out there that I think that deserved some extra attention. So not only did I pick out my favorite artists, I also pointed out my favorite piece of art that they have created.

-New Title. I thought "Video Games, Anime, and much more..." was too long of a title. At first it was something to place until I could think of something better, and now I have (for the moment). Yes, I know Entertainment Central is a T.V. broadcasting corporation, but I honestly don't care.

-New Member Profile. This sorta goes along with the "My profile" bit, but I wanted it separate simply because I figured out how to be restrained by what blogger.com gave me, and just hold onto a larger version of the picture I had (plus, you no longer see the introduction of my profile. If you want to know a little bit about me, just click on the link).

-Music: If you haven't noticed (because you have no speakers/headphones, ears, or you're deaf) I've placed a song to play while you read my blog. I found this very nice free music site called IMEEM, and I've already started making a collection. Earlier I did have a larger playlist, but that was too much for my blog I suppose.

-New color text: White...simply white..it goes well to contrast with the new background, something I'll be talking about next.

-New background layout: The most obvious change I've made. I wish I could take credit for the picture, but I got it from the Prince of Persia website. Now as for how did I make the picture "float" while you scroll down? Well I found another blog that had the same thing, looked at their page source, and after about a half an hour I've figured out how to do it on my own. It's something I'm quite proud of at the moment.


If you ever need any assistance in making your blog stand out a little bit, don't be afraid to ask. But of course, it's more gratifying when you figure it out on your own :D

"What if..." I won the lottery?

Now I know this isn't a spiritual or controversial discussion, but you have to admit that the question has come up before many times in the past. Well earlier I was watching a T.V. show talking about the "Curse of the Lottery" and how money corrupts people. So I began to think "What would I do if I won the lottery?". Well after watching the show, I noticed three things that occurred a lot in each story: Gambling, Drugs, and Spending Sprees. I have never done drugs (and afraid of doing them...heck, I'm afraid of the drugs doctors would give me for surgery), and I'm not much of a gambling man (the most I've spent on gambling would be two scratching tickets that cost $5 each). Spending sprees won't be a problem since there really isn't much that I really want (I'm quite a simple person, and because of that, I'm quite a cautious person as well). So I've created a list of what I'd do with my lottery winnings:

1. Pay off all family debts: When I mean family, I mean immediate family (meaning no extended family members like cousins, in-laws, and friends), and what debts that need to be paid off? Student loans, bank loans, credit card bills, mortgage, my sister's wedding and any other things we'd need to pay off (maybe like hiring/paying lawyers).

2. Build an apartment in the D.R.: My parents have started building an apartment so with my money I could finish their project. All I'd have to do is pay the contractors and have one of my parents watch over them until the job is done. You know, this little chunk of change would keep my parents happy when they retire.

3. Buy ZeldaUniverse.net: Now why would I want to buy an online community? Well for a few reasons. I've been a part of that community for the longest time now, and a lot could be done if an actual ZU member became full owner (and I'd become Webmaster). Plus I want to give something back and make it even more successful. What would I do? Pretty simple. Buy a new server for it, hire Scott & James as part-time employees of ZU (to get the ball really rolling), and sell ZU memorabilia like T-shirts, Hooded Sweaters, and treasure chests full of rupees.

4. Hired Help
work-out-trainer/dietitian: Well to be honest, I'm afraid of going under the scalpel, so I'd rather lose my weight the old fashioned way. Not much said about this one...I just want to live a healthy life. Sure it's possible by myself, but I don't have that kind of will-power plus I'd need somebody watching over my back every single day (since I won't be working).

Chef: I want a part-time chef who will work with my work-out-trainer/dietitian so I'll have a healthy appetite as well as a healthy body.

Security: Now I don't know how far the security would have to go, but hopefully it will only have to be one body guard. And I'd want my body guard to be somebody I can easily be friends with (same goes with dietitian and chef)

Secretary: I have one of the worst memory in the world, and I'd like a secretary who follows me wherever I go to remind me of some important tasks and names of people.

5. Buy Condos in Boston and Hawaii: Why condos? Because I honestly don't need soo much room to live in (I honestly don't see the point in mansions). Why those locations? Because I love Boston (live in it right now) and I've always wanted a summer house in a tropical island. Sure I could have said the D.R. (my homeland), but I wanted a place where I could get away from it all.

6. Save money in Swedish Bank Account: Pretty much self explanatory. I want to save money for my future kids and/or if for some reason money gets into a tight spot.

7. Buy Condos/Apartments/Houses, renovate them, and sell/rent them: With all the spending I've been doing, I need to make money so I would never go bankrupt. I sorta got this idea from two things: my parent's apartment business and my sister's love for all those renovation T.V. shows she watches (I'd make her my interior designer). So pretty simple, buy multiple houses throughout the U.S., hire contractors and interior designers to renovate them, and then sell/rent them. Who knows, if this goes well, I may even start a business from this and go world wide.

8. Buy a Yacht and Jet Plane: Now I'm not big on buying a mansion or cars, but I am interested in having my own transportation (it would help me going from different house to house to see the progression on my renovation business). Plus I'd want to have a party on said Yacht and invite some family members, friends, ZU members, and celebrities.

9. Start Video Game Company: They say if you do what you love in life, you'll never have to work a single day. Well with this, I love video games, and I would start up a video game company. Sure it would be stressful at first, but hopefully it will work out in the end (this is the only thing I'm really taking a chance in).

10. Charity: After all is said and done, I'd donate some money to various charities throughout the world.

It looks like in the long run I'd like to be a Real Estate Mogul, Internet Webmaster, and Company President. My mother/sisters would really be helpful in the real estate department, my internet friends would be great about my webmaster business, and my personal friends and I can take a hold of the company.

So, I ask you my faithful readers, what would you spend on if you won the lottery.

Mario Kart Wii

Not much of a real post, I just wanted to guess how many players will be on the Wii version (and possibly who), how many tracks would there be (and possibly which versions), what multiplayer games would there be, and would it have two characters per cart (ala Double Dash)?

Well I did a little research and what I've found out was this:
-The Average amount of players is roughly 10 (Double Dash, there were 10 pairs of 20 characters)
-Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, and Wario have all at least been in 6 out of the 7 Kart games.
Ammount in games:
-Circuits, Beaches, Public Roads, Deserts, Jungles, Haunted Tracks, Stadiums, Bowser's Castle, Ice Tracks, and Rainbow road have been the reoccurring theme for the majority of the tracks throughout the series

Reoccurring Items:
Diversions: Blooper
Regular Hit: Green Shells, Triple Green Shells, Fireballs
Heat Seeking Missiles: Red Shells, Egg, Triple Red Shells,
Large Explosives: Bo-omb, Bowser's Shell, Spikey Shells
Increased Speed: Mushrooms, Triple Mushrooms, Super Mushrooms
Roadside Obstacles: Fake Item Box, Banana, Triple Bananas, Giant Banana
Effects All (but the user): Thunderbolt
Power House: Stars, Bullet Bill, Chain Chomp
Other: Hearts, Boo hoo

It's obvious that Feathers and Coins won't be introduced in the MKWii because they've only been used 1-2 times before in the past (and didn't come up with the most satisfying results, so that's why I didn't even bother to place them in the list). Blooper is a new-comer from the DS, so who knows if that would be in play for the Wii. Boo-hoo, Shells, Mushrooms, Bananas, Thunderbolt, and Stars have been there since the beginning so there's no use to take them out. Bo-ombs have appeared in the most popular recent games so I wouldn't be surprised to see him again. Bullet Bill (DS) and Chain Chomp (GC) are both the exact same thing. If the babies make a return, I predict that so will the Chain Chomp.

Now the special items are the ones that are questionable: Like the fireballs, eggs, hearts, chain chomp, Bowser Shell, and Giant Banana. Will it really have a purpose for the Wii installment?

Let's take a look at the occurring theme of the Karts used in each game.

SNES: Karts
N64: Karts
GC: Doonbugie
GBA: Karts
DS: Racecars

Is it just me, or are the karts improving? First they looked like regular carts, then they started to look like Doonbugies, and in the DS installment, some of them look like Drag Raceing/Street Racing cars. Now with the Wii graphics, is it possible that Mario Kart may turn a little bit more serious (have my highest doubts)? Will they look like advanced versions of the DS cars? Will the game finally implement flying and boating (or will that be too similar to Diddie Kong Racing?)

Just imagine if you will...have a few carts that can go in multiple places: There's on land, in the sky, on the water, and in the water. I say that some karts should be that way (with the combination of land of course).

Land/Sky: An Airplane. Bowser already has one.
Land/On Water: A Hovercraft or boat/car
Land/Under Water: Submarine/Car.

One thing that's for sure (or should I say obvious) the game will be (or really should be) Wifi accessible. Why? Well not only because Mario Kart DS was online, just imagine if MKWii had two characters per kart (just like in Dash), then players throughout the whole entire world would have to pay a little bit more attention to their carts, other than just relying on one person to do all the heavy lifting. And who knows, maybe some microphone communication could be at hand (for the driver to tell the thrower who to throw to, and the thrower to tell the driver where to go); If not as an extra assembly for the Wii, then via the Wifi communication through the DS (and headset that's only been used for Metroid Prime: Hunters).

Tales of Symphonia OVA

On June 20, 2006, Namco announced an official OVA (anime) for Tales of Symphonia, divided into four episodes. The first episode is planned to come out in stores in Japan on June 8, 2007, the second on August 10; the release dates of the third and fourth episodes have yet to be announced. It will be directed by Haruo Tonosaki (director of 2x2=Shinobuden) and feature character designs by Akira Matsushima (Rurouni Kenshin OVAs.)

OVA Stands for Original Video Animation and it is sometimes used, perhaps inappropriately, to refer to any extremely short anime series or special regardless of its release format. So this would explain the Ultimate Hellsing OVAs and the four episodes of ToS (how long are these episodes? I hope one hour each).

I do wonder if the original director and artist who did the video game intro will have any part in the four episodes. I'll be honest, when I first played that game, I thought that all the cutscenes were going to be in anime...but sadly I only ended up with 2-3 pure anime cutscenes (the rest were CGI). So without any further adieu, here's the first trailer to Tales of Symphonia OVA

Now after doing a little snooping around on their official website, I've found out something: The cast only consists five out of the original nine characters. It seems that only Lloyd, Collet, Genius, Raine, and Kratos will be the main cast. Any news about the remaining four characters (Sheena, Zelos, Presea, Regal) being a part of the anime have yet to be said, but I think everyone would appreciate it if they made at least one small cameo. If you truly think about it, in the game, the remaining four really didn't make a big difference the the game's storyline after all. Sheena was an antagonist in the beginning and near the end she was the one who made a pact with the spirits. Zelos was the Chosen One from Tethe'alla, so he's somewhat important, but if the anime decides Kratos to be a good guy to the very end (and have Zelos be the one who double crosses the team) then there really won't be a problem, but just strong chances of seeing a cameo. Presea and Regal are side quest storyline characters really and weren't really necessary in the very end.

Can any one of you people think of how not introducing any one of those characters truly change the storyline? Of course we have to take into account that they've only introduced those five characters because those are the only ones going to be shown in the first two episodes. The third and fourth? Who knows what happens. But considering they are calling these four entries as episodes and not movies, all we can really can expect/assume is have them be 60 minutes or less. But I also have to think "How can they cram a video game that took dozens of hours to complete down to four?" I think it's quite obvious that some characters and storylines will be lost in the way (there will be a lot of fast forwards like "3 weeks later"). Of course, that may be the case unless the company is secretly making an actual Tales of Symphonia OVA series that takes place after the four episodes/movies (that is if these four videos don't explain everything that happens in the game). I think that would be an excellent idea indeed!

One more question to pose to all of you ToS fans: Are there certain scenes that you'd love to see in the videos? Give me your ideas, thoughts, and opinions on the whole matter. Speaking of scenes, please enjoy this pictures from scenes taken from the trailer.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The synopsis seems quite simple; "After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Splinter, becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City. Tech-industrialist Maximillian J. Winters is raising up an army of ancient monsters, and only one super-ninja fighting team can stop them -- Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael!

With the help of old allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones, the Turtles are in for the fight of their lives as they once again must face the mysterious Foot Clan, who have put their own ninja skills behind Winters' endeavors."

From the synopsis, it sorta reminded me of the online manga Mutant Ninja Turtles Gaiden in the way that after a death, the family grew apart. Now I don't know if it's just a good coincidence or if the manga writer is just well in tune with his ninjas, but it seems to me that both are similar. In the manga, Raphael goes solo but it seems to me that he's still training (in the movie it's the same but more with his motorcycle), Donatello stays secluded in his own sewer apartment doing scientific research (in the movie he's seen in front of his super computer), and Mikey was shown wearing a "turtle mask" and fake zipper in order to entertain children for cash in the movie (and in the manga he became a famous author...who wore a mask...to earn some cash. Now as for Leonardo and Splinter, my best bet is they stayed together (well he's the best pupil and he's the master) because in the movie it was shown that Raph and Leo was about to fight...my guess this was Leo's way to recruit Raph back to the family from what dark energy their Master feels happening in New York City. As for what happened to those two in the manga, well I won't spoil it, because you'll have to read it for yourself.

Now back to the movie, at first I honestly thought that the movie was going to revamp the TMNT movie series (just like Batman Begins), but I was wrong when I read "After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder...", so it's a sequel...with no subtitle (no "IV" or anything). But as TMNT fans have learned, the Shredder is never dead for long, he'll always make a return. But there is one thing that has happened in the manga (and on a live action TV show) but not in the movie series: Introduction of a fifth turtle. In the Manga we have Renoir, and in the TV show we had Venus. Who's to say that a fifth will never be introduced? Who knows? Maybe there will be a slight hint at it in the end of the movie (or even a sequel revolving around the return of Shredder). As for how Shredder could return? I have an idea. In the comics (and the recent cartoon), it's been said that Shredder is actually an alien (Utram) inside a mechanical body. Well, in the movie aliens are introduced, so does this mean that the Utrams will also be introduced in the TMNT movie universe?