LadyCrimson

After I saw and loved Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop was an anime lots told me I should watch. Wasn't my thing or something, didn't watch it very far. That said, I did mean to give it another, longer chance, but like with many things never got around to it. That trailer is at least a little amusing and John Cho is usually decent. ...I wonder if Netflix would do a live-action Champloo. I'd guess it's not avant-garde (or whatever) enough. Then again, since I loved that anime, I probably wouldn't want them to, I'll just stick to my blu-ray of the anime. I also have never figured out any current actor who I might see/like as Jin. Mugen would be a little easier.

I found this cute/charming, interesting, and occasionally lightly amusing. Since it's Firefly related I'll put it here.

Another episode of Squid Game. ...I'm liking it, well acted and produced etc, but it's kind of depressing and I don't feel like binge-watching it (maybe an episode or two at a time at most). I've liked plenty of similar plots before, probably just not in the mood for this type of show right now. But anyway, if you don't like dystopian feeling social desperation horror and visceral violence, I'd stay away.

Despite Gorth's posting, I feel like I missed a turn and entered the Twilight Zone etc.

Sorry, but ... hahahahaha! ...FoV at 10. ...hmm, I wonder if that's how hubby sees me half the time?

@Raithe I had a white cat once that would've loved to sit on your lap while you were wearing that. That's very cool tho, looks fantastic. ========= Saw two houses on Sunday. Both had a pool. The 2nd one was a larger lot, more of a blank slate, house was fine. Reminded us just a little of the house we rented in S. San Jose that we liked a lot. May need some $$ of fixing up a few concerns but nothing major. They'll probably get multiple offers but we'll put in the asking price, cash, offer. Never know. If we don't get it we won't cry. There's always another one. Anyway...it's weird how I can make fun of our current/main house, calling it a postage stamp and all, but after 12-13 years (I think?) it still feels like home. Point being, it makes it a lot easier to look at homes because (since we're not looking at 3 million dollar homes) I'm never "I want this house so bad." It's more like "this could work, I'm fine with it." Although even before buying anything ever, I think hubby gets more worked up/invested then I ever do - he's a lot pickier and has more "wants", whereas I start wanting to simply toss darts at houses to decide so it can just be over. *shrug*

Decreasing the FoV to 30-35 (Cheat Engine mod) vs. the default/locked 70, gives you a great chance of getting a combat close-up that is NOT from an always-the-same 3 second Boost Strike or other cutscene bit - vs. the .5% chance of the camera randomly swinging in close as it turns, for a fraction of a second, at just the right moment...my interest in the game just increased a little again. Not that one should play normally this way - 55-60 FoV minimum or it's really wonky trying to run around when not in combat. But for screenies it's great! So instead of combat frequently looking like this boring (to me) distance It's now much easier to get something more like this, without cropping. Aerials were the hardest to get at all, before. It's not a photo-mode, but it's better at least. *happy screenshotter camper* FoV that extremely close up does make you extra aware of the character's height difference tho, since the camera is always pinned to a center spot. So no good for non-combat pics of outfits, lol.

If you end up liking that series, I'd also recommend One Spring Night, also on Netflix. A couple other possibles: Chocolate and My First First Love (sappy title but...) And yeah, a lot of k-dramas on the lighter or heavier romantic side sometimes have a lot of their version of slapstick (sometimes hilarious, but sometimes cringe), either as main or some side character subplots. Some of them are an oddball mixture of slapstick, romance, and super tragic circumstances or a serial killer plot all in the same 16 episodes. >.> Farther back in time you go, the more "teen comic book or soap-opera melodrama" you may encounter (Boys Over Flowers is infamous in this regard) and their tv cinematography will look cheaper and rougher looking. K-drama's have evolved a lot in the past 10-12 years.

I was similar (I say "was" because I hardly read anymore so a bit out of practice). I reached a point where if a novel wasn't at least 500+ pages I wouldn't buy it. Note that I am not quite that fast reading non-fiction, because such does not create "movies" in my head (where I no longer consciously see words on a page anymore). I still read such pretty fast, but not quite fiction-novel fast. But reading fiction is more of a visual experience for me and trying to get through such 10 pages or a chapter at a time would drive me insane, just like someone pausing a film every 5 minutes - or worse, only watching 5 minutes of a film per day - would drive most people batty.

Flavor and texture wise, they're more like a combination of egg coated french toast (no syrup/sugar, obviously) and cornbread or corn tortilla. Hm, side note, I should try pan-frying them. They're round, very thin, slightly spongey circles about the same size as a typical cheese slice (except they're not square...) or maybe a street taco shell. The company makes bigger sizes and calls them cauliflower pizza crusts I think. I already use raw riced cauliflower stir fried with meat and sauces, it's great and I haven't missed rice at all since. If you want a calorie/physical amount reference, I eat about 1500-1600 calories a day lately, more or less. If all I did was eat these as is out of the package (no cheese) I'd have to eat 30 or so to reach that. I like them, but not that much.

I am not sure, but I think I was pecked to death by a 50 foot rooster. ...the costume quest I wanted needed more than one sidequest to make it pop, but I got 'em. The cutscenes were hilarious too. ...any outfit showing off Dohalim's 8-pack abs are all right by me. (they all get a version of the themed costume) Hmm...I feel like there may not be tons to do after post-game, doing all this stuff before then. I'm sure a few things, just not a lot. NG+ sounds rather pointless (nothing changes), outside of wanting to try the uberuber difficulty and taking over your gear/skills etc. to help out if you wanted. Not interested. I wish there had been more visual enemy variety. Just like with most costume stuff, a lot of them are basically reskin/recolors. I suppose the very end could change my mind a little bit, but overall I'd give the game maybe ... a 7-7.5 out of 10? Something like that? Great visual presentation most of the time, good first half, a pretty decent and visually fun combat system (even if I suck at it), some pacing/chr./dialogue issues and that too long back third. Not anything that will be considered a classic or must-play, but good enough to waste time in. The combat Ai has been interesting to tweak around with. The chr. AI can act really strangely/differently, or even sometimes "break" depending on settings and what skills you define they can use/not use. It doesn't feel consistent across all players. If you sorta want to solo, you could put the AI on "Do Nothing" or "Heal only", something like that, and all they will do is dodge and/or heal, leaving it up to you. But that changes the enemy AI as well - they get a lot dumber, especially adds. It's either purposely oddball or just simply broken in some ways.

Welcome to my world.

We didn't buy that one house 5 minutes from the river. "Yard too small" was one factor but also "not sure want to buy the very first maybe house we see" another. So now a different one. Not as close to the river parks but still no hassle to get to it (very fast if you biked there, longer walk, or short-nothing drive), great location, better yard for hubby (even has a small swimming pool, which hubby misses having one of those). Hasn't been interior upgraded so a little dated in some ways but we don't care about that. On the other hand, one of those places where the online pics don't make you instantly in-love - "could be a winner ... or in person we could think it utterly stinks." So we're going up on Sun to look at it. No overnight, just 2 hrs there and back same day. Yawn.

Last few times I've fired up Tales of Arise, I stand at the Final Battle spot for a minute...then turn around and teleport back out to do something else. The thought of a couple of maybe slightly extended fights then likely 20+ minutes of cutscenes or something just makes me go pffft. I'm getting close to lvl 60 tho (max is lvl 100 I think), meaning maybe I can do that one lvl 60ish side quest that I've heard opens up a costume sidequest. Costumes are good. Maybe I'll do that first. *Then* do the Final Battle to unlock the few things that unlocks. Maybe.

^ Shawshank is definitely one of those that I think "everyone" should at least try to watch. Green Mile too, although maybe very slightly less so than Shawshank.

I like tragic movies. Which doesn't mean they have to have a downer ending per se, just that there's a lot of tragedy going on, no matter how it turns out in the end. I just find them cathartic, since I tend to be someone who keeps a lot "in". That said, I don't watch such a lot, because that would be overly depressing. Pixar - I loved Wall-E's opening but once he goes off planet chasing after Eve it was ... still entertaining, but nothing too special. I would say the same about Up. That boyscout kid character annoyed me quite often. It was cute overalland I love Ed Asner, but yeah. Toy Story - saw that in theaters and yeah, at the time it was wowzer. After that ... I did see most of the sequels I think, none of which had a lot of impact for me - they were decent time-passers, and then I forget I saw them. I didn't care much for Inside Out, Cars - Incredibles was mild fun, don't care to see the sequel. Basically Pixar is hit or miss - they seem to do well with certain bits and pieces but often the overall film is only "ok" for me, especially after any initial impression may wear off. But early on their animation was a draw.

I go to CostCo once a month or so, because they have more low-carb convenience food options that are maybe, oh, I dunno, 50%-75% less "bad" than most convenience foods, and I'm lazy re: cooking as I'm sure I've said before. Last time I went I noticed these things: Hmm, I thought, I'll try a couple packages. When you take them out of the box they're a little spongy/oily feeling, but I tossed a couple into the toaster oven. Take them out, put a slice or two of medium "white" cheddar in the middle, let sit a few minutes and ... GOOD. I was never a huge fan of grilled-cheese sandwiches but for some reason these are better. Not nirvana or anything but yeah ... they became my staple for a quick meal side. eg, one of those as a "cheese sandwich" and a giant bowl of rabbit greens and a little meat of some kind can be lunch. I went back to CostCo and bought 10 boxes (they freeze well).

Yeah, that was a cute k-drama, I mostly liked it as well. There are some very good K-dramas. A lot of them are somewhat fluffy/comedic or melodrama romances - which I definitely enjoy from time to time and K-dramas do it so much better than the US - but there are also the more drama or thriller/crime types that are very good. Misaeng (slice of life) would be one and last I looked it was still on Netflix. If you want to stay with lighter relationship or general fantasy fare: Because This Is My First Life is sweet (but not very slapsticky). Anyway, there's some good ones, from wacky to serious, from the past 8 years or so ... but most aren't on Netflix. =============== Speaking of k-drama's, I watched the first two episodes of Squid Game (Netflix) last night. About half-way through the first, I sat up and went "GONG YOO!" ... I had no idea he was in it. But then sadly he went away and from reading, sounds like his role is just a guest/brief. ::sad panda:: But the first two episodes of the series seem fairly interesting/good. I'll try a couple more episodes.

I used to have favorite movies/TV shows. I suppose on some level I still might, but I don't really think of it that way anymore. I mean I do still have favorite or disliked genres overall but ... there is just "I was entertained and left it on" or "I was not entertained and turned it off" or "I loved that movie when I saw it 10+ years ago." Some movies get relegated to "classic" status in that I think everyone should try to watch it/them at least once - original 12 Angry Men would be one of those, for example, or for genre specific ones, like Alien/Aliens for sci-fi/horror folks. --Alternatively, there is also the category of "the lead (or supporting) male lead character was really handsome/beautiful and this old fart could stare at their face all day like an art painting." ...I guess I watch films/tv these days more with my visual-triggered emotions than with my brain, if that makes sense.

I do not have the patience, know-how (or desire to get the know-how), or gambling nature for any kind of "higher risk" make your money grow fast ventures. I like my money under my mattress or invested in something like real estate for long haul gains. But I/we have the perspective where, even if we're not filthy rich, we are already quite comfy/safe enough where high risk (or high maintenance) ventures just to make some extra funds does not seem worth the bother vs. our desired modest lifestyle. Even if that wasn't true, I don't think cryptocurrency would be for me/us.

Still on Tales of Arise. And no, I haven't quite beaten the story. After that long dialogue/skit heavy few hours romp, there was finally ... some action! ... then more not-action. Then finally ... some action! In the forum of a dungeon.This room by room/floor by floor went on, and on, and on. A situation where once begun you won't leave because you'd have to clear it all again. I finally reached the spot for the FINAL FIGHT (game warns you), which thankfully also had a teleporter thingie so I could leave and come back if I wanted. Park, and exit. That all said, this game still has things that have made me giggle, and I like some of the mild grind (even if you don't have to actually grind) and later side-quests and one or two chrs etc. so I give it bonus points for that. it's mostly this end-story-train I haven't liked/leaves a sour taste after a while. Most of the rest I've enjoyed well enough.

Also: ^ Do' got an arte/skill where after he attacks he strikes a pose as this rosebush sprouts out of thin air (thorn damage I guess, haha). And thus I slapped that 1-dmg artifact on and spent 15 minutes forcing him to spam it over and over (along with Mr. carrot-sword and Mr. bunny-pig gauntlets), while laughing like a loon. What is this game, I can't even. I need a game where you can make all weapons/attacks look like pillows, so it would look like the biggest pillow fight in the world, all the time.

Tales of Arise: 11pm last night - "I'll blow through the rest of the story." ---walk five steps, cutscene/skit, walk 5 steps, cutscene/skit, "talk to your party members/the town" for more cutscenes/skits, walk 5 steps, walk 5 steps, cutscenes etc, repeat and repeat and repeat. Maybe 10-20 minutes worth of combat in there somewhere. Same old repetitive lore/exposition dumps and "chr/lore reveals!" vs. working any of that into the previous sections of the game at all. 1:30am - "omg, is the final boss door? Finally?" *defeat the fight* *more long cutscenes etc* ... "We have to take the fight further! Off we go!" ok, fine, I keep going ... walk 5 steps, cutscene/skits, "talk to people in the next map area." ... *turns off the game, goes to bed* I do think I'm very near the end but I couldn't take it anymore for one night. Honestly, you have to really love this style of presentation and lore dumping or somehow be really emotionally attached to the characters to like the story style of this game. I'm sure some do. There is also one chr. where I liked their scenes somewhat. The first third was much better paced and it goes downhill from there, imo. Anyway, for me a game where I end up liking the gameplay a fair bit - but man, I am not replaying this ending ever again.

Apparently in ToA, if you launch a chr in the air you can keep them up there for as long as you have the AP/CP to keep casting something. Making them largely untouchable....this has potential for not caring if your party members die tho. Just stay in the air as much as possible w/a character who can do that (not all can do it effectively), and you're golden. ...been mostly just grinding to make some ideal accessory's with the right attributes I want and increasing proficiencies. I may rush through the rest of the story now. The story has become weirder and weirder and I'm not really into it at all. But the linearity of certain progress/collectables/quests means ya gotta do it some time. Then I can go back to grinding and goofing off and maybe I can beat those high lvl sidequests then.

ACCEPTABLE. ....hey, Bandai, since you're so into DLC, I would've paid another $15 for a Photo Mode DLC. Just saying.