2011年06月27日
2011年06月26日
母と日本3: 栗林公園
We went to Ritsurin Park!
栗林公園に行きました。
It was raining, but my mom still loved it. She was all like "Wow!"
雨がふっていました、 でも 母は、「スゲー」と言うた。
Yeah, apparently Takamatsu city is wrapped up in a battle to change the translation to "Ritsurin Garden" but pfft, that baby is a park and you know it.
(Click the pictures to make them big. 写真をクリク)
We always love to go to Ritsurin Park. We buy the family pass every year!
いつも素晴らしい ところ だなあ。 毎年、僕らは「家族パス」を買。
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栗林公園に行きました。
It was raining, but my mom still loved it. She was all like "Wow!"
雨がふっていました、 でも 母は、「スゲー」と言うた。
Yeah, apparently Takamatsu city is wrapped up in a battle to change the translation to "Ritsurin Garden" but pfft, that baby is a park and you know it.
(Click the pictures to make them big. 写真をクリク)
We always love to go to Ritsurin Park. We buy the family pass every year!
いつも素晴らしい ところ だなあ。 毎年、僕らは「家族パス」を買。
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2011年06月26日
WEEK IN REVIEW 6/26
今週レビュウ, 6/26/2011
6/25 Documentation of my mother and sister's visit to Japan: Part 1 and Part 2 (More to come)
6/23 Yakuza: Of the End is selling like hotcakes!
6/21 Haters Gonna Hate. Psychology is amazing, and I'm getting quite excited to turn in my Master's Thesis using behavior from this study.
6/20 I've been playing ニーア for PS3. Clunky game with a surprisingly solid story and soundtrack.
6/25 Documentation of my mother and sister's visit to Japan: Part 1 and Part 2 (More to come)
6/23 Yakuza: Of the End is selling like hotcakes!
6/21 Haters Gonna Hate. Psychology is amazing, and I'm getting quite excited to turn in my Master's Thesis using behavior from this study.
6/20 I've been playing ニーア for PS3. Clunky game with a surprisingly solid story and soundtrack.
2011年06月25日
母と日本 (2) 高松
As you may recall, my family came to Japan. Here's the ongoing chronicle...
僕の母と妹は日本に来た。これは日記です。
(Click the pictures to make them big. 写真をクリク)
We explored the Shopping Arcade and Sun Port...
We ate lunch at Freshness Burger. I had the Salsa Burger while my family had the new Avocado Burger.
My family loves Takamatsu!
僕の家族は、高松大好き。
つづく...
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僕の母と妹は日本に来た。これは日記です。
(Click the pictures to make them big. 写真をクリク)
We explored the Shopping Arcade and Sun Port...
We ate lunch at Freshness Burger. I had the Salsa Burger while my family had the new Avocado Burger.
My family loves Takamatsu!
僕の家族は、高松大好き。
つづく...
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2011年06月24日
母と日本 (1) 四国村
My family's visit to Japan, Day 1:
They were late!
遅い!
They arrived in Japan, but...their luggage was in America! Delta is bad.
到着。。。でも。。。荷物はアメリカにありました。 DELTA だめだ。
...We ate at YouMe Town. The name confused them.
家族には、 YouMe Townの名前は分かるない物だ。
They said, "How is that 'yuu may'?"
「なんで ユーメ？」と言うた。
"Isn't it You me? Or Yo-may?"
「なんで ユーミ、それとも ヨウメじゃなくて？」
YouMe Town's name is a paradox.
YouMe Townの名前はパラドックスです。
Oh well.
We went to Shikoku Mura! 四国村に行た！
つづく...
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They were late!
遅い!
They arrived in Japan, but...their luggage was in America! Delta is bad.
到着。。。でも。。。荷物はアメリカにありました。 DELTA だめだ。
...We ate at YouMe Town. The name confused them.
家族には、 YouMe Townの名前は分かるない物だ。
They said, "How is that 'yuu may'?"
「なんで ユーメ？」と言うた。
"Isn't it You me? Or Yo-may?"
「なんで ユーミ、それとも ヨウメじゃなくて？」
YouMe Town's name is a paradox.
YouMe Townの名前はパラドックスです。
Oh well.
We went to Shikoku Mura! 四国村に行た！
つづく...
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2011年06月23日
龍が如く: Of the End
Yakuza: Of the End is off to a hot start! It has sold 400,000 copies since its June 9 release date.
Congratulations, Sega.
The game comes with a special sticker that says "Ganbarou Nippon" or "Be strong, Japan," and comes with character artwork pieces that also sport the phrase. Sega is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Japanese Red Cross, so you can feel extra good about buying this game.
2011年06月22日
Family visit!
My mom and sister came to Japan!
母と妹は、日本に来た。
It was their first time!
(初め)
I'll post some pictures and stories soon! Right now, I'm still recovering from all the hard-and-fast travel. Ugh, I think I caught a cold during the whole ordeal X_x
すぐそば、 たくさん の 写真！
母と妹は、日本に来た。
It was their first time!
(初め)
I'll post some pictures and stories soon! Right now, I'm still recovering from all the hard-and-fast travel. Ugh, I think I caught a cold during the whole ordeal X_x
すぐそば、 たくさん の 写真！
2011年06月21日
Haters Gonna Hate
Somehow I've ended up in some kind of...I don't even know what to call it...with a certain...I don't even know what to call them.
Innocent, harmless actions of mine apparently strike a huge chord with this nameless party...
I did not find them interesting, but now I must admit, it IS a little bit intriguing...
The whole case should be in a psychology text book somewhere...
Unfortunately, because of just how insane this third party is, that's about all I should say about the "conflict." I put it in quotes because it isn't one -- or at least shouldn't be -- but somehow it's getting the appearance of one.
To show how much I care, here's a rap song about Star Wars.
"Think you can cook? I got a grappling hook."
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Innocent, harmless actions of mine apparently strike a huge chord with this nameless party...
I did not find them interesting, but now I must admit, it IS a little bit intriguing...
The whole case should be in a psychology text book somewhere...
Unfortunately, because of just how insane this third party is, that's about all I should say about the "conflict." I put it in quotes because it isn't one -- or at least shouldn't be -- but somehow it's getting the appearance of one.
To show how much I care, here's a rap song about Star Wars.
"Think you can cook? I got a grappling hook."
Tweet
2011年06月20日
Been Playing: Nier (ニーア)
Recently, I've been playing a little more of a Christmas gift I got, Nier for PlayStation 3.
Having been stuck with mostly portables lately, it was nice to see something on the big screen. (Portables are not always a bad thing, it's just worth note that they've been my only source of gaming for some time.)
Nier has some broken gameplay mechanics such as its wonky magic aiming and occasionally faulty camera that really get in the way during some boss battles. It's like they're difficult not because the developers designed a hard game, but because the player must wrestle these broken aspects in addition to the enemies.
But I can't hold this game down. Nier is a game whose real power comes from its atmosphere and story -- and I even say this as a guy who hugely prefers gameplay over story.
It goes against the JRPG grain of being about a bunch of teenagers out to save the world from an evil empire, for one thing. Man, that got old 10 years ago. Nier -- at least the Gestalt version -- is about a man looking out for his daughter, struggling to make it through an everyday life in a post-apocalyptic world while searching for the fabled cure to a disease she's been stricken with. I don't have kids yet, but I've got 8 younger siblings and my wife and I have wanted kids for some time; a buddy of mine recently had a kid; I work with children as a profession; I feel close to this plot. If anyone ever did anything to hurt my siblings or students, I would do my best to end that person. That's just me. Evil empires, meh, I've gotten used to those.
But it's not just the premise that gives the plot it's strength, and attempting to describe it is making me feel weak as a writer. It defies convention by taking a lot of risks, and the results are brilliant. One example that comes to mind is a problem that arises in which a village is plagued by dreams that involve...words. The theme of the whole town and subplot is "words." So for a time, the game gradually switches from being an interactive video game in the traditional sense and becomes something more of a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Thing is, it does so gradually, with the brightness of everything fading and words becoming brighter just slowly enough that the characters are taken by surprise when they realize everything has faded and all they can see are words, as if they're stuck in a book. Some will find this silly and stupid, doubtless. I however found it quite fun.
The graphics aren't exactly cutting-edge HD, but the music is perhaps my favorite game sountrack of all time. I mean, holy crap. Go through YouTube and check that out. It's one of very few game OSTs I enjoy outside of the game.
Just beautiful, really.
The game has some shortcomings for sure. Even so, I can't deny that every time I play it, I have fun. I can't put a score on it because I feel like I should finish it first, but it's definitely been worthwhile so far.
(『ニーア レプリカント』 Or, in English: Nier Replicant; 『ニーア ゲシュタルト』 In English: Nier Gestaltは、2010年4月22日にスクウェア・エニックスから発売されたアクションRPG.)
Having been stuck with mostly portables lately, it was nice to see something on the big screen. (Portables are not always a bad thing, it's just worth note that they've been my only source of gaming for some time.)
Nier has some broken gameplay mechanics such as its wonky magic aiming and occasionally faulty camera that really get in the way during some boss battles. It's like they're difficult not because the developers designed a hard game, but because the player must wrestle these broken aspects in addition to the enemies.
But I can't hold this game down. Nier is a game whose real power comes from its atmosphere and story -- and I even say this as a guy who hugely prefers gameplay over story.
It goes against the JRPG grain of being about a bunch of teenagers out to save the world from an evil empire, for one thing. Man, that got old 10 years ago. Nier -- at least the Gestalt version -- is about a man looking out for his daughter, struggling to make it through an everyday life in a post-apocalyptic world while searching for the fabled cure to a disease she's been stricken with. I don't have kids yet, but I've got 8 younger siblings and my wife and I have wanted kids for some time; a buddy of mine recently had a kid; I work with children as a profession; I feel close to this plot. If anyone ever did anything to hurt my siblings or students, I would do my best to end that person. That's just me. Evil empires, meh, I've gotten used to those.
But it's not just the premise that gives the plot it's strength, and attempting to describe it is making me feel weak as a writer. It defies convention by taking a lot of risks, and the results are brilliant. One example that comes to mind is a problem that arises in which a village is plagued by dreams that involve...words. The theme of the whole town and subplot is "words." So for a time, the game gradually switches from being an interactive video game in the traditional sense and becomes something more of a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Thing is, it does so gradually, with the brightness of everything fading and words becoming brighter just slowly enough that the characters are taken by surprise when they realize everything has faded and all they can see are words, as if they're stuck in a book. Some will find this silly and stupid, doubtless. I however found it quite fun.
The graphics aren't exactly cutting-edge HD, but the music is perhaps my favorite game sountrack of all time. I mean, holy crap. Go through YouTube and check that out. It's one of very few game OSTs I enjoy outside of the game.
Just beautiful, really.
The game has some shortcomings for sure. Even so, I can't deny that every time I play it, I have fun. I can't put a score on it because I feel like I should finish it first, but it's definitely been worthwhile so far.
(『ニーア レプリカント』 Or, in English: Nier Replicant; 『ニーア ゲシュタルト』 In English: Nier Gestaltは、2010年4月22日にスクウェア・エニックスから発売されたアクションRPG.)
2011年06月06日
ワーーー [やわらか戦車 (2)] ;_;
This episode of "Squishy Tank" is so sad!
この "やわらか戦車" エピソードはとても哀しいです。
It's based on The Little Match Girl, a very sad New Year's story.
マッチ売りの少女のほかのバージョンだ。 それは哀しいお正月の物語です。
Squishy Tank is so cute and nice! It's sad to see him go out like that ;_;
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「天麩羅いかがですかーー」
2011年06月04日
やわらか戦車 (1)
I love Yawaraka Sensha!
僕は、 やわらか戦車 大好き！
He's so cute! And funny!
I listen to the songs every day! ^_^
毎日、うたを ききます。
僕は、 やわらか戦車 大好き！
He's so cute! And funny!
I listen to the songs every day! ^_^
毎日、うたを ききます。
