Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town

I know a lot of people who play video games (practically all of my friends). A lot of them also do things like play Dungeons and Dragons, or Warhammer.

Oh the memories...

A few of them play Harvest Moon, in it's various incarnations. They're the ones who will understand me when I start ranting about it. The ones who don't play it give me a look that clearly says "What are you on woman?"

They do this because Harvest Moon is a farming RPG.

You're the one who's holding the dog.

People who don't play it go "Oh, it's a farming game? Like Farmville?"

It kind of is, but only in the farming part. 

In Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, you start with your character showing up at on a farm near a small town, and the mayor of the town explains that the previous owner has died and left it to someone.

That someone is you.

If you choose to keep the farm, you start working on it the next game day.

You get to tend cattle, sheep, and chickens, and you own a dog, and a horse. But you only start with the dog, the cattle, sheep, and chickens you have to earn enough money to buy. The horse is given to you by the  owner of the cattle farm.

Heeere chicken chicken chicken!

Then there are the Non-player characters (NPC's). Other than your character there are no other characters controlled by you in the game. That's a lot of characters, at least about 39. 

They all have their own personalities, likes and dislikes, interests, etc. They have their own birthdays even, which people like me (slightly manic people) try to find out.

For example one of the bachelorettes, Popuri, will like your puppy if you talk to her holding it, but when it's a full grown dog, she won't like it.

Speaking of bachelorettes, you get to have a girlfriend in this game (or several) and get married. You also get to have a child.

Personally, I always go for Popuri.

This is Popuri.

It's not all fun stuff either, there can be hurricanes in the summer, and blizzards in the winter. Your animals can get sick, and they can die from their sickness. They can also die from age.

This is also a game that consumes you, you have to budget, plan when you're planting, and when you're harvesting, be friendly with the townspeople, not overexert yourself (or you faint and lose a week of game to recover in the hospital).

And you never win the game. It just keeps going and going and going.

At least in my experience it never ends. I had a file until recently that was into year five in the game, my character was married, had a kid, was running a good farm. And then my file disappeared. 

It made me so sad, and when I told my friends that play Harvest Moon, they had a  look of horror on their faces. When I told the ones who didn't play, they told me it sucked that I'd lost the file, but just play it again.

But it takes an emotional toll on you, you build a life in the game, and make a family, and then... BAM! it's gone.

Which sounds silly to a lot of people, I know, it's just a game. 

But now I get to restart my game life tonight, and build it back up. Because no matter how many times I lose my files, I will keep on playing Harvest Moon. 

Reading Week

Well, reading week has been busy, visiting and recovering and what not.

I also cleaned my room. And when I say clean my room, I mean really cleaned it.

I had to have my mom's help, since I was still kinda sick.

What we did was take everything out of my room. Everything.

Then we took the furniture out, and washed the walls.

I have spent the rest of this week sorting through eveeeerything in my room. Everything. I've sorted through every paper, every folder, everything.

So now I have a beautifully clean and organized room.

I think this kind of thing is something people (including myself) should do every year or so, kind of like spring cleaning.

It doesn't just help get rid of things you don't want or need anymore, it helps you find memories.

I found little things, like the wristband to an amusement park I went to with a good friend a few years ago. I can remember the visit on my own, but this wristband helps.

I also found things that aren't really associated with memories. Like notebooks. I have a ton of notebooks. It's almost silly. I filled up my desk with them.

I'm still sorting posters out, since I have to lay them out flat for a while, but I will soon be done!

And with that I'm off to enjoy the last little bit of reading week!

Sick, again

I had planned to do a blog post on Doctor Who this week, because Doctor Who is awesome.

And then yesterday I had the bad luck to wake up extremely sick. When I say extremely sick, I mean so sick that I slept over 17 hours in less than 24 hours, and still was tired and ill.

So, needless to say, a post on Doctor Who will not be happening today, as I find it mildly amazing that I'm still conscious.

Instead, I will discuss the book and soon to be released movie, The Lorax.

The Lorax is a good read. It's a book ahead of its time about considering how we use our resources in the world.

I would definitely recommend The Lorax to anyone - young or old.

It has a great line. "I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees."

It definitely makes you think.

But I'm off to pass out again.

Bye!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is upcoming, and for people looking for gifts this can be stressful.

A lot of  friends I have have been stressing about how much flowers cost (a lot).

Red roses seem to be the traditional Valentine's gift, which to me means that after a while they don't mean as much. Why not throw some of the favorite flowers in? It means that they can go buy a dozen red roses for almost $30, and then you're done. But what if your significant other likes iris's? Or Tulip's?


Wouldn't `t it be better to get them the flowers they like?

There are more types of flowers than roses.

Avoiding the flower thing altogether could be good too. Get creative. My significant other got me Cthulhu Slippers for Valentine's day this year.

Ahhhh! Cthulhu's eating my feet! Nomnomnomnomnom.

These are perfect (for someone like me). They're practical, and there was thought put behind them. Every time I put them on I'll think of my significant other. 

Personally, I think the best gifts come from a person going out and getting their partner something that made them think "So-and-so would love that" when they first see it.

If you really want to go the flower rout though, why not try a potted plant? Then they live longer, which seems more romantic than giving someone something that's dead.

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Something I've also found interesting is Valentine's day and White Day.

From what I understand, the Valentine's day and White Day split is done mostly in Japan and South Korea. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

As I understand it, on Valentine's Day, women typically give chocolates and gifts to their friends and guys. On White Day, which falls on March 14th, The guys reciprocate the gifts. Which makes sense to me, it's logical (this gets me odd looks from my female friends). That way, they don't forget to give a Valentine's gift (it does happen), or don't go thinking that you're just a friend and don't think of getting you one (because you can still give gifts to friends). It also gives a month to plan.

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Another thing could me making a card, it's inexpensive (hopefully) and it means more.


But, off for the food and whatnot, see you next week!

Concerts, concerts and more concerts

Apparently Winnipeg is a real hot spot for concerts these days.

In the next four months I am going to at least three concerts.

Five Finger Death Punch, on April 9th at the Burton Cummings Theater.

I won't lie, I find them attractive. I'm a bit of a fan girl for Ivan Moody.

He's the one with the blond mo-hawk.

Paintball has never looked more appealing

This will be the 3rd time I've gone to see them since April 3, 2010.

They opened for Korn that show. They also headlined Rock on the Range here last August. This time I get to go as a birthday gift (as the tickets aren't too expensive).

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Next is Trans-Siberian Orchestra on April 13th.

The tour is called "Beethoven's Last Night 2012". I don't know what this tour is about, since all the other times I've seen then it has been around Christmas.

For those who don't know, Trans-Siberian Orchestra is basically metal Christmas Music. And it is awesome. Most people who have heard any of their songs will have heard Wizards in Winter (it's hard to find a video to post... so I'll let you guys use your Google and YouTube powers  to find it if you want.)

I go to a lot of concerts where there are flashing lights and pyrotechnics (Rob Zombie, Slayer, Korn, ect.)

And Trans-Siberian Orchestra concerts can match these big Metal bands in the pyrotechnics category. And the flashing lights category (their concerts are not good for those that can have seizures induced by flashing lights). The last time I went I was sitting at the back of the stadium, basically as far from the stage as one could get, and I could still feel the heat from the pyrotechnics.

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Speaking of Pyrotechnics, Rammstein is coming to Winnipeg may 10th. This will be their first time coming to Winnipeg... well, ever, from what I understand.

Those pictures are from Sehnsucht (the dark ones)

From what I understand Till Lindemann is a qualified pyrotechnician.

Lots and lots of fire.

I don't hide the fact that I like more metal music, but my taste is really eclectic. Still, I've had people ask me why I like Rammstein.

"Isn't is in German?" They say

And I tell them, "Yeah. So what?"

I don't know German (as of yet, it's on the list), but I do at least do checks on what's being said in songs. As someone who grew up listening to people speak in Greek half the time, I have an appreciation for how other languages sound. Example, I have never been yelled at by a Greek person because they're angry, we're just a loud people. 

So I plan to learn the languages of some of my favorite bands. Meaning that come hell or high water I will be learning Japanese (fluently) and German.

Now, Some more Rammstein pictures! Have a good day everyone!

http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/artists/rammstein.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vF-U9OdE3QsWgG5xdWqcU22lQU1rukjtWUugKFKcuaRSxoWfzJiBPsXM-Qy7PDEmfWKqiEKmmxzHtVp0Q7tkCGMiwGE2wXZr1YUOa_epBHpUKkVZ2CF6O2LpJJfRUz4JGijUhpXP944R/s640/Rammstein_photo_02.jpg

http://www.rammsteinwallpapers.com/wallpapers/rammstein-headsblack-wallpaper.jpg

http://deathelectro.com/wp-content/audio/rammstein.jpg

Flamethrower? Flamethrower.

From what I understand this is done during Engel. That... that appears to be fire shooting out of his wings.

Till, you look like the Joker.

http://www.6millionsmiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/till_lindemann_rammstein_happy_birthday.jpg

http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/rammstein.jpg

http://www.blogto.com/upload/2011/05/20110509_Rammstein4.jpg

http://truecultheavymetal.com/media/users/jose/rammstein_rir.jpeg

http://wallpaper.metalship.org/images/rammstein5.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.noisecreep.com/media/2010/12/rammstein-456-e-121310.jpg

http://static.nme.com/images/gallery/RammsteinPA271011.jpg

Here's some video's also, most people would likely know Du Hast if they know no other song

But here are some other songs!



Wollt Ihr das Bette in Flammen Sehen.

(Not reccomded for young audiences)





Typed in English (as I found it on my copy of Live Aus Berlin) Weisses Fleisch

Also. Look at the shoes shooting fire. Dear Lord that's a little scary.




Du Riechst so gut.

Look at how much fire there is in the first minute of this song!

Also, really, really not safe for children. In general none of these are ok for kids.

Best comment on this video? :


"3:12
Till: Ohhhh... Die nasse Haaaauuuuuut (pervert face, crotch grab)
3:20
Richard (to himself): Cant he act like a normal person for once?"

Made me laugh so hard.

But, that's all for me today, bye bye!

I've come to the realization...

As I was trying to think of what I would do my blog post on this week, I came to an important realization.

I don't have time to watch a movie every week. Nor do I particularly want to.

Watching movies is enjoyable, but not all the time. I came to realize today that watching movies isn't fun for me anymore. So I won't be watching movies for my blog this week, or any week in the future probably.

In truth, I thought up something I wanted to blog about last weekend, but before I got a chance it slipped my mind.

Then my friends provided me with something new to blog about.

Now, I don't like to bash on things since there are usually some people who like them. But today I have no patience for some things.

Last Friday my friends made me watch 3 hours of Robot Chicken because I'd told them I'd never really watched it before.

http://collider.com/robot-chicken-comic-con/104538/

The reason I've never really watched Robot Chicken before? I don't really like it. I don't mean to be offensive to people who do like it, but the kind of humor in it just isn't my thing. That's also why I don't watch The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, American Dad, and any other shows that are in the same boat as the ones I've just listed.

I'm not saying I don't partake in juvenile behavior and humor, and I'm not saying that I'm not occasionally offensive.

But I really, really dislike shows like this. 

That's one of the first things.

Second, I told them repeatedly that I didn't want to watch it (which might seem selfish, except none of them were watching it anyway). They ignored me every time. This is a pet peeve of mine, as it happens fairly often. I will speak to people and they will either ignore me, or can't hear me. After repeating something about five times, I give up.

You may have noticed that this week I am ranting. It happens on occasion that every frustration I am feeling will channel into one thing I am annoyed with. 

/End rant

In other news, I spend a lot of time online. I don't hide that fact.

And recently I've enjoyed a site called Etsy.

Etsy.com is a shopping site, where people can sell a variety of items. I find it kind of  like e-bay, except with a lot cooler stuff.

I've only bought one thing off of there. A replica of the scarf Watson has in the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

This is the Scarf. It is awesome.

The woman (I'm making an educated guess) who I bought it from runs "Skybox Human Creations" on Etsy. There's an assortment of hand knit and crochet items - socks, scarfs, hats, etc. etc.

Here's the link for her, I'd suggest checking it out. The scarf at least is very well made, and really soft.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SkyBox?ref=seller_info

I think there is probably something for everyone on Etsy. (Everything will be linked in the captions).

Do you like Steampunk?

This is a USB stick OwO

Looking for a Valentine's Day gift for someone who likes unique things?

D'awwwww

A hand made music box, is that not awesome?

If you're like me, you have a lot of friends who participate in goth/rave scenes. And if you live in Winnipeg like I do, you know how hellishly difficult it is to find things made for those sub-cultures.

Etsy is a good place for people like me and my friends because there is pretty much anything you could want.

Like this illuminated visor:

An AWESOME illuminated visor

But I'm off for tonight, bye!

Books

Hello hello,

To be honest I didn't really know what to write about this week, I haven't seen any new movies, and the D&D group I'm in didn't meet this week... or for the past few weeks.

I did finish the last book in the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks this week. It had a good ending to an interesting series.

It tied up loose ends, which I find great, because there are a lot of books that just leave to loose ends to flap in the wind. That's one of my pet peeves in books, when there are loose ends left flapping in the wind, mocking me, saying "You'll never know why this happened! Haha!".

I hate that.

And yes, my books talk to me.

I'm on a book kick recently, I find it's not as stressing on my eyes.

I got the book Hyperion for Christmas, and from what I've heard it's very good.

Does anybody else have any knowledge of it to give an opinion?

I'm off though, nighty night!