Plant Vs. Zombies - A Hardcore gamer. Mark Twain. And Satan.

It's the title I never thought I'd play. A serious player of videogamez since my mother's womb and the atari was in style, I'd normally overlook this like this in a complete and oblivious fashion such as other cheap games such as Sadoku, tetris, and crossword puzzles that old ladies are so fond of. The new game experiences have been less then pleasing as of lately in the vein of castle defenses. Why this genre has not done much to outgrow it's central base of the Warcraft 3 mods and free online arcades is a mystery.

Plants Vs. Zombie's made an interesting impact on the record of not only TD's but the 'discount games aimed at casual players' that has become the trend as of lately.
So I poked it with a stick; expecting a childish and redicoulas experience of shallow game play and cartoony 16 bit graphics (or is that 8?). It turned out to be as addicting as so many people have said. The characters grow on you after a while, and it's impossible to put down for the same reasons why I couldn't let go of Timesplitters 2 - the humor in every square inch with lots of material to unlock which adds more bonus materials and humor. Every time it begins to become stale, something new comes along.
Also after beating the game is a hilarous music video with half American/Half Japanese singer/songwriter Laura Shigihara where she takes on the roll of a sun flower and sings defiance to the zombie invaders. There is also a japanese version of the song with the help of her father singing the voice of the zombies. That one's rough around the edges but may be interestning to students of Nihongo.
She's also got an independant project going on. An old school RPG by the name of "Blue-Star" now with the second demo released.
Check it on her blog at: MyBlueDream.
Or the Music video on Youtube.

Now if anyone can suggest a TD game better then the mods for Warcraft 3. Then please, let me know.

Hmm. It's about time I start looking at the Indy game scene. Perhaps with the trend for casual gamers and new advances in software tools/animation it will once again be about individuals or small groups who release the hits, instead of million dollar budgets and 3 years of release time. Who else likes waiting that long just to discover what they were obsessing over turned out to be over hyped and over priced.

Now onto a different subject.
For those fans of Mark Twain and not just the Huckleberry fin you were forced to read 3 times over again in High school. How about a story who's main character is an angel? Satan to be exact. And he can do some 'curious' things.

A random literary link of the day. "The Mysterious Stranger".




I'm a picky reader. Twain has such a balance in writing style that flows smooth without being overly sophisticated. It's poetry to me.


"The Mysterious Stranger" in public domain for free reading Here.


If your inpatient to get the gist of the story here's a short clip from a children's cartoon -
that was later banned from TV for it's... slightly disturbing content. If you haven't seen it before... Good luck sleeping tonight.



Remember as your watching/ or reading the story. Mark Twain wrote it right after both his wife and daughter had died. This may help put it into perspective. He never finished the story. Albert Paine (his biographer) created an ending for it by choosing from a pile of multiple scripts the one he thought would be best. And even then it was only published after both authors had long since died.




"Life is only a dream. Nothing exists except empty space and you. And you are but a thought."

Japan… Or where you happen to be at the time of reading.

Welcome to my blog! Why am I welcoming you? Because that’s what your assaulted by each and every time you turn on a TV, or walk into a Wal-Mart. I once was one of those Door Greeters. And probably the worst as not only would I fail to greet upon entry but even make eye contact. That’s okay though. Soon they moved me outside to ‘cart boy’ where apparently I was no longer allowed in the store. Later on I quit, or was fired. Anyways; the only reason why I went to College and later on worked as an English teacher is because Wal-Mart refused to give me my job back.

Let me apology in advance as the title is misleading. I’m not actually writing this from Japan. That was last year. This year I’m in Bangkok, Thailand. 3 Weeks remaining on the clock. I just broke up with my girlfriend (A messy scene to have on a subway – not to mention, very random.) Two hours previously we were having sex for the third time today and discussing where we’d venture to in the future. Lo! How do the seasons change.

I’m currently sitting in my Hotel room where I’ve been for the last two weeks. Not exclusively as I’ve uncovered a few stones since arriving on the 5^th of July. Unlike my trip to Japan I came here completely ignorant of the language, customs, and general knowledge of the country. It was a crash course in foreign culture and after a few days of misery, I have to say the city started growing on me. I’ll reiterate a few points that you’ve probably heard before, if ever you so much as Googled the words, “Thailand, Bangkok” (In whatever order that pleased you at the time of doing so), which would be; the city is dirty, crowded, and traffic is downright deadly.

The most dangerous part of my day is in the morning while crossing the street to a nearby 7/11 for breakfast with a Pepsi. As I hate Coke-Cola and Coffee in this 90+ humid temperature would dissolve my internal organs with the efficiency as a African Viper. Even though I still hardly speak more then 3 phrases of the language such as,

“No I don’t want to buy your wares”

“Thank you, but I’m not interested in buying.”

And finally to the pretty ladies that can be found at every street corner, as another once artfully put it, “Waiting for the bus that never comes”

“Please don’t grab my hand for paid sex, as you can see I have my girlfriend with me.”

Thailand has been aptly named, “The City Of Angels” very appropriate if you consider the symbolism, that an angel is at either extreme of the spectrum of morals. There’s prostitution, Crime, Counterfeit/Stolen/ Or swear shop wares, and shady people in general on every street corner. (And did I mention the traffic is crazy? If you’ve ever been to New York on the 4^th of July night when everybody is driving drunk… you still can’t imagine.) While after getting through the first week I started to realize something else. Thailand also has some of the kindest people I’ve met.

This was a fact that was brought to my attention earlier, before ever arriving. Yet I dismissed it as propaganda – from a previous trip to Japan, that the Japanese are the politest. No – their just kiss a lot of ass, and there is no limit to what those older women will do. Here in the villages off of Samoa islands, where we stayed on the Beach; swimming by day, shopping, and driving around on a little scooter (with no driver’s license) then at night the cozy restaurants with delicious food became outdoor clubs with excellent lights, music, cheap alcohol (as in price for quantity – which sums up the food as well.)

It may be due to the country still having such a large number of poor/sub-average incomes or some other aspect of upbringing that doesn’t exist in the West. But what I discovered was a overall sincerity to strangers that makes me really enjoy bumping into others and starting up a conversation or just making eye contact. It’s as if you’ve already met everybody. Try comparing that to New York.

Okay so I haven’t been to New York long enough to make a fair comparison. An unwavering truth is that no matter where one goes, that experience is directly tied to the individual, including the responses as others as our personality dictates it more than any external factor.

I’ll touch up more on why I was so shocked between my expectations and reality. But for now I’ll sum this up with a simple hello. Future posts will be dialer and cover a far broader aspect then traveling and especially on the subject of preconceived notions as that seems to have been what was predominately on my mind this evening.

For now I simply say ‘hello’, and hope that over time this becomes worth reading to those who may, in that foggy and yet seemingly endless universe known as the ‘Internet’, that as I did in Bangkok, you discover something surprisingly worthwhile.

Feel free to leave comments, even negative one’s such as “Your spalling sux – lern proper grammer!” is welcome and will more than likely keep me awake at night with warm tingly feelings.

Yours sincerely through good times and bad, (or at least the good)

The Killer Penguin.