Exile`90

I was talking to my friend on MSN while watching the Initial D live action movie.. So here’s the play by play review.

note: This log has NOT been edited in ANY way.. All the grammar and spelling mistakes are still there..

Kel: in short: bunta = always drunk..
Kel: itsuki = doesn’t drive 85.. drives one of the speedstard cars.. the greenish one..
Kel: tak = pukes after driving with itsuki..
Brian: itsuki drives the s-13 ><
Kel: the first time we see tak driving he does the inertia drift just like in the anime..
Kel: yeh.. i think that's the car..
Brian: it the car lol ><
Kel: and he crashes it in the 1st race.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: first race is s13 vs r32.. then 86 vs r32 at night.. just like in the anime vs the fd..
Brian: lol
Kel: ann suzuki (mogi) = hot.. but we all know that..
Kel: also the only japanese person in the movie.. ;p
Kel: i wonder how they were filming the movie..
Kel: none of them speak japanese.. and she desont speak any chinese.. ;p
Brian: lol
Brian: ohwell
Brian: aslong as the movie was wqorth waiting 3 years for lol
Kel: it's not.. ;p
Kel: it's a lame excuse for a movie.. ;p
Kel: shouldn't even be called 'initial d' ;p
Brian: lol u'r so joking lol
Kel: i'm not..
Kel: as a movie it's average..
Kel: but as a movie based on initial d it's just lame..
Brian: ><
Kel: at least they still have the cup of water..
Brian: lol\
Kel: tho it looks white.. so it may be milk..
Kel: or.. something ELSE.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: btw. they seems to be using game speeds..
Kel: on the 1st straight on akina they're going over 140..
Brian: lol
Brian: totaly un real lol
Brian: ewww
Kel: another unrealistic thing: r32 has a faster startup than 86.. ;p
Kel: and we all know how cheap 86 is on akina.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: they must be using boost..
Kel: or the level advantage.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: skyline driver is a heavy blocker.. going from one side to the otehr on the straights just to block.. ;p
Kel: GUTTERS!!!
Brian: lol
Kel: trueno wins..
Kel: mogi is a whore.. ;p
Kel: but she's still got great legs.. ;p
Brian: woot
Brian: lol
Kel: btw. the shick who works on the gas station with thme = HOOOTTTTTTTT
Brian: lol thers a girl?
Kel: yup..
Brian: not in the anime?
Kel: nope
Kel: there was only 3 guys in the anime
Brian: the girl i was thinkin about is the fd girl she also works at garage/gas staion
Kel: yeh.. but she's in a different city..
Kel: EVO!!
Kel: he pumps trueno's ass when itsuki is driving..
Kel: bumps even..
Kel: itsuki crashes trueno..
Kel: i think it's his 85 now..
Kel: shitty cam version.. can't see the model number..
Kel: it has the speedstars sticker on it so i think it's his..
Kel: now tak is driving 85 chasing the evo..
Kel: itsuki is crying just like in the anime.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: evo spins out and crashes..
Kel: remember how in anime fc passes the spinning car? same happens here.. the 85 passes the spinning evo..
Brian: lol
Kel: this time itsuki pukes after tak's driving..
Kel: it's weird..
Kel: it looks like both of them have 86..
Kel: itsuki's car has a 'TRUENO' sign on the front..
Kel: itsuki passes out afger driving with tak..
Kel: itsuki is still pukin even day after driving with tak..
Kel: and the hot chick is helping him.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: bunta is abusive to tak..
Brian: lol
Kel: but seems to like mogi.. ;p
Brian:
Kel: but who wouldn't..
Brian: mogi = natsuki?
Kel: ann = hot..
Kel: ya..
Brian: kk
Kel: ryosuke is explaining to tak why his fc is great..
Brian: lol
Kel: black evo shows up..
Kel: (the earlier one was the white evo)
Kel: he starts chasing 86..
Kel: and the evo keeps going PSHHH, PSHH.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: they pass trueno..
Kel: so now it's tak who's chasing..
Brian: lol
Brian: engine goes boom!
Kel: and the engine goos PFFFTTTT.. ;p
Brian: lol woot
Kel: evo guyus making fun of tak..
Kel: bunta doens't look too pissed about the engine blow out..
Kel: the trueno somehow is parked on the track at the same gas station where they work..
Kel: bunta like porn.. ;p
Kel: tak is all lost and sad without his car..
Brian: lol
Kel: new engine!!!
Brian: lol
Kel: not only the new engine but also the cf hood too!!
Kel: the hot chick is the 1st one to see the new 86..
Kel: the gas station manager is puking after driving with bunta!!!
Brian: lol
Kel: HE'S PUKING ALL OVER THE DOOR THOUGHT THE WINDOW!!!
Brian: lol
Kel: tak is still sporting his sneakers..
Kel: you know.. those N ones..
Kel: what are they called?
Kel: new balance?
Brian: ya
Kel: now he's all confused about the new engine..
Kel: bunta drives.. tak seats in the pasanger seat..
Kel: bunta drives without any shoes.. barefoot.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: itsuki is on a date.. with a hot chick..
Brian: lol the girl from the anime?
Kel: i think it's the chikc from the gas station..
Kel: and she dumps him..
Kel: he sees mogi in the benz..
Brian: lol
Kel: going to the hotel..
Brian: skank!]
Brian: slut
Brian: whore
Kel: but she's hot!!!
Brian: lol]
Kel: she's alowed.. ;p
Kel: tak is a bit pissed after itsuki tells him..
Brian: lol
Kel: tak is stalking mogi and the guy in the benz..
Kel: now mogi is talking to her 'sugah daddy' and crying..
Kel: they transport the black evo aroun on a truck..
Brian: lol
Kel: itsuki is with the hot chick again..
Kel: and he gets slapped again..
Brian: lol
Kel: trueno shows up in the last minute before the race..
Kel: tak seems pissd and triving fast even uphill..
Kel: tho in the closeup he still looks bored.. ;p
Brian: lol
Kel: 3 way race begins..
Brian: ><
Kel: black evo, fc and the trueno..
Kel: 140 after that slight right turn on akina dh..
Kel: faster than my rx8 with boost.. ;p
Kel: the race.. evo 1st, fc right after and trueno last..
Kel: evo keeps going pshhh..
Kel: in the tunnel (there is no tunnel on akina!!! or is there?) fc lets the trueno go first..
Kel: so it's evo, 86, fc..
Kel: tueno and the fc catch the gutter!!
Kel: they pass the evo..
Kel: they announce ther eis a car coming in the oposite way... fc and trueno slow down.. evo just keeps going cause he pulled out his earpiece..
Kel: evo3 crashes..
Kel: HAHAHA!!
Kel: he cuts though a hairpin and takes like the jump on iro..
Kel: except he seems to land on his roof.. ;p
Kel: e3 is totaled..
Kel: trueno and fc keeps racing..
Kel: both use the gutters..
Kel: fc passes 86 on the inside of a turn..
Kel: tak pulls out his earpiece.. ;p
Kel: tak passes the fc on the inside.. nice fire out of his exaust..
Kel: itsuki gets kissed by the cute chick.. ;p
Kel: tak is stalking mogi again.. mogi is crying.. he's driving away.. also crying.. ;p
Kel: end of the movie.. ;p
Kel: lame movie if you ask me.. ;p

With my original remote control for the Apple iPod long time gone I’ve been looking for some sort of a remote for my player. Some time ago I saw this baby:

I just couldn’t stop myself from getting it..

From the box:
* Control music playing on your iPod up to 60 feet away.
* Uses RF signals that travel through walls for iPod control anywhere in your house.
* Tiny remote attaches to backpack, bike, steering wheel – anywhere for on-the-go control.

Now enough about what they have to say and let me have a word or two..

I LOVE IT!!

I think this pretty much sums up my feeling about this little piece of hardware. I’ve had it now for a few days and I must say other than the case I’ve got this is the best iPod add-on I own. I just love tossing my iPod into my backpack and just keeping the remote in my pocket for easy access. I don’t feel like actualy testing it to see if it really works up to 60′ but I can promise you it’ll work accross your room.. Unless you live in a really, really big house.. But then.. You can have a hired person to change your songs in the iPod instead of some remote control.

But enough of the good stuff.. Now let’s get to the bad stuff..
1. The transmiter/receiver likes to unhook from my iPod if I move my backpack too much.. It’d be nice to have some way to secure it to the player. Tho I guess duct tape will work too..
2. The remote is small.. It’s about a size of a pack of gum.. Easly misplaced in your pocket or on your desk..
3. There is a small delay between the time you press the button and when the iPod actualy does something.. Not a biggie but it’s noticable..

Anyways.. Other than those 3 problems I think it’s a perfect add-on for anyones iPod.. I got the Apple iPod 3rd/4th/Photo versions but I know there is an Apple iPod mini version out there too.. Higly recomended..

Pheww.. Naruto North 2005.. Err.. Anime North 2005 is finally over.. 3 days of torture of watching 100 Narutos, 50 Sasukes, 200 ANBU members, etc.. Due to the selection of guests lots of people also dressed up as Inu Yasha characters..

And now it’s time for the Anime North 2005 pictures!!!

Note: once again we have a proof that I suck big time at taking pictures.. ;p

Normally I’d spend most of my time in the dealers or art areas.. But this year I’ve decided to check out more pannels than in the past.

Friday lineups for the tickets were pretty crazy.

On the contest stage at the TCC there were some people doing ParaPara:

In the gaming part they had DDR Extreme machine and In The Groove game on the big screen (sponsored by Red Octane).

The dealers room was full but not packed.

Some pannels I went to:

Yaoi pannel:


The scarry part is.. I probably knew more about yaoi than most of the people in the audience.. The girls who were running it were pretty knowledgeable about all the boy-on-boy stuff..

Anime Improv:


Pretty funny stuff..

Dubs vs Subs in 10 rounds:


With the guest appearance from Carl Macek.

Q&A with Sanada Asami:





What’s up with me taking like every picture when she had her eyes closed?!?!?!

Mystery Otaku Dating Game:








It was probably the funniest pannel I’ve seen.

FullMetal Fantasy by Vic Mignogna

Highly recomended for any con goer. Kind of got into trouble while taking this pix.. I took it right at the same time they were talking about no recording of the screening.. I got ‘.. and no flash photography either’

Create Your Own Anime


Do you recognize the guy from somewhere else?

Guest Slam 3 – Dobsons Gone Wild (Paul Dobson, Michael Dobson, Brian Dobson)



Most of the talk came from Paul and Michael..

Guest Slam 4 – Veterans (Michael Dobson, Scott McNeil, Cathy Weseluck, Carl Macek, and the others)


Scott and Cathy = r0×0rZ.. Scott was just eating his hotdog for like half of the meeting..

Authographs.. Before the con all I wanted was to get Pauls and Scotts signatures.. But after meeting Susan they kind of got pushed a little bit down on my ‘to meet again’ list..

Line-ups for Paul Dobson, Scott McNeil, Susan Aceron, Cathy Weseluck, Vic Mignogna and Sam Vincent

Scott McNeil in action

Hi Vic..

Paul ‘The Matrix’ Dobson with my ReBoot DVD and The Matrix action figure

Susan Aceron after I showed up in her line for the second time (tee-hee)

In the end I didn’t get Scott’s signature.. I know, I know.. He’s a friendly guy and shit.. But 5 min per person if they are a female is bit too much when there is like 300 people in the line.. Oh, well.. I only wanted my ReBoot DVD signed.. Maybe next time (?)..

Group of Naruto cosplayers has organized a little show of their own where they posed to some of the scenes from the show:

Here are some of the other costumes

In short:

- WHO’S YOUR DADDY!!!
- bunch of nice DS games
- WiFi DS
- NINTENDOGS!!!
- Miyamoto wants to show Tina some new ‘tricks’ backstage..
- Game Boy Advance Micro!
- Nintendo Revolution.. Sexy black.. No controllers?
- Gamecube games..
- New Zelda trailer..

Almost 2 years ago I’ve got myself a Canon PowerShot A80 (a replacement for aging Minolta Maxxum 9 SLR).. At that time it was top of the line small Canon.. Yeh, they’ve had EOS or Rebel and other big cameras but I was interested in something I can stick in my backpack or jacket without worrying too much about it.. The biggest advantages of that camera over other models on the market back then were: CF memory and the ability to swivel the LCD.. So I got A80.. Now nearly 2 years later I got myself another toy: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U20.

Little back story about this purchase. For a while I’ve been looking for some small and cheap camera I could just put in my pocket and have it handy at any time. Today at work I was talking about cameras with my friend and I’ve mentioned that I’m kind of looking for something really cheap and small. My sister is going away for a few weeks and she’s taking the A80 with her so I’ll end up without a camera. And he said: how about that Cyber-shot we have in the back? So I took a look at it and read up some reviews and specs and I’ve ended up picking it up. I also got 128MB memory stick cause the camera came with only 8MB stick. It’s kind of funny that I have a box full of CF, xD, MMC/SD cards but I’ve never had a single memory stick.

Anyways.. I’m not planning to write a real review of those cameras.. There are 1000’s of them on the net already.. But.. Here are some shots to compare the ‘quality’ of those 2 cameras.. They were taken in a pretty dark room around 7pm. Nothing has been edited. Shots were taken at the highest setting. So they may be kind of big.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U20:

Canon PowerShot A80:

I just got the U20 less than 6 hours ago.. So I’ll play some more with it.. And probably you’ll see more pictures taken with it in the future..

So I got my hands of the set of H!P 2005 Winter concerts.. Those 2 concerts shared the same preformance set but with different artists.. Here’s my take on those concerts.

Note: all of what follows is MY opinion.. You may or may not aggree with what I think is good or bad..

I got this game on Friday.. Tomorrow I’m going back to EB hoping I can return it or exchange it for something more playable..

Game Info:
Title: Ridge Racer DS
Serial: NTR-ARRE-USA

Published by: Namco Hometek Inc.
Developed by: Nintendo Software Technology (NST)

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone – Mild Suggestive Themes)

Game Type: Racing
Players: 1-6 (Single-Cart and Multi-Card)
Languages: English

Video: 4
BAH! People who’s been complaining about how Asphalt GT is unpolished and looks rushed should take a look at this game.. God, the graphics looks worse than 1st gen PSX. Cars apear to be flying and the colors are.. just BLAH.. Due to the OVER USE of the gray color this is the 1st game where the angle of the top screen matters.. The bottom screen is USELESS.. THe fucking wheel takes most of it with a TINNY map in the top left corner.. Totally useless map I may add.. You don’t see where your oponent is unless you’re doing ‘Car Attack’. When you bang the wall (and you’ll do it quite often) you can see what’s ‘behind’ it.. Oponents animations look shitty.. The only nice thing about the graphics in this game are the tail light animations.. I really love to see those red smudges behind the cars.. ;p

Audio: 5 (7)
Ok. Here’s the deal.. 90% of my play time is on the bus and subway to/from work and on my breaks.. And i’d say 99% if the time I just listen to my IPod so audio part is not as important to me as it may be to the other people.. But.. While I play at home I do play with the volume turned up. The audio in this game is OK.. Not too special but not shitty either. I didn’t get a chance to listen to all the songs but the ones I did get a chance to hear are not too annoying and don’t make you turn the volume down.. So I’d give the Audio part 7 IF.. If it wasn’t for the fucking wall contact SFX! It’s just ANNOYING.. So this game only gets 5 in the audio department..

Touch Screen Usage: Non-existant/Extreme
If you have the controls set to ‘EASY’ you’ll never use the touch screen. And playing with either stylus or the thumb strap are simply weird.. How exacly are you supposed to concentrate on what’s going on on the top screen while you try to see where you stylus is pointing? Maybe I’m missing something here but.. The game plays 100% better with the regular controls.

Replay Value: 0
Like I’ve mentioned in the opening I’m planning to return this game tommorow. I’ve found this game to be the worst game for the DS so far.. And the only games I didn’t get a chance to play yet are Madden, Sprung and PingPals. The controls are TERRIBLE.. They have the 80’s / early 90’s “arcade” feel. After playing Asphalt GT for a while this game feels like going to the back of the arcade to play Pole Position 2 after playing Initial D.. The collision detection is BAD.. you hit non existing walls, or you drive half way behind the wall and there is no damage.. When you hit the oponent you just bounce back with a speed drop and the oponent just keeps going.. Same rules apply when it’s the oponent who hits you.. You slow down and he goes ‘zoom-zoom’.. Btw. did I mention that you can drive through your oponent? That’s how great the collision detection is..

Final Score: 4

Game Tips and Other Info:
Only one tip: DON’T BUY IT..

Win all Road Challenges in the Arcade mode to race as Gamelati 1000 SS motorcycle. While racing in the Bonus Cars challenge you race against Formula 1 cars.. So I think that’s the next unlock in the Arcade mode. But how to get it? No clue. Maybe if you win EVERY SINGLE race in the Road Challenges?

This simple looking game is probably the most fun game for the DS so far. True, there is not much of competition but still. Going crazy on the touch screen, screaming and blowing at the microphone are what’s required to play this game. It’s SHORT.. And EASY (unless you’re playing the Hell Mode).

Game Info:
Title: Feel the Magic: XY-XX
Serial: NTR-APRE-USA

Published by: Sega
Distributed by: Sega

ESRB Rating: T (Teen – Crude Humor / Mild Violence / Suggestive Themes)

Game Type: Adventure
Players: 1
Languages: English / Japanese

Video: 6
The graphics are VERY simple. Not even GB quality.. But they suit this game very well. You don’t need any distractions while trying to concentrate on what’s going on on the touch screen. The cut scenes are funny and are using both screens (look for the hidden rabbits!).

Audio: 8
RUB IT!! The music is quite repetive. But it’s not as obnoxious as in other titles from Sega. The sound effects are simple but funny.

Touch Screen Usage: EXTREME!!!
If you wanted a game that’d be 100% touch screen dependable, THIS IS IT! Every damn thing is controlled from the touch screen. Use this game to show your friends what TOUCH IT really means in the Nintendo commercial.

Replay Value: 8
After I finish the game I’ll probably try to play it in the Hell mode but.. I already have problems with some mini games so I’m not too sure how well that’ll work. But I’ll give it a try..

Final Score: 8

Game Tips and Other Info:
Use of the following GameBoy Advance game cartriges will unlock additional items:

• Puyo Pop
• Sonic Advance
• Sonic Advance 2
• Sonic Advance 3
• Sonic Battle
• Sonic Pinball Party
• ChuChu Rocket
• Space Channel 5: Ulala’s Cosmic Attack

Or you could just beat the game on Hell Mode to get them.

Today I’ve got one of the DS screen protectors.. It was the Intec Nintendo DS Safe Screen sold at BestBuy and all the other stores. Anyways.. To make my story short.. The top protector is SMALLER than teh actual screen.. So it took me a minute to actualy put it in the middle. The bottom/touch screen protector.. ARGH.. Threw it away after 2 hours of trying to put the damn thing on.. It’s slightly smaller than the screen area so once again it took me some time to center it.. Then comes the fun part.. Removing the air bubbles.. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Half an hour of rubbing and still didn’t get rid of all of them.. So I’ve decided to slowly remove the protector and apply it AGAIN this time removing the air bubbles as I go.. BAD IDEA.. It seems the glue they’ve used on the protective screen is VERY sensitive.. So.. It kind of broke off the plastic so I had some glue left on the screen (just think about removing those annoying labels on DVDs to know what I mean) After cleaning the screen I looked at the piece of plastic that I’m supposed to put on my screen and I see ‘holes’ where the glue came off.. After trying to put it on the screen again and seeing that it looks even worse than the damn air bubbles I just ripped it off and threw the damn thing away.. So all I have now is the top screen protector..