WORD OF THE DAY! 5/4/13!

procrastinate [proh-krah-stuh-neyt]
verb
1. To delay, defer, or put off an action until later or another day.

EX. Hey, I know today is May 4th, "May the Force Be With You" day, but some of you kiddies have exams this coming week! SO, on that note, remember to celebrate Star Wars style after you make sure all your projects and homework and studying is done for the coming week. I mean, I've never procrastinated. Like never. Not once. Not all the time. Please...um, study.

TABLETOP TALES: DRAGON'S MAZE PRE-RELEASE! PT. 2 "AMERICAN DRAGONS"

FOR PART 1 CLICK HERE!

MY 2ND DRAGON'S PRE-RELEASE DECK

RED-WHITE-BLUE 'MERICAN DRAGON DECK

To check out my other decks, hit the link below:

ALL OF MY MTG ARTICLES!

This deck was something of a panicky mess to throw together-- I didn't finish putting the lands together until a minute or two into the first round and didn't sleeve until the first game. I chose Gruul as my guild and got Izzet as my secret guild. The only problem? My green creature pool was pretty unplayable.

So, I made due with the excellent red, blue, and white creature pool I had at my disposal, with the few rock-solid spells I had, and tried my best. In hindsight, I think I should have tried splashing some black because my orzhov, dimir pool was pretty strong and would've probably rocked faces.

Anywho, let's get to breaking down my second event's deck...

Here are links for the following sections:

Part 3: "HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 BUT..."

Part 4: Coming Soon?

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/3/13!

multiverse theory [muhl-tee-vers-theer-ee]
noun
1. Also called the metaverse, it is the hypothetical and seemingly infinite number of multiple possible universes (including the universe we inhabit) that comprise everything that can and does exist across the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, and the other physical laws that are present.

EX. Some day I'll go into further detail about my thoughts on this metaphysical subject but, for now, I'll wait until you play and finish Bioshock Infinite.

SOURCE

TABLETOP TALES: DRAGON'S MAZE PRE-RELEASE! PT. 1 "NAYA WAR CHANT!"

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS

MY DRAGON'S MAZE PRE-RELEASE PT. 1

To check out my other decks, hit the link below:

ALL OF MY MTG ARTICLES!

This article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to share my experiences with my fourth pre-release.

You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.

And here is a link to Comic Cellar's Website

I took part in my first of two Dragon's Maze pre-releases on April 27th, 2013, at The Comic Cellar. It cost me $30 ($25 if I had signed up earlier) to sign up and, for that fee, each player recieved 6 boosters packs, including a special booster pack for a chosen guild, as well as a secret guild pack that shares a color with the chosen guild from the other set. For example, if you pick Selesnya, as I did for my first event, I got a Selesnya (Green-White) Return to Ravnica guild booster and my options for a secret guild were from the second set, Gatecrash, and could have been Orzhov (Black-White), Boros (White-Red), Gruul (Red-Green), or Simic (Green-Blue). I ended up with Gruul in my pool. With these packs I had to build a forty card deck (no less than forty cards), with as many basic lands provides as I needed, and then try to win my 5 one-on-one matches, each a best of three rounds, and try to make a ranking that netted me extra packs. Players who participate to the end, even if they didn't place highly, were given a "pity" pack and other prizes. All in all, the event was well worth the admission fee for 6 hours of entertainment and yet...

Everything didn't exactly go according to plan. I am stuck in a rut and actually paid twice for this event with the same result both times-- 2 wins and 3 losses. Netting me no extra packs. As if an insult to injury, I also didn't really net any money cards. Sorry to grief, but I was a little bummed out by the end of Sunday's event. But, that doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again and don't plan on going in the future. I plan to keep on going and maybe my luck/skill will improve. I still got a Gruul and Selesnya pin...so that's something. Back to discussing the vent, sorry about the vent, but I gotta be honest-- I was disappointed in my results. Maybe looking at what I played will show the problem in the first part of my coverage of my pre-release...

On the plus side, my guild did win the maze the first day. So that's something.

Anywho, Dragon's Maze is the third and final set in the Return to Ravnica block. The machinations of the ancient dragon Niv Mizzet have been revealed-- he has discovered a maze that the solution of which will determine the future of Ravnica. In order to win, each guild has chosen a champion to complete the maze and create a new order/disorder in the City of Guilds. A fairly fun-themed small set, Dragon's Maze has all ten of the new mechanics of the set return, alongside a new mechanic that capture the flavor of the guilds and their conflicts. Let's give a short breakdown of it before we move onto talk about my deck...

FUSE- Found on split cards, cards that are technically two cards that can be cast on their own, Fuse allows them both to be cast and resolve from left to right, rather than just casting one of the spells on the card.

MY 1ST DRAGON'S PRE-RELEASE DECK

GREEN-WHITE-RED NAYA WAR CHANT DECK

This was an easy choice, but I wish I had better stuff to work with in my pool (got hosed on my creatures, both days). I chose Selesnya as my primary guild for the first day and was ecstatic to find Gruul as my secret guild. With that in mind, I hoped my non-creature spells would do enough to get my creatures through to killing blow and win me the day. I even splashed blue at one point, something I might talk about in another part of this coverage because there are some things I would've changed (could've used more creatures and less spells, I reckon).

Anywho, let's get to breaking down my first event's deck...

Here are links for the following sections:

Part 2: "AMERICAN DRAGONS"

Part 3: "HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 BUT..."

Part 4: "...LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES I GOLDEN!"

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/2/13!

anatomy [uh-nat-uh-mee]
noun

1. The science dealing with the structure of animals and plants.

2. The structure of an animal or plant, or of any of its parts.

3. Dissection of all or part of an animal or plant in order to study its structure.

4. A plant or animal that has been or will be dissected, or a model of such a dissected organism.

5. A skeleton.

6. Informal. The human body.

7. An analysis or minute examination.

EX. My advice? Never try to apply any real theory of anatomy to Pokémon. Things quickly become strange with elemental creatures with robot parts, psychic abilities, and other transanimal traits amongst the 649 varieties of Pokémon that are sure to be joined by more with the release of Pokémon X & Y. So far, the most horrifying Pokémon, in my opinion, are the ones that either other Pokémon, involve supernatural powers like soul-stealing, and have bizarre horrific origin stories.

What hath man rought?

WTF WED! JAPAN #5 SWIMMING ANIME CONFIRMED, MANNEQUINS & ANGLER FISH! (+lil witches)

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

THE SWIMMING ANIME AKA "FREE!" CONFIRMED

So,  a few weeks ago, I decided to share a viral video that otaku, casual anime fans, and other deviants found terribly enticing or just terribly amusing (I found myself in the latter), simply titled "ANIME DO SEXY SWIMMING" OR "THE SWIMMING ANIME"(CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE). A healthy or perhaps unhealthy chunk of the anime fan community threw its weight behind the swimming anime, which was just an animation promo, getting green-lit for an entire series. I suppose the possibility of a cute sports anime with tons of fan service for girls who like guys, guys who like guys, and guys & girls who find some sort of exotic entertainment in seeing something so outside of the norm. Furthermore, the idea of having some new cute/amusing/often bizarre anime internet subculture with it's own fanart, fanfiction, fanpairings, etc. was too obvious for the internet to pass up.

And that's why, much to some people's suprise, the anime got picked up and will air under the title "FREE!" The internet is an amazing place and, in honor of the Japanese flavor out there, I'm gonna share some more Japanese weirdness today for the first "WTF WED! JAPAN" since the first few months of the blog. Enjoy.

THE FUCCONS AKA "OH! MIKEY"

The Fuccons is a comedy series about a family of Americans living in metropolitan Japan. The show actually aired on G4 TV, under the name "The Fuccons", but is better known as "Oh! Mikey" in Japan. The show revolves around situational comedy mishaps, but is known to end on non-jokes and dark moments, as well as silly jokes, that give a show about living mannequins an extra layer of creepy, but comical humor. Every episode ends with their sculpted smiles erupting into laughing.

For your viewing pleasure, I found a playlist of episodes, but a simple google search can probably find more. Enjoy.

GIRLS UND PANZER- ANGLERFISH DANCE #4

Okay, so here is your bit of 100% pure I don't even know what is exactly going on in this video, so I'm going to have to do some research....*googles*

Girls und Panzer is about an alternate universe where girls learn the martial art of operating and using tanks. Huh? Okay. That's pretty interesting. I can see this being big draw for the cross-section of fans of anime and military paraphernalia.

As for the Anglerfish Dance, this appears to be a reoccurring phenomena from the show that has reached meme status. Google "Anglerfish Dance" and you will find several clips/videos dedicated to the bizarrely uncomfortable dance and its seemingly haunting/cute/creepy overtones. I can't quite tell if it is a punishment or a ritual of the show's main team called the "Anglerfish Team". More research is needed. Feel free to help me and the other readers out by explaining it in the comments below.

BONUS: LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA!

And lo and behold, a bonus in our content? That's right. The internet is already frothing at the mouth to help greenlight another cute anime from a featurette to a series and there is nothing WTF about  this project! It is a charming, well-animated, well-designed, and well-written anime about a trio of friends at a witching school that comes complete with bullies, dungeon-crawling, and some graphic cartoon violence. SHARE and enjoy.

See ya'll next week! Please share, comment, and subscribe!

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/1/13!

double think [duhb-uhl-thingk]
noun
1. The acceptance or existence of two contradictory ideas or beliefs in the same person, organization, philosophy, etc.

EX. "Remember, Pokémon are not tools of war..." Cuz like Pokémon just naturally want to live side by side in harmony and would never turn to violence.

Except when used by Lt. Surge to fight a war with electric Pokémon or when Pokémon fight massive wars against each other or legendary Pokémon cause natural disasters in their conflicts/rivalries or when Pokémon hunt, eat, hurt, poison, paralyze, feed off of, torture, and generally hurt each other with specially "evolved" weapons and tools, etc.

There is a lot of double think in the Pokéverse. Like the moral of Pokémon the First Movie:

ANIMENIA: POKEMON :THE FIRST MOVIE: THE REVIEW

NERDCULTURE SMACKDOWN! POKÉMON OF THE WEEK! APR 30-MAY 3/13!

#48 VENONAT & #49 VENOMOTH

Bet you thought we'd go a week without my piddling opinions on some Pokémon, but I couldn't resist giving you guys what you deserve, just in time (in lieu of a weekly round-up since we had no articles last week).

LAST WEEK'S POKÉMON OF THE WEEK: #335 ZANGOOSE & #336 SEVIPER

WORD OF THE DAY! 4/30/13!

mustache/moustache [muh-stash]

noun

1. The hair growing on the upper lip

2. Such hair on men, allowed to grow without shaving, and often trimmed in any of various shapes.

3. Hairs or bristles growing near the mouth of an animal.

4. A stripe of color, or elongated feathers, suggestive of a mustache on the side of the head of a bird.

5. Something resembling a mustache, as food or drink adhering to the upper lip.

EX. Damn straight, Harley Quinn. No one should ever have to justify a fake mustache, or a real one for that matter-- except for peach fuzz and bad mustaches. If you're gonna wear facial hair, you better be able to grow it/pull it off.

MUSIC MON! REMEMBER MC CHRIS'S BEAUTIFUL GRUMP SONNET?

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

REMEMBER WHEN (ADHD)

A quick PSA before we get started: the video linked above mentions the nostalgic activity of blowing the dust out of a video game cartridge. I used to do that too until I discovered that a) blowing doesn't really do anything (it's the taking it out and putting it back in the console), b) blowing destroys the cart over time from the moisture from your mouth, and c) it even says not to blow on the back! So please, stop destroying your retro games.

Anywho, this another animated music video from ADHD, in the vein of the prime Ukinojoe's 90's Nick. Yet, rather than the damning satire of ukinojoe (which I think was perhaps a little more interesting), the ADHD video is still a lot of fun and does come off with a decent moral.

THE MC CHRIS CARTOON PITCH

You probably remember MC Chris for his many awesome Adult Swim cameos (EX. Hesh in Sealab 2021 & MC Pee Pants in Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and it seems a no brainer that he should get his own cartoons. I can already see the adventures that are possible, but hey "don't get me started on the robots."

BEAUTIFUL SONNET (GAME GRUMPS REMIX)

And in case anyone has forgotten that I love me a good grump remix, here is a rather swell sonnet remixed from a recent Link to the Past episode (a series that got discontinued last year and is back for the win). It was one of the better episodes and this is one of the better remixes I've heard lately.

THREE WEREWOLF MOON BONUS!

WORD OF THE DAY! 4/29/13!

ablaze [a-bleyz] /aflame [a-fleym]
adjective

1. Burning; on fire.

2. Gleaming with bright lights, bold colors, etc.

3. Excited; eager; zealous; ardent.

4. Very angry.

SOURCE: dictionary.com

EX. Sometimes I feel sorry for certain Fire Pokémon than other types of Pokémon; being partially ablaze at all times is definitely got to complicate a lot of activities and require extra care not to harm one self or others. Heck, Charmander has to keep his tail aflame or, withing minutes, will die. Some of them produce so much heat that they can only live comfortably in the harshest of environments, such as besides volcanoes or in the desert, or they threaten to catch the environment on fire and threaten the lives of other innocent Pokémon.

On one hand, Fire is one of my favorite types (I almost lways go with the fire starter), but on the other hand I dunno how safe it would be to have a living lava slug Mascargo in my house.