Liveblogging With Felicity: Gravity Falls

I was going to wait a little while longer before we did another one of these, but I've recently gotten heavily into a show called Gravity Falls on Disney XD (thanks, Star Wars Rebels, for the lead-ins). If you haven't seen it yet, it's an animated series about twin twelve-year olds Dipper and Mabel Pines, who spend their summer at a fictional Oregon (Pacific Northwest, woo) town called Gravity Falls. It's a children's show, but the writing is funny and sharp and there's a lot of subtle adult humor sown in. So, I asked Felicity (co-star of The Spectraland Saga) to do a liveblog of an episode with me.

F: So u finally discovered this show huh
B: Wait, you've seen it already?
F: Ya
B: Why didn't you tell me about it
F: U never asked
B: Touche. Well here we go
B: We'll watch "Carpet Diem"
F: Fine w/me
B: Lol "Calling All Boys Pre-Teen Edition"
F:
B: I bet you had that
F: Shut up
F: I bet you were a nerd like Dipper
B: I still am
F: U said it not me
B: I love this theme song
F: My band can play it
B: Seriously?
F: No
B: You need a fun stick
F: I've had it with the fun stick
B: Good one!
F: Whatever
B: Fight fight fight! I say that when Boots and Mittens are play fighting
F: Where are they anyway
B: Sleeping
F: Of course
B: "Trying too hard - minus 15 suck up points" hilarious
F: U must have like negative one million suck up points
B: oh yeah, well u have negative infinity
F: Ur a suck up ninja
B: no u r
F: I think watching all these shows has turned u into a kid for real
B: Fine with me
F: 
B: This is the best freak out scene ever
B: We need a carpet like that so you and Joel can switch bodies
F: No way man. I like being able to swim
B: Swimming is overrated
F: Says the guy that can't swim either
B: "Wolfman Bare Chest" - i bet you read stuff like that
F: "Why am i sweaty" - that's your favorite book
B: Maybe it is
F: Creepy
B: Lol "That's what they all say"
F: Goodbye childhood
B: Ha
F: Shut up old man
B: Ur on fire today
F: Whatever
B: I bet you told off the Calling All Boys phone like that
F: Maybe I did
B: Creepy
F: Look that's how u get a raise
B: I should try that
F: U should
B: But I need that carpet so i can switch bodies with a pig
F: That would be an improvement
B: Walked right into that one, I did
F: See, even women would like you more
B: Ok I think we're done here
F: I win the liveblog!!

Talkin' With Joel: Most Annoying Zelda Mini-Games (#7 - Honey and Darling's Shop)

On the heels of the announcement that Nintendo is offering a Skull Kid figurine with pre-orders of Majora's Mask 3DS, today we'll be continuing our ongoing review and discussion of what, in my opinion, are the most annoying mini-games from the Legend of Zelda series. Joining us as always is our very special guest, Joel Suzuki of The Spectraland Saga.

B: Hello, Joel! How were your holidays?
J: Good.
B: Did you do anything fun?
J: Yeah.
B: Like what?
J: Saw some movies.
B: Oh, I did too! Which ones did you see?
J: The Hobbit and Mockingjay Part One.
B: Those were the exact same ones that I saw! I wonder if we were in the same theaters?
J:
B: So, what did you think of them?
J: "Them" meaning what?
B: The movies.
J: They were good.
B: I thought so, too. Anyway, here we go with #7!

#7 - Honey and Darling's Shop (from Majora's Mask)

B: Okay, so this is actually three mini-games, all in the same location, and all equally annoying, if you ask me: the Bombchu Gallery, the Basket Bomb, and Target Shooting.
J: Why do you think they are annoying?
B: Because Honey and Darling are icky. And also because the games are really hard.
J: I think they're pretty easy, actually. Easier than the other ones in your list so far.
B: Really? Wow. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you say that.
J: Um, okay.
B: What's your secret for these?
J: There's no secret. You just have to time things correctly. I'll even miss the target a few times, but I can still get a perfect score with lots of time remaining.
B: I've heard that there's some sort of trick where you can hit Honey and Darling in order to pause the timer. I've tried that, but it still doesn't help.
J: I'll hit them for fun once in a while, but you don't even need to do that. Seriously, I'm not sure why this one is even on your list.
B: I guess you've never seen me play this one. I'm terrible at it.
J: You probably just need more practice.
B: You're probably right. Anyway, on another subject, did I tell you that Book Two is coming along very nicely, and that it should be out later this year?
J: Book Two of what?
B: Oops, that's all the time we have for today. See you all next time for #6!
J: I noticed that we've been saying the word "time" a lot...

Ted Forth And I Would Probably Be Good Friends

Last week, as I was lying in bed and contemplating a New Year's Day blog post, I thought, "hey, why don't I write a list of things that I'm looking forward to in 2015?" After all, I had known for a while that there were about six particular things that I was excited about (as you know, the new Star Wars movie is one of them), and what better way to write a quick and easy post ring in the new year than to consolidate them into a fun little list? So, I scribbled a note to myself with my six things, and went back to sleep.

Then, as I was reading the comics page this past Monday, my eyes scrolled up to the strip Sally Forth, and I saw this: "6 Reasons Ted Forth is Looking Forward to 2015." And guess what his first reason was? Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I thought, "hey, that was on my list!" But I figured, okay, I know that the character of Ted Forth is into geek culture and all, and a lot of people are looking forward to the new Star Wars film, so it's a pretty generic thing to say when you're writing a list of reasons for a character like Ted. What are the odds that more of his reasons will be the same as mine?

On Tuesday, I breathed a sigh of relief, as his second reason was "A Glimpse Into 2025." Now, I'll admit to thinking about the future in a similar fashion, but that wasn't one of my six things for 2015, so I thought, okay, yeah, my blog post is still a go.

Then yesterday, I saw this: "3. Avengers: Age of Ultron." This was also on my list! Yes, the Avengers movies are quite popular, but they're not quite on the same ubiquitous level as Star Wars, so I started to get a little nervous. Will I have to come up with an entirely different subject for my blog post? But I figured, nah, I know what my other four reasons are, and there's no way any more of them will match. Right?

Then came today. And guess what the fourth reason was? "4. Ted Finally Finishes His Novel." I was like, whoa! Because one of my other things is that I now fully expect to get Book Two out this year. Yes, I said it. Now, granted, this is probably Ted's first novel, whereas I already completed my first, but still, he apparently will write 600 pages worth of stuff, which is about the same size as my first two books combined. Freaky...

Anyway, I'm guessing that neither of his last two reasons will match any of my other things, which are: the new Xenoblade game, the new Zelda game, and making preparations to record Second Player Score's next album. If they do, though, I'm gonna totally trip out. We shall see.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season. Are you psyched for tonight's Doctor Who Christmas Special? I sure am.

I just saw the latest Hobbit film, and I have to say, despite the fact that I still think three movies for that book is just too much and the high frame rate continues to be a bit distracting, I really enjoyed it. I know that others disagree, and I admit, I did laugh when (spoiler alert?) Bilbo managed to fell a few orcs ("bred for war!") with simple stone tosses, but whatever. Heck, maybe Bilbo should try out for a spot in the Mariners' rotation - then we could trade Roenis Elias for a halfway decent bat.

Book Two Status Update: I am now halfway through the first draft of what I feel is finally the actual version of the book, and I must say, I am pretty stoked. It's shaping up to be a really fun and exciting story, and I can't wait to share it with all of you.

Anyway, gotta run. Have a great day everyone!

Lists of Favorites

One thing that Joel and I like to discuss from time to time is our "Lists of Favorites" - i.e., a list of books, movies, video games, albums, etc. in the same series or from the same band, in order of preference from most favorite to least. Today, we'd like to share some of those lists with you.

Star Wars Films
Joel's list:
1. Episode IV
2. Episode VI
3. Episode V
4. Episode III
5. Episode I
6. Episode II

My list:
1. Episode V
2. Episode IV
3. Episode III
4. Episode VI
5. Episode II
6. Episode I

Harry Potter Novels
Joel's list:
1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Sorceror's Stone
4. Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Deathly Hallows
6. Chamber of Secrets
7. Goblet of Fire

My list:
1. Deathly Hallows
2. Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Half-Blood Prince
4. Order of the Phoenix
5. Sorceror's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets
7. Goblet of Fire

Legend of Zelda Games (Top 5)
Joel's list:
1. Ocarina of Time
2. Majora's Mask
3. Twilight Princess
4. Wind Waker
5. Skyward Sword

My list:
1. Twilight Princess
2. Skyward Sword
3. Wind Waker
4. Ocarina of Time
5. Majora's Mask

Iron Maiden Albums (Top 7)
Joel's list:
1. Somewhere In Time
2. Seventh Son
3. Piece of Mind
4. Powerslave
5. Number of the Beast
6. Iron Maiden
7. Killers

My list:
1. Number of the Beast
2. Piece of Mind
3. Powerslave
4. Killers
5. Somewhere In Time
6. Seventh Son
7. Iron Maiden

Spectraland Saga Novels
Joel: Wait, what?

Random Thought Thursday

The new Star Wars trailer - epic!! Except, I don't care much for the title. Really, J.J., "The Force Awakens"? I'm not sure if you realize this, but The Force was already "Unleashed" a few years ago - twice - and now, it's going to "Awaken"? I mean, as I've said before, I'm a really forgiving fan, but c'mon...there are sooo many other options. Whatever, I guess - I suppose you know that I'm going to pay money to see your movie (probably several times) anyway.

The new Legend of Zelda is on its way, based on this new teaser video. Aaaaaggggh I can't wait!!11! Will you guys hurry up already? My Wii U is starting to gather some serious dust since I got my cats and don't really feel like playing Hyrule Warriors any more. Shooting arrows in slow motion as I'm jumping off of Epona? YES PLEASE. And by the way, nobody cares about the new Star Fox. Okay, that's not totally true, but really, I just want you guys to focus here. ZELDA

This past Sunday I attended the launch party for "Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy," the second book in the Bash and Lucy series by my good friend and P.R. person extraordinaire Lisa Cohn and her son, Michael. It was a lot of fun and the books are terrific - do yourself a favor and check 'em out.

Christmas is coming up quick, and you know what that means - the Doctor Who Christmas Special. I'm thinking that it's gonna be really good, and that it'll mark the end of Clara Oswald (not that the two things are related - I like Clara). In retrospect - and after multiple re-watchings - Season 8 has been nothing short of awesome (yes, even the first episode, which I now like despite what I still feel are its pretty obvious shortcomings.)

Nick Frost as Father Christmas...love it. So very cheeky.

Boots and Mittens

As if there aren't enough cat-related things on the Internet already, today I'd like to introduce the two newest members of my family: Boots and Mittens.

Kinda hard to tell where one ends and the other begins

Brother (Boots) and sister (Mittens) from the same litter, they were adopted from Second Chance Companions, a very cool pet adoption organization located in my area. They were named by the girl who originally found them, and we decided to keep their names instead of changing them to something like, oh, Destiny and Dreamer (the names of Joel and Felicity's slimebacks from Book One, in case you haven't read it yet.)

Animals play a big role in The Spectraland Saga. When I first started working on Book One, I asked my kids what they wanted to see included in it. My son said "powers," meaning magic spells or superhero-type abilities, and my daughter said "cute animals." So, that's where the idea for Sammy the silvertail came from. And he's not just a token character - he ends up playing a pretty big role in the story, and I have even bigger things planned for him in the books to come.

The inspiration for the story about Nibbles the hamster in Chapter 16 came from a actual experience with one of our previous pets, Scampers the gerbil. Shortly after we got Scampers (and his brother, Midnight), he suddenly became very ill, late at night. It seemed like he wasn't going to make it. Instead of waiting until the next day (by which time it was probably going to be too late), we searched through emergency pet hospitals in the area until we found a 24-hour clinic that treated any kind of animal, including gerbils. We took him in, he got treatment and medicine, and he was eventually nursed back to health. He ended up living a long (for a gerbil, anyway) and comfortable life.

Scampers

Anyway, it's very possible that you will see some new animal characters inspired by Boots and Mittens in an upcoming entry in the Saga. So stay tuned!