|
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 "Fine" Art Listening to: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Jen Is Bringing the Drugs    
These are some digital attempts at "fine art". It's more like someone being dragged to a gallery and forced to add some culture into their lives. Then, because they were forced to, they say, "Fine, art." Time to be like a true artist and make myself a screwdriver. Sober up, you drunk! posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:11 PM Permalink | | Monday, August 25, 2008 BioShock Listening to: The Spill Canvas - Gold Dust Woman 
I decided to play some BioShock this past weekend to see if I could get back into it. That special feeling never returned and we parted our ways. BioShock on the Xbox 360 has made me realize a few things about the game as well as things about myself: - The graphics (the water especially) are amazing. - The mood of the game is wonderfully rendered. - The voice acting is top notch. - The story, from what I've seen of it, is mysterious and well-paced. - The game scares me a lot. - For some reason, I'm a terrible shot in this game. I couldn't hit the broad side of a wall if I tried (I know the saying is "barn", but there are no barns in this game). I think the closest I ever got to shooting someone was when they were lying face down in the water, on fire, and I walked up behind them so I could shoot a shotgun into their back. I may have missed at first. I don't remember. My eyes were probably closed and my hands were on my ears. This, ultimately, makes for a very enjoyable-less experience. It's not to say that I'm bad at FPS games or I dislike them (I do enjoy Call of Duty 4 very much). It's this specific game that makes me shoot like a blind quadriplegic. I guess it just didn't work out between me and BioShock. I hope it can move on and just remember the good times. posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:54 PM Permalink | | Tuesday, August 19, 2008 It's a pun. Listening to: Justin Nozuka - Mr. Therapy Man 
My friend, Shannon, has a friend whose husband works at Wolf Camera. I had forgotten this fact and asked her if he was the "Wolf Camera Man". This image then came into fruition. A pun! A-ha! posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 11:25 PM Permalink | | Monday, August 18, 2008 This coffee... Listening to: Alexander Shen - Eternal Sea: Main Theme 
I was at work on Friday and decided to have a cup of instant coffee. I'm not sure why I didn't just have a cup of coffee from the coffee maker, but that point is irrelevant now. All I remember was that it wasn't any good. In fact, it tasted like poo. Hence, to oust my frustration with the world and its line of poorly created instant coffee, I had to cross-stitch it this past weekend. In other news, I've gone and updated my little Demake Competition game some more. I wrote two songs for the game. For those who've missed out on the last update, it's basically taking Endless Ocean for the Nintendo Wii and porting it in the same style of an older, last generation system. I've provided some screen shots and a download link. Thanks for lookin', folks!  Title Screen  Gameplay  Encyclopedia Mode Download Link Eternal Sea (3.5MB .ZIP) posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:30 AM Permalink | | Thursday, August 14, 2008 (Poor) Photoshop Friday Listening to: Nothing.  Mr. Peterson don't take no crap from no one.  The original photo. posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 11:32 PM Permalink | | Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Why Do They Say That? Listening to: Sarah Blasko - Always Worth It 
Why do people say things like that? I don't need my mother telling me, reminding me, to make sure that the haircut I get looks good. It's not like I was going to go to the barber and tell them, "Here's $15. Do as poor a job as possible and there may be a shiny nickel in it for you." To be honest, I am also guilty of this type of comment and line of questioning. A co-worker took me out to lunch today and while we were on the way, I asked him, "Is this place any good?" Immediately following that I realized what a silly question that was. Of course this place was good. Why would my co-worker want to take me to a really bad place? That's just absurd. In any case, it was pretty bad. [frowny face] In other news, another co-worker Photoshop'd this image of me and sent it around work. It's pretty awesome. 
posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 11:06 PM Permalink | | Sunday, August 10, 2008 Viva The Weekend Listening to: Duffy - Mercy 
I finished a ton of freelance work this past Friday and was actually able to enjoy this weekend without any large projects looming over my head. It was relaxing in that sense, but I ended up running many an errand all across the Bay Area instead. Amongst those things I was able to catch the film The Band's Visit with Josie. What you see above is the leading man from the film. I wouldn't say it was an incredible movie that opened my eyes to things I've never imagined before, but it certainly was a decent movie to watch about different cultures, regrets, loneliness, music and love. 
I also was blessed to have the opportunity to do laundry. While waiting for our clothes to dry, Josie and I made our way to D.D.'s Discounts, which is essentially a Ross. While walking through aisles and aisles of discounted bricka brack, I passed by a woman wearing a pair of earrings that prominently displayed the word "SEXY" on them. I believe that the people who wear earrings that say "SEXY" usually are not "SEXY". I feel that it is one of those things that you don't have to tell everyone. How would someone feel if I wore a shirt that said, "SMART" on it all the time? You'd probably think the opposite or at least expect the phrase "AND A DOUCHE" on the back of the shirt. Anyway, she was not "SEXY". She was actually more turquoise than anything else. posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:48 PM Permalink | | Wednesday, August 6, 2008 I Compare... Listening to: Some song Josie has on from Pandora. 
A friend was asking me what kind of music is played during poker games and I jokingly said Kylie Minogue. After that statement, I decided to do a search on Kylie Minogue to verify her age. That is how I came about this two-panel strip about the aging of Kylie Minogue and the aging of another pop star similar in age, Madonna. I am tired. posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 11:41 PM Permalink | | Monday, August 4, 2008 Eternal Sea Listening to: Co-workers in the distance. 
I had a nice relaxing weekend. It was the first weekend at the new place with very little moving of furniture and home accessories. I think I ended up hanging out half a dozen frames and picked up an Ikea chair (the one that looks like it will break when you sit in it) from someone off of Craig's List. The folks over at TIGSource are throwing another game making competition (always for fun). This time it's called the Demake competition where you essentially take a current generation game, like Super Mario Galaxy or Shadow of the Colossus, and make it for an older generation system, such as the Nintendo Entertainment System or the Atari 2600. I've decided to take Endless Ocean for the Wii and remake it for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. You essentially swim around, take up to 30 photos of any ocean creatures you run into, and it records which ones you have seen in the encyclopedia. The extra little feature is that certain creatures only show up a certain time of the day and year. Some are rarer than others and they also swim at different depths. Talk about increasing hours of gameplay! You can download the first demo. You can swim around (arrow keys) and take pictures (spacebar). The only fish you can see is a school of three clown fish in the beginning. That's all. Check out that parallax scrolling! Download Link: ZIP File posted by Mr. Alexander Shen @ 10:16 AM Permalink | | |
       
 |
