Now eveyone who reads this can find out where my free time has been going this past week. Opening the game file inside the memory card, it says that I’ve been immersing myself in the land of Hyrule for over 20 hours. Wow!

For the uninitiated, The Legend Of Zelda series is one of the most prolific and successful game series ever, alongside of the Final Fantasy series. The objective in all the games in the series is to guide a young warrior whom, by default, is named Link, through several quests and a number of huge dungeons to save the land of Hyrule and/or the princess Zelda who rules over the land. Very few of the games stray away from that formula. While you lead Link in his quest, he’ll pick up all sorts of new abilities. The epic scope of the adventures, the imaginations behind the storylines and the sheer quality of gameplay is what has made these games so successful. Also, each of the Zelda games rely on a different theme, especially the later games. One dealt with music and time (Ocarina of Time), one with masks and music (Majora’s Mask) and one dealt with the element of wind and conducting (The Wind Waker). In this game, The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link needs to mainly utilize an ability and theme very new to the series: Animal. He gets to shapeshift between wolf and human forms and also talk to other animals. This makes for some very interesting puzzles! Of course, the puzzle aspect is also what draws gamers back to the series time and again.

I’ll be making an in-depth review of the whole game as soon as I finish it. Luckily, I haven’t needed much help in the way of hints, mainly because I’ve gotten used to the kind of puzzles in these games (but they’re still a challenge!). Right now, I’d say I’m more than halfway or maybe two-thirds of the way through the game. From what I’ve seen so far, Nintendo did an outstanding job polishing off the finer details of the game, like individual personalities and character nuances. They also added some things that simply made my jaw go through the floor! I only wish I had a way to record my entire gameplay. I’d love to show some of the juicier scenes to everyone (especially you, T—-s!). If I had to compare this game to Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, arguably the best in the entire series, Twilight Princess just might have a good try at replacing the beloved Ocarina.

Just wait for the review…

Technorati Tags: Zelda, Twilight Princess, Ocarina, Wind Waker, Majora, Hyrule, Link, Nintendo

Ok, ok, of course I had to cheat just like most of the world’s population.

Ever since acquiring one of the most diabolical puzzles in all of mankind’s history, I’ve wanted to try my hand at some of the solutions I’ve found on the web. Most of these solutions are advertised on the author’s pages to be “fast”, “foolproof”, “easy to remember” and/or “efficient”. First of all folks, there is no easy-to-remember solution with this puzzle. All the permutations and formulas I’ve come across, even on the “simple solutions” are quite complex and only memorizable through many solvings. There are workarounds to the formulas to create what they call speed-solutions but, again, these are hard to burn into the typical mortal brain.

The only solution page I’ve come by recently which I actually like is at chessandpoker.com. Certanly not easy, but the author makes the solution easy to understand… much easier than the maps, keys and formulas other people have offered. Pictured above is my Cube, solved and again re-solved to make the center “cubies” different.

And, no, the solution is not taking it apart or peeling off the stickers, though you’d swear by the picture that I’ve done just that. It’s actually an “imitation” Rubik’s Cube from a no-name manufaturer, and cheaply made at that. Thus, the stickers are slowly becoming ratty from constant use. I’ve recently ordered the actual Hasbro brand from Amazon.com, which are supposed to be more durable. In fact, I ordered two of them; one to play with and one for collection’s sake.

For those of you who have one of these brain-killing Cubes, and are still stumped, feel free to check out the solution page I’ve linked to. You’ll like it. I’m also exploring other solutions to see if I can speed up the process. I’ll keep the blog informed…

Technorati Tags: Rubik’s Cube, Puzzles, chessandpoker.com, Hasbro, Puzzle Solutions

This is a review I actually wrote on Amazon almost a year ago. I love giving my two cents on an album or artist, especially ones I can’t stop listening to. The reason why I’m posting this to the blog after all this time is simple. A magazine, Caustic Truths, contacted me and wanted to link to the blog for their Sonata Arctica links. Seeing as the link only went to a category and not an actual review, I decided to resurrect the old review and update it a little. I preserved as much as I could, while updating it for my current writing style and feelings. There wasn’t much to update, thankfully. However, I did add the first line as if I wrote it way back when, just for the sake of continuity. Let’s go back in time, shall we?

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(Februrary, 19th. 2005) I just recently downloaded this album from the iTunes Music Store, and I’m glad my instincts were correct. This is just a unbelievably kick-ass album! Let me just explain it, song by song…

The first track, “Misplaced”, is just awesome! I couldn’t stop listening to this, particularly because the lyrics tell of how we all feel out of place sometimes in the lives we live. The band actually starts the song, then abruptly stops, then continues, depicting a “misplaced” feeling (droll!!). If you listen to the track at sufficient volume, you can hear one or two of the instrument’s background noise going thru the noise gate just a split-second before they start up again. This song reminds me of some of the better songs by Stratovarius, but even better still! There is a definite classic power metal groove in the climactic sections of the chorus… oh, the sound of power! Ok, on to the rest of the album.

The second track, “Blinded No More”, is pretty cool, but in wild contrast to “Misplaced”, as far as the general feeling goes. More power, half the speed. Took a little getting used to, but very likable, and probably IMO the most commercial sounding track on the album (so far!). “Ain’t Your Fairytale” picks up the speed considerably and continues the power metal feel of “Misplaced”, and is just as likable! “Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night” is a meditative piano/synth instrumental piece that soon turns melancholy and serves as the segué into “Don’t Say A Word”, a forceful song with powerful lyrics and music to match. It’s a song taken from the point of view of a man who’s found out that his significant other has cheated on him. Rather than using clichéd lyrics and moods we hear so many times in pop-rock and metal, they bring fresh lyrical ideas and sonic feeling to the subject. I won’t spoil it here… you’ll have to listen for yourself!

After “Don’t Say A Word” comes the mischevious “The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet”. This song, on a purely music theory perspective, is my favorie on the album because they do something I normally see very few bands in any metal genre do… they play the WHOLE song in (I do believe it’s) a waltz-y 3/4 time signature! It’s also a very ingenious twist on the Pinoccio fable. “My Selene” is another epic-sounding piece, with lyrics pleading for a forlorn love and a very straightforward double-on, double-off rhythm, and is also a big favorite of mine.

In contrast, “Wildfire” (which I’m listening to as I write this), is my least favorite, but it may please listeners who want a ferocious-sounding frenetic off-the-wall piece. It’s impressive from a musical perspective, as the musicians seem to have gone nuts with ideas on this one, but I have to be in a crazy or pissed-off mood to enjoy it. (Update: It may have been my least favorite, but it turned out to be a song I went back to time and again! It had to have time to grow on me.)

“White Pearl, Black Oceans” is a great epic of a song. Just under nine minutes long (the longest song on the album), it’s a sad tale of a man in charge of a lighthouse and the consequences of forgetting one’s responsibilities. Simply put, it’s a gem of a song (just listen to that chorus!!) and yet another favorite of mine. After this comes “Shamandalie”, a wonderful closing to an awesome album. Starting with piano and acoustic guitar, it quickly builds to a rousing finish and piano ending and is probably the closest thing to a power ballad on the whole album. I should point out that I didn’t get “Wrecking The Sphere” with the rest of the album, since I’m not a fan of studio outtakes, but from what I’ve heard from bits and pieces, it sounds good for anyone who wants to hear a band being silly in the studio (hey, everyone needs to let their hair down on occasion!).

Well, that’s all that I have for this review. I hope it was informative enough to get people to buy into this extremely talented Finnish band (many good new metal acts are coming out of Finland… hmmmm). Thanks for reading this, and thanks to the iTunes store for finally getting some music that I’ll actually buy!!)

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Flash forward to today. I still love this album. I haven’t gotten tired of any of the tracks, though I don’t listen to them 500 times a day like I used to! It’s a real treat to listen to any of the songs, and I’m sure the next offering that the group is currently mixing down will continue their tradition of great power/prog metal.

This is Christine blogging in place of my husband, who’s coming home from work. I just told him a little bit ago about my dad. Just out of surgery this last week, and already an infection has set in. He had to be rushed back to the ER last midnight.

Everyone, we need your prayers for him. We pray for strength for my dad, and a speedy recovery!

Update from Christopher: Bill is doing much better as of later on today. We are just glad the complication was caught in time before it got to be life-threatening. Our thanks to everyone who had him in your thoughts and prayers. Also, there’s some good news! It seems the pathology report shows him to be 90% clear of cancer threat. Way awesome!

I’m just chock full of entries today, aren’t I?

In the spirit of getting together a community thing, I am now opening up the blog for anyone to subscribe and/or contribute articles. If you’re interested, sign up! Just click the “Admin” button to the right of the “Contact” button. (It’s hidden.)

Technorati Tags: Esoterik