That's all I've got!

    This last series of messages have been fun, but I'm out of ideas! I've got a couple exams to study for and then the semester here ends soon enough, so I'll be back later. For the time being, though, I'm gonna decompress with some killer anime and calculus.

Keeping Boxes

    Is keeping boxes healthy? Is it important to the value? I once watched a video by Thew Adams, on YouTube, where he explained that keeping boxes feels like simply waiting for the day he plans to sell things. This was a pretty profound statement, I thought, and I subsequently went on a massive recycling spree of boxes. Now, I only keep those that belong to the rarest items I have (lots of Glyos ones). Does anyone else keep close tabs on what they keep? Is it a good idea? Has anyone looked at you like a hoarder?

Modern Prices

    Have modern toy and media prices become too high? It's something I'm sure everyone has noticed at some point that those blind-packed Lego figures are now $5 a piece. And, what the hell has happened to the video game market? Why is Silent Hill $120 used? I just want to play the game, regardless of its collectors value. Don't even get me started on the recent Target exclusive craze, I just want T-Wrecks. Has this impacted your ability to partake in the hobby at all?

Reissues

    How do you all feel about reissues? This mainly applies to toys, but is also common in media releases. Do you care at all that it may undermine the value of what you already own? Is that even something you consider? Lately, I've been in the market for some vintage Tron toys (until I balanced my checkbook!) and was exposed to the wacky and wonderful world of the 2001 Neca reissues. Not only did they release the original four figures and all three light cycles: those reissues have demand comparable to the original toys. Even more interestingly, they made changes. Three of the original molds were released in translucent grey plastic, and the fourth was released in translucent black as a game-store exclusive that for some reason now demands $300. Are there any toy lines like this, where the reissues have become almost as expensive as the originals, without either eclipsing the other?

(image pulled from Dallas Vintage Toys)

Hack/Slash

    I recently picked up the first Omnibus of Hack/Slash, a decision that had nothing to do with the cover art. It seems pretty interesting, though I haven't had a great chance to read it (still pushing through Fatal Attractions). I liked the Alien comics well enough, so seeing a slightly more on-the-nose horror book should be pretty different. I've also looked a bit into the Cassie figure by that one new six-inch toy company, and I'm not sure how to feel about the QC. It seems all over the place.

A brief PSA for all those interested in Kingdom Galvatron

    If you've been following the news at all, you probably have seen (and may be interested in) the Leader Class Galvatron that's coming out. Unfortunately, we haven't seen him in grey yet, but he looks pretty nice in purple. However, you might have noticed the funky shoulders. Based on leaked pictures of the toy, we know that those shoulders can actually be flipped to raise their position relative to the neck, which is a really big deal and should be considered for anyone concerned by how much he looks like that one teddy bear meme.

  (image pulled from ijemr)

It's nearly summer!

    I hope y'all are enjoying the weather, if it's started to get warmer in your area. Here it's been trending about 80 degrees every day, which is absolutely insane compared to last month. If you aren't experiencing this weather, I'm assuming you live in Montana and it's -30 degrees right now.

The Music of Gundam Wing

     I've discussed this with Zach many times, but might as well ask the fictional people who read this blog: what's the best song from Wing? Zach's favorite is The Wings of a Boy Who Killed Adolescence, which is a banger, but I'm not sure if it quite compares to When the Dragon Swims, Everything Ends, or Last Impression (which I am admittedly biased by its involvement in the gorgeous art of Endless Waltz). Which is your favorite?

The Peak of Cereal

    Alright, what's the cheese? What's your favorite cereal? Is it Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Do you pour the cereal before the milk, or are you a psychopath? Do you simply not buy cereal at all? I'd like to know. In my cell of concrete and anguish I call a dormitory, it's the only breakfast food I have access to that doesn't make me nauseous (dining hall eggs are not recommended).

Genocyber Blu-Ray

    Well, this exists now. Apparently a 1080p copy of Cyber City Oedo 808 (awesome) wasn't enough, so there's a DVD-on-Blu-Ray version of Genocyber. If you've never seen it, Genocyber is the imagery and gore of Parasite Eve as an anime. It has its reputation for being one of the most graphic anime of all time, and hits all the right body-horror science fiction notes. I'd highly recommend it, if not just for the PS2 boss battle soundtrack and sick hard-rock ending song. Any chance we'll get a Figma of this thing? 

Comic Books

    I'm not normally a big comic guy, but I was at the local Big Planet Comics and decided to pick up one of those self-contained story collections. Joe suggested I pick up X-Men: Fatal Attractions, and it's pretty cool! I was mostly interested in the X-Men because the Shi'ar looked awesome, but the story of Magneto is a lot more interesting than his title as the Master of Magnetism. This story in particular is all about his acolytes and the war they rage against humans, so it has all sorts of bigotry themes. If you're interested in a social commentary that contains enormous men in spandex, I'd recommend it. Still only about halfway, though.

Marty's Keeping them Coming

    Marty "the Godbeast" Hansen is back at it with his wacky and uncharacteristic Godbeast releases. This time, it's a Mushi, Nemesis, and Biomass in glittery black plastic with fluorescent paint. The UV reactivity isn't something I'm normally interested in, but the fact the black plastic reacts is pretty incredible to behold.

Check them out at: godbeast.com

Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex

    I haven't had any time to update this blog lately, but I've been watching a bit of Ghost in the Shell: SAC after my friend Haydn pointed me towards it. It's pretty amazing, and hits that Kamen Rider Kuuga law enforcement mystery-of-the-week story structure that I value so deeply. The fact it manages to carry such a compelling overarching story (I'm this close to buying some of those Laughing Man decals off Redbubble) on top of the "Standalone" episodes is extremely impressive. At no point does it just stop the side stories for the main story, either, like my beloved Kuuga unfortunately did. I'd strongly recommend it; it's on Hulu in its entirety and there's a recent Netflix show that isn't half bad if you can get past the PS3 animation.

It does help that the Major has the same look as every other fictional woman I find attractive.

New Cryoshell!

    For those of you who haven't lived, Cryoshell was a band formed with The Lego Group in order to play easily-licensed music for the late-2000s BIONICLE toy commercials. With lead vocals by Christine Lorentzen, the band was something between hard rock and symphonic metal. While their first album was almost disgustingly 2000s, their more recent stuff (one song per year since 2015) is a bit more pop-y in style, and relies a bit more on synth and cool choruses. Keeping with their scarce yearly releases, they just posted a new song called Faux; check it out! It's one of my favorite songs they've done, even despite the bleak opening.

Watch Big Time Rush

    Watch Big Time Rush. It's the ultimate sitcom, and Lucy is hot. Also, Kendall runs half a mile in his underwear. Twice.

(photo from Big Time Rush, currently on Netflix, I claim no ownership)

Quorra...doll?

    Does anyone have more information on this? I know the New York doll company that made it, but what the hell? Why is it so high end? Who was paying $180 for a doll of Quorra back in 2010, for a movie that would end up being relatively unpopular? I'm not complaining; Quorra and Lucy Stone occupy that special area of character that completely distracts me when she's on screen. Olivia Wilde is hot.

TRON

    Have a meme I made; I don't see anything TRON ever. At most, there are some funny pictures of Bridges and Boxleitner circulating. Speaking of which, which is the best Tron suit? The white suit from Uprising (Tron, not the Renegade) is absolutely sick, but it's used very briefly with the mask.

Exams are over!

    Exam week is over, so until the next one happens I'll have an opportunity to play some games this weekend and test my "gaming" notebook. We'll see how it works, and these tests will be pretty indicative of just how outdated my Alienware is. I've already removed the optical drive and attached it via a USB adapter, so for media consumption it's pretty close. I've also just ordered the Genocyber Blu-Ray (holy shit) and am looking forward to testing that on a screen that doesn't look awful.

Physical Media

    I know streaming is the new big thing, but does anyone remember DVDs? Remember when "high definition" was really special? I do, so I'll continue to advocate buying DVDs. They can be found for super cheap, and tend to come with bonus features that you can't find on streaming services. Here's a picture I took of CDepot, a store in College Park, Maryland. Check them out!

New laptop!

 I just got a new laptop, so this should mean more regular and longer posts. My old Alienware had a broken keyboard and was over six pounds, so carrying it anywhere was a no-go. Now, I can bring this thing places to actually work, and to update this blog. 2.6 pounds! It's almost disturbingly light, seeing as the entire outer case is metal. Now, once I get off my ass, I'll be able to write outside.