Onimusha, Dawn of Dreams

I had heard great things about the Onimusha games. I was looking for some game that would be at least similar to God of War. I decided to give this Onimusha, Dawn of Dreams (ODD) a chance.
It is inferior to God of War in every aspect (graphics, playability, story) but it is stil good enough to have a lot of fun. I'll do a (+) and (-) list since it's easier to read.

(+) switching between 2 character along the level
(+) the puzzles - fun, must use 2 character in different places to solve
(+) graphics - flashy... a bit oudated, but I'm sure it was top at the time
(+) japanese mythology - cherry trees, onis, genmas, omen stars
(+) a lot of boss battles (and early on... not the usual "I run away and kill you later")
(+) good concept with the controls, difficult to pull of sometimes

(-) the idiotic AI keeps getting your partner killed
(-) lack of variety, facing the same bosses over and over
(-) the level up system gets you new moves, but still doesn't feel like leveling up
(-) story has a lot of cliches and US voice acting is TERRIBLE!
(-) some battles require soooooooooo much patience

Two final notes:
- Onimusha mode is too powerful, it will destroy (almost) all the bosses in the game with no sweat.
- I HATE IT when a game lets you chose which characters to play with, and at the end throws each character into a solo boss battle... of course the least used characters will be weak, and make it almost impossible to finish the game. I knew Japanese games tend to be that way, maybe to show that every hero counts, even the weaker ones. I still hate it. You're supposed to play the game with your favorite character.

All things considered, it's a good game. Probably the 1st ever CAPCOM Playstation game I ever liked.

Judas Unchained - Peter F. Hamilton

I finished the first book the 26th May of 2009. One week to order the next one and another two to finish the book I was reading, and I started this Judas Unchained.
This one takes a new approach: the plot has been set (and it's quite thick with questions needing answers) and there is quite a lot of investigation and plot key points happening.
It builds up a lot, but I kind of saw the end coming... maybe because it was the 3rd book I've read by the author, maybe because he introduces characters in a way that they simply just make sense behaving the way they do. I say this not as a bad thing, it's just that his writing is that good!
So after 2400 pages of this story, I have to say that I feel like I've just read one of the best science fiction stories of our age (I think this last one was first published in 2005). And the fact that Peter F. Hamilton is considered the best British writer nowadays comes as no surprise to me.

PS: I liked it so much that I had 2 or 3 other books that I was planning to read after Pandora's Star, but had to get Judas Unleashed and finish the story as soon as possible.

Friendly Fires - Jump in the pool

These guys sound a bit like Klaxons, but even though the video is kind of pussy, the drumming, bassline and other effects make it a cool song. Interesting band that might make great things in the future.

Leymah Gbowee - How to stop a war with a sex strike

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Leymah Gbowee
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Tasers

All I can say is, if the word gets around, women will dominate the world! :D Just kidding, but still it's a great way to end wars!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig (live)

A great live performance by Nick Cave and his band. These guys are really something else. It's not easy listening, but it's great!

Angel Summoner and the BMX Bandit

Angel Summoner And Bmx Bandit - The most popular videos are a click away
This is a compilation of the Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit moments from the 1st episode of "That Mitchell and Webb Look". I had already posted one of their clips here before, the Homeopatic ER. I'm giving this britcom a chance, and so far it's paying off :) Great 1st episode, have to check out the rest :D!

Comics

Telecaster kit project - 1

This is my new time consuming challenge. I sent my favorite guitar for a setup (just as the name implies, it's like getting your guitar straight and ready to play) and it came back so much better that I thought "I should know how to do this by myself". Problem is, I didn't want to test my theories and use my inexperienced hands on my precious guitars!
So, I decided to buy a kit. Every part I need to make the guitar is there. I know it will be quite a shitty guitar when I finish building it (materials are really not that good) and I hope I get it to work in the end!
Anyway this is my new adventure! ;)

Feist - When I was a young girl (live)

This has always been my favorite Feist song. Ever. Period. Hands down.

PS: the girl has quite a guitar taste :D

Nirvana - Love Buzz

Love Buzz - Nirvana - MyVideo
Another great live performance. This time, it's the Love Buzz... the question is, can you feel my love BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Elbow - Mexican Standoff (live)

The reason I keep an enormous library of music I've never heard before is so that I get surprises like this sometimes. I've liked Elbow for a while now, but kept one of their old albums in the "to listen to" pile.
And out of the random player comes this Mexican Standoff! Tuly beautiful :)

Gone greener

Today I was cooking and started doing the math. In the last month I've changed 3 habits that keep making me spend less and less gas and water, and these are the 3 responsible:
1 - the dishwasher is "green" and I make it run on the ecological setting, saving water and electricity (plus saving gas, because I don't have to wash the dishes in the sink)
2 - the grill... I've been eating almost all my food grilled... no gas spent on cooking
3 - the electrical water-heater. No more heating up water for the tea on the stove or microwave, and I even use it to heat up water for cooking (saving gas in the process)

I think that if I do my energy balance after these 3 changes, I'm probably not saving that much. But electrical energy is "greener" than gas. So this are 3 small steps I've taken :) Feel free to sugest more simple steps like these! :D

Harper's Island

This is a 13 episode story about a wedding on a small island and a killer that starts taking the lives of the guests, family and locals one by one.
The best part of the show is the first 9 episodes... during most of them, people aren't even aware that they are being hunted, and you are kept guessing about who will be the next to die and the killer's motive.
The script has some problems: some things don't add up in the end, and some characters' behavior changes a lot between episodes (probably due to the fact that none of the actors knew who the killer would be and were given the scripts one episode at a time).
I liked it a lot. I can understand that ratings kept falling as episodes unfolded, but that's probably because if you lose 1 episode, you lose a lot of the story.
It was entertaining and kept me going back to see if I could make sense of it. Give it a chance ;)

Bloc Party - One More Chance

I got home today, and the new Bloc Party single was playing on the tv. Sounds cool. I still don't know how to classify this band. Anyway, it seems this song didn't make it into the Intimacy album.

Maximum the Hormone - Zetsubou Billy

I've already posted this guys once. Was listening to a J-Rock album a friend of mine got me, and I still feel that these guys are one of the best J-Rock bands I've listened to so far.
The video is a parody of the clichet videos made in Japan. Around the middle, the band shows itself as they are.
Once again, it's an anime theme song. Anime really moves a lot of money and influence in Japan!

Out Jazz no Campo Grande

(For the Portuguese crowd only).
Está a decorrer nos jardins de Lisboa o festival Out Jazz, 5 meses, 5 jardins. Este é o mês do jardim do Campo Grande.
Fui hoje apanhar sol para a bela da esplanada e ouvir um bom jazz, ver as pessoas a fazerem dos barcos a remos verdadeiros "barquinhos-de-choque". É um bom plano para um domingo à tarde com sol se se quiser evitar as filas de transito.
Aqui fica o link para obter informação sobre o evento


Coincidência, fiquei mesmo ao pé desta estátua, que achei linda. Aqui vão alguns links com informação sobre ela:
LINK1
LINK2

Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinossaurs

First thing I have to say, this one is way way way better than the 2nd one. The new characters are really cool... altough the possoms are totally uninteresting this time around.
I laughed quite a lot, mainly because of Diego, the sabretooth... other than Scrats, he's been my favourite character from the start!
I'd give it a 6/10, 7 if you like these kind of movies.

Always Give 100%

This is so true it deserves its own post :D

Thanks Mica

Daily Show - Bin Laden Needs to Attack America

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Osama bin Laden Needs to Attack America
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

This is crazy!!! What a bunch of complete idiots!!! One of the saddest thing about war is that fucking idiots like these get to say these things and still get heard!

Comics

It's been really a long time since I posted some comics.

Franz Ferdinan - Can't Stop Feeling

Finnaly!! It's a single! :) One of my favorite songs from their new album. Btw I think the album is great, probably better than their 2nd one. The video concept is also interesting :)

Homeopathic A&E

Hilarious! What if alternative medicines were common practice in ERs! :D The punch line is great!

Thanks Ruben!

Pendulum - Voodoo People Remix

This is a remix of a famous song by Prodigy. The song is cool, but I'm posting it because of the video.
The concept is an urban blindfolded race through a city with hands tied behind their back... guys hitting cars, concrete pillars, trees... the clip has been softened, but I flinch every time I see it. OUCH!

Alice in Chains - A Looking In View

For those who miss the 90s, the Alice in Chains are back... great single! Won't get airplay, since it's 7 minutes long. It's a really cool song. I recommend.

PS: Thanks JP